July 24, 2021

Kanye Arrives Nearly Two Hours Late for 'Donda' Listening Party, Then Says Nothing

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kanye-arrives-nearly-two-hours-late-for-donda-listening-party-then-says-nothing



More than 40,000 people piled into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday night to see Kanye West drop his 10th studio album. After waiting for nearly two hours after the scheduled start time, Kanye finally appeared on the field—then said absolutely nothing as Donda played extremely loudly over the stadium’s speakers for 48 minutes. According to USA Today, Kanye “sometimes paced in a circle, sometimes trotted a few steps,” though The Wall Street Journal noted a few more actions: “For much of the night, Mr. West remained relatively still atop a white tarp in the venue, though he also kneeled at times and danced at others.”

Smoke machines were pumping out a haze during the event, leaving West difficult to make out from the nosebleed seats. Some fans ridiculed a snack menu spotted at the stadium that listed sweet and salty kettle corn for $35, kosher beef franks for $40, and chicken tenders for $50. Donda is expected to be released at some point during Friday.



https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/07/22/kanye-west-debuts-donda-west-album-atlanta-listening-party/8062969002/

July 24, 2021

Footballer-Turned-GOP Hopeful Herschel Walker Threatened Ex-Wife, Inflated Wealth: Docs

https://www.thedailybeast.com/herschel-walker-threatened-ex-wife-inflated-wealth-docs-show



Former NFL star and potential Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker has made a name for himself in conservative media circles, but that hasn’t obscured a checkered past. The Associated Press dug into records tied to Walker’s business dealings and divorce, finding allegations that he threatened his ex-wife’s life, inflated his wealth, and had unpredictable behavior. Walker has long noted his diagnosis of dissociative personality disorder, with a 2008 book noting how the disorder left him with violent feelings. Despite claiming he sought professional help, ex-wife Cindy Grossman filed a protective order in late 2005, claiming he was violent toward her.

Walker has also exaggerated his business dealings, claiming to have hired hundreds of employees for his company despite filing an application for a $182,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan that listed the number as eight. Business associates also noted that, despite Walker’s claims, he does not own a chicken processing plant. Walker did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment.



https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-sports-nfl-college-football-coronavirus-pandemic-5e2875eec11e93f9a3bf1fc859137ff8

July 24, 2021

Discover Sweden: Seven summer towns off the beaten track

With long summer nights and warmer weather, it's the perfect time to explore everything Sweden has to offer.

https://www.thelocal.se/20210723/discover-sweden-seven-summer-towns-off-the-beaten-track/



1. Tällberg, Dalarna

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQDRt7CjIx-/





Why go there? Tällberg is a little village made up of old, red Swedish wooden buildings nestled on the coast of lake Siljan. There are beautiful views of the enormous lake and classic Swedish architecture in a sleepy part of central Sweden.

How to get there: It is 270 kilometres from Stockholm, and travelling by car or train takes roughly the same amount of time, just under three hours. Take the train from Stockholm Central station to Mora, and get off at Tällberg station.


2. Karlshamn, Blekinge

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQdgcv0IZe0/



Why go there? At the southern end of Sweden you’ll find Karlshamn, a cosy town next to Sweden’s most southerly archipelago.

Explore the fortress island, Kastellet (meaning the Citadel), which is just outside of the town. Built in the 17th century, most of the fortification is still intact. Karlshamn is also an excellent destination for fishing enthusiasts, with lots of people travelling to fish in Mörrumsån which is well-known for its salmon and sea trout. The largest safari park in the Nordic is also situated in Karlshamn. Eriksberg Vilt & Natur is one of Europe’s largest game reserves and you can see animals like wild boar, European bison and deer.

How to get there: If travelling from Malmö, you can take the Öresundståg, which is a direct train and takes about two hours. Otherwise the drive is about 150 kilometres. From Stockholm take the train down to Hässleholm and switch to the Öresundståg. Or, take the train down to Alvesta station and switch to bus 93941 or 93943, which will get you into Karlshamn Väst in one-and-a-half hour. Travel to Kastellet by boat, which leaves from the guest harbour in the town centre several times a day. Check time tables here. Tickets cost 50 kronor for adults and 30 kronor for children.

3. Hjo, Västra Götaland

https://www.instagram.com/p/B00j5ariDvG/



Why go there? Situated on Sweden’s second largest lake, Vättern, this town offers beautiful views over the water, and traditional wooden houses. Take a stroll through the town to admire the architecture or bike around the Hjoåns Valley Nature Reserve. Hjo is one of three towns in Sweden that make up the Tre Trästäder (three timbered towns) network. In 1990 it received the Europa Nostra medal of honour for its preservation of timber houses.

Interesting fact: Monks used to use the path alongside the Hjoån to travel to their monastery in Varnhem. According to local legend, a monk actually named the town. Having arrived after a stormy voyage across the Lake Vättern he exclaimed “Hic Jacet Otium” (here lies the tranquility). The initial letters of the Latin words formed the name H-J-O.

How to get there: It takes just under four hours to drive the 330 kilometres from Stockholm to Hjo. Alternatively, take a train from Stockholm to Skövde Central, and from there jump on the 402 bus to Hjo.

4. Umeå, Västerbotten

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP_D-kBJ6gy/



Why go there? With summer days that never end, this town in Eastern Sweden offers plenty of activities, from kayaking and white-water rafting. You can visit Europe’s first elk farm, Älgens Hus, which also offers paintballing, kayaking and quad bike guides during the summer. At Umedalens Skulpturpark you can see sculptures by Tony Cragg, Anish Kapoor, and many more for free. The famous cheese Västerbottensost is also made in Umeå. If you feel like exploring outside the city, take a trip to the island Norrbyskär, a former steam-powered saw mill plant, which was the largest of its kind in Europe at the time. Have a wander around the island admiring the old buildings, and visit the museum to learn more about the history of the place.

How to get there: Direct trains from Stockholm to Umeå take between six to ten hours. Flights between the two cities take an hour. To get to Norrbyskär, take one of the hourly buses, either 11 or 126 from Umeå Vasaplan to Hörnefors Centrum. From there take the ferry (which runs several times a day) to the island. The ferry only takes cash, a return ticket for an adult is 67 kronor and 40 kronor for children. You can find the ferry summer timetable here.

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July 23, 2021

Priti Patel's position "untenable" following Police Federation vote of no confidence

https://labour.org.uk/press/priti-patels-position-untenable-following-police-federation-vote-of-no-confidence-nick-thomas-symonds/

Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, has today written to the Home Secretary saying that her position is “untenable” following a vote of no confidence from the Police Federation, and demanded action on police pay while setting out key areas in which Priti Patel has failed the police. The letter follows the Police Federation of England and Wales today, 22 July, declaring ‘no confidence’ in the Home Secretary due to her failure to allow the Police Remuneration Review Body to consider awarding a pay increase to Police Officers.

In his letter, the Shadow Home Secretary states “it is little wonder that policing representatives have lost faith in you as Home Secretary and the process you have overseen with the Police Remuneration Review Body….I know [police representatives] are deeply hurt by the final offer.” He goes on to say that the Home Secretary’s position is “untenable” following a range of key failings of frontline officers and that urgent action is required which must include “opening negotiations on a fair police pay rise.”

This is not the first time that the police have been let down by this Home Secretary. During the early stages of the vaccine rollout, the Home Secretary publicly stated that police officers should be prioritised for receiving the vaccine. When it was revealed that age and vulnerability, and not profession, would be prioritised for vaccine roll-out, the Police Federation stated that they felt a “deep sense of betrayal”.

In recent weeks, the Home Secretary has been accused of misleading the House of Commons when she said that she had consulted the Police Federation in the work of developing the Clauses relating to Public Order in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Yet the Police Federation have confirmed that they had never provided either a written submission or been consulted upon the issues of protest. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill also legislates for the creation of a Police Covenant. Labour has long argued that it is inappropriate for a Government Minister to Chair the Police Covenant. Mr Thomas-Symonds MP, in his letter, outlines that “the constitution of the Police Covenant must change and an independent Chair be appointed.”

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July 23, 2021

Why is the Northern Ireland protocol still an issue? Actions have consequences

Someone tell Boris Johnson: you can’t bake your ‘oven-ready deal’ and then remove a key ingredient (even if it’s a sausage)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/23/northern-ireland-protocol-boris-johnson-oven-ready-deal-sausage



Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. The Northern Ireland protocol is a stupid answer: it imposes a complex bureaucracy on the movement of ordinary goods across the Irish Sea. But it is the only possible response to a problem created by Boris Johnson. The reason it keeps coming around again and again, like a ghoul on a ghost train, is that it requires Johnson and his government to do something that goes against the grain of the whole Brexit project: to acknowledge that choices have costs.

There used to be a gameshow on American radio and TV called Truth or Consequences. It was so popular that a whole city in New Mexico is named after it. It’s where we live now. In each episode, the contestant was asked a deliberately daft question – and when they failed to answer it, they had to perform a zany or embarrassing stunt.

We’ve reached that point in the Brexit show. The question is: why did you divide one part of the UK from the rest, creating a chimerical country in which most of the body is outside the EU’s single market while one foot is still inside? Since it is unanswerable, we get the embarrassing stunt: the demand that the EU should tear up a crucial part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement – or else.

Or else what? Britain will unilaterally suspend the operation of the protocol, force-feed the people of Northern Ireland with good English sausage, trigger retaliatory trade sanctions from the EU, destroy Britain’s reputation as a trustworthy partner for any sane country and deeply antagonise the Biden administration in Washington with whom it is hoping to do a landmark trade deal. Good luck with all that.

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July 22, 2021

The Lambda variant: is it more infectious, and can it escape vaccines? A virologist explains

https://theconversation.com/the-lambda-variant-is-it-more-infectious-and-can-it-escape-vaccines-a-virologist-explains-164156

The Lambda coronavirus variant was first reported in Peru in December 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It then spread to multiple countries in South America, where it currently accounts for over 20% of detected variants. One case of Lambda was recorded in hotel quarantine in New South Wales in April. Lambda has now been detected in more than 20 countries around the globe. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has designated Lambda a “variant under monitoring”, and Public Health England regards it as a “variant under investigation”. In June this year, the WHO designated it a “variant of interest”. This is due to mutations thought to affect the virus’ characteristics, such as how easily it’s transmitted. Though it’s not yet concerning enough for the WHO to deem it a “variant of concern”, such as Alpha or Delta. Epidemiological evidence is still mounting as to the exact threat Lamda poses. So, at this stage more research is required to say for certain how its mutations impact transmission, its ability to evade protection from vaccines, and the severity of disease. Preliminary evidence suggests Lambda has an easier time infecting our cells and is a bit better at dodging our immune systems. But vaccines should still do a good job against it.

https://twitter.com/dragonsaerie/status/1415659251725324288
Is Lambda more infectious? And can it escape vaccines?

Mutations affecting the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus can increase infectivity, which is the ability of the virus to infect cells. What’s more, as many of the coronavirus vaccines currently available or in development are based on the spike protein, changes to the spike protein in new variants can impact vaccine effectiveness. Lambda contains multiple mutations to the spike protein. One mutation (F490S) has already been associated with reduced susceptibility to antibodies generated in patients who had recovered from COVID. This means antibodies generated from being infected with the original Wuhan strain of COVID aren’t quite as effective at neutralising Lambda. Another Lambda mutation (L452Q) is at the same position in the spike protein as a previously studied mutation found in the Delta variant (L452R). This mutation in Delta not only increases the ability of the virus to infect cells, but also promotes immune escape meaning the antibodies vaccines generate are less likely to recognise it. Both mutations F490S and L452Q are in the “receptor binding domain”, which is the part of the spike protein that attaches to our cells. Preliminary data on the Lambda spike protein suggests it has increased infectivity, meaning it’s more easily able to infect cells than the original Wuhan virus and the Alpha and Gamma variants.

https://twitter.com/NatGeoMag/status/1415702766727614464
These early studies also suggest antibodies generated in people receiving the CoronaVac vaccine (developed by Chinese biotech Sinovac) were less potent at neutralising the spike protein of Lambda than they were the Wuhan, Alpha or Gamma variants. It’s worth noting infectivity is not the same as being more infectious between people. There’s not enough evidence yet that Lambda is definitely more infectious, but the mutations it has suggest it’s possible. A separate small study, also yet to be reviewed by the scientific community, suggests the L452Q mutation in the Lambda spike protein is responsible for its increased ability to infect cells. Like the L452R mutation in the Delta variant, this study suggests the L452Q mutation means Lambda may bind more easily to the “ACE2 receptor”, which is the gateway for SARS-CoV-2 to enter our cells. This preliminary study suggests Lambda’s spike protein mutations reduce the ability of antibodies generated by both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines to neutralise the virus. Also, one mutation was shown to resist neutralisation by antibodies from antibody therapy to some extent. However, these reductions were moderate. Also, neutralising antibodies are only one part of a protective immune response elicited by vaccination. Therefore, these studies conclude currently approved vaccines and antibody therapies can still protect against disease caused by Lambda.

Is it more severe?

A risk assessment released by Public Health England in July concedes there’s not yet enough information on Lambda to know whether infection increases the risk of severe disease. The risk assessment also recommends ongoing surveillance in countries where both Lambda and Delta are present be implemented as a priority. The aim would be to find out whether Lambda is capable of out-competing Delta. With ongoing high levels of transmission of the coronavirus, there’s a continued risk of new variants emerging. The Lambda variant again highlights the risk of these mutations increasing the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells or disrupt existing vaccines and antibody drugs. The WHO will continue to study Lambda to determine whether it has the potential to become an emerging risk to global public health and a variant of concern.

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July 22, 2021

China rejects WHO push for more investigation into covid origins in Wuhan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/22/china-covid-who-wuhan/



China said it will not accept the World Health Organization’s suggested plan for a second phase of investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, pointing to obstacles ahead for international efforts to determine the source of the pandemic. At a news conference on Thursday, Zeng Yixin, deputy head of China’s National Health Commission, fired back against WHO criticism of China’s level of cooperation, and said the U.N. agency’s proposed work plan did not respect science. “To be honest, when I first saw the WHO’s second-phase traceability plan, I was very surprised,” he said. “Because in this plan, the hypothesis of ‘China’s violation of laboratory procedures causing virus leakage’ is one of the research priorities. “From this point, I can feel the disrespect for common sense and the arrogant attitude toward science revealed in this plan.” He said it was “impossible” for China to accept the proposal.

The joint WHO-China report on the coronavirus origins released in March had said the pandemic probably began naturally and called the possibility of a lab leak at the origin “extremely unlikely.” That conclusion was criticized by many scientists as preliminary, including by WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Last week, Tedros announced a five-part plan for follow-up research on the origins of the coronavirus. It called for deeper study in geographical areas with early outbreaks, more research of animal markets in Wuhan, and audits of research labs near where the first cases emerged. Tedros also held a news conference in which he criticized China’s cooperation, saying the country’s government did not share “raw data” with the WHO team that visited Wuhan earlier this year to investigate the source of the initial outbreak.

At the Thursday news conference, Liang Wannian, head of the Chinese experts in the WHO-China team, acknowledged certain patient data was not supplied to the foreign experts, citing China’s patient privacy regulations. “Just to protect the privacy of patients, we did not agree to provide original data, nor did we allow them to copy it or take photos,” Liang said. “At that time, the international experts also fully understood this. They believed that this was an international practice, not only in China.” The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The WHO-China origin-tracing efforts have come under criticism from scientists for being slow, incomplete and politicized, with holes and inaccuracies in the limited data.

The WHO said last week it would be updating the joint report to fix “editing errors” after The Washington Post reported on discrepancies in the report’s profiles of early patients. A spokesman said the WHO could not resolve a discrepancy in the reported location of the first official case in Wuhan — a potentially significant detail, as it would determine whether all the earliest official cases were located near the Huanan seafood market or not. In May, President Biden called for further investigation into the possibility of a lab leak, ordering U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble their efforts” to determine the coronavirus origin over the next 90 days. Yuan Zhiming, a researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the main lab under scrutiny, also spoke at Thursday’s news conference. He said the virus was of natural origin, calling it the “consensus in the academic community.”

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July 22, 2021

Biden: 'Nothing at all will get done' if filibuster abolished

(video included at the link)

The president said that ending the filibuster will give Republicans an excuse to do nothing.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/21/biden-nothing-done-filibuster-abolished-500502

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that scrapping the filibuster would “throw the entire Congress into chaos” and that “nothing at all will get done.” During a CNN town hall in Cincinnati, the president was repeatedly pressed on his stance on the legislative filibuster, which establishes a 60-vote threshold to move most bills through the Senate. Biden deflected when an audience member asked him if abolishing the filibuster is the logical next step to address the attack on voting rights — what Biden has called the “most significant threat to our democracy since the Civil War.”

Biden said the “abuse of the filibuster is pretty overwhelming,” before talking about his decades in the Senate, when members had to “hold the floor.” The president stuck to his long-standing position and said he supports filibuster reform that would return to those rules, requiring those who oppose a bill to remain physically on the Senate floor in order to block it. When pressed by CNN’s Don Lemon on why the filibuster is worth protecting, Biden said keeping the filibuster is not more important than protecting voting rights. He said that he believes his administration and Congress can pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act without axing the Senate rule — one Biden has agreed, as former President Barack Obama put it, is a “relic of the Jim Crow era.”

He said abolishing the rule would give Republicans in Congress an excuse to spend time debating the filibuster instead of passing his legislative agenda. “There’s no reason to protect it other than you're going to throw the entire Congress into chaos and nothing will get done. Nothing at all will get done. And there’s a lot at stake. The most important one is the right to vote,” Biden said. “Wouldn’t my friends on the other side love to have a debate about the filibuster instead of passing the recovery act?”

In recent months, more of the Senate's 50 Democrats have expressed a willingness to abolish or modify the filibuster, as activists have continued to put pressure on the White House to budge. The president’s reluctance to shift has put him at odds with civil rights leaders, labor and social justice advocates, as well as a growing number of Democrats.

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July 22, 2021

U.S. women's national team trounced by Sweden, 3-0, in Olympic stunner

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/21/us-womens-national-team-sweden-olympics/



TOKYO — It was all so unfamiliar and unsettling. An ocean of empty white seats greeted the U.S. women’s national team as it marched into Tokyo Stadium on Wednesday. A relentless bunch of Swedes in those neon-yellow kits buzzed around the field and menaced household stars. One of the most dominant sporting forces on Earth had rare access to vengeance, and instead it tumbled into distress.

The United States had not lost in 44 matches over 2½ years, a run of dominance that included a World Cup and survived 15 months of a global pandemic. The opening game of the Tokyo Olympics presented the team with a game it wanted more than most. The Swedes had knocked the Americans out of the previous Olympics, and over the past five years their rivalry had only deepened.

Rather than getting revenge against Sweden, the United States saw its unbeaten streak end as it suffered a 3-0 loss, stunning not for the result but for the thoroughness. In U.S. Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s major tournament debut, Sweden left no doubt about which team deserved to win. The Swedes were faster, stronger and better. Rather than validating itself as the favorite, the U.S. squad suffered an early disruption of its goal to become the first reigning World Cup champion to win Olympic gold medal.

“We got our asses kicked,” Megan Rapinoe said. “Didn’t we?”

They sure did. Sweden, which played the Americans to a draw in an April friendly, thoroughly dominated in a manner foreign to the U.S. squad and its legions of fans, many of whom woke up in the wee hours to watch back home. Sweden outshot the Americans, 17-13, a margin that at one point stood 9-2. It gained nine corners compared with the Americans’ three. Sweden pressured, sprinted past and manhandled the Americans, many of whom spent chunks of the evening picking themselves off the turf.

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July 21, 2021

It's Past Time the Biden Administration Ended Segregation in This Suburb

The last president warned housewives “they” were coming for your homes. This president sounds much better, but he hasn’t done much so far in “hyper-segregated” Westchester County.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/its-past-time-the-biden-administration-ended-segregation-in-new-yorks-westchester-county



All through last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump tried to scare people into voting for him by citing a 2009 federal court order designed to begin desegregating Westchester County, a wealthy suburb of New York City that is home to nearly a million people and that is filled with towns and villages that are overwhelmingly white. In dog-whistle speeches, Trump again and again warned that white suburbs would be destroyed unless he was given a second term, and that Democrats “want to abolish our beautiful and successful suburbs” so “your home will go down in value and crime rates will rapidly rise” and “suburbia will no longer be as we know it.” It all boiled down to a warning to white suburban housewives: Run for your lives.

But while Trump’s racist scaremongering was easy to identify and condemn, the decade-long lawlessness of the respectable in failing to enforce a Westchester, New York, court order and thus allow the county to remain grotesquely segregated has been more insidious and resilient. This is not about the bad guys you expect to be bad guys: those who foment racial animosity. It is about the structural basis of segregation in deep-blue Westchester, and the loss of a golden opportunity to tackle it caused by the people and institutions who were charged with just that. That court order was indeed unusually promising. As eight fair housing and civil rights organizations told the presiding judge in 2016, the order had “provided more opportunity to effect significant structural change in hyper-segregated residential housing patterns than any other legal proceeding in the last 25 years.”

But over the course of nearly 12 years, from 2009 to the present, the central provisions of the order were not enforced, and the fundamental goal of the order was not achieved. Despite massive evidence of these facts, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has joined Westchester in trying to close out the case. On July 8th, HUD falsely reiterated to the court that Westchester had substantially complied with the fair housing decree. This falsehood was conveyed not by Trump’s Justice Department, well known for its assaults on minority rights, but by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, an office based in Manhattan that is as much a bastion of the Democratic, centrist establishment as there can be. On July 11th, Denise Cote, the federal judge overseeing the case, accepted the claim of substantial compliance without engaging in even a cursory examination of major areas of non-compliance. The judge’s order references, but does not address, either the issues that I raised in response to a court monitor’s January report, or the rebuttal to HUD that I presented in February.

I have been monitoring developments in the case closely for a very long time for a very specific reason. I run the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), a small not-for-profit based in New York City that brought the case that led to the 2009 court order. " target="_blank">Westchester County is home to 25 towns and villages with a Black population of less than 3 percent. (In neighbouring New York City, by contrast, the Black population is approximately 22 percent.) Despite its racial segregation, Westchester County at the time the case was brought was routinely collecting millions of federal grant dollars every year that it was eligible for only because it kept promising that it would affirmatively further fair housing—in other words, that it would identify and take steps to overcome barriers that keep Blacks and Latinos out of ultra-white municipalities. Judge Cote found as a matter of law in 2009 that Westchester had “utterly failed” to meet their fair housing obligations. She held that every certification that said or implied that it had done so was “false or fraudulent.”

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