Welcome to Saturday - Open Themes

I don’t have a theme to offer today so I am just posting a couple of contrasting items that caught my attention recently, and that I found thought-provoking and captivating.

"We hone our crafts on different paths.” A line from one of the choreographers in the Netflix series Move. These dance artists blew me away in their beauty and expressiveness.

[video:https://youtu.be/qOZ62yiD1c8]
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From, Hoping for a return to normal after Trump? That's the last thing we need, by Yanis Varoufakis

Voters who loathe Trump celebrate his loss, but the majority rue the return to what used to pass as normal or ethical.

The reason 2008 was a momentous year wasn’t just because of the magnitude of the crisis, but because it was the year when normality was shattered once-and-for-all. The original postwar social contract broke in the early 1970s, yielding permanent real median earnings stagnation. It was replaced by a promise to America’s working class of another route to prosperity: rising house prices and financialised pension schemes. When Wall Street’s house of cards collapsed in 2008, so did this postwar social contract between America’s working class and its rulers.

The Democratic party has demonstrated time and again its determination to prevent any challenge to the powerful that are responsible for the pain, anger and humiliation that propelled Trump to the White House.

Trump’s supporters are unlikely to articulate this in so many words. However, their contempt for the liberal establishment is rooted in the realisation that the rich Democrats behind the Biden-Harris ticket won’t ever truly change conditions for the poor. Any redistribution of wealth and power that threatens their kids’ trust fund, or soaring asset prices on Wall Street, are off-limits – and those voters know that.

The confluence of discontent that powered Trump to power in 2016 has not gone away. To pretend like it has is only to invite future disaster – for America and the rest of the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/08/hoping-for-a-retur...

What has caught your attention recently? Anything goes ...

I look forward to hearing about your recent explorations. I'll be back late in the day.

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janis b's picture

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janis b's picture

I am posting now because I don't have a handle on setting the time and won't be around for posting at the proper time.

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For sky-watchers the Leonid meteor shower is peaking from tonight through the 17th. Good info here; https://earthsky.org/tonight/leonid-meteors-before-dawn-november-17

Thank you Janis for the OT and standing in for smiley.

That dance program looks really good, I will check on it out. Hope all is well with you across the seas.

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Granma's picture

Beginning on the 18th and lasting for 2 weeks to stop the uncontrolled spread of the corona virus. The health authorities say Oregon's virus spread is being caused by informal social gatherings. Gatherings are to be limited to a total of 6 people from no more than 2 households. There is more, but I think this is the important part.

I do not think this will work. It specifically includes Thanksgiving, the holiday when typically more families gather than any other, including Christmas. My own family has planned a small gathering, 10 people, but from 5 different households. Whether we will go ahead with it, I don't know. But I suspect most families will go ahead with whatever plans they have made for Thanksgiving. Many may have already planned to keep their gathering smaller than usual.

I hope enough people will keep their group small enough that cases will not go up even more after the holiday because if case numbers keep increasing, we'll end up in a complete lockdown. Maybe we will get a warm dry Thanksgiving day that will allow people to be outside. A warmer, dry day in late November is always a treasure to be enjoyed.

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over Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. We can all chat on the phone while we eat and drink.
I planned my entire weekend around meeting a client at the office to hand him the most important deed ever, and since he has the world's most important job, he had to pick up the deed on a Saturday.
He didn't show up.
It's days like this when I dream of retiring.
Texas isn't handling the outbreak of COVID-19 worth a damn. The Texas Supreme Court did issue a directive that all jury trials are suspended until Feb. 1.
I just want the holidays of 2020 in my rear view mirror!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Granma's picture

@on the cusp it is a more difficult choice for some of us. We want to see our children and grandchildren. This COVID mess has been going on for close to a year now. That is a long time to stay home alone, skipping any sort social activities and not seeing family or friends. For people who live alone, it gets grim after this long a time.

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@Granma I can well imagine the the sorrow of not having the special memories with them these holidays afford.
I try to think of this as just a few more months of isolation, then things will be safe.
I know you will take every precaution to make the holidays special in a healthy way.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Also:

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Granma's picture

@Marie at an El Paso hospital is apparently not true. Medical professionals who work in that hospital say it is not. Story seems to have come from someone who does not work in that hospital.

It sounded pretty shaky since doctors don't abandon patients. I intend to look into it further.

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@Granma the claim that it's untrue? UMC did issue a statement saying "we cannot verify the claims in the video," but did confirm that the travel nurse had worked in their hospital.

Under triage conditions, it's my understanding the doctors don't tend to those for which nothing further can be done.

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Granma's picture

@Marie who worked at the hospital briefly. Her comments were on Facebook, and sounds like they were a rant when she was tired. From some of the quotes, it sounds to me as though she doesn't like doctors much. Since El Paso is still overwhelmed with virus cases, but the nurse is no longer working in that hospital, the odds are pretty good that she either quit or was let go by the hospital.

I looked for a long time but was unableto find anything other than the hospital's brief statement and several quotes of her comments from various TV stations and newspapers. On thing that stood out to me was her comment that they did things differently than the hospital in New York.

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@Granma worked there for a month. And that she couldn't take it anymore.

Traveling nurses is an industry. Usually engaged through their agency for a few weeks to a few months to fill temporary staffing shortfalls. As they are an expensive fix, hospitals try to limit their use of them.

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@Marie El Paso businesses reopen after court blocks shutdown order

I guess TX wants to hold onto it's #1 ranking on number of cases. Still has a ways to go to jump from #2 to #1 in deaths.

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enhydra lutris's picture

for standing in for Smiley.

There were, originally, but 5 themes (Thema); Armeniakon (northeast Anatolia), Anatolikon (central Anatolia), Opsikion (northwest Anatolia), and Carabisiani (southwest Anatolia and adjacent islands). Later more were added and then lesser or minor themse were created and it gets a bit cray-cray.

my initial search for "what was a Greek Thema", based on memory of the existence of such a thing generated the following summary blurb attributed to da wiki:

The themes or thémata (Greek: θέματα, thémata, singular: θέμα, théma) were the main military/administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. ... The theme system reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries, as older themes were split up and the conquest of territory resulted in the creation of new ones.

With that out of the way, we will not be holding TanksGibbons and will probably not attend any xmasses or such either. T-Day is usually at our place, out of long tradition, but we and 3 of the remote attendees have decided no, which is much to our liking. I disapprove of the holiday in the first place because of its ugly history. My wife and I have pretty much managed to shut down gift giving except consumables, so xmas devolved into a dinner gathering at another's hoouse, which, if held, we won't attend. New Year's has long been but an exercise in starying up late enough to drink soe good champagne at midnight and toddle off. So that's that. Our attitude is, to some extent "hey, at least the pandemic spared us the holidays."

Poor El Paso. Out of sympathy and condolences I will refrain from queuing up Kinky Friedman.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

smiley7's picture

a dance to life, to feelings of being alive. Especially now in this, this ... killing disease and cruel politic.

Hats off to QMS, randtntx and janis for keeping Saturday's community going, for caring and mostly for dancing and being here.

Thank you ALL
~

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@smiley7 . Hope everything goes well for you this coming week and you are able to wrap things up to your satisfaction.
All the best to you.

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smiley7's picture

@randtntx

Thank you, it will be great to be back; all this real estate has worn me out and we are still not across the finish line; hoping to resume essays this coming Saturday.

A salute to you, QMS and janis.

May have to travel down the mtn again this week, hope not, but things drive the process that are beyond my control.

Take good care and be safe out there.

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@smiley7 if you are too busy to do the Saturday essay. I'll be happy to post something. Thanks for the h/t, we have a good team here.

You take care and be safe as well, things are pretty dicey right now.

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Anja Geitz's picture

At the store in La Canada and now appreciate what all of you have to do on Saturday when you just gotta have that bottle of red wine.

Definitely one of the perks working there was NOT having to stand in line.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

smiley7's picture

@Anja Geitz

purgatory this weekend, a waiting in line; hate having to wait, especially when incompetance causes the problem. My little Walter Mitty dad used to say "I'm not waiting in line for some one to take my money." Smile

How are you, friend? Missed you.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@smiley7

I like your Dad’s saying. I have a similar one when anyone tells me that I just *have* to go to CostCo. Which is that I’m not getting on a freeway to go to a grocery store. Not doing it.

Missed you too! I’m doing well. Busy. Don’t have a lot of time these days to graze through social media. But we all have to make sacrifices. Lol.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

magiamma's picture

Nother beauty day in paradise.

Thanks for the ot, janis. Be well everyone.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

@magiamma

the middle picture shocked me into awareness
of a bigger picture.
thanks to all for chiming in and keeping the feelings
alive )

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magiamma's picture

@QMS
Back atcha Lol

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

I was 11. This movie segment makes me smile.
And dance!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

Didn't even get on-line yesterday. I enjoyed the beautiful weather here and the last of the fall colors as leaves fell like snow.

Hope you have a good one Janis as spring emerges in your world.

Take care everyone. COVID is rocking and rolling.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

janis b's picture

@Lookout

" ... the last of the fall colors as leaves fell like snow."

Was that a gentle and silent falling? Thank you for the image of a beautiful event that is absent here, and I do miss.

Be well and content

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