“Omicron January” Is Here “I’m worried our economy could shut down because so many of us are ill.” “Get ready for unprecedented social disruptions in the next few weeks.” “This is a hyper-contagious virus. Previous rules are out the window.” This[...]
Archive for December, 2021
Biden vs. Putin
Biden displays toughness against Putin’s threats to invade Ukraine This President is the seasoned leader America needs to handle a foreign policy crisis. Story here, analysis here — Contrast with Trump, who held military aid to Ukraine hostage for political dirt. Who’d you rather [...]
December 31st, 2021 - 12:40 am § in Misc.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Great Trango Tower
More than 400 feet higher than Denali (aka Mt. McKinley), this rock spire’s east face (shown) is billed as “the world’s greatest vertical drop.” The first team to climb it was killed on the descent. The spire is part of a massif in the Baltoro region of Pakistan (read about i[...]
December 30th, 2021 - 10:28 pm § in Foreign Affairs
A. Q. Khan is dead. Good …
Abdul Qadeer Khan (photo, left), 85, died of Covid-19 on October 10, 2021. In this case, the virus did humanity a service. His passing was reported in the international press, but I didn’t notice at the time. That’s why I’m a couple months late with this story. A Pashtun born in Bh[...]
December 30th, 2021 - 3:05 pm § in Health
Omicron is causing a stunning spike in U.S. Covid-19 cases
The Omicron variant is extremely contagious, and the data show lots of people are getting it (graph below, sourced here). If you’re vaccinated and boosted, the worst you’ll probably experience is something like a “bad cold.” If you’re not, well, you were warned. Return [...]
How do we know what to believe?
“Nearly three-quarters of Republicans doubt that President Biden’s 2020 electoral victory was legitimate,” The Hill reports (story here). Believing lies doesn’t make them true. But how do we really know what’s true or isn’t? People can legitimately believe things that[...]
December 30th, 2021 - 2:28 pm § in Misc.
115-mph wind gusts whip up Colorado firestorm
TOWNS NEAR BOULDER ENGULFED IN FLAMES Hundreds of subdivision homes destroyed; 30,000 people evacuated Read story here Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
Klassic Karen (video)
Yeah, I know — You Tube is littered with videos of anti-maskers getting dragged off planes by the police. But this little actress deserves an Academy Award nomination. I especially like the cop’s line, “She’s been chirping the whole time.” Also, I feel sorry for the boy[...]
How stupid are Republicans? (#2)
I need to start numbering these, because this clearly will be a series, and this headline is destined to get recycled a lot. (#1 is here.) Today’s story involves a GOP legislator in Rhode Island who claimed critical race theory (aka CRT) cost her a black friend. She tweeted, “I had a Bla[...]
December 29th, 2021 - 10:58 pm § in Misc.
This bank robber got away with it
When he was 20 years old, Tom Conrad robbed the Cleveland bank where he worked as a teller, and even though the U.S. Marshals relentlessly hunted him for half a century, he was never caught. That’s because he didn’t make any mistakes. He grew a beard, moved to Boston, and changed his nam[...]