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Celerity

Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
June 23, 2022

Trumpet the bloodhound wins Best in Show at Westminster Dog Show

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/06/22/westminster-dog-show/



A floppy-eared bloodhound named Trumpet was awarded Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show finale Wednesday night, the first of his breed to take the competition’s top award.

https://twitter.com/WKCDOGS/status/1539816741768876032
Trumpet was the winner of the hound category, strutting his facial folds and floppy ears as he bested other hounds, soaking up the spotlight and cheers alongside handler and owner Heather Helmer. His father, Nathan, has also won the hound group at Westminster, but never Best in Show. “I’m just ecstatic,” Helmer said. Outside the ring, she said, Trumpet “has a lot of attitude and he’s a little crazy.”



Trumpet bested six other finalists:

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Belle

Belle the English setter won the sporting group category, leaving her proud breeder, owner and handler Amanda Ciaravino in tears. “Is this real life? Oh my god. … I’m so proud of her.”



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June 23, 2022

perfect example of racism (IMHO) by the Alabama media on FB

WAFF is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama



which of course leads to a comment like this:





but then, on another site, I found the shooter's actual pic

WYFF is a television station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina



June 23, 2022

Progressive cuts ties with insurance agency over racist Juneteenth sign

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/progressive-cuts-ties-with-insurance-agency-over-racist-juneteenth-sign-410555.aspx?Region=United+States



An insurance agency in Maine has found itself facing backlash after it put up a “racist” sign on Juneteenth, NPR reported. A sign taped to Millinocket-based insurance agency Harry E Reed Insurance Agency, which is affiliated with Progressive Insurance, said the business was closed for the day, and told visitors to “enjoy your fried chicken and collard greens”.

Progressive confirmed to Insurance Business that it will be terminating the relationship with the insurance agency. A Progressive spokesperson said: “We’re aware and appalled by the sign recently posted at the Harry E Reed Agency and are terminating our relationship with the agency. At Progressive, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to our Core Values.

“We’re committed to creating an environment where our people feel welcomed, valued and respected and expect that anyone representing Progressive to take part in this commitment. The sign is in direct violation of that commitment and doesn’t align with our company’s core values and code of conduct.” An image of the racist sign, shared on Monday, caused outrage on social media.

Allura Stillwagon, who shared the sign with her online following, told NPR: "I had to read it more than once because I thought it was something [my mom] saw on Facebook. But when she said it was a business [in town], I was immediately disgusted.” "People have this idea that Maine isn't very racist and that it's pretty liberal. But up north, it's not like that at all,” Stillwagon said.

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June 22, 2022

Senators reach final bipartisan agreement on a gun safety bill

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/21/1106466279/senators-reach-final-bipartisan-agreement-on-a-gun-safety-bill



Senate negotiators have reached a final agreement on a narrow bipartisan gun safety bill that could become the first gun control measure to pass Congress in decades.

The legislation resulted from negotiations among 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats, and it is expected to have more than enough votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold to clear a filibuster in the Senate, which is divided 50-50 between the parties. House leaders are expected to quickly begin consideration of the bill and President Biden has encouraged Congress to pass the bill without delay.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have both announced support for the bill and both say they will vote for it.

"Our colleagues have put together a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens," McConnell said in a statement.

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June 21, 2022

Transgender Athletes Banned From Rugby League Women's Games

https://www.thedailybeast.com/transgender-athletes-banned-from-rugby-league-womens-games



Two days after transgender athletes were all but barred from international women’s competition in swimming, they’re also being excluded from rugby events, the Associated Press reports.

“Until further research is completed to enable the IRL to implement a formal transgender inclusion policy, male-to-female (transwomen) players are unable to play in sanctioned women’s international rugby league matches,” the International Rugby League said in a statement.

FINA, the international swimming federation, is only allowing swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in the women’s category, while the International Cycling Union has also added restrictions.

Read it at AP
June 21, 2022

Small Cities with Big Perks

The Coolest Small Cities in the U.S. Where small town charm meets the perks of urban life.

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-small-cities-in-america



It’s a tale as old as time: An ambitious kid grows up in a small town or cookie-cutter suburb, counting down the days until they’re old enough to move to the Big City™ and live out all their sitcom-fueled fantasies. Armed with a truck full of boxes and a lifetime’s worth of sheltered naivety, that kid lands in the nearest concrete jungle determined to make it no matter the cost.

Fast forward a handful of years, however, and living in a cramped apartment with three roommates, their rotating cast of paramours, and a single bathroom no longer seems so glamorous. Especially when the stock market takes a deep dive and inflation drives the cost of your daily bagel and coffee up to the high heavens. That’s exactly where America’s smallest but mightiest cities come in, appealing to all those ambitious kids who now dream of slower paces, cheaper rents, and cleaner air—without sacrificing the urban amenities they’ve come to enjoy.

Across the US, you’ll find dozens of smaller cities that offer all the trappings of a small town—fresh air, tree-lined streets, plenty of opportunities to use the word “quaint”—with enough culture, bars, and restaurants to keep up with the big boys. According to the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance, to qualify as a “small city,” an incorporated area must have a population of 100,000 or less—all of which, we can only assume, will welcome you to town and swiftly point you to their favorite neighborhood dive bar.

Visit any one of these shining locales and you can pack your itinerary with gorgeous hikes, award-winning brews, knock-out restaurants, quirky art shows, and fun things to do that go far beyond antiquing—whether you’re just passing through or considering another big leap. Here are the 16 coolest small cities in America.

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June 21, 2022

Ukraine and the geopolitics of the energy transition



The worst scenario of an ‘unjust transition’ has hoved into view with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But another Europe is possible.

https://socialeurope.eu/ukraine-and-the-geopolitics-of-the-energy-transition



War is the least ecological activity in which humans can engage. This not just because of its obvious ‘externalities’ for the environment. The idea of the domination of nature by man ‘stems from the very real domination of human by human’—the essence of war.

Beyond the drama the people of Ukraine and Russian dissidents are living through, this war comes with shattering consequences for vulnerable workers and households all over Europe and further afield. Due to the uncertainty of energy supply associated with the enduring dependence on Russian oil and natural gas, many European Union countries are experiencing an escalation of energy prices, exacerbating post-pandemic inflation. This is causing a series of economic effects—erosion of the standard of living of poor families and uncertainties about investment in production consequently depressing the EU economy, worsening unemployment and further disempowering labour.

Watershed for Europe

This is a watershed for Europe. It not only marks the end of decades of postwar and post-1989 stability, based on a rules-based international order—albeit with the important exception of former Yugoslavia. The new geopolitical constellation also highlights the vulnerability resulting from an insufficiently ambitious energy transition.

In 2011 the EU was first in the world in renewable-energy investment. From 2013 onwards, however, investment collapsed to flatline at around half of the 2011 level and the EU was overtaken by the United States and by China in particular. The resulting fossil-fuel dependence was exacerbated by naïve reliance on Russian oil and gas imports, fed by unfounded trust in the stabilising effect of trade relations (the German geo-economic doctrine of Wandel durch Handel).

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June 21, 2022

From subsidising energy to reducing dependence



The only real answer to energy price inflation is to reduce energy needs and dependence on fossil fuels, prioritising those on low incomes.

https://socialeurope.eu/from-subsidising-energy-to-reducing-dependence



On top of the huge human and material devastation in Ukraine, the Russian invasion and the resulting sanctions have caused energy prices across Europe to soar. Governments seeking to alleviate the negative impacts of price increases on households have introduced, among other things, energy subsidies and reductions of value-added tax for electricity, gas and fuel.

While such policies may be required to protect those most in need, subsidising energy use is a short-term solution—a temporary, partial compensation which does not always reach those hardest hit. Subsidising fossil-fuel energy use also clashes with the European Union’s aim to limit greenhouse-gas emissions and maintains its energy dependency on third countries, such as Russia. The unaffordability of energy could however be addressed in harmony with EU climate policy, and its geopolitical interests, if governments shifted from subsidies to investing in the reduction of households’ energy needs and dependence on external sources.

The term ‘energy poverty’ often comes up in discussions of the price squeeze, suggesting that access to energy is the key objective. But energy use is not a goal in itself: it is a means to an end, serving to heat homes, power appliances and so on. The aim should therefore be to reduce the amount of energy needed to deliver those same ends, while enhancing households’ own generation of energy—thereby reducing their need to purchase it.

Efficiency and generation

Households will always need energy, but this need can be reduced or met in ways other than by assisting purchase. Governments can support the insulation of homes and encourage the use of energy-efficient heating systems and appliances—several smart devices are available to enable households to control their central heating efficiently. Low-income households are more likely to use the most polluting energy sources and inefficient devices. Replacing them both reduces their utility bills and greenhouse-gas emissions.

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June 21, 2022

Covid: Omicron sub-variants 'evolving to target the lungs and overcome immunity' as UK cases surge

Scientists fear the sub-variants may be similar to the more deadly Alpha and Delta variants

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-variant-omicron-cases-wave-b2105586.html

The latest sub-variants of Omicron may have evolved to target the lung, prompting fears the next wave of the Covid could be starting. Hospital admissions for Covid patients in England have begun to grow again, new NHS data shows. The World Health Organisation has been investigating two Omicron sub-variants since April to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous than their predecessor. Both BA.4 and BA.5 have been added to the agency’s monitoring list.

Last week new figures showed that Covid-19 infections in the UK increased by 43 per cent in the week after the platinum jubilee celebrations, with the two new sub-variants believed to be behind the sudden increase. Additionally, around 1.4 million people in the UK had coronavirus in the week ending 11 June, up from around 990,000 the week before.

According to preliminary data from Kei Sato at the University of Tokyo and colleagues, BA.4, BA.5 and BA.2.12.1 may have evolved to refavour infection of lung cells, rather than upper respiratory tract tissue – making them more similar to earlier variants, such as Alpha or Delta. The propensity of earlier Omicron variants to prefer infecting non-lung tissue may be one reason why infections tend to be milder in most people.

“Altogether, our investigations suggest that the risk of [these] Omicron variants, particularly BA.4 and BA.5, to global health is potentially greater than that of original BA.2,” Sato said. Professor Sato’s experiments indicate that BA.4, BA.5 and BA.2.12.1 replicate more efficiently in human lung cells than BA.2, while further experiments in hamsters suggest that BA.4 and BA.5 may cause more severe disease.

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related:






https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04980-y

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 exhibit higher transmissibility over BA.21. The new variants’ receptor binding and immune evasion capability require immediate investigation. Here, coupled with Spike structural comparisons, we show that BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 exhibit comparable ACE2-binding affinities to BA.2. Importantly, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 display stronger neutralization evasion than BA.2 against the plasma from 3-dose vaccination and, most strikingly, from post-vaccination BA.1 infections. To delineate the underlying antibody evasion mechanism, we determined the escaping mutation profiles2, epitope distribution3 and Omicron neutralization efficacy of 1640 RBD-directed neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), including 614 isolated from BA.1 convalescents. Interestingly, post-vaccination BA.1 infection mainly recalls wildtype-induced humoral memory. The resulting elicited antibodies could neutralize both wildtype and BA.1 and are enriched on non-ACE2-competing epitopes. However, most of these cross-reactive NAbs are heavily escaped by L452Q, L452R and F486V. BA.1 infection can also induce new clones of BA.1-specific antibodies that potently neutralize BA.1; nevertheless, these NAbs are largely escaped by BA.2/BA.4/BA.5 due to D405N and F486V, and react weakly to pre-Omicron variants, exhibiting poor neutralization breadths. As for therapeutic NAbs, Bebtelovimab4 and Cilgavimab5 can effectively neutralize BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5, while the S371F, D405N and R408S mutations would undermine most broad sarbecovirus NAbs. Together, our results indicate that Omicron may evolve mutations to evade the humoral immunity elicited by BA.1 infection, suggesting that BA.1-derived vaccine boosters may not achieve broad-spectrum protection against new Omicron variants.

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Hometown: London
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Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
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