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brooklynite

brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
May 8, 2022

Anticipation for Philippine election builds in Manila

Reuters

STORY: The vote on Monday rekindles an old, bitter rivalry that pits Vice President Leni Robredo against frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the notorious late dictator who ruled the Philippines for 20 years.

The two embody a political chasm that has existed for more than four decades, with Robredo's roots in the movement that led a 1986 "people power" uprising, which toppled the elder Marcos, and Marcos Jr on the cusp of an almost unthinkable return for the once-disgraced first family.

But if opinion polls are accurate, Robredo will need a late surge, or low turnout to win the presidency, with Marcos, a former congressman and senator commonly referred to as 'Bong Bong', currently leading Robredo by 30 percentage points.

Up to 65 million Filipinos are eligible to cast ballots on Monday to decide on the successor to President Rodrigo Duterte after six years in power, plus thousands of other posts, from lawmakers and governors to city mayors and councillors.
May 7, 2022

I'm flying to Rome this week...

Last month they lifted the pre-arrival COVID test requirement.

This month they lifted the mask requirement except for public transport, cinemas and theatres, hospitals and care homes, indoor sporting events and concerts, schools and universities.

This week they lifted the pre-arrival contact tracing form requirement.

Times are changing.

May 7, 2022

Russia's Grave Miscalculation: Ukrainians Would Collaborate

New York Times

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine — The solicitation to commit treason came to Oleksandr Vilkul on the second day of the war, in a phone call from an old colleague.

Mr. Vilkul, the scion of a powerful political family in southeastern Ukraine that was long seen as harboring pro-Russian views, took the call as Russian troops were advancing to within a few miles of his hometown, Kryvyi Rih.

“He said, ‘Oleksandr Yurivich, you are looking at the map, you see the situation is predetermined,’” Mr. Vilkul said, recalling the conversation with a fellow minister in a former, pro-Russian Ukrainian government.

“Sign an agreement of friendship, cooperation and defense with Russia and they will have good relations with you,” the former colleague said. “You will be a big person in the new Ukraine.”

The offer failed spectacularly. Once war had begun, Mr. Vilkul said, the gray area seeped out of Ukrainian politics for him. Missiles striking his hometown made the choice obvious: He would fight back.
May 7, 2022

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

Source: New York Times

With less than 48 hours before the Victory Day holiday commemorating the Soviet vanquishing of Nazi Germany, Russian forces were being pushed back near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, underlining the challenge facing President Vladimir V. Putin as he tries to portray a triumph to the Russian people in an increasingly grinding war of attrition.

Russian forces blew up three bridges over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said, as they were forced back toward the northeast border of Kharkiv, a major target of their offensive since the war began. The sprawling city just 25 miles from the Russian border has important strategic and symbolic resonance for the Kremlin because it is closer to Russia than any other large Ukrainian city, has a large Russian-speaking population, and has been presented in the Kremlin’s version of history as a place that demonstrates the folly of Ukraine trying to live apart from Russia.



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/05/07/world/ukraine-russia-war-news/here-are-the-latest-developments-in-the-war-in-ukraine?smid=url-copy
May 7, 2022

'Potentially historic' wildfire event threatens New Mexico, Southwest

Source: Washington Post

Critical-to-extreme wildfire conditions are about to take hold of the southwestern United States and parts of Colorado, leading into what could be a lengthy, multiday and memorable outbreak of wildfires and/or wildfire conditions. Warm to locally scorching temperatures, bone-dry air and strong mountain gusts are set to overlap for several days, part of a summerlike weather pattern that comes without the chance of any meaningful rainfall.

The National Weather Service in Albuquerque is calling it a “dangerous, long duration and potentially historic critical fire weather event.” Tinderbox conditions conducive to the rapid spread of blazes are expected to persist well into next week. Sunday may present the most extreme combination of high winds and hot, dry air.

“New Mexico is facing 100 straight hours of the worst possible set of fire conditions, with high temperatures & extreme winds,” tweeted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Friday. “It is critically important to abide by evacuation orders. Your life & safety is top priority.”

She added: “I ask every New Mexican to do everything you can to prevent any additional fire incident, anything that could cause a spark. No open flames, no campfires, no open grills, no welding, no tossing cigarette butts — please work with us to prevent fires and preserve resources.”




Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/05/07/wildfires-new-mexico-southwest-calfcanyon/
May 7, 2022

Coronavirus wave this fall could infect 100 million, administration warns

Source: Washington Post

The Biden administration is warning the United States could see 100 million coronavirus infections and a potentially significant wave of deaths this fall and winter, driven by new omicron subvariants that have shown a remarkable ability to escape immunity.

The projection, made Friday by a senior administration official during a background briefing as the nation approaches a covid death toll of 1 million, is part of a broader push to boost the nation’s readiness and persuade lawmakers to appropriate billions of dollars to purchase a new tranche of vaccines, tests and therapeutics.

In forecasting 100 million potential infections during a cold-weather wave later this year and early next, the official did not present new data or make a formal projection. Instead, he described the fall and winter wave as a scenario based on a range of outside models of the pandemic. Those projections assume that omicron and its subvariants will continue to dominate community spread, and there will not be a dramatically different strain of the virus, the official said, acknowledging the pandemic’s course could be altered by many factors.

Several experts agreed that a major wave this fall and winter is possible given waning immunity from vaccines and infections, loosened restrictions and the rise of variants better able to escape immune protections.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/05/06/fall-winter-coronavirus-wave/



If the Administration is going to resist the "return to normal" mood, they need to show real leadership, develop a strategy and (however unpopular) pressure Democratic leaders to implement it, not just issue warnings.
May 7, 2022

You can't fool Mike Lindell.....

Mike Lindell Suggests Supreme Court Leak Timed as Voter-Fraud Distraction

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has suggested that the timing of a recent leak from the Supreme Court was meant to distract people from allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 election.

Lindell explained his opinion on Friday while speaking to a reporter from Right Side Broadcasting Network, speculating on the timing of Monday's leak. The leaked draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito showed the Court could possibly overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

"All of a sudden, the news comes in, and it leaked out from the Supreme Court. What kind of timing is that? You follow me?" Lindell said, drawing a parallel between the timing of the leak and this week's release of the film 2,000 Mules, which alleges voter fraud in the 2020 election. "And so that gets the news rather than more and more evidence and more stuff piling on of what happened in the 2020 election. It's disgusting."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mike-lindell-suggests-supreme-court-leak-timed-as-voter-fraud-distraction/ar-AAX0gup?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f405b598fc5e49eeb5bc6f0ea8af6e6f
May 6, 2022

Missing Alabama inmate and corrections officer abandoned their escape vehicle last week.

Source: CNN

[div class"excerpt"]The escape vehicle used by Vicky White and Casey White, the missing former Alabama corrections officer and inmate, was found in Tennessee - and authorities are trying to determine whether they got a another car.

The orange 2007 Ford Edge SUV was found in a tow lot in Williamson County, Tennessee, about two hours north of Florence, Alabama, where the fugitive investigation began April 29, the US Marshals Service said.

But the vehicle had initially been found in the woods last Friday, Williamson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sharon Puckett told CNN. Puckett said the sheriff's office had responded at the time to an abandoned vehicle and the car was found locked, with no tags and no identifying information, and towed to a local tow yard.

The tow truck driver who picked up the Ford vehicle recognized it when he saw a local TV station story this week and alerted his boss, who contacted Williamson County authorities.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/us/vicky-white-casey-white-alabama-manhunt-friday/index.html

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Name: Chris Bastian
Gender: Male
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
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