Welcome to one of my favorite Wide World of News annual traditions!
Around here, the day after Thanksgiving is known as “Funny Friday,” an occasion to share some of the best humor available in the WWoN universe.
So giggle ‘til you jiggle, laugh over the carafe, and guffaw through your jaw.
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Marvin receives a Chanukah gift of two silk ties from his mother, puts one on and immediately takes the bus to her house to thank her.
He rings the doorbell and, when she opens the door, he proudly shows off the tie and goes to kiss her.
And his mother says, "What's the matter? You didn't like the other one?"
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Have you heard the one about the hard-working daily newsletter scribe who regularly asks his readers to contribute financially to support his efforts?
It ain’t funny at all.
Become a voluntary paying subscriber today:
Or give the present of WWoN, the gift that keeps on giving, to a colleague, family member, or client:
Or you can become a voluntary contributor to support this same independent journalism by sending an email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com and arranging to give ANY amount of your choice.
All options are very serious!
Thanks!
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For all the latest news all the time, check out the 24/7 website the Walking Duck.
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NOT FUNNY
* Bloomberg:
Scientists in South Africa are studying a recently identified new coronavirus variant of concern, stoking fears the country may face a potentially severe fourth wave that could spread internationally.
The new discovery, called B.1.1.529 until a Greek letter is assigned to it by the World Health Organization, carries an unusually large number of mutations and is “clearly very different” from previous incarnations, Tulio de Oliveira, a bio-informatics professor who runs gene-sequencing institutions at two South African universities, said at a briefing on Thursday.
* BBC:
The latest is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far - and it has such a long list of mutations that it was described by one scientist as "horrific", while another told me it was the worst variant they'd seen.
It is early days and the confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa, but there are hints it may have spread further….
The variant is called B.1.1.529 and is likely to be given a Greek code-name (like the Alpha and Delta variants) by the World Health Organization on Friday.
A number of countries — including Britain, Israel, Italy and Singapore — were moving on Friday to restrict travel from South Africa and other countries in the region, a day after South African authorities identified a concerning new coronavirus variant with mutations that one scientist said marked a “big jump in evolution.” (New York Times)
Global health leaders are urging caution as the holiday season gets underway, pointing to a 23 percent spike in coronavirus cases across the Americas in the past week, a surge that follows spikes in Europe — which officials warn could be a “window into the future for the Americas.”
* Wall Street Journal lede editorial:
President Biden may not recall what he said during a 2020 campaign debate last fall, but Americans should: “Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as President of the United States of America.” At the time the U.S. had recorded 220,000 Covid deaths.
Covid deaths this year have now surpassed the toll in 2020 with 350,000 since Inauguration Day. It would seem that Mr. Biden has done no better than Donald Trump in defeating Covid despite the benefit of vaccines, better therapies, and more clinical experience. The left politicized Covid by holding Mr. Trump responsible for a disease that was always going to be hard to defeat….
The truth last year and this year is that the virus is impossible for any politician to control, much less eliminate. Mr. Biden used the illusion he could vanquish the virus to win election, and he is now paying a political price because he hasn’t.
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FUNNY
* The degree to which the Washington Post tried to hide the identity of “a top White House official” who characterized the actions and thinking of Ron Klain, in an essential reading piece about how the administration is dealing with inflation substantively and politically:
A top White House official said that Klain has been contacted recently by just one pollster who raised inflation as an issue. Klain told the pollster that the White House was aware of it and had been taking it seriously for months, and the White House didn’t change course based on the conversation, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Klain’s thinking.