Odds and Ends — 30 August 2022
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:
The End of the Texas Bitcoin Mining Gold Rush
The new era for mining in the state might look more like a slog than a boom – but it could also be better for the electric grid.
India’s Economy Faces Resilience Test Amid Rising Interest Rates
We’re from the government, we’re here to help: FBI issues alert over cybercriminal exploits targeting DeFi
N.Y. Businesses Stuck With $7.7 Billion Covid Unemployment Debt
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
The growing evidence that Covid-19 is making us all sicker
Researchers found that rates of many conditions, such as heart failure and stroke, were substantially higher in people who had recovered from Covid than in similar people who had not been infected. A separate analysis of VA data, published in March, suggested that in the “post-acute phase” of the disease, people with Covid “exhibit increased risk and burden of diabetes”.
”What’s particularly alarming is that these are really life-long conditions,” says Dr Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA St Louis Health Care System and clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St Louis, who led both pieces of research.
A complex immunological landscape emerges in South Africa after Omicron BA.1/BA.2
Politics:
Trump’s Documents Already Examined by FBI
FBI agents have already finished their examination of possibly privileged documents seized in an Aug. 8 search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, according to a Justice Department court filing Monday that could undercut the former president’s efforts to have a special master appointed to review the files.
The ‘filter team’ used by the Justice Department to sort through the documents and weed out any material that should not be reviewed by criminal investigators has completed its review, the brief filed by Justice Department prosecutors says. The filing came in response to a ruling Saturday by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to hold a hearing this week on Trump’s motion seeking the appointment of a special master.
Rove Suggests Secret Service Informed FBI
I don’t often agree with Karl Rove, but on this point he may well be correct.
The US assesses Russia is now in possession of weapons-capable Iranian drones that they will likely deploy on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The Russians picked up the drones from an Iranian airfield earlier this month and transported them back to Russia in cargo planes in mid-August, the officials said.
Zelensky tells Russian forces to flee as Ukraine counteroffensive begins in Kherson. FWIW, Russian sources are already claiming that the Ukrainian offensive has failed.
Trump Bragged He Had ‘Intel’ on Macron’s Sex Life
On the FBI’s list of documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, item 1a is listed solely as ‘info re: President of France.’ For Trump, that has been a subject of intense — and tawdry — interest for years.
Specifically, Trump has bragged to some of his closest associates — both during and after his time in the White House — that he knew illicit details about the love life of French President Emmanuel Macron… And the former president even claimed that he learned about some of this dirt through ‘intelligence’ he had seen or been briefed on, these sources say.
Iodine tablets are being distributed to civilians near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine after renewed shelling raised fears of a radiation leak.
Kevin Sorbo will never win a Best Actor award, but he's a serious contender for Stupidest Motherfucker Alive. https://t.co/v3uSpd6S9v
— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) August 28, 2022
Trump’s Second Term Would Look Like This
Ever since the U.S. Senate failed to convict Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection and disqualify him from running for president again, a lot of people, myself included, have been warning that a second Trump term could bring about the extinction of American democracy. Essential features of the system, including the rule of law, honest vote tallies, and orderly succession, would be at risk.
Today, however, we can do more than just speculate about how a second Trump term would unfold, because the MAGA movement has been telegraphing its plans in some detail. In a host of ways—including the overt embrace of illiberal foreign leaders; the ruthless behavior of Republican elected officials since the 2020 election; Trump allies’ elaborate scheming, as uncovered by the House’s January 6 committee, to prevent the peaceful transition of power; and Trump’s own actions in the waning weeks of his presidency and now as ex-president—the former president and his allies have laid out their model and their methods.
Biden Seeks Approval for Arms Sale to Taiwan
The Biden administration plans to formally ask Congress to approve an estimated $1.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan that includes 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles…
This cannot possibly be true. Republicans again and again assured us that Biden was a sellout to the CCP.
Blake Masters Scrubs Website of Stolen Election Claims
Judge Denies Brian Kemp’s Motion to Quash Testimony
The judge presiding over the Georgia grand jury investigation into possible election interference in 2020 on Monday delayed the testimony of Gov. Brian Kemp until after the upcoming election as prosecutors continued to press for interviews with people close to former president Donald Trump.
We're about 10 weeks before the 2022 midterms and Donald Trump is still -- openly -- talking about undoing/rejecting the 2020 presidential election results.
— stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) August 29, 2022
Which still can't happen, legally or logistically.
Which still (for now) doesn't seem to affect his chances in 2024. pic.twitter.com/C1lqzjn5cR
Serendipity:
Jackson to lose running water for unknown amount of time: Mississippi governor
People in Mississippi's capital are poised to lose running water for an undetermined amount of time, the state's governor said Monday night.
A major pump at Jackson's main water treatment facility was damaged and the city has been using backup pumps, Gov. Tate Reeves said during a news conference.
Until it's fixed, there will be no reliable running water in Jackson, which will impact up to 180,000 people. The city won't be able to produce enough water for serious needs, including fighting fires and flushing toilets, Reeves said.
And people still scoff at preppers?
Pakistan floods: One third of country is under water - minister
For one day (September 3rd), you can pay $3 for a movie ticket at most American theaters
Smoking weed is now more popular than smoking tobacco
