I liked the satan character but I did spot a bad omen of what's probably to come.
Now this could play out as cute, it's early days but in a show were every other sin has turned giant and intimidating when their mood soured (it took Bee virtually nothing), we have the sin of WRATH being told to tone it down by an 'angel to the right of him' who he seems to have chosen to have there.
Again, cute and possibly amusing but since this show has a thing for neutering powerful characters by stripping them of responsibilities and wrong doing, all the ally with the main cast and be seen as 'nice' by us watching, skepticism creeps in.
He's ok as he is so far, just don't give him the Stolas, Ozzie and Bee treatment, they all showed us who they were on introduction then it was quickly decided that they actually weren't.
Black and Hispanic lifespans were disproportionally hit in worst decline since World War II
"Life expectancy in the United States dropped the most in more than seven decades last year as Covid-19 sent hundreds of thousands of Americans to early deaths. ... The first year of the pandemic delivered a bigger blow to American life expectancy than any year of the Vietnam War, the AIDS crisis or the 'deaths of despair' that nudged down life expectancies in the mid-2010s. ... 'The U.S. lags behind virtually all high-income countries in life expectancy, and now it's lagging further behind.' ...
"The first year of the pandemic reduced Americans' life expectancy at birth by 1.5 years, to 77.3 years. That erased the country's gains since 2003. It was the largest annual decline since 1943, in the middle of World War II. ... it was the second largest decline since the 1918 influenza pandemic, which is believed to have killed some 50 million people worldwide. ... Covid accounted for three-quarters of the decline in 2020."
Now, to be fair, the entire world had a terrible 2020 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. But the United States had it worse:
"This is not a decline that happened in other high-income countries, so something went terribly wrong in the U.S. where the number of Americans who died was vastly in excess of what it needed to be."
The president and senior officials manipulated Americans and played down the severity of the pandemic.
It is important that Americans know that the Trump administration knew as a fact how dangerous the Coronavirus could be back in February when they were still downplaying it. This appears to have happened because the president was more interested in keeping markets stable and in China trade negotiations than in protecting American health and lives.
Here’s an excerpt from this excellent article:
“In a conference call with reporters on the final Tuesday of [February], Dr. Messonnier spoke frankly. ‘We want to make sure the American public is prepared,’ she said, then put it in personal terms by saying what she told her children that morning: ‘We as a family ought to be preparing for significant disruption to our lives.’
“At the time, senior officials knew the coronavirus was an extreme threat to Americans. Thanks to information streaming in from U.S. intelligence agencies for months, officials reportedly believed that a ‘cataclysmic’ disease could infect 100 million Americans and discussed lockdown plans. The warnings were given to Mr. Trump in his daily brief by the intelligence community; in calls from Alex Azar, the secretary of health; and in memos from his economic adviser Peter Navarro.
“The same day that Dr. Messonnier spoke, the military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence raised the warning level inside the government to WATCHCON1, concluding that the coronavirus was imminently likely to develop into a full-blown pandemic.
“But the White House did not want the American public to know. [emphasis added]
“The president’s stated concerns were specific. He didn’t want to upset the markets or China during trade talks, and it appears he may have also simply been in denial, counting on his personal hunches and luck.”
Carlo Ginzburg proposed the notion that being ashamed of one’s country, not love of it, may be the true mark of belonging to it... If there were people in China who attempted to downplay epidemics, they should be ashamed just as those Soviet functionaries around Chernobyl who publicly claimed there was no danger while immediately evacuating their own families should. Or as those top managers who publicly deny global warming but are already buying houses in New Zealand or building survival bunkers in the Rocky Mountains should. Maybe the public outrage against such alleged double behavior (which is already compelling the authorities to promise transparency) will give birth to another unintended positive political development in China. But those who should be truly ashamed are all of us around the world thinking just about how to quarantine the Chinese.
Slavoj Zizek, 'Clear racist element to hysteria over new coronavirus', RT
Wounded U.S. soldiers accuse Army of downplaying their war injuries
Since the start of the war with Iran and Operation Epic Fury, some 400 U.S. soldiers have been wounded in the conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said 90% of those suffered minor injuries and returned to duty. But some of those wounded soldiers are pushing back on that in a CBS News exclusive. CBS News correspondent Jonah Kaplan has more.
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Wounded soldiers, families accuse Army of downplaying war injuries
When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked about the toll of the conflict with Iran in March, he told reporters that “almost 90%” of the 400 injured American service members had sustained only minor injuries and had since returned to duty.
Now, some of those wounded soldiers tell CBS News the injuries were far more serious than the official designation provided by the military.
Chief Warrant…
Exclusive: Kristen Bell's Pr Nightmare Erupts — Actress Accused of Downplaying Domestic Violence in 'tone-Deaf' Post About Husband Dax Shepard
Key Highlights
Kristen Bell faces backlash for a “tone-deaf” post about her husband Dax Shepard during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The post sparked accusations of downplaying domestic violence and has led to renewed scrutiny of the actress’s approach.
Insiders reveal that Bell is now carefully scripting her posts, fearing another PR misstep after the controversy.
Kristen Bell’s PR…
Presidential commission on college sports still in the works despite Saban downplaying it: Sources
By Sam Khan Jr., Chris Vannini and Justin Williams
Plans for a presidential commission exploring issues in college sports are still moving forward, sources familiar with the project told The Athletic.
Comments by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban on Wednesday raised doubts when he seemed to downplay the need for a potential commission during an appearance on ESPN’s “The Paul Finebaum Show.”…
