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The blaze on the three-decked vessel started mid-river near the town of Jhalakathi as it sailed from the capital Dhaka to the town of Barguna. Some of the victims drowned after jumping into the water. The number of casualties in Friday's disaster is likely to increase as many of the passengers have severe burns. As many as 500 people were reportedly on board the vessel, the MV Avijan-10. The fire is believed to have started in the engine room and quickly spread as the ferry travelled along the Sugandha river at around 03:00 local time (21:00 GMT Thursday), fire services...

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a good evening. This is, I think, the tenth edition of the annual thread dedicated to those among us who, for whatever reason, find ourselves solo on the night before Christmas. Here in my cozy habitat, it's just me, my faithful hound and, a little later, Ralphie Parker and then George Bailey will make his yearly appearance. The presents are wrapped and under the tree. After dinner, I'll imbibe a latte and then maybe a little vino. Anyone else solo tonight?

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cuyahoga County is currently among the areas with the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the entire country. According to data compiled by the New York Times from state and local-level health agencies, Cuyahoga County currently has the second highest COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 in the United States, behind only Hopkins, Texas. The latest update on Dec. 24 shows that Cuyahoga County’s cases per 100,000 is 254. That’s a 234% increase over the last 14 days. Lake, Lorain, Portage, and Summit counties are also among the top 20 in the nation with the highest case per...

12/24/21 (AP) Canadian authorities in Quebec Province announced this evening that they have detained Santa Claus for failure to produce COVID-19 vaccination documents and a negative COVID test which are required to enter the country. With heavy snow falling it was reported that the large, white-bearded man became irate with border police and hurled insults in French at the officials. Border Police Sgt. Pierre Delecto said, “The gentleman was extremely upset and let us know. I have not heard such vile language since Rob Ford was Mayor of Toronto. He mockingly added an ‘eh’ to every sentence and he even...

Merry Christmas to all...May your Christmas be a happy one...

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) argued that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) should be held accountable for the shortage of coronavirus tests in the state because he’s opposed mask mandates and vaccine mandates. Host Boris Sanchez asked, “Ultimately, who do you think should be held accountable for the apparent shortage of tests in this country?”

Many will be gathering in church, celebrating the birth of Jesus over the next two days, for one of the most joyous times of the year.But a CNN religion commentator, Roman Catholic priest Fr. Edward Beck, has some thoughts on the subject that seem contrary to everything I learned about the love of one’s neighbor as a Catholic. He’s telling people to stay home, effectively telling them they are not welcome in the Church — on one of the most important days of celebration for Catholics — if they are unvaccinated.Yep. I said it. I don’t think unvaccinated people should...

Merry Christmas too all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq9cwUMHHCA

NASA is looking to the heavens for help with assessing how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets and how the discovery could impact our ideas of gods and creation. The agency is hiring 24 theologians to take part in its program at the Center for Theological Inquiry (CTI) at Princeton University in New Jersey, which NASA gave a $1.1 million grant to in 2014.CTI is described as building 'bridges of under understanding by convening theologians, scientists, scholars, and policymakers to think together - and inform public thinking - on global concerns.'

Professional golfer Phil Mickelson triggered leftists on social media after asking some logical questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and its latest variant. The 51-year-old PGA champion said he was “just curious” about some things regarding the omicron variant and posed questions that many would agree were fair things to consider, be they from politicians and public health officials or from non-experts such as Mickelson. Serious question since I’m not a dr. If omicron is contagious but not deadly(25,000 cases in Africa with no deaths) why try and control it?” he asked in a tweet on Thursday. “Why not let it...

Tucker Carlson’s three-part series, Patriot Purge, which aired on Fox Nation in November, stirred controversy, ruffled feathers inside Fox News, and reportedly “troubled” Lachlan Murdoch.Lachlan Murdoch, who serves as the CEO of Fox Corp., is the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox Corp.As Washington Post’s Sarah Ellison reported on Thursday, “Lachlan Murdoch was troubled by the incendiary trailer for the series, according to people who spoke with him. Yet the series continued to air on Fox Nation, which further lent Carlson an air of untouchability inside Fox.”Ellison’s report noted that when Brian Nick, a spokesman for Lachlan...

Believers: Steve Bannon, David Horowitz, Peter Navarro, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Mark Levin, MTG, Matt Gaetz, Elise Stefanik Alex Jones Deniers: Pat Buchanan,Fox News, Breitbart, Joel Pollack, National Review, Wall Street Journal, NY Post, Michael Goodwin, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Chip Roy, Mitch McConnell, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Bill Barr, Ben Shapiro, Ann Coulter, Matt Drudge, Guy Benson, Jedediah Bila, Karl Rove, Rick Santorum, Chris Christie, Dan Quayle, Alyssa Farah I'm not sure about these people: Sean Hannity,Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Dick Morris, Newt Gingrich, Greg Kelly, Michael Savage

On this morning's Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade absolutely unloaded on Kamala Harris. Kilmeade was commenting on a New York Times article containing this line: "Ms. Harris has privately told her allies that the news coverage of her would be different if she were any of her 48 predecessors, whom she has described as all white and male." Get the rest of the story and view the video here. Riposted Kilmeade: "To me, this is a lack of performance. This is a lack of interest. This is laziness. And this is a complaint-a-holic who just wants to be anointed...

ransomnote: I've been researching post vaccination reports the CDC has elected to publish to its VAERS database which contain patient records for those with thrombosis, myocarditis and periocarditis.For those interested I included some tables and charts I found and posted them below the line (lower half of this post). These are a tiny fraction of actual adverse events the public has experienced. Many doctors and nurses have reported being discouraged from reporting to VAERS, many don't have time because the CDC's process is (intentionally) cumbersome and time consuming.The CDC has withheld records from VAERS and has deleted some. These days,...

In Pulaski, Tennessee, a group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the “Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government’s progressive Reconstruction era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of the local Black population ---SNIP--- In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan. In 1871, the Ku Klux Act passed Congress, authorizing President Ulysses S. Grant to use military force to suppress the KKK. The Ku Klux Act resulted in nine...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its top officials are doubling down on criticism of the Great Barrington Declaration after emails showed they quickly moved last year to oppose it. The declaration, penned last year, said lockdowns were producing negative short- and long-term effects on public health, such as lower childhood vaccination rates, fewer cancer screenings, and worsening mental health. The experts who signed on called for focusing COVID-19 prevention efforts on the most vulnerable, particularly the elderly, while loosening restrictions on the young and healthy, who are at little risk of developing severe COVID-19.Dr. Martin Kulldorff, at the...

President Joe Biden was subjected to a right-wing anti-Biden slur during a Christmas Eve call with NORAD's Santa tracker.Biden and the first lady were speaking with families around the country who had called into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to receive an update on Santa's location when one parent ended the conversation by saying: "Let’s go Brandon/The president did not appear to recognize that the phrase is used by the right wing as a euphemism for "f--- Joe Biden," and responded: "Let’s go Brandon, I agree."

This is our first Christmas without Rush Limbaugh, and for millions of us it is a terrible void.

Or so we believed. As a child growing up in the Westboro Baptist Church—you may have known us as the “God Hates Fags” protestors—I never much minded my family’s ideological separatism. The church was my world: my grandfather founded it, my mother was its spokesperson, and everyone I loved was deeply committed to its vision. In practice this meant that from the age of five, my holiday season consisted primarily of a series of protests on cold winter evenings. My extended family and I would hold signs condemning Christmas idolatry, planting ourselves on sidewalks outside of Christmas concerts, church services,...

Has it been at all noticed that I offered to debate anybody, on television or otherwise, about the RIGGED Presidential Election of 2020. This was a publicly stated challenge—I have been called a “ratings machine,” and therefore would be good for television economics—which have not been doing so well lately. With all the bravado out there, I have not had one credible person willing to stand up and debate me in order to defend the CROOKED election. All involved, like those on the Unselect Committee of January 6th, know that it is a losing proposition for them. The election numbers...