Balloon Juice | Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Keep Working

by Anne Laurie| June 24, 20218:45 am| 68 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, Gun Issues, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Democrats are the party of jobs and economic growth. It’s time to own it. https://t.co/XgJMZBgTiQ

— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) June 23, 2021

President Joe Biden pledged to crack down on a crime spike across the country, targeting illegal gun dealers and boosting support for local law enforcement https://t.co/vQgwWz2fos pic.twitter.com/47UJiZ47EU

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Taking the Law & Order rhetoric and turning it onto the gun dealers and gun friendly states is a good move https://t.co/cfn7gP9523

— prime macpoasting account (@Convolutedname) June 23, 2021

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the Democrats are committed to passing the election reform bill after Republicans blocked the proposed bill https://t.co/iLSIwU7mlT pic.twitter.com/hoI1lgtMUX

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Keep WorkingPost + Comments (68)

Thursday Football (Soccer) Open Thread: Euro 2020 / Copa America

by Anne Laurie| June 24, 20217:10 am| 5 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Sports

When you realise that there are no games at the Euros today…#Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/zw6VgSRywc

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) June 24, 2021

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Thursday Football (Soccer) Open Thread: Euro 2020 / Copa AmericaPost + Comments (5)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday / Thursday, June 23-24

by Anne Laurie| June 24, 20216:36 am| 47 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

If you are vaccinated, you are protected.

If you are not, you are not.

We have 80,000 vaccination sites. It's free. Uber/Lyft will give you a free ride. Over 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a site. https://t.co/b59S5G9fVQ

— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) June 22, 2021

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U.S. administers 319.9 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines – CDC https://t.co/TEEnYm3QFa pic.twitter.com/0NiVvO19E5

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Here's what you need to know about the delta varian in the U.S. The variant is now responsible for about 1 in every 5 Covid cases nationwide, and its prevalence has doubled in the last 2 weeks. The variant is driving an increase in Missouri Covid cases https://t.co/pgQqPm6qpq

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 24, 2021

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India reports 54,069 new COVID-19 cases https://t.co/GlXFg46X4l pic.twitter.com/wegMpDhhlZ

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

India classifies ‘delta plus’ coronavirus as a variant of concern & is investigating 40 cases nationally of the 'plus' variant, which occurred because of a mutation in the delta strain. Both 1st found in India. Delta+ is highly transmissible https://t.co/AENRP15Gn0

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 23, 2021

Will a deadlier third Covid wave hit India? https://t.co/ubQILeWvvU

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 24, 2021

Recommendation from expat in Singapore:

I missed this when it was first published, but it is very good https://t.co/U3doERoy87

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) June 23, 2021

… Across the region, countries have adopted a series of prolonged and harsh measures to keep the virus at bay. Authorities have deployed extended border closures, ambush-style lockdowns, forced testing, and massive quarantine operations, as well as fines, jail time, and cancellation of work permits for rule breakers. The results have been positive, but are proving difficult to sustain, particularly as many of these countries struggle to deploy wide-reaching vaccination drives.

Some, such as Hong Kong, paradoxically appear to have been at least partially a victim of their own initial success. With few cases and deaths, many of the city’s people believe there is no rush to be vaccinated, Cowling said. About 17 percent of the population is fully inoculated, despite jabs having been widely available for more than 100 days. The vaccination rate is actually far lower for elderly residents and those living in care homes, who are at higher risk of serious illness or death than the average city resident. According to a study carried out by Cowling and other University of Hong Kong experts, only about 55 percent of the population will be vaccinated by September…

Two other Asian societies that were successful early in the pandemic but that are now struggling—even as they try to continue pursuing an “elimination” strategy—point to the difficulty much of the region is facing in procuring vaccines.

One, Vietnam, has seen an uptick in cases since late April, which Todd Pollack, an infectious-disease expert for Harvard Medical School who is based in Hanoi, attributes to areas surrounding the country having more infections and a more transmissible variant of the virus…

Taiwan has also struggled to get sufficient doses…

Taiwan says discussing COVID-19 vaccine passports https://t.co/f8Q7RCCOib pic.twitter.com/ij5XJGdjmb

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Hong Kong:

Cathay Pacific crew told to get vaccine or risk losing job https://t.co/QV0W7Z0Cl9

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 24, 2021

Hong Kong will ban passenger flights from Indonesia from Friday, deeming the country's arrivals 'extremely high risk' for COVID-19 https://t.co/kElsBH8QBK

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

that's 36 percent of the population fully vaccinated and another 900,000 or so with one shot, for a total of about 51 percent with at least one shot.

they recently doubled the time between doses in order to ensure supply. so the "at least 1 shot" number is going to rise faster

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) June 23, 2021

Singapore drawing up road map to live with COVID-19, ministers say https://t.co/y9QI23CFZ8 pic.twitter.com/hW6Jqnv3l9

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported a double digit rise in new local cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day as officials fight to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant https://t.co/08vFrMeq0G pic.twitter.com/ddfrD6gf9I

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Russia on Thursday confirmed 20,182 new coronavirus cases, the highest number since Jan. 24, and 568 deaths. Moscow recorded 8,598 cases and an all-time high of 92 deathshttps://t.co/P2OuIMfoC6

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 24, 2021

Moscow's Covid infections have soared significantly. A one-day increase alone saw a jump of 9,056 new cases. The mayor of the sprawling megapolis of 12 million is blaming the delta variant https://t.co/HDq8NKjmhI

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 23, 2021

Russia warned of an "explosive" spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in the country that was made worse by a sluggish vaccination campaign leading to rapidly rising infections and deathshttps://t.co/UI3rTVkCbG

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 24, 2021

The #delta variant will likely make up 90% of the European Union's coronavirus cases by late August. Given that possibility, governments should aim for full vaccination against the virus as quickly as possible, health officials said Wednesday https://t.co/E0uk6qnnDp

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 24, 2021

The only one of the tournament’s 10 host countries to allow full crowds in stadiums, Hungary has conducted one of Europe’s most successful #COVID19 vaccination drives. https://t.co/mCGyDCxT6U

— Global Health NOW (@ghn_news) June 23, 2021

More than two million in England may have had long Covid, study suggests https://t.co/fo5Ldvm5F8

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 24, 2021

Brazil sets single-day record for coronavirus cases https://t.co/AMFBbrIwFB pic.twitter.com/TNmwpANHlp

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

Help for Brazil: The country that has been hardest hit by Covid in South America is receiving a shipment of 3 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses, courtesy of the White House https://t.co/HqOvDTlYMb

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 24, 2021

Mexico to donate 400,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots to Central America https://t.co/O6NqbhJR2R pic.twitter.com/VkS5ppFcRn

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

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Explanation for #LongCovid? Reactivation of Epstein-Barr may be the cause of long Covid symptoms. EBV infects almost everyone globally. After infection EBV usually survives in the host but remains dormant. The inflammatory response to SARS2 may trigger EBV https://t.co/lCTbEiCJg4 pic.twitter.com/1XnXN0Cw8G

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 23, 2021

The U.S. FDA plans to add a warning to fact sheets for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines about rare cases of heart inflammation. It still recommends the vaccines for all Americans over 12 years old https://t.co/vT6irAmdht pic.twitter.com/dhWcvDMF3V

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2021

From a long thread:

1. The impact of #Covid19 vaccines on the US epidemic. This graphic, from today's #ACIP meeting, speaks volumes.
I will try to tweet from the meeting, but it might be intermittent. First up: myocarditis & pericarditis in some people who've received mRNA vaccines. pic.twitter.com/mPRRu3bTnC

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 23, 2021

16. Oliver said most data so far show current vaccines are effective at preventing severe #Covid19 infections, even when infections are cause by variants of concerned, ie mutated viruses. It may be certain populations will be more likely to need boosters, she said. #ACIP pic.twitter.com/irt5KESjxS

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 23, 2021

21. There was no vote on the boosters question, just observations from some #ACIP members. Most leaned towards the need for evidence of a need for boosters before the US goes down that path — though earlier action might be taken for immunocompromised people. Meeting adjourned.

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 23, 2021

Following inspection, WHO outlines a series of concerns about one of the sites involved in manufacturing Sputnik Vhttps://t.co/CHRPMOuUM7

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 23, 2021

In the lab: A universal #coronavirus vaccine that protects mice against SARSCoV2 & other coronaviruses is under development at Univ of N. Carolina Chapel Hill. The vax also triggered the animals' immune systems to fight off a dangerous variant https://t.co/KlCxWJc5Y5 pic.twitter.com/fQQQ9u0q4D

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 23, 2021

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Spread of the #delta variant is exposing poorly vaccinated regions to renewed danger. The highly transmissible variant is taxing hospitals in a rural poorly vaccinated part of Missouri. Cases & hospitalizations also on the rise in Arkansas, Nevada & Utah https://t.co/q8NITX8y12

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) June 24, 2021

As the U.S. emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and resistance among many people to get vaccinated. https://t.co/kIjawJUluC

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 23, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday / Thursday, June 23-24Post + Comments (47)

On The Road – arrieve – The Galapagos, part 2

by WaterGirl| June 24, 20215:00 am| 4 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

arrieve

Galapagos

Sunrise off Española, and the crew getting the zodiacs ready for the days excursions.

There are only two seasons in the Galapagos, the wet season and the garua, or misty season. We were there during at the end of the garua. The mist burned off as the day got warmer, but by the end of the day it was sitting overhead like a sun hat, with a ribbon of clear blue sky circling the horizon.

On The Road – arrieve – The Galapagos, part 2Post + Comments (4)

Late Night: Former NRA President Tricked Into Speaking At Fake High School Graduation

by WaterGirl| June 23, 202111:50 pm| 26 Comments

This post is in: Gun nuts, gun safety, Open Threads

Kattails just sent me this, and wondered whether the release of this video might have been timed to correspond with Biden’s speech today. Interesting thought! It was certainly timed to coincide with the graduation ceremonies that more than 3,000 class of 2021 graduates will not be able to attend because they died from gun violence.

Well done, Parkland dad. I am sorry for your loss, but you are not letting them forget.

The Former NRA President Was Tricked Into Speaking At A Fake High School Graduation

⁦@ChangeTheRef⁩ kicking ass https://t.co/Dd7cpKEsZt

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) June 23, 2021

Former NRA President duped by Parkland parents into giving fake graduation speech to empty chairs. He thought this was the rehearsal, but a simple Google search would have told him the high school doesn’t even exist. pic.twitter.com/RLZns6YCIB

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) June 23, 2021

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A Former NRA President Was Tricked Into Speaking At A Fake High School Graduation

Change the Ref, an organization founded by Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin “Guac” was killed in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, held a fake high school graduation for what they call “The Lost Class” of students.

They invited Keene and John Lott, an author and gun rights activist, to give remarks to a high school graduating class and filmed what they were told was a rehearsal in a stadium of empty chairs.

“Ironically, had the men conducted a proper background check on the school, they would have seen that the school is fake,” a Change the Ref spokesperson said in a press release.

…

After filming, Keene and Lott were told the graduation was canceled and were not informed before the videos were released on Wednesday that the event was fake.

“You’re telling me the whole thing was a setup?” said Lott, when he responded to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment. “No, I didn’t know that.”

The stunt was designed to highlight how powerful gun advocates speak. “These two guys are part of the problem,” Manuel Oliver told BuzzFeed News. “We need to call them out, we need to show everyone — this is how they process the logic behind the gun industry.”

“We need to show we’re brave and we’re not afraid of these guys,” Oliver said. “We’ve already felt the worst possible situation. There’s no threat that can make me feel different.”

In videos released on Wednesday, Lott and Keene’s graduation speeches — in which they call for gun rights protections and talk about James Madison, the Founding Father who proposed the Second Amendment — are interspersed with audio from 911 calls about school shootings and the sound of gunfire.

Read the whole thing. And watch the video.

One of David Hogg’s tweets from yesterday said this:

One of the best ways to make sure young people don’t vote is to make it practically impossible for the elected officials (we helped elected) to do their job and pass legislation that the majority of Americans support.

We need to abolish the filibuster.

You know that is all part of the Republican plan. Bastards.

Late Night: Former NRA President Tricked Into Speaking At Fake High School GraduationPost + Comments (26)

Let’s Talk Music: The Number Ones

by WaterGirl| June 23, 202110:07 pm| 101 Comments

This post is in: Music, Open Threads

Let’s talk music. I have had this site open in a tab for over a month: The Number Ones

It’s been so long that I don’t even recall who first posted the link, but I do recall some good-natured cursing at the person who did, by people who had gone down the rabbit hole.

Once this post goes up, I’ll add it to the Featuring menu in the sidebar so the conversation can continue any time you want to talk music overnight.

edit: h/t Nicole!

Let’s Talk Music: The Number OnesPost + Comments (101)

On The Road – randy khan – Springtime in Paris – Floating along the Seine

by WaterGirl| June 23, 202110:00 pm| 14 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, On The Road After Dark, Parks After Dark, Photo Blogging

randy khan

While a lot of the really touristy things in Paris are entirely skippable, here are some that you really should do. One of them is taking a boat ride on the Seine. It’s a great way to get off your feet for a while, and it also gives you a different perspective on the city. There are boats that just do a circuit from roughly the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame and back, and there also are boats where you sit down for lunch or dinner; we’ve done both. These photos are from a dinner cruise, arranged by our Parisian friend, as we never would have thought of it ourselves.

Paris, FranceJune 2, 2013

Here’s the entrance to the boat slip. You take steps down the wall that surrounds the river. (They’re pretty tall – the river is a good 15 feet or more below street level, as you’ll see from later photos.)

On The Road – randy khan – Springtime in Paris – Floating along the SeinePost + Comments (14)

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Usually wrong but never in doubt

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

There will be lawyers.

This fight is for everything.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

People are complicated. Love is not.

They are all Michael Cohen now.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

False Scribes! False Scribes!

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

This blog will pay for itself.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Let there be snark.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Keep Working

Thursday Football (Soccer) Open Thread: Euro 2020 / Copa America

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday / Thursday, June 23-24

On The Road – arrieve – The Galapagos, part 2

arrieve

Late Night: Former NRA President Tricked Into Speaking At Fake High School Graduation

A Former NRA President Was Tricked Into Speaking At A Fake High School Graduation

Let’s Talk Music: The Number Ones

On The Road – randy khan – Springtime in Paris – Floating along the Seine

randy khan