“A Brazilian Senate probe into the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will recommend in its final report due next week that President Jair Bolsonaro face 11 criminal charges, the senator leading the inquiry said on Friday, though it remains highly unlikely that he will face a trial on any such charges,” Reuters reports.

AFP: “Russia on Saturday recorded 1,000 deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with the country’s jab drive at a standstill and few restrictions in place. An official government tally showed 1,002 deaths and 33,208 new infections, setting a high for both fatalities and cases for the third day in a row. The surge comes with just 32 percent of Russians fully inoculated, according to official statistics published for the first time Saturday. A lack of tough restrictions has allowed the virus to spread unchecked, though a number of regions have re-introduced QR codes for access to public places.”

“The Kremlin has avoided re-introducing major measures despite calling the vaccination rate ‘unacceptably’ low, and saying authorities have to ensure ‘the economy continues working’. It also said Russia’s medical system was not ‘overwhelmed’ and prepared to take in the rising number of patients. Authorities have blamed Russians for the growing outbreak. Health Minister Mikhail Murashko this week pointed to their ‘behaviour’, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everything had been done to give the public the chance to ‘save their lives by getting vaccinated’. While several Russian-developed jabs have been available for months, many people remain vaccine-sceptic. Independent polls show more than half of Russians do not plan to get a shot. ‘The main preventive measure that helps protect a person and helps to avoid a fatal outcome is vaccination,’ Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on national television Saturday.”

“When Marcia Blanar stayed at Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys during the summer, a decorative fountain surrounded by benches ‘was raging with active Legionella,’ according to a lawsuit filed on her behalf earlier this month in Monroe County Circuit Court. Legionella, a type of bacteria, can cause Legionnaires’ Disease. The disease can cause a severe lung infection and is contracted by breathing in infected water, such as a spray of water. Blanar, of Maryland, ‘developed a fever and uncharacteristic fatigue,’ upon returning from her vacation, her attorney Ira Leesfield wrote in the lawsuit filed Oct. 1 in the Monroe County court.”

The Miami-Herald reports that ‘Blanar tested positive for Legionnaires’ Disease shortly after her stay at the sprawling resort on Duck Key, which was from June 30 to July 6…”

“A 41-year-old man has been arrested and charged with ten felonies related to the possession of child pornography. The investigation began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) was notified of a potentially illicit image being uploaded to a Dropbox account. NCMEC notified the Northern Virginia Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of this CyberTipline lead. The owner of the Dropbox account was determined to reside in Fairfax County. Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau’s Missing and Exploited Persons Squad were notified in August and assumed the investigation. Detectives executed a search warrant on the Dropbox account and discovered additional images of child sexual abuse material,” reports the Fairfax County Police Department.

“Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran withheld the salaries of all Leon County School Board members Friday, even though the district walked back its COVID-induced mask rule this week. In a letter to the district, Corcoran said that even though parents have the ultimate authority on whether their child wears a mask to school under the new local policy, it also requires asymptomatic children to wear a mask if they wish to return to school during the seven-day quarantine period. That, he said, does not comply with the state’s own new emergency rule.”

“The Florida Department of Education will withhold the members’ salaries every month until they comply with the emergency rule, which is dated Oct. 12. Members make about $40,000 a year, so the department is withholding about $17,000 altogether each month. On Facebook, board member Alva Striplin posted a photo of Corcoran’s letter and wrote, ‘Lost my salary today.’ Striplin, who has been critical of the district mandate and has urged the superintendent to come into compliance, added she would ‘focus on the good! Rates are down in our community significantly, our schools are open, and our children are learning and laughing in-person with their friends. ‘Thank you to our entire community for your patience with us during this time.’ In Tuesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Rocky Hanna was prescient, warning board members that reverting to a parental opt-out wouldn’t be enough for Corcoran to find the district in compliance. The district will have more information on Monday, said spokesperson Chris Petley” – Tallahasee.com.

Bloomberg: “Southeast Asian countries agreed to exclude Myanmar’s junta leader from a key summit later this month, a rare and decisive move by the 10-member bloc to hold the regime accountable for a violent crackdown on its political opponents. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations extensively discussed Myanmar’s representation in the Oct. 26-28 summit and didn’t reach a consensus to allow for a political representative from the country to attend, the bloc said in a statement on Saturday. That’s because a group of ousted lawmakers aligned to Myanmar’s detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi had reached out to some Asean member states, asking to be invited to the summit which will be held in Brunei. ‘Therefore, in the view of competing claims’ to attend the summit and to ‘allow Myanmar the space to restore its internal affairs,’ a decision was made to invite a non-political representative, Asean said after a meeting of foreign ministers was held on Friday to discuss the country.”

• Recent economic reports are breaking favorably toward a strong economy going into 2022.  Job creation continues to increase.  Workers are able to change jobs so they’re not stuck, unhappy, in a go-nowhere position.  Wages are increasing.  Consumer spending is steady.  The economy may be strong and stable, but Democrats need to capitalize on the messaging about the economy to make it work for them in 2022.  Negative messaging is a strength of conservatives/Trumpians.  
• Workers at John Deere and Kellogg strike.  Nurses picketing for workplace safety.  People leaving jobs because they can get better positions at more pay.  This is what it looks like when an American middle class starts thriving.  
• Women in Afghanistan are praying for the health and safety of women in Texas.  
  Read More ▶ “Random thoughts Friday, Volume XL”

“At least 47 people have been killed and 70 others wounded after an explosion went off inside a Shia mosque in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, according to a Taliban official. The explosion on Friday afternoon took place in the Bibi Fatima mosque, the largest mosque for Shia worshippers in the city,” reports Al Jazeera.

“Hafiz Sayeed, the Taliban’s chief for Kandahar’s department of culture and information, reported the number of dead and wounded. Interior ministry spokesman Sayed Khosti said on Twitter: ‘We are saddened to learn that an explosion took place in a mosque of the Shia brotherhood in the first district of Kandahar city in which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded.’ Taliban special forces arrived in the area ‘to determine the nature of the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice’, he added.”

Politico: “A candidate Republicans hope will help them retake control of the U.S. Senate next fall, former Nevada AG Adam Laxalt, was in the unwelcome position Friday of testifying as a prosecution witness at a trial of two men accused of funneling more than $100,000 in Russian money into U.S. political campaigns. Laxalt spent two hours on the witness stand in federal court in Manhattan detailing the intense scramble for cash in the closing weeks of his race for Nevada governor in 2018. His appearance came on the third day of testimony at the trial of Lev Parnas, a Florida businessman charged with making illegal political donations through straw donors and on behalf of a Russian national. Laxalt was repeatedly pressed to describe his own efforts to scrounge for donations as attorneys recited texts and emails involving some of the key figures in the case.”

“Under questioning by a prosecutor, Laxalt described how he was introduced to Parnas, saying he first met Parnas at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in 2018 over cigars and drinks in the company of one of then-President Donald Trump’s lawyers, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Laxalt said Parnas eventually pledged $10,000 and said he’d raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the campaign, but the money was slow to arrive, so Laxalt called again and again. ‘I’m basically repeatedly reaching out to everyone who pledged to donate,’ Laxalt said, adding that he was ‘really bombarding’ Parnas. Parnas eventually arranged two $5,000 donations through a colleague who earlier pleaded guilty in the case, Igor Fruman. Laxalt’s campaign later became suspicious of the donation and gave up the money. ‘We sought the advice of counsel and we returned the check for the $10,000 to the United States Treasury,’ Laxalt told jurors.”

“Jeff Clark, the disgraced Justice Department official subpoenaed this week in the House investigation of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, has vanished. Clark, who plotted with former President Donald Trump to help overturn Georgia’s presidential election results, no longer appears on the website of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal group that celebrated his arrival in July as chief of litigation and director of strategy. His removal from the website coincided with the House January 6 committee demanding that Clark produce records and sit for a deposition on October 29. It came less than a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee released an interim report – titled ‘Subverting Justice’ – on its own investigation into Trump and Clark’s efforts.”

“The New Civil Liberties Alliance has offered no public explanation for Clark’s disappearance. Some of the group’s staff and board members told Insider they do not know whether Clark is still associated with the group. ‘I have no idea,’ one member of New Civil Liberties Alliance’s board of advisors told Insider, adding that the panel generally consults on legal strategy but is not involved in personnel matters. Judy Pino, the group’s director of communications, did not respond to repeated inquiries about Clark. Clark and his lawyer, Robert Driscoll, did not respond to requests for comment. The silence about the website-scrubbing adds to questions surrounding Clark, whom the Senate confirmed in 2018 to lead the DOJ’s environmental and natural resources division” – Insider.

CNN: “Gaige Grosskreutz, the sole survivor of the Kenosha protests shootings, is suing the City of Kenosha, Kenosha County and many of its officers, alleging ‘Kenosha law enforcement officers and white nationalist militia persons discussed and coordinated strategy’ that led to the shooting that injured him and killed two others. ‘It was not a mistake that Kyle Rittenhouse would kill two people and maim a third on that evening. It was a natural consequence of the actions of the Kenosha Police Department (KPD) and Kenosha Sherriff’s Department (KCSD) in deputizing a roving militia to ‘protect property’ and ‘assist in maintaining order,” the lawsuit alleges. Grosskreutz was at the August 2020 demonstrations protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake when he was shot.”

“‘I was shot point blank with a .223 round from the shooter,’ Grosskreutz told CNN last year. ‘And I am now missing 90% of my bicep. This has not been easy emotionally, physically. I’m in constant pain, like excruciating pain that just doesn’t go away – both in my arm, in my heart.’ The lawsuit, filed Thursday in US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, identifies the City of Kenosha, Kenosha County, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, former police chief Daniel Miskinis, interim Police Chief Eric Larsen and other county and city police officers, listed as Jane and John Does, as the defendants.”

NEW!

President Donald J. Trump releases new statement on damning findings in Pima County, Arizona

"Either a new Election should immediately take place or the past Election should be decertified and the Republican candidate declared the winner." pic.twitter.com/ACNvcA70bE

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 15, 2021

“A judge has denied Sean Parnell’s request for an expansive gag order against his estranged wife and her attorney, though the judge did seal some parts of the ongoing custody fight that has roiled Parnell’s campaign for U.S. Senate. Judge James Arner, overseeing the Butler County custody case, refused Parnell’s request for an order that would have barred his wife, Laurie, and her attorney from publicly discussing two temporary protection-from-abuse orders issued against Parnell in 2017 and 2018. In his order, the judge also declined to seal the custody case’s records and to bar Laurie Parnell from discussing the case, as Parnell sought” – Philadelphia Inquirer.

More than $82 billion was pumped into American start-ups and new businesses by venture capitalists and other investors during the third quarter of 2021, signalling optimism and opportunism that the US economy will continue its upward trajectory, Wired reports.

The amount of American investment was more than half of all investor capitol laid out in the quarter, and it put the amount of dollars invested in startups through 2021 at more than all invested throughout the previous year.

David Hsu, who researches venture capital at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, believes that there are many elements contributing to the increase in venture investment.  Hsu believes that nascent technologies, like blockchain and AI, have led to a number of new startup innovations. “Other companies benefited from the Covid economy, such as some areas of ecommerce and deliveries,” he says.

NPR:  “A panel of experts voted unanimously to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration authorize a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine.  In a 19-0 vote, the panel recommended that the booster dose come at least two months after initial immunization with one shot of the J&J vaccine.

“During the meeting, J&J presented data that showed the protection of the single shot remained largely stable over time but that a second dose pushed protection to a higher level.  Dr. Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the morning’s presentations by J&J didn’t include other relevant information about why a booster might be valuable after the initial immunization. ‘There are data suggesting the effectiveness of the vaccine is actually less robust than the company’s presentation here,’ he said.

“Marks then called on Dr. Amanda Cohn, a panelist who is also chief medical officer of the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She cited a study published by the CDC in September that showed the J&J vaccine had effectiveness of around 68% in keeping people out of the hospital for COVID-19 compared with more than 90% for Moderna’s vaccine and about 77% for the Pfizer-BioNTech after about four months.  Cohn said the J&J vaccine’s protection was substantially lower than the mRNA vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer — even when waning of their protection is taken into account.”

ABC News:  “A U.S. Capitol Police officer has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice over allegations he encouraged an alleged participant of the Jan. 6 riot to delete social media posts that showed the person joining the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol, authorities said Friday.  Michael Riley, an officer with more than 25 years of experience, was not on duty inside the Capitol building itself during the riot — but afterward messaged an unidentified individual over Facebook who allegedly had posted selfies and other videos showing themselves inside the Capitol, an indictment said.

“‘Hey [Person 1], im a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance,’ Riley allegedly wrote. ‘Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to [be] charged. Just looking out!’  The person then exchanged dozens of more messages with Riley showing them inside and outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment.

“‘I get it… it was a total sh** show!!!’ Riley allegedly wrote. ‘Just wanted to give you a heads up… Im glad you got out of there unscathed. We had over 50 officers hurt, some pretty bad,’ the indictment said.  The two continued to converse over Facebook direct messaging for several days after, according to charging documents. In one exchange, Riley joked the alleged rioter could come stay with him in D.C. at a later date and he could arrange a tour for him so he could ‘legally’ see it, authorities said.

Associated Press:  “The Biden administration said Friday it will turn next to the U.S. Supreme Court in another attempt to halt a Texas law that has banned most abortions since September.  The move comes as the Texas clinics are running out of avenues to stop the GOP-engineered law that bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks. It amounts to the nation’s biggest curb to abortion in nearly 50 years.

“The latest defeat for clinics came Thursday night when a federal appeals panel in New Orleans, in a 2-1 decision, allowed the restrictions to remain in place for a third time in the last several weeks alone.  Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said the federal government will now ask the Supreme Court to reverse that decision but did not say how quickly.

“The Biden administration was under pressure from abortion rights supporters to go to the Supreme Court even before the announcement. The court already once allowed the restrictions to take effect, but did so without ruling on the law’s constitutionality.  Since the law took effect Sept. 1, Texas women have sought out abortion clinics in neighboring states, some driving hours through the middle of the night and including patients as young as 12 years old. The law makes no exception for cases of rape or incest.”

“As the Superintendent of Schools, I express my sincere apology regarding the online article and news story released today. During the conversations with teachers during last week’s meeting, the comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history. Additionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust.”

“As we continue to work through implementation of HB3979, we also understand this bill does not require an opposing viewpoint on historical facts. As a district we will work to add clarity to our expectations for teachers and once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused” says Southlake-Carroll ISD Superintendent Lane Ledbetter on Facebook.

Marine Corps Times: “When Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller’s defense team called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, to the virtual witness stand Thursday afternoon, the tablet showing her Zoom testimony to the Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, courtroom fell down. So did her arguments during the sentencing phase of the Marine officer’s special court-martial, which meandered from her personal 9/11 experience to calls for President Joe Biden’s resignation. Amid repeated relevancy objections from Lt. Col. Nicholas Gannon, the Marine Corps’ top prosecutor, Greene was cut off multiple times by Col. Glen Hines, the military judge who will rule on Scheller’s sentence Friday.”

“Earlier in the day, Scheller had pleaded guilty to all charges against him as part of a plea agreement with the Corps, which will conclude a saga that began when he took to social media Aug. 26 to demand accountability from senior leaders for their perceived failures in Afghanistan.”

“Three members of Congress testified during the sentencing phase of the trial: Greene; Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who appeared in person; and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-South Carolina, who testified via phone. While all three politicians argued at least briefly against the perceived ‘two-tiered’ system of accountability – Gohmert at the greatest length of the three – they each had issues tying their testimony back to Scheller’s sentencing. That problem was exacerbated by the fact that none of them personally knew the Marine, which is usually the case for character witnesses called for court-martial sentencings. Gohmert, who served as an Army lawyer in the 1970s, used his testimony as an opportunity to attack Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the nation’s top military officer. He argued that Milley had disrespected then-President Donald Trump in June 2020 amid the Lafayette Square controversy in Washington, when he expressed regret for accompanying Trump in uniform during a photo-op walk to St. John’s Church amid George Floyd protests.”