Well that memo was a big, fat nothing burger. I'm so tired of the "have you read THIS? OMG! This says…" only to read it and find that the document, article, news, legislation, or legal opinion says absolutely nothing of the sort and doesn't support the person's contention in the slightest. We as a nation really need to work on our reading comprehension skills.
"Avocados have rapidly become a staple in many U.S. diets, with Americans consuming on average 7 pounds a year. To satisfy that surging popularity, imports from Mexico have skyrocketed. That's made a lot of farmers rich — but it's also drawn the attention of organized crime gangs. One town in Mexico has been able to fight off the gangs and keep the peace, and wealth, at home."
"Modern-day Mexico City is built on top of centuries of previous settlements, so it's not unusual for ancient tombs to occasionally be uncovered beneath the city's streets. It is, however, strange to find 10 ancient skeletons arranged in a spiral with their bodies interlocked, as archaeologists recently did." (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)
"Now, a study published recently in Annals of Botany has shown that plants can be frozen in place with a range of anesthetics, including the types that are used when you undergo surgery… When the dope wore off, the plants returned to life, as if something had hit pause — almost like they were regaining consciousness, something we typically don’t think they possess." Uhhh… Or, you know, we could be completely wrong about what consciousness is (and how anesthetics work). (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Piazza's son was a sophomore at Penn State last year, when he died from injuries suffered after fraternity hazing rituals. Now she dreads the days leading up to the first anniversary of Timothy's death on Sunday." Hazing is illegal. It's against every fraternities' code of ethics. It's wrong. I say this as a fraternity member, as a marching band alumni, and having been in several other groups that would be ripe for hazing. It proves nothing and it ripe for escalation. Hazing is not necessary for any of the goals its proponents say they do it. Trust me, we developed all the same group spirit without it. It's just sadistic.
"After working full time at a museum, Emily Doherty does something millions of Americans do each day: head to a second job." Side-Hustles are no longer just optional. Especially if you're a single household.
"By some calculations, as many as 48 million of Twitter’s reported active users — nearly 15 percent — are automated accounts designed to simulate real people, though the company claims that number is far lower." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Guns don't kill people, people do. "Police investigating the shooting of students at Sal Castro Middle School said the handgun that was carried into a classroom appears to have fired a single round from inside a backpack." Except, sometimes guns do kill people (or help to a significant degree).
"Since 1960, when U.S. residents were first allowed to self-report their race on the census, just answering "White" has been enough to complete the race question. But the federal government is now preparing to essentially ask non-Hispanic white people where they and their ancestors are from as part of the Census Bureau's inquiry into their racial identity." I'm sure that will go over well.
"In late August of 2017, White House counsel Donald McGahn issued a waiver for a new member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), previously a lobbyist for the corn syrup industry, to advise the department on dietary guidelines…" (Grokked from Michele)
"A federal judge has ruled against a Russian-owned firm whose lawyer was a key player in the controversial June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Russians and top Trump campaign officials… U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley rejected claims by the firm, Prevezon Holdings, that the U.S. government failed to live up to its obligations under a May 2017 settlement of claims that Prevezon was involved in money laundering allegedly aimed at avoiding Russian taxes." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"'Oh my God!' Granholm exclaimed. 'These were Republican FISA judges [who approved surveillance on a former Trump staffer], all appointed by George Bush, there were four of t
hem. The head of the FBI is a Republican appointed by Trump. This is like Alice in Wonderland. It is totally topsy-turvy.'" (Grokked from Michelle)
"Geist says that the 'leak' of Status-6 was deliberate. Russia worries that U.S. missile defenses might be able to shoot down its missiles in a nuclear war. By showing a plan for Status-6, Russia is warning the U.S. that if it continues to build such defensive systems, then Russia will find another way to strike, with a missile that can't be intercepted… 'My read of the whole Status-6 slide leak is that the Russians were trying to send us a message,' Geist says." Of course it was deliberate, or Russian op-sec has eroded so seriously that they're no longer a threat. You might remember how we broke the Soviet Union (convinced them Star Wars was real, and while we now have actual hardware deployed, it's not so clear if the thing would actually work). Our turn. All that matters is if allow it to work the way the Russians want. It's a useless device for a useless mission (akin to our plans for a continuously airborne bomber that could strike at the USSR after all our ground-based missiles were either destroyed or launched. "Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together - what do you get? The sum of their fears." - Winston Churchill.
"A former leader in the American Nazi Party is about to get the Republican nomination for a U.S. congressional seat in Illinois." The GOP has officially denounced him, "'The Illinois Republican Party and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones,' Tim Schneider, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, told the Sun-Times. 'We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office…'" However, the GOP knows this person, but failed to standup a primary challenge to him. Sort of like a David Duke incident, but not nearly as widely known. "Jones is the second candidate that the state GOP has tried to distance itself from in recent days. State Rep. Jeanne Ives, who is running in the primary for governor, was blasted by the party for a campaign ad that mocked transgender people and feminists, among others." Not that the Democratic Party fields only sterling candidates, but the GOP does seem to have a problem here.
"Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter." Your government, holding American companies blameless for fucking up your data. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
"Trump senior advisor Jared Kushner is the 'very senior' Trump official who directed former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to contact foreign government officials over a UN resolution condemning Israel, NBC News reported on Friday." So, yes, the Trump administration knew about Flynn's contacts with Russia, because they directed him to use those contacts. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Over the next few days, a wealth of evidence emerged to suggest that Trump and Sanders were playing fast and loose with the truth. But we now have the documents to prove that decisively. Their disclosure was not a leak but an authorized action by the FBI, which released to us under the Freedom of Information Act more than 100 pages of leadership communications to staff dealing with the firing. This material tells a dramatic story about the FBI’s reaction to the Comey firing—but it is neither a story of gratitude to the president nor a story of an organization in turmoil relieved by a much-needed leadership transition." No the FBI was not in turmoil before the Comey firing like the president and Sarah Sanders said. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
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