RIDLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
February 28, 2022
CV World Cases: The planet continues on an
increasing basis with cases now over 436 million at 436,565,699
cases, 63,329,229 of which are active, 373,236,470 closed with 367,265,172
recoveries (98.40%), and passing the 5,900,000 barrier 5,971,298 deaths (1.60%
)to continue the low trend of increased cases with increased recovery
percentages and decreased death percentages with some plateaus, dips, and
rises.
CV USA Cases: Total
cases now passing 80 million at 80,589,721 with 26,338,029 active cases
of which 8217 are serious or critical, (15,517 on 12/12) (back to steady
decreases despite the increase in active cases due to the relative mildness of
the Omicron variant) to .031 % of active cases (back to back steady decreases
despite the increase in active cases due to the relative mildness of the
Omicron variant and to increase the reduction from the
29,271 peak on 12/31/2020 to 21,054, 54,251,692 closures with 973,954 deaths
(1.80%) and with 53,278,098 recoveries (98.20%). Our death rate percentage is .20%
higher than the world’s death rate.
Standing: On a deaths
per million population measure on a steady but slowing climb to 2913 the
U.S. ranks behind Peru (6242) the new number 1 which has had a quantum leap in
deaths previously unmatched which was a change in the classification to give
Peru the a new method of reporting; Bulgaria (5171), Hungary (4569), Romania (3333)), Brazil
(3019), and Poland (2947) and slightly higher than Argentina (2749), Columbia
(2678), Belgium (2580), Italy (2566), Mexico (2425), Russia (2408), UK (2354),
Chile (2185), Spain (2125), Portugal (2073), France (2009), Ecuador (1947),
Bolivia (1795), Sweden (1678) that never closed its economy
down like we did, and Switzerland (1510).
US Vaccinations:
As of 02/28/22 551.9 million doses, 456,283 per day last
week ( 75.6%) of population now vaccinated with at least one shot)
and in California 56,330 per day (which means at least 81.7% of the
population of California has received at least one shot) which many believe is
necessary to develop herd immunity (other than Flip Flop Fauci who may believe
that 90% is required). In California 71,306,336 total doses have
been given (83.2% of doses received to exceed the U.S. average of 80.3%),
California has moved from 11th to 12th
of the 50 states in terms of the percentage of doses administered as a
percentage of doses delivered to the states and at 70.2%% of its population
fully vaccinated compared to the U.S. average of 64.2% and has not moved from 10th
in terms of the percentage of the population fully vaccinated compared to
other states (nothing like a recall election to get Newsom’s attention and
performance).
Non CV
News: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its 5th day
with ceasefire talks at the Polish Belarus ended without conclusion and reports
that 400 mercenaries believed to be from Chechnya have been sent to Ukraine to
assassinate Zelenskyy and street fighting in Kharkiv which should increase
casualties; Ukraine Parliament pleading with Congress for more weapons to
continue the fight against Russia; World Soccer Federations have banned Russia
while the NYSE and NASDAQ have halted trading in Russian securities; as a wave
of anti-sentiment sweeps the U.S., the company that makes Stoli vodka, is
proclaiming that it is Latvian company not Russian; as a sign of desperation or
commitment Ukraine announced that it would be releasing criminals from its
prisons to join the fight against Russia; Biden is being castigated for his perceived
weakness in closing down our Embassy before the invasion by Russia; the sanctions
imposed by Biden which do not affect Russia’s economic Achilles Heel, its petroleum
industry may be joined by a Red bill introduced to allow seizure of oligarchs’
planes and yachts which if passed and implemented with a vengeance will have
Russian oligarchs seething; sadly in places like Kharkiv, civilians are fair
game with residential areas being targeted by rockets and shells; 15 states
have joined in a law suit against the EPA’s new regulations in its war on
domestic energy production which has destroyed our energy independence that we
need now more than ever; Maersk a large shipping container company is weighing in
or banning containers to and from Russia; Netflix is defying a Russian edict
for it to air Russian government channels inside Russia; Nicole-Hannah Jones,
the founder of the idiotic 1619 Project, is being mocked for claiming Europe is
not a continent and claiming that the alarm over the invasion of Ukraine is
racist dog whistle because the Ukrainians are white; Alejandro Mayorkas, the
head of DHS, has been a complete and utter complete failure on our southern border
but we find that Biden is relying on him to address any threats arising out of the
Russian Ukraine invasion (incredible! Just Incredible!); as Russia has invaded
Ukraine and outrage over Russian behavior spreads across the world, leave it to
the political cartoonist to reveal that Romney was right and Obama missed the
mark in their debate over Russia:
Chicago Gun Violence: Hey Jackass.com is alive and
well to collect data to show that through February 27, 2022, gun violence
involving mostly persons of color shooting mostly persons of color in Chicago
is alive and well with 391 shot of whom 84 have died while 2021 shootings
numbers compared to 2020 are 4544 to 4248 and deaths are 846 compared to 797.
As always,
I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, factoids of interest
for this day in history, a video recording of “Bridge Over Trouble Water”
by Simon and Garfunkel; the fact that you are not viewed as suffering from sophomania, and a quote
by then Senator Biden on the Waco Branch Davidian siege, secure in the knowledge that if you want to send a gift
for any memorable events like Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, college graduations,
birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can
provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the
event and the recipient. Please contact me for details on pricing.
1. Global Scouse Day—created by Liverpool resident Graham Hughes on his
birthday on February 28 to celebrate with scouse, a meat stew with beef chunks
or lamb chunks along with onions, potatoes, and carrots in addition to what
leftovers might be in the kitchen and after he left Liverpool in 2008, his
friend Laura Worthington, owner of Laura’s Little Bakery continued the
tradition but expanded in to include scouse being on a restaurant’s menu and a
reason to visit Liverpool on this day each year.
2. Rare Disease Day—created to promote awareness and research for those diseases that
are rare (less than 200,000 in the U.S. affected by them which is reassuring to
those not infected or suffering but very bad news as large amounts of research
dollars may not be allocated due to the small number of people suffering.
3. 1970 Number 1 Song—the number 1 song in 1970 on this day
was “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” by Simon and Garfunkel on a run in that position for 6 weeks to join 23 other number 1 songs (2 of which
were by the Beatles to equal the same number in 1969 and 4 of which were by the
Jackson 5) and as 14 acts hit the charts at Number 1 for the first time. Here
is a video recording of Simon and Garfunkel performing “Bridge Over Troubled
Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrcwRt6J32o. Simon and
Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens and started harmonizing and
writing songs to become one of the most popular duos in the 60’s.
4. Word of the Day—the word of the day is “sophomania” which means the
delusion of one who thinks he or she is incredibly intelligent that far too
many celebs suffer from since they can memorize a script and portray an
intelligent person.
5. Don’t Mess with Mick—celebrating the birth on this day in 1942 of guitarist
and singer Brian Jones who founded the Rolling Stones and brought Mick Jaggar
and Keith Richards into the band but ended up in disagreements of where the
band should be going musically and was dismissed from the band in June, 1969.
Struggling with drugs and alcohol he drowned in his pool on July 3, 1969 at 27.
On
this day in:
a. 1953
James Watson and Francis Crick announced to friends that they had determined
the chemical structure of DNA which discovery would be made public on April 23,
1953 after the publication of their findings in Nature.
b. 1983 the
final episode of M*A*S*H aired which was watched by some 106 million viewers, an
all-time record for viewers of the final episode of a series.
c. 1993 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the
Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas to serve warrants on its leader David
Koresh, resulting in the death of 4 ATF agents and 6 Branch Davidians which led
to a 51 day stalemate which ended with the feds storming the compound as it
caught on fire resulting in the deaths of 76 of the 85 Branch Davidians still
in the compound.
d.
2004 over one million Taiwanese held hands in a 300 mile human chain to
commemorate the 228 incident in which Kuomintang forces on February 28, 1947
opened fire on fire on civilian protestors which over the weeks killed
thousands of people and had the island under martial law for some 38 years.
e. 2013
Pope Benedict XVI at age 85 resigned as Pope to become a Pope Emeritus and the
first one since Pope Gregory X11 resigned on July 4, 1415 to end the Great Schism
in the Church.
Reflections on siege of the Branch Davidian Compound at Waco,
Texas: The record of the Waco incident documents mistakes. What the record from
Waco does not evidence, however, is any improper motive or intent on the part
of law enforcement.” Senator Joseph Biden who was on the Senate Judiciary
Committee that issued the Waco Investigation Report.
Please enjoy the poems on events
of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet,
and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining
poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go to www.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in
History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and
poems on breaking news items of importance or go to Ridley's Believe It Or Not for just This Day in History.
© February 28, 2022, Michael P.
Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
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