Tracker

Rising cases of variants BQ.1 and XBB could make COVID drugs all but useless, study finds As colder weather sets in, public health experts are keeping a close eye on COVID-19 variants that could spell doom and gloom this winter, just like omicron did last year. Yet these nascent variants that are rapidly spreading abroad have an evil twist that omicron lacked: an ability to evade the drugs that humans have developed to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The two subvariants of particular concern are known as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, both off-shoots of the omicron variant BA.5 (but with several key changes.) Indeed, they seem able to evade many of the tools we have to defend against it, which could trigger a wave of hospitalizations, disabling victims with long COVID or death. Also worrying are two other strains: one called BA.2.75.2, which seems to be spreading quickly in Singapore, India and regions of Europe; and XBB, which some research suggests is the most antibody-evasive strain tested, almost on the level of the SARS-CoV-1 virus (known then simply as "SARS") that caused an outbreak in 2003. This could make the new vaccines relatively useless (but still better than nothing.) Moreover, an outbreak caused by one of these highly drug- and antibody-resistant variants could be much worse due to many world governments performing far less testing and reduced public health surveillance compared to 2020 and 2021. Despite some confusing remarks from President Joseph Biden, the pandemic appears far from over. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has essentially been given free rein the last several months, allowing it to mutate and evolve new ways around immunity and vaccinations. These tiny alterations are largely focused in the spike protein, the hooks surrounding the virus used to insert itself into cells and reproduce. The difference between variants and subvariants comes down to the level of genetic changes in the virus. It appears that the adaptations necessary to evade immune detection are becoming more and more slight — and, more curiously, all the subsequent major mutations have stemmed directly from the omicron variant, which appears to be incredibly successful at reproducing already. Indeed, we may not see a major new strain any time soon because these omicron lineages are just so good at spreading, although it's difficult to predict anything with certainty. https://www.salon.com/2022/10/04/bq1-xbb-variants-resistant/

Apparently she was not tough enough.

I would be very interested to see Adams on the field- his resume is interesting and I place little value on his performance in Regina on that sad-sack team. I wouldn't be surprised if he revitalized his play here.

That was then. This is now.

Taking my life and credibility in hand: Winnipeg Blue Bomber CHATTER 🏈 Rob Chatter · · As per Dave Naylor from TSN Wpg and Edm had deal in place for Kenny Lawler to return to Winnipeg. His season ending injury last game ended that trade from happening.

From "grooming" to "child abduction": Right's accusations against LGBTQ advocates get even worse Last spring, as the right began using the word "grooming" as a slur against LGBTQ people and their allies, journalist Melissa Gira Grant noted at the New Republic that the word provided a way to "say both the quiet and the loud part." Contorting a term long used to describe real instances of child sex abuse into a weapon to be deployed against LGBTQ people and commonplace policies — for example, that their existence can and should be acknowledged in schools — was the "loud" part. It was a shocking but pithy means of demonization; as Gira Grant wrote, the "right is using the reality of child abuse to raise unfounded fears and panic about criminal and predatory behavior hiding in plain sight." The quiet part was the secondary implication: If one's "enemies" really are "an ill-defined yet pervasive threat to children, what wouldn't be justified in stopping them?" This week, that quiet part got noticeably louder, as right-wing activists escalated the already-dangerous rhetoric of "grooming" — language that multiple social media platforms have banned from use as an insult related to LGBTQ issues — and graduated into claims that LGBTQ people and liberals are literally kidnapping and trafficking children. https://www.salon.com/2022/10/06/from-grooming-to-child-abduction-rights-accusations-against-lgbtq-advocates-get-even-worse/

This just keeps getting better and better.... 'I was talking about something totally different': Herschel Walker denies abortion payment denial Georgia's embattled Republican United States Senate candidate Herschel Walker was confronted by reporters on Thursday over Wednesday night's revelations by The Daily Beast that the woman who obtained an abortion in 2009 at Walker's expense reportedly also had a child with the former professional football star. Walker has denied knowing the anonymous individual as well as anything about her pregnancy. But on Thursday, Walker stumbled over his side of the story when he was pressed on the matter. "I said no and that's what I mean when I said no. I said that's not correct, that's a lie. And that's what I mean, that's a lie," Walker declared as he searched for a friendly face in the gaggle. Walker tried to refute his own instance that "there was nothing to be ashamed of," despite his right-wing-backed campaign being defined by his supposed anti-choice stance: "I never said – no, what I said, I was talking about something totally different than if it did happen. I said, well now with my ex-wife and my past, nothing to do with what this woman said. I said this hear abortion thing is false. It's a lie. And that's what I said. I said anything happened with my ex-wife or what [son] Christian was talking about, I don't know." Walker attempted to muddy the waters: "But as I said, if anything happened, there's nothing to be ashamed of. My ex-wife and I have been the best of friends with her husband and my wife. So that's the thing I've said. And I've said nothing about if it did happen because I said that's a lie".

Herschel Walker continues to cover himself with excrement every day. In the last 48 hours, he claimed he had supervised 6 hospitals (BS), said he did not know the woman he allegedly paid to have an abortion and already has a child by him, stated that only by electing him could the voters be "redeemed" and called his son "a tool of the left". And still the Jesus freak flock to his support and defence.

Really eerie and sad that Poilievre and his team are using the exact same playbook as the GOP-Trumpers. They throw out coded inflammatory or sympathetic messages, let the lunatic-racist-misogynistic adherents bask in the glow of having their warped views validated and then back off half-heartedly once the bile has been spewed out, Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?

All this hullabaloo about players coming and going but our kick returner problem is still here. Obviously the team has decided to remain status quo.

Recreational chemicals will do that.

Ottawa is desperately short of Canadian talent (and talent in general), so they might be ready to deal.

Florida parents and doctors revolt after student-athletes asked to report 'history of menstrual periods' In Florida schools, student athletes have to report a variety of health conditions — from allergies to fainting spells — if they sign up to play for the season. And if they are female athletes, according to Palm Beach Post reporter Katherine Kokal, they are “being asked” to report something else as well: their “history of menstrual periods.” “The information is reported on athletes' annual physical form, which they are required to fill out with a physician and turn in to their school's athletic director,” Kokal explains. “The questions have been put to students across the state for two decades, most often on a written form on paper, but this fall, when some districts took the form to a digital platform kept by a third party, parents and doctors began raising red flags.” Kokal adds, “Their concerns have been heightened both by a shifting political landscape criminalizing abortions and scrutinizing transgender athletes and the growing threat to medical privacy in a digital age. All of the forms — whether paper or digital — are subject to subpoena.” https://www.alternet.org/2022/10/florida-history-of-menstrual-periods/

From the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence:

We are living in Andy Warhol's predicted era where many will have 5 minutes of fame before slipping back into obscurity. Unfortunately, some will slither into positions of authority.

Invading Ukraine was the easy part- holding the seized territory is the problem. Putin gambled billions of rubles, the lives of tens of thousands of troops, and his own regency that no Western nation of any size would come to the aid of Ukraine, preferring comfort over involvement. He was wrong and his own thralls lied to him about the weakness of of Ukraine, the readiness of the Russian military and their willingness to die for his glory. I cannot see how Putin can survive this.

Ms. Lynn provoked a lot of outrage from many of the lyrics in her songs. She addressed abortions, broken marriages and so forth which caused near-apoplexy among Southern Baptist ministers and their flocks.

Maybe they ought to change their name to "Mildly Annoyed?

Those attorneys had better have BIG retainers in their vaults well in advance. Jurists all over the US are rolling in the floor.

Still no nose tackle.

In addition, a Russian blogger has reported that 1.5 million sets of winter combat outfits that were supposed to have been stored in a warehouse and ready for shipment are nowhere to be found. Either they have been mislaid (unlikely) or stolen (even more unlikely) or were never produced with the supplier pocketing the funds (probable). Either way, the coming winter is going to be even worse than the fall. Other reports say that the ethnic Russians have been pulled back from the front lines, leaving the Chechens and other minority draftees to face the oncoming Ukrainian forces who have not only the weapons, munitions and supplies from the West, but also massive amounts of abandoned Russian armoured vehicles, weapons and munitions from Russian forces. Not a good time to be a Russian grunt.