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Little did California businesses know that they were cosigners on the state’s nearly $20 billion loan from the federal government that was used to cover California’s unemployment fund shortfall during the COVID pandemic. This ugly truth became apparent when the state recently decided to stop making payments on this loan. When a state defaults on its federal unemployment insurance loan, federal law requires that the state’s businesses repay the loan.
What makes this default even more egregious is that the stone-age-era IT system of the state’s Employment and Development Department (EDD) opened the floodgates to bad actors, permitting more than $30 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic. Those receiving fraudulent payments include incarcerated felons, a person impersonating a one-year-old, and a person impersonating Senator Dianne Feinstein. A single residential address received checks for around 60 separate individuals filing from that address.
The Bank of Canada is launching an online public consultation on the features that could be included in a digital Canadian dollar.
The consultation opened today and runs until June 19.
As Canada’s central bank, we want to make sure everyone can always take part in our country’s economy. That means being ready for whatever the future holds,” said Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers.
The Middle East political alignment continues its "reset" away from US influence at a rapid pace, as on Sunday Al Jazeera reported the huge development that the foreign ministers from Arab League member states have agreed to accept Syrian membership after a suspension that's lasted 12 years.
The ministers voted for Syria’s return into the fold at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo on Sunday," AJ details. "The decision was made in advance of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19 and amid a flurry of regional normalization of ties with Damascus in recent weeks."
In March Saudi Arabia and Syria agreed to begin the process of reopening their mutual embassies, which followed on the heels of the China-brokered Saudi-Iranian rapprochement.
One analyst was quoted in regional media at the time as saying:
"The prevailing attitude can be defined as, ‘times have changed, the Arab Spring is history and the region is transitioning towards a new future, with new geopolitical characteristics,'" the official, who himself recently reconciled with Damascus after defecting to the Syrian opposition in the summer of 2011, added.
originally posted by: RelSciHistItSufi
Feedback on the reach of the Awakening...
My ma and brothers live in a Cotswold town of under 3000 population. It's a very closed off microcosm of society that cares little for global or even national concerns - unless it becomes a direct impact on them.
As an aside, this makes for strained relations with my brothers because they just don't understand the realities of my life and work outside - e.g. in London.
Anywho, on Saturday Ma was showing me some post about the coronation on her facebuk... I scrolled through the replies and found 2 friends from the town had commented thus:
"Charles is already dead!"
"It's habbening!"
When I explained that these comments were from members of the awakening movement, from her town, and that we on ATS have been part of the "congregation" since there were less than 50,000 people, globally, involved... she started to understand.
What's even funnier is that my youngest brother, who always sneers at my "conspiracy theories", went on a university reunion... He was accosted by a red-pilled friend that he had trusted for hours throughout the weekend.
I wonder what the reach of the awakening is now? Last year it was thought to be over 80% in the US... so maybe a couple of billion globally now? That's about 40,000 times larger than in Q1 2018!!!
Transfusion-Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO)
Definition
Pulmonary oedema/ respiratory compromise due to volume overload - develops within 12 hours of transfusion.
Can occur after transfusion of relatively small volumes if there are patient risk factors.
Frequency
Rare (≥1/10,000 to 50 years) should have a TACO risk assessment before transfusion.
Mitigating measures include:
• prescribing by volume (mL) rather than in units [this is essential in neonatal/paediatric patients]
• use of diuretics
• transfusing slowly with closer monitoring
NASA'S SUPERBIT BALLOON: Could the Hubble Space Telescope be replaced by a balloon? NASA is testing a new kind of telescope that floats through the stratosphere--the Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT)--and it is gathering data that rivals Hubble itself. Yesterday, Erwin Enrique Sandoval watched the giant orb float over Coyhaique in southern Chile:
"We could see it high in the afternoon sky," says Sandoval. "It was very large."
Indeed, the helium-filled balloon is wider than a football field. Floating 107,000 feet high above 99.2% of Earth's atmosphere, it has a clear view of the cosmos with jet-black skies even when it is daylight on the ground below. SuperBIT's primary science goal is to look for signs of dark matter in galaxy clusters.
SuperBIT was launched from from Wānaka, New Zealand, on April 16, 2023. Since then it has been slowly circling the far-southern hemisphere taking Hubble-quality pictures. Anyone can track the position of the balloon "HERE".
Tara Reade, who has accused President Biden of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, tweeted a cryptic message about death before she potentially testifies to Congress following an invitation from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.
"I want to make something clear. If something happens to me, all roads lead to Joe Biden," Reade wrote Sunday afternoon. "Joe Biden and DNC political machine threats, bullying and intimidation over the last three years will not work."
"I am not suicidal," she added.
The message includes a promise to testify before Congress, to address "what happened and what" she knows.
"I should not be under investigation nor am I a foreign agent. I am a private citizen. I was a former staffer of Joe Biden’s that has chosen to step forward to tell the truth," Reade continued.
She added: "The tactics using intimidation and bullying to silence me and suppress me using DOJ and FBI and social media will not work. Leave me alone. I will testify under oath in Congress if asked to do so and tell what happened and what I know."
"The Biden corruption must end. Period," Reade said.
The cryptic message was posted after Dr. Gal Luft, a co-director of a Washington D.C.-based think tank, claimed he was arrested in an effort to stop him from revealing information about the Biden family.
"I’ve been arrested in Cyprus on a politically motivated extradition request by the U.S. The U.S., claiming I’m an arms dealer. It would be funny if it weren’t tragic. I’ve never been an arms dealer," Luft tweeted on Feb. 18.
He added: "DOJ is trying to bury me to protect Joe, Jim, and Hunter Biden. Shall I name names?"
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that his committee is trying to communicate with Luft and tried to get his testimony.
"This is something we take very seriously. We had already identified this individual. We had hoped to talk to this individual by now but for whatever reason we have been unable to," Comer told Bartiromo on March 2.
His committee is continuing to investigate alleged coordination between the FBI and members of the Biden family, including the president and Hunter Biden.
The Justice Department is reportedly nearing a decision to charge Hunter Biden on federal tax-and-gun-related charges.
The first son has been under federal investigation since 2018 for two misdemeanor tax filing charges, a felony tax evasion charge, and a false statement charge over a gun purchase.
originally posted by: socialmediaclown
California’s reparations task force voted Saturday to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies.
California reparations panel approves payments of up to $1.2 million to every Black resident
They should negotiate it down to $1000 and then stretch out the payments over 150 years or so...
edit on 8-5-2023 by FlyingFox because: (no reason given)
If viable organisms like anthrax bacteria had been sent into public waterways, the consequences could be disastrous for USAMRIID, Fort Detrick — and the CDC regulators who allowed them to keep operating despite the jury-rigged sterilization plant
that he would be succeeded by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the current acting assistant secretary of defense for special operation and low-intensity conflict.