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At the walk-in vaccine centre behind Lambeth town hall yesterday afternoon, there was no queue at all. It is just a 30-second walk from Acre Lane in Brixton – newly revealed as having Britain’s highest rate of coronavirus infection. A remarkable 5 per cent of residents have the virus. And the high level is partly explained by the 32.4 per cent of locals who remain unvaccinated, unmoved in the face of public entreaties. So why are so many here in south London rejecting the offer of a jab to protect themselves? Strolling down Acre Lane towards Clapham, you soon find...

Finland has developed a new technology for producing a renewable hydrocarbon. The process has the potential to shakeup the global energy industry — if it moves beyond the experimental stage. Piloted by a consortium of energy players working with the Lappeenranta University of Technology and the state research agency VTT, the Soletair project has generated a great deal of international interest. Hydrocarbons are among the world’s most important compounds, as they are refined into fuels for use in cars, ships and aircraft. They are also used in the production of plastics.

Fifty people tested positive for COVID-19 aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that departed from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Saturday. Royal Caribbean spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro confirmed to USA Today that 47 crew members and three passengers aboard the Odyssey of the Seas tested positive. The ship, which is carrying 3,587 passengers and 1,599 crew members, is on an eight-day trip but briefly returned to port Sunday to disembark a passenger who had COVID-19....

The Biden administration is taking new actions in an attempt to facilitate humanitarian aid to people in Afghanistan, with the Department of Treasury allowing some financial transactions with the Taliban. "The United States is the largest single provider of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a statement Wednesday.... ...While the Treasury's new general licenses put certain conditions in place on transactions with the Taliban, critics warn that it could serve to legitimize and assist Taliban rule. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, was critical of the move....

Sen. Ted Cruz, in an interview, said he is particularly well-positioned to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, referencing his second-place finish behind Donald Trump in the party's 2016 primary. Cruz, R-Texas, was talking to The Truth Gazette, a conservative news service operated by 15-year-old Brilyn Hollyhand. Asked by Hollyhand whether he would consider running again for the White House, Cruz responded, "Absolutely. In a heartbeat." "You know, I ran in 2016. It was the most fun I've ever had in my life. We had a very crowded field. We had 17 candidates in the race — a very strong...

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., said Americans should be more focused on pressing issues in the United States like the southern border crisis before worrying about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. "Instead of being the police force of the world, some people who want to say, 'Oh my goodness, well you know what, there's this terrible border crisis going on in Ukraine and Russia, Vladimir Putin, blah blah,'" Cawthorn said during his speech at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix. "I don't care. I really don't." Cawthorn also noted the struggles of homeless veterans, many of whom do not...

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Tuesday that thousands of federal inmates who were released due to COVID concerns will not have to return to prison when the health emergency ends and can instead remain under home confinement.The move is a reversal of an order by the Trump administration issued in January and will affect approximately 5,000 convicts. “Thousands of people on home confinement have reconnected with their families, have found gainful employment, and have followed the rules,” Garland proclaimed in a statement. “We will exercise our authority so that those who have made rehabilitative progress and complied with the...

Places with highest daily reported cases per capita Seven-day average of daily new reported cases per 100,000 residents

The Omicron variant’s economic impact will depend heavily upon how consumers feel about it. From homebuying to shopping to hiring, everything hinges on whether U.S. households fear the virus enough to halt the activities that have permitted the economy to reopen, or if they are learning to live with the ongoing pandemic. Households curbing vacation plans and shifting back to online buying would send ripple effects throughout the U.S. economy, slowing both economic growth and job gains of in-person service sectors. Moreover, inflationary pressures could worsen if these factors led U.S. households to demand more goods, but foreign manufacturers were...

Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) told Politico on Wednesday he wishes he had certified the electoral votes of several states that voted for President Biden in the 2020 presidential election. “In retrospect I should have voted to certify,” Rice reportedly said. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol." The South Carolina Republican alleged that Trump “did nothing to stop” the attack on Jan. 6 and looked on at the unfolding events “with pride,” and from afar, Politico reported. Rice told the news outlet that he only voted against certifying the electoral votes of several states because he...

One of the dual digital computer units (DCU) in the engine controller for the number four RS-25, Engine 2060, stopped responding beginning on November 23. All four controllers were being powered up for Program Specific Engineering Testing (PSET) on the SLS Core Stage, which is stacked with the full Artemis 1 vehicle in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The dual channels on all four controller units powered up successfully on November 12 during other checkout testing prior to the failure on the 23rd. The engine controller units (ECU)...

A new study finds the magnetic field generated by a tsunami can be detected a few minutes earlier than changes in sea level and could improve warnings of these giant waves. Tsunamis generate magnetic fields as they move conductive seawater through the Earth's magnetic field. Researchers previously predicted that the tsunami's magnetic field would arrive before a change in sea level, but they lacked simultaneous measurements of magnetics and sea level that are necessary to demonstrate the phenomenon. The new study provides real-world evidence for using tsunamis' magnetic fields to predict the height of tsunami waves using data from two...

Up to 1 December this year side effects center Lareb has received more than 17,000 reports of menstrual disorders after corona vaccinations. It concerns a variety of complaints, such as heavy or delayed menstruation. Reporters generally indicate that menstruation after vaccination is different than before. Most of the reports were about heavy periods (about 4500 times), followed by delayed periods (3200 times), irregular periods (3000 times) and bleeding in between (3000 times)...

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, Michigan football is taking a step as a team to get ahead of the virus. Offensive lineman Andrew Stueber told reporters on Tuesday that the players will get their COVID-19 boosters on Wednesday in an effort to keep as many players available against Georgia in the College Football Playoff as possible, describing it as a “full-team booster shot,” per the Detroit Free Press.

Motus in fine velocior (2) - "With a Divisive, Useless, and Unjust Persecution, the Francis Crisis is Gathering Even More Speed" - by Roberto de Mattei by Roberto de MatteiOn February 11, 2014, one year after the day on which Benedict XVI made known his decision to resign from the pontificate, I published an article entitled Motus in fine velocior to signal the beginning of a dizzying acceleration of time’s pace, starting with the resignation of Benedict and the election of Pope Francis on March 13, 2013. Benedict XVI reigned from April 19, 2005, to February 28, 2013, seven...

[Catholic Caucus] IMPORTANT ARTICLE: LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RESPONSA ON TRADITIONIS CUSTODES - "Congregation cannot make authoritative interpretations. Juridical status of document highly questionable, does not have legally binding force." On 18 December 2021, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS) issued a peculiar document, a "Responsa ad dubia" regarding the 16 July 2021 motu proprio of Pope Francis, Traditionis Custodes. At the outset, some formal considerations on this document must be stressed. The main lines of the competencies of the CDWDS can be found as sketched in Pastor Bonus, the 28 June 1988...

A top South African doctor tells Israeli television that the Omicron variant appears much less deadly than the Delta strain of coronavirus. "People are not dying as you have seen with Delta," Dr. Angelique Coetzee says in an interview with Kan public broadcaster. "Delta---it's totally different." Coetzee, who heads the South African Medical Association, says cases have begun declining since December 9. "We don't see that doubling or increase we had seen right in the beginning," she says. "Maybe it will be a different picture in the rest of the world but for now the caseloads in the hospitals are...

I have a question - it's probably 'dumb' to those who know about these things, but I once received a lot of good information on modern lightbulbs, here; so I'll try. We bought a new shower head today. I have long hair, and need a higher-pressure one to wash it. We usually remove the 'flow restrictor' (so, arrest me!) but this one claims to have a 'flow regulator'. What, if anything, is the difference between a regulator and restrictor? Thanks for any help. P.S.: We saw a really nice Christmas movie tonight - 'The Christmas Candle': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christmas_Candle

“When the shepherd becomes a wolf, the flock must defend itself”: Dr. Michael Fiedrowicz The following essay by the eminent patrologist and scholar of the Roman liturgy, Michael Fiedrowicz, discusses classical theologians on the right of resistance to the abuse of ecclesiastical authority. It was written prior to the release of the CDW document but in anticipation of it. First published in IK-Nachrichten of Pro Santa Ecclesia, December 2021/January 2022, the translation appears exclusively at Rorate Caeli.—PAKSaints Athanasius & Cyril“When the Shepherd Becomes a Wolf, the Flock Must Defend Itself”Prof. Dr. Michael FiedrowiczExpect the worstIt is part of the...

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