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Archive for December, 2020

December 18th, 2020 - 1:02 am § in Misc.

Full-length movie: “Mercy Mission, the Rescue of Flight 771” (1993)

A small-plane pilot became disoriented while flying across the Pacific Ocean, and was found and guided to land by an Air New Zealand pilot. The incident occurred on December 22, 1978 (read story here), and is depicted in this made-for-TV movie (info here). Running time: 92:20 min. Return to The-Ave.[...]

December 18th, 2020 - 12:43 am § in Misc.

Movie: Battle of Nagashino (1992)

What happened to sumurai who brought katani (swords) to a gunfight. This depiction of an actual event that took place in A.D. 1575 (info here) is an excerpt from a Japanese TV series (“Nobunaga, King of Zipangu,” Episode 38, info here). Running time: 11:49 min. Return to The-Ave.US Home [...]

December 17th, 2020 - 8:07 pm § in Health, Politics

Florida Gov. DeSantis “put politics ahead of lives”

Ron DeSantis arguably is the most execrable politician sitting in a governor’s mansion since Maine’s Paul LePage (both are Republicans). Earlier this month, I wrote about DeSantis’s “swatting” of a former state employee who blew the whistle on his efforts to cover up th[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 7:28 pm § in America, Politics

Those silly maps of “red” counties don’t mean a darn thing

A bad trail map can lead you off a cliff. A bad political map can lead to absurd, pointless, meaningless arguments. Like this map (and its countless similar previous iterations): Why is it absurd, pointless, and meaningless? Because dirt doesn’t vote, and the U.S. population isn’t evenly[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 5:45 pm § in Economics, Health, Politics

Latest on Covid relief bill

There’s still no legislation, and it now looks like tomorrow’s deadline for congressional action to keep the government from falling apart will get pushed into the weekend, but if the Lone Ranger arrives to save the day, it looks like you might get 50% of a stimulus check in January, the[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 5:28 pm § in Donald Trump

Trump tells advisers he won’t leave

“Trump has told some advisers that he will refuse to leave the White House on Inauguration Day,” CNN reported on Thursday, December 17, 2020, adding, “The possibility has alarmed some aides, but few believe Trump will actually follow through.” Read story here. Following this [...]

December 17th, 2020 - 4:55 pm § in Environment, Misc., Science

Cloud waterfall (video)

Read story here about Australian tourists witnessing a rare atmospheric phenomenon. Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 3:54 pm § in Health, Science

Distribution of Moderna’s vaccine could begin next week

Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is expected to receive FDA emergency use authorization on Friday, December 18, 2020, with distribution set to begin the following Monday. Like Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, Moderna’s requires two shots, and is 94% effective in preventing the disease, and les[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 3:28 pm § in Donald Trump, Health, Politics

What vaccines can’t cure

“As the state prepares to administer its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is urging all residents to be vigilant and to *continue* acting responsibly during this pandemic,” CNN reported on Thursday, December 17, 2020 (asterisks mine). “Lee also added[...]

December 17th, 2020 - 1:06 am § in Misc.

Bezos’ ex-wife gave $6 billion of his ex-money to charity this year

MacKenzie Scott, who walked away from her marriage to the world’s richest person with a quarter of his Amazon stock, gave $1.7 billion “to historically Black universities and colleges as well as women’s rights, LGBTQ and climate change groups” last summer, and since then, ano[...]