Jackassjamboree - No Such Thing As Mystery

mothtales:

Perchta:  “Masked figures from the “Wilde Jagd” Christmas folklore festivity in Salzburg, Austria. These festivities originate through the Perchtenlaufen custom, a period when the fearsome witch Perchta, who envies happily married couples, roams the villages. Processions of horribly masked figures armed with sticks and clubs meet throughout the festivity to chase the witch away.”

This too shall pass but like holy fuck

heavymettle:

Art by Alphonse Mucha

If that sounds like a terrible recipe for abuse of power, that’s because it is.

If enacted, a new law would make it so a simple allegation of copyright infringement—with no review process—could lead to the shutdown of sites from YouTube to Wikipedia to MoveOn.org. Any...

Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on “how to suppress” Occupy protests.

To Europeans, the enormity of this breach may not be obvious at first. Our system of government prohibits the creation of a federalised police force, and forbids federal or militarised involvement in municipal peacekeeping.

I noticed that rightwing pundits and politicians on the TV shows on which I was appearing were all on-message against OWS. Journalist Chris Hayes reported on a leaked memo that revealed lobbyists vying for an $850,000 contract to smear Occupy

Here’s some more from later in the article

The mainstream media was declaring continually “OWS has no message”. Frustrated, I simply asked them. I began soliciting online “What is it you want?” answers from Occupy. In the first 15 minutes, I received 100 answers. These were truly eye-opening.

The No 1 agenda item: get the money out of politics. Most often cited was legislation to blunt the effect of the Citizens United ruling, which lets boundless sums enter the campaign process. No 2: reform the banking system to prevent fraud and manipulation, with the most frequent item being to restore the Glass-Steagall Act – the Depression-era law, done away with by President Clinton, that separates investment banks from commercial banks. This law would correct the conditions for the recent crisis, as investment banks could not take risks for profit that create kale derivatives out of thin air, and wipe out the commercial and savings banks.

No 3 was the most clarifying: draft laws against the little-known loophole that currently allows members of Congress to pass legislation affecting Delaware-based corporations in which they themselves are investors.

sigh

Kamala Harris: *Saying words that make the caricatures of military fascists from the Starship Troopers movies look like reasonable, well-rounded people*

Liberals, with tears in their eyes: "I'm proud to be an American again..."

blakestewart:

Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) - Ellie Goulding

Long Covid Justice on COVID and LONG COVID from the mask ban teach-in

COVID/SARS-CoV-2 basics

It is NOT seasonal, like the flu is.

Spreads through air, like smoke.

The 6 feet apart rule is no longer great prevention advice.

Handwashing is a great hygiene practice, but transmission via surfaces is unlikely.

Vaccines do NOT prevent transmission. They reduce symptoms and severity for some.

You can transmit [COVID] while completely asymptomatic. Around half of transmission is as asymptomatic or presymptomatic. Everyone's immune system is different.

Being indoors increases risk of transmission, but you can still get it in crowded outdoor spaces.

What is Long Covid?

Long Covid is a set of health issues after someone has COVID-19

New health issues, ongoing issues, or worsening of previous symptoms and conditions.

It is a biological disease that affects hundreds of millions of people globally. It is a mass disabling condition and crisis.

It can cause significant disability and can be fatal.

Anyone can develop it, and up to 10% of people with COVID will.

Severity of initial infection doesn't correlate to potential to develop Long COVID.

It can be very hard to get a diagnosis and proper treatment or care for Long COVID.

Every time you get COVID infection, you increase your chances of developing Long COVID.

How do we prevent Long COVID? Layers of protection

Masking.

Air filtration.

Ventilation.

Vaccines.

Testing (right now Aug 2024, rapid tests are only about 20% reliable. Try to test two times in 24-48 hours).

Nasal sprays before and after exposure. (little data on these being effective against COVID but some are choosing to use them until more research comes out)

Mouthwashes with CPC (Cetylpyridinium Chloride) before and after exposure. (Must be used for at least 60 seconds)

(via spaceshiprocket)

Ars Technica

COVID antiviral Paxlovid to see price increase following 400% vaccine hike

The new price is not set, but one analyst suggested it could be up to 5x higher.

After raising the price of COVID-19 vaccines more than four-fold this year, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told investors Monday that the company will also likely hike the price of its lifesaving COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, raising further concern about access and healthcare costs.