Yanukovych is said to have stolen in the upper tens of billions, mostly through the corruption at Ukrainian oil and gas companies, most notably Burisma, a company that put Hunter Biden on the board as a signal that Russian corruption would no longer be tolerated.

Here's a stroll through his pleasure palace, something I find overdone and my standards were formed by the pleasure palaces, er summer cottages, of the Robber Barons in Newport. Just the car collection goes on and on and on and on...



So now we know why there is a war, Putin and Yanukovych (in exile in Russia) want their favorite money maker back. I imagine Yanukovych is the originator of the Nazi fiction and Putin's cupidity prevents him from seeing how foolish it makes him look.

This is pretty neat stuff and more efficient than the Flash Gordon Space X touchdowns:



Apparently there was a partial splashdown and that's why the load felt different.

**Please use skepticism when watching any videos from the war. Thanks**



I posted this because of several things that seem to be true. First, the drug injections. The drugs sounds like Arbidol, which is a Rissoan antiviral, seems odd although it was developed from a tramadol analogue.. Second, the story about Russian soldiers breaking into Ukrainian army stores for underwear, socks and boots is most likely true, I've seen that from a UN observer and an NGO worker, neither of whom had contact with the other at the time.

One NGO worker wisecracked that the Russian troops were from Bottlestan, there were so many empties at the camp sites, probably liberated from stores and wrecked houses. I don't think anyone had to force them to drink. I can see them needing to get so blotto that they shuffle, zombie like, into Ukrainian gunfire, so that seems accurate.

In any case, this guy is done, even if he goes back behind the lines, he'll most likely choose jail over what he's already been through.

I disbelieved about 1/3 of this interview. That makes it uncommonly truthful for a war zone interview. My disblief of part is because he seemingly missed the point of being in the army while not seeming that dumb, and the shifty eyes indicating he was trying to please somebody off camera.

Builly Bragg updated the words to the Internationale and I can't find much to disagree with in 'em. So here goes:



It should be noted that Communist countries fell far short of the ideal, installing strongmen who enriched their cronies at the expense of everyone else. Communism as it was practiced is not what this song is about.

And no, it’s not just sweet. “Maple syrup is a lot more complex than sugar,” says Laura Sorkin, who owns Vermont-based Runamok Maple with her husband, Eric. “There’s a lot more nuance than what you would get with granulated sugar.” The flavor can vary depending on the time of year, but Sorkin says toffee, caramel, honey and apple are among the notes she can pick out. There’s also a balance of sweetness and acidity.
---------------------
Still, here is the rundown of how the government describes the grades aimed at individual buyers (there is a processing grade that can be used by manufacturers making other products), ordered from least to most intense, as well as early to late season:

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/before-you-pour-all-that-maple-syrup-on-your-pancakes-here-s-what-you-should-know-about-it?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Good description of FDA grading system. I avoid "Grade A Fancy" because I find it super sweet and lacking in flavor. Health food store Grade B was my go to before the FDA muddied the waters, it was less sweet and a mahogany brown, perfect for almost everything I wanted to do. Granulated maple sugar did the rest, sweeter than sugar and with a pronounced flavor.

Grade C was available and OK for things like maple breads, but it looked as black as tar and wasn't very sweet, at all.

(from the "was there ever any doubt?" files, I'm sure)



https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-ran-an-experiment-to-identify-the-personality-profile-of-a-holes

The sturgeon and paddlefish in this fossil tangle are key. They have small particles stuck in their gills. These are the spherules of molten rock kicked out from the impact that then fell back across the planet. The fish would have breathed in the particles as they entered the river.

The spherules have been linked chemically and by radiometric dating to the Mexican impact location, and in two of the particles recovered from preserved tree resin there are also tiny inclusions that imply an extra-terrestrial origin.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61013740

Grrr, BBC and their "we don't know how to do paragraphs, so we separate all sentences." Also, it's a misleading headline. The jury is still out on the dino leg, except it was tipped off the animal and not by a predator. There are a couple of vids with the story that are worth watching.

Still, the fish prove what a bad day it was for everyone.

Some scientists have called BA.2 a "stealth" variant because, unlike the BA.1 variant, it lacks a particular genetic signature that distinguishes it from the Delta variant. While standard PCR tests are still able to detect the BA.2 variant, they might not be able to tell it apart from the Delta variant.
------
It is worth noting that while BA.1 has dominated case numbers around the world, it causes less severe disease compared to the Delta variant. Recent studies from the UK and Denmark suggest that BA.2 may pose a similar risk of hospitalization as BA.1.
------
A recent study suggested that people previously infected with the original BA.1 subvariant have robust protection against BA.2.

https://www.sciencealert.com/two-scientists-answer-all-your-questions-about-the-new-ba-2-variant

Those are the main takeaways. The article is readable but there is some alphabet soup in it. They are hoping the vax is as effective as it was against BA1, producing only mild illness in most people who got breakthrough cases. Vaccine studies have been done in Europe but are not yet peer reviewed.

So not to worry, it's not going to be 2020 all over again, so stop panic buying toilet paper. Please.

Oh, and there's also a BA3 variant, but nobody seems to be particularly worried about it, it doesn't seem to be spreading rapidly.

A Stone Age woman who lived 4,000 years ago is leaning on her walking stick and looking ahead as a spirited young boy bursts into a run, in a stunning life-size reconstruction now on display in Sweden.

Although her likeness is new – it debuted last month in an exhibit about ancient people at Västernorrlands Museum – researchers have known about this woman's existence for nearly a century.

During the construction of a road in the hamlet of Lagmansören in 1923, workers found her skeletal remains buried next to the remains of a child, likely a 7-year-old boy.

https://www.sciencealert.com/stunning-reconstruction-of-a-stone-age-woman-captures-a-beautiful-moment-in-history

Two groups of 30 volunteers across different cultures (Australian and Vanuatuan) had to try and convey specified meanings using either gestures or non-verbal vocalizations – a bit like a game of charades.

The same exercise was repeated with 10 sighted and 10 blind volunteers, who were tasked with producing the gestured or non-verbal communications, while a group of undergraduates tried to understand what they meant.

https://www.sciencealert.com/experiments-suggest-human-language-burst-onto-the-scene-with-gestures-not-grunts

Interesting take on things that are hard wired. Doesn't cover verbal communication, but interesting. I'd always thought the earliest homonin verbal communication was clicks and whistles. It would have blended with bird calls and not called attention to a species that was still a few million years away from being apex predators.

Chimps have been found to use a combination of lip smacks and blowing in face to face communication.