hotair--2020-12-21--Pfizer partner: We're confident our vaccine will protect people against that frightening new British

Pfizer partner: We're confident our vaccine will protect people against that frightening new British COVID variant

Here ’ s hoping , although it feels like the only way this horror movie of a year could properly conclude is with the big vaccine rollout party being interrupted by an ashen-faced virologist reporting that a new variant of the virus has just been identified and we ’ re powerless against it .
2020 is a “ Twilight Zone ” episode and that ’ s how a “ Twilight Zone ” episode would end .
Actually … a known virus mutating at the moment of vaccine triumph probably isn ’ t diabolically ironic enough for a TZ episode .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be chagrined scientists walking out as the first COVID vaccines are being administered to announce that a new strain of smallpox has just been detected in Asia and 10,000 people are already infected .
That ’ s when Rod Serling steps out from behind the curtain .
We shouldn ’ t expect a “ Twilight Zone ” ending to COVID says the head of BioNTech , the German firm that developed the vaccine that ’ s being produced by Pfizer .
Lots of people are studying the new British strain right now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70 percent more transmissible than the current dominant strain of COVID , and the universal consensus for the moment is that the vaccine should work on it .
The U.S. Army is performing computer analysis of the British strain but they ’ re pretty confident that the vaccine will prevail .
The head of the European Medicines Agency ’ s pandemic task force agrees .
So do various virologists posting on Twitter and medical experts like Scott Gottlieb .
The bottom line seems to be that , while viruses can and do evolve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ escape ” vaccine immunity , the process just doesn ’ t happen that quickly — usually .
We may need to worry about Pfizer ’ s vaccine becoming obsolete within a few years but very likely not within a few months .
Gottlieb : “ Some viruses like flu evolve their surface proteins very quickly , and that ’ s why we need a different flu vaccine every season , ” said Gottlieb , who led the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019 .
“ Some viruses can ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like measles .
This [ coronavirus ] seems to fall some place in between .
It ’ s not going to change its surface proteins very rapidly , that spike protein , but it will change it over time.
” … “ It ’ s probably a good thing that we used the entire spike protein in our vaccines because what we ’ re getting is what we call a polyclonal response .
We ’ re developing antibodies to many different regions of that protein , so even if one part of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer recognize it , there would be antibodies to other parts of that protein , ” Gottlieb explained .
Antibodies help fight infections .
“ So this probably will not slip past our vaccines very easily , but eventually we will have to update the vaccines.
” Think of the spike protein as a face .
The vaccine is going to train our immune system to recognize that face .
The spike protein on the British variant is different in some key respect from the protein on the most common coronavirus strain — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different nose — but in only that single respect .
And chances are , if just a single feature on a face familiar to you were to change , you ’ d still be able to recognize that face despite the difference .
It ’ s when multiple features change that a face begins to look completely different and unrecognizable .
Same with the ‘ rona , it seems .
The British variant changed its hair but the antibodies that police our systems should still be able to recognize a suspect with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you have a thousand big guns pointed at the virus , ” said one virologist to the NYT .
“ No matter how the virus twists and weaves , it ’ s not that easy to find a genetic solution that can really combat all these different antibody specificities , not to mention the other arms of the immune response.
” The not so minor footnote is that even if the vaccine is effective against the British variant and even if that variant isn ’ t any more deadly than the dominant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it spreads much faster means we could be in for another ominous spike in infections in the next month or two with an attendant spike in deaths .
Check out the UK ’ s case curve : Cases started rising in October so the British government imposed some new restrictions in November and they seemed to do the trick — until December rolled around and cases began skyrocketing .
On December 8 , the UK had 12,000 positive tests .
Yesterday it had 35,000 .
Are people letting down their guards on social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up speed within the population ?
“ Out of control ” is how the UK ’ s health minister described it .
Britain ’ s European neighbors are sufficiently freaked out that travel bans have been imposed , with Brits now reportedly panic-buying at supermarkets for fear that food soon won ’ t be available .
( Remember that the UK is also on the brink of a no-deal Brexit , further complicating trade . )
“ What about the U.S. ?
” you ask .
Good question .
For once , America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about something : COVID was here weeks or months before Trump imposed his European travel ban in the spring .
With multiple flights per day from the UK to NYC , it ’ s a cinch that the British variant is already here .
( Don ’ t we … still have a travel ban in effect ? )
Cuomo complained yesterday that the three airlines flying from the UK to New York should require mandatory testing of passengers before departure .
Two of them , British Airways and Delta , have now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not foolproof .
After all , people infected with the virus don ’ t start testing positive until a certain amount of it has replicated in their system ; doubtless numerous passengers infected with the UK COVID variant boarded or will board flights having already contracted the bug but without shedding enough of it to test positive until they ’ ve arrived here .
Anthony Fauci thinks it ’ s not worth banning travel from the UK at all — yet .
Why he wouldn ’ t rather be safe than sorry by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the UK strain in the U.S. , I don ’ t know .
( The next time you ’ re inclined to accuse Fauci of wanting to lock down everything , bear in mind that he didn ’ t even want to halt air traffic from Britain in this case . )
“ More transmissible virus that causes same severity illness is a major worry , ” said one health expert today .
“ More infections , more virus , more chance further evolution in unpredictable ways .
Don ’ t get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t delay until you have certainty.
” The emergence of the new variant should give people extra motivation to socially distance until the vaccine rollout is running at full tilt .
Why give the virus more opportunities to mutate in dangerous ways when we ’ re on the brink of crushing it ?
Although maybe “ crushing ” is the wrong word .
I ’ ll leave you with this thread from Seattle virologist Trevor Bedford , who thinks we may be destined to produce a new and different “ COVID shot ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new and different flu shot .
The flu shot gets updated annually because the flu virus itself mutates enough that our immune systems might not recognize it from year to year .
Coronavirus may be on that path too thanks to “ antigenic drift , ” i.e .
mutations in the virus ’ s proteins that may render the current vaccine less effective although probably not totally ineffective in a few years ’ time .
It ’ s a drag to have to get vaccinated every fall but it beats being intubated @

Here’s hoping, although it feels like the only way this horror movie of a year could properly conclude is with the big vaccine rollout party being interrupted by an ashen-faced virologist reporting that a new variant of the virus has just been identified and we’re powerless against it. 2020 is a “Twilight Zone” episode and that’s how a “Twilight Zone” episode would end.
Actually … a known virus mutating at the moment of vaccine triumph probably isn’t diabolically ironic enough for a TZ episode. A true “Twilight Zone” ending would be chagrined scientists walking out as the first COVID vaccines are being administered to announce that a new strain of smallpox has just been detected in Asia and 10,000 people are already infected.
That’s when Rod Serling steps out from behind the curtain.
We shouldn’t expect a “Twilight Zone” ending to COVID says the head of BioNTech, the German firm that developed the vaccine that’s being produced by Pfizer.
BioNTech says it’s “currently investigating the impact of our vaccine on [the UK] mutation.” So far tested ~20 diff mutations & vaccine able to address all. “Too early to draw any conclusions,” but vaccine “able to mount a strong and broad immune response so we remain optimistic” https://t.co/3CsQtpX8Pd — Meg Tirrell (@megtirrell) December 21, 2020
Lots of people are studying the new British strain right now, which may or may not be 70 percent more transmissible than the current dominant strain of COVID, and the universal consensus for the moment is that the vaccine should work on it. The U.S. Army is performing computer analysis of the British strain but they’re pretty confident that the vaccine will prevail. The head of the European Medicines Agency’s pandemic task force agrees. So do various virologists posting on Twitter and medical experts like Scott Gottlieb.
The bottom line seems to be that, while viruses can and do evolve over time to the point where they “escape” vaccine immunity, the process just doesn’t happen that quickly — usually. We may need to worry about Pfizer’s vaccine becoming obsolete within a few years but very likely not within a few months. Gottlieb:
“Some viruses like flu evolve their surface proteins very quickly, and that’s why we need a different flu vaccine every season,” said Gottlieb, who led the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. “Some viruses can’t really change their surface proteins, like measles. This [coronavirus] seems to fall some place in between. It’s not going to change its surface proteins very rapidly, that spike protein, but it will change it over time.”… “It’s probably a good thing that we used the entire spike protein in our vaccines because what we’re getting is what we call a polyclonal response. We’re developing antibodies to many different regions of that protein, so even if one part of that protein were mutated and some antibodies no longer recognize it, there would be antibodies to other parts of that protein,” Gottlieb explained. Antibodies help fight infections. “So this probably will not slip past our vaccines very easily, but eventually we will have to update the vaccines.”
Think of the spike protein as a face. The vaccine is going to train our immune system to recognize that face. The spike protein on the British variant is different in some key respect from the protein on the most common coronavirus strain — different eye color or different haircut or different nose — but in only that single respect. And chances are, if just a single feature on a face familiar to you were to change, you’d still be able to recognize that face despite the difference. It’s when multiple features change that a face begins to look completely different and unrecognizable. Same with the ‘rona, it seems. The British variant changed its hair but the antibodies that police our systems should still be able to recognize a suspect with a different haircut. “The fact is that you have a thousand big guns pointed at the virus,” said one virologist to the NYT. “No matter how the virus twists and weaves, it’s not that easy to find a genetic solution that can really combat all these different antibody specificities, not to mention the other arms of the immune response.”
The not so minor footnote is that even if the vaccine is effective against the British variant and even if that variant isn’t any more deadly than the dominant strain of COVID, the fact that it spreads much faster means we could be in for another ominous spike in infections in the next month or two with an attendant spike in deaths. Check out the UK’s case curve:
Cases started rising in October so the British government imposed some new restrictions in November and they seemed to do the trick — until December rolled around and cases began skyrocketing. On December 8, the UK had 12,000 positive tests. Yesterday it had 35,000. Are people letting down their guards on social distancing or is the new variant picking up speed within the population? “Out of control” is how the UK’s health minister described it. Britain’s European neighbors are sufficiently freaked out that travel bans have been imposed, with Brits now reportedly panic-buying at supermarkets for fear that food soon won’t be available. (Remember that the UK is also on the brink of a no-deal Brexit, further complicating trade.) “What about the U.S.?” you ask. Good question. For once, America’s worst governor is likely right about something:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) on new COVID variant found in the UK: “I believe, intuitively, it’s already here.” pic.twitter.com/UIMHlnr6fo — The Recount (@therecount) December 21, 2020
COVID was here weeks or months before Trump imposed his European travel ban in the spring. With multiple flights per day from the UK to NYC, it’s a cinch that the British variant is already here. (Don’t we … still have a travel ban in effect?) Cuomo complained yesterday that the three airlines flying from the UK to New York should require mandatory testing of passengers before departure. Two of them, British Airways and Delta, have now agreed, which is nice but certainly not foolproof. After all, people infected with the virus don’t start testing positive until a certain amount of it has replicated in their system; doubtless numerous passengers infected with the UK COVID variant boarded or will board flights having already contracted the bug but without shedding enough of it to test positive until they’ve arrived here.
Anthony Fauci thinks it’s not worth banning travel from the UK at all — yet. Why he wouldn’t rather be safe than sorry by at least limiting the number of people with the UK strain in the U.S., I don’t know. (The next time you’re inclined to accuse Fauci of wanting to lock down everything, bear in mind that he didn’t even want to halt air traffic from Britain in this case.) “More transmissible virus that causes same severity illness is a major worry,” said one health expert today. “More infections, more virus, more chance further evolution in unpredictable ways. Don’t get behind an epidemic curve, don’t delay until you have certainty.” The emergence of the new variant should give people extra motivation to socially distance until the vaccine rollout is running at full tilt. Why give the virus more opportunities to mutate in dangerous ways when we’re on the brink of crushing it?
Although maybe “crushing” is the wrong word. I’ll leave you with this thread from Seattle virologist Trevor Bedford, who thinks we may be destined to produce a new and different “COVID shot” every year the same way we produce a new and different flu shot. The flu shot gets updated annually because the flu virus itself mutates enough that our immune systems might not recognize it from year to year. Coronavirus may be on that path too thanks to “antigenic drift,” i.e. mutations in the virus’s proteins that may render the current vaccine less effective although probably not totally ineffective in a few years’ time. It’s a drag to have to get vaccinated every fall but it beats being intubated.


hotair--2020-12-21--Mitch McConnell: We could have made this COVID deal months ago if not for Democrats playing politics

As Jazz pointed out this morning , we now have agreement on a trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill .
Over the weekend Nancy Pelosi did her best to blame the delay on Republicans .
“ What took so long is because we could not get our Republican colleagues to crush the virus , ” Pelosi said .
CNN ’ s Manu Raju was one of just five reporters in the room with Pelosi when she laid the blame on Republicans .
He asked Pelosi why she hadn ’ t accepted the much larger $ 1.8 trillion deal Sec .
Mnuchin made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in early October .
That offer was only $ 400 billion less than the $ 2.2 trillion plan Democrats were promoting at the time .
But when asked about that yesterday , Pelosi refused to answer the question .
The point is that McConnell wanted a smaller relief bill and Pelosi presumably wanted a larger one .
By not jumping at the $ 1.8 trillion offer , Pelosi wound up with a bill that was closer to what McConnell wanted all along .
Today , Sen. McConnell went on Fox News and said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I said back in July what the country needed was a package roughly of a trillion dollars focused on kids in school , small businesses , health care providers , and direct cash payments … We started advocating that in July and August .
The talks were unproductive , so I essentially put that bill on the floor of the Senate in both September and October .
Not a single Democrat supported it .
Their view was , give us everything we want or we won ’ t give you anything .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ that at the end they finally gave us what we could have agreed to back in July .
I think what held it up was they did not want to do anything before the presidential election .
I think they felt that would disadvantage the president.
” Sen. Schumer took to the floor this afternoon and called McConnell ’ s accusation “ Alice in Wonderland thinking.
” He then compared an contrasted the current bill with the bill that McConnell had previously offered , not with the one the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just me but Sen. Schumer ’ s speech attacking the GOP didn ’ t seem to have the usual flair .
In the midst of talking about the isolation of lockdowns and being trapped at home with our “ tiny screens ” he was interrupted by a call on his cell phone : I wonder if it was Nancy calling , telling him what to say next .
In any case , here ’ s the full interview with Sen. McConnell .

As Jazz pointed out this morning, we now have agreement on a trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill. Over the weekend Nancy Pelosi did her best to blame the delay on Republicans. “What took so long is because we could not get our Republican colleagues to crush the virus,” Pelosi said.
CNN’s Manu Raju was one of just five reporters in the room with Pelosi when she laid the blame on Republicans. He asked Pelosi why she hadn’t accepted the much larger $1.8 trillion deal Sec. Mnuchin made on behalf of the White House back in early October. That offer was only $400 billion less than the $2.2 trillion plan Democrats were promoting at the time. But when asked about that yesterday, Pelosi refused to answer the question.
Pelosi wouldn’t call on me at the press conference, which is becoming a pattern, even though just five reporters were there. She left the press conference as I asked her the question. And she ignored my question in the hallway as well. — Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 21, 2020
It’s true that McConnell and Senate Republicans objected to Mnuchin’s $1.8 trillion plan, but so did Pelosi, who said in October: "This proposal amounted to one step forward, two steps back.” — Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 21, 2020
The point is that McConnell wanted a smaller relief bill and Pelosi presumably wanted a larger one. By not jumping at the $1.8 trillion offer, Pelosi wound up with a bill that was closer to what McConnell wanted all along. Today, Sen. McConnell went on Fox News and said this was all about politics:
“I said back in July what the country needed was a package roughly of a trillion dollars focused on kids in school, small businesses, health care providers, and direct cash payments … We started advocating that in July and August. The talks were unproductive, so I essentially put that bill on the floor of the Senate in both September and October. Not a single Democrat supported it. Their view was, give us everything we want or we won’t give you anything. “It’s noteworthy.” McConnell added, “that at the end they finally gave us what we could have agreed to back in July. I think what held it up was they did not want to do anything before the presidential election. I think they felt that would disadvantage the president.”
Sen. Schumer took to the floor this afternoon and called McConnell’s accusation “Alice in Wonderland thinking.” He then compared an contrasted the current bill with the bill that McConnell had previously offered, not with the one the White House had offered. Maybe it’s just me but Sen. Schumer’s speech attacking the GOP didn’t seem to have the usual flair. In the midst of talking about the isolation of lockdowns and being trapped at home with our “tiny screens” he was interrupted by a call on his cell phone:
I wonder if it was Nancy calling, telling him what to say next. In any case, here’s the full interview with Sen. McConnell.


hotair--2020-12-21--San Francisco: Many more people have died from drug overdoses this year than from COVID

California is under a statewide lockdown that requires most non-essential businesses to be shut or have extremely limited density .
In addition to the restrictions , San Francisco has implemented its own quarantine procedure for anyone entering the city .
But it turns out the damage done this year by COVID is significantly less than what has been done by the drug fentanyl .
More than three times as many people have died from fentanyl overdoses as have died from the virus .
Fifty-eight more people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco last month , bringing the yearly total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 441 deaths in all of 2019 .
The latest numbers put San Francisco on track to losing nearly two people a day by the end of the year and dwarf the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen so far this year .
So that ’ s 173 deaths from COVID and 621 from fentanyl overdoses .
And as bad as 621 deaths sounds , the number could have been far worse : The crisis fueled by the powerful painkiller fentanyl could have been far worse if it wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used from January to the beginning of November to save someone from the brink of death… The data reflects the number of times people report using Narcan to the Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project , a city-funded program that coordinates San Francisco ’ s response to overdose , or return to refill their supply .
Officials at the DOPE Project said that since the numbers are self-reported , they are probably a major undercount .
So the number of deaths could easily have been 10 times the COVID death toll if not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just one city ’ s experience of a nationwide problem .
Last week the CDC announced a big increase in fatal drug overdoses : The most recent provisional data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s ( CDC ) National Center for Health Statistics ( NCHS ) indicate that approximately 81,230 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12-months ending in May 2020 ( Figure 1 ) .i This represents a worsening of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States and is the largest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ period ever recorded .
Much of that increases is connected to fentanyl and has been mostly concentrated west of the Mississippi .
The CDC published this map showing where the increases have been most severe ( dark red means a > 50 % increase ) .
Of course the death toll from overdoses nationwide ( 81,000 ) is smaller than that for COVID ( 319,000 ) but again that ’ s partly because we have a very effective treatment for overdoses ( Narcan ) which was used tens of thousands of times to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now that the vaccine is being rolled out and we can see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel , the fentanyl crisis and the impact it is having on the nation should get some more attention .

California is under a statewide lockdown that requires most non-essential businesses to be shut or have extremely limited density. In addition to the restrictions, San Francisco has implemented its own quarantine procedure for anyone entering the city. But it turns out the damage done this year by COVID is significantly less than what has been done by the drug fentanyl. More than three times as many people have died from fentanyl overdoses as have died from the virus.
Fifty-eight more people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco last month, bringing the yearly total to at least 621. That compares to 441 deaths in all of 2019. The latest numbers put San Francisco on track to losing nearly two people a day by the end of the year and dwarf the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen so far this year.
So that’s 173 deaths from COVID and 621 from fentanyl overdoses. And as bad as 621 deaths sounds, the number could have been far worse:
The crisis fueled by the powerful painkiller fentanyl could have been far worse if it wasn’t for the nearly 3,000 times Narcan was used from January to the beginning of November to save someone from the brink of death… The data reflects the number of times people report using Narcan to the Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project, a city-funded program that coordinates San Francisco’s response to overdose, or return to refill their supply. Officials at the DOPE Project said that since the numbers are self-reported, they are probably a major undercount.
So the number of deaths could easily have been 10 times the COVID death toll if not for Narcan. And all of this is just one city’s experience of a nationwide problem. Last week the CDC announced a big increase in fatal drug overdoses:
The most recent provisional data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) indicate that approximately 81,230 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12-months ending in May 2020 (Figure 1).i This represents a worsening of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States and is the largest number of drug overdoses for a 12-month period ever recorded.
Much of that increases is connected to fentanyl and has been mostly concentrated west of the Mississippi. The CDC published this map showing where the increases have been most severe (dark red means a > 50% increase).
Of course the death toll from overdoses nationwide (81,000) is smaller than that for COVID (319,000) but again that’s partly because we have a very effective treatment for overdoses (Narcan) which was used tens of thousands of times to prevent deaths in the past year.
Now that the vaccine is being rolled out and we can see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, the fentanyl crisis and the impact it is having on the nation should get some more attention.


hotair--2020-12-21--Chicago's "wrong raid" results in resignation of top city lawyer

In case you hadn ’ t caught wind of this tale previously , our story starts in Chicago nearly two years ago , back in 2019 .
A woman named Anjanette Young was in her apartment where she had undressed and prepared to shower when a massive thud was heard at her front door .
The door crashed open and a group of male Chicago Police officers burst into the apartment .
They handcuffed Young while she was still naked and protesting their actions as they began a thorough search of the apartment .
Ms. Young ’ s distress becomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police had come to the wrong apartment and the name on the warrant they had was not hers .
She was eventually released and the police left .
Since that time she has filed Freedom of Information Act requests attempting to get the officers ’ body camera footage , all to no avail .
But CBS News in Chicago picked up the story last year and began working on it .
They eventually obtained the footage .
That led to a bizarre series of attempts by the city to obfuscate the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently got to them eventually .
This weekend , the city ’ s top Attorney resigned as the scandal continued to widen .
Chicago ’ s top lawyer , Mark Flessner , has resigned over the Anjanette Young wrong raid scandal , first brought to light by a CBS 2 investigation .
“ Today I offered my letter of resignation to Mayor Lori Lightfoot , ” Flessner wrote , in part , in a statement released to CBS 2 .
“ There has recently been a great deal of attention drawn to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home .
Monday was the first involvement that I had with the case surrounding Anjanette Young , pertaining to the video footage that was obtained by police .
It is clear that the raid of Anjanette Young ’ s home was a tragedy that we must learn from.
” Flessner , who served as corporation counsel for the city , announced his resignation Sunday .
Flessner was previously a partner at the firm Holland & Knight and was a federal prosecutor in Chicago for 12 years , according to the city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social worker who had just finished her shift at a local hospital and returned home on the night of the raid .
It was later determined that she had no connection to the suspect that the cops were looking for .
The initial screwup of the raid was bad , but it was far from the worst thing about this story .
The police are humans too and fallible like any of us .
Mistakes happen .
If they had simply apologized , the city would probably have just had to pay out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended a few people and moved on .
But that ’ s not what happened .
From the moment Ms. Young began asking for videos , the police and the city fought her and her attorney tooth and claw .
After CBS broke the story , rather than apologizing , they sought sanctions against Young ’ s attorney for leaking the video footage and attempted to get an injunction preventing CBS from airing it .
All of those efforts eventually failed and the story came to light .
Only now are the long-overdue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here is why it was Mark Flessner who resigned .
The city attorney ’ s statement reveals that he only learned about this last Monday .
What about the people who knew about this debacle for almost two years ?
I suppose it ’ s possible that he was involved in the attempt to cover the situation up by blocking the release of the body camera footage .
If that ’ s the case , then he probably needed to go .
But the police and their superiors have obviously known about this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is in charge of the police in Chicago ?
Mayor Lori Lightfoot .
She obviously could have stepped in on Young ’ s behalf before her belated claims this weekend about taking “ corrective action ” and “ holding people accountable.
” This all started as a procedural failure .
The police had heard from an informant that a known felon had been seen with a gun and some ammunition .
Unfortunately , the informant gave them Young ’ s address when the suspect actually lived in the apartment next door .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ background checking to verify the address before obtaining a warrant and crashing in .
That initial mistake pales in comparison to the obvious coverup that ’ s been going on in Chicago since then , however .
It does sound like heads may still roll , but Lori Lightfoot is scrambling to make sure that hers isn ’ t one of them .

In case you hadn’t caught wind of this tale previously, our story starts in Chicago nearly two years ago, back in 2019. A woman named Anjanette Young was in her apartment where she had undressed and prepared to shower when a massive thud was heard at her front door. The door crashed open and a group of male Chicago Police officers burst into the apartment. They handcuffed Young while she was still naked and protesting their actions as they began a thorough search of the apartment.
Ms. Young’s distress becomes far more understandable when you learn that the police had come to the wrong apartment and the name on the warrant they had was not hers. She was eventually released and the police left. Since that time she has filed Freedom of Information Act requests attempting to get the officers’ body camera footage, all to no avail. But CBS News in Chicago picked up the story last year and began working on it. They eventually obtained the footage. That led to a bizarre series of attempts by the city to obfuscate the story, but the pressure from the public apparently got to them eventually. This weekend, the city’s top Attorney resigned as the scandal continued to widen.
Chicago’s top lawyer, Mark Flessner, has resigned over the Anjanette Young wrong raid scandal, first brought to light by a CBS 2 investigation. “Today I offered my letter of resignation to Mayor Lori Lightfoot,” Flessner wrote, in part, in a statement released to CBS 2. “There has recently been a great deal of attention drawn to the 2019 raid of Anjanette Young’s home. Monday was the first involvement that I had with the case surrounding Anjanette Young, pertaining to the video footage that was obtained by police. It is clear that the raid of Anjanette Young’s home was a tragedy that we must learn from.” Flessner, who served as corporation counsel for the city, announced his resignation Sunday. Flessner was previously a partner at the firm Holland & Knight and was a federal prosecutor in Chicago for 12 years, according to the city’s website.
Anjanette Young is actually a social worker who had just finished her shift at a local hospital and returned home on the night of the raid. It was later determined that she had no connection to the suspect that the cops were looking for.
The initial screwup of the raid was bad, but it was far from the worst thing about this story. The police are humans too and fallible like any of us. Mistakes happen. If they had simply apologized, the city would probably have just had to pay out a large settlement in a lawsuit, suspended a few people and moved on. But that’s not what happened.
From the moment Ms. Young began asking for videos, the police and the city fought her and her attorney tooth and claw. After CBS broke the story, rather than apologizing, they sought sanctions against Young’s attorney for leaking the video footage and attempted to get an injunction preventing CBS from airing it. All of those efforts eventually failed and the story came to light. Only now are the long-overdue apologies coming out.
The real question here is why it was Mark Flessner who resigned. The city attorney’s statement reveals that he only learned about this last Monday. What about the people who knew about this debacle for almost two years? I suppose it’s possible that he was involved in the attempt to cover the situation up by blocking the release of the body camera footage. If that’s the case, then he probably needed to go. But the police and their superiors have obviously known about this for a very long time. And who is in charge of the police in Chicago? Mayor Lori Lightfoot. She obviously could have stepped in on Young’s behalf before her belated claims this weekend about taking “corrective action” and “holding people accountable.”
This all started as a procedural failure. The police had heard from an informant that a known felon had been seen with a gun and some ammunition. Unfortunately, the informant gave them Young’s address when the suspect actually lived in the apartment next door. They didn’t do any additional background checking to verify the address before obtaining a warrant and crashing in. That initial mistake pales in comparison to the obvious coverup that’s been going on in Chicago since then, however. It does sound like heads may still roll, but Lori Lightfoot is scrambling to make sure that hers isn’t one of them.


hotair--2020-12-21--Vatican: Pope Francis declares use of COVID-19 vaccines "morally licit" despite concerns over use of

Vatican: Pope Francis declares use of COVID-19 vaccines "morally licit" despite concerns over use of aborted fetal tissue

The Vatican acted today to head off a food fight within the Catholic Church over COVID-19 vaccines , but it might have only transferred the headaches .
Ever since the vaccine trials began in earnest , Catholic bishops have debated whether Catholics should refuse them over the involvement of fetal stem-cell lines in either development or testing .
The conflict has created confusion around the world and in the US , which prompted a declaration from the Congregation for the Defense of the Faith earlier today : “ When ethically irreproachable COVID-19 vaccines are not available — e.g .
in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not made available to physicians and patients or where their distribution is more difficult due to special storage and transport conditions or when various types of vaccines are distributed in the same country but health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated — it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process , ” the doctrinal congregation wrote in the new note .
Using these vaccines is morally licit when the “ passive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an abortion “ from which these cell lines originate is , on the part of those making use of the resulting vaccines , remote.
” “ The moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if there is a grave danger , such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent — in this case , the pandemic spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 , ” it said .
Therefore , in such a case , “ all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion , ” it said .
In case anyone ’ s wondering , this decision comes from the top : Issued with the approval of Pope Francis , the doctrinal office said it had issued its ruling following the “ diverse and sometimes conflicting pronouncements in the mass media by bishops , Catholic associations , and experts ” on the morality of the vaccine .
Catholics are forbidden from “ co-operation ” with abortion but the note states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.
” The link takes readers to Vatican News , the official media outlet for the Holy See .
The CDF statement doesn ’ t attempt to draw conclusions about the safety or efficacy of the various vaccines and candidates , but only to make a definitive ruling on the morality of accepting such a vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at risk had no choice on the methodology for the vaccines , and the grave risk of the pandemic means that the moral choice for the common good outweighs — in this instance , anyway — the connections to the abortion that produced the stem cells used for development and/or testing .
That is a delicate tap dance , however , even if the statement encourages Catholics to choose the most ethical option available to them — assuming they have a choice .
Of the three top candidates , only AstraZeneca uses fetal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vaccine ; Pfizer and Moderna used them in laboratory testing but not in development .
For most Americans , though , they might end up having to take whatever happens to be available at the time , and developing nations might only get access to AstraZeneca thanks to its price and easy handling .
American bishops should be relieved .
They got considerable criticism for essentially the identical position put out by the CDF today : According to the US Bishops , although all the three vaccines produced by Pfizer , Moderna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US have some connection to cell lines connected to aborted foetuses , their use would be morally justifiable in consideration of the present circumstances .
These are : the lack , at present , of an available alternative vaccine “ that has absolutely no connection to abortion ” , the serious risk to public health and , most importantly , the need to protect the more vulnerable from the disease .
With regard to the AstraZeneca vaccine , the US Bishops note that it is “ more morally compromised ” than the the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be avoided ” if there are alternatives available .
However , if “ one does not really have a choice of vaccine , at least , not without a lengthy delay in immunization that may have serious consequences for one ’ s health and the health of others ” , they state that “ it would be permissible ” to accept it .
At the same time , the statement cautions Catholics against complacency on abortion : “ While having ourselves and our families immunized against COVID-19 with the new vaccines is morally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-love and of charity toward others , we must not allow the gravely immoral nature of abortion to be obscured ” .
Bishops therefore warn not to weaken the determination “ to oppose the evil of abortion itself and the subsequent use of foetal cells in research ” .
Indeed , and this is why critics emerged in the first place .
The catechism teaches that one can not do evil to create good , for one thing .
More practically , traditional Catholics worry that the pandemic and the undeniable urgency in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguments for abortion and the use of aborted fetal tissue in scientific research .
By condoning the outcomes , does the Vatican run the risk of capitulating to the utilitarians — especially with what looks a bit like a utilitarian argument ?
Perhaps on the AstraZeneca vaccine , yes .
Still , the people who take that vaccine had nothing to do with either the abortion or the research , and there is a common-good responsibility to protect the most vulnerable from the disease .
The minimal involvement of the Pfizer and Moderna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those a much easier call — and most of us here in the US will likely have access to only those anyway .

The Vatican acted today to head off a food fight within the Catholic Church over COVID-19 vaccines, but it might have only transferred the headaches. Ever since the vaccine trials began in earnest, Catholic bishops have debated whether Catholics should refuse them over the involvement of fetal stem-cell lines in either development or testing. The conflict has created confusion around the world and in the US, which prompted a declaration from the Congregation for the Defense of the Faith earlier today:
“When ethically irreproachable COVID-19 vaccines are not available — e.g. in countries where vaccines without ethical problems are not made available to physicians and patients or where their distribution is more difficult due to special storage and transport conditions or when various types of vaccines are distributed in the same country but health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated — it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process,” the doctrinal congregation wrote in the new note. Using these vaccines is morally licit when the “passive material cooperation” with the evil of an abortion “from which these cell lines originate is, on the part of those making use of the resulting vaccines, remote.” “The moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent — in this case, the pandemic spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19,” it said. Therefore, in such a case, “all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion,” it said.
In case anyone’s wondering, this decision comes from the top:
Issued with the approval of Pope Francis, the doctrinal office said it had issued its ruling following the “diverse and sometimes conflicting pronouncements in the mass media by bishops, Catholic associations, and experts” on the morality of the vaccine. Catholics are forbidden from “co-operation” with abortion but the note states: “All vaccinations recognised as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.”
The link takes readers to Vatican News, the official media outlet for the Holy See. The CDF statement doesn’t attempt to draw conclusions about the safety or efficacy of the various vaccines and candidates, but only to make a definitive ruling on the morality of accepting such a vaccine. In this case, the people at risk had no choice on the methodology for the vaccines, and the grave risk of the pandemic means that the moral choice for the common good outweighs — in this instance, anyway — the connections to the abortion that produced the stem cells used for development and/or testing.
That is a delicate tap dance, however, even if the statement encourages Catholics to choose the most ethical option available to them — assuming they have a choice. Of the three top candidates, only AstraZeneca uses fetal stem cells from abortion for development of the vaccine; Pfizer and Moderna used them in laboratory testing but not in development. For most Americans, though, they might end up having to take whatever happens to be available at the time, and developing nations might only get access to AstraZeneca thanks to its price and easy handling.
American bishops should be relieved. They got considerable criticism for essentially the identical position put out by the CDF today:
According to the US Bishops, although all the three vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca now available in the US have some connection to cell lines connected to aborted foetuses, their use would be morally justifiable in consideration of the present circumstances. These are: the lack, at present, of an available alternative vaccine “that has absolutely no connection to abortion”, the serious risk to public health and, most importantly, the need to protect the more vulnerable from the disease. With regard to the AstraZeneca vaccine, the US Bishops note that it is “more morally compromised” than the the other two, and therefore “should be avoided” if there are alternatives available. However, if “one does not really have a choice of vaccine, at least, not without a lengthy delay in immunization that may have serious consequences for one’s health and the health of others”, they state that “it would be permissible” to accept it. At the same time, the statement cautions Catholics against complacency on abortion: “While having ourselves and our families immunized against COVID-19 with the new vaccines is morally permissible and can be an act of self-love and of charity toward others, we must not allow the gravely immoral nature of abortion to be obscured”. Bishops therefore warn not to weaken the determination “to oppose the evil of abortion itself and the subsequent use of foetal cells in research”.
Indeed, and this is why critics emerged in the first place. The catechism teaches that one cannot do evil to create good, for one thing. More practically, traditional Catholics worry that the pandemic and the undeniable urgency in stopping it will play into the utilitarian arguments for abortion and the use of aborted fetal tissue in scientific research. By condoning the outcomes, does the Vatican run the risk of capitulating to the utilitarians — especially with what looks a bit like a utilitarian argument?
Perhaps on the AstraZeneca vaccine, yes. Still, the people who take that vaccine had nothing to do with either the abortion or the research, and there is a common-good responsibility to protect the most vulnerable from the disease. The minimal involvement of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in fetal stem-cell issues should make those a much easier call — and most of us here in the US will likely have access to only those anyway.


hotair--2020-12-21--Barr stings Trump again: From what I know, it sure looks like Russia is behind this mega-hack

The amazing thing about this morning ’ s Barr presser is how gratuitous it was , which coincidentally was also the amazing thing about him saying a few weeks ago that he ’ s seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud .
He made the latter comment to the Associated Press in an interview he didn ’ t need to give .
And he threw cold water on Trump ’ s idea about seizing state voting machines or naming Sidney Powell special counsel in charge of election irregularities this morning during a press conference he didn ’ t need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was asked about the SolarWinds mega-hack , instead of simply no-commenting by referring reporters to the Director of National Intelligence , he popped another Trump balloon by saying the evidence seems to point to Russia .
I have a theory about why he ’ s turned antagonistic to Trump lately and it ’ s not the standard “ he ’ s trying to rehab his reputation before reentering private life ” theory either .
Watch , then read on .
I think it ’ s this simple : Barr resents it when Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Barr himself is willing to make the DOJ look like a joke on the president ’ s behalf , like when he moved to lighten the sentences of Trump cronies Roger Stone and Mike Flynn .
But I suspect he was ticked off to hear Trump muse on TV last month that the Justice Department might have had a role in the alleged grand conspiracy to steal the election from him .
And he was probably ticked off even more this weekend to learn that Powell , of all people , might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s behest to pursue her kooky theories about election fraud .
“ I ’ m willing to embarrass myself at times to carry out parts of your agenda .
But don ’ t you embarrass my agency.
” That ’ s Barr ’ s tacit deal with Trump , I think .
And Trump broke the deal , more than once .
With respect to the mega-hack , we ’ re having a national case of deja vu .
As in 2017 , a foreign power has hacked Americans in a spectacular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside the government agrees that it was Russia except for one very important person .
Here ’ s Mike Pompeo pointing the finger : QUESTION : From my pedestrian point of view , and that ’ s all it is , I agree with you 100 percent that they need to be on that list .
Now , this attack , I guess our government is still sorting it out and so forth .
Reports are coming out this is a massive attack on our computer systems and our software systems , correct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right .
I can ’ t say much more as we ’ re still unpacking precisely what it is , and I ’ m sure some of it will remain classified .
But suffice it to say there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of U.S. Government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well .
This was a very significant effort , and I think it ’ s the case that now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the Russians that engaged in this activity .
Marco Rubio is the acting head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and receives top-level intel briefings .
He ’ s also naming Russia as the culprit : Neither Pompeo nor Rubio have any incentive to lie about this .
They ’ re both looking to run for president at some point and thus they ’ re both grasping for opportunities to ingratiate themselves to Trump ’ s voters .
The way to do that in this case would be to claim that it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pulled off the mega-hack .
That ’ s because Trump himself has been far more antagonistic towards the former than the latter , especially after Beijing covered up the early spread of COVID-19 .
Blaming Russia also brings up unhappy memories of Moscow ’ s interference in the 2016 campaign , a subject so sore for the president that his intelligence briefers allegedly tried to avoid the topic of Russia with him whenever possible .
Pompeo in particular has strived to fashion himself as a loyalist among loyalists inside the administration , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he received not one but two cabinet-level appointments from him .
And yet , to his credit , Pompeo has stuck by the intelligence even when doing so hurts his political prospects .
In 2017 , when he was nominated to be CIA chief , he insisted that all signs pointed to Russia in the hacks of the DNC and John Podesta .
Now he ’ s insisting that all signs point to Russia in the SolarWinds mega-hack .
He has no reason to lie .
Same for Barr , who ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours .
There ’ s only one person in the executive branch who seems to have any doubt .
Guess who .
Spinning for Russia while folding it into yet another conspiracy theory about election fraud makes that a top 20 all-time Trump tweet .
But the Russia spin extends beyond social media , per WaPo : “ White House officials had drafted a statement to be released Friday accusing Moscow of carrying out the cyber intrusions in a months-long campaign , but they were blocked from doing so , said a senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the condition of anonymity because of the matter ’ s sensitivity.
” Both the Secretary of State and the Attorney General have acknowledged publicly that Russia is responsible .
Why won ’ t the White House say something officially ?
I don ’ t fault Trump much for claiming falsely in his tweet that “ everything is well under control ” after the hack .
No one wants the head of state saying of an enemy , “ Boy , they got us good this time .
What a nightmare !
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good and it really is a nightmare : “ The attack blended extraordinarily stealthy tradecraft , using cyber tools never before seen in a previous attack , with a strategy that zeroed in on a weak link in the software supply chain that all U.S. businesses and government institutions rely on—an approach security experts have long feared but one that has never been used on U.S. targets in such a concerted way , ” the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend .
I won ’ t rehash this post , but if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get up to speed on SolarWinds .
Russia was in hundreds or thousands of U.S. government and private-sector networks for months , undetected , and did God knows what during the time .
They might have stolen mountains of data .
They might have altered information , including code used to run real-world applications .
They might have created new , hidden ways to re-enter the systems after we kick them out .
They might have done all of the above and more .
It ’ s not under control .

The amazing thing about this morning’s Barr presser is how gratuitous it was, which coincidentally was also the amazing thing about him saying a few weeks ago that he’s seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud. He made the latter comment to the Associated Press in an interview he didn’t need to give. And he threw cold water on Trump’s idea about seizing state voting machines or naming Sidney Powell special counsel in charge of election irregularities this morning during a press conference he didn’t need to hold.
And then, when he was asked about the SolarWinds mega-hack, instead of simply no-commenting by referring reporters to the Director of National Intelligence, he popped another Trump balloon by saying the evidence seems to point to Russia.
I have a theory about why he’s turned antagonistic to Trump lately and it’s not the standard “he’s trying to rehab his reputation before reentering private life” theory either. Watch, then read on.
AG William Barr said the massive cyber-attack on the U.S. government "certainly appears" to have been carried out by Russia after Trump suggested China may have been responsible https://t.co/HbogDDHw0h pic.twitter.com/2Ox6ZZ9zU7 — Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) December 21, 2020
I think it’s this simple: Barr resents it when Trump makes the DOJ look like a joke. Barr himself is willing to make the DOJ look like a joke on the president’s behalf, like when he moved to lighten the sentences of Trump cronies Roger Stone and Mike Flynn. But I suspect he was ticked off to hear Trump muse on TV last month that the Justice Department might have had a role in the alleged grand conspiracy to steal the election from him. And he was probably ticked off even more this weekend to learn that Powell, of all people, might be given Justice Department authority at Trump’s behest to pursue her kooky theories about election fraud.
“I’m willing to embarrass myself at times to carry out parts of your agenda. But don’t you embarrass my agency.” That’s Barr’s tacit deal with Trump, I think. And Trump broke the deal, more than once.
With respect to the mega-hack, we’re having a national case of deja vu. As in 2017, a foreign power has hacked Americans in a spectacular way and literally everyone in the know inside the government agrees that it was Russia except for one very important person. Here’s Mike Pompeo pointing the finger:
QUESTION: From my pedestrian point of view, and that’s all it is, I agree with you 100 percent that they need to be on that list. Now, this attack, I guess our government is still sorting it out and so forth. Reports are coming out this is a massive attack on our computer systems and our software systems, correct? SECRETARY POMPEO: That’s right. I can’t say much more as we’re still unpacking precisely what it is, and I’m sure some of it will remain classified. But suffice it to say there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of U.S. Government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well. This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.
Marco Rubio is the acting head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and receives top-level intel briefings. He’s also naming Russia as the culprit:
Increasingly clear that Russian intelligence conducted the gravest cyber intrusion in our history The process of determining its extent & assessing the damage is underway Remediation will take time & significant resources Our response must be proportional but significant — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 19, 2020
Neither Pompeo nor Rubio have any incentive to lie about this. They’re both looking to run for president at some point and thus they’re both grasping for opportunities to ingratiate themselves to Trump’s voters. The way to do that in this case would be to claim that it’s China, not Russia, that pulled off the mega-hack. That’s because Trump himself has been far more antagonistic towards the former than the latter, especially after Beijing covered up the early spread of COVID-19. Blaming Russia also brings up unhappy memories of Moscow’s interference in the 2016 campaign, a subject so sore for the president that his intelligence briefers allegedly tried to avoid the topic of Russia with him whenever possible. Pompeo in particular has strived to fashion himself as a loyalist among loyalists inside the administration, a man so trusted by the president that he received not one but two cabinet-level appointments from him.
And yet, to his credit, Pompeo has stuck by the intelligence even when doing so hurts his political prospects. In 2017, when he was nominated to be CIA chief, he insisted that all signs pointed to Russia in the hacks of the DNC and John Podesta. Now he’s insisting that all signs point to Russia in the SolarWinds mega-hack. He has no reason to lie. Same for Barr, who’ll be out of the government in 48 hours.
There’s only one person in the executive branch who seems to have any doubt. Guess who.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1340333619299147781
Spinning for Russia while folding it into yet another conspiracy theory about election fraud makes that a top 20 all-time Trump tweet. But the Russia spin extends beyond social media, per WaPo: “White House officials had drafted a statement to be released Friday accusing Moscow of carrying out the cyber intrusions in a months-long campaign, but they were blocked from doing so, said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.” Both the Secretary of State and the Attorney General have acknowledged publicly that Russia is responsible. Why won’t the White House say something officially?
I don’t fault Trump much for claiming falsely in his tweet that “everything is well under control” after the hack. No one wants the head of state saying of an enemy, “Boy, they got us good this time. What a nightmare!” But they did in fact get us good and it really is a nightmare:
The only way to be sure a network is clean is “to burn it down to the ground and rebuild it,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the leading cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. “Cleanup is just phase one.”… A twist: The Russian intelligence service apparently can watch in real time as governments and corporations try to discover and patch the damage. Jeremy Bash of Beacon Global Strategies — former Pentagon and CIA chief of staff — said on MSNBC that the hackers “poisoned our own medicine.” Bash told Andrea Mitchell: “[T]hey’re going to be reading the emails of the I.T. and security professionals who’re responsible for kicking the Russians out.”
“The attack blended extraordinarily stealthy tradecraft, using cyber tools never before seen in a previous attack, with a strategy that zeroed in on a weak link in the software supply chain that all U.S. businesses and government institutions rely on—an approach security experts have long feared but one that has never been used on U.S. targets in such a concerted way,” the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend. I won’t rehash this post, but if you missed it last week read it now to get up to speed on SolarWinds. Russia was in hundreds or thousands of U.S. government and private-sector networks for months, undetected, and did God knows what during the time. They might have stolen mountains of data. They might have altered information, including code used to run real-world applications. They might have created new, hidden ways to re-enter the systems after we kick them out. They might have done all of the above and more. It’s not under control.


hotair--2020-12-21--Guess what happened after a pricey NYC private school issued an "antiracism manifesto"

Our story takes place at The Dalton School , an expensive private academy on Manhattan ’ s posh Upper East Side .
The school counts many celebrities and other famous folks among its almuni , including Anderson Cooper and Christian Slater .
Parents who manage to land their children in the college prep academy shell out more than $ 50K per year for the honor .
But now they ’ re running into a bit of a problem .
The school is experiencing what the New York Post describes as an “ uproar ” after a number of faculty members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that includes a list of demands for the school to meet so they can combat systemic racism or whatever else they ’ re complaining about .
And many of the parents aren ’ t having it .
One of NYC ’ s poshest private schools is in an uproar over an anti-racist manifesto signed by dozens of faculty members with a sweeping list of demands… The proposals — first reported this week by The Naked Dollar blog — grew out of the George Floyd police-brutality protests and long-simmering student complaints of racism at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say the backlash has become oppressive .
“ My ancestors experienced white supremacy by being slaughtered , ” a Jewish parent told The Post .
“ The idea that being white automatically means you are privileged or a white supremacist is ridiculous .
My child comes from people who had to fight for everything they got .
One person from the school described a number of parents as “ spineless wimps ” who are “ terrified ” to speak out against the manifesto for fear of the backlash that would result .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had already pulled their children out of the academy and others are weighing their options .
For the record , the school ’ s administrators claim that this is not official policy and they “ do not support all the language or actions it contains.
” But another report indicates that the teachers who signed it are refusing to return to work until the school agrees to the list of demands .
So what has everyone so up in arms ?
The list of “ demands ” from the teachers who signed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they perceive as raism .
They ’ re looking to overturn the entire social order of the school .
Some of the bullet points seem fairly reasonable , such as ensuring a more diverse hiring policy and expanding the curriculum to cover a more inclusive range of subjects .
But some of the others are simply out of this world .
Here are a few of the lowlights : • Hiring 12 full-time diversity officers , and multiple psychologists to support students “ coping with race-based traumatic stress.
” • Paying the student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• Requiring courses that focus on “ Black liberation ” and “ challenges to white supremacy.
” • Abolishing high-level academic courses by 2023 if the performance of black students is not on par with non-blacks .
• Donating 50 percent of all fundraising dollars to NYC public schools if Dalton is not representative of the city in terms of gender , race , socioeconomic background , and immigration status by 2025 .
Hiring dozens of “ diversity officers ” and psychologists should drive up the tuition a good twenty percent or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will go over ?
But that ’ s hardly the worst of it .
Notice how they are demanding that the school pay off any student debt of staffers , but not all staffers .
Only Black staffers .
If you happen to be Asian , Latino , or White , you ’ re on your own .
And they want the school to “ donate ” half of its fundraising to public schools if the racial makeup of the student body isn ’ t “ representative ” of the city as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but economic status and “ immigration status.
” Here ’ s something for you to ponder .
That school charges more than fifty grand per year for each high school-level student that attends .
How many illegal immigrants do you think can afford that sort of tuition ?
And much of the city is , sadly , composed of people with very low incomes even if they are citizens or legal immigrants .
The same question applies .
The school has no control over how many parents may apply nor what they look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents putting their kids in schools like this one is to get them ready for admission to some of the best colleges .
How much use are courses on “ Black liberation ” and “ challenges to White supremacy ” going to be in that regard ?
On a related subject , that school also has no control over which students excel beyond the rest of the class , particularly in the more demanding high-level academic coursework typically described as advanced placement .
But if all of the Black students don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the rest of the class they want those courses abolished ?
Small wonder that some of the parents are already bailing out .
And as they leave , the school will be losing even more of the revenue they would need to meet this list of demands .
If enough of them vote with their feet , the school won ’ t be able to cover its costs and none of them will have a job .
Wouldn ’ t that just be a shame ?

Our story takes place at The Dalton School, an expensive private academy on Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side. The school counts many celebrities and other famous folks among its almuni, including Anderson Cooper and Christian Slater. Parents who manage to land their children in the college prep academy shell out more than $50K per year for the honor. But now they’re running into a bit of a problem. The school is experiencing what the New York Post describes as an “uproar” after a number of faculty members signed off on an antiracism manifesto” that includes a list of demands for the school to meet so they can combat systemic racism or whatever else they’re complaining about. And many of the parents aren’t having it.
One of NYC’s poshest private schools is in an uproar over an anti-racist manifesto signed by dozens of faculty members with a sweeping list of demands… The proposals — first reported this week by The Naked Dollar blog — grew out of the George Floyd police-brutality protests and long-simmering student complaints of racism at the prestigious school. But some parents say the backlash has become oppressive. “My ancestors experienced white supremacy by being slaughtered,” a Jewish parent told The Post. “The idea that being white automatically means you are privileged or a white supremacist is ridiculous. My child comes from people who had to fight for everything they got.
One person from the school described a number of parents as “spineless wimps” who are “terrified” to speak out against the manifesto for fear of the backlash that would result. At least one parent that reporters spoke to had already pulled their children out of the academy and others are weighing their options.
For the record, the school’s administrators claim that this is not official policy and they “do not support all the language or actions it contains.” But another report indicates that the teachers who signed it are refusing to return to work until the school agrees to the list of demands.
So what has everyone so up in arms? The list of “demands” from the teachers who signed the manifesto aren’t simply decrying what they perceive as raism. They’re looking to overturn the entire social order of the school. Some of the bullet points seem fairly reasonable, such as ensuring a more diverse hiring policy and expanding the curriculum to cover a more inclusive range of subjects. But some of the others are simply out of this world. Here are a few of the lowlights:
Hiring 12 full-time diversity officers, and multiple psychologists to support students “coping with race-based traumatic stress.”
Paying the student debt of black staffers upon hiring them.
Requiring courses that focus on “Black liberation” and “challenges to white supremacy.”
Abolishing high-level academic courses by 2023 if the performance of black students is not on par with non-blacks.
Donating 50 percent of all fundraising dollars to NYC public schools if Dalton is not representative of the city in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic background, and immigration status by 2025.
Hiring dozens of “diversity officers” and psychologists should drive up the tuition a good twenty percent or more. I wonder how well that will go over? But that’s hardly the worst of it.
Notice how they are demanding that the school pay off any student debt of staffers, but not all staffers. Only Black staffers. If you happen to be Asian, Latino, or White, you’re on your own. And they want the school to “donate” half of its fundraising to public schools if the racial makeup of the student body isn’t “representative” of the city as a whole as measured by not only race but economic status and “immigration status.”
Here’s something for you to ponder. That school charges more than fifty grand per year for each high school-level student that attends. How many illegal immigrants do you think can afford that sort of tuition? And much of the city is, sadly, composed of people with very low incomes even if they are citizens or legal immigrants. The same question applies. The school has no control over how many parents may apply nor what they look like.
The primary goal of most parents putting their kids in schools like this one is to get them ready for admission to some of the best colleges. How much use are courses on “Black liberation” and “challenges to White supremacy” going to be in that regard? On a related subject, that school also has no control over which students excel beyond the rest of the class, particularly in the more demanding high-level academic coursework typically described as advanced placement. But if all of the Black students don’t do just as well in those courses as the rest of the class they want those courses abolished?
Small wonder that some of the parents are already bailing out. And as they leave, the school will be losing even more of the revenue they would need to meet this list of demands. If enough of them vote with their feet, the school won’t be able to cover its costs and none of them will have a job. Wouldn’t that just be a shame?


hotair--2020-12-21--Tenney expands lead to 19 votes after vote totals in 3 counties are updated

The battle in NY-22 is still ongoing but after three counties updated their vote totals last week Republican Claudia Tenney has expanded her lead slightly from 12 votes to nineteen .
Most of the change happened in Chenago County where elections officials had previously announced finding 55 uncounted ballots , 44 of which were deemed valid .
After election officials counted the ballots today , Tenney picked up 25 votes and Brindisi 17 votes , said Carol Franklin , a Chenango County elections commissioner .
An additional four ballots left the line for Congress blank .
State Supreme Court Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to count the 44 valid affidavit ballots after they were found by election officials in their office on Dec. 1 , almost a month after the election .
The ballots were cast during the state ’ s early voting period… Separately , two other counties filed paperwork with DelConte detailing changes in their vote counts : Tenney picked up one vote in Oswego County and Brindisi picked up three votes to one for Tenney in Broome County .
However , the biggest mess was in Oneida County which had failed to write challenges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing sticky notes affixed to some ballots .
The County was unable to say for certain why certain ballots had been challenged or whether they had been counted .
All of the counties were supposed to complete their recanvas of the vote Friday .
Then the judge planned to walk through all of the various objections today just after noon .
But it appears Oneida County is once again holding up the works : The 12:30PM time has come and gone without a court hearing in the NY 22nd Congressional District lawsuit .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Oneida County Board of Election having not yet completed their recanvass of disputed votes in the congressional race .
The Oneida County Board of Elections are the only county board not to have submitted their recanvass results in the disputed New York 22nd Congressional race to State Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte in time for the judge to hold his scheduled hearing Monday morning .
Eventually , Oneida County told Judte DelConte that they won ’ t be done with their recanvas until next week .
So around 2 pm the judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the other counties : It sounds as if Rep. Brindisi ’ s attorney is getting on Judge DelConte ’ s nerves : So with this new delay there ’ s no way this will be resolved before Christmas .
Maybe by New Year ’ s Day we ’ ll have a result ?

The battle in NY-22 is still ongoing but after three counties updated their vote totals last week Republican Claudia Tenney has expanded her lead slightly from 12 votes to nineteen. Most of the change happened in Chenago County where elections officials had previously announced finding 55 uncounted ballots, 44 of which were deemed valid.
After election officials counted the ballots today, Tenney picked up 25 votes and Brindisi 17 votes, said Carol Franklin, a Chenango County elections commissioner. An additional four ballots left the line for Congress blank. State Supreme Court Justice Scott J. DelConte had ordered Chenango County to count the 44 valid affidavit ballots after they were found by election officials in their office on Dec. 1, almost a month after the election. The ballots were cast during the state’s early voting period… Separately, two other counties filed paperwork with DelConte detailing changes in their vote counts: Tenney picked up one vote in Oswego County and Brindisi picked up three votes to one for Tenney in Broome County.
However, the biggest mess was in Oneida County which had failed to write challenges on ballots in ink and wound up losing sticky notes affixed to some ballots. The County was unable to say for certain why certain ballots had been challenged or whether they had been counted. All of the counties were supposed to complete their recanvas of the vote Friday. Then the judge planned to walk through all of the various objections today just after noon. But it appears Oneida County is once again holding up the works:
The 12:30PM time has come and gone without a court hearing in the NY 22nd Congressional District lawsuit. The hold up appears to be with the Oneida County Board of Election having not yet completed their recanvass of disputed votes in the congressional race. The Oneida County Board of Elections are the only county board not to have submitted their recanvass results in the disputed New York 22nd Congressional race to State Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte in time for the judge to hold his scheduled hearing Monday morning.
Eventually, Oneida County told Judte DelConte that they won’t be done with their recanvas until next week. So around 2 pm the judge started working on the ballots he has from the other counties:
The review of ballots is taking place! There's some debate right now about what's an identifying mark vs a inadvertent mark on a challenged ballot. #NY22 — Ricky ''Reports'' Sayer (@RickyReports) December 21, 2020
It sounds as if Rep. Brindisi’s attorney is getting on Judge DelConte’s nerves:
DelConte indicated he needs more information than what he's being given so he can make rulings. “Don't lecture me on the law," DelConte told Brindisi's lawyer. #NY22 — Ricky ''Reports'' Sayer (@RickyReports) December 21, 2020
The judge is going through each individual ballot. We’re on County 1 of 8 (Oswego County)
We’ve had four straight stipulations. Attorneys withdrawing objections. #NY22 — Tommy CNY (@TommySladek) December 21, 2020
So with this new delay there’s no way this will be resolved before Christmas. Maybe by New Year’s Day we’ll have a result?


hotair--2020-12-21--Newsmax: We need to "clarify" some of the things we've said about Dominion and Smartmatic

If you missed a similar “ clarification ” that aired on Fox News and Fox Business this weekend , go watch it now .
The point to grasp in both that case and this one involving Newsmax is that news networks would never capitulate to a demand for a retraction unless they feared they were horribly exposed to defamation liability .
American defamation law strongly favors media outlets , especially when reporting on “ public figures.
” I ’ m sure Fox ’ s legal department gets letters threatening court action all the time from aggrieved subjects of their coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trash , as there ’ s no risk of Fox losing in court .
They won ’ t even run a “ clarification ” in those cases since having to “ clarify ” operates as an admission that your reporting wasn ’ t very “ clear ” in the first place .
That ’ s a bad look .
Multiply that logic by a thousand when it comes to a partisan news network covering a subject in which its fans are intensely emotionally invested , like Trump ’ s claims that the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Fox ’ s history , it ’ s facing semi-credible ratings pressure from the right thanks to Newsmax ’ s willingness to feed MAGA fantasies about voter fraud .
Newsmax has every financial incentive to continue to press that advantage by doubling and tripling down on those fantasies… …or at least it did , until its lawyers apparently came to the conclusion that the smear campaign against Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic might end up costing the company more than it ’ s earned from it .
The clip below is essentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would win a defamation suit if Dominion or Smartmatic drags it into court , even with all of the advantages that First Amendment jurisprudence builds into the process for defendants .
You need to f*** up really badly to get yourself to a point where you ’ re at the mercy of a potential plaintiff in a slander suit but Newsmax — and Fox — may have done it .
In an era of brazen political lies , [ Smartmatic CEO Antonio ] Mugica has emerged as an unlikely figure with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bottle .
Last week , his lawyer sent scathing letters to the Fox News Channel , Newsmax and OAN demanding that they immediately , forcefully clear his company ’ s name — and that they retain documents for a planned defamation lawsuit .
He has , legal experts say , an unusually strong case .
And his new lawyer is J. Erik Connolly , who not coincidentally won the largest settlement in the history of American media defamation in 2017 , at least $ 177 million , for a beef producer whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ described by ABC News as “ pink slime.
” Now , Mr. Connolly ’ s target is a kind of red slime , the stream of preposterous lies coming from the White House and Republican officials around the country… The letters written by lawyers for Smartmatic and Dominion are “ extremely powerful , ” said Floyd Abrams , one of the country ’ s most prominent First Amendment lawyers , in an email to The New York Times .
“ The repeated accusations against both companies are plainly defamatory and surely have done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Remember that truth is an absolute defense to libel .
If Newsmax had anything concrete to substantiate the ludicrous accusations being thrown at Dominion and Smartmatic in righty media it would tell the two companies to buzz off .
The fact that they ’ re not doing that is a tantamount to admitting that they ’ ve got nothing .
More than that , Newsmax surely knew that running the clip below would humiliate the network and leave its fans incensed — and it still concluded that that was the wiser option @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jeopardy it ’ s in .
( In fact , just to be extra apologetic , Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy says this clip will air on *all* of the network ’ s shows . )
Ed mentioned to me in a text that this clip actually seems more thorough than the one Fox ran over the weekend , which is true and for which there may be good reason .
News Corp is mega-rich and can afford to pay out a gigantic defamation judgment if it has to , but I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suit by Dominion or Smartmatic might be an existential threat to them .
Whether this clip or the one Fox ran is enough to eliminate each company ’ s legal jeopardy is a question for legal eagles .
The clips clearly aren ’ t designed to appease Smartmatic or Dominion ; they ’ d be much more effusive about their regrets if they were , and they ’ d run on the air much more often than just a few times .
These meager efforts can ’ t possibly undo the damage done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re not supposed to .
The intended audience for them is a potential jury , not the CEOs of Smartmatic and Dominion .
Fox and Newsmax want to be able to go into court with some evidence in hand that they weren ’ t completely reckless in allowing wild accusations to air on their network .
They corrected the record .
They “ clarified.
” Good enough for a jury , maybe ?
Even so , I suspect Smartmatic or Dominion or both will follow through and sue .
In fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ representing Sidney Powell as Smartmatic comes after her — is all but daring them to .
I ’ m *very* excited to see how that court battle goes .
As for the rest of the companies ’ legal targets , they ’ d have my sympathy if the accusations about voter fraud had derived from some good-faith mistake of fact .
Even the pros make honest errors ; the important thing is that they try to get it right .
There ’ s nothing good-faith about the smear campaign against Dominion and Smartmatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : MAGA fans needed a theory for how systemic , nationwide voter fraud altering the outcome of the election could have happened and they naturally zeroed in on voting machines , where thousands or millions of votes could conceivably be switched surreptitiously .
Populist media ran with it and amplified it in hopes of cashing in on the hysteria .
Now here we are .
Which reminds me .
All of the MAGA types ( starting with the MAGA-in-chief ) who ’ ve been angling to punish Big Tech by getting rid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s there to protect Facebook and Twitter today .
If it weren ’ t , Smartmatic and Dominion would be coming after those companies for letting their platforms be used to flood America with oceans of defamatory “ red slime ” about the companies ’ supposed role in rigging the vote against Trump .
If you want a serious argument in support of repealing Section 230 , this episode is it .
Make Twitter and Facebook liable for the garbage pushed by their worst users and they ’ ll start taking out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ The law ’ s righteous power to turn heroic conspiracy theorists into cucks can not be denied .
”

If you missed a similar “clarification” that aired on Fox News and Fox Business this weekend, go watch it now. The point to grasp in both that case and this one involving Newsmax is that news networks would never capitulate to a demand for a retraction unless they feared they were horribly exposed to defamation liability. American defamation law strongly favors media outlets, especially when reporting on “public figures.” I’m sure Fox’s legal department gets letters threatening court action all the time from aggrieved subjects of their coverage and those letters go straight in the trash, as there’s no risk of Fox losing in court. They won’t even run a “clarification” in those cases since having to “clarify” operates as an admission that your reporting wasn’t very “clear” in the first place. That’s a bad look.
Multiply that logic by a thousand when it comes to a partisan news network covering a subject in which its fans are intensely emotionally invested, like Trump’s claims that the election was stolen. For the first time in Fox’s history, it’s facing semi-credible ratings pressure from the right thanks to Newsmax’s willingness to feed MAGA fantasies about voter fraud. Newsmax has every financial incentive to continue to press that advantage by doubling and tripling down on those fantasies…
…or at least it did, until its lawyers apparently came to the conclusion that the smear campaign against Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic might end up costing the company more than it’s earned from it. The clip below is essentially Newsmax admitting it has no confidence that it would win a defamation suit if Dominion or Smartmatic drags it into court, even with all of the advantages that First Amendment jurisprudence builds into the process for defendants. You need to f*** up really badly to get yourself to a point where you’re at the mercy of a potential plaintiff in a slander suit but Newsmax — and Fox — may have done it.
In an era of brazen political lies, [Smartmatic CEO Antonio] Mugica has emerged as an unlikely figure with the power to put the genie back in the bottle. Last week, his lawyer sent scathing letters to the Fox News Channel, Newsmax and OAN demanding that they immediately, forcefully clear his company’s name — and that they retain documents for a planned defamation lawsuit. He has, legal experts say, an unusually strong case. And his new lawyer is J. Erik Connolly, who not coincidentally won the largest settlement in the history of American media defamation in 2017, at least $177 million, for a beef producer whose “lean finely textured beef” was described by ABC News as “pink slime.” Now, Mr. Connolly’s target is a kind of red slime, the stream of preposterous lies coming from the White House and Republican officials around the country… The letters written by lawyers for Smartmatic and Dominion are “extremely powerful,” said Floyd Abrams, one of the country’s most prominent First Amendment lawyers, in an email to The New York Times. “The repeated accusations against both companies are plainly defamatory and surely have done enormous reputational and financial harm to both.”
Remember that truth is an absolute defense to libel. If Newsmax had anything concrete to substantiate the ludicrous accusations being thrown at Dominion and Smartmatic in righty media it would tell the two companies to buzz off. The fact that they’re not doing that is a tantamount to admitting that they’ve got nothing. More than that, Newsmax surely knew that running the clip below would humiliate the network and leave its fans incensed — and it still concluded that that was the wiser option under the circumstances given how much legal jeopardy it’s in. (In fact, just to be extra apologetic, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy says this clip will air on *all* of the network’s shows.) Ed mentioned to me in a text that this clip actually seems more thorough than the one Fox ran over the weekend, which is true and for which there may be good reason. News Corp is mega-rich and can afford to pay out a gigantic defamation judgment if it has to, but I’m not sure Newsmax can. A successful suit by Dominion or Smartmatic might be an existential threat to them.
Whether this clip or the one Fox ran is enough to eliminate each company’s legal jeopardy is a question for legal eagles. The clips clearly aren’t designed to appease Smartmatic or Dominion; they’d be much more effusive about their regrets if they were, and they’d run on the air much more often than just a few times. These meager efforts can’t possibly undo the damage done to the companies’ reputations. But they’re not supposed to. The intended audience for them is a potential jury, not the CEOs of Smartmatic and Dominion. Fox and Newsmax want to be able to go into court with some evidence in hand that they weren’t completely reckless in allowing wild accusations to air on their network. They corrected the record. They “clarified.” Good enough for a jury, maybe?
Even so, I suspect Smartmatic or Dominion or both will follow through and sue. In fact, Lin Wood — who’s representing Sidney Powell as Smartmatic comes after her — is all but daring them to.
Say what you will about the relative merits of the claims. This is a baller response. pic.twitter.com/DFk7rUU3co — Marc J. Randazza (@marcorandazza) December 20, 2020
I’m *very* excited to see how that court battle goes. As for the rest of the companies’ legal targets, they’d have my sympathy if the accusations about voter fraud had derived from some good-faith mistake of fact. Even the pros make honest errors; the important thing is that they try to get it right. There’s nothing good-faith about the smear campaign against Dominion and Smartmatic. The two were targets of opportunity: MAGA fans needed a theory for how systemic, nationwide voter fraud altering the outcome of the election could have happened and they naturally zeroed in on voting machines, where thousands or millions of votes could conceivably be switched surreptitiously. Populist media ran with it and amplified it in hopes of cashing in on the hysteria. Now here we are.
Which reminds me. All of the MAGA types (starting with the MAGA-in-chief) who’ve been angling to punish Big Tech by getting rid of Section 230 should be glad it’s there to protect Facebook and Twitter today. If it weren’t, Smartmatic and Dominion would be coming after those companies for letting their platforms be used to flood America with oceans of defamatory “red slime” about the companies’ supposed role in rigging the vote against Trump. If you want a serious argument in support of repealing Section 230, this episode is it. Make Twitter and Facebook liable for the garbage pushed by their worst users and they’ll start taking out the trash.
Exit quotation from Jonah Goldberg: “The law’s righteous power to turn heroic conspiracy theorists into cucks cannot be denied.”