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A zonkey is a highly unusual hybrid between a zebra and donkey. The gestation period of a zebra is twelve months, so it’s not difficult to connect the dots. During her time living within the community last year, she had obviously become acquainted with an amorous donkey. The zonkey combines the sturdy body of its donkey sire and the striped legs of its zebra mother, which makes for a striking creature. While it should otherwise lead a normal life, zonkeys are mules, meaning that it will be unable to successfully breed once it reaches maturity. We’re happy to report that...

We have a problem in this country right now with regard to producing and distributing the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin that, according to studies­­, have shown promising results when used to combat COVID-19. As a business owner, I have been blessed to receive everything I have today because I lived in a time and place where free markets are the primary organizing force of economic activity. Free markets are also credited with being the best way to create a better quality of life for the greatest number of people. They also perform more mechanical functions. Free markets allocate scarce...

As the Civil War drew to its end, Confederate General Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 — Palm Sunday — near Appomattox Court House. Then, four days later, on April 14 — Good Friday — President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre. He would die the next day. Thomas Nast, the most famous political cartoonist of the period, commemorated the coincidence with an illustration pairing an image of Christ entering Jerusalem, the event that is commemorated every Palm Sunday, with an image of Lee surrendering to Grant at Appomattox....

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City’s schools would continue with remote learning through the rest of the school year.

https://youtu.be/4S2v3DMnb10

John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health at Stanford University, says he's "perfectly happy" to be under virtual lockdown in California due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And he readily acknowledges the importance of sensitizing the public to following instructions to shelter in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. In addition, Ioannidis recognizes that a large number of people may die from COVID-19. But in a video posted on YouTube, the codirector of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford said he worries that media outlets are "falling into a trap of sensationalism". And he suggested...

Four fossilized monkey teeth discovered deep in the Peruvian Amazon provide new evidence that more than one group of ancient primates journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa. The teeth are from a newly discovered species belonging to an extinct family of African primates known as parapithecids. Fossils discovered at the same site in Peru had earlier offered the first proof that South American monkeys evolved from African primates.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said, “It’s inconvenient from a societal standpoint, from an economic standpoint to go through this." It is interesting sometimes that a brief comment can reveal the heart and mind — and in this instance, a special degree of tone deafness. Two weeks ago, at least 3.3 million people filed for unemployment benefits. Last week, 6.8 million more joined the ranks of the unemployed. On Thursday, an additional 6.6 million workers were added to the rolls of the unemployed. For Fauci, is it merely a societal or economic...

John P.A. Ioannidis is professor of medicine and professor of epidemiology and population health, as well as professor by courtesy of biomedical data science at Stanford University School of Medicine, professor by courtesy of statistics at Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences, and co-director of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) at Stanford University. The current coronavirus disease, Covid-19, has been called a once-in-a-century pandemic. But it may also be a once-in-a-century evidence fiasco. At a time when everyone needs better information, from disease modelers and governments to people quarantined or just social distancing, we lack reliable evidence...

I never have posted an original thread or vanity, but I thought some might be interested in following the mission of Apollo 13 in real time. https://apolloinrealtime.org/13

This guy is sketchy. Sometimes within a 24 hour period Fauci will make a statement, then contradict the initial assertion, then attempt to cloud his own conflict with obtuse and wordy explanations. After watching for several weeks, we called it out HERE. In an interview Friday night with Martha MacCallum Dr. Fauci now claims the now collapsing coronavirus prediction models never influenced national health policy. It’s a rather disingenuous claim given everything that has taken place. There’s been a debate about possible political motives surrounding the panic he has created; the massive economic damage he has inflicted; and the conflicting...

President Trump on Friday joked that he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to move to New York and run against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because he could “win easily.” “I told Tony Fauci, why don’t you move to New York, run against AOC, you will win easily,” Trump quipped during the daily briefing of his Coronavirus Task Force.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

Depression, suicidal thoughts and self-injury are common among U.S. transgender teens, new research shows. The study also found that hormone therapy leads to significant improvements in gender dysphoria -- the feeling of being uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth. For the study, the researchers analyzed the medical records of 158 transgender teens treated at a pediatric endocrinology clinic between 2014 and 2019. The patients included 107 affirmed males (female to male), 47 affirmed females (male to female), and four who considered themselves non-binary. Affirmed gender is an individual's declared gender identity. Overall, 78.5 percent had a mental...

“He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace” (Proverbs 11:12 KJV).

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly every afternoon just before 12:30, the sisters of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará leave their Capitol Hill convent to greet Monsignor Charles Pope at Washington’s Holy Comforter – St. Cyprian church. Together, they circle the popular Lincoln Park praying the rosary, an ancient and beautiful Catholic devotion. It’s a contemplative prayer, rooted in scripture; a meditation on the sacred mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that’s been prayed through many centuries and plagues before our own. “The church remains open during the day for private prayer; people come and go...

MANY people could already be immune to coronavirus - with 15 per cent found to be carrying antibodies, experts claim. Scientists studying the town at the epicentre of Germany's first big outbreak suggest that mainland Europe isn't far off achieving herd immunity needed to relax lockdown measures. The experts, from the University of Bonn, said that their initial findings show that as many as 15 per cent of the town of Gangelt - dubbed the 'German Wuhan' - had antibodies to Covid-19. These people had not shown symptoms and were not previously thought to have been infected, they added. That...

Many critics allege Dr. Anthony Fauci is recklessly damaging the economy and blocking supposed wonder treatments like hydroxychloroquine. Those reports are labeled as a conspiracy by Fauci’s friend the mainstream media. When a crisis sprouts, one can bet the conspiracy theorists will have their day. While such people used to get relegated to the fringes where they belonged, the current political environment allows such baloney to have a home within certain quarters of the mainstream Right. But what if some so-called conspiracies are real? President Donald Trump said on Friday he will listen to the advice of doctors when deciding...

Dr. Ben Carson says there is not enough attention being paid to the “number of people who have recovered” from coronavirus, noting that the number “is going to be about 98 percent of all the people who get it.” Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon who serves as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), also said the one-quarter to fully one-half of all people who will get SARS-CoV-2 will show no symptoms at all. “You probably do know someone that has it, you may have it, who knows?” Carson told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Thursday. “But people have been...

The medical director at a Texas City nursing home says some COVID-19 patients on an unproven drug are showing signs of improvement and that he’s prescribed it to another dozen patients. Dr. Robin Armstrong said the first group of nine patients at The Resort at Texas City — where 56 residents and employees have tested positive for the disease — finished their five-day treatment with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine on Wednesday and are stable. “It seems like the patients are maintaining pretty steady and not having any difficulty, so that’s good,” Armstrong said, though he added that he can’t determine...