The Shape of Rome

Scientists find clues to why AstraZeneca’s vaccine may cause clots

I wonder what this will mean for our winter? ‘Huge’ explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting Related: Covid Madness: People Fleeing a Volcanic Eruption Can’t Board the Rescue Vessels Until Vaccinated

Iran Blames Israel for Natanz Blast, Vows Revenge; Nuke Program ‘Set Back 9 Months’

The dispiriting housing boom

Some Covid-19 long haulers say vaccines may be relieving their symptoms. Researchers are looking into it

India records another surge in COVID-19 cases

Under President Biden, nearly seven times as many unaccompanied minors are being detained by either Customs and Border Patrol or Health and Human Services as compared to the Trump administration.

FBI Investigating Reporting Fraud at $62 Billion Pennsylvania Public Pension Fund,

The so-called “Buffett Indicator” has been flashing red for so long now as stocks keep soaring that you might think it’s an out-of-date relic that’s worthless in forecasting where the market’s heading.

To a certain extent this triumphalism is in bad taste. Texas could very well have another bad turn. But it does show that state restrictions don’t correlate very well with any kind of benefit. Fauci Claims The Fall In COVID Cases Since Texas Relaxed Restrictions Is ‘Confusing’ Related story here.

Good Friday and Easter Church Raid Attempts by Police Over Covid Intensify Conservative Christian Vaccine Hesitancy

The Politics of South Korea’s ‘China Threat’

How my uncle dodged death and escaped from East Pakistan to India (with a little help from a hen)

Khraniteli: The Soviet take on Lord of the Rings

‘Intentionally False’: Another Florida Dem Absolutely Shreds ’60 Minutes’ Hit Piece Against Ron DeSantis

A political refugee who settled in the Italian Dolomites single-handedly helped to revitalise a vanishing Italian town and its endangered breed of goats.

Homes selling faster than ever even as prices rise to all-time highs

COVID-19 alarmism is working, new polls show.

Florida governor urgently working to prevent ‘catastrophic flood’ in Tampa area

New discoveries in Alaska by an Australian independent could provide hope for bigger oil finds yet to come in the country’s National Petroleum Reserve.

Science is hard. I will go do politics instead. The Trouble with Brain Scans

Basically, if there is no war with China, they won’t have a job. The Marine Corps Is About to Reinvent Itself—Drastically

A study analyzing US mortality in March-July 2020 reported a 20% increase in excess deaths, only partly explained by COVID-19.

IN THE SHADOW OF A MISSILE: ASSESSING THE ARMENIAN MILITARY’S SS-26 ISKANDER DEBACLE

Journalists Attack the Powerless, Then Self-Victimize to Bar Criticisms of Themselves

Canada’s Oil Crisis Could Hurt U.S. Consumers

As I understand it, Archegos Capital is not technically a hedge fund as is commonly understood by the phrase. To get around regulations, the guy organized his place as a “family office”. Global banks bracing for losses amid US hedge fund collapse

Why Is Everyone in Texas Not Dying? and Texas Hits Record Low COVID Cases, 3 Weeks After Lifting All Pandemic Restrictions

Pennsylvania Voters Can Approve Constitutional Amendment To Limit Governor’s Emergency Powers

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced completion of a study on the feasibility of municipalizing all or part of New York American Water Company, Inc.’s Long Island assets and operations. The study determined that municipalization of New York American Water is both feasible and, under several scenarios, in the public interest.

Thousands of eagles and other fowl have died from a mysterious condition that attacks their nervous systems. Now, after decades of investigation, we know why.

An anecdote about that: When I was living in Dallas years ago, and working at the Dallas Morning News, I remember how crazy it was one afternoon that police put out an alert about an armed robber on the loose in an Uptown neighborhood, but my newspaper would not give out the man’s race.

Biden stocks cabinet with prep school grads

Could the passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus-relief package mark the end of the neoliberal era?

How the media grotesquely distorted the Atlanta massacres

NASA and SpaceX sign agreement on spaceflight safety

The US wood shortage can be traced to a decades-old beetle infestation in Canada

Australia Mice biting hospital patients, ravaging farms as plague escalates across NSW

FTC memos suggest Obama-era regulators passed on an opportunity to rein in Google when the company still had viable competitors.

A Brief List Of Official Russia Claims That Proved To Be Bogus

Treasurys Tremble

The Sovietization of the American Press

How AstraZeneca’s vaccine got mired in politics and mistrust to become Europe’s least favorite shot

Nancy Pelosi’s Capitol pawns: