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Post by neil on Sept 1, 2020 21:12:35 GMT -5
. . . . . .
BEAUTY and The Beast. The Greater Beast was in her and it slew her. I was the more blessed, and think no less of her for my escape.
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Post by neil on Sept 1, 2020 21:16:01 GMT -5
. . . . . .
The time of This Beast is soon. The knot will draw fast and hard and there will be no escaping. You may spend mercy on him, but he would not value it.
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Post by neil on Sept 2, 2020 9:30:05 GMT -5
. . . . . .critter Werkz LLC ©®ᵝ™ⁱ 2020 September 2, 2020 - 10:05 AM01 - select and store image [all stages stored as PNG graphics], this is Master A 02 - run through deepdreamgenerator.com/ [remember settings if it matters] 03 - save graphic as Master B 04 - produce and save a copy stripped to 256 colors 05 - strip sections from the 256 color image and add layer to the Master image which becomes Master C 06 - produce and save a copy stripped to 16 colors 07 - strip sections from the 16 color image and add layer to the Master image which becomes Master D 08 - add halftone to Master C to produce Master E 09 - add outline frame with color picked from Master E, to produce Master F [for f****n' finished] 10 - set as monitor background for grins and proceed to make breakfast to avoid passing out
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Post by neil on Sept 2, 2020 16:37:18 GMT -5
. . . . . .
77s Best Rock 'n' Roll Band No period necessary Because I should know And I see no reason To dissemble Jussayin
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Post by neil on Sept 3, 2020 12:40:13 GMT -5
. . . . . .
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Post by neil on Sept 3, 2020 17:17:04 GMT -5
. . . . . .
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Post by neil on Sept 4, 2020 1:34:56 GMT -5
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Post by neil on Sept 4, 2020 12:26:03 GMT -5
Trebuchet MS. . . . . . .
PROJECT POWER ~ I wasted 20 minutes on this because I'm a Jamie Foxx kinda guy. Before I turned it off I had about 15 minutes of fun thinking about how much better COLLATERAL(which I do like) would have been if Jamie Foxx had been Vincent, and Tom Cruise had been Max. Wow. Of course you can do that with the right CGI skill set and cubic money. Now that I think of it, the main thing that kept PROJECT POWER from working for me was the cultural (mis)appropriation of writer Mattson Tomlin. Tomlin is from Romania, one of those obscure nether regions famous for its 19th century culture and melanin challenged populace. This junk is the current iteration of that time honored foible - passing off the absurdly irreconcilable because you don't think the target audience knows or cares. Classics of the genre include Sam Jaffee as Gunga Din and Al Jolson as a human being. Get that trash off my lawn. Dominique Fishback was the class of the project based on the little that I saw.
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Post by neil on Sept 4, 2020 12:54:41 GMT -5
. . . . . .
QED - Top 10 in the U.S. on Netflix today: Cobra Kai | The Smurfs | love, guaranteed | Sister Sister | Due Date | Chef's Table: BBQ | The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! | The Frozen Ground |Cocomelon. IF the lights are on but nobody is home, THEN the best thing to do is turn off the lights*. If the target audience is(are for the UK, properly) developmentally challenged, what's a sister/brother/mother/shucker/nucker to do? Back to the future is an appealing option to me. These people can vote?! Mercy. *This is not a metaphor. The best thing that could possibly happen to American film media would be an inability to produce any film content for, say, five years. Give things a chance to shake out. As it is, all the scum rises to the top.
Rumor Central: Daniel Craig is bankrolling a stealth production company currently eyeing edgy properties from such disparate sources as David Peace, Joe M. McDermott, Laura Sims, Walter Mosley, Ramón Díaz Eterovic, David James Keaton, Dorthe Nors, Misha Hoekstra, and Haruki Murakami. Craig is reportedly attempting to buy back his soul.
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Post by neil on Sept 5, 2020 10:08:09 GMT -5
. . . . . . RELATED - the 77s - 2001
[Intro] Back, back, back
[Verse 1] Every minute Angels come Gonna take away Another one I love Is someone in a hurry To get it all done? Well, put on your wings Here come another one, look out
[Verse 2] Nothing left to do here Or talk about Board up the windows We're gonna head on out Now we know the reason For the undertow So we don't forget How deep the water goes, yeah
[Chorus 1] If you let me know What I can do I will surely try to help you We are related We cannot keep the box that we came in Gotta give it up Yep
[Scratching Solo]
[Verse 3] Angel come down Stretch my skin Inside out Upside-down and in Gonna bind my little hands With my own deceit Spin me around Until my soul-ends meet, yeah
[Chorus 2] If you let me know What I can do I will surely try and help you We are related We'll never need the roses once they're faded Cannot keep the box that we came in
[Chorus 1] If you let me know What I can do I will surely try and help you (Try to) We are related We cannot keep the box that we came in Gotta give it up, hey ya
[Sample] Hahahahaha! You mean to say that's the best you can do? Almost anybody can do better than that!
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus 3] If you let me know We are related We cannot keep the box that we came in (Let me know, and I will surely try to) I will surely try to help you We are related (We are related) We cannot keep the box that we came in If you let me know (Let me know, and I will surely try to) What I can do I'm gon' surely try to help you We are related We cannot keep the box that we came in (We are related) We gotta give it up, yeah
[Chorus 1] If you let me know What I can do I will surely try to help you We are related We cannot keep the box that we came in Gotta give it up Give it up, let it go, let it go, give it up No, no, whoa, oh
[Sample] Better than that!
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Post by neil on Sept 6, 2020 8:31:35 GMT -5
. . . . . .. .
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Post by neil on Sept 6, 2020 18:22:46 GMT -5
. . . . . .
SELF PORTRAIT AS STEFANO TAMBURINI'S "SNAKE AGENT"
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Post by neil on Sept 6, 2020 19:13:37 GMT -5
. . . . . . .www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/02/908874086/states-report-coronavirus-cases-linked-to-sturgis-s-d-motorcycle-rallyStates Report Coronavirus Cases Linked To Sturgis, S.D., Motorcycle Rally
September 2, 20203:58 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered
Will Stone
More than two weeks after nearly half a million bikers flocked to South Dakota, the tally of coronavirus infections traced back to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has surpassed 260, an estimate that is growing steadily as more states report cases and at least one death.
At least 12 states have turned up cases linked to the 10-day event.
The greatest share of cases so far have emerged in the rally's home state, South Dakota, which has registered more than 100 cases so far.
A Minnesota man in his 60s who went to the rally was later hospitalized for COVID-19 and died earlier this week, said Kris Ehresmann, head of infectious disease for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Minnesota has counted more than 45 cases tied to the rally, and that only includes people who got tested and then notified state health departments about their possible exposure at Sturgis.
"It's definitely frustrating because we certainly aren't surprised to see cases," said Ehresmann.
Public health experts say the number of cases linked to the event will probably never be clear.
During the event, wearing masks was not the norm among rallygoers and some events were crowded, with little social distancing, according to some reports.
"I think it's still a little early to really know how this is going to play out," says Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Plescia said many health departments are already struggling with contact tracing within their own state.
"Then you bring in somebody who may have had contacts in one state and then potentially on their way back to their state of residence," he said. "It's very, very challenging, this intrastate travel issue."
Attendees had visited 61% of all counties in the U.S., according to one analysis.
The event attracted national media attention and became a flashpoint in pandemic politics.
South Dakota's Republican governor, Kristi Noem – a strong ally of President Trump — encouraged people to attend the rally, despite warnings it could seed outbreaks in her state and across the country.
Noem has resisted pandemic precautions like requiring people to wear masks while in public or limiting large gatherings. In the last few weeks, South and North Dakota have emerged as coronavirus hot spots with the highest rates of new cases per capita in the country.
But so far residents of Sturgis — a city with a population of about 7,000 — appear to have weathered the rally without any major outbreaks. The city held free testing after the rally and of the 650 people who participated, only 26 cases turned up positive.
Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie said that a 4% positivity rate falls within the range that state health officials would expect to find when testing asymptomatic individuals – even before the rally.
"I think it shows that a lot of the mitigation efforts that we did proved to be very successful," said Ainslie.
Many Sturgis residents left town during the rally and those who stayed were encouraged not to have much contact with visitors and to take precautions when they did, but Ainslie also believes that visitors did a better job socially distancing than some of the pictures and stories coming out of the event suggested.
"When people were in the city, the vast majority of the visitors were very respectful," said Ainslie who makes a distinction between how people behaved within the city and outside city limits at large venues and campgrounds.
"A lot of times, there were pictures and images from those venues that were being shown and ... I would agree that a lot of that was not really being respectful of CDC guidelines." they. think. care. is. political.13.30-5
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Post by neil on Sept 7, 2020 6:28:27 GMT -5
. . . . .
color push + the kitchen sink
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Post by neil on Sept 7, 2020 6:44:25 GMT -5
. . . . .
originated as a photograph by Alexey Vasiliev @ pexels.com royalty free images, then chopped, channeled, and otherwise abused
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Post by neil on Sept 8, 2020 11:11:37 GMT -5
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Post by neil on Sept 9, 2020 11:29:08 GMT -5
. . . . . .www.thethirdwayofevolution.com/
The commonly accepted alternative is Neo-Darwinism, which is clearly naturalistic science but ignores much contemporary molecular evidence and invokes a set of unsupported assumptions about the accidental nature of hereditary variation. Neo-Darwinism ignores important rapid evolutionary processes such as symbiogenesis, horizontal DNA transfer, action of mobile DNA and epigenetic modifications. Moreover, some Neo-Darwinists have elevated Natural Selection into a unique creative force that solves all the difficult evolutionary problems without a real empirical basis. Many scientists today see the need for a deeper and more complete exploration of all aspects of the evolutionary process. 17.30-5
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Post by neil on Sept 10, 2020 6:45:54 GMT -5
Tom Burgis is a correspondent for FINANCIAL TIMES. THE LOOTING MACHINE was published in 2015. Burgis' most recent book, KLEPTOPIA, expands on its themes.
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Post by neil on Sept 10, 2020 15:46:35 GMT -5
. . . . . .
Photograph: Francesca Volpi - Honduras
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Post by neil on Sept 10, 2020 17:31:25 GMT -5
. . . . .
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Post by neil on Sept 10, 2020 18:49:50 GMT -5
. . . . . .
Nigeria may be the largest source of African energy exports, but it generates only enough electricity to power one toaster for every forty-four of its own people.
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Post by neil on Sept 11, 2020 4:24:41 GMT -5
. . .
MEDGAR EVERS Head of the Mississippi NAACP Murdered by the State of Mississippi June 12 1963 aided by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
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Post by neil on Sept 11, 2020 4:54:06 GMT -5
. . . 23.30-5
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Post by neil on Sept 12, 2020 6:18:13 GMT -5
. . .
When Elephants Fight, the Grass Gets Trampled ~ African proverb
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Post by neil on Sept 12, 2020 7:35:48 GMT -5
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Post by neil on Sept 12, 2020 8:15:04 GMT -5
. . .
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Post by neil on Sept 12, 2020 20:47:41 GMT -5
. . .
In Angola the Cold War at times looked more like some ultraviolent version of Alice in Wonderland, with Cuban troops fighting to protect oil facilities run by an American company, the revenue from which sustained a Communist government whose rebel opponents enjoyed the support of Washington and its ally, apartheid South Africa.
Edward George "The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965–1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale" New York: Frank Cass, 2005
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Post by neil on Sept 12, 2020 20:58:40 GMT -5
. . .Global Witness campaigns to end environmental and human rights abuses driven by the exploitation of natural resources and corruption in the global political and economic system.www.globalwitness.org/en/about-us/ NATURAL RESOURCE GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE
Our independent, non-profit organization provides policy advice and advocacy infused with lessons learned in the field and with insights developed through rigorous research. We share our knowledge and experience freely with policy-makers, accountability actors, and the global campaign for improved international norms. We are particularly well-placed to convene reform-oriented dialogue and to engage in constructive policy advocacy.resourcegovernance.org/about-us/what-we-do28.30-5
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Post by neil on Sept 13, 2020 19:29:52 GMT -5
. . .
By the time George H. W. Bush became president on January 20, 1989, the economy was limping again. Federal debt stood at $2.8 trillion. The S&L crisis had escalated. Still, his financial policies remained in sync with those of the period’s most powerful bankers, notably Citicorp chairman John Reed, Chase chairman Willard Butcher, JPMorgan chief Dennis Weatherstone, and BankAmerica chairman Tom Clausen.
These bankers, in turn, continued to find in Bush and his core cabinet kindred deregulatory spirits. Though like Reagan, Bush rarely interacted directly with the Wall Street bankers, they did correspond liberally with Bush’s “people” before and during his presidency. By that point, the third world debt crisis had been simmering beneath various ineffective band-aids since 1982. Plus, the S&L industry was collapsing, the result of abject deregulation, an abundance of fraudulent real estate assets, and criminality. Into that cauldron of S&L and third world debt crises came the most critical demands for landscape changes in banking since the Great Depression.
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S BANKERS Nomi Prins 2014
Gran'pa, why are all these white people insane?
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Post by neil on Sept 14, 2020 8:31:43 GMT -5
. . . As Clinton talked up the benefits of NAFTA, Mexico was buckling under oppressive debt and a declining currency in a potential redux of the LDC debt crisis of the previous decade. After liberalization and NAFTA, the Mexican peso dove nearly 50 percent within six months, causing a vicious recession. Real income levels for many Mexican citizens and the newly emerging Mexican middle class got slammed as a result.
On December 2, 1994, Mexico’s finance minister, Jaime Serra Puche, met with US bankers at the New York Fed to assure them that his government would support the faltering peso. He promised that Mexico would restrict domestic credit and adopt austerity measures to protect the currency. But promises weren’t enough to spark a rise in the peso or economic stability in the country. Stanford-educated economist Guillermo Ortiz Martínez replaced him in a matter of days.
That same week, on December 7, 1994, after Bentsen resigned from his Treasury secretary post, Clinton announced that Rubin would replace him. A few weeks after the announcement, Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo devalued the peso. The devaluation unleashed a currency meltdown that rippled through Latin America. Worse for the bankers, the possibility of a default and a chain reaction of large potential bank losses loomed. They needed a bailout.
Clinton considered the Mexican financial crisis that struck between late 1994 and early 1995 “one of the biggest crises” of his first term. On the evening of January 10, 1995, after Rubin was sworn in, he met with Treasury official Larry Summers, Clinton, and his advisers to discuss it.
According to Rubin’s account of the evening, “Sitting on a sofa in the Oval Office during my first hour on the job, I was answering questions from the President that I had been asking others only a couple of weeks before. Larry had phoned me in December, while I was on vacation in the Virgin Islands, to bring me up to speed on the unfolding Mexican situation. I didn’t know much about Mexico’s economic problems, and I didn’t understand why a peso devaluation was urgent enough to interfere with fishing.”
Rubin must have come up to speed fairly quickly because Clinton recalled that Rubin was very concerned about a crisis. “If Mexico defaulted,” wrote Clinton in his memoirs, “the economic ‘meltdown,’ as Bob Rubin tried to avoid calling it, would accelerate . . . [and it] could have severe consequences for the United States . . . [and] a damaging impact on other countries, by shaking investors’ confidence in emerging markets in the rest of Latin America, Central Europe, Russia, South Africa, and other countries we were trying to help modernize and prosper.”
Rubin and Summers recommended asking Congress to approve $25 billion in loans to help Mexico pay its debts and bolster investors’ confidence in return for Mexico’s “commitment to financial reforms.” The figure was the largest US government–offered foreign aid since the Marshall Plan.
The Mexican Bailout
By January 30, 1995, Mexico’s reserves had shriveled to $2 billion, from $24.4 billion a year earlier. Rubin proclaimed, “Mexico has about forty-eight hours to live.” The next day, President Clinton invoked his emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to Mexico from the Treasury Department’s Exchange Stabilization Fund. It was just one part of the full bailout, but it was the part that Rubin could push and Clinton could approve immediately without going through Congress.
Heavy hitters like BankAmerica, Chase Manhattan, Chemical Banking, Citicorp, Goldman Sachs, and J. P. Morgan, who learned nothing from the first LDC debt crisis—except that the government would help them contain losses—accounted for nearly 74 percent of Latin American exposure, or $40.4 billion. The bailout saved them, and later enabled them to buy Mexican banks that were weakened as a result. A decade later, foreign banks, led by Citigroup in the United States, owned 74 percent of Mexican financial assets, more external ownership than in any other country.
The backlash against Rubin was immediate. Accusations that he would personally benefit from what became a $51 billion bailout package traversed Congress. Before a congressional panel on February 23, 1995, Rubin, who had made $26 million in his last year at Goldman Sachs, retorted, “What Goldman Sachs has to do with Mexico is of no interest to me.”9
But that wasn’t quite the truth. Rubin’s command of Goldman had coincided with its bulking up on Mexican deals. In his February 28, 1995, address to the House on the matter, Indiana Republican Dan Burton pointed out, “Goldman Sachs was the largest United States underwriter of Mexican bonds . . . [with] $5.17 billion in investments made in the Mexican markets, more than double . . . the next two highest companies.”
On March 9–10, 1995, the Senate Banking Committee held hearings on the administration’s use of funds to bail out Mexico and whether it caused the crisis or exacerbated it. Those investigations went nowhere. The committee acknowledged connections between the Treasury and Mexico, but it all floated away as hot air from a leadership claiming to have taken appropriate action. Rubin had a clear conflict of interest—but was never held accountable.
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S BANKERS Nomi Prins 2014
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