Biden Takes Victory Lap, Declaring Holiday Supply Chain Crisis Averted

Bloomberg

December 22, 2021

By Mario Parker and Josh Wingrove (Bloomberg) —

President Joe Biden said that his administration, together with labor unions and companies, succeeded in averting a holiday-season supply-chain crisis.

“Earlier this fall, we heard a lot of dire warnings about supply-chain problems leading to a crisis around the holidays,” Biden said at the White House. “So we acted. We brought together business and labor leaders to solve problems. The much-predicted crisis didn’t occur.”

“Packages are moving” and “shelves are not empty” at stores, the president said, taking credit for moves his administration made to improve the flow of goods through U.S. ports.

But he said that rising inflation is “top of mind for me” and that reducing costs is the “top priority of the entire administration.”

Companies have warned that structural challenges in U.S. supply chains — including an antiquated shipping system that’s processing record volumes of goods — will persist into the New Year, and that there’s no silver-bullet solution.

Stalled Package

Inflation is a core political problem for Biden, who on Tuesday touted the falling price of gasoline and called for passage of his flagship domestic-policy bill, known as Build Back Better, which he argues will ease price pressures over the long term. Progress on the bill ground to a halt Sunday when Senator Joe Manchin, a crucial swing vote, yanked his support, citing inflation as a concern.

The president renewed his pitch for his bill at Wednesday’s event, saying it will ease inflation and fuel growth. “Failing to make these investments is going to slow growth, not increase it,” he said. Biden reiterated his argument that the package won’t increase the debt — an implicit rebuttal to Manchin’s stated concern about the federal debt load.

Biden’s administration has launched measures to ease congestion at ports and reduce a shortage of truck drivers, and the bipartisan infrastructure law he signed last month includes billions of dollars in funding for ports, which is expected to ease bottlenecks in the long term.

After his remarks, Biden met by videoconference with business leaders including FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith, Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal, Yellow Corp. CEO Darren Hawkins and Fastport Inc. Executive Director Dave Harrison, along with Christopher Connor, CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities, according to the White House.

Biden was also joined by members of his cabinet, including the secretaries of commerce, transportation and labor.

Smith of FedEx, who has been a major Republican donor, said, “So, the supply chain issues are not all solved, but there’s a lot of effort underway to solve them and we’re optimistic that people will have a good peak season.”

“Most of Santa Claus’s products will be delivered to the consumers and the retailers have done a great job of, as you mentioned, stocking their shelves,” Smith said to Biden

https://gcaptain.com/biden-takes-victory-lap-declaring-holiday-supply-chain-crisis-averted/

[betcha he never heard about Amazon and Walmart chartering ships to smaller ports]

Port of Long Beach Receives $52 Million MARAD Grant for Rail Project

Mike Schuler

December 22, 2021

The Port of Long Beach has been awarded a $52.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration to help fund development of the port’s “Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility” helping to boost on-dock rail capacity at shipping terminals.

The planned $870 million project is the centerpiece of the Port of Long Beach’s approximately $1 billion rail capital improvement program. Long Beach says the project, once the first tracks are completed in 2025, will help the port move more cargo by train, improve efficiency, and lessen environmental impacts by directly transferring containers to and from marine terminals by train, thereby reducing truck traffic as cargo volumes grow.

No cargo trucks will visit the facility. Rather, smaller train segments will be brought to the facility and joined together into a full-sized train, allowing longer trains to be assembled with greater frequency.

The project encompasses about 171 acres in the Harbor District and will require acquiring some properties in the project’s footprint. The existing Pier B rail facility serves as a storage and staging area for trains and is primarily used by Pacific Harbor Line, which provides rail dispatching and switching services.

“This is great news to hear at the end of what will be our busiest year ever,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We appreciate the U.S. Department of Transportation’s support for this important project. It will help to move cargo more efficiently through the Port, getting needed products and goods to homes and businesses across America faster.”

The funding is being provided by MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, which is specifically designed for capital improvement projects at U.S. seaports.

“Our federal partners have recognized the need to modernize the Port and support our push toward 24/7 operations,” said Harbor Commission President Steven Neal. “These investments have benefits from coast to coast since cargo from the Port of Long Beach reaches every congressional district.”

Construction Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility is set to begin in 2023, with the first arrival, departure and storage tracks are expected to be completed in 2025, with additional tracks coming online in 2030, followed by project completion in 2032.

Additional grant funding for the project has been provided by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

https://gcaptain.com/port-of-long-beach-receives-52-million-marad-grant-for-rail-project/

>>112246

>>112265

Water Island?

Sailboat named FEEL THEIR MAGIC just west of Great St. James Island

Diveboat OCEAN EXPRESS further to the southwest. I hae never seen a diveboat in that area before

>>112298

No sign of Wexner's LIMITLESS yet.

Last I saw a bot named Q it was a sailboat. Dunno, that's the pic that came up and she's in Nassau

>>112299

Boat, boat named Q

damn sobriety while boatfagging

World's most sophisticated comercial communications satellite launched successfully

gCaptain

December 23, 2021

Press Release – Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications confirms the successful launch of its first Inmarsat-6 satellite, I-6 F1, by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

The Inmarsat-6s (I-6) are Inmarsat’s first ever hybrid L- and Ka-band satellites, incorporating increased capacity and new technological advances for ELERA’s transformational L-band services alongside additional Global Xpress (GX) high-speed broadband capacity. Adding to an existing global fleet of 14 geostationary satellites they extend Inmarsat’s commitment to mission critical services while enabling a new generation of pioneering technologies to connect and sustain the world. This launch is the first of seven planned for Inmarsat by 2024 in the company’s fully-funded technology roadmap.

Launch success was confirmed by MHI at 15:59 UK time on 22 December following satellite separation from the H-IIA launch vehicle, with successful signal acquisition soon afterwards.

The most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever launched, I-6 F1 is comparable in size to a London double-decker bus, with a deployed solar arrays ‘wingspan’ similar to a Boeing 767 and a 9 metre wide L-band reflector that will be deployed over the coming days. The satellite will then be raised to geostationary orbit (GEO) approximately 36,000km (~22,500 miles) above the Earth via its all-electric propulsion system and then undergo a thorough and extensive testing programme. I-6 F1 will enter service in 2023. Ground stations in Western Australia will support I-6 F1.

Rajeev Suri, CEO of Inmarsat, said “This launch marks Inmarsat’s newest technological leap forward as we maintain our strong commercial momentum and sector leadership. It gives me great pleasure and pride to confirm the successful launch of I-6 F1. This satellite extends our world leading mobile satellite communications services for our customers and partners, especially in the Indo Pacific region. My warmest thanks and congratulations go to the Inmarsat team that delivered flawlessly on this project as well as our launch provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and our satellite manufacturing partner Airbus Defence and Space.”

The I-6 satellites demonstrate Inmarsat’s ongoing investment and commitment to its global leadership in L-band satellite services to 2040 and beyond for the benefit of mobility customers worldwide. They deliver an enhanced platform for those looking to embrace the next wave of world-changing technologies that ELERA enables, including the rapidly growing Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT) satellite connectivity market segment, by providing dramatically increased network capacity and resilience.

These new capabilities from the I-6s mean greater capacity and coverage, greater speeds and a greater portfolio of innovative connectivity solutions for ELERA and Global Xpress (GX) networks. The I-6 satellites, like all Inmarsat ELERA and GX spacecraft, are backward-compatible with existing terminals, ensuring that current and future customers will continue to benefit from new advances.

The I-6s also substantially increase the effective capacity of the network available to ELERA customers with double the beams, 50% more spectrum per beam and double the power of the I-4s, matching customer demand as and where it is needed. They also add further depth in Inmarsat’s global coverage for even greater assurance to customers of the redundancy and resilience of Inmarsat’s world-leading L-band network.

The GX6 payloads hosted on the I-6s add targeted high capacity to Inmarsat’s high-speed GX network, ensuring it continues to support the growing need of commercial and government customers for data, particularly in congested regions or hotspots where it is needed most.

The launch of the I-6s is further evidence of the momentum underpinning Inmarsat’s business and technology leadership in global mobility communications. I-6 plays an integral role in the reliable GEO infrastructure that underpins Inmarsat ORCHESTRA – the world’s first network that will combine GEO, highly elliptical orbit (HEO), low Earth orbit (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into one harmonious solution.

More:

https://gcaptain.com/worlds-most-sophisticated-commercial-communications-satellite-launched-successfully/

[ "InmarsatORCHESTRA– the world’s first network that will combine GEO, highly elliptical orbit (HEO), low Earth orbit (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into one harmonious solution." Where have we seen "orchestra" before? Rings a faint bell]

Deepdigs #3 >>>/deepdigs/2954

Merck’s New COVID-19 Pill Could Accidentally Trigger A New Variant, Experts Warn

Dylan Housman

Healthcare Reporter

December 23, 2021 7:39 PM ET

Discussion surrounding Merck’s newly-authorized COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir, has mostly concerned the risk it might pose to pregnant women. But some experts worry it could also lead to the outbreak of a new variant of the virus it’s designed to treat.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to two antiviral pills to treat COVID-19 this week, one from Pfizer (paxlovid) and another from Merck (molnupiravir). The Pfizer EUA was generally lacking in controversy, but the authorization of molnupiravir was far more contentious.

The FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee (ADAC) voted at the end of November to recommend authorization of molnupiravir, but it was by a narrow 13-10 margin. Even the members who voted in favor did so with qualifiers: some said the pill shouldn’t be given to pregnant women, and others were skeptical of its efficacy.

“I don’t think I would want to take this drug, not knowing the effect it could have on my unborn child,” Dr. Roblena Walker, CEO of public health non-profit EMAGAHA Inc. and ADAC member, said at the time. She voted yes.

Some of the members who voted against recommending authorization expressed more serious concerns, that rather than help solve the pandemic with its 30% efficacy rate, molnupiravir could cause the breakout of a new variant. (RELATED: Despite Evidence, Walensky Refuses To Call Omicron ‘Mild’ In Interview With Fox’s Bret Baier)

Molnupiravir works by triggering mutations in the virus of an infected individual, and those mutations go on to eventually kill the infection, Dr. Peter Weina told the Daily Caller. Weina, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Defense Health Agency, is an ADAC member who voted against recommending authorization.

“The drug works by mutating the organism, and this is an organism in which we have a lot of mutations creating problems for us already,” Weina said. “Just like influenza and just like a lot of viruses, there’s a baseline relatively high mutation rate in these viruses. The fact is that most mutations are probably lethal to the organism, but a couple of them are going to end up being beneficial for the organism, and we’ve seen that with the successive different variants that have come out.”

In other words, while the overwhelming majority of mutations triggered by molnupiravir will do their job and kill the virus, its not inconceivable that one of those mutations could be beneficial to COVID-19 and lead to another dangerous variant.

Weina wasn’t the only committee member with this concern. Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, president of Meharry Medical College, told The Washington Post he voted no for the same reason: “I voted no. It was an easy vote for me to vote no. … There were more questions than answers. I think the potential for this drug to drive some very challenging variants into the public is a major, major concern.”

Part of the EUA given to molnupiravir states that the drug should only be given if no viable alternative is available, such as Paxlovid. But it’s expected that supply of Merck’s drug will outpace Pfizer’s initially, meaning that the latter’s offering with an 89% efficacy rate won’t be as readily available.

“The number needed to treat for this particular drug was 34. What that means in real life is that you have to treat 34 people to get one good outcome. Another way of looking at it means that 33 people who get the drug aren’t necessarily gonna benefit from it,” Weina told the Daily Caller. “And those are 33 out of 34 people that are going to be mutating the virus that’s in them with no potential benefit.”

“100% of the people that are getting the organism, their viruses are mutating. That’s how the drug works and it ends up killing the virus,” he continued. “But the problem of course is that we don’t know how many of those viruses may potentially get a mutation that causes yet another variant out there. Maybe a variant our vaccines have absolutely no efficacy against. So I think the potential risk out there is quite high.”

13. This sets up a potential conflict between patient and the public: taking molnupiravir benefits the patient, on average. But in the unlikely event that something goes wrong, and the drug helps the virus evolve to a new variant of concern, the entire public pays the price.

— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) December 5, 2021

More:

https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/23/merck-molnupiravir-covid-19-pill-coronavirus-variant-fda/

>>112353

This part bugs me:

The most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever launched, I-6 F1 is comparable in size to a London double-decker bus, with a deployed solar arrays ‘wingspan’ similar to a Boeing 767 and a 9 metre wide L-band reflector that will be deployed over the coming days. The satellite will then be raised to geostationary orbit (GEO) approximately 36,000km (~22,500 miles) above the Earth via its all-electric propulsion system and then undergo a thorough and extensive testing programme. I-6 F1 will enter service in 2023. Ground stations in Western Australia will support I-6 F1.

How dafuq does an all-electric propulsion system work?

>>112331 (me)

Posted it over on deepdigs just now, maybe anons can find something

>>112359

Looks like they zoomed right by it, not in the notables and Final just got posted

Another day perhaps

>>112362

>055 crew is a crew, not just one person. It was a team to destroy the board and what anons do.

Believe me I know

>>112368

Hmmm

Deepdigs #3 >>>/deepdigs/3189

“Whatever it Takes” – Biden Supports Senate Filibuster ‘Exception’ to Ram Through Voting Legislation – Says He Would Axe the Longstanding Senate Practice Without Hesitation (VIDEO)

By Julian Conradson

Published December 23, 2021 at 9:30pm

During a trainwreck one-on-one interview on Wednesday with ABC’s David Muir, Joe Biden said that he was in favor of “whatever it takes” to force his radical agenda through the US legislature in order for it to become law, even if it means terminating the filibuster – which he said he would do without hesitation if given the chance.

Biden made the comments when Muir asked him about the Democrat’s proposed changes to federal election procedures included in H.R.1, which includes a sweeping overhaul on voting rights that would enable countless illegal aliens to cast votes and allow for even more extensive fraud than there was in 2020.

The radical legislation – which is deceptively named the ‘for the people act’ – would essentially rig US elections for good if it is passed, but the resolution has been unable to make it through the Senate thanks to the 50-50 split and the longstanding filibuster – which requires legislation to achieve 60 votes in order to pass.

Unfortunately, trivial things and semantics – like, you know, having enough votes – isn’t a concern for the current dictator in chief.

In response to Muir just flat-out asking if he supported “fundamental changes” to the longstanding rules of the US Senate to achieve his radical agenda, Biden immediately responded with a “yes.”

When asked “what that means,” Biden continued:

Biden: “It means whatever it takes – Change the Senate rules to accommodate major pieces of legislation without requiring 60 votes.”

Muir: “So you support a carve-out of the filibuster for voting rights?“

Biden: “The only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster.

I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster.”

EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden to @DavidMuir: "If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster." https://t.co/jaaJVXY2EW pic.twitter.com/O42GECbIxO

— ABC News (@ABC) December 23, 2021

In case you were wondering if Biden was just more out of it than usual because someone scheduled an interview for him past his bedtime, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the administration is setting its sights on the filibuster for a messy takedown on Thursday during her press briefing, also calling it the “only thing standing in the way” of the Democrats’ anti-American agenda.

Somehow, as she advocates to destroy the checks and balances of power in the US, she also claims that Biden “has always been committed to” the democratic process.”

PSAKI: Biden "is prepared to support changes [to the filibuster] if that's the only thing standing in the way of getting [voting rights legislation] done." pic.twitter.com/A2R9Iun6BI

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 23, 2021

Like most other platforms Biden campaigned on, his stance on the filibuster has flip-flopped from what it was before he was fraudulently placed in office.

He was quoted several times as being in favor of keeping it, even calling its removal “a very dangerous thing to do” at one campaign stop.

Flashback to Biden in 2019:

“Ending the filibuster is a very dangerous thing to do.” pic.twitter.com/0HgEJ9EDMs

— The First (@TheFirstonTV) December 23, 2021

And that’s the ol’ bait and switch.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/whatever-takes-biden-supports-senate-filibuster-exception-ram-voting-legislation-says-axe-longstanding-senate-practice-without-hesitation-video/

>>112385

Don't need no stinkin' gargle