Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel): From kooky FRIEND to full on racist

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & THOMAS FRIEDMAN IS A GREAT MAN & ANN'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

AS THE ACADEMY AWARDS OFFERS AN APOLOGY TO SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER, PROMINENT RACIST LISA KUDROW, FRESH OFF LAST WEEK'S SCANDAL (SEE "Lisa Kudrow needs to apologize," "Lisa Kudrow exposes herself as a racist," "Grand Dragon Lisa Kudrow" AND "Iraq snapshot") STATES HER BELIEF THAT NO APOLOGY IS NEEDED.

"YOU KNOW," KUDROW TOLD THESE REPORTERS -- MUST CREDIT BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & THOMAS FRIEDMAN IS A GREAT MAN & ANN'S BIG MIX -- "THE THING IS THAT PEOPLE WENT TO LIKE BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, OKAY?, AND SO LIKE THEY DID NOT KNOW INDIANS -- EXCUSE ME, NATIVE AMERICANS -- IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT TO BE CALLED THESE DAYS? IT'S SO HARD TO KEEP UP. SO ANYWAY, LIKE IT WAS PERFECTLY NORMAL TO LAUGH AT HER AND POINT AT HER AND MOCK HER BECAUSE WE ARE THE NORM AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT."

ASKED IF SHE WOULD EVER WORK WITH A NATIVE AMERICAN, KUDROW LAUGHED, "YOU MEAN LIKE TONTO. OR THAT CRYING INDIAN IN THE T.V. ADS. UH, NO. I DO SITCOMS ABOUT REAL LIVES ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE PHOEBE AND WHATEVER THE NAME OF THE CHARACTER I PLAYED IN 'WEB THERAPY' AND THE ONE I PLAYED IN 'THE COMEBACK.' I DO IMPORTANT CHARACTER, SO IMPORTANT AND CLASSY THAT THEY NEVER FIND AN AUDIENCE. I REALLY HAVE NO CAREER OUTSIDE OF 'FRIENDS' AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY I'M SO BITTER. AND ANGRY"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with monkeypox, Benjamin Mateus (WSWS) reports:

Given the rising rates of monkeypox infections across the US and the limited available doses of the Jynneos vaccine (Imvanex in Europe) made by Bavarian Nordic, the only authorized vaccine against the orthopoxvirus, last week the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to ration the vaccine through the use of intradermal injections.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said, “In recent weeks, the monkeypox virus has continued to spread at a rate that has made it clear our current vaccine supply will not meet the current demand. The FDA quickly explored other scientifically appropriate options to facilitate access to the vaccine for all impacted individuals. By increasing the number of available doses, more individuals who want to be vaccinated against monkeypox will now have the opportunity to do so.”

What the commissioner is explaining is called fractional monkeypox vaccine dosing, or a dose-sparing measure. Instead of giving the vaccine deep into the muscle, one-fifth of the standard dose is injected between the layers of skin. Evidence for the intradermal route was obtained based on a 2015 clinical study conducted by the government which demonstrated it could provide a similar immune response to intramuscular injection. As a result, the total number of available doses has been expanded by five-fold or five doses per vial.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, speaking during the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seminar to inform clinicians of the change in the interim guidance on the new practice, estimated that approximately 1.7 million Americans were at risk of contracting monkeypox. At least 3 million doses would be needed, although only half that amount would be available by year’s end.

The fractional dosing offered the only viable alternative as the ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine, which is available in abundance, carries a significant risk of myocarditis and rare but known complications of death. Specifically, ACAM2000 is contraindicated in immunocompromised individuals.

Yet even as an intradermal injection, the Jynneos vaccine (a smallpox vaccine) still requires two doses to be given 28 days apart to complete the series. It has also not been approved for children under the age of 18. Jynneos has also never been verified to be effective against monkeypox, and little is known about its role as postexposure prophylaxis.

We've called out, repeatedly last week, Joe's 'answer' to take 400,00 vaccines and divide them up into fifths to create '2 million vaccines.' We've pointed out that the basis for this 'answer' is one study -- one clinical study -- that was done back in 2015. Now, thanks to MJ Lee's reporting for CNN, we know that among those objecting to this move? The CEO of Bavarian Nordic Paul Chaplin. Why should that especially register? Because as Lee reports, Chaplin was the co-author of that 2015 study -- of the only study that this decision has been based upon. Lee notes:

Chaplin, the CEO of Bavarian Nordic, also raised concerns. CNN reported that Chaplin wrote in a letter Tuesday to Califf and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra that he had concerns about the "very limited safety data available" on the newly announced vaccination strategy, and that a relatively high percentage of people in the clinical study -- 20% -- did not get their second shot.

On BREAKING POINTS, Krystal and Saager have a video that confuses me.

What is their point? Gay people are being hurt by this? I don't see that in the way that they're claiming. The people who are being hurt by this are the ones living in a stupid bubble who think they're not at risk because they aren't male -- and gay or bi male at that.

It is not now, nor has it ever been a gay disease. Monkeypox has been around forever. That may 'change' in that the World Health Organization is seeking another name for it and asking for public input. Maggie Baska (PINK NEWS) reports:

WHO said the decision was made after meeting with a group of “global experts” this week and in line with current best practices for naming diseases.

The organisation said the goal of renaming monkeypox variants is to “avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups, and minimize any negative impact on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare”.

WHO said the new names for the monkeypox clades will “take effect immediately”. The health agency announced it was also opening a forum for the public to suggest new names for the disease, the Associated Press reported.

Ireland's JOURNAL reports:

THERE IS A DANGER that commentary around the current global monkeypox outbreak could cause a false sense of security about the level of risk posed by the virus, a leading Irish virologist has said.

There have now been over 100 reported cases of monkeypox in Ireland since the start of the outbreak in May. Around 30,000 cases have been reported across 80 countries where monkeypox is not endemic and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

While the majority of cases in this outbreak have been among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM), experts have cautioned against linking transmission solely to sexual activity and have warned that messaging, if not managed correctly, risks stigmatising people.

Speaking to The Journal‘s The Explainer podcast this week, Dr Cillian de Gascun, Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory said the terminology around the outbreak can be “challenging”, with some referring to it as a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

“Traditionally, we wouldn’t have considered it an STI because when we think about sexually transmitted infections we often think about pathogens, like chlamydia or gonorrhoea, that require direct sexual contact – be that penetrative or otherwise – for transmission,” he explained.

“Now, when we look at monkeypox we know that’s not the case. It’s typically skin-to-skin direct contact, but it can also be respiratory droplets or through contaminated fomites or objects in an infected person’s households.”

Dr de Gascun said referring to monkeypox as an STI “automatically causes some people to think they are not at risk because perhaps they’re not sexually active or they haven’t been in contact with somebody sexually in a period of time or they haven’t seen somebody with lesions”.

And let's be clear on something, Saager, if I were a gay man and I knew you and you came up to me to lecture me about my 'behavior,' I think I'd punch you in the face (a) for your homophobia, (b) for your assumption that I needed you to explain current events to me because you thought I was too stupid to understand them myself and (c) to help you calm your ass down because you were clearly in the midst of a panic.

It is not a gay disease and the sooner everyone grasp that, the sooner things will be better. Are gay men more at risk, it appears right now that they are. But they're not solely at risk and things change and infections can morph. POLITICO notes:

It may be too late to stop monkeypox from circulating in the U.S. permanently.

The Biden administration was caught off-guard when the CDC confirmed monkeypox in a Massachusetts man on May 18. It was part of the first major outbreak outside parts of Africa where the virus is endemic, an unusual event that quickly spun into a global health crisis.

Caught off guard? What was the lazy, senile man prepared for? Clearly, it wasn't to govern. There was a pandemic in place when he was running for the presidency. Back then, he spoke of how he would address it and all that he felt Donald Trump was doing wrong about COVID. Now Joe's president and he tells us it's hear and we're all going to catch it and . . .

When is this dumb ass do-nothing ever prepared?

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