Saturday, December 25, 2021

alien contact

A British priest has been helping NASA prepare for alien contact

The NASA-sponsored scheme was held at the Centre for Theological Inquiry at Princeton University in New Jersey to tackle questions about how life from another planet may impact thinking about gods and creation.

Rev Dr. Davison believes the prospect of finding a life that's out of this world is becoming more and more likely.

In Davison's book, Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine, he asks questions about whether God could have created life elsewhere in the universe. Or, could he have sent a savior to die for the sins of alien species?

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Along the Monster Tornado’s 230-Mile

As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished

Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton all flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet, pilot tells Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Walking the robot, Jae

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Coronavirus disease

United States

47.4M cases

+90,619

766K deaths

+1,425

Monday, November 15, 2021

3 snow leopards with COVID-19 die at Lincoln Children’s Zoo

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Three snow leopards have died at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska of complications from COVID-19.
The zoo made the announcement in a Facebook post-Friday, describing the deaths of the three leopards — named Ranney, Everest, and Makalu— as “truly heartbreaking.”
The zoo began treating the leopards and two Sumatran tigers for the virus last month. The zoo said the tigers, Axl and Kumar, have made a recovery.
The zoo said it remains open to the public and continues to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to humans and animals.
Zoos across the country, including at the St. Louis Zoo and the Denver Zoo, have battled COVID-19 outbreaks among their animals.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo announced Wednesday that five big cats at the zoo are being treated for COVID-19.
Two Sumatran tigers and three snow leopards were tested after they began showing signs of the virus during the weekend, spokeswoman Sarah Wood said in a release.
Wood said zoo officials don’t believe the public was at risk because of the distance between the animals and zoo visitors.
The cats are the first animals at the zoo to test positive for the virus, she said. They are expected to recover after being treated with steroids and antibiotics to prevent secondary infection.
The zoo is also following treatment plans that were successful at other zoos, The Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Friday, November 12, 2021

CHINA ECONOMY China slams U.S. democracy as a ‘game of the rich,’ at an event promoting Xi’s growing power

When in the future will China turn Democratic and free all of its people?

A top Chinese official gave a rare criticism of the U.S. and Western democracy during a politically significant press conference Friday.

The night before, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined the ranks of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in becoming the country’s third leader to oversee the adoption of a “historical resolution.”

While criticizing Western political systems, Chinese officials on Friday promoted their country’s own agenda and emphasized new development models under Xi.

Thursday, November 11, 2021

North American companies rush to add robots as demand surges

Factories and other industrial users ordered 29,000 robots, 37% more than during the same period last year, valued at $1.48 billion

Let's guess the future.

Cars without wheels.

All food delivery by drones.

Construction underground.

Buildings by a suspension.

Monday, November 1, 2021

Over the last four decades, HIV/AIDS has killed at least 700,000 Americans. COVID-19 has killed more in two years.

Morgan Keith

Sat, October 30, 2021, 7:30 PM·3 min read

A visitor sits on a bench to look at artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg In America: Remember," a temporary art installation made up of white flags to commemorate Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall, in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.

A visitor sits on a bench to look at artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg's "In America: Remember," a temporary art installation made up of white flags to commemorate Americans who have died of COVID-19, on the National Mall, in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

In the US, more than 700,000 people have died from HIV-related illnesses since 1981.

Antiretroviral therapies have significantly reduced HIV-related infections and deaths.

Both COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS have disproportionately impacted minority communities.

COVID-19 has killed approximately 750,000 Americans over the last two years, officially surpassing the number of lives lost to HIV/AIDS over the last four decades to become the country's deadliest pandemic.

Recent data from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found more than 700,000 people have died from HIV-related illness since its emergence in the US in 1981. Highly effective antiretroviral therapies were developed during the 1990s, turning HIV/AIDS from the leading cause of death in young adults into a "chronic manageable condition," according to peer-reviewed scientific journal "AIDS."

Today, antiretroviral therapies like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) are widely accepted due to their substantial reduction of HIV-related infections and deaths.

"The rapid and progressive development of antiretroviral therapy has not only proven to be life-saving for many millions but has been instrumental in unveiling the inequities in access to health between rich and poor countries of the world," researchers wrote for the AIDS scientific journal.

Despite their differing rates of transmission and mortality, the negative outcomes of both COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS have been disproportionately borne by minority communities.

Black and Latinx individuals still account for large percentages of new HIV infections while representing small portions of the total population. Gay men, bisexual men, and transgender individuals of all races and ethnicities remain severely and disproportionately affected by the epidemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Similarly, CDC data shows that Black, Latinx, Asian, and Native Americans are at higher risk for COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death.

Projections for COVID-19-related deaths, however, are far more grim than those for HIV/AIDS.

The number of annual HIV infections has steadily declined over the last several years, with a reduction by more than two-thirds since the height of the epidemic in the mid-1980s, according to HIV.gov. A 2019 CDC report found that approximately one million Americans over the age of 13 have HIV, and more than half are virally suppressed or undetectable.

This means that, with daily medication, individuals living with HIV can stay healthy and have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to partners, ultimately reducing the number of deaths.

In 2019, there were a total of 15,815 deaths among adults and adolescents with diagnosed HIV in the United States, according to HIV.gov.

By contrast, tens of thousands of new COVID-19 infections are still being recorded every day in the US. Daily average deaths remain over 1,000 as of October 29, according to New York Times data.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Covid Total World Cases 244,445,680

Total Cases 244,445,680

World Total Deaths

4,962,875

Total Vaccine Doses Administered

6,852,950,345

Cases | Deaths

28-Day: 2,430,281 | 45,908

Totals: 45,608,962 | 738,877

COVID-19 Dashboard

by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Thursday, October 14, 2021

COVID-19 was the No. 1 killer of Americans age 35 to 54 last month, and No. 2 overall

COVID-19 was the No. 1 leading cause of death in the U.S. in January, at the peak of last winter's brutal coronavirus surge, but then vaccines became widely available and it dropped to No. 7 by July, the Kaiser Family Foundation says in a new analysis of COVID-19 fatalities. Then the Delta variant hit and found ample unvaccinated Americans to kick COVID-19 back up to the No. 2 killer in August and September, the leading cause of death for Americans age 35 to 54, and even the sixth or seventh leading cause of death for children.

COVID19 documentary Wayne Dupree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Srj8VYB4U

I wonder who funded the level 4 bio lab to the tune of $ 3.7 million.

They banned it from Facebook!! It had almost 100 million views !!

It's a shame we had to go the 'feature' film route. So many facts to digest why smudge with music and rhetoric. LET THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. Nevertheless, the most factually insightful documentary I've seen to date, a shame more people aren't watching it.

I tried to share this on Facebook and received a message saying it was fake news I was trying to spread and the contents were not factual and it was blocked by their fact-checkers. I was blown away by the message. It really pissed me off for I know they lied. This is an awesome education piece and I thank you.

A must watch video. Share this with everyone.

Will Donald Trump be cryogenically frozen?

When an 87-year-old Californian man was wheeled into an operating room just outside Phoenix last year, the pandemic was at its height and medical protocols were being upended across the country.

Monday, October 4, 2021

the Pandora Papers, the Straits Times

Key revelations from the Pandora Papers

(Clockwise from top left) Jordan's King Abdullah II, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former British PM Tony Blair and Colombian singer Shakira are among the names leaked in the Pandora Papers.PHOTOS: NYTIMES, AFP, REUTERS

UPDATED
4 HOURS AGO

WASHINGTON (AFP, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - An investigation based on one of the biggest ever leaks of financial documents on Sunday (Oct 3) exposed a hidden world of shielded wealth belonging to hundreds of politicians and billionaires.

One of the largest ever global media investigations, the Pandora Papers involved more than 600 journalists who together analysed some 11.9 million documents from financial services companies around the world.

They found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including more than a dozen serving heads of state and government.

The documents behind the latest investigation are drawn from financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.

Here are some key revelations:

King of Jordan's property empire

The files show King Abdullah II, who has faced angry protests against austerity measures in recent years, created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a US$100 million (S$136 million) property empire between 2003 and 2017, including 15 homes from Malibu, California to Washington and London.

The Jordanian embassy in Washington declined to comment, but the BBC cited lawyers for the king saying all the properties were bought with personal wealth, and that it was common practice for high profile individuals to purchase properties via offshore companies for privacy and security reasons.

11-year-old property owner

Family and associates of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev - long accused of corruption by rights groups - are alleged to have been secretly involved in property deals in Britain worth hundreds of millions, including a roughly US$45 million office block in the name of the president's 11-year-old son, Heyder.

In this photo taken on July 20, 2021, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow. PHOTO: AFP

The central London property was purchased in 2009 by a front company owned by a family friend of the Central Asian state's president before it was transferred to his son, the BBC reported.

Czech premier's chateau looms over election

According to the documents, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth US$22 million in the south of France.

The premier is facing an election later this week and hit out at the revelations as "trying to tarnish my reputation and affect the Czech general election," saying in an interview with Czech news agency CTK that "it is clear that I didn't do anything illegal or wrong."

Pandora Papers: An unprecedented leak exposes the inner workings of a shadow economy

Kenyan president's offshore network

The investigation says Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta - who has campaigned against corruption and for financial transparency - is accused along with six family members to secretly own a network of 11 offshore companies, one of which was valued as holding assets of US$30 million.

Pakistan premier's inner circle

Members of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, including cabinet ministers and their families, were found to secretly own companies and trusts holding millions of dollars.

Khan himself welcomed the findings on Twitter, saying they exposed "the ill-gotten wealth of elites, accumulated through tax evasion & corruption & laundered out to financial 'havens'" and promised to investigate any wrongdoing.

Links to Russia

While Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the files, he is linked via associates to secret assets in Monaco - notably a waterfront home acquired by a Russian woman who is believed to have had a child with Putin, The Washington Post reports.

Separately, the documents appear to show that the law firm of President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus concealed the identity of the owner of several offshore companies: a former Russian politician accused of embezzlement. The firm denies the accusations, the BBC said.

Ukrainian president's transfer

In this photo taken on Sept 22, 2021, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the 76th session UN General Assembly in New York. PHOTO: AFP

According to the findings, just before he was elected as Ukraine's president in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky transferred his stake in a secret offshore company.

Blair's building

Previously an outspoken critic of tax loopholes, former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife were found to have purchased an US$8.8-million building in London in 2017 by buying the British Virgin Islands company that owned it.

As per British law, by doing so they avoided paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.

The BBC noted there was no indication the Blair's were hiding their wealth, and Cherie Blair said the couple had brought the property back under British rules.

Shakira, Schiffer and Tendulkar

German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. PHOTOS: CLAUDIA SCHIFFER/INSTAGRAM, SACHIN TENDULKAR/INSTAGRAM

Alongside the politicians, the public figures linked to offshore assets also included Colombian singer Shakira, German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Lawyers for all three told the ICIJ the investments were legitimate and denied any suggestion of tax avoidance.

Meanwhile, one of the most “troubling revelations” for the United States was the role of South Dakota, Nevada and other states that have adopted financial secrecy laws that “rival those of offshore jurisdictions” and demonstrate America’s “expanding complicity in the offshore economy,” said the Washington Post, one of the ICIJ’s media partners.

The documents reveal almost US$360 billion in customer assets are sitting in trusts in South Dakota, some of it tied to offshore-based people and companies accused of human rights abuses and other wrongdoing, it said.