Cheesy Peasy: Obamas Endorse 'My Girl Kamala!' Via Eavesdropping Video

A beautiful marble floor has been discovered on the seabed where the sunken city of Baiae now rests. This ancient settlement was once a luxurious holiday spot for the elite, now known as the “Las Vegas” of Rome, but over time it was eventually lost to the sea.Baiae was located in the Gulf of Naples, close to where the famous remains of the city of Pompeii stand. Over the years, archaeologists have recovered various ancient relics from the submerged city, which now includes a multicolored marble floor that is currently being restored. According to the Facebook page of the Archaeological Park of the Phlegraean Fields, the floor consists of thousands of marble slabs, made up of hundreds of different shapes, which were gathered to create incredible geometric patterns.It forms part of the “opus sectile”, a mosaic work composed of various colored materials such as marble, shell, mother-of-pearl, and glass, which are cut into specific shapes and inlaid to create different designs and patterns. This type of mosaic differs from the common type (tessellated mosaics), which are characterized by patterns being formed by many smaller cubes of stone or glass. The pattern of this rich mosaic was probably created from repurposed stones that were used in walls or other floors.Image courtesy of Edoardo RuspantiniThe opus sectile recovered at Baiae was once the floor of a reception room for villa that would have been owned by a high-status individual in the city during the third century CE. The design would have been extremely expensive for the owner, who seems to have used recovered materials (taken from other floors or walls) to complete the design. It consists of multiple sharpened squares, each surrounded by inscribed circles. Creating a mosaic like this was expensive, so this may explain why the owner relied on stone that had already been used for other purposes.Image courtesy of Edoardo RuspantiniBaiae was an exceptionally fashionable resort that attracted the richest and brightest of Rome’s elite, including Julius Caeser, Nero, Cicero, and Hadrian. It boasted luxury villas set along a beautiful coastline. It was also visited for its rejuvenating hot springs bubbled up from volcanic vents below, which supposedly had healing properties. But over time, the city became more famous for its hedonistic appeal. Seneca, the famous Stoic philosopher, bemoaned the city, describing it as a “place to be avoided” due to vice and sin. People wandered the beach in various states of drunkenness and “riotous reveling” disturbed the peace he otherwise sought. In the end, Baiae met its demise due to historical and geological processes. As the Roman Empire started to collapse, it was attacked by various invaders and was later raided by Muslim armies in the eighth century CE. Then, in the 16th century, the city dropped below sea level due to volcanic activity within the wider Phlegraean Fields (a super volcano), on which it sat. However, underwater archaeologists have been working hard to recover and restore many aspects of this submerged city, offering us a view of the complex world it used to be part of. 

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has just confirmed the deaths of two women as a result of Oropouche fever, a viral illness that is spread by midge and mosquito bites. While over 7,000 cases of the infection have been reported in the country in 2024 alone, these are the world’s first recorded deaths.What is Oropouche fever?Oropouche fever is caused by the Oropouche orthobunyavirus. It was first isolated in 1955 near the Oropouche River on the island of Trinidad, from which it got its name. Since then, there have been numerous outbreaks recorded across Central and South America and the Caribbean.Earlier this year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiological alert after increased case numbers were detected in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Cuba also reported its first-ever outbreak of Oropouche virus on May 27, 2024.Over 7,700 cases have been recorded in these five countries in 2024.How is Oropouche fever spread?Oropouche is transmitted via the bites of tiny flies commonly known as midges (Culicoides paraensis) and by a species of mosquito called Culex quinquefasciatus, perhaps better known for its role in spreading West Nile virus in some regions.  Recently, there have also been a handful of reports of possible vertical transmission – from mother to child – of Oropouche virus in Brazil, leading PAHO to issue an alert to all of its member states to be on the lookout for similar cases.What are the symptoms of Oropouche fever?Oropouche fever is generally a self-limiting disease, with the acute illness lasting around a week. However, even after you start feeling better, your symptoms may recur for up to two weeks.These symptoms generally include fever, muscle and joint pain, nausea, headaches, dizziness, and light aversion – it’s quite similar to dengue. Rarely, severe cases can cause meningitis.There are no specific medicines or vaccines for Oropouche fever, so treatment focuses on relieving the symptoms.What do we know about the recent deaths in Brazil?Oropouche was not previously considered a fatal disease, but The Ministry of Health in Brazil reported in a statement on July 25 that two women from the state of Bahia had died from the infection. AFP reports that these represent the world's first recorded deaths from the infection.According to the statement, the women were both under the age of 30 and had no other health conditions, but both had symptoms that resembled severe dengue – a disease that had caused just over 2,000 deaths in the country between January and May 2024.At the time of writing, a further possible death was under investigation in Santa Catarina, while Oropouche fever was ruled out as the cause of a death in Maranhão state.The Ministry of Health confirmed that surveillance of Oropouche virus in Brazil was being coordinated at the national level, after the introduction of country-wide diagnostic testing in 2023. It said that most cases so far this year have been recorded in the states of Amazonas and Rondônia.Should we be concerned?The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has issued a Level 1 travel notice regarding the outbreaks of Oropouche fever in the Americas. This is the lowest level and recommends that travelers to the region “practice usual precautions” to avoid insect bites, and to seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms that could indicate an infection, including once they have returned home.Oropouche fever can easily be mistaken for dengue, which is endemic in many countries around the world and has seen increased cases in some regions this year. While many cases of dengue are mild, it’s important to watch for signs that the disease is getting worse, as severe dengue should be considered a medical emergency.“Death from Oropouche is extremely rare,” PAHO experts said in a Q&A on the situation. For most people traveling to or living in a region where there is Oropouche transmission, the risk of serious disease remains low, but the symptoms of Oropouche fever can still be unpleasant. Sensible precautions around preventing mosquito and midge bites should still be taken, such as using suitable insect repellents and wearing long, loose clothing.The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. 

An effective layered home defense begins beyond the perimeter, must strive to eliminate human error, the duty to protect your family cannot be outsourced The post Layered Home & Retreat Defense – Part 2 appeared first on Survivopedia.

The last Friday in July is National Talk in an Elevator Day. As the name suggests, it’s the day on which celebrants are encouraged to strike up a conversation with strangers in an elevator. Many people find this behavior abhorrent, especially in the polite South, where I live. Comedian Steven Wright once riffed on our societal preference for quiet stillness in elevators: “When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for five minutes without moving. He said it was elevator practice.” But things are different in the iPhone era. 'Check the apartment lease if you like, Phil, but I’m certain you can’t take physical delivery of 1,000 head of cattle.' A stranger is as likely to continue a phone conversation in your presence, if only for a spell, as to honor the previously prescribed elevator silence. While this overheard snippet isn’t itself conversation, it’s an opening you can exploit on this national day of untrammeled talking. Choose for a chat partner not the bloke yammering into his cell about the importance of making quarterly numbers, the weekend duffer swearing by her new irons to the person on the other end, or the man-child telling someone he calls “Sully” how “epic” their weekend will be. When the call ends — for they don't usually persist once the door closes — converse with the talker who seems most interesting based on his or her phone conversation contributions that you overheard. Choose the stranger on the elevator who said things like this: “I hear you, Bob, but it's like they say: Eating a freshly baked cookie in a treehouse doesn’t make you one of the Keebler Elves. What’s that? Yes, they do say that.” “Try it again, only this time ease up on the French horn and give me more didgeridoo.” “You're telling me that whole time you had no idea you were tandem hang gliding with Van Morrison?” “That’s a heck of a time to learn your pants weren’t reversible.” “For the life of me I don’t see it, but if Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and character actress Margo Martindale agree, then who am I to disagree?” “Can’t talk now, but you’ll never guess who’s holding back jet-pack technology for personal travel.” “Top three U.S. presidents I'd want watching my six in hand-to-hand combat? Easy. Coolidge, Jackson, and Polk. Wait, no nunchucks? Replace Polk with Taft.” "Well, I suppose you're right. Shoulder relocation surgery does sound worse." "Mayor McCheese and Hamburglar are in, but Grimace’s people want to see a rewrite of Act 2." "Sorry your dinner date gave you dead eyes, but to be clear, I never said he’d dance like nobody’s watching. I said he’d watch like nobody’s dancing." “Check the apartment lease if you like, Phil, but I’m certain you can’t take physical delivery of 1,000 head of cattle.” “See you at the Battle of Bull Run re-enactment, Sister Hanrahan.” People who say such things cannot help but be interesting. And who knows? Maybe in celebrating National Talk in an Elevator Day, you'll make a new friend. Of course, then you'll have nothing to do on October 16, which is National New Friends Day.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and several of her colleagues unveiled a new bill this week that they claim would “restore” powers of the administrative state after the Supreme Court scaled back unelected bureaucrats’ power in the landmark Chevron ruling. The bill, called the Stop Corporate Capture Act, would essentially overturn the Supreme Court's landmark decision from June that ended Chevron deference, formerly a key tool for federal bureaucrats to make and enforce regulations. Chevron deference held that courts should defer to executive agency's interpretations of statutory ambiguities in laws pertaining to regulatory action.Don't fall for the leftists' effort to spin these court rulings and restore power to their faceless bureaucratic pawns who do their bidding.This is how they are spinning it. They are saying:Giant corporations are using far-right, unelected judges to hijack our government and undermine the will of Congress. The Stop Corporate Capture Act will bring transparency and efficiency to the federal rulemaking process, and most importantly, will make sure corporate interest groups can’t substitute their preferences for the judgment of Congress and the expert agencies.This is a total twisting of what is actually happening.The Supreme Court’s overruling of the Chevron precedent declared that the administrative state is no longer our king. Experts no longer hold a superior position. This is America. We are all equal, and they cannot bypass Congress to create laws without our consent. If progressives and the deep state had a temple, half of the support beams holding up their ceiling snapped in half on that day.But the Supreme Court wasn’t finished.Just a few days later, they made another historic ruling. Here's how Reuters described it: “U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump has broad immunity from prosecution.”Allow me to translate: “The regime and deep state can’t just wake up one day and decide they want to imprison their political opponents.” That’s not who we are, and that’s what this case was really all about. The progressive and deep state temple’s pillars began to wobble. Let’s fast forward to this historic week.After Justice Clarence Thomas rightfully pointed out that the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel was unconstitutional, a federal judge in Florida tossed Trump’s classified documents case. Let’s put this in context. Biden’s White House was involved with this case from day one. His Department of Justice was consulting with the National Archives and Records Administration from the beginning, and, at the same time, Biden’s staffers were scurrying all over the East Coast attempting to track down his own missing classified documents.The FBI staged photographs to make the act look worse than it was. They staged a crime scene at Mar-a-Lago. It was a political hit job from the start, and the message from the courts was clear: “We don’t imprison political opponents in the United States of America.”Just consider what is currently happening. Feel the mood around the country right now. How did you feel just a few short months ago? The government was increasingly weaponizing against the people of this nation at a frightening rate. We were spiraling out of control. But everything began to materialize in the opposite. The courts are saying, “The buck stops here. The administrative state is not the unelected dictator of the American people. You cannot imprison your political opponents. Corruption won’t fly.”Don't fall for the leftists' effort to spin these court rulings and restore power to their faceless bureaucratic pawns who do their bidding. Want more from Glenn Beck? Get Glenn's FREE email newsletter with his latest insights, top stories, show prep and more delivered to your inbox.

The 2024 Olympic torchbearers feature strange selections of nonathletes to carry the Olympic flame in France.Among the choices were actress Salma Hayek, who carried the torch alongside singer Patrick Bruel, and French soccer trainer Didier Deschamps.Iconic rapper Snoop Dogg was another nonathletic choice, with his carrying partners model Laetitia Casta and fellow lyricist MC Solaar.'I don't think that this is a good way of representing France to the world.'Perhaps the most unorthodox choice for torchbearer is a drag queen called Minima Geste, a 33-year-old Frenchman named Arthur Raynaud.The performer was chosen by the city to bring the Olympic flame to the capital, and despite backlash, Paris' socialist mayor defended the decision."I reaffirm my full support for her," Anne Hidalgo, a member of the Socialist Party, said."I'll say it again: I am proud, and yes, Paris is proud that a drag queen will carry the torch and the values of peace and humanity," she added, according to France 24.It is unclear whether Raynaud actually believes he is a woman, as a plethora of photos exist of him appearing as a man while not in costume. However, the mayor referred to him as "her."The city claimed the man had been a victim of "homophobic and transphobic insults" and said the city would help the launch a legal campaign, although the legal grounds of such a suit are unclear.European Parliament member Marion Marechal reportedly said the drag queen has taken part in "particularly vulgar" and "hyper-sexualised performances.""I don't think that this is a good way of representing France to the world," she said.Marechal is an independent member of the European Conservatives and Reformists."One of the messages that I want to carry is the pride in my community because 10 years ago having a drag queen carry the torch would have been unimaginable," the drag queen said.The celebrity inclusions are an obvious bid to increase viewership, with the Olympics also changing traditional norms and trying out new broadcasting quirks.For the first time ever, the opening ceremony is set to take place outside a stadium, while Snoop Dogg is part of a large group of celebrities who will provide broadcasting assistance for certain events. Other guests include singer Kelly Clarkson, late-night host Jimmy Fallon, and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.It was also announced a few months before the games that NBC would attach five heart-rate monitors to the parents of Olympic athletes as they watch their children compete; with data to be shown onscreen. The network claimed that test audiences loved the idea.On streaming service Peacock, NBCU hopes to capitalize on its younger audience by employing popular podcast host Alex Cooper to host a series of live, interactive watch parties.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

YIKES: Obama Sharing His OBVIOUSLY Staged Endorsement of Kamala Harris ONLY Makes Her Look WORSE (Watch)

Friday Morning Minute