Tracker

The environmental impact on fertility may be part of it, but I suspect that the economic distress (stagnated wages but rising living costs) and the attendant loss of confidence in the future have a lot more to do with it. Stress diminishes libido and sperm motility and production. The American middle class is being squeezed out of existence while the rich get richer. This is unsustainable but the upper class is oblivious and focused only on immediate gain.

I think you are underestimating the crassness and stupidity of this GOP candidate.

Russian Officer Complains About Dead General and Comms Meltdown in Intercepted Call -Reuters The Ukrainian defense ministry has released audio from a call that it claims captured two Russian officers lamenting the death of a top general and the collapse of its secure communications network in Ukraine. In the call—which has been verified by Bellingcat, the fact-checking group known for exposing Kremlin misinformation—two purported Russian FSB officers are heard discussing the death of a general killed in fighting near Kharkiv, which has been hammered by shelling this month. Ukraine’s defense ministry named the general as Vitaly Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, and Bellingcat reported that it had confirmed the death with Russian sources. In its statement, Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency said Gerasimov had been “liquidated” alongside “a number of senior Russian army officers” in fighting near Kharkiv. If Gerasimov’s death is confirmed, he would be the second Russian general to be killed in Ukraine within a week following the death of the 41st Army’s deputy commander, Andrei Sukhovetsky. A pro-Putin Chechnyan general, Magomed Tushayev, was also reported to have been killed. Russia’s failure to protect its top-ranking officers backs up reports from Ukraine that the Kremlin’s invasion force is in disarray. On the call released by the Ukrainian defense ministry, one FSB officer can be heard complaining that its encrypted comms system had been destroyed, allowing Ukrainian forces to listen in on Russian military orders. Bellingcat’s executive director, Christo Grozev, wrote, “In the phone call in which the FSB officer assigned to the 41st Army reports the death to his boss in Tula, he says they’ve lost all secure communications. Thus the phone call using a local sim card. Thus the intercept."

Michigan GOP Candidate Tells Daughters 'If Rape Is Inevitable, Lie Back And Enjoy It' A GOP candidate running for Michigan’s House of Representatives said during a Facebook Live broadcast that he tells his daughters to “lie back and enjoy” rape if it’s “inevitable.” Robert “RJ” Regan, who won the GOP special primary in the state’s 74th district last week, was discussing how to decertify the 2020 presidential election during a Facebook Live broadcast for the Republican group Rescue Michigan Coalition on Sunday when he made the comment. “Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,’” Regan said roughly 10 minutes into the broadcast. “That’s not how we roll, that’s not how we won this election.” “That was a shameful comment,” attendee Amber Harris said in response. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michigan-gop-candidate-rape-lie-back-and-enjoy-it_n_62278e85e4b004a43c1086bc

Jan. 6 rioter found guilty on 5 federal charges A jury in Washington, D.C. has found Capitol rioter and Texas resident Guy Reffitt guilty on five federal charges for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, including obstruction of an official proceeding, transporting weapons into the District of Columbia, interfering with the Capitol Police, and bringing a Smith & Wesson handgun to the Capitol grounds. According to CNN, the jury also found Reffitt guilty of obstruction of justice for threatening his son and daughter after returning to Texas following the Capitol riot. The 12 jurors, who included six men and six women, deliberated for less than four hours on Tuesday, March 8 before finding Reffitt guilty on all five of the federal charges he was facing. The January 6, 2021 insurrection has resulted in a long list of federal prosecutions — some on felony charges, some on misdemeanor charges. Business Insider’s C. Ryan Barber reports, “Reffitt's trial presented an opportunity for the Justice Department to secure a conviction that would send a message to other accused Capitol rioters planning to go before a jury rather than plead guilty. For prosecutors, a loss in court could have sent the opposite message — and emboldened accused Capitol rioters. But federal prosecutors never seemed in doubt about the outcome.”

Germany today- prices are in Euros per litre.

Where do you get those figures from?

I believe you are labouring under a misapprehension about what Communism was designed to be. Communism, if instituted as envisioned, is perfectly compatible with democracy whereas both capitalism (AKA free enterprise) and evangelical "Christianity" proponents have both stated that they would flourish under a "benevolent dictatorship"- if such could exist. Hutterite colonies, although far from perfect and many tribal societies function as Communist societies. Drivers Facing Record Gas Prices Say They’d Pay More to Stop War Many U.S. drivers, stung by record gasoline prices, say they’d pay even more if it would end Russia’s war in Ukraine. That doesn’t mean they’re happy about it. Monday morning’s commute brought the shock of $80 fill-ups in California and New York, as the threat of sanctions and curbs on Russian oil smashed price records that had stood for nearly 14 years. Average pump prices in the U.S. are now $4.173 per gallon.

The carbon tax, as evil as the right wing would have you believe, in one step in the right direction. We need to incentivize people and industries to retrofit homes and commercial buildings to be more energy efficient and start taxing vehicles on the basis of fuel consumption. One idea I really like is a 40PMG speed limit.

FYI: Did a quick check on gasoline prices. Grand Forks was the equivalent of 85 cents per litre but Norway (one of the happiest countries in the world) was just under the equivalent of almost $4.00 Canadian per litre. We are deliberately driving less and have always chosen fuel-efficient vehicles. This too will pass.

Idaho Lawmakers OK Legislation That Could Fine, Jail Librarians BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Legislation with the potential to fine Idaho librarians $1,000 and send them to jail for a year for checking out material to a minor that could harm them cleared the House on Monday. The House voted 51-14 to approve the measure that backers said will protect children. But opponents said it is so undefined and subjective as to be unconstitutional. Democratic House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel asked Republican Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, the bill’s sponsor, if a classic young adult novel by Judy Blume that included masturbation could land a librarian in jail. DeMordaunt refused to answer. Backers of the legislation distributed material to other lawmakers they said came from public libraries and supported the legislation. The material had widely differing reactions among lawmakers. “I would rather my 6-year-old grandson start smoking cigarettes tomorrow than get a view of this stuff one time at the public library,” said Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/idaho-bill-fine-jail-librarians_n_6227104ae4b004e4e38518fb

US/NATO sanctions against Russia are succeeding beyond their ‘wildest hopes’: journalist Some of the far-right pundits at Fox News and Fox Business have been claiming that the Biden Administration/NATO sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine aren’t working. But journalist Eric Levitz, in an article published by New York Magazine on March 7, lays out some of the ways in which the sanctions are working well — so well, according to Levitz, that they may also inflict some economic pain on Russia’s adversaries. “In addition to sanctioning Russia’s oligarchs and seizing their western assets, the U.S. and EU have effectively evicted Russia’s entire banking system from the global financial order,” Levitz explains. “Russian banks can no longer use the international payments known as SWIFT to complete transactions, forcing the firms to conduct business at a snail’s pace, one telephone call at a time. Not that Russia’s banks have all that much business to conduct, given that engaging in virtually all forms of commerce with Russia will now expose foreign firms to secondary sanctions.” Levitz continues, “Even more significant than these measures, however, was the freeze that central banks throughout the West put on Russia’s sovereign assets…. One of the worst consequences of sanctions for the penalized nation is that they debase its domestic currency: When most of the world is boycotting Russian exports, demand for rubles dries up. That increases the Kremlin’s borrowing costs and the prices that Russian consumers must pay for imported goods.” Economically, the worst may be yet to come for Russia if the Biden/NATO sanctions are expanded to include Russian oil. Russia’s energy imports, Levitz notes, have been “exempted from” the sanctions so far. “Never in modern history has an economy of Russia’s scale been subjected to such extraordinary ostracism,” Levitz stresses. “The ruble’s value swiftly plummeted. According to analysts at JPMorgan Chase, the Russian economy is now poised to shrink by 7% this year. Other forecasters paint an even darker picture, with the Institute of International Finance projecting a 15% contraction in Russia’s GDP.” The journalist points out that if Russian oil suffers in a big way, other countries — including Russia’s adversaries—will feel the sting as well. “Russia is struggling to find buyers for its top export, even as it offers the nation’s highest quality oil at a discount of $20 a barrel,” Levitz writes. “Should this de facto embargo continue, the implications will be devastating for Russia’s economy and burdensome for virtually everyone else’s…. In drafting its sanctions, the West set out to wreck the Russian economy. At the moment, it appears to be succeeding beyond its wildest hopes — and/or fears.”

Now you've gone and ruined the point he was trying to make.

I have dealt with compulsive gamblers, and for some, their mania is such that they will bet on anything- even which elevator door will open first. There were so many other licit gambling options open to him, that it took a special kind of stupid arrogance for him to bet on his own league and imperial his very comfortable income. I would think that every player who comes into any professional league has had the riot act about gambling read out to him/her in great detail. He got what he chose and has no reason to feel victimized, which he probably does.

How stupid do you have to be to throw away a multi-million dollar a year job so that you can gamble on your own league? The idiot could have bet on the NHL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, soccer, auto racing and so forth. This guy has a financial death wish.

One of the tactics of medieval sieges was to inflict as much damage on those inside the besieged areas so that they would surrender to avoid further carnage. It was crude but often effective. However, with the growing overt dissent with both the Russian armed forces and population, time is not on Putin's side.

EVIDENCE FOUND THAT CONSERVATIVES ARE SERIOUSLY ILL: Even a mild COVID-19 infection can shrink your brain, study finds. A study of brain scans of people before and after an infection found significant brain changes Evidence is mounting that COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, does not merely affect the lungs, but also can have deleterious effects on the brain. Recently, a number of studies found that COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders, though the details around how the disease impacts the brain has remained unclear. Now, according to the first study to compare brain scans of people before and after contracting COVID-19, researchers observed shrinkage and tissue damage in regions of the brain that are linked to mental capacities and smell after a person tested positive. The study was published in the journal Nature.

Armed Intruders Sped Through Joint Base Andrews Military Checkpoint as VP Harris Landed There A major security scare sent Joint Base Andrews into lockdown late Sunday. Just as Vice President Kamala Harris and four Cabinet members were touching down at the Maryland military base, two suspects, at least one of whom was armed, got through a security checkpoint. In a statement, the base said the pair “failed to adhere to commands of security personnel” at the main gate, and both fled when their vehicle was stopped by barriers. Only one of them had been caught and that individual was found to be armed, but no shots were fired, according to the statement. Later Monday, the Air Force Times reported that the apprehended suspect is 17 years old, and the second suspect is still at large but a search determined they were not on the base. The New York Times reports that Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, left the base on Marine Two after the incident.

Trump Floats Idea That U.S. Bomb Russia With Jets Covered In China Flags, Then 'Sit Back And Watch' Former President Donald Trump on Saturday floated a horrifying scenario during a speech to some 250 elite Republican donors: He said the U.S. could bomb Russia with jets disguised with Chinese flags, then sit back and watch those nations go to war. Specifically, Trump said the U.S. could “put the Chinese flag” on F-22 fighter jets and use them to “bomb the **** out of Russia,” according to a recording of his speech that was obtained by The Washington Post. “And then we say, China did it, we didn’t do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,” Trump said. The audience laughed at the comment, which seemingly was made in jest, a source told CBS News. The Post noted it would be highly unlikely that Russia would believe a distinctive F-22 had been sent by China. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-putin-bomb-russia-chinese-flags-gop-donors_n_62252fa1e4b03bc49a9cc339

Unvaccinated Child Tests Positive for Polio in Israel’s First Case in 3 Decades A four-year-old in Jerusalem was diagnosed with polio, marking the first known case in Israel since 1989, according to the country’s health ministry. The boy was not vaccinated against the disease, according to the ministry’s Sunday statement. It was unclear what symptoms he might have been experiencing, but authorities said he had not yet been hospitalized, according to Haaretz. A regional health administration in the city has opened an epidemiological investigation to keep tabs on the child’s health. Polio, a highly infectious virus that can be life-threatening, has no cure, but is easily prevented through vaccination. It has been eradicated in many regions, but remains endemic in places like Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. https://www.thedailybeast.com/first-polio-case-in-israel-in-three-decades-as-unvaccinated-4-year-old-child-tests-positive?ref=home?ref=home

Update: The Pro-Putin truckers have decided not to go to DC today. A trucker convoy that has embraced a pro-Putin conspiracy theory is heading for Washington, D.C. and the White House. NBC News reported: While some group members have admonished Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, QAnon and anti-vaccine contingents within the groups have seized on a false conspiracy theory that the war is a cover for a military operation backed by former President Donald Trump in Ukraine. The conspiracy theory, which is baseless and has roots in QAnon mythology, alleges that Trump and Putin are secretly working together to stop bioweapons from being made by Dr. Anthony Fauci in Ukraine and that shelling in Ukraine has targeted the secret laboratories. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has emerged in the past year as a main target for far-right conspiracy theories. In the conspiracy theory, Trump and Putin are the good guys who are trying to stop the secret bioweapons being made by 80 something-year-old Dr. Fauci. These truckers are not patriots, and they are tools of Putin’s propaganda. People are not dying in Ukraine for a cover story. The people in this protest are pro-Putin, and they are coming to America’s Capitol because they are angry about everything, especially their old-white messiah getting trounced in 2020, and they want everyone to know about their white rage. Putin fits perfectly with their mentality. Jason Easley

The total to date is three confirmed Russian/Chechnyan generals killed. The last one was killed by a Ukrainian sniper from a distance of 1500 meters. Good to see a capital piece taken off the board instead of just pawns.