Tight security for US President-elect Biden's inauguration
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris
will be sworn in at 12 noon Wednesday at the West Front of the
Capitol building. The transition will be marked by incumbent President Trump's absence.
WASHINGTON, Jan 19: The incumbent US President Donald Trump's term ends at 12 noon Wednesday when the newly-elected Joe Biden will be sworn in in the
background of a devastating pandemic that has claimed 400,000 American lives
so far and still counting high, as also the gripping violence and rampage of
the Capitol that was inspired and incited by Trump who lost his November 3 re-election but claimed for no rhyme or reason his election was "stolen" and tried to physically overturn the results for months obsessively in a manner that bordered on the schezotypal.
In the US tradition, the President-elect's inauguration involves mainly two
parts: The first is the swearing-in that is a universal constitutional procedure;
the second, unique to America, is a ceremony and celebration that is mostly
planned by the new team.
Washington DC, especially the Capitol, has been put under a thick cloak of
security bundobast in view of the January 6 episode as also the likelihood of
fresh violence forewarned by the FBI. Even the 25,000 National Security Guards
deployed in the city are being checked by the secret service personnel, leaving
nothing to chance. The FBI apprehends 'insider attack'.
Ahead of the inaugural function starting at 11:30 am EST (16:30 GMT), Biden
arrived in the Capital on Tuesday evening and was staying overnight at Blair
House across the street from the Capitol.
There is fear in the air even as Trump was about to quit White House and move
bag and baggage to his club residence, Mar-a-Lago mansion, in Florida's Palm
Beach, in the morning without attending Biden's inauguration, as he had indicated
long since, and transferring power to him formally. He is likely to take Air
Force One from Andrews for the last time, so also the Marine One for shuttle.
One report says the last time a President abstained from an inauguration was
in 1869: President Andrew Johnson. However, Trump on Tuesday released a farewell
message "wishing success" to the new Administration, not naming Biden as usual,
and stating,-"We did what we came here to do," and concluding the message with
"The best is yet to come." Melania Trump, the FLOTUS, too had addressed the
Americans in a farewell video earlier.
There was no invitation to Biden for the traditional pre-inauguration meeting
at the White House. So also Jill Biden was not taken around the living quarters
of the White House by Melania before vacating, as is the convention.
As the usual tens of thousands of spectators will not be present because of
covid, the Presidential Inaugural Committee has put up 200,000 national flags
at the National Mall to stand in for the crowds (not for the dead in the pandemic who are over 400,000 as reported in some media) that were to converge on the Capital from all across the country.
Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) CEO Tony Allen has listed the participants
of the 59th inaugural ceremonies:- Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Amanda Gorman,
and others to join the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the US Capitol.
The following will be part of the inaugural swearing-in ceremony: Invocation
– Father Leo J. O’Donovan; Pledge of Allegiance – Andrea Hall; National Anthem
– Lady Gaga ; Poetry Reading – Amanda Gorman; Musical Performance – Jennifer
Lopez; Benediction – Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman.
12 noon: President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be
sworn in on the West front of the US Capitol building. After they take their
oaths of office, President-elect Biden will deliver an inaugural address laying
out his vision to defeat the pandemic, build back better and unify and heal
the nation.
Following the ceremony, the President-elect, First Lady, Vice President-elect,
and Second Gentleman will participate in a Pass in Review on the East front
with members of the military. Pass in Reviews are a long-standing military
tradition that reflect the peaceful transfer of power to a new Commander-in-Chief.
2 pm: The President-elect, Dr. Biden, the Vice President-elect, and
Emhoff will visit Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier. They will be joined by ex-President Barack Obama and
Michelle Obama, ex-President George W Bush and Laura Bush and ex-President
Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
3 pm: President-elect Biden will receive a Presidential Escort from 15th
Street to the White House with every branch of the military will be represented
in the escort, including The U.S. Army Band, a Joint Service Honor Guard,
and the Commander- in-Chief’s Guard and Fife and Drum Corps from the 3rd U.S.
Infantry “The Old Guard.”
The Presidential Escort to the White House will be followed by a “Parade
Across America."
Ways to watch the 59th Presidential inauguration;- YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
Twitch, Amazon Prime Video, Alexa-enabled devices, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW from
Fox, AT&T U-verse (Channel 212/1212 in SD/HD), AT&T DIRECTV (Channel 201).
The pilots struggled with Emerson to thwart a shut-off as he reached for
the T-handles (see pix). Later he admitted to police he had taken
psychedelic mushrooms and had a "nervous breakdown."
Doctors reasoned how the incidence of heart attacks is spiking over time and
advise the simple way to play safely is to take a break and rehydrate
yourself.
But how come ten people, including children, die of cardiac arrest at
Garba in 24 hours, and that at different places of Gujarat? Garba had been going on
for six days, and every year it is celebrated.
Shocking news from the UK: Leading grocers have started bribing policemen with free food and drinks to persuade them to take action against shoplifters.
Shoplifting has risen by about 27 per cent in 10 major cities across the UK
this year. The cost of retail crime last year was $2.15 billion. Besides, “We
are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying
stores," Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium,
said. Data shows that the police failed to respond to 73 per cent of serious
retail crimes that included assault and abuse of workers, apart from
shoplifting.
Harris said hip-hop is “the ultimate American art form” that “shapes every
aspect of American popular culture.” “Hip-hop culture is American
culture,” she said in a talk at her official residence at the US Naval
Observatory in Washington, D.C.
The social media had mixed reaction. There was much appreciation that
she dances better than any VP in American history. But some called her
"moves" as “cringe” while others did not like her pink pants - "pink pants
don’t look good.” In fact, her ensembles have always been incongruous.
"Let’s see how the (Governor's) Vice-Chancellors are given salary."
Mamata's extreme statements will put the Marxist Government in Kerala,
which is also facing similar issues, to shame. Has she begun the
countdown for a war on the streets?
It's true Mamata has come to see a conspiracy to demolish the established systems across the country, but lacks the ability to foresee what exactly is being pushed.
Brandishing a sword, Mahant Paramhans told reporters on Tuesday he
himself will behead MK Stalin's son for his remarks against Sanatan
Dharma in case nobody came forward to accept his offer he made in his
video. Udhayanidhi reacted to the saint's Monday video, "I will speak
more. I am the grandson of the artist who put his head on the rail track for
Tamil Nadu."
Somanath elaborated, "I am an explorer. I explore the Moon. I explore the inner
space. So it's a part of the journey of my life to explore both science and
spirituality. So I visit many temples and I read many scriptures. So try to find the
meaning of our existence and our journey in this cosmos. So it's a part of the
culture that we are all built to explore, find out the inner self as well as outer
self. So for the outer, I do science, for the inner I come to temples." (See videos)
Rao the mathematical legend had fathered the path-breaking Rao-Blackwell
theorem, one of the most important theorems in mathematical statistics, at the
age of 25. That brought him global fame. He is also famous for his Cramér-Rao
Bound inequality theorem relating to quality of estimators in statistics which has
had a profound bearing on applications of modern economics and several other
diverse fields. Simply put, with the pioneering statistician computation became a
tool to analyse even socio-economic challenges of modern times.
The alleged incident has received such a flash publicity that a standardised
city's hugely middle class population will have second thoughts about eating
outside for some time. Now everything on the table looks suspicious!
“All subjects directly connected to the people should be shifted to the State List. Particularly the subject of education. Only if this is done can cruel exams like NEET be abolished,” Stalin said. Education was moved from the State List to the Concurrent List with the 42nd Constitution Amendment made by the Central Government in 1976.
Decentralisation has been at the core of Tamil politics since the times of CN Annadurai. Stalin indicated there will be political changes in the offing.
TAILPIECE: While the Centre and the States are at loggerheads, it takes a
different cognitive acumen to know that entrance tests are not the way for
students' admission to courses.
A University of Florida Professor, Harrison Hove who was on the flight, posted
on social media that the incident was "terrifying." He said, "I've flown a lot. This
was scary ... The photos cannot capture the burning smell, loud bang or ear
pops ... Something failed midflight and depressurized the cabin."
As recently as Tuesday Craig Robertson had posted on Facebook: "Perhaps
Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the
Marxist." Biden was scheduled to make his first visit to Utah as President
Wednesday afternoon.
Let's Go! The legal immigrants should be allowed the flexibility
to change jobs and travel without obstacles. Doing away with the country cap
on Green Cards only can do this easily.
Bureaucratic delays in the US legal immigration system are also a drag on
the country's economy while leaving so many families in limbo, the Congressmen
argued.
In fact, the country cap was introduced to ensure diversity of immigrants
as well as to prevent monopoly by any one country like China leading to distortions
in the American culture and politics in course of time.
In any which case, it is high time the US straightened its convoluted immigration
laws for their own convenience and to allow the immigrants their basic rights!
Maruti is recalling 87,599 S-Presso and Eeco vehicles to inspect and possibly
replace parts in the steering system. All reputed companies around the
world do recall their products when a defect comes to light.
Meanwhile, a question arises why just in about a year so many accidents have
taken place involving Mercedes sent to India while the car has won safety awards
abroad? In most cases, the vehicle collided with divider, while manoeuvring a
turn. Was there a split second delay in the steering system coming to a grip
when at high speed? Did anybody in India bother to study a pattern in several
of these accidents that took place one after other?
Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry died when his Mercedes-Benz-SUV hit
a divider in Gujarat. Cricketer Rishabh Pant's Mercedes-Benz-SUV rammed a divider
in Uttarakhand and smashed. It went up in flames but he escaped with injuries.
Brother of PM Narendra Modi, Prahlad Modi's Mercedes-Benz-SUV met with a similar
accident in Mysuru. And many more.
Experts blame violation of the Visual Flying Rules (VFR) for most of the
chopper crashes in the mountains as the leading cause. VFR means fly only
visually - because of the lack of navigation aids in remote areas or unreliability
of GPS-like aids in hilly terrains or a remote manipulation of instruments
in cases of sabotage - as the topography plays havoc especially in the monsoon
(mid-June to September).
Even when VFR is followed, most crashes occur due to CFIT (Controlled Flight
into Terrain) - that is, everything else is OK but the aircraft collides with
hills or trees hidden by the clouds. This also occurs mostly in the monsoon.
On Tueday with Manang, the chopper was brand new, pilot was highly experienced.
But it hit an 'invisible' tree and then crashed against a hillside. This
CFIT occurred when the pilot tried to dodge patches of clouds even as he was
following the VFR.
Simply put, everyone knows flying in the hills during the monsoon is risky,
but the companies want to make more money in any which case. This type of
tragedy is very frequently invited in the Indian hill State of Uttarakhand
as well, where pilots are even made to fly without the mandatory rest.
Curfew was clamped on areas in Paris on Thursday lasting till Monday. The
police apprehend an escalation of volence in the coming days. There will be
"actions targeted at the forces of order and the symbols of the State", they
said.
Under present law, the police have brute powers to deal with traffic violators.
Young Nahel was shot point-blank by a cop for purported traffic violation
and an anticipated crime.
Way back when on June 20 EST after searches were launched, India Travel
Times had, on an analysis of the data available, indicated the probability of
Titan undergoing a sudden and massive implosion (inward collapse) at great
depths. (SEE: Titanic expedition goes missing: A ray of hope from
sounds of bang)
Now videos taken by a Canadian robot that reached the floor on
Thursday evening, June 22, has confirmed it. The fragments are lying
scattered. Horizon Arctic's ROV robot found the debris 1600 ft from Titanic
bow.
The submersible imploded at 500 metres above sea bed, if we go by our
calculations. The water pressure it had to withstand at that point was 2,345 kg
per sq inch. The hull was not built to take that, as per the court cases fought by
concerned people at the time of building the sub and going by the details revealed
in the cancellation of booking by at least one ocean expert.