tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191113842024-03-17T16:41:40.264-04:00 Story Bones The secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comBlogger5684125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-38009890866553996622024-03-17T16:40:00.005-04:002024-03-17T16:40:40.220-04:00Linkee-poo is Magically Delicious <A href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/05/elizabeth-warren-private-equity-stop-wall-street-looting/">"For years, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has railed against the excesses of private equity firms, including megadeals that leave companies bankrupt and their workers jobless as fund managers line their pockets with fees and performance bonuses. In 2013, for instance, Warren proposed legislation that would shrink PE’s sway by barring commercial banks—where most Americans hold their money—from investing in the industry. Two years later, she went after what Insider called PE’s “golden goose,” asking the Treasury Department and the IRS to crack down on waivers that allow fund managers to pass off their entire compensation as 'carried interest,' which is taxed at a far lower rate than ordinary income."</a> The best way to solve the inequality in America is to redefine a lot of these categories back to "income", remove the top limit on taxable income for Medicare and Social Security, and reinstate a 50% tax rate at over $5 million in income. But I agree, the sole purpose of private equity is to vacuum money from the economy into rich people's bank accounts. Their business plan is to find under leveraged (ie. low debt holding, typically less than 200% annual revenues) companies with sound financials to buy. They take out loans to purchase these companies for 150-250% of revenues. Once acquired these companies have potential debt levels of 500+%, which the new owners take out loans on to pay off their loans to purchase the company, invest typically less than 10% annual revenues back into the company, and pay themselves "bonuses" in the 200-300% revenues range. They then saddle the purchased company with that debt, plus management fees, plus profit payments to the private equity company. If the company goes under and can't service that debt, the private equity holder is not held liable for the company's debts. So they declare bankruptcy and either reorganize (while still paying management and profits to the PE), or they fold, eliminating the debt from the PE firm.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/08/health-gains-of-low-traffic-schemes-up-to-100-times-greater-than-costs-study-finds">"Policies to help people walk and cycle such as low-traffic neighbourhoods can create public health benefits as much as 100 times greater than the cost of the schemes, a long-term study of active travel measures has concluded… The research, based on six years of surveys among thousands of people living in three outer London boroughs that introduced LTNs or similar schemes, found they tended to prompt people to switch some trips from cars to active travel, although the effects were varied."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234751744/family-dollar-rodents-warehouse">"Family Dollar has pleaded guilty to operating a warehouse infested with rodents and has been fined nearly $42 million, the biggest criminal penalty in a food safety case, the Department of Justice said Monday."</A><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/16/ai-racism-chatgpt-gemini-bias">"Popular artificial intelligence tools are becoming more covertly racist as they advance, says an alarming new report… A team of technology and linguistics researchers revealed this week that large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini hold racist stereotypes about speakers of African American Vernacular English, or AAVE, an English dialect created and spoken by Black Americans."</a> You mean AI behavior mimics human behavior, because all the models are based on historical data of how humans have responded and not by programming the ideal actions?<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1233963377/auto-home-insurance-premiums-costs-natural-disasters-inflation">"Similar complaints can be heard all over the country. On average, insurance companies sought to raise homeowners' premiums by more than 11% last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence; Auto insurance premiums are climbing even faster, far outpacing overall inflation."</a> And this article doesn't even cover the increasing practice of insurance companies buying data from car companies about your individual driving habits.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-estate-recovery-nursing-homes-65d5e637e19dc27bd1bd3b097d239b53">"Rather, it was part of a routine process the federal government requires of every state: to recover money from the assets of dead people who, in their final years, relied on Medicaid, the taxpayer-funded health insurance for the poorest Americans… A person’s home is typically exempt from qualifying for Medicaid. But it is subject to the estate recovery process for those who were over 55 and used Medicaid to pay for long-term care such as nursing home stays or in-home health care."</a> This is the real death tax that needs to be eliminated.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/01/1234582040/as-vietnam-grows-ties-with-u-s-a-secret-directive-seeks-to-gird-the-communist-pa">"Last summer, as the United States and Vietnam finalized plans to upgrade the bilateral relationship, the Communist leadership in Hanoi issued a secret directive that aimed to limit outside influences and protect the party's grip on power in the face of growing exposure to the U.S. and its allies… Analysts say the six-page document — known as 'Directive 24' and issued by the ruling Communist Party's elite Politburo — offers a window into the motivations and concerns of party leaders as they committed to deepen Vietnam's links with an erstwhile enemy and leverage shifting geopolitical sands to upgrade the country's economy."</a> This is presented as if it's some "sinister" thing and not something most countries have either formality or informily. For our own version f this I'll just refer to the continued battle over Tik-Tok.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/29/dozens-killed-injured-by-israeli-fire-in-gaza-while-collecting-food-aid">"More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and some 700 others wounded after Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds waiting for food aid southwest of Gaza City, health officials say, as the besieged enclave faces an unprecedented hunger crisis."</a> Yes, this is from the end of February. But that's a real fucking war crime and crime against humanity.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2024/03/15/sedona-approves-safe-parking-for-workers-living-in-cars/72958830007/">"The Safe Place to Park program will include 40 parking spots for those employed full-time within city limits. It requires participants to actively engage in case management with local social services — with an end goal of securing permanent housing after the program ends. The site will include temporary restrooms, showers and trash bins."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/realestate/paris-france-housing-costs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dU0.Ld75.FZyG2gtqcsts&smid=url-share">"Public housing can conjure images of bleak, boxy towers on the outskirts of a city, but this logement social was built in the former offices of the French Defense Ministry, in the Seventh arrondissement, one of Paris’s most chic neighborhoods. It’s part of an ambitious and aggressive effort to keep middle- and lower-income residents and small-business owners in the heart of a city that would otherwise be unaffordable to them — and by extension, to preserve the ineffable character of a city adored by people around the globe."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234044153/metoo-legal-tech-legalweek">"ALM, the media and research company that organizes Legalweek, issued a statement saying it had 'been made aware of reports of highly inappropriate behavior including harassment and assault' during the week of the event. The statement said ALM wanted to 'vehemently condemn all such action and reiterate our strong position that any such behavior has zero place in any setting.'"</a> Some industries have a long way to go to get current with the 1990's.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/05/1235521824/voter-turnout-race-disparities-supreme-court">"The turnout gap between white and nonwhite voters in the U.S. is growing fastest in jurisdictions that were stripped of a federal civil rights-era voting protection a decade ago, according to a new study… The protections in Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act required some states and localities with a history of voting discrimination to obtain federal approval before they could make any changes to their voting laws or procedures."</a> Who could have seen that happening (except everybody).<br><br>
<A href="https://www.salon.com/2024/03/09/biden-said-oppose-womens-rights--katie-britts-tradwife-response-proved-him-right/">"Britt seemed to want viewers to imagine her in an apron, gazing lovingly upon her family and realizing she must sacrifice some measure of domesticity for 'the future of children.' It's all nonsense, of course. She is exactly the 'permanent politician' she accused Biden of being, as any perusal of her resume will show. Britt holds a political science degree and law degree from the University of Alabama. She went straight from graduation to work on the staff of her predecessor, Sen. Richard Shelby. She worked in private practice and government, but never as a full-time stay-at-home mother."</a> Shocking, I know.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/05/white-house-announces-strike-force-on-unfair-and-illegal-prices-ahead-of-state-of-the-union-00144829">"The White House is launching a multi-agency “strike force” on Tuesday in an effort to curb unfair and illegal pricing across the economy, according to Lael Brainard, chair of the National Economic Council… Brainard will make the announcement at a meeting… of the White House competition council, a group stacked with Cabinet officials, and other agency heads. The move comes as President Joe Biden seeks new ways to show voters he’s cracking down on the so-called corporate greed that he has increasingly blamed for high prices."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/us/politics/trump-disinformation-2024-social-media.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dU0.N6Ox.8iAcQ4qqxiQV&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">"Projects that were once bipartisan, including one started by the Trump administration, have been recast as deep-state conspiracies to rig elections. Facing legal and political blowback, the Biden administration has largely abandoned moves that might be construed as stifling political speech… While little noticed by most Americans, the effort has helped cut a path for Mr. Trump’s attempt to recapture the presidency. Disinformation about elections is once again coursing through news feeds, aiding Mr. Trump as he fuels his comeback with falsehoods about the 2020 election."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238765442/rnc-trump-republicans-whatley-lara-election-integrity-voter-fraud-early-voting">"In the vein of political operations, Whatley told staff there will be a focus on organizing communities that are not traditionally Republican. The RNC is looking to launch a '"Grow the Vote" program geared towards reaching nontraditional Republican voters and low propensity voters,' according to the memo."</a> And yet they cut the staff for those outreach offices to focus more on "… staffing up legal counsel related to its election integrity efforts. Whatley announced Christina Bobb, who has served as an attorney for President Trump, will now serve as senior counsel for election integrity."<br><br>
<A href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-says-immigrants-poison-blood-nation-1234934092/">"According to the second source, Trump said in recent days that he was being 'too nice' about the 'animals' and alleged gang members who cross the southern border, whom Trump routinely accuses of flooding the United States with drugs, diseases, and violent crime. This person relays to Rolling Stone that Trump also said he and his campaign will be rolling out newer, even 'tougher' policy proposals on immigration in 2024, and that his supporters should look out for them because they’ll be 'very happy.' His current slate of 2024 immigration policy prescriptions include militarizing the southern border to a shocking degree, reimposing and expanding his travel 'Muslim ban,' and building a vast network of new detention camps to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-4798128634868038432024-02-28T18:45:00.000-05:002024-02-28T18:45:17.726-05:00Linkee-poo February 28<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234646887/comedian-richard-lewis-curb-your-enthusiasm-dies">Richard Lewis,</a> and so it goes.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2024-02-28/one-of-the-largest-wildfires-in-texas-history-still-burning-in-the-texas-panhandle">"Firefighting crews on Wednesday continued battling a near-record size wildfire scorching the Texas Panhandle. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire had already affected more than 850,000 acres, as high wind speeds and dry weather conditions continue to fuel the blaze."</A> Totally normal, nothing to worry about here.<br><br>
<A href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-sludge">"As Bloomberg reports, the Boring Company's scarce output — which thus far amounts only to driving Teslas around a few miles of neon-lit tunnel underneath Sin City as they ferry convention attendees at no more than 40 miles per hour — has also come with a massive buildup of waste, the consistency of a milkshake, that's said to burn the skin of anyone who comes in contact with it."</a> The supposed genius, everybody.<br><br>
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/air-canada-must-honor-refund-policy-invented-by-airlines-chatbot/">"The chatbot provided inaccurate information, encouraging Moffatt to book a flight immediately and then request a refund within 90 days. In reality, Air Canada's policy explicitly stated that the airline will not provide refunds for bereavement travel after the flight is booked. Moffatt dutifully attempted to follow the chatbot's advice and request a refund but was shocked that the request was rejected."</A> Air Canada tried to argue that they couldn't be held liable for the chatbot's advice, which was wrong. Fortunately the court disagreed.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/wendys-will-not-implement-surge-pricing-ceo-comment-causes-online-stir-2024-02-28/">"Wendy's said on Wednesday it has no plans to raise menu prices at times of peak demand, after the burger chain was scorched on social media sites for comments its CEO made earlier this month suggesting the chain may start testing 'dynamic pricing.'"</a> Well that's a relief. Too bad the damage has already been done.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/27/1234315814/apple-cancels-electric-car">"Apple has ended its secret plans of building a self-driving electric car, a decade-long effort that was seen as one of the most ambitious undertakings in the company's history."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/bonsall-woman-suspected-ringleader-of-8m-retail-theft-ring-hitting-200-ulta-stores/3441772/">"Michelle Mack is accused of paying as many as 12 women for their travel expenses, as well as providing them with a list of retail stores across the country to target — including stores in 21 counties across California… Those stores include a LensCrafters in Clairemont and an Ulta store in Mira Mesa, which was one of the 231 Ulta’s hit across the country. Several Sephora stores were also targeted."</a> Just to keep in mind whom is directing those supposed "shoplifting gangs."<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/27/1234271434/4-day-workweek-successful-a-year-later-in-uk">"The four-day workweek is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving… Companies that have tried it are reporting happier workers, lower turnover and greater efficiency. Now, there's evidence that those effects are long lasting."</a> Still, don't expect it anytime soon.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-are-putting-chatgpt-brains-inside-robot-bodies-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/">"LLMs have what robots lack: access to knowledge about practically everything humans have ever written, from quantum physics to K-pop to defrosting a salmon fillet. In turn, robots have what LLMs lack: physical bodies that can interact with their surroundings, connecting words to reality. It seems only logical to connect mindless robots and bodiless LLMs so that, as one 2022 paper puts it, 'the robot can act as the language model's "hands and eyes," while the language model supplies high-level semantic knowledge about the task.'"</a> I'd would be ROTFLMAO if it didn't mean a number of people will be killed before the techbros figure out that maybe this is a mistake. So let's take their opening scenario about a robot cooking dinner. Have you seen any of the stories about asking Chat-GPT/LLMs for recipes? Anyone who thinks this is a good idea has been sniffing their own farts and thinking it's ambrosia. Also the major problem here is that Chat-GPT/LLMs are not general intelligence, they're statistical modeling tools, they don't understand the meaning behind the words they're generating.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nonbinary-student-oklahoma-nex-benedict-walkout-9ac5bebceb8d775487baac5957565ba3">"More than a dozen students walked out of class Monday at an Oklahoma high school where a 16-year-old nonbinary student was beaten inside a restroom earlier this month and died the following day."</A><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/germany-red-army-faction-arrest-berlin-12b30502db981e84fd84767c5c3a2a5b">"A former member of the disbanded left-wing militant Red Army Faction group who is accused of participating in a string of robberies has been arrested after more than 30 years on the run, German authorities said Tuesday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/un-israel-food-starvation-palestinians-war-crime-genocide">"Hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians are facing severe shortages resulting from Israel destroying food supplies and severely restricting the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies. Aid trucks and Palestinians waiting for humanitarian relief have come under Israeli fire."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1232564250/billionaire-benioff-buys-hawaii-land-salesforce">"Over the last couple of years, a mystery has been brewing in this small mountain town. Someone has been quietly buying hundreds of acres of land — stirring worries about rising housing prices and speculation among locals about what exactly is going on… Waimea is a tightknit community that has a large Native Hawaiian population, and the people here say they don't want to lose that culture."</a> The billionaire class are buying their own volcano criminal mastermind headquarters believing the end times are coming soon. Like we won't drive out onto their land to bring them back to the guillotine.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-johnson-government-shutdown-biden-ukraine-05afe588d798717a74b93af0e2a82e6c">"Congressional leaders reached a tentative agreement Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown for now, days before an end-of-the-week deadline that risked shuttering some federal operations, according to two people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it."</a> Not a solution, they're just kicking the can down the road.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/18/maricopa-county-clint-hickman">"Amid yet more tumult and tense division in American public life, the Maricopa county supervisor announced this week that he’s not running again, choosing instead to prioritize his family – and get rid of the endless harassment that’s been a feature of his job the last few years and put him more than once in the national spotlight."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234278254/missouri-advocates-gather-signatures-for-abortion-legalization-but-gop-hurdle-lo">"But once the final proposal by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom was unveiled in January, the troubles quickly dispersed and the attention shifted to getting the over 171,000 signatures required to go before voters later this year."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lauren-boebert-son-arrested-905ba3bc63d00c8ff7d6504608bb91f3">"A magistrate ruled Wednesday that the oldest son of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert could be released from jail a day after the 18-year-old was arrested in connection with a recent string of vehicle break-ins and property thefts."</a> It's just salacious, but sure.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1163447619/mitch-mcconnell-steps-down">"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will step down as Republican leader in November."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-james-appeal-bond-fraud-new-york-3093352e94274f9daba3d84f0c43467e">"A New York appellate judge on Wednesday refused to halt collection of Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud penalty while he appeals, rejecting the former president’s request that he be allowed to post a bond covering just a fraction of what he owes."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234458829/hunter-biden-impeachment-testimony">"After months of contentious battles with House Republicans, Hunter Biden appeared Wednesday for a deposition in the GOP impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden. The younger Biden has been a central target in the GOP-led investigation of the president and his family."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-immunity-election-interference-trial-ff4b251967b4f1ae85bd01a0db24931f">"The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he interfered with the 2020 election, calling into question whether his case could go to trial before the November election."</a> And that's the point of them taking the case.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/27/1234279958/biden-uncommitted-democrats-michigan-primary-election-2024-">"'We have led a movement that is far exceeding expectations, using the ballot box to urge America to stop killing our families,' said Listen to Michigan spokesperson and Democratic strategist Abbas Alawieh at a watch party in Dearborn, Mich. 'That's all we're asking for. Just stop killing our families,' he added."</a> Congrats to Listen to Michigan for their organization. I had a lot to say on <A href="https://bsky.app/profile/stevebuchheit.bsky.social/post/3kmiows33th23">Bluesky.</a> So I won't reiterate it all here, but I'll just say that if their focus is just on Gaza is this group prepared to throw the election from Biden to Trump, from a person who will at least listen to them to the person who will most likely oppress, deport, and gin up "lone wolves" to attack the community? Or can Biden gamble that his working on a cease fire behind the scenes will bear fruit and bring those votes back in without bowing to any pressure from them?<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/video/michigan-joe-biden-united-states-government-israel-hamas-war-national-7d6d39ec13a449e6a51620727e857253">"'Uncommitted' wins 2 Democratic delegates in Michigan, a victory for Biden’s anti-war opponents."</a> While that's not for nothing, and it gives you some seats in the arena, but he won't need your delegates to win the nomination. And I certainly hope you're not waiting for the Convention to actually push for your agenda.<br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-88559974579910083772024-02-17T17:11:00.004-05:002024-02-17T17:11:52.111-05:00Linkee-poo February 17<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coral-reefs-widespread-death-climate-change-2b08ae1ef9b23b4a95f57cd76ada5d3d">"Record hot seawater killed more than three-quarters of human-cultivated coral that scientists had placed in the Florida Keys in recent years in an effort to prop up a threatened species that’s highly vulnerable to climate change, researchers discovered."</a> Well fuck.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asteroid-samples-nasa-bennu-2ea5ff565570c4db8ad492ed67dc2037">"Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That’s just over half a cup and the biggest cosmic haul ever from beyond the moon."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/16/1231128088/more-kids-are-dying-of-drug-overdoses-could-pediatricians-do-more-to-help">"In fact, buprenorphine prescriptions for adolescents were declining as overdose deaths for 10-19-year-olds more than doubled. These overdoses, combined with accidental opioid poisonings among young children, have become the third leading cause of death for U.S. children."</a> The staunch "cold turkey" brigade strikes again.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/morton-cranial-collection-penn-museum-bones-repatriation-8b87b5542d9dc18447f791ddfa87f121">"As part of a growing effort among museums to reevaluate the curation of human remains, the Ivy League school laid some of the remains to rest last week, specifically those identified as belonging to 19 Black Philadelphians. Officials held a memorial service for them on Saturday... The university says it is trying to begin rectifying past wrongs. But some community members feel excluded from the process, illustrating the challenges that institutions face in addressing institutional racism."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/recession-japan-united-kingdom-economy-consumer-spending-31e145cfe5168e10eaecb0614fcc8458">"Yet in the United States, the economy motored ahead in last year’s fourth quarter for a sixth straight quarter of growth. It’s blown past many predictions coming into last year that a recession seemed inevitable because of high interest rates meant to slow the economy and inflation."</a> Yes, our economy is doing very well, but this inflation being driven by corporate greed is really hurting. This is why we have governments, to protect our collective needs.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amazon-nlrb-unconstitutional-union-labor-459331e9b77f5be0e5202c147654993e">"Amazon is arguing in a legal filing that the 88-year-old National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional, echoing similar arguments made this year by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the grocery store chain Trader Joe’s in disputes about workers’ rights and organizing."</a> The neo-gilded-age barons are upset that your puny labor issues might affect their whole pillaging of the American economy.<br><br>
<A href="https://projects.propublica.org/the-year-after-a-denied-abortion/">"And so, the same state that questioned Mayron’s fitness to care for her four children forced her to continue a pregnancy that risked her life to have a fifth, one that would require more intensive care than any of the others… Tennessee already had some of the worst outcomes in the nation when measuring maternal health, infant mortality and child poverty. Lawmakers who paved the way for a new generation of post-Roe births did little to bolster the state’s meager safety net to support these babies and their families."</a><br><br>
And in "when you only have a hammer, everything is a nail" news… <A href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5yneb/man-shot-at-by-cops-who-got-scared-by-an-acorn-damaged-for-life">"In a video that has gone viral on social media this week both for its absurdity and terrifying implications, Deputy Jesse Hernandez hears an acorn drop onto his car. In response, he dramatically rolls on the ground while repeatedly shouting 'shots fired!' and unloading his sidearm into the vehicle, shattering its back window."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2024-02-16/charges-prosecution-kansas-city-chiefs-union-station-mass-shooting-parade-rally-lisa-lopez-galvan-death">"Jackson County's Office of the Juvenile Officer charged two people under 18 with gun charges and resisting arrest on Thursday, in connection with the shooting at the end of the Chiefs parade and rally at Union Station... Police believe the shooting occurred because of a dispute, and not because of terrorism or extremism."</a> Ah the "more guns make us a politer society" gang strikes again.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/14/bristol-university-contributed-to-death-of-student-who-killed-herself-court-finds">"The family of a disabled undergraduate who killed herself on the day of a 'truly terrifying' oral exam have won the latest stage of a legal battle to compel universities to take more care of students struggling with their mental health."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-avdiivka-c31eb7439d1983532a3f940061efe6e7">"Ukraine’s military chief said early Saturday that he’s withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, where outnumbered defenders battled a Russian assault for four months."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-using-thousands-spacex-starlink-terminals-ukraine-wsj-says-2024-02-15/">"(Ukrainian) Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov said that Russian troops have been communicating over the Starlink system 'for quite a long time' and acquired the terminals from private Russian firms that purchased them from intermediaries."</a> Remember when Musk cut off Starlink access when Ukrainian troops crossed into Russian held territories on the eastern edge and southward toward Crimea? It's almost like Starling can pinpoint the ground stations with great accuracy and turn individual systems off. When they want to.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1232050539/alexei-navalny-death-russia-putin-critics">"The death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a penal colony in Russia's Arctic north was shocking, but hardly surprising... For years, critics and opponents of Russian leader Vladimir Putin have fallen victim to shootings, poisoning with radioactive or nerve agents, or have plunged to their deaths from open windows."</a> We all knew it was coming.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/16/politics/russia-nuclear-space-weapon-intelligence/">"Russia is trying to develop a nuclear space weapon that would destroy satellites by creating a massive energy wave when detonated, potentially crippling a vast swath of the commercial and government satellites that the world below depends on to talk on cell phones, pay bills, and surf the internet, according to three sources familiar with US intelligence about the weapon."</a> And this is why we had treaties that the Trump Administration helped Putin dismantle. Also, it's not that hard, it's called a halo burst, and it is one of the first strike scenarios we've had on the books since the 70s.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1231930763/lawsuit-accusing-nra-of-lavish-misspending-now-heads-to-jury">"State lawyers said at the trial that LaPierre, who announced his resignation just days before the trial opened in early January, billed the NRA more than $11 million for private jet flights and spent more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span. They also say he authorized $135 million in NRA contracts for a vendor whose owners showered him with free trips to the Bahamas, Greece, Dubai and India, and gave him access to a 108-foot (33-meter) yacht."</a> No no no, bribery and corruption are only done by those brown people.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2024-02-16/texas-military-department-to-build-new-operations-camp-in-eagle-pass">"The Texas National Guard will expand its presence on the border in the form of a new operations center in Maverick County that can house more than 2,000 soldiers... Gov. Greg Abbott announced the construction of a base camp, which will be built on 80 acres of property near the banks of the Rio Grande, Friday afternoon."</a> The problem with playing the tough guy is that you always have to one up the other person, do one better. It's a never ending cycle.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1232089792/biden-impeachment-inquiry-alexander-smirnov">"Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in bribes in 2015 or 2016 to protect the company from investigators... The indictment also alleges that Smirnov repeated false claims when interviewed by the FBI last year and changed some of his story."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-fani-willis-nathan-wade-fulton-county-f03734cfd3d27ba34fba4cbbba621355">"A man expected to be a key witness for lawyers trying to get Fani Willis disqualified from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump instead refused to answer most of their questions on Friday, citing attorney-client privilege during the second day of a hearing that sometimes bordered on theater."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1226294071/trump-fined-fraud-trial-ny">"The Friday decision from Judge Arthur Engoron orders Trump and his flagship organization to pay the bulk of that amount: almost $355 million. Trump's two sons and co-defendants, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are each liable for $4 million. Allen Weisselberg, a former Trump Organization executive, is liable for $1 million. The total is even higher with interest — more than $450 million overall, according to the attorney general's office."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-carroll-fines-82d423b8e7a7f9a32470729c5f4410e5">"The verdict in the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he has been ordered to give up. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, said the interest payments totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-53790240964797681672024-02-14T00:58:00.004-05:002024-02-14T00:58:36.690-05:00Linkee-poo Valentines Day 2024<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/12/165681524/bob-edwards-dead-npr-host">Bob Edwards,</a> and so it goes.<bR><br>
<A href="https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2024-02-12/she-lost-her-husband-in-2022-this-valentines-day-she-wants-to-help-other-widows-feel-less-alone">"This year, Patronick – who lives in Hanover – hopes to do the same for other people who’ve suffered that kind of loss. On Wednesday, she plans to drive all over the Upper Valley, hand-delivering cards and roses to around 30 widows and widowers... She said she doesn’t have all the answers. She just wants people to know that someone else understands what they’re going through."</a> Thinking about friends in similar situations.<bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/polar-bears-diet-climate-change-hungry-4c7be2decbbb740f116335af8822bb62">"With Arctic sea ice shrinking from climate change, many polar bears have to shift their diets to land during parts of the summer. A study looking at Hudson Bay polar bears tries to figure out if they can keep up their roly-poly figure, which is what’s needed and found that an overwhelming number of them are dropping the pounds no matter what they do to try to beef up their weight."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/12/1230929548/across-the-world-migrating-animal-populations-are-dwindling-heres-why">"Nearly half of the world's already threatened migratory species have declining populations, the first of its kind U.N. report found. More than a fifth of the nearly 1,200 migratory species monitored by the U.N. – whales, sea turtles, apes, songbirds and others – are threatened with extinction."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/11/1228330149/brain-death-definition">"The debate is focused on the Uniform Determination of Death Act, a law that was adopted by most states in the 1980s. The law says that death can be declared if someone has experienced 'irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain.'... But some parts of the brain can continue to function in people who have been declared brain dead, prompting calls to revise the statute."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/09/1230175305/abortion-pill-mifepristone-retraction-supreme-court?ft=nprml&f=103537970">"A scientific paper that raised concerns about the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone was retracted by its publisher this week. The study was cited three times by a federal judge who ruled against mifepristone last spring. That case, which could limit access to mifepristone throughout the country, will soon be heard in the Supreme Court."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/13/1230991999/medicare-hospital-site-neutral-payment-cut">"In December, the House passed a bill that included a provision requiring Medicare to pay the same rates for medical infusions, like chemotherapy and many treatments for autoimmune conditions, regardless of whether they're done in a doctor's office or clinic owned by a hospital or by a different entity. The policy, known as site-neutral payment, has sparked a ferocious lobbying battle in the Senate, not the first of its kind, with hospitals determined to kill such legislation."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/pillen-to-accept-summer-food-program-senators-mull-mega-sites/">"Gov. Jim Pillen reversed himself and announced today/Monday that Nebraska will participate in the so-called 'Summer EBT' food program for kids from low-income families."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/09/1226707754/enslaved-people-cemetery-chevy-chase-maryland-rollingwood">"For Perić, knowing that enslaved people lived and are buried in her neighborhood is haunting, she says. She's in synergy with Chapman about the goals, she says, 'to bring back that sense of dignity and humanity to people who never received it in their lifetime.'"</a><bR><br>
Instead of a snow day, NYC schools tried to do it all remotely. <A href="https://apnews.com/article/school-snow-day-remote-learning-2ef89fedcd4caefc3d6b6c483188e888">"Unfortunately for (Mayor) Adams, the plan didn’t go so well: Many students, teachers and administrators were unable to log in to their accounts — a problem that city officials blamed on a technology contractor."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/jackie-robinson-statue-theft-arrest-c959797761a726fe3611b1b4ee641e8f">"A 45-year-old man was arrested in the theft of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas, police announced Tuesday."</a> Sure sounds like he was going to sell it for scrap. Not.<bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/house-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-border-security-80cbd5bbb8f512c6814f155f825a1214">"House Republicans having failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the first time are determined Tuesday to try again with a do-over vote to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the migrant crisis at the U.S-Mexico border."</a> A do-over? I'mma not a parlimentarian, but I'm pretty sure that's not how business is supposed to go.<bR><br>
But they did it anyway. <A href="https://apnews.com/article/house-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-border-security-80cbd5bbb8f512c6814f155f825a1214">"The U.S. House voted Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border after failing last week in a politically embarrassing setback."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/republican-national-committee-rnc-trump-ronna-mcdaniel-cb23f0f7f24fa3b3bf83e4bfeb19ae54">"Trump has yet to secure the GOP’s presidential nomination and just last week, he and current (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel privately agreed that no major changes would take place until after South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary. But that didn’t stop Trump from announcing Monday on social media that he wants McDaniel to be replaced by Michael Whatley, the North Carolina GOP chairman. The new co-chair, Trump said, should be his daughter-in-law Lara Trump."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-legislature-absentee-ballot-restrictions-4e6579b802e2679fca287e1cf697a7f8">"Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday began debate on legislation to restrict assistance with absentee ballot applications."</a> Let the season of election interference begin.<bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-election-manual-lawsuits-drop-boxes-cab3f00fd19c48bbdc21bbfe41697343">"The lawsuit by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club zeroes in on the manual’s instructions on operating ballot drop-off locations and preventing voter intimidation, saying the provisions are unconstitutional because they try to restrict protected speech. The group says the restrictions in the manual released in December by Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office put people at risk to criminal prosecution for monitoring drop boxes and polling locations."</a><bR><br>
How's that Jan 6 as a "peaceful protest" narrative coming along? <A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/new-jan-6-footage-appears-show-rioter-firing-gun-air-capitol-attack-rcna138137">"Newly unearthed footage from Jan. 6, 2021, appears to show a rioter — a man identified in an NBC News story nearly two years ago — firing a gun into the air outside the Capitol during the attack."</a><bR><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/11/1230658309/trump-would-encourage-russia-to-attack-nato-allies-who-dont-pay-bills">"Former President Donald Trump said America would not defend NATO allies against Russia if they did not meet his definition of contributing enough defense spending, threatening to upend the alliance if elected president again in 2024."</a> Yeah, he did that in 2017 as well.<bR><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-donald-trump-michael-haley-d76d4f858a92c0fedfc0723655195319">"Former President Donald Trump on Saturday questioned why Nikki Haley’s husband wasn’t on the campaign trail, drawing sharp responses from both the former U.N. ambassador and her husband, who is currently abroad on a National Guard mission... 'What happened to her husband?' Trump told a crowd in Conway, South Carolina, as he and Haley held events across the state ahead of its Feb. 24 Republican primary. 'Where is he? He’s gone. He knew. He knew.'"</a> What did he know? This doesn't even make any sense.<bR><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-19252829517492111502024-02-10T13:32:00.004-05:002024-02-10T13:32:24.429-05:00Linkee-poo Feb 10<A href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2024/2/1/24056883/tiktok-self-promotion-artist-career-how-to-build-following">"When Rachael Kay Albers was shopping around her book proposal, the editors at a Big Five publishing house loved the idea. The problem came from the marketing department, which had an issue: She didn’t have a big enough following. With any book, but especially nonfiction ones, publishers want a guarantee that a writer comes with a built-in audience of people who already read and support their work and, crucially, will fork over $27 — a typical price for a new hardcover book — when it debuts."</a> The "artist as self-promoter" article all the cool kids were talking about. There's some things about "brand" in here and it makes me crazy because people misunderstand. But what I've just come to realize that for these people "brand" has the connotation of "commodification", and with that I'll agree. Do not become your product, do not create a brand around one product, but especially do not become the product (unless you intentionally want to be famous). There's a lot of mixing concepts and bemoaning the "current state of affairs," but having made a 30+ year career on my creativity I'm left with this; it's the same as it ever was.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/roman-era-bone-container-holds-potent-hallucinogenic-medicine">"In a paper published today in the journal Antiquity, researchers report finding a cache of Roman-era black henbane from the first century C.E. hidden within the hollows of a goat or sheep bone from the Netherlands. Medical uses of the plant are described in Roman texts, but the find shows its powers were known even on the far fringes of the empire."</a> One pill makes you larger…<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/04/they-thought-they-were-doing-good-but-it-made-people-worse-why-mental-health-apps-are-under-scrutiny">"'They thought they were doing good but it made people worse': why mental health apps are under scrutiny."</a> And not only do they have worse outcomes, there is a real privacy concern here. This is my shocked face.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/24/eu-fossil-fuel-co2-emissions-hit-60-year-low?ref=futurecrunch.com">"The European Union pumped out 8% less carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels it burned in 2023 than it did in 2022, the Guardian can reveal, pushing these emissions down to their lowest level in 60 years."</a> While growing the economy. It's almost like the fossil fuel companies and lobbyists were lying to us the whole time. Okay, yeah, milder weather and Russia's fuckery with natural gas prices helped.<br><Br>
But then… <A href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/02/04/us-counties-ban-renewable-energy-plants/71841063007/">"A nationwide analysis by USA TODAY shows local governments are banning green energy faster than they’re building it… At least 15% of counties in the U.S. have effectively halted new utility-scale wind, solar, or both, USA TODAY found. These limits come through outright bans, moratoriums, construction impediments and other conditions that make green energy difficult to build."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-undermines-rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-claims/">"A recent study claiming to describe more than 1,600 possible cases of a 'socially contagious syndrome' was retracted in June for failing to obtain ethics approval from an institutional review board. The survey examined 'rapid-onset gender dysphoria,' a proposed condition that attributes adolescent gender distress to exposure to transgender people through friends or social media. The existence of such a syndrome has been the subject of intense debate for the past several years and has fueled arguments against transgender rights reforms, despite being widely criticized by medical experts."</a> Funny, I seem to remember the same bullshit being said about gays back in the 80s. Hell, it was even a joke on the show Friends.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/libs-tiktok-x-chaya-raichik-bomb-threat-twitter-of-libsoftiktok-rcna102784">"'It appears this all stems from a post made earlier this week by Chaya Raichik and her "Libs of TikTok" account,' Dvorak wrote in a report to her superiors… Raichik, 29, is not accused of making any bomb threats in Iowa or anywhere else. But about a day and a half before authorities responded to the threat at Coralville’s Northwest Junior High, Raichik posted that the school offers a 'pornographic' book in its library that 'teaches kids about gay sex.'"</a> It's like there's some sort of connection here, like this stochastic terrorism is actually coordinated and directed in a roundabout way.<br><Br>
And then… <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68190874">"A man in the US state of New Mexico has pleaded guilty to helping a defeated Republican candidate carry out drive-by shootings at the home of Democrats… The defendant, Demetrio Trujillo, says the candidate, Solomon Peña, hired him after failing to win a seat in the state legislature in November 2022."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/far-right-pennsylvania-school-board">"That’s how things seemed in Pennridge until November’s school board election, when all five open seats were won by Democrats—a stunning turnaround in a district with a more than 3:2 Republican advantage. A week later, another page in an emerging playbook for fighting back was more quietly revealed, when a group of Pennridge community members charged that the policies Pennridge had adopted weren’t just partisan, but violated civil rights law, in a federal complaint that could have implications far beyond Bucks County."</A> Yes, there is a playbook for right-wing takes of school boards. Yes this is coordinated. Yes it is well funded.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2024/02/07/utah-school-board-member-natalie/">"A Utah high school student needs police protection after a state school board member publicly singled out and suggested the student was transgender — without evidence — inciting threats from her followers on social media… Natalie Cline later apologized — but not before many commenters personally attacked the player, the student’s school district had to provide extra security for her, and the lawmaker who wrote the state’s anti-transgender athlete bill weighed in sharing private information possibly in violation of her own measure."</a> It's not like a lot of people said exactly this would happen. Parents are calling out girls for being transgender who aren't. It'll all come down to, "who is girly like enough." Also note there is absolutely no talk of preventing trans boys from playing on boys teams. It's almost like this is really about Title IX than anything else.<br><Br>
There' petty crime and then there's… <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/alabama-station-disbelief-200-foot-191925880.html">"A radio station in Alabama was forced to go silent after thieves stole its 200-foot radio tower and other equipment from a building… The station, WJLX, sent a landscaping crew to the site Friday morning for spring cleaning, only to find the 200-foot radio tower gone. When a crew member called the station’s general manager to break the news, he was in disbelief."</A><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/02/08/times-square-migrants-arrests-body-camera-footage-contradicts-nypd-account/">"Prosecutors released new footage of a viral attack on two police officers that appears to conflict with police accounts of their initial interaction with a group of migrants that quickly escalated into a melee that triggered nationwide outrage."</a> In any other profession falsifying an official document is grounds for immediate termination. But police just keep doing it.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/irs-tax-gap-audits-inflation-reduction-act-e0dcb9bc52cfcdd8fc40caa2c04e8011">"Tax revenues are expected to rise by as much as $561 billion from 2024 to 2034, thanks to stepped-up enforcement made possible with money from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in August 2022."</a> It's almost like Democrats know what they're doing and the GOP has been stonewalling actual progress to benefit their rich friends this whole time.<br><Br>
<A href="https://news.yahoo.com/elon-musk-bashed-heavy-metal-170806527.html">"Elon Musk suffered one of the biggest legal losses in U.S. history this week when the Tesla CEO was stripped of his $56 billion pay package in a case brought by an unlikely opponent, a former heavy metal drummer."</a> Couldn't have happened to a better guy.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.mediamatters.org/taylor-swift/look-what-you-made-them-do-right-wing-media-figures-are-begging-their-colleagues-stop">"A sizable portion of right-wing media has recently become obsessed with the conspiracy theory that Swift and her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce is a 'psy-op' to influence NFL fans and the singer’s supporters to vote for President Joe Biden later this year. Others in right-wing media are now recognizing the absurdity of these claims and questioning why their colleagues are spreading them instead of focusing on issues that are important to voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election."</A> Whackaloon quotient sky-high.<br><Br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-19010707163492431132024-02-01T12:21:00.004-05:002024-02-01T12:21:25.677-05:00Linkee-poo February 1<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1226785798/hot-droughts-are-becoming-more-common-in-the-arid-west-new-study-finds ">"A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, Wednesday, finds that hot droughts have become more prevalent and severe across the western U.S. as a result of human-caused climate change."</a> We're boned.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1227367244/jackie-robinson-statue-was-stolen-from-a-kansas-park">"A prized statue of Jackie Robinson was stolen from a public park in Kansas, spurring a police search Friday and outrage across the city of Wichita... The statue honors the first player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. Surveillance video was released of two people hauling the sculpture away in the dark. Wichita police said in a Facebook post that it went missing Thursday morning."</a> I would like to think this is just about the bronze resale value, but I have a feeling it is not. <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/st-brigid-1500-ireland-catholic-pagan-explain-a6a41566acca80033c3514f180d6443e">"While St. Patrick has long been the saint most identified with Ireland, Brigid has gained a growing following in the 21st century. Devotees draw inspiration from Brigid the saint — and from Brigid the ancient pagan goddess, whose name and attributes she shares — as emblematic of feminine spirituality and empowerment. This comes amid growing disenchantment with the patriarchal and historically dominant Catholic Church."</a> <br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/29/1227574179/amelia-earharts-lost-plane-howland-island">"New clues have emerged in what is one of the greatest mysteries of all time: the disappearance of legendary American aviator Amelia Earhart… Deep Sea Vision, an ocean exploration company based in South Carolina, announced Saturday that it captured compelling sonar images of what could be Earhart's aircraft at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/invasive-ant-lion-dinner-trees-ecosystem">"When big-headed ants (Pheidole megacephala) invade the savanna, they kill off native acacia ants (genus Crematogaster), robbing local whistling thorn trees of their valiant defenders against hungry elephants. Without ants to bite them, the elephants rip up the thorn trees, opening up the grassland, which makes it harder for lions to catch their preferred zebra meals. Lions end up hunting buffalo instead. The findings, published online January 25 in Science, show that invasive species’ effects can be very indirect — and suggest that changes in different low-level mutualisms might also echo up food webs in other ecosystems."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://news.ncsu.edu/2024/01/think-twice-before-dieting/">"'Based on what we learned through this study, as well as the existing research, we recommend that most people avoid dieting, unless it is medically necessary. Our study also offers insights into how people can combat insidious aspects of weight cycling and challenge the cycle.'"</a> The study is based on those who felt social pressure to lose weight, which can lead to slightly different outcomes. Also note that the number of people in the study is very small. But, if you want to lose weight, a "diet" is one of the worst ways to do it. Once you are on a diet, you are always on a diet. Eat less, exercise more. When I am able to stick to that, I lose weight. My main problem is that 1) I love food, 2) I'm a stress eater, 3) my life has a lot of stress, and 4) my work is a toxic food environment (most people bring snacks to share, because surprise, we're all stressed).<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227091070/deepfakes-taylor-swift-images-regulation">"The issue made headlines this week, as bogus pornographic images purporting to show pop superstar Taylor Swift proliferated on X (formerly known as Twitter), Telegram and elsewhere. Many postings were removed, but not before some of them racked up millions of views."</a> The conservatives have a weird obsession with Taylor Swift. There are now major conspiracies that the NFL contrived to make the Chiefs win the Superb Owl (SIC) and at the end of the game, Taylor will be on field and announce Biden's re-election campaign, or just taking power by fiat. It keeps changing. We're going to have to launch satellites to measure this elections season's wackaloon quotient. <br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1227292600/u-s-pauses-build-out-of-natural-gas-export-terminals-to-weigh-climate-impacts">"The Biden administration has temporarily frozen consideration of new natural gas export facilities. The Department of Energy will now review the long-term implications of the facilities on climate change, and ultimately decide if they serve the public interest... Currently, there are 17 planned projects awaiting permits — all now delayed by the administration's decision. The pause doesn't affect more than a dozen plants that are already operating, or that are under construction or have received permits. Nor will it halt the export of gas."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/29/1227592207/us-troops-deaths-drone-strikes-middle-east-iran">"Questions about the possibility of a low-level regional war in the Middle East are rising after attacks there have escalated in the past 24 hours… On Sunday, an aerial drone strike killed three United States service members and injured at least 34 others. The strike happened at a support base known as Tower 22 in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border and likely hit a barracks."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-corruption-476d673cc64a4b005c7ee8ed5f5d5361">"Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security service reported."</A><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-lie-michigan-black-trust-4c4098575a80212effa0dd3421bed173">"A Black man who was detained by police during an early morning walk in a quiet community northwest of Detroit says the white officer who threw him against a squad car, cuffed him and accused him of planning to break into a car also told a significant lie."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-initiatives-voters-democracy-2024-602ebb8a74d7ae45163d79c065a23ef0">"Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1225563900/polls-predictor-election-inflation-jobless-misery-index-approval-rating">"If presidential approval numbers are not perfect predictors of an incumbent's reelection, is there something else that is? Observers have long sought the True North by which to set their compass and their expectations."</a> I dunno, maybe news should get out of the prognostication racket and maybe shift their focus away from horserace statistics.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1227116952/fulton-county-ga-2024-election-workers ">"Myers says she also felt compelled to serve after Donald Trump and his supporters baselessly attacked the integrity of Fulton County's 2020 election and the people who ran it, including two Black women who endured threats and harassment once Trump and others falsely accused them of election fraud."</a> Never mess with the Aunties.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1226570548/border-migrants-mexico-jacumba-california-desert-immigration">"U.S. officials have told NPR that the dip is related to a series of meetings in late December between the Mexican government and White House officials regarding immigration enforcement. Nothing official was announced following the meetings — in fact Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador publicly criticized U.S. immigration policy after the meetings, saying that only addressing the root causes of migration (poverty, violence, repression) can work... But, official sources have told NPR that the Mexican National Guard is ramping up its enforcement. Suddenly, you can see them from Jacumba on the other side of the border fence."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/31/rightwing-activist-christopher-rufo-ties-scientific-racism-journal">"Activist who led ouster of Harvard president linked to ‘scientific racism’ journal… The rightwing activist Christopher Rufo has links to a self-styled “sociobiology magazine” that is focused on the supposed relationships between race, intelligence and criminality, and which experts have characterized as an outlet for scientific racism."</a> Ah, I see we've arrived fully in the "find out" section of the equation. First his wife is found out to have more egregiously plagiarized in her academic papers, and now his background is coming out.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-mayorkas-immigration-border-republicans-impeachment-3cc41becd7ef3d8b91ccd29433321d63">"House Republicans on Sunday released two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as they vowed to swiftly push forward with election-year efforts to oust the Cabinet member over what they call his failure to manage the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats and the agency slammed the move as a politically motivated stunt lacking the constitutional basis to remove him from office."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/willis-wade-affair-allegations-election-interference-trump-9a292135a319fd203190a107e3f4f4dc">"But, Eisen said, 'the wise thing to do at this point is for Mr. Wade to voluntarily end his time on this case.' Even though he is not legally required to do so, Eisen said, 'at this point, the conversation about these issues has become a distraction' from the 'overwhelming amount of evidence justifying the decision to prosecute Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators.'"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-election-china-disinformation-vote-fraud-4968ef08fd13821e359b8e195b12919c">"In Taiwan, the response to disinformation was swift. Fact-checking groups debunked the rumors, while the Central Election Commission held a news conference to push back on claims of electoral discrepancies. Influencers like @FroggyChiu with more than 600,000 subscribers also put out explainers on YouTube explaining how votes are tallied."</a> It takes coordination, preparedness, and a quick reaction to work.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/28/politics/trump-republican-senate-leadership/index.html">"As Trump steamrolls to the nomination, there are ample questions in GOP circles about how – and whether – Trump can rebuild Senate alliances that were critical in his first term but are nonexistent now. The lack of relationship has become abundantly clear in recent days as Trump has publicly and privately lobbied rank-and-file senators and House GOP leaders to kill a major immigration and Ukraine deal that McConnell has worked for months to secure in the Senate."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-930285916794899542024-01-27T15:17:00.003-05:002024-01-27T15:17:09.988-05:00Linkee-poo Saturday January 27<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1227115017/opinion-charles-osgood-was-an-anchorman-and-a-poet">Charles Osgood,</a> and so it goes.<br><br>
<A href="https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/01/27/glasglow-worldcon-commits-to-hugo-process-transparency/">"Given that there was a decided lack of transparency at the previous Worldcon for the disqualification of several potential finalists, which has caused quite the fracas online and in fandom, this is a positive and necessary step on the part of the Glasgow Worldcon in order to restore confidence in the Hugo voting process. I’m very happy they did it. This one sentence does a lot of work, and it’s good work to see."</a> John Scalzi on the coming Worldcon and Hugo fun.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226983159/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter-mars-last-mission-damage">"NASA is retiring Ingenuity, its mini Mars helicopter, a week after it was damaged during its 72nd flight. The spindly overachiever made history as the first aircraft to complete a powered, controlled flight on another planet."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/health/florida-abortion-term-pregnancy/index.html">"A Florida woman, unable to get an abortion in her state, carried to term a baby who had no kidneys… She said her pregnancy was proceeding normally until November, when, at 24 weeks, an ultrasound showed that the fetus did not have kidneys and that she had hardly any amniotic fluid. Not only was the baby sure to die, her doctors told her, but the pregnancy put her at especially high risk of preeclampsia, a potentially deadly complication."</A> This is the result of the growing authoritarian theocracy in the US.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/24/1226161416/rape-caused-pregnancy-abortion-ban-states">"He and a group of colleagues have arrived at an answer. They estimate in a research letter published Wednesday in JAMA Internal Medicine that 64,565 pregnancies have been caused by rape in the 14 states where abortion is banned… The figure, while an estimate that may spark some debate, is an important data point since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Supreme Court decision overturned the federal guarantee of abortion rights. While there once was political consensus that abortion should be permitted in cases of rape, that has changed. Few states with total bans on abortion have exceptions for rape. Those that have exceptions require victims to report the rape to authorities, something that research shows happens only in a small fraction of sexual assaults."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/25/1226552799/the-colonoscopies-were-free-but-the-surgical-trays-came-with-600-price-tags">"Panozzo and her husband's experience exposes a loophole in the law meant to guarantee zero-cost preventive services: Health care providers may bill how they choose as long as they abide by their contracts with insurance — including for whatever goods or services they choose to list, and in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for 'free' care."</A> When a coding error becomes a business process and the rise of "private equity" in healthcare. "Having lived abroad with her family for almost 10 years, she said, 'I could function in a health care system in German better than I could here in English.'" And if that isn't a call for reform, I don't know what is.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/17/1225083485/what-to-know-about-januarys-annual-drug-price-hikes">"Drug companies often increase prices at the start of the new year, and 2024 seems to be no exception. There have been about 600 price hikes so far in January, according to the drug price nonprofit 46Brooklyn Research… But the increases haven't been as steep as they were in some previous years. In the 2010s, drug price hikes were typically much bigger — up to 10% on average."</a> PR isn't always just press releases.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/philadelphia-measles-outbreak-hospital-day-care-rcna133269">"At least eight people have been diagnosed with measles in an outbreak that started last month in the Philadelphia area. The most recent two cases were confirmed on Monday… The outbreak began after a child who'd recently spent time in another country was admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with an infection, which was subsequently identified as measles. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health considers the case to be 'imported' but did not say from where."</a> Oh fuck.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c19132k8ke0o">"A new study has found that no cases of cervical cancer have been detected in young women who have been fully-vaccinated as part of the HPV immunisation programme… The Public Health Scotland (PHS) research said the HPV (human papillomavirus virus) vaccine was 'highly effective' in preventing the development of the cancer."</a> That's a wonderful result, however I will point out that the cohort of women immunized is at the early part of the window (26-27) and "Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women aged 25 to 35 years of age in Scotland." Also, most cervical cancers are found between ages 35-44. But yes, this is a good report and adds credence to increased immunization programs.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/health/dana-farber-cancer-studies-retractions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.P00.ImWo.NnLwOKsrBnl0&smid=url-share">"A prominent cancer center affiliated with Harvard said it will ask medical journals to retract six research papers and correct dozens of others after a British scientist and blogger found that work by some of its top executives was rife with duplicated or manipulated data."</a> Oopsie.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/12/hydroxychloroquine-covid-increase-chance-death-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">"People who took an anti-malaria treatment that Donald Trump touted as a cure for Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic and waning days of his presidency were 11% more likely to die from the virus, according to a new scientific study."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226770948/covid-jn-1-most-prevalent-variant">"The mutation, called JN.1, is a subvariant of Omicron that was first detected by the World Health Organization in late August. At the time it appeared to be spreading slowly but as temperatures have dipped, JN.1 has spiked."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226061975/breast-cancer-mri-biopsy-healthcare">"'Someone was gently running their palm in a circular motion to soothe me the way a mom does with her child,' McMillan recalled. 'Those few minutes of physical contact, at a time when I felt like I had lost all my bodily autonomy, that was what got me through the biopsy.'"</a> As a caregiver, these are the most fraught moments. Reaching out like this could cost us our jobs (unwanted touch, interference with a procedure), but there are times when one human touching another human is the best form of medicine you can provide. And yes, letting a patient know they aren't going through these things alone can mean the difference between a successful outcome and a patient having a panic attack, crashing, or giving up hope. This is also why I stopped trying to minimize the surgery scar on my left forearm. Patients often ask about it, so it gives them something else to focus on while the medic is setting an IV, it offers comfort to those facing a cancer diagnosis, it tells them, "I've been through this, and you can get through this too."<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/15/1224627771/soda-tax-fruit-vegetables-coupons-boulder-colorado">"They are here for a distribution of coupons for the Fruit and Veg Boulder program, run by county health department staff and community groups. These distributions happen every three months – a family of two gets $40 a month in coupons, families of four and up get $80. They can be used pretty much anywhere in town where you can buy fresh produce – from big grocery stores to farm stands."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226736589/regulators-target-fees-for-consumers-who-are-denied-a-purchase-for-insufficient-">"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday that it was proposing a rule to bar banks, credit unions and other institutions from immediately denying a customer's transaction for insufficient funds to cover it and then levying a fee on top of that."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/15/1223259540/shipping-container-building-environment">"'The pitch of these containers is, "Well, we're saving them." But it doesn't make any sense,' said San Francisco-based architect Mark Hogan of OpenScope Studio, who has publicly shared his concerns about shipping container housing. 'You'd be much better off recycling the container into steel and then build out of steel studs — like the normal way you'd build a building.'"</A><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226811891/economy-gdp-recession-growth-interest-rates-inflation-federal-reserve">"The U.S. economy continues to defy expectations… The nation's gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity — grew at an annual pace of 3.3% in October, November, and December, according to a report Thursday from the Commerce Department… That was substantially faster than forecasters had expected."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/01/14/1224507582/davos-oxfam-rich-poor-inequality">"Oxfam spells out just how well billionaires are faring: 'The world's five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020 —at a rate of $14 million per hour— while nearly five billion people have been made poorer.'"</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/23/1226291903/turbotax-intuit-ftc-free-services">"The Federal Trade Commission says the company behind the popular tax filing software TurboTax engaged in 'deceptive advertising' when it ran ads for free tax services that many customers were ineligible for."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://ilsr.org/municipal-broadband-skyrocket-as-alternative-to-private-models/">"As the new year begins, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) announced today its latest tally of municipal broadband networks which shows a dramatic surge in the number of communities building publicly-owned, locally controlled high-speed Internet infrastructure over the last three years… Since January 1, 2021, at least 47 new municipal networks have come online with dozens of other projects still in the planning or pre-construction phase, which includes the possibility of building 40 new municipal networks in California alone."</a> While I've "solved" my broadband issue here, municipal owned broadband providers is one of my pet interests. They work better, provide better service, and do it at a low cost.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1225957874/housing-unaffordable-for-record-half-all-u-s-renters-study-finds">"In fact, more such households and many others also now struggle to pay rent, according to a newly released report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. It finds that in 2022, as rents spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, a record half of U.S. renters paid more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities. Nearly half of those people were severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income."</a> The rent is too damn high.<br><br>
How "gun control" could help. <A href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68071549">"A US appeals court has ruled that a $10bn lawsuit filed by Mexico against US gun manufacturers can go ahead, reviving a long-running legal battle… Mexico's government argues that the "flood" of illegal guns across the border is a result of "deliberate" business practices by the US gunmakers."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/spacex-musk-safety/">"It was hardly the last serious accident at SpaceX. Since LeBlanc’s death in June 2014, which hasn’t been previously reported, Musk’s rocket company has disregarded worker-safety regulations and standard practices at its inherently dangerous rocket and satellite facilities nationwide, with workers paying a heavy price, a Reuters investigation found. Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented at least 600 injuries of SpaceX workers since 2014."</a> This isn't the cost of space travel, this is negligence and a sociopathy that translates to not caring about employee health.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/business/tesla-elon-musk-stock.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE0.siy5.JmqocQJeHbUM&smid=url-share">"Elon Musk, the electric car company’s chief executive, said he would 'build products outside of Tesla' unless the board raises his stake to 25 percent."</a> Sounds like someone is a little hard up for cash. I hope the board tells him to go pound salt. (Grokked from John)<br><br>
<a href="https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2024-01-24/ohio-bans-trans-kids-in-sports-and-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-as-senate-overrides-veto">"A state law banning gender transition treatment for minors and prohibiting trans athletes from competing in girls' sports will go into effect, in spite of a veto from Gov. Mike DeWine. The Ohio Senate voted along party lines to override that veto, putting the law in place starting this spring."</a> Remember when Republicans were about small government and fiscal prudence? Well, I guess I know what will be on the Fall ballot for a Constitution Amendment. Just let me know where I can sign the petition.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/23/1226214707/an-ohio-church-is-suing-a-city-over-not-being-allowed-to-house-homeless-people">"A church in Ohio, whose pastor was criminally charged for allowing unhoused people to sleep at the church, has filed a federal lawsuit on the grounds of religious discrimination… Dad's Place is located in Bryan, Ohio, about an hour outside of Toledo. Last year, the church began to offer temporary housing for people living on the street. The city ordered the church to stop, citing zoning and safety concerns. But the pastor, Chris Avell, refused."</a> These days I rarely side with religious organizations and their political causes, but I agree with the church here. Although I do agree with the city that the church needs to fix their code violations.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-mayor-orders-probe-woman-alleges-police-raided-wrong-house-injure-rcna134062">"An Ohio toddler was sent to the hospital with burns and was struggling to breathe after police raided what may have been the wrong address and used flash-bang devices, according to the boy's mother who shared doorbell footage that contradicts the police account."</a><br><br>
What happens under "strong man rule." <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/13/it-is-a-time-of-witch-hunts-in-israel-teacher-held-in-solitary-confinement-for-posting-concern-about-gaza-deaths?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">"An unlikely charge of intent to commit treason landed Meir Baruchin, a grey-haired, softly spoken history and civics teacher, in the solitary confinement wing of Jerusalem’s notorious 'Russian Compound' prison in early November… The evidence compiled by police who handcuffed him, then drove to his apartment and ransacked it as he watched, was a series of Facebook posts he’d made, mourning the civilians killed in Gaza, criticising the Israeli military, and warning against wars of revenge."</a> There can be no criticism, no matter how small.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/23/jared-woodfill-paul-pressler-southern-baptist-state-legislature/">"Email sheds new light on Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill’s role in Southern Baptist leader’s sex abuse scandal… Woodfill has been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton despite his connection to Paul Pressler, a prominent religious figure accused of rape."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226129926/nh-primary-biden-ai-robocall">"The New Hampshire attorney general's office is investigating recorded calls that appear to use a voice crafted to sound like President Biden to tell voters not to cast their ballot in the state's presidential primary on Tuesday."</a> The deep fake attacks have begun.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/15/17113176/new-york-times-opinion-page-conservatism">"The signal feature of the 2016 election is that it settled the question of whether US conservatism — the actual movement, I mean, not the people in Washington think tanks who claim to be its spokespeople — is animated by a set of shared ideals and policies. It is not… For many years, many people have convinced themselves otherwise. A lot of people believe to this day that the Tea Party uprising and the subsequent eight years of hysterical, unremitting, norm-violating opposition to Barack Obama was about small-government philosophy and a devotion to low taxes and less regulation, and had nothing to do with social backlash against a black, cosmopolitan, urban law professor and his diverse, rising coalition… But that kind of credulity can only stretch so far, and Donald Trump has stretched it to the snapping point."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/49046/20240115/far-right-extremism-is-thriving-in-rural-areas-here-s-what-it-looks-like-in-upstate-ny">"People identify with provocative, sometimes violent movements and displaying symbols of those movements. And the symbols usually have one thing in common. They reflect anger or distrust towards the government or towards society as a whole."</a> We used to have a word for that, psychopaths.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1226626397/trump-defamation-trial">"A New York jury on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump to pay a total of $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for ruining her credibility as an advice columnist when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault."</a> It'll certainly be appealed, but to do so, Trump will have to post a bond for the total amount.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226883552/bipartisan-border-deal-at-risk-of-collapse-under-pressure-from-trump">"Punchbowl News first reported that McConnell told Republican senators the politics 'have changed' because former President Trump wants to build his reelection campaign around immigration. 'We don't want to do anything to undermine him,' McConnell reportedly said."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226836737/peter-navarro-sentence-contempt-congress">"Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in prison for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226142790/supreme-court-texas-razor-wire">"The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, granted the Biden administration's request to vacate the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' injunction in a case involving razor wire placed along Texas' border with Mexico… The move paves the way for federal officials to remove the wire."</a> This shouldn't have been a split vote, the Constitution is very clear about the Federal Government being responsible for immigration enforcement. That the dissenters are all "originalists" should be all you need to know about what bullshit that is.<br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-23677546975205753802024-01-13T13:44:00.004-05:002024-01-13T13:44:51.639-05:00Linkee-poo for Saturday January 13<A href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671">"A huge ancient city has been found in the Amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation... The discovery changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/22/1189303227/neat-fitness-non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis ">"Long before the advent of the Apple Watch, Levine began picking apart the energetic costs of daily activities, performing tightly controlled experiments involving body sensors and other technology to understand the implications for metabolic health."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/01/weight-loss-drug-reduces-risk-of-colorectal-cancer-cwru-research-finds.html ">"Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have published evidence that suggests the popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic may also reduce a person’s risk for colorectal cancer."</a> Yeah, why don't we wait until we have a decade's worth of data first.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/11/1224043703/alzheimers-disease-amyloid-blood-test-accuracy">"A new generation of blood tests is poised to change the way doctors determine whether patients with memory loss also have Alzheimer's disease... The tests detect substances in the blood that indicate the presence of sticky amyloid plaques in the brain — a hallmark of Alzheimer's. So these tests have the potential to replace current diagnostic procedures, like costly PET scans and uncomfortable spinal taps."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/12/1224435556/mary-lou-rettons-health-insurance-explanation-sparks-some-mental-gymnastics">"One key comment jumped out for those who follow health policy: Retton said she was uninsured, blaming that lack of coverage on 30 orthopedic surgeries that count as 'preexisting conditions,' a divorce and her poor finances... Nonetheless, her situation can be informative because the reasons she cited for not buying coverage — preexisting conditions and cost — are among the things the Affordable Care Act directly addresses."</a> It's hard to reverse a lifetime of learning.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/tesla-factory-worker-raises-uaw-08da8e4d2d99afa5eaa88f7abafceb36">"Factory workers at Tesla have been told to expect pay raises this year, a move that comes as the United Auto Workers union tries to organize the electric vehicle maker’s U.S. plants."</a> I'm sure it's just a coincidence. And just another example of how unions benefit all workers, even those not in unions.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/11/1224044520/cpi-inflation-december-labor-department-interest-rate-fed">"Inflation ticked up a little in December on the back of higher costs for housing and car insurance... The overall cost of living in December was up 3.4% from a year ago, a slightly larger increase than the 3.1% rate in November, according to data from the Labor Department on Thursday."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-applications-jobless-benefits-fall-lowest-level-3-106289558 ">"The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits inched down to its lowest level in nearly three months last week as the U.S. labor market continues to flex its muscle in spite of elevated interest rates."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/11/1223636086/israel-hamas-war-gaza-victory">"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised Israeli citizens that the military offensive in Gaza will press on until reaching a 'definitive victory over Hamas' following its deadly Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel... But skepticism is growing in Israel about the kind of military victory that can really be achieved."</a> It's an impossible goal to achieve militarily, and with every strike, Israel strengthens support for Hamas and drives Palestinians into their arms. If you really wanted to disable Hamas, Israel would need to offer Palestinians a better option for their survival. Hamas is not generally loved among Gazans, but between one evil and the other evil killing you wholesale, there's not much of a choice there. <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/christian-clergy-burnout-pandemic-survey-24ee46327438ff46b074d234ffe2f58c">"Post-pandemic burnout is at worrying levels among Christian clergy in the U.S., prompting many to think about abandoning their jobs, according to a new nationwide survey."</a> I would be interested to see a breakdown of this data with political activism from the pulpit. <br><br>
"We won't prosecute women who have miscarriages," they said. <A href="https://apnews.com/article/miscarriage-prosecution-ohio-brittany-watts-68145b3044b3cc61017b71a97f7cc036 ">"The Trumbull County prosecutor’s office said grand jurors declined to return an indictment for abuse of a corpse against Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, resolving a case that sparked national attention for its implications for pregnant women as states across the country hash out new laws governing reproductive health care access in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned."</a> Of course they will. Yes, there are different problems with this case, but seriously anyone paying attention these last 3 decades could have told you this will happen. And then it becomes a matter of "she didn't mourn properly or fully."<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/11/1224213842/tsa-finds-record-number-of-firearms-gun-ownership">"The Transportation Security Administration says it found a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints in 2023. A total of 6,737 were intercepted — or an average of 18 firearms per day — 93% of which which were loaded, the agency says."</a><br><br>
See something, say something they said. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lewiston-maine-shooting-warning-signs-robert-card-e154aac79b4f9d42a5381c20cd6618dd">"Sean Hodgson watched and worried as his best friend of nearly two decades unraveled. His former roommate and fellow U.S. Army reservist’s anger and paranoia were mounting, he had access to guns, and he refused to get help. So Hodgson did the hardest thing of his life: He sent a text about Robert Card to their Army supervisor."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-weapons-audit-watchdog-us-congress-biden-9abecd14528b9551ff4ddb6786ad7fda#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20—%20Shortfalls%20in,a%20Pentagon%20audit%20released%20Thursday.">"Shortfalls in required monitoring by American officials mean the U.S. cannot track more than $1 billion in weapons and military equipment provided to Ukraine to fight invading Russian forces, according to a Pentagon audit released Thursday."</a> While they speculate on fraud and arms marketing, actually 59% is about in line with all of the Pentagon's budget that they can't account for IIRC. The Pentagon is notoriously bad at tracking materials and money. <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-border-eagle-pass-98a0ea1c1b7c1713df9b76b5759a63ff ">"The mayor of a Texas border city at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ‘s aggressive measures to curb migrant crossings accused the state Thursday of a new escalation as state troopers closed a large public park along the Rio Grande without asking permission."</a> Ah, I see the problem here. You think Texas' border "response" is about good governance and not about flexing military might with authoritarian rule. <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/statehouse-tennessee-public-access-tickets-ace304456df3541c4eebd519bbef6d06">"Tennessee House Republican leaders went on the defensive Thursday after surprising people who showed up to watch their lawmakers kick off this year’s work by asking some of them if they had a ticket to get in. The new and previously unpublicized requirement has only fueled lingering criticism that the GOP supermajority is unfairly flexing its ability to silence those with differing political views."</a> JFC, just the peevishness of their responses. <br><br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/maryland-elections-board-member-resigns-after-indictment-participating-106295818 ">"A Republican member of the Maryland State Board of Elections is resigning after being arrested by the FBI this week on felony and misdemeanor charges relating to his alleged conduct during the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/hard-right-republicans-pressure-speaker-johnson-back-bipartisan-spendi-rcna133509">"Hard-right House Republicans on Thursday met with Speaker Mike Johnson and pressured him to renege on the spending deal he cut with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., just days ago."</a> Let's see, does the House still have that rule that one member can ask to unseat the speaker? Yep, I think it still does.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-criminal-case-joe-biden-2024-015cba20dfba90930706fc8a7d4ae38d ">"Hunter Biden has been accused of nine felony and misdemeanor tax offenses. The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the $1.4 million he owed to the IRS and instead use the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that by his own admission included drugs and alcohol."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/swatting-calls-marjorie-taylor-greene-rick-scott-d568818925c99c8cf17467f737b99e97 ">"Bomb threats and false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials, state capitols and courthouses have surged in recent weeks, including some connected to court cases against former President Donald Trump."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-new-york-closing-arguments-b36abe2fd695d0172e71f8ef9c5ee7f3">"Trump spoke as the judge was trying to find out if the former president would follow rules requiring him to keep his remarks focused on matters related to the trial. Asked whether he would comply with the guidelines, Trump defied the judge and simply launched into his speech."</a> If only we could cut him off during all his tirades.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-supreme-court-border-patrol-b9e0cec057a8d8a0a947b7c77ec80c0b">"The Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months, setting up another showdown between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over immigration enforcement."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-new-york-times-taxes-lawsuit-slapp-f39342501d9a2a5cfd36181f9f336215">"Former President Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three investigative reporters after he sued them unsuccessfully over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/06/1222875311/voting-rights-act-section-2">"While critics have been challenging what the Justice Department has called 'the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever adopted by the United States Congress' since shortly after it was first enacted in 1965, many voting rights experts say the Supreme Court's current conservative supermajority has inspired new legal strategies."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34EQ8LR">"As a massive winter storm sweeping the United States threatens to impact the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump supporter Laura Loomer suggests Republican challenger Nikki Haley is "using HAARP" to foment the cyclone and derail the former US president's campaign. This is false; scientists have repeatedly refuted the notion that the atmospheric research program can manipulate the weather."</a> Here we go again.<br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-35320666786173439422024-01-11T11:26:00.004-05:002024-01-11T11:26:25.418-05:00Linkee-poo for January 11, 2024. <A href="https://www.tor.com/2024/01/09/tor-com-to-become-reactor-debut-new-site-on-january-23rd/#more-765114">"Tor Publishing Group announced today that Tor.com will become Reactor…"</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/08/1223424903/first-u-s-lunar-lander-in-more-than-50-years-rockets-toward-the-moon">"A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company on Tuesday to give up on landing a spacecraft on the moon."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/04/birds-of-prey-in-africa-experiencing-population-collapse-study-finds-aoe">"Africa’s birds of prey have experienced a widespread population collapse that risks unforeseen consequences for humans, according to a new study."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/12/28/1221827923/2023-hottest-year-record-climate-change">"Last year was the hottest ever recorded, according to temperature data going back to 1850. And it beat the previous record by a wide margin, according to new data released by the European Union's weather and climate monitoring agency, Copernicus."</a> We're boned.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/list-names-people-buried-paupers-grave-hinds-county-jackson-mississipp-rcna129806">"The unclaimed dead of Hinds County, Mississippi, are buried along a dirt road on the grounds of a jail work farm, their graves marked with just a metal rod and a number… Every few months, inmates dig new graves and add new bodies to the hundreds already buried in unkempt plots."</a> When the government just doesn't care to do its job.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/arts/design/museum-cyberattack.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU0.wqUi.ei0YrRHZBwYi&smid=url-share">"Several prominent museums have been unable to display their collections online since a cyberattack hit a prominent technological service provider that helps hundreds of cultural organizations show their works digitally and manage internal documents… The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas were among the institutions confirming that their systems have experienced outages in recent days."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67755415">"How did a young man born 2,000 years ago near what is now southern Russia, end up in the English countryside?"</a> Well, the M5 is kinda troublesome…<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1223730333/bottled-water-plastic-microplastic-nanoplastic-study">"Microscopic pieces of plastic are everywhere. Now, they've been found in bottled water in concentrations 10 to 100 times more than previously estimated."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.ideastream.org/community/2024-01-03/dear-struggling-in-ohio-youre-not-alone-love-the-sewer-district">"Dear Struggling in Ohio: 'You're not alone.' Love, the sewer district."</A> Social media for the win.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/21/979183329/too-much-focusing-is-draining-heres-a-better-strategy">"Getting and staying focused can be a challenge in the best of times. But with everything going on in the world, concentrating can often feel down-right impossible."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://projects.propublica.org/claimfile/">"ProPublica’s Claim File Helper lets you customize a letter requesting the notes and documents your insurer used when deciding to deny you coverage. Get your claim file before submitting an appeal."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/09/1223077307/long-covid-exercise-post-exertional-malaise-mitochondria">"By taking biopsies from long COVID patients before and after exercising, scientists in the Netherlands constructed a startling picture of widespread abnormalities in muscle tissue that may explain this severe reaction to physical activity."</a> COVID 19 is a mitochondrial disease.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/01/07/1222847727/coronavirus-faq-my-partner-roommate-kid-got-covid-and-i-didnt-how-come">"As a physician and infectious disease epidemiologist, I've seen a lot of COVID-19 patients during the course of the pandemic, and there's a question I hear over and over… How is it possible that my partner – or child or sibling or roommate – tested positive for COVID, and even though I slept in the same room or lived in the same house, I didn't come down with the virus?"</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/28/california-forever-launch-plans-maybe-00133145?cid=politico_bsky">"Flannery turned out to be a consortium of Silicon Valley venture capitalist billionaires led by a former trader from Goldman Sachs. When pressed, they announced plans to build a new city from scratch in windswept farmland about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco in Solano County. They called the project 'California Forever' and released colorful renderings of idyllic tree-lined streets and plazas — but no details beyond a pledge to create a 'walkable' community powered by alternative energy."</a> When billionaires don't understand that the law applies to them as well.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1224027439/ram-trucks-recall-emissions-cheating-scandal-cummins">"The Department of Justice released new details of a settlement with engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. Wednesday that includes a mandatory recall of 600,000 Ram trucks, and that Cummins remedy environmental damage it caused when it illegally installed emissions control software in several thousand vehicles, skirting emissions testing."</a> Naughty naughty.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/06/1223243244/cities-with-soda-taxes-saw-sales-of-sugary-drinks-fall-as-prices-rose-study-find">"Sales of sugary drinks fell dramatically across five U.S. cities, after they implemented taxes targeting those drinks – and those changes were sustained over time. That's according to a study published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/nationa-retail-federation-retracts-key-data-point-organized-retail-crime-on-the-media">"Last week, the National Retail Federation (NRF) removed language from their April report after reporting showed that their major claim about 'organized retail crime' (ORC) was based on faulty data. The language they removed came from the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR) and stated that 'nearly half' of the total inventory loss to retailers in 2021 'was attributable to ORC.' Organized retail crime, or ORC, is a term to describe shoplifting conducted coordinated groups of people stealing items for the purpose of personal enrichment. Organized retail crime has been increasingly targeted by lawmakers aiming to crack down on the crime with stiffer penalties and more jail time. The National Retail Federation’s retraction highlighted that data behind an apparent crisis in retail crime is baseless."</a> Outside NYC, shoplifting is decreasing everywhere. The "ORC" number was started by :: checks notes :: the guy responsible for countering ORC (you know, no conflict of interest there). <br><Br>
<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/crypto-hedge-fund-ceo-may-not-exist-probe-finds-no-record-of-identity/">"For years, rumors spread on social media that Steven Reece Lewis, the chief executive officer of a now-shuttered cryptocurrency hedge fund called HyperVerse, was a 'fake person' who 'doesn't exist.' After its investigation, The Guardian has confirmed that no organization cited on his resume 'can find any record of him.'"</a><br><Br>
Why does everyone say the economy is bad, Paul Krugman? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/opinion/economy-survey-republicans.html">"Republican assessments of the economy soared when Donald Trump took office. Even during the pandemic recession, when unemployment rose to almost 15 percent, Republicans had a more favorable view of the economy than they did in the Obama years. And when Joe Biden came in, almost all Republicans declared that the economy was bad — a view that has barely budged in the face of good macroeconomic news… Democrats are not Republicans’ mirror image."</a> Funny that.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2023-11-17/right-wing-activist-chris-rufo-calls-for-siege-of-university-at-ut/">"It wasn’t a cakewalk for Chris Rufo… The right-wing thought leader delivered a smooth and articulate call to 'lay siege' to the nation’s system of higher education at UT’s Republican donor-funded Salem Center on Nov.13. But by the end of the Q&A, a trio of university professors had neutered his message."</A> All bluster, no brain.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/kim-davis-marriage-licenses-rowan-county-b99cdf7b93a1e144fdff2c3b24d96c2c">"Former county clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses in Kentucky to same-sex couples, must pay a total of $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one couple, according to a federal judge’s ruling."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/imagine-that-5">"A ‘faith-based’ leader of Moms for Liberty in Philly turns out to be (subscription required) a registered sex offender. But don’t worry: He says he was framed."</a> Funny how that keeps happening.<br><Br>
<A href="https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2024-01-08/breaking-tallahassees-evan-power-is-named-state-gop-chairman">"The Republican Party of Florida officially ousted its former chair Christian Ziegler in a closed-door meeting Monday. The party also announced they have elected Leon County Republican Party chair Evan Power as his replacement… Ziegler is currently facing a rape investigation and other charges that he denies. The situation prompted the party to remove him after calls for his ouster from Republican elected officials across the state coupled with Ziegler's suspension last month."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/24/us/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-clerks.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IU0.Lopp.0Fe4gzGnAFwZ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">"In the 32 years since Justice Thomas came through the fire of his confirmation hearings and onto the Supreme Court, he has assembled an army of influential acolytes unlike any other — a network of like-minded former clerks who have not only rallied to his defense but carried his idiosyncratic brand of conservative legal thinking out into the nation’s law schools, top law firms, the judiciary and the highest reaches of government."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/23/ottawa-county-commissioners-michigan-department-health/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzAzMzk0MDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA0Nzc2Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDMzOTQwMDAsImp0aSI6ImY4ZGE2YTU0LWJkNGEtNGQwZi04YmE5LTM1MDE3MTIwN2M1MyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDIzLzEyLzIzL290dGF3YS1jb3VudHktY29tbWlzc2lvbmVycy1taWNoaWdhbi1kZXBhcnRtZW50LWhlYWx0aC8ifQ.7MnCDin_nerlNrQISlaawLmnRx1f13IKsIRHewvZldI">"The hard-right Republicans on the 11-person county board swept into office last year after defeating more-moderate GOP incumbents in a primary. The old commissioners had for years focused on keeping taxes low and the county’s biggest multinational employers happy. Their replacements reflected an increasingly populist and conspiratorial GOP — remade in the image of Donald Trump… They complained that they couldn’t trust (leader of the health department) Hambley. They accused her of supporting mask mandates and pushing coronavirus vaccines that they believed were unproven and possibly unsafe. They said her employees had encouraged dangerous, sexually perverse behavior by attending a local Pride festival, where they tested attendees for sexually transmitted diseases and administered the mpox vaccine."</a> When religion gets involved with politics, it's never a good outcome.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2024-01-09/maine-lawmakers-squash-attempt-to-impeach-secretary-of-state-for-removing-trump-from-primary-ballot">"Lawmakers in the Maine House rejected an effort on Tuesday to launch impeachment proceedings against Secretary of State Shenna Bellows over her decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1222887973/trump-immunity-from-prosecution">"In arguments that extended for more than an hour, three judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit pressed Trump's attorney on his sweeping claims of immunity from federal prosecution."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/06/1223333029/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-hospitalized-secrecy">"The No. 2 official at the Pentagon was kept in the dark about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization even after she was filling in for him, according to a senior defense official."</a> See, that part is the real problem.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/07/1223378237/congressional-deal-shutdown">"Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on a framework to avert a shutdown and keep the federal government funded until the end of the fiscal year."</a> And not two days later… <A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1223626340/house-gop-leaders-will-need-to-convince-members-to-pass-spending-deal">"Without support from the most conservative members of his party, Johnson will have to rely heavily on Democratic support to avert a government shutdown. That could threaten Johnson's plan to add conservative policy provisions to the bill, like restrictions on abortion rights."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1219357967/2024-election-dates-primaries">"The presidential nominating contests kick off in less than two weeks with voting in Iowa on Jan. 15. That's followed by New Hampshire on Jan. 23."</a> Here we go again.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1219632485/chris-christie-drops-out-primary">"Christie ended his presidential campaign after his stance on Trump's leadership and role in the Republican Party proved to diverge too far from where the GOP currently stands. Numerous conservatives had additionally been calling on Christie to end his campaign for weeks, so that former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who's been surging in the polls, could have a stronger chance to beat Trump for the GOP nomination."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1223940451/donald-trump-birther-nikki-haley-citizenship-president-14th-amendment">"Trump posted an article on his Truth Social account from a right wing outlet that claims Haley is ineligible to be president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born… While her parents became citizens after her birth, Haley was born in South Carolina. Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, being born in the United States makes her a natural-born citizen. She is therefore eligible to become president."</a> Can't wait for the calls to see her birth certificate.<br><Br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-58587865395176100042023-12-19T21:24:00.001-05:002023-12-19T21:24:07.887-05:00Linkee-poo Pre Solstice<A href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230922-the-ancient-sri-lankan-tank-cascade-systems-tackling-drought">"A 2,000-year-old Sri Lankan hydraulic system uses natural features to help harvest and store rainwater. In a rapidly warming world, it is providing a lifeline for rural communities."</a> Again, our ancestors were not stupid.<br><Br>
<A href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/squeezing-science-out-of-new-horizons-as-it-heads-out-of-the-solar-system/">"New Horizons is now nearly twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, the outer planets are receding fast, and interstellar space is illuminated by the vast swath of the Milky Way ahead. But the spacecraft’s research is far from over. Its instruments are all functioning and responsive, and the New Horizons team has been working hard, pushing the spacecraft’s capabilities to carry out new tasks."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.propublica.org/article/malpractice-settlements-doctors-working-for-insurance-companies">"Doctors working for health insurers can rule on 10,000 or more requests for care a year. At least a dozen were hired by major insurance companies after being disciplined by state medical boards or making multiple or outsized malpractice payments."</a> Sounds like a winning business plan.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/12/pharmacy-records-police-privacy-abortion/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzAyMzU3MjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzAzNzM5NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDIzNTcyMDAsImp0aSI6IjQxMzYwYzQwLThjMDItNDg3Mi1hOWMzLWU3NDRmOTM3NjBkOSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS90ZWNobm9sb2d5LzIwMjMvMTIvMTIvcGhhcm1hY3ktcmVjb3Jkcy1wb2xpY2UtcHJpdmFjeS1hYm9ydGlvbi8ifQ.hmewhjGBGhr7UGJhRhic9IcYWs5j5IuFQd5eDY5Gwx4">"The nation’s largest pharmacy chains have handed over Americans’ prescription records to police and government investigators without a warrant, a congressional investigation found, raising concerns about threats to medical privacy."</a> And yet, they can't tell a spouse anything about the other spouses prescriptions.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/24/medicare-advantage-plans-congress-00128353">"More than 30 million older Americans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, wooed by lower premiums and more benefits than traditional Medicare offers… But a bipartisan group of lawmakers is increasingly concerned that insurance companies are preying on seniors, and, in some cases, denying care that would otherwise be approved by traditional Medicare."</a> Sure, let's privatize the our collective healthcare safety net. What's the worst that could happen?<br><Br>
<a href="https://projects.propublica.org/claimfile/">"ProPublica’s Claim File Helper lets you customize a letter requesting the notes and documents your insurer used when deciding to deny you coverage. Get your claim file before submitting an appeal."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/kellogg-kraft-win-in-price-fixing-suit-against-egg-companies">"General Mills Inc., a Kraft Heinz Co. unit, Kellogg Co., and Nestle SA for years likely overpaid for eggs because the nation’s largest producers and two trade groups conspired to restrict the supply, an Illinois federal jury decided on Tuesday."</a> Greedflation.<br><Br>
<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/10/17/small-business-owners-they-are-pressured-to-hire-off-duty-mpd-cops-for-security/">"Some officers are still paid in cash, increasing the risk of tax evasion. And, several business owners and Minneapolis officials said some small business owners — particularly those owned by immigrants — have been led to believe they must hire MPD officers, or risk getting ghosted by police."</A> Well there's a racket, and no mistake.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-suffered-dramatic-casualties-ukraine-us-intelligence-says-rcna129354">"The Russian military has suffered dramatic casualties on the battlefield since invading Ukraine in February 2022, according to newly declassified intelligence shared with Congress, a person familiar with the intelligence told NBC News… In the past 22 months, 315,000 Russian troops have been killed and wounded, according to the assessment provided to lawmakers. Prior to the invasion, Russia had a ground force strength of about 360,000."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67687449">"A Russian propaganda campaign involving thousands of fake accounts on TikTok spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine has been uncovered by the BBC… Its videos routinely attract millions of views and have the apparent aim of undermining Western support."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck0.aRkB.mYA98gOY3g96&smid=url-share">"Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/19/us/brittany-watts-miscarriage-criminal-charge/index.html">"An Ohio woman who had sought treatment at a hospital before suffering a miscarriage and passing her nonviable fetus in her bathroom now faces a criminal charge, her attorney told CNN… Brittany Watts, 33, of Warren, has been charged with felony abuse of a corpse, Trumbull County court records show."</a> (Grokked from John)<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/05/uvalde-officer-student-trainings-mass-shootings/">"The children hid. They dropped to the floor, crouching under desks and countertops, far from the windows. They lined up against the walls, avoiding the elementary school doors that separated them from a mass shooter about a decade older than them. Some held up the blunted scissors that they often used to cut shapes as they prepared to fight. A few grabbed bloodied phones and dialed 911. And as students across the country have been instructed for years, they remained quiet, impossibly quiet. At times, they hushed classmates who screamed in agony from the bullets that tore through their small bodies… Then, they waited. Waited for the adults, whom they could hear in the hallway. If they were just patient, those adults would save them."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2023-11-21/woodbury-county-supervisors-wife-found-guilty-of-52-counts-of-voter-fraud">"A jury spent about five hours deliberating before convicting Kim Phuong Taylor on 52 counts of voter fraud in federal court Tuesday in Sioux City. Taylor faces up to five years in prison on each count. A sentencing date hasn’t been set."</a> Oh look, real voter fraud! Oh wait, never mind, it's another Republican. Move along, nothing to see here.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.propublica.org/article/idaho-banned-abortion-support-pregnancies-families">"When the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, it greenlighted the kind of near-universal abortion restrictions that Idaho lawmakers had spent the previous two years crafting. Gov. Brad Little said the state should turn to helping women who might otherwise have terminated pregnancies… But since the June 2022 decision, Idaho has failed to deliver — even as other conservative states with abortion bans took steps to enhance their safety nets for families during pregnancy and after birth."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-election-plans-corrupt-voter-registration-eric-eagleai-1234920083/">"Since then, Trump has fixated on new bogeymen. Lately, he has found one in a mundane nonprofit designed to spot the very voter fraud Team Trump professes to hate. Until recently, 33 states and the District of Columbia — a mixture of solidly Republican, Democratic, and battleground states — used data from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to spot voting irregularities and to identify and reach voters who haven’t yet registered, a group that numbered 4.4 million people in 2022. ERIC has been employed in this way since 2012, without incident or controversy. But in Trump’s imagination, ERIC is the engine for election rigging."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-hints-expanded-role-military-us-legacy-law-105172859">"Trump has not spelled out precisely how he might use the military during a second term, although he and his advisers have suggested they would have wide latitude to call up units. While deploying the military regularly within the country's borders would be a departure from tradition, the former president already has signaled an aggressive agenda if he wins, from mass deportations to travel bans imposed on certain Muslim-majority countries."</a> He's promising to overturn democracy.<br><Br>
<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/politics/missing-russia-intelligence-trump-dg/">"A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN… The binder was last seen at the White House during Trump’s final days in office."</a> Totally normal.<br><Br>
There's also news that the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/colorado-supreme-court-kicks-trump-states-2024-ballot-violating-us-con-rcna130484">Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Trump can not be on the ballot due to the 14th Amendment</a> barring those who commit insurection against the Constitution after swearing an oath to the same. The ruling has been stayed waiting on appeal to SCOTUS. Constitutional crisis here we come.<br><Br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-19588931441534460522023-11-02T11:31:00.001-04:002023-11-02T11:31:10.515-04:00What the hell happened to youSorry for the dearth of posts here. Between everything going on, my brain needed (and still needs) a break.<br><br>
Almost all my creative production went off the rails earlier this year. I'm working back towards reordering my life. While the Linkee-poos are much easier than publishing my own content, they still aren't easy and take up a lot of time and headspace that I haven't had for a long time.<br><br>
So, sorry, but not sorry.<br><br>
This is a post to explain, appologize, and provide a kick in the ass to get back to doing what is necessary. There's still a metric ton of things in my personal life that need attending to, but I will try to post more often.<br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-9261794572933352152023-10-14T16:08:00.004-04:002023-10-14T16:08:47.415-04:00Linkee-poo Saturday Oct 14thFirst, the important one, the On the Media series, "We Don't Talk About Leonard… the background of the man who has played a critical role in the conservative takeover of America's courts — Leonard Leo." <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-we-dont-talk-about-leonard-episode-1">Part 1,</a> <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-we-dont-talk-about-leonard-episode-2">Part 2,</a> <A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-we-dont-talk-about-leonard-episode-3">Part 3.</a> If I told you that throughout the episodes there wasn't the sound of an RPG launch playing over and over in the deep recesses of my brain, well, I'd be lying. The right screams about George Soros, and again, every acusation is a confession.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-live-updates">"As the latest Israel-Hamas war reaches its sixth day, the Israeli military pulverized the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, prepared for a possible ground invasion and said Thursday its complete siege would remain in place until the Hamas militants that rule the territory freed some 150 hostages taken during a grisly weekend incursion."</a> The terrorist strikes to provoke an overwhelming response where the target government violates their own laws and norms.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/antarctica-melting-ice-shelve-climate-change-1eb755e49cc229b04d4903567a51b6fc">"Four dozen Antarctic ice shelves have shrunk by at least 30% since 1997 and 28 of those have lost more than half of their ice in that time, reports a new study that surveyed these crucial “gatekeepers’’ between the frozen continent’s massive glaciers and open ocean."</a> Place gif of Jack Nicholson as the Joker shouting, "We're gonna take them out a whole new door!"<br><br>
<a href=" https://www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1205066133/sycamore-gap-tree-trunk-removed">"Workers are beginning the process of removing the famous Sycamore Gap tree trunk and crown from Hadrian's Wall, which was felled in late September in a shocking act of vandalism in northern England. The tree's stump will remain."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/act-college-admission-test-score-optional-99f80b26696a92c78e2680873a3df68c">"High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test."</a> Time to fire up the headlines of, "Why Johnny Can't Read." Let the handwringing begin.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/excited-delirium-police-deaths-acep-4760e3cbed181503a2ac747ed5afeef6">"The American College of Emergency Physicians in a statement called the paper outdated and said the term excited delirium should not be used by members who testify in civil or criminal cases. The group’s directors voted on the matter Thursday in Philadelphia."</a> It was always bullshit.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sam-bankmanfried-ftx-caroline-ellison-crypto-bitcoin-7d3ce0397ff02ed52f6b4425f781a625">"Caroline Ellison had testified over the two previous days that Bankman-Fried directed her at several times over the years to pull money from FTX customer accounts to fund investments and trading strategies at Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research. Ellison was the CEO of Alameda when it and FTX collapsed in November of last year."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/12/1205068747/climate-change-emissions-companies-disclosure-sec-california ">"Businesses and climate activists have been pushing to shape the SEC rules for months, because the stakes are high. The economy is awash in climate disclosures that companies tout, but there are few ways for customers and investors to gauge the validity of the claims. The SEC's goal is to ensure that publicly-traded corporations are reporting comparable information, and also to make sure they aren't misleading investors about their environmental activities — a practice known as greenwashing, Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, told the House Financial Services Committee in September."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1205164556/junk-fees-biden-white-house-rules">"Many consumers are no strangers to added and surprise fees, from buying airline tickets to renting a car or ordering takeout...These pesky charges are the target of new actions announced Wednesday by the Biden administration, which hopes to stamp out so-called 'junk fees' and make it easier for buyers to know what they're paying and why." Hell to the fuckin' yeah. Just two examples: we had a basic landline up until this year, it was $15 for the line, but with all the fees it was over $50 a month. Two, just bought tickets to a speaking event, the processing fee was a third of the ticket price (added on top) which wasn't disclosed until checkout.</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/civil-war-gold-fbi-dig-pennsylvania-6b5feca00ebf3e04638a8bbce992809d ">"The FBI’s highly unusual search for buried Civil War-era treasure more than five years ago set in motion a dispute over what, if anything, the agency unearthed and an ongoing legal battle over key records. There’s so much intrigue that even a federal judge felt compelled to note in a ruling last week: 'The FBI may have found the gold — or maybe not.'"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kevin-mccarthy-ousted-speaker-jordan-scalise-1492ca6b58604c51186015c23f7efccd">"Nominated to be House speaker, Rep. Steve Scalise on Thursday ran straight into a familiar, intensifying Republican problem: Skeptical GOP colleagues are refusing to give their support, denying him the majority vote needed to win the gavel."</a> The party of "anti-government" can govern you say? Weird. UPDATE: Scalise is out.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205734675/house-speaker-vote-news">"Republicans have tapped Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be their latest nominee for House speaker, one day after the conference's initial nominee, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, failed to consolidate party support."</a> I'm sorry, GOP, you've already had a child abuser as speaker. Try and mix it up a little.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-indictment-c1850764b8ce7c613fc50f0e4f495e87">"U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey was accused Thursday of conspiring to act as an agent of the Egyptian government in a new indictment that places the Democrat who had a key role in shaping U.S. policy in deeper legal trouble as he continues to ignore calls to resign."</a> Time to go, Bob.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-new-york-364d1052f98816121000c26dc66f3878">"Donald Trump obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans using financial statements that a court has since deemed fraudulent, a retired bank official testified Wednesday at the former president’s New York civil fraud trial."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-new-york-c1865da048782b708de74c050f647df2">"Donald Trump will be back in court next week for his New York civil fraud trial, a person familiar with the former president’s plans told The Associated Press on Thursday, setting up a potential face-to-face showdown with fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, who is expected to testify."</a><br><br>
And in case I didn't post it before, the On the Media Podcast short on <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-trump-why-pay-attention-trump-civil-fraud-case">"Why You Should Pay Attention to Trump's Civil Fraud Case."</a><br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-30482635918627364982023-10-07T12:22:00.005-04:002023-10-07T12:22:40.627-04:00Linkee-poo Saturday Oct 7So, what should we talk about?<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/live-updates/israel-gaza-war">"In a deadly surprise attack, Gaza militants infiltrated several Israeli towns and military camps and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza toward central and southern Israel. 'We are at war,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said."</a> How's that plan to isolate Iran going, Benny?<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1204082640/dick-butkus-dead-chicago-bears">Dick Butkus,</a> and so it goes.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/record-hot-climate-change-el-nino-copernicus-1d80d23b98efd62d20b79f83619dfb82">"After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday."</a> We're boned.<br><br>
It's impossible they say, well… <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1197954251/uruguay-green-energy-carbon-emissions-climate-change">"Within a few years of Méndez Galain receiving that phone call inviting him to become the national director of energy, he had achieved what he had set out to do. Uruguay's energy grid was powered almost exclusively by domestically created, renewable energy, and, adjusted for inflation, consumer prices had gone down. Today, there are more than 700 wind turbines installed across Uruguay's countryside."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1204077790/buying-electric-vehicle-ev-tax-credit-inflation-reduction-act">"Starting in January, EV car shoppers won't have to wait until tax season to pocket the incentive, worth up to $7,500. Instead, the credit will be available as cash in hand on the day of purchase — and it'll be available regardless of the size of a customer's tax bill."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-big-pharma-company-stalled-tuberculosis-vaccine-to-pursue-bigger-profits">"GSK patented the adjuvant and took control of the supply of the ingredients in it. It accepted government and nonprofit funding to develop a TB vaccine using the adjuvant. But even though it isn’t carrying the vaccine to the finish line, it isn’t letting go of it entirely either, keeping a tight grip on that valuable ingredient."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1204179771/jobs-labor-market-employers-economy-inflation-interest-rates">"U.S. employers added 336,000 jobs in September, according to the Labor Department. That's about twice as many as forecasters were expecting."</a> And somehow this is bad news.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/business/uaw-auto-strike/index.html">"United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said Friday that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis will all avert an expansion of the UAW’s work stoppages at this time, suggesting the unprecedented strikes against all three could be nearing an end."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-museum-roman-statues-damaged-tourist-arrested-c1f793f1df00d477adac3e651e5751a7">"Police identified the suspect as a radical 40-year-old Jewish American tourist and said initial questioning suggested he smashed the statues because he considered them 'to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.'"</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1204009210/u-s-shoots-down-armed-drone-flown-by-nato-ally-turkey ">"An American F-16 shot down an armed Turkish drone after it flew close to U.S. forces in northeast Syria and ignored warnings to stay away. Officials said it was the first time the U.S. has shot down an aircraft from Turkey, a NATO ally."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1204371347/ex-u-s-army-sergeant-charged-with-trying-to-pass-secrets-to-china ">"In March 2020, Schmidt allegedly traveled to Hong Kong and then Beijing. While in the Chinese capital, he conducted several Google searches, including 'What Do Real Spies Do and How are they Recruited—Reddit,' as well as 'Espionage—Reddit.'"</a> (shrug text art)<br><br>
<A href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/06/us/politics/biden-trump-immigration.html">"Since taking office, Mr. Biden has tried to balance his stated desire for a more humane approach with strict enforcement that aides believe is critical to ensure that migrants do not believe the border is open to anyone"</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1204017730/migrants-deportation-flights-venezuela-border-immigration ">"U.S. immigration authorities are restarting deportations to Venezuela, as the Biden administration tries to discourage migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally... The U.S plans to resume repatriation flights directly to Venezuela immediately, the administration announced Thursday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-colony-ridge-f9fc0b3ed97738adcbb37b1bdf661cf3">"But his quiet neighborhood is now in an unwelcome national spotlight. For weeks in Texas, conservative media and GOP activists have been pushing unsubstantiated claims that Colony Ridge has become a magnet for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and that cartels control pockets of the neighborhood."</a> You must be carefully taught.<br><br>
Today in "duh" news... <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1203182131/kentucky-free-child-care-day-care-workers">"A year ago, Kentucky came up with a creative solution that is already paying dividends… The state made all child care employees eligible for free child care, regardless of household income."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1204321639/new-mexico-redistricting-ruling">"A New Mexico judge on Friday upheld the state's congressional map as constitutional following a trial over whether the Democratic-controlled Legislature illegally drew the boundaries in 2021… Judge Fred Van Soelen found there was clear evidence that Democratic lawmakers intentionally tried to dilute the votes of the state Republican Party and other plaintiffs when they moved conservative voters out of the 2nd Congressional District and moved Democratic-aligned voters in."</a> Some gerrymandering is allowable, but RedState took it to an extreme.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.wunc.org/politics/2023-10-05/nc-lawmakers-exempt-public-records-laws-democrats-secret-police-powers">"North Carolina’s legislature is now exempt from the public records law that governs other branches of government. The change is a last-minute addition to the state budget, and it comes alongside a major expansion of the legislature’s ability to seize documents from state agencies and private contractors."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-executions-biden-death-penalty-brandon-bernard-c1b26807c5c40b337d14485c3d6df2de">"Secrecy was a hallmark of the 13 federal executions during the last six months of Trump’s presidency. Although reporters were allowed to witness them, it was impossible to know at the time what was happening behind the scenes... Fresh details have emerged since the executions, including from Dershowitz, who spoke recently to The Associated Press. The fuller picture reveals that officials cut corners and relied on a pliant Supreme Court to get the executions done, even when some — including Trump himself, in Bernard’s case — agreed that there might be valid reasons not to proceed with them all."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-warheads-stockpile-testing-nevada-new-mexico-4a6d4faae84518d14373371955e8cb4c">"Experts at national defense laboratories haven’t been able to physically validate the effectiveness and reliability of nuclear warheads since a 1992 underground test ban. But Energy Department officials announced Thursday they’re on the verge of piecing together the technology needed to do the next best thing."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/06/george-santos-republican-congressman-aide-fraud">"The ex-treasurer for US congressman George Santos pleaded guilty Thursday to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated the indicted New York Republican in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors."</a> That's the sound of nails going into the coffin.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/politics/speakers-race-fox-candidate-forum/index.html">"House speaker candidates have pulled out of a planned joint interview on Fox News next week just hours after it was announced amid fierce blowback from GOP lawmakers, the latest sign of how simmering tensions within the conference are boiling over as Republicans scramble to find a new leader following Kevin McCarthy’s stunning ouster."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-trump-why-pay-attention-trump-civil-fraud-case">"Russ Buettner is a reporter on the New York Times Investigation Desk, the team that hunted down Trump’s tax returns and other elusive financial documents, in an effort to understand how exactly the former president got his money and how he lost so much of it. For the midweek podcast, (On the Media) correspondent Micah Loewinger called Russ to learn about what Trump’s history of fraud means for his future, the revelations of the trial so far, and what details have gotten lost in the deluge of coverage."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-new-york-77f3691ad7fa73ea008f058ae6f772d6">"Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial will roll ahead next week after the former president lost a bid Friday to halt the proceedings while he fights a pretrial ruling that could strip him of Trump Tower and other marquee properties."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-51380888732259474812023-09-27T10:16:00.007-04:002023-09-27T10:16:52.962-04:00Linkee-poo Wednesday Sept 27 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249">"Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing."</a> Fucked around, finding out.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/politics/mccarthy-government-shutdown-latest/index.html">"With just days to go before the government runs out of money, the Senate has unveiled a bipartisan stopgap bill in a bid to avert a shutdown – but there’s no guarantee that it will be able to pass in the House as a bloc of conservatives rail against the prospect of a short-term funding extension."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/el-nino-affect-us-winter/story?id=103466319">"On average, during an El Nino winter, the northern U.S. sees warmer than average temperatures, as the polar jet stream stays north and keeps the cold air in Canada.... Meanwhile, the South is wetter than normal due to the active subtropical jet that is fueled by warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/22/1201071390/carbon-jupiter-moon-europa">"'The discovery (of carbon from the subsurface ocean) signals a potentially habitable environment in the ocean of Europa,' according to the Webb telescope's website."</a> Attempt no landings there.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1201386042/watch-live-nasa-sends-an-asteroid-sample-back-to-earth">"After traveling billions of miles for seven years to touch an asteroid and bring some of it home, NASA's Osiris-REx mission has finally delivered a precious sample to Earth."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-how-to-break-out-of-a-rut/">"There are times in life when the challenges we face feel insurmountable. Authors succumb to writer’s block. Athletes and artists hit a plateau. People of a certain age fall into a midlife crisis. These are all different ways of saying: I’m stuck. This week, in the kickoff to our annual You 2.0 series, psychologist Adam Alter shares his research on why we all get stuck at various points in our lives, and how to break free."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/peru-preinca-burial-site-9245dd878d8763893e79fddd5c39e47b">"Some archaeologists describe Peru’s capital as an onion with many layers of history, others consider it a box of surprises. That’s what some gas line workers got when their digging uncovered eight pre-Inca funeral bales."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66921621">"The British Museum has asked the public to help identify and recover ancient artefacts that have gone missing from its collection… Last month a member of staff was sacked and police launched an investigation after around 2,000 treasures were reported 'missing, stolen or damaged' over a 'significant' period of time."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/21/1200750128/free-covid-tests-by-mail">"Starting Monday, September 25, the federal government will send up to four free COVID-19 rapid tests per household to anyone who requests them."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/philips-kept-warnings-about-dangerous-cpaps-secret-profits-soared">"In June 2021, more than a decade after the first reports, Philips announced a recall of millions of machines that had been delivered to nearly every corner of the United States and dozens of other countries. The company acknowledged that the foam it had chosen could crumble in heat and humidity and send potentially 'toxic and carcinogenic' material into the noses, mouths, throats and lungs of users."</a> Full disclosure, I used a Phillips Respironics device that was recalled. Motherfuckers.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1201095225/as-psychedelic-assisted-therapy-grows-so-does-interest-from-a-new-group-chaplain">"Research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics is underway at several universities, and data continues to accumulate on how they may help with conditions from PTSD to depression... And there's increasing interest in that work from a group of professionals who already guide people through life's deep and difficult times: chaplains."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/pig-heart-transplant-d894f6ce27b7db71ecb0ec393cac3e86">"Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/21/1200201186/as-ozempic-use-grows-so-do-reports-of-possible-mental-health-side-effects">"She's one of many people taking Ozempic and related drugs who describe mental health problems. But that side effect isn't mentioned in Ozempic's instructions for use, or drug label. Are the problems a coincidence or related to the drug?"</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-dental-care-adults-low-income-tennessee-c45d52fc9f7e24adf877a3063b086da4">"The 67-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, could not afford to see a dentist on the $1,300-a-month his family gets in Social Security and disability payments. So he waited for the state to roll out a program this year that offers dental care to the more than 650,000 Medicaid recipients like him who are 21 and older. Tennessee is spending about $75 million annually on the program."</a><br><br>
In our name... <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cold-war-st-louis-contamination-compensation-40f14597ceb9810fb4cdfba296221859">"Phillips and Chester Deanes disagree. The men who grew up at the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex are now leading the charge seeking compensation and further health studies that could determine whether the secretive testing contributed to various illnesses or premature deaths that some Pruitt-Igoe residents later suffered."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1201936449/writers-strike-end-vote-wga-leadership">"The 148-day Hollywood writers strike will end just after 12:01 a.m. PT on Wednesday, thanks to a new three-year deal the Writers Guild of America made with major Hollywood studios."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/22/1201028854/amazon-prime-video-commercials-2024">"Amazon Prime Video unveiled plans to introduce advertisements during shows and movies starting early next year — becoming the latest streaming service to embrace ads to keep its business growing."</a> Motherfuckers. Enshittification at it's finest.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1201257895/credit-card-fees-visa-mastercard-retailers">"Retailers have long complained the so-called 'swipe fees' they have to pay for accepting credit cards in the U.S. are much higher than those in Europe, where the fees are strictly regulated."</a> And here's the kicker not mentioned in the story, the fees are higher if the card is not swiped, but you have to enter the info by hand.<br><br>
<a href="https://thepublicsradio.org/article/migrant-teens-worked-in-risky-jobs-in-new-bedford-seafood-processing-plants">"The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating Atlantic Red Crab and Workforce Unlimited for possible violations of child labor, overtime pay, and anti-retaliation laws, according to documents obtained by The Public’s Radio. The Labor Department is also investigating Sea Watch International, a Maryland-based clam processor that has a plant in New Bedford."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/business/auto-workers-strike-expands/index.html">"The United Auto Workers union is expanding its strike against GM and Stellantis but said that progress in negotiations with Ford means it won’t expand the number of Ford workers on the picket lines."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-striking-workers-get-wrong-about-automaker-profits-205100951.html">"On paper, maybe the Detroit Three can afford to pay workers more and shareholders less. But nobody is asking their competitors to do that, and some of those competitors already enjoy advantages. The Detroit automakers aren’t the titans they used to be, and they’re not the titans the UAW seems to think they are, either."</a> What a suckup. Seriously, "they don't have to, we shouldn't" isn't a business argument. Didn't your momma teach you that just because everyone is jumping off a bridge that you don't have to?<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/spacex-ukraine-starlink-russia-air-force-fde93d9a69d7dbd1326022ecfdbc53c2">"SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s refusal to allow Ukraine to use Starlink internet services to launch a surprise attack on Russian forces in Crimea last September has raised questions as to whether the U.S. military needs to be more explicit in future contracts that services or products it purchases could be used in war, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/22/black-sea-navy-hq-hit-in-crimea-missile-attack-one-dead-russia">"Ukraine struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack that left the main building in flames and a serviceman missing, according to military officials."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/france-pope-francis-marseille-europe-migrants-20abb651fc240b2117015fde13765cc5">"Pope Francis blasted the 'fanaticism of indifference' that greets migrants seeking a better life in Europe, as he arrived Friday in the Mediterranean port of Marseille amid a new influx of would-be refugees from Africa that has sparked a backlash from some of Europe’s increasingly anti-migrant leaders."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/26/anthony-rota-canada-resigns-nazi-parliament">"The speaker of Canada’s parliament has resigned after inviting a Ukrainian Nazi veteran to attend a special session of parliament, and then calling the man a 'hero' amid two standing ovations."</a> Oopsie. <br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/guantanamo-911-torture-psychotic-011de316d14d2093a57b6bbd1901499a">"A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled one of the 9/11 defendants unfit for trial after a military medical panel found that the man’s sustained abuse in CIA custody years earlier has rendered him lastingly psychotic."</a> Just another reason why you don't torture. There will be no justice for this.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/los-alamos-national-laboratory-nuclear-weapons-culture-028c5acd03e4124485a042fab6601e68">"The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores — key components for nuclear weapons."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-09-15/crop-insurance-costs-are-rising-fueled-by-climate-change-yet-little-has-changed-in-federal-program">"Federally subsidized crop insurance made record-high payouts last year. While climate change is making farming more risky, the federal program often shields producers at taxpayer expense. Some argue it’s time that the fast-growing program encourages farmers to mitigate their risks."</a> Or, ya know, we could fucking work on halting climate change.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfire-lahaina-tourism-unemployment-economy-e71b9020be83e39012bf69dc5cfb0d13">"Residents who survived the wildfire that leveled the Hawaii town of Lahaina might not be able to afford to live there after it is rebuilt unless officials alter the zoning laws and make other changes, economists warned Friday."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/23/1201350129/national-cathedral-racial-justice-stained-glass-windows">"Six years after two stained-glass windows that honored Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson were taken down, the Washington National Cathedral has unveiled the pair of windows that are taking their place... The windows, titled 'Now and Forever,' were created by artist Kerry James Marshall and center around racial justice. The images show a group of protesters marching in different directions and holding up large signs that read 'Fairness' and 'No Foul Play.'"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/judge-arrested-oklahoma-texas-shooting-collision-15b4f12d6ba26b9d83e0a96a1b2de6b0 ">"An Oklahoma judge was arrested in Austin, Texas, last week after authorities say he opened fire on parked vehicles while out driving, striking at least one of them, and intentionally crashed into a woman’s vehicle, telling officers later that she had cut him off."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1198908166/the-sunday-story-npr-challenges-u-s-denial-of-civilian-harm-in-raid-on-isis-lead">"Today on The Sunday Story, NPR's Daniel Estrin talks about his four-year investigation into the 2019 U.S. raid against ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Pentagon says its deadly airstrikes did not hit civilians. But Estrin's investigation challenges that account. Now the Pentagon says it will review new information brought to light about the incident."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/23/1201297034/fbi-investigates-alleged-abuse-baton-rouge-police-warehouse-brave-cave">"The FBI said Friday it has opened a civil rights investigation into allegations in recent lawsuits that police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, assaulted drug suspects they detained in an obscure warehouse known as the 'Brave Cave.'"</a> How about "police should not have black sites" and we prosecute those who set them up and those who used them?<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/22/1201154440/clarence-thomas-koch-supreme-court">"New conflict of interest allegations have surfaced about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas… In a lengthy article published on Friday, ProPublica reports that Thomas over the years has maintained a close relationship with the Koch network, one of the largest and most influential political organizations in the country, and that the justice, on at least two occasions, spoke at fundraising events for the conservative organization."</a> Oh, is it another week so soon?<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/21/1200549319/senate-dress-code-change-fetterman">"There's a lot for lawmakers to be stressed about these days, from the looming threat of a government shutdown to debates over additional funding for Ukraine. But one of the most divisive issues on Capitol Hill suddenly seems to be what senators can wear to work... Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer directed the Senate's sergeant-at-arms to stop enforcing its unwritten dress code — only for its 100 members — starting this week."</a> :: clutches pearls, falls onto conveniently waiting couch ::<br><br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/politics/chuck-schumer-senate-government-funding-tv/index.html">"For weeks, Democratic and Republican senators have been watching the House with growing alarm as Speaker Kevin McCarthy has struggled to cobble together the votes to pass a short-term spending bill along party lines – all as he has resisted calls to cut a deal with Democrats to keep the government open until a longer-term deal can be reached. The initial plan: Let McCarthy get the votes to pass a bill first before the Senate changes it and sends it back to the House for a final round of votes and negotiations."</a> Not so fast, although I believe the rules allow the Senate to initiate a CR, they cannot initiate budget or appropriation bills. Those must originate in the House.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-mccarthy-government-funding-biden-trump-gaetz-637d4209f1a7ab786459f3a0bbd60296">"The White House on Friday directed federal agencies to get ready for a shutdown after House Republicans left town for the weekend with no viable plan to keep the government funded and avert politically and economically costly disruption of federal services."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/13/biden-inflation-reduction-act-climate-states-00110940">"While Republicans on the campaign trail and in Congress regularly bash the law — which Biden signed a year ago Wednesday — as big-government overreach by Democrats bent on killing off fossil fuels, its benefits are disproportionately landing in their communities. And as the measure supercharges efforts to combat climate change, it’s also rekindling economies where people have felt forgotten, potentially softening how some voters view Biden as he seeks reelection."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1200906844/supreme-court-alabama-voting-case">"The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to block enforcement of an Alabama voting rights decision that the high court issued just months ago… In June, the court ruled that Alabama's Republican-drawn congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act because, in a state with seven congressional districts and a 27% Black population, the GOP-dominated legislature had created just one congressional district in which Black voters are either a majority or close to it."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/27/xtwitter-scraps-function-letting-users-report-misleading-information">"X, the company formerly known as Twitter, has removed the ability for people to report a tweet for containing misleading information just weeks before a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament in Australia… Since 2021, users on X in countries including the US, Australia and South Korea had been able to flag tweets that they believed contained misleading information for review by staff at the company – separate to other processes the company has in place to report abuse or hate speech."</a> And now you know why Musk and his consortium of investors overpaid for Twitter.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/no-labels-spoiler-2024-ballots-biden-trump-91dd36375a83a67f8969af8ac511fbf0">"More than 15,000 people in Arizona have registered to join a new political party floating a possible bipartisan 'unity ticket' against Joe Biden and Donald Trump."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-amendment-ballot-ban-insurrection-colorado-4641bcfff79abf1d5d79dae7c3a73fa6">"The Colorado judge overseeing the first significant lawsuit to bar former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot on Friday issued a protective order prohibiting threats and intimidation in the case, saying the safety of those involved — including herself and her staff — was necessary as the groundbreaking litigation moves forward."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-ny-attorney-general-argue-over-scope-looming-fraud-trial-2023-09-22/">"A lawyer for Donald Trump on Friday accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of ignoring 'everything' as she pursues a civil lawsuit alleging that the former president ran a systematic fraud at his family business."</a> No, sir. She's just ignoring you and your frivolous claims.<br><br>
You know how conservatives like to say, "well, what about all the corruption on the Left" when they fail to address blatant corruption in their caucus? <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-bob-menendez-indicted-gifts-gold-bars-car/story?id=103407936">"A federal grand jury in New York has returned a sweeping indictment against United States Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, in connection with improper foreign relations and business dealings... The investigation focused on a luxury car, gold bars and an apartment allegedly received by Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian. His wife was also indicted."</a> There was also a lot of coverage over "Dems aren't asking Menendez to resign" in the first few days. More and more are coming out saying he should go.<br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-48511845045326323552023-09-19T14:31:00.004-04:002023-09-19T14:31:37.646-04:00Linkee-poo Tuesday Sept 19<a href="https://www.wpr.org/poison-ivy-poised-be-one-big-winners-warming-world">"Poison ivy is poised to be one of the big winners in this global, human-caused phenomenon. Scientists expect the dreaded three-leafed vine will take full advantage of warmer temperatures and rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to grow faster and bigger — and become even more toxic."</a> Great.<br><br>
<a href="https://gizmodo.com/space-pharmaceuticals-varda-regulations-faa-1850850528">"After manufacturing crystals of an HIV drug in space, the first orbital factory is stuck in orbit after being denied reentry back to Earth due to safety concerns." Note that the article makes it sound like the reentry vehicle is being denied because of it's cargo, where as the denial sounds like "you didn't fill in these boxes correctly."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-ufos-inidentified-flying-objects-8b477a5ed6a42f99bb13a4518368ce9a">"In its 33-page report, an independent team commissioned by NASA cautioned that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data. But officials said NASA’s involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena."</a> Where's the fun in that?<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/16/1199573920/ohios-hopewell-ceremonial-earthworks-now-a-unesco-world-heritage-site ">"In addition, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks address gaps in the World Heritage List identified by the World Heritage Committee. Specifically, a lack of sites representing pre-contact Indigenous American sacred architecture and sites that represent early understandings of science, culture and astronomy."</a> I've visited a number of these, and yes, they are worthy of world heritage status.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/17/1200045253/rolling-stone-founder-jann-wenner-under-fire-for-comments-on-female-black-rocker">"Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone magazine, is facing criticism for saying that Black and female musicians were not "articulate" enough to be included in his new book, which features seven interviews with white, male rock 'n' roll icons."</a> Watch as the spiritual hand of Sister Rosetta Tharpe reaches out from beyond the grave to bitchslap this asshole.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/indoor-farming-vertical-plenty-kroger-aerofarms-28d360b3c8d7fa424892e23fe1c85c93">"But that’s if the concept works. And players in the industry are betting big even as rivals wobble and fail. California-based Plenty Unlimited this summer broke ground on a $300 million facility, while Kroger announced that it will be expanding its availability of vertically farmed produce. Meanwhile, two indoor farming companies that attracted strong startup money — New Jersey’s AeroFarms and Kentucky’s AppHarvest — filed for bankruptcy reorganization. And a five-year-old company in Detroit, Planted Detroit, shut its doors this summer, with the CEO citing financial problems just months after touting plans to open a second farm."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/joby-taxis-ohio-aircraft-manufacturing-wright-brothers-12d38aaff14ebfbbf16cd2533d931ca9">"The same Ohio river valley where the Wright brothers pioneered human flight will soon be manufacturing cutting-edge electric planes that take off and land vertically, under an agreement announced Monday between the state and Joby Aviation Inc." I'm sure it's about "tradition" and not taking advantage of a part of the state that still hasn't climbed out of the 2001 recession.</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/hairstyles-dreadlocks-racial-discrimination-crown-act-034a59b9f2652881470dc606b39e5243">"Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, was initially suspended the same week his state outlawed racial discrimination based on hairstyles. School officials said his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code."</a> Do we have to fight this again?<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1200052537/uaw-strike-worker-job-plant-layoffs-day-4-gm-ford">"On one side are United Auto Workers members, who say record corporate profits should yield a record contract... 'We went backwards roughly $10 an hour in wages over the last six years,' UAW President Shawn Fain told NPR. 'At the same time, in the last decade, these companies have made a quarter-trillion dollars in profits.'... On the other are the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — which say they have put historically generous offers on the table, while also emphasizing that there are limits." Can't have the workers expecting to share in ALL the profits of their labors, now can we.</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/africa-hiv-aids-united-states-d9ef380acba1a0e96409197b39dea7fa">"The program, known as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, partners with nonprofit groups to provide HIV/AIDS medication to millions around the world. It strengthens local and national health care systems, cares for children orphaned by AIDS and provides job training for people at risk… Now, a few Republican lawmakers are endangering the stability of the program, which officials say has saved 25 million lives in 55 countries from Ukraine to Brazil to Indonesia. That includes the lives of 5.5 million infants born HIV-free."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1200260635/italy-cracks-down-on-migrants-as-meloni-calls-for-a-naval-blockade-off-north-afr">"The Italian government approved new measures to crack down on migration Monday, after the southern island of Lampedusa was again overwhelmed by a wave of arrivals setting off from Tunisia and the migration issue returned to center stage in Europe with talk of a naval blockade." Here we go again.</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1200202102/canada-is-investigating-whether-india-is-linked-to-the-slaying-of-a-sikh-activis">"Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India's government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1195115105/iran-us-prisoners-freed-swap-siamak-namazi">"Five Americans who have been held in Iran for years are on their way to the United States in return for Iranians released from U.S. custody and Tehran's access to $6 billion in frozen oil revenues, according to a senior U.S. official."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/elon-musks-shadow-rule">"SpaceX, Musk’s space-exploration company, had for months been providing Internet access across Ukraine, allowing the country’s forces to plan attacks and to defend themselves. But, in recent days, the forces had found their connectivity severed as they entered territory contested by Russia. More alarmingly, SpaceX had recently given the Pentagon an ultimatum: if it didn’t assume the cost of providing service in Ukraine, which the company calculated at some four hundred million dollars annually, it would cut off access."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1200093822/missing-f-35-fighter-jet-south-carolina">"A debris field has been identified as the remains of an F-35 fighter jet that went missing Sunday north of Charleston, S.C., officials said." Oh good, you mean this crash won't be an opportunity for our competition to gather pieces for their own study.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-abortion-ohio-doctor-caitlin-bernard-rokita-c541747b3fd1cb33a40a5f0aa2fa7679">"A complaint filed Monday alleges that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita violated professional conduct rules in statements he made about a doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim last year."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/republicans-power-elections-impeachment-wisconsin-carolina-0f5b2915bf0b9325165a28aa60b55c7d">"But it’s the (NC) Republican Party that is making the decisions in the state, thanks to recent seat gains in the legislature and aggressive stances from GOP lawmakers. It has passed voting changes over Democrats’ objections and this week could vote to wrest power from the governor over how the state’s elections are run."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/16/1199803661/ken-paxton-attorney-general-texas-acquitted-impeachment-trial">"Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday in an impeachment trial before the state Senate. He was accused of abusing his office to protect a political donor."</a><br><br>
This week in "there's no there there"… <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/18/1199613387/biden-impeachment-trump-clinton-nixon">"When Republicans took power in the House of Representatives, they began trying to find evidence to make the case that President Biden had profited from the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden… They have not found that evidence, and struggled to bring public focus to their investigation — that is, until this week, when it was given the imprimatur of impeachment."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-funding-congress-mccarthy-gop-1c7af4f1febed6596604d8b23ec2a280">"The speaker is trying to convince his Republican conference that there will heavy political fallout from a shutdown as he plows toward a vote to pass a stopgap measure, called a continuing resolution, that would keep government offices open past the Sept. 30 deadline. GOP leadership is preparing for a vote by Thursday, but McCarthy is warning he’ll keep House lawmakers in Washington into the weekend. Regardless, many are already bracing for a weeks-long shutdown." The clowns are back in town.</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/15/trump-biden-mainstream-politics-news-coverage">"'We have to be truthful, not neutral,' (Christiane Amanpour) urged. 'I would make sure that you don’t just give a platform … to those who want to crash down the constitution and democracy.'... It’s an important call to action. But so far, the American press is failing to meet its responsibility to adequately emphasize the stakes of the coming election."</a> Here we are now, entertain us. Considering this is coming from Margaret Sullivan, you know, maybe we should listen.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1193749552/alabama-congressional-map">"Alabama is once again appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court ruling that found the state's map of congressional election districts likely violates the Voting Rights Act by weakening Black voters' power."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-59892572211917563512023-09-16T12:12:00.005-04:002023-09-16T12:12:54.973-04:00Linkee-poo Saturday Sept 16<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199465019/hurricane-lee-massachusetts-new-england-canada">"The good news is that Hurricane Lee is weakening and will keep doing so before making landfall near the U.S.-Canada border. The bad news is that it will bring dangerous winds and a massive amount of water to areas that are already saturated from heavy rainfall this summer."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199555068/death-toll-soars-to-11-300-from-flooding-in-libyan-coastal-city-of-derna">"The death toll in Libya's coastal city of Derna has soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue following a massive flood fed by the breaching of two dams in heavy rains, the Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/earth-climate-change-biodiversity-environment-pollution-c8582c3ae0344b5a88cc38cd8e725702 ">"Earth’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out of whack, a group of international scientists said in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances. Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study said."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199570023/exxon-climate-change-fossil-fuels-global-warming-oil-gas">"Executives at ExxonMobil continued in recent years to raise doubts internally about the dangers of climate change and the need to cut back on oil and gas use, even though the company had previously conceded publicly that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal."</a> Someone, somewhere, is sharpening a guillotine blade, slowly and deliberately.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199481250/greenland-cruise-ship-aground-free">"The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free on Thursday, three days after running aground in Greenland with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://scitechdaily.com/new-vaccine-can-completely-reverse-autoimmune-diseases-like-multiple-sclerosis-type-1-diabetes-and-crohns-disease/ ">"A typical vaccine teaches the human immune system to recognize a virus or bacteria as an enemy that should be attacked. The new “inverse vaccine” does just the opposite: it removes the immune system’s memory of one molecule. While such immune memory erasure would be unwanted for infectious diseases, it can stop autoimmune reactions like those seen in multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or Crohn’s disease, in which the immune system attacks a person’s healthy tissues."</a> Of course, it's still in the "some day soon" stages.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/09/15/1199886718/another-nipah-outbreak-in-india-what-do-we-know-about-this-virus-and-how-to-stop">"The Southern Indian state of Kerala is now battling another deadly outbreak of the Nipah virus, its fourth since 2018. Authorities were alerted to the outbreak after two deaths attributed to the virus."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/14/1199396794/fentanyl-mixed-with-cocaine-or-meth-is-driving-the-4th-wave-of-the-overdose-cris">"The mixture of stimulants like cocaine and meth with highly potent synthetic opioids is a fast-growing driver of fatal overdoses in the U.S… Since 2010, overdoses involving both stimulants and fentanyl have increased 50-fold, and now account for 32% of U.S. overdoses in 2021 and nearly 35,000 deaths, according to a study published Thursday in the scientific journal Addiction."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/mdma-ecstasy-ptsd-study-molly-fda-1155a374305027567d5f41910022022d ">"The psychedelic drug MDMA can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers reported in a new study published Thursday."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid19-masks-vaccines-mandates-lockdowns-republicans-0a68414277bd37458a7e2360b1bc4f11">"It’s been a favorite topic among some of the GOP’s top presidential contenders. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that people are 'lurching toward' COVID-19 restrictions and 'there needs to be pushback.' South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott posted online that the 'radical Left' seeks to bring back school closures and mandates. And former President Donald Trump urged congressional Republicans to stop the Biden administration from bringing back COVID-19 'mandates, lockdowns or restrictions of any kind.'"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1198938942/high-ceo-pay-inequality-labor-union-uaw-workers">"The Big Three CEOs saw their pay increase by 40% over the last four years, while our pay only went up by 6%," UAW President Shawn Fain said at a news conference last week… As of Tuesday, the UAW is proposing an approximately 40% compounded wage increase over the course of a four-year contract, a tad lower than its opening bid of 46%."</a><br><br>
Why we can have nice things part somewhere in the thousands. <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/15/1199753605/child-tax-credit-poverty-pediatrician">"It's rare for a government policy to have an immediate and measurable impact on an individual or large portion of the population. But experts say the monthly payments to low-income families with children were doing just that… After the expanded credit took effect, child poverty hit a historic low of 5.2% a year ago. New Census data shows it has since rocketed to 12.4%."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199336114/for-young-americans-politics-breaks-the-american-dream-instead-of-building-it">"The survey of 1,568 adults between 18 and 34 found that young people are optimistic about their futures and envision becoming more successful than their parents. But they express more negativity when thinking about the effect the government and political system will have on their lives in the coming decades."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-aid-egypt-human-rights-sisi-e9343aa7e6aa6e9b60b2e8f4574ef322">"The Biden administration said Thursday that Egypt’s poor human rights record hasn’t improved, but it won’t withhold as much military aid as it did last year regardless. Administration officials cited what they said were overriding U.S. national security interests for the decision to limit the extent they would penalize Egypt for the abuses."</a> It's like the 80s all over.<br><br>
Why we can't have nice things, part whatever… <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/10/1193755188/chile-coup-50-years-pinochet-kissinger-human-rights-allende">"Fifty years ago in Chile, the United States worked to end the presidency of an elected Marxist and, in turn, helped usher in an authoritarian right-wing dictatorship."</a> This is also why when I heard the CIA was directing the drone war and controlling a large contingent of Special Forces I wrote a lot of emails. It's why the CIA had a fence places around it.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199477637/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-license-ordered-to-pay-damages">"A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a same-sex couple who sued a former county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue them a marriage license, claiming that doing so would violate her religious beliefs."</a> But then to the second couple that sued, they awarded nothing.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199352063/seattle-officer-recorded-joking-about-womans-death-saying-she-had-limited-value">"In bodycam footage released this week, a Seattle Police officer is heard making callous comments about a young woman who died after she was struck in a crosswalk by an officer responding to a call."</a> Yeah, I don't buy their cover story.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-gun-rights-suspension-governor-parks-playgrounds-cfc792724df5c6e653eefbce318c8d31">"New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday narrowed an order that broadly suspended the right to carry firearms in and around Albuquerque to apply only to public parks and playgrounds where children and their families gather."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199417599/immigrant-population-us-foreign-born-census-bureau">"The immigrant population in the U.S. is growing again… The number of people born somewhere else climbed by nearly a million last year, reaching a record high of just over 46 million, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2023-09-14/a-journey-continues-migrants-reflect-one-year-after-being-flown-to-marthas-vineyard">"A year ago, 49 migrants arrived unexpectedly on Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy island community off the Massachusetts coast. Immigration advocates called it a cruel political stunt, but it has surprisingly created a legal advantage that some of the migrants might be able to use to remain in the United States."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/2023-09-15/breaking-antrim-county-jury-acquits-all-3-in-whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial">"A tearful Eric Molitor gave hugs to supporters in an Antrim County courtroom Friday, where a jury acquitted him and two other men who were accused of aiding in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer."</a> Note that most of the accused are going to jail.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghan-war-orphan-marine-baby-abduct-adoption-8a0411f16067d73ad0d86b706f5ae46d">"The U.S. government has warned a Virginia judge that allowing an American Marine to keep an Afghan war orphan risks violating international law and could be viewed around the world as 'endorsing an act of international child abduction,' according to secret court records reviewed by The Associated Press."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2023-09-14/the-defense-in-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial-rests-heres-what-happens-next-in-the-case">"The defense team for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton rested its case late Thursday afternoon after witnesses refuted allegations that the three-term elected official abused his office and committed bribery to benefit a real estate developer and campaign donor."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-redistricting-constitutional-amendment-attorney-general-e3e8759ceeabc9538dd4bd49b6c84b52">"The Ohio Attorney General’s Office again rejected petition language Thursday for a constitutional amendment aimed at remaking the state’s troubled system for drawing political maps, frustrating the effort’s backers."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199560208/alex-jones-sandy-hook-payments">"Alex Jones' personal spending is frustrating families who are trying to collect on the $1.5 billion in judgments against him for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting a hoax... His total personal expenses for July topped $93,000, up from nearly $75,000 in April, not including legal fees and other costs for his court cases, according to bankruptcy filings."</a> Time for the Marshalls to get involved.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1199188010/lauren-boebert-theater-beetlejuice-denver">"U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a Denver theater on Sunday night after several people seated near her in the audience complained she was creating a disturbance."</a> Yes, it's petty, but I never said I wasn't. It's also to show how some people don't think they are more equal than others.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199530160/hunter-biden-indicted-firearms-charges">"Hunter Biden has been indicted on felony gun charges weeks after a plea deal struck between President Biden's son and prosecutors fell apart. The charges possibly set the stage for yet another high-profile criminal trial in the middle of the 2024 election as President Biden is seeking reelection."</a> Note the preplanted concept of, "if he's not indicted for other things, that shows Pres Biden is protecting him." <br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/14/1199492126/house-republicans-speaker-mccarthy-spending-shutdown">"Hard-line Republicans have spent the week explicitly tying McCarthy's political fate to the spending fight in a chaotic push for further control. The dynamic has ground the House to a standstill, just weeks before the deadline to fund the government or shut down."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-secret-sentencing-3c4ffcc5ebeaff6fd6aa279d0ce888ad">"Hundreds of rioters have been charged, convicted and sentenced for joining the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike their cases, Samuel Lazar’s appears to have been resolved in secret — kept under seal with no explanation, even after his release from prison."</a> Pretty sure he's providing testimony in another case.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-jan-6-special-counsel-67ca118260af4761f41bcffd18d09855">"Federal prosecutors are seeking an order that would prevent Donald Trump from making 'inflammatory' and 'intimidating' comments about witnesses, lawyers and other people involved in the criminal case charging the former president with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election." </a> Good luck with that.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/14/trump-biden-impeachment-revenge-00116027">"Former President Donald Trump has 'no idea' whether Republicans will vote to impeach President Joe Biden... But he does have a theory on what motivated House Republicans to launch a Biden impeachment inquiry: revenge... 'They did it to me,' Trump told former Fox and NBC host Megyn Kelly during an hourlong interview on SiriusXM radio that aired Thursday. 'And had they not done it to me, I think, and nobody officially said this, but I think had they not done it to me … perhaps you wouldn’t have it being done to them.'"</a> Saying the quite part out loud again.<br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-6708716376978594152023-09-09T12:09:00.004-04:002023-09-09T12:09:26.196-04:00Linkee-poo Saturday Sept 9<A HREF="https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-lee-caribbean-2f50f9e12335d9b7afc1281a56217eaf">"Lee is expected to keep strengthening and reach winds of up to 180 mph (290 kph). Only seven Atlantic hurricanes have had winds of that magnitude since 1966, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. Among those was Hurricane Dorian, which pummeled the northern Bahamas in 2019 as a Category 5 storm, hovering over small islands for some two days."</A><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1198032134/archeologists-norway-arrow-stoneage-4000-years-old">"Archeologists in Norway discovered an arrow shaft that appears to be from the Stone Age, meaning it is approximately 4,000 years old… The discovery was made on the side of Mount Lauvhøe, which stands at just over 6,500 feet in Norway's Lom Municipality. Archeologists had found arrows from the Iron and Middle ages when they last surveyed the area in 2017. However, this arrow shaft was found after ice at the site melted away in recent years, according to Lars Holger Pilø, co-director Secrets of the Ice, part of Norway's Department of Cultural Heritage."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/01/1191263572/turkey-archaeology-zerzevan-castle-discoveries">"Now, more recent sites in (Turkey's) southeast are yielding finds that archaeologists say may change modern understanding of this part of the world's past, moving the footprint of pre-Roman activity in the area farther east than was previously believed."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-power-grid-heat-emergency-alert-de76bc9fe6fd16e97ab6fc8d0c165065">"Texas’ power grid manager on Thursday again asked residents to cut their electricity use as the state endures another stretch of sizzling summer heat. The request carried fresh urgency, coming the day after the system was pushed to the brink of outages for the first time since a deadly winter blackout in 2021."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1197609433/chinese-construction-workers-accused-of-plowing-a-hole-through-the-great-wall">"Two Chinese construction workers looking for a shortcut last month destroyed part of the country's Great Wall by driving heavy machinery through it, authorities say."</a> Oopsie.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/07/1198064472/japan-launch-rocket-telescope-explore-origins-universe">"Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1197945859/anwr-alaska-drilling-oil-gas-leases-environment-energy-climate-change">"The Biden administration is canceling the only seven oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The leases were originally issued by the Trump administration over the protests of environmentalists and some Alaska Native groups who argue the region should be protected as a critical wildlife habitat."</a> It's a mixed bag, really.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/31/1197160846/judge-trump-era-rule-change-allowing-the-logging-of-old-growth-forests-violates-">"A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/salmon-rivers-maine-recovering-endangered-fishing-174eb09c19652bcd54d4d9ee9dec2dae">"The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1197587557/burning-man-exodus-2023-mud">"Heavy rains and thick mud stranded thousands at this year's Burning Man music and arts festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. But some who were caught in the mix said learning to roll with the mayhem is part of the experience."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/01/1197074873/nursing-homes-staff-ratio-biden-medicare-medicaid">"The Biden administration last year promised to establish minimum staffing levels for the nation's roughly 15,000 nursing homes. It was the centerpiece of an agenda to overhaul an industry the government said was rife with substandard care and failures to follow federal quality rules."</a> At the hospital we see a lot of elderly patients and I can say for a fact that their care in nursing homes is far, far below adequate (although better than it was in the 80s). I am really glad we were able to get my mother into a reputable facility.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/05/1197707351/lab-data-suggests-new-covid-booster-will-protect-against-worrisome-variant">"Scientists have produced the first data indicating that a variant that has raised alarm is unlikely to pose a big new COVID-19 threat… Four preliminary laboratory studies released over the weekend found that antibodies from previous infections and vaccinations appear capable of neutralizing the variant, known as BA.2.86."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/29/1196608164/in-red-states-where-marijuana-is-illegal-other-hemp-products-flourish">"The 2018 Farm bill removed hemp as a controlled substance, so long as it has less than .3 percent Delta 9 THC. That's the active ingredient in marijuana that produces intoxicating effects… After that law, the market found new ways to make hemp mimic marijuana."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/irs-millionaires-back-taxes-2624282ac20388311bd03ee76ae36f70">"The IRS announced on Friday it is launching an effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes."</a> Good.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/07/1197884540/unions-strike-wages-uaw-automakers-detroit">"UAW, which represents 150,000 workers at General Motors, Stellantis and Ford, is not alone in asking for big pay raises over the course of their contract. In recent months, workers across industries have fought for — and, in a handful of cases, won — around 50% wage increases over the next four to five years, as they call out years of stagnant wages and robust company profits."</a> What's not noted in here is that in the 90s and 00s the unions accepted tiered pay systems that payed new workers less. I certainly hope these contracts are rolling those provisions back as well.<br><br>
Why can't they resolve this Hollywood strike? <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1197987624/sag-aftra-leader-fran-drescher-has-some-choice-words-for-hollywood-studio-heads">"Studios like Warner Bros. and Disney are on the other end of the negotiating table — a table they last shared with negotiators from WGA on Aug. 18. They have not negotiated with SAG-AFTRA yet."</a> Oh, that's why.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190336979/actors-strike-residuals-sag-aftra-wga">"One of the demands that actors and screenwriters are making in trying to renegotiate their contracts with Hollywood studios is greater residual payments, and several people in the entertainment industry have come forward to share what those residual checks look like."</a> Entertainment accounting is the most creative in the world. Like, it should win awards.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/greg-jein-miniature-model-auction-hollywood-eec2c2f546e801680163ea2f164576e8">"From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' to a complete Stormtrooper costume from 'Star Wars,' bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-how-big-tech-went-to-shh">"Why does every social media platform seem to get worse over time? This week’s On the Media explores an expansive theory on how we lost a better version of the internet, and the systems that insulate Big Digital from competition. Plus, some solutions for fixing the world wide web."</a> The full "enshittification" conversation. Highly recommend.<br><br>
On the previous podcast Core Doctorow goes on to admire Lena Khan. <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-lina-khan-hot-seat">"In March 2021, when President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Lina Khan to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, the decision was met with a rare kind of excitement for the otherwise sleepy agency. The excitement seemed bipartisan as 21 Republican senators voted to confirm the commissioner. Not long after, then 32-year-old Khan was promoted to chairperson of the agency, making her the youngest chair in the FTC's history. Since then the tone around Khan has changed dramatically, as Republican commissioners at the agency have pushed back against what they see as a radical agenda. Back in March, OTM correspondent Micah Loewinger spoke to Emily Birnbaum, technology and lobbying reporter for Bloomberg, about a growing anti-antitrust movement emerging in the press and in Washington, and why Khan has become its main target."</a> The consider it a radical agenda because Lena Khan made her splash by writing a rebuttal to Bork's revision of anti-trust laws. So she it putting the FTC back to work and enforcing the laws as they were intended. That, of course, upsets many conservatives.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/04/1197337454/more-small-airports-are-being-cut-off-from-the-air-travel-network-this-is-why">"To lose service entirely is rare. But the withdrawal of legacy airlines from regional airports is a growing phenomenon… American, Delta and United combined have left 74 regional airports since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by aviation consulting firm Ailevon Pacific."</a> Ah, I see we are going to have to learn this lesson again.<br><br>
How goes the war? <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1197617372/cuba-dismantles-human-trafficking-ring-recruiting-for-russias-war-in-ukraine">"Cuba says it has disrupted a scheme in Russia to recruit Cuban citizens to fight in Ukraine… In a statement, Cuba's Foreign Ministry called the alleged plan a human trafficking ring. It said Cubans, both in Russia and on the island, had been recruited to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/31/1196776390/saudi-arabia-man-death-sentence-tweets">"A retired teacher in Saudi Arabia was recently sentenced to death for his tweets criticizing the country's leadership to his handful of followers, according to rights advocates and his family."</a> And now you know why the crowned prince of SA holds so much equity in X (aka Twitter).<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1193749552/alabama-congressional-map">"Alabama is once again appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court ruling that found the state's map of congressional election districts likely violates the Voting Rights Act by weakening Black voters' power… The extraordinary move comes after a panel of three federal judges struck down Alabama's latest congressional redistricting plan for not following their court order to comply with the landmark civil rights law."</a> Just as a reminder, Ohio also does not have an approved map.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1198028921/texas-floating-border-barrier-rio-grande-abbott-judge-mexico-immigration">"A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a controversial floating border barrier in the Rio Grande River violates federal law and must be removed… U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled that the 1,000-foot-long string of large buoys and saw blades in Eagle Pass, Texas, was ordered deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott without proper federal authorization."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1196342529/senate-returns-shutdown-mcconnell-impeachment">"Lawmakers return this week with one pressing challenge this month — avoiding a potential government shutdown… The Senate is back Tuesday to sort out the next steps on crafting a short-term funding bill that can pass before federal agencies run out of money on Sept. 30. But talk of the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., following another episode when he froze at a press conference last week, will also dominate Capitol Hill."</a> Is it September already?<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-navarro-contempt-congress-jan-6-a4ad58e1f590e5884fd347c86c121a8a">"Trump White House official Peter Navarro was found guilty Thursday of contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/08/1198531562/justice-alito-tax-case">"Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he will not recuse himself from a major tax case. His statement, attached to a Supreme Court orders list on Friday, came after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the chief justice in August, urging that steps be taken to assure that Alito not take part in the tax case."</a> But if he recuses himself, how is he going to accept the grift with a good conscience?<br><br>
<A HREF="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1197926159/georgia-racketeering-case-trump">"Prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., say they expect that a trial in their election interference case would last four months — not including jury selection — and they'd expect to call more than 150 witnesses."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-grand-jury-full-report-trump-indictment-08b2cccaed514c2d8e1baae49e2f05eb">"The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with former President Donald Trump. The names of those not indicted included Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1197202616/enrique-tarrio-proud-boys-jan-6-sentence">"Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol."</a> Good.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-democracy-presidents-threats-joint-statement-5530a89df2c41d58a22961f63fb0e6ff">"Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country’s bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs."</a><br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-88027847264903673752023-08-30T13:02:00.003-04:002023-08-30T13:02:34.509-04:00Linkee-poo Wednesday Aug 30<A href="https://www.npr.org/live-updates/hurricane-idalia-path-florida">"Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, Fla., on Wednesday morning as a Category 3 storm. Georgia and South Carolina could see heavy wind and flooding as the storm moves east."</a><br><br>
Yeah, I know, I've missed a lot of stuff.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/200752493/price-is-right-host-bob-barker-dead">Bob Barker,</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1196452357/samuel-wurzelbacher-joe-the-plumber-dies-at-49">Sam Wurzelbacker (aka Joe the Plumber),</a> and so it goes.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1187308859/no-bad-ideas">"Humans have always created. But historian Samuel W. Franklin argues that 'creativity' didn't become a social value until the Cold War. Today, we're at another inflection point for humanity, technology, and national identity. The meaning of originality is blurring; there are legal disputes about what constitutes original art; and AI can write a song like your favorite artist in seconds. So what does it mean to put creativity on a pedestal? And what would it look like to tear it down?"</a> The Throughline podcast with an interesting topic, at least to me. I disagree somewhat with some of the definitions and assumptions they make here, but overall a good episode. Yes, at a reductive level, nothing is new (eventually it all comes down to atoms and energy which have been here since a little after the Big Bang). But as someone who has put things out into culture and is both tickled and enraged (like when it's pirated) when it comes back, I know what it is to create something new.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1194212940/question-mark-space-webb-telescope-photo">"People are freaking out over a question mark seen in space. Scientists can explain."</a> But nobody is listening.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/29/23851126/us-copyright-office-ai-public-comments">"The US Copyright Office is opening a public comment period around AI and copyright issues beginning August 30th as the agency figures out how to approach the subject… As announced in the Federal Register, the agency wants to answer three main questions: how AI models should use copyrighted data in training; whether AI-generated material can be copyrighted even without a human involved; and how copyright liability would work with AI. It also wants comments around AI possibly violating publicity rights but noted these are not technically copyright issues. The Copyright Office said if AI does mimic voices, likenesses, or art styles, it may impact state-mandated rules around publicity and unfair competition laws… Written comments are due on October 18th, and replies must be submitted to the Copyright Office by November 15th."</a> So here's the US Copyright Office's <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/ai/">page on AI.</a>, the Regulations.gov page with <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/COLC_FRDOC_0001-0213">their notice</a> which outlines the questions they are seeking comment on. To submit your comment, click the "comment" button under the title.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/jesus-bible-armageddon-israel-museum-mosaic-christian-2b3a1806e238e995d51d11a8acbf2935">"An ancient Christian mosaic bearing an early reference to Jesus as God is at the center of a controversy that has riled archaeologists: Should the centuries-old decorated floor, which is near what’s believed to be the site of the prophesied Armageddon, be uprooted and loaned to a U.S. museum that has been criticized for past acquisition practices?"</a><br><br>
<A href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/08/new-material-provides-clean-water-and-electricity-using-nothing-but-the-sun/">"New material provides clean water and electricity using nothing but the Sun."</a> I've heard these claims before. Hopefully this is more than vapor ware, because we really need moisture farmers in some parts of the world.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/24/1195621892/a-go-bag-is-an-essential-tool-during-natural-disasters-heres-how-to-build-your-o">"After a disaster happens, it could take days before first responders are able to reach people. And it's usually friends or neighbors in your community who can get to each other first… Lea Crager, FEMA's Ready Campaign Director, says there are still steps you can take to prepare yourself for situations where your access to medical assistance is limited."</a> As demonstrated last week in NE Ohio.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/29/1195984752/medicare-drug-price-negotiations">"The Biden administration released its list of the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts – reductions the government plans to achieve by negotiating the prices with drugmakers."</a> And guess who is not happy.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/29/biden-drug-prices-gop-00113404">"As President Joe Biden touts the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price talks, Republicans are searching for their own message that would resonate with voters on the downsides of his signature domestic achievement... Piggybacking on the pharmaceutical industry’s strategy, Republicans are working to persuade Americans that the Biden plan will stifle innovation and lead to price controls, several strategists say."</a> Just in case you needed reminding who was on which side here.<br><br>
Our wonderful US Healthcare system, the envy of the world… <A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/15/1193754380/why-doctors-pay-millions-in-fees-that-could-be-spent-on-care">"Imagine if each time your wages were deposited in your bank account, your employer deducted a fee of 1.5% to 5% to provide the money electronically. That, increasingly, is what health insurers are imposing on doctors. Many insurers, after whittling down physicians' reimbursements, now take an additional cut if the doctor prefers — as almost all do — to receive funds electronically rather than via a paper check."</a> I wonder how much it would cost to have a physical check cut? "With more than $2 trillion a year of medical claims paid electronically, these fees likely add up to billions of dollars that could be spent on care but instead are going to insurers and middlemen."<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fracking-pennsylvania-health-environment-research-79dd7cfb9b3799e628b0c3667f30dcc4">"Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled western Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-unemployment-economy-recession-be40718e68b9381d5925139d40e2fe8e">Businesses posted far fewer open jobs in July and the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/16/1194176045/target-sales-lgbtq-pride-bud-light">"Target reported Wednesday that the backlash over its LGBTQ+ merchandise before and during Pride month in June took a bite from its sales. This comes on the heels of Bud Light's parent company also reporting substantial losses in U.S. sales and profits due to similar reaction to a marketing campaign… The moment is leading executives to wonder about the benefits of supporting social causes during a time of such polarization in the country."</a> Or, and just hear me out here, it was because of your hesitation to support your decisions, and the eventual rollback of the position. My guess is this wasn't so much a result of the conservative screaming (if so, it would be one of the first instances they actually moved the needle), but a reaction from the LGBTQ+ community when they walked back their support.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/canada-warns-lgbtq-travelers-cautious-us-laws-rcna102468">Canada, citing the risk of potential dangers, is advising LGBTQ travelers planning trips to the United States to check how they might be affected by recently passed laws in some states, Ottawa said Tuesday."</a> Really, Canada? I thought we were friends. But seriously, how fucked up do you have to be that Canada says, "hey, wait, you might want to rethink your vacation plans."<br><br>
<a href="https://wpln.org/post/nashville-rep-justin-jones-silenced-after-being-ruled-out-of-order/">Nashville Rep. Justin Jones was silenced on the Tennessee House floor after he was ruled out of order on Monday... The House voted that he was speaking “off the bill,” which put him out of order for a second time, and — per the new rules in place for the special session — meant he would not be recognized to speak on the chamber floor for the rest of the day."</a> Racists gonna racist.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/1195695051/driverless-cars-san-francisco-waymo-cruise">"All it takes to render the technology-packed self-driving car inoperable is a traffic cone. If all goes according to plan, it will stay there, frozen, until someone comes and removes it… An anonymous activist group called Safe Street Rebel is responsible for this so-called coning incident and dozens of others over the past few months. The group's goal is to incapacitate the driverless cars roaming San Francisco's streets as a protest against the city being used as a testing ground for this emerging technology."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194562279/gop-lawmakers-opposed-bidens-climate-measure-but-its-helping-their-constituents">"Over the past year, the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred nearly $280 billion in new investments across the country. The vast majority of those investments have flowed into Republican-held districts, according to numbers compiled by advocacy group Climate Power."</a> You know, the districts whose representatives voted against the bill.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/28/1196305761/desantis-jacksonville-vigil-booed">"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed and heckled on Sunday while attending a prayer vigil in Jacksonville for the three victims killed in what authorities say was a racially motivated attack at a local Dollar General."</a> Faith in humanity restored.<br><br>
In our name… <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/16/1190767610/ice-detention-immigration-government-inspectors-barbaric-negligent-conditions">"These findings are all part of a trove of more than 1,600 pages of previously secret inspection reports written by experts hired by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. In examining more than two dozen facilities across 16 states from 2017 to 2019, these expert inspectors found 'negligent' medical care (including mental health care), 'unsafe and filthy' conditions, racist abuse of detainees, inappropriate pepper-spraying of mentally ill detainees and other problems that, in some cases, contributed to detainee deaths… These reports almost never become public."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/defendant-georgia-election-case-pleads-guilty-ahead-scheduled/story?id=102644771">"Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a filing Tuesday reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants charged in her Georgia election interference case to stand trial together, telling the judge that her office 'maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together…' The development came on the same day that the judge overseeing the hearing over former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' request to move his case from state court into federal court requested "limited additional briefing" before he renders a decision on the matter."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/16/1194133648/former-trump-attorney-jenna-ellis-is-crowdfunding-her-georgia-indictment-defense">"Jenna Ellis, a conservative media figure and former attorney for Donald Trump, is crowdfunding her defense fees after being indicted along with the former president and 17 others earlier this week."</a> Actually a lot of them are. Grifters gonna grift.<br><br>
Look, actual voter fraud. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-legislature-voter-fraud-4cbdac7e397e81f694d2e9a2ab162325">An Alabama legislator was arrested Tuesday on felony voter fraud charges accusing him of voting in a district where he did not live.</a> Oops, another Republican. Never mind. Move along.<br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-82796367524531212862023-08-15T13:35:00.003-04:002023-08-15T13:35:20.283-04:00Linkee-poo Tuesday August 15<A href="https://www.npr.org/live-updates/trump-news-indictment-georgia-election">"A Georgia grand jury has indicted Donald Trump and 18 attorneys and allies for an alleged scheme to overturn the state's 2020 election results, implicating the former president as the head of a sweeping conspiracy."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wired.com/story/prosecraft-backlash-writers-ai/">"Kunzru was irked enough to add his own voice to the rising Prosecraft protest. He wasn’t mad about the analysis itself. But he strongly suspected that the founder, Benji Smith, had obtained his catalog without paying for it. 'It seemed very clear to me that he couldn’t have assembled this database in any legal way,' he says."</A> I wouldn't say this was specifically "against AI." It's more of a reassertion of the rights of the IP holders. It's just that it appears that AI (and the tech industry in general) are serial content pirates and plagiarizers. Or as they say in the article, "But it appears to share something crucial with most of the AI projects making headlines these days: It trained on a massive set of data scraped from the internet without regard to possible copyright infringement issues." And, of course, he still doesn't get it. He asks if "Would people be less angry with me if I bought a copy of each of these books?" The author of the article says, "Yes", but the answer is "No." You need to buy the rights to use the novels as part of a new work, and that will be much more than the cover-price of a physical or digital book.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/14/1193723648/just-how-hot-was-july-hotter-than-anything-on-record">"Human-driven climate change pushed global temperatures to never-before-seen heights in July, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. The month is now officially the hottest July on record since record-taking began in the 1800s… And it wasn't even close: the month was a whopping 0.4 °F warmer than the previous record set in 2019, and well over 2.1 °F hotter than the 20th century average."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2023-08-14/a-climate-feedback-loop-why-austin-is-locked-in-one-of-its-hottest-summers-ever">"This summer has been among the hottest and hardest in memory. Austin broke an all-time heat index record in June when the 'feels like' temperature topped off at 118 degrees. Then, we had our hottest July ever recorded… This week, only halfway through August, it looks like we’ll surpass 40 days straight of triple-digit heat. This could end up being our hottest summer ever."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/hot-summer-climate-change-el-nino-9c5151f2fca2cd77d92a1c7bc61a0035">"Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.ktoo.org/2023/08/05/city-recommends-evacuations-as-juneau-sees-record-flooding-from-glacial-outburst-flood/">"Juneau’s glacial outburst floods have happened every year since 2011, but this year was the worst by far. The Mendenhall River eroded the bank in a matter of hours, undermining some homes and sending at least one into the river."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/12/1193614596/death-toll-on-maui-climbs-to-80-as-questions-over-islands-emergency-response-gro">"A devastating wildfire that tore though parts of Maui and destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina has killed at least 89, officials said Saturday afternoon, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/08/10/1193177212/photos-hawaii-lt-gov-whole-town-went-and-dissolved-into-ashes">"Hawaii wildfires: Photos show the destruction and devastation."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/red-wolves-endangered-lawsuit-settlement-north-carolina-483e66dbdb5f1e7d1f89f2d941eafc8d">"The U.S. government will settle a lawsuit with conservation groups and commit to releasing more endangered red wolves into the wilds of North Carolina, where nearly three dozen of the canine species are believed to still run free."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/12/1193604095/new-gray-wolf-pack-california">"California wildlife officials say they've confirmed a new gray wolf pack in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains… The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday the pack was found in Tulare County — the farthest south a pack of wolves has been detected in the state in more than a century."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/13/1191389152/xylazine-fentanyl-wounds-treatment">"Baltimore's harm reduction vans have long been a place for people to exchange used needles for clean needles. In recent months, more people have been coming to Baltimore's two mobile harm intervention vans in need of serious wound care due to a drug called xylazine. Among users, it is commonly referred to as Tranq."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/13/1193652301/explosion-destroys-structures-in-pennsylvania">"Five people were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said Sunday."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/11/1193521980/ecuador-assassination-presidential-candidate-election-fernando-villavicencio">"59-year-old Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was a former investigative journalist who was outspoken against what he saw to be clear, increasing government corruption in his country… Villavicencio was fatally shot on Wednesday, moments after exiting a campaign rally in Quito, the nation's capital."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1192324395/texas-abortion-bans-lifted-temporarily-for-medical-emergencies">"The Texas attorney general's office has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, effectively blocking a judge's hours-old order that temporarily lifted a ban on emergency abortions."</a><br><br><br><br>
<A href="https://time.com/6303701/a-rape-in-mississippi/">"Ashley was discharged from the hospital only hours ago, but there are no baby presents or toys in the room, no visible diapers or ointments or bottles. Almost nobody knows that Peanut exists, because almost nobody knew that Ashley was pregnant. She is 13 years old. Soon she’ll start seventh grade."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1191679261/ohio-election-results-issue1-abortion-state-constitution-amendment-ballot-voters">"Ohio voters have defeated Issue 1, according to a race call by the Associated Press on Tuesday night. The no vote rejects a proposed constitutional change that would have made it harder to pass future amendments to the Ohio Constitution."</a> Than you, my fellow Ohioans. Although ti was much closer than it had a right to be.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192663920/southern-baptist-convention-donald-trump-christianity">"It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — 'turn the other cheek' — [and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?' And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ," the response would not be, 'I apologize.' The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak.' And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-republican-loyalty-pledge-gop-debate-a3d63a73ef60a2afb1f7aaec68a6d585">"Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won’t sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month."</a><br><br>
Hey, remember when Democrats called out Republicans for their violent imagery and the use of "targets" and "scope" graphics in their political advertising, and the conservatives were all, "this is just rhetoric, nothing real to be worried about." <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/12/1193463117/violent-threats-against-public-officials-are-rising-heres-why">"For extremism researchers, the shooting death this week of a Utah man who was alleged to have made violent threats against President Biden and other public officials highlights a concerning trend. For years, they have watched a steady escalation in violent political rhetoric that appears to be fueling acts of real-life violence."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-biden-fbi-assassination-threat-ba3cc1d3b2f6cca8bd429febdcf04219">"An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.stonekettle.com/2023/08/baloney.html">"Here's the thing: The real threats to democracy aren't at the ballot box and never were… The real threat comes from those like Trump who would ignore democracy and the will of the people altogether and who daily attempt to replace democracy with disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, intimidation, dark money, and when all that fails: seize power with violence and insurrection."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-23418560455309635442023-08-14T01:16:00.005-04:002023-08-14T01:16:28.086-04:00Linkee-poo Monday August 14<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1192120347/ring-nebula-james-webb-telescope">"The new images of the famous Ring Nebula from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are mesmerizing, with glowing rings of gas and wispy trails emanating from the core. We can see it in more clarity than ever, including thousands of clumps that make up its main ring."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-voyager-spacecraft-communication-restored-9ffefe087b3db279c261073c45a71131">"NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was back chatting it up Friday after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1190604378/antarctica-has-a-lot-less-sea-ice-than-usual-thats-bad-news-for-all-of-us">"But this year there is a lot less sea ice than ever recorded before. And that is bad news for people around the world, because sea ice helps control how quickly the rest of Antarctica's ice melts, which contributes to global sea level rise."</a> We're boned.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/ocean-waves-bigger-california-climate-change-2dba8b958acf6642647b40a716924765">"Waves are getting bigger and surf at least 13 feet (about 4 meters) tall is becoming more common off California’s coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/local/305/2023/08/03/1191810646/we-tried-that-lab-grown-chicken-at-one-of-jose-andres-d-c-restaurants">"A D.C. restaurant started serving chicken made from cultivated animal cells this week — and DCist/WAMU was among the first customers to try it… It's something out of science fiction: Chicken produced in a stainless steel tank without killing any birds. The meat is grown from their cells that feed on nutrients and multiply until they can be harvested and molded into what will later be served on our plate — strips of chicken that have been skewered and grilled."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/horseshoe-crab-decline-blood-harvest-birds-321477016cbf9809989cb9b0a77f560e">"A primordial sea animal that lives on the tidal mudflats of the East Coast and serves as a linchpin for the production of vital medicines stands to benefit from new protective standards… But conservationists who have been trying for years to save a declining bird species — the red knot — that depends on horseshoe crabs fear the protections still don’t go far enough."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192665598/postpartum-depression-pill-zurzuvae">"The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever pill for treating postpartum depression, a potentially life-threatening condition that affects hundreds of thousands of new parents across the U.S. each year."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/08/1192329196/gut-health-fiber-probiotic-olipop-poppi">"'There's been so much research that has shown that if you consume more fiber, you are healthier,' says Hannah Holscher, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, and self-proclaimed 'fiber nerd.'"</a> Unless, you know, you have some condition that fiber is actually counter indicated. And there are people who have major problems with inulin. Also, note the dangers of highly processed foods (where the "added fiber" comes from).<br><br>
<A href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/sars-cov-2-can-damage-mitochondrion-heart-other-organs-study-finds">"The COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) report that they have identified abnormal mitochondrial function in the heart, kidneys, and liver after SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leads to long-term damage and may help explain long COVID."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/08/08/1192496578/a-new-clue-to-the-reason-some-people-come-down-with-long-covid">"The new research, which was an international collaboration between dozens of scientists, describes how some people carry a version of a single gene, FOXP4, that is associated with developing long COVID. Longet calls the new research an 'important element' in understanding why some people's COVID symptoms seemingly never resolve."</a> We don't know much, but we're starting to learn some.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1192120360/jobs-employers-economy-soft-landing-recession-inflation">"Odds of a soft landing may have just gotten a little better… U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July. While job growth has moderated, it hasn't come close to stalling, even after the Fed raised interest rates to the highest level in 22 years."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192736740/marvel-visual-effects-unionize">"Ever since production of the first Star Wars movies in the 1970s, the visual effects industry has largely been non-unionized. But now for the first time, a group of 50 visual effects workers at Marvel Studios in LA, New York and Atlanta have signed authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board. They hope to become part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1190605685/movie-extras-worry-theyll-be-replaced-by-ai-hollywood-is-already-doing-body-scan">"Rubalcaba said the actors had their faces and bodies scanned for about 15 minutes each. Then their digital replicas were created… But here's the rub: She was never told how or if this digital avatar of herself would ever be used on screen. If it's used, she might never know. No matter what happens with it, she'll never see any payment for it… Disney did not return a request for comment."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-to-catch-war-criminal">"President Biden just ordered U.S. investigators to share evidence of Russian war crimes with The International Criminal Court. On this week’s On the Media, what will it take to secure justice for Ukraine? Plus, a moving look back at the early days of the conflict."</a> <br><br>
<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-investigating-russia-war-crimes-ukraininan-children">"The researchers at Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab gather in a carpeted underground bunker, beneath the campus library, to steadily gather evidence of Russia's alleged war crimes. In a report published earlier this year, in collaboration with the State Department, they presented evidence of the Russian government operating more than 40 child custody centers for Ukrainian children who have been forcibly removed from their homes to Russia. On the other hand, Russia's embassy in Washington has claimed that the children were forced to flee to safety due to the war. About a month later, on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting children from Ukraine."</a> Putin is a war criminal (waves to my Russian friends).<br><br>
<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2023/05/03/educators-outraged-teacher-shot-in-school-workplace-injury/">"The motion was filed last week by attorneys representing the School Board and argues that Zwerner, who was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary in January by a 6-year-old student, is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained from the shooting is a 'workplace injury,' and that the shooting was a hazard of the job."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/11/texas-prison-lawsuit-fetal-rights/">"Eventually, two and a half hours after the pain started, the expectant mother said she was allowed to leave the Middleton Unit. As quickly as the pain would allow her, Issa drove to a nearby hospital, where doctors rushed her into emergency surgery after being unable to find a fetal heartbeat. The baby was delivered stillborn… If Issa had gotten to the hospital sooner, medical personnel told her, the baby would have survived, the lawsuit claims… For more than two decades, in legislation passed by lawmakers and defended in court by the attorney general’s office, Texas has insisted 'unborn children' be recognized as people starting at fertilization. And although it has traditionally referred to all stages of pregnancy, from fertilized egg to birth, as an unborn child, the state repeatedly referred to Issa’s stillborn baby as a fetus in legal briefings."</a> Trying to have it both ways. What is missed here is not the facts, but the reasoning. See, it's not about "the baby", it's about punishing women.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-lawsuit-ban-exceptions-women-denied-pregnancy-d90f3bce68d86e5eafe3ba4ba5939188">"A Texas judge ruled Friday the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges… However, the injunction was immediately blocked by an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, the state attorney general’s office said."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/law-justice/2023-08-11/ammon-bundy-arrested-gem-county">"Ammon Bundy, the anti-government provocateur, has been arrested according to the Gem County dispatch service… Bundy has had an active arrest warrant since mid-April after an Ada County judge found him in contempt of court for refusing to show up to legal proceedings for nearly a year over a civil lawsuit filed by St. Luke’s Health System."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/07/1192460342/montgomery-riverfront-brawl">"Authorities in Montgomery, Ala., are charging three men with assault for attacking a riverboat co-captain on Saturday. When officers arrived on scene, the fight had spiraled out of control into a full on brawl at the city's Riverfront Park."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/11/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-marion-county-newspaper-seizing-computers-records-and-cellphones/">"In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home."</a> The police, the sheriffs, and the judge all need to be ousted from the jobs they don't deserve. The stress and violence of the raid eventually lead to <A href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/13/marion-county-record-co-owner-joan-meyer-dies-kansas-police-raid">the death of a co-owner.</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-deputies-guilty-pleas-civil-rights-e4937b4cd1d2ed2388b2fd1c3aeefcb9">"Men who had sworn an oath to protect and serve were huddled on the back porch of a Mississippi home as Michael Corey Jenkins lay on the floor, blood gushing from his mutilated tongue where one of the police officers shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger… As Jenkins writhed in pain, the six white officers devised a scheme to cover up dozens of stunning acts of brutality that they had just carried out during 90 minutes of terror against Jenkins and a second Black victim."<a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wmfe.org/education/2023-08-03/ap-psychology-effectively-banned-in-florida">"The College Board says the Florida Department of Education has, 'effectively' banned an AP Psychology class in the state. AP African American History is already banned in Florida… The only way districts in Florida will be allowed to teach the Advanced Placement Psychology course is if they omit chapters on gender identity and sexuality."</a> Blatant and open fascism.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-go-woke-go-broke">"When the US women’s soccer team was knocked out of the world cup, they became the latest target of a right-wing media campaign. On this week’s On the Media, the state of discourse around gender. Plus, the quality of coverage around trans rights, and how it’s changed."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1192295228/mississippi-felon-voting-law-blocked">"Mississippi is violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by permanently stripping voting rights from people convicted of some felonies, a federal appeals court panel ruled in a split decision Friday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1191987472/these-military-spouses-are-fighting-one-senators-hold-on-military-promotions">"Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville's disagreement with a Pentagon policy on abortion is upheaving life plans for hundreds of military families. Now those families are petitioning Senate leaders to intervene on their behalf."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-making-history">"This year, the Department of Defense began renaming military bases that honor the Confederacy. On this week’s On the Media, a former general explains why the reckoning with the myth of the 'lost cause' is overdue. Plus, hear how Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine has been hundreds of years in the making."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192700338/a-protective-order-is-unlikely-to-curb-trump-or-affect-his-popularity">"A judge has set a hearing for Friday about the parameters of a protective order dictating how former President Donald Trump and his legal team can talk about the evidence in the Jan. 6 criminal case."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/04/1191279975/raising-money-poll-numbers-donald-trump-teflon-don-indictments-criminal-charges">"And now, Trump remains the undisputed front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, despite facing three indictments on a variety of criminal charges, most recently on Tuesday. While it's still unknown what impact the latest federal indictment — on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — will have on the electorate, so far he has weathered every storm."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/08/trump-2020-election-fulton-county-charges-next-week">"The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia is expected to present evidence to a grand jury and ask it to return indictments as early as next Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://newrepublic.com/post/174950/christianity-today-editor-evangelicals-call-jesus-liberal-weak">"The editor in chief of Christianity Today is warning that evangelical Christianity is moving too far to the right, to the point that even Jesus’s teachings are considered 'weak' now."</a> We all know this was happening, it's just interesting to see it actually happening.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/11/1193465237/hunter-biden-investigation-special-counsel">"Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who has been investigating criminal allegations against President Biden's surviving son, Hunter Biden, has been named a special counsel, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday… Weiss, a Trump appointee as U.S. attorney who was retained during the Biden administration, has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019. He reached a tentative plea deal with Hunter Biden, but it collapsed amid scrutiny recently from a Delaware federal judge."</a><br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-90917206555598834882023-08-04T01:30:00.002-04:002023-08-04T01:30:24.632-04:00Linkee-poo Aug 4 early morning editionThe craziness continues. Once I think I've got it all squared away, another curve ball comes in and I have to spin more plates as well as all I'm dealing with. Sorry.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/21/260757258/tony-bennett-king-of-the-american-songbook-dead-at-96">Tony Bennett,</a> <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/529671631/irish-singer-sinead-oconnor-has-died-at-56">Sinead O'Conner,</a> <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/31/1191104833/pee-wee-herman-dead-paul-reubens">Paul Reubens,</a> and so it goes.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1190062275/phoenix-heat-record-temperatures-forecast-arizona">"'Record breaking' loses some of its wow factor when that record just keeps getting broken. Tuesday marks 26 consecutive days in Phoenix, Az. with a temperature over 110 degrees."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190218132/florida-ocean-temperatures-101-marine-life-damage">"It's so hot in Florida right now that the ocean temperature in one area just crossed into the triple digits… On Monday, a water temperature sensor in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park recorded a temperature of 101.1 degrees, according to a park spokesperson."</a> We're boned.<br><br>
Hey, remember the whole, "we need to clear out the wildlands to prevent forest fires" push? <A href="https://apnews.com/article/forest-service-wildfire-investigation-new-mexico-4853814fdfed5e432eec49f3c3e82215">"The U.S. Forest Service’s own prescribed burn started a sprawling 2022 wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, the agency acknowledged Monday in a report published after a lengthy investigation."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189744875/greece-wildfires-evacuation-tourists">"Tens of thousands of people, many of them British tourists, are scrambling to evacuate from Rhodes and Corfu as wildfires rage across the country. Temperatures are expected to climb again Tuesday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/08/1186514144/kratom-herbal-supplement-lawsuits-deaths-fda">"Millions of Americans use kratom, which is sold at gas stations, vape shops and bars. It can act like an opiate on the body. The FDA warns against using kratom, but most states don't regulate it."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189939229/covid-deaths-democrats-republicans-gap-study">"The pandemic inflicted higher rates of excess deaths on both Republicans and Democrats. But after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, Republican voters in Florida and Ohio died at a higher rate than their counterparts, according to a new study."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/24/1189745247/silicosis-young-workers-kitchen-countertops-lung-damage-california">"Countertops made of the engineered stone "quartz" are incredibly popular, but public health experts say cutting this material unsafely can expose workers to deadly dust."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gene-therapy-blindness-rare-diseases-58f81838894dfb8568affde0b7e4d2f1">"Dr. Alfonso Sabater pulled up two photos of Antonio Vento Carvajal’s eyes. One showed cloudy scars covering both eyeballs. The other, taken after months of gene therapy given through eyedrops, revealed no scarring on either eye."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1185499996/congress-tackles-food-stamp-changes-in-the-farm-bill">"'What they're seeing is that there's an increase in folks who are saying, "Yes, I do receive SNAP," but their distribution numbers here are staying about the same,' said Emily Kraft, the director of community outreach and support services at the Foodbank, an organization in North Carolina. 'So it really reinforces that idea that SNAP is meant to be supplemental — that is not meant to be someone's entire food budget, which is why folks are still stopping in here.'"</a> It's Farm Bill time again.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1187099625/back-to-school-shopping-inflation">"Many parents are also hoping to pull back on spending on school supplies this year, according to a survey released Wednesday by Deloitte. The firm is predicting that spending will decrease 10% from last year, marking the first decline since 2014, said Stephen Rogers, the managing director of Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center. Inflation is having a big impact on how parents are shopping, he said."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189956641/ups-union-calls-off-strike-threat-after-securing-pay-raises-for-workers">"The Teamsters union said it has secured pay raises for United Parcel Service workers, averting what would have been one of the largest strikes in U.S. history."</a> They always focus on the pay and miss the greater wins for safety and new hires.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190093285/fed-federal-reserve-interest-rates-borrowing-inflation">"The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday it would raise interest rates a quarter percentage point (or 25 basis points), to a 22-year high. It marks a return to the long, steady climb interest rates have been on for the last year, as the Fed attempts to beat back inflation."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191481666/fitch-credit-rating-aaa-debt-default-debt-ceiling">"Fitch Ratings cut the United States' credit rating by one notch, from the top-rated AAA to AA+, saying rising deficits and political brinkmanship are imperiling the government's ability to pay its debts… It marks another rebuke for the U.S., which lost its AAA rating from Standard & Poor's in 2011 in the midst of another debt ceiling standoff. Today, only one of the three major credit ratings agencies — Moody's Investors Service — gives the United States a top-notch AAA rating."</a> Thanks to the petulance of the Republicans and conservative politics. Heck of a job, Brownie.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189798685/irs-door-visits">"IRS will stop making most unannounced visits to taxpayers' homes, businesses"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/middleeast/israel-supreme-court-power-stripped-intl/index.html">"The Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law stripping the Supreme Court of its power to block government decisions, the first part of a planned judicial overhaul that has sharply divided Israeli society and drawn fierce criticism from the White House."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/spain-election-whats-next-right-left-coalition-0424325a834f390b5a884482c478107c">"Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after a general election a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government... The uncertainty deepened as both of Spain’s two main parties indicated that they hope to take power. The only sure thing seems to be that the country faces weeks, perhaps months, of political negotiations and possibly a new election to sort out the mess."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/24/doj-sues-texas-and-gov-greg-abbott-over-rio-grande-barrier-00107896">"The Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for building a floating barrier at the southern border that the state says will deter migrants but that the Biden administration calls a threat to public safety."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/police-are-not-primarily-crime-fighters-according-data-2022-11-02/">"More notably, researchers analyzed the data to show how officers spend their time, and the patterns that emerge tell a striking story about how policing actually works. Those results, too, comport with existing research showing that U.S. police spend much of their time conducting racially biased stops and searches of minority drivers, often without reasonable suspicion, rather than 'fighting crime.'"</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/tiktoker-debunked-jason-aldeans-try-small-town-video-receives-racist-h-rcna95996">"A graphic designer and activist who made TikTok content debunking the claim by Jason Aldean that his controversial music video only uses 'real news footage' has been facing a wave of racist and violent hate mail by defenders of his song."</a> Good thing this video isn't a racist piece of shit, or this might be bad. I mean, how hard would it be to just claim ignorance and say, "oops, my bad," pull the video and redo it. Unless you really are a racist piece of shit where you would do exactly as Jason Aldean has done.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190254340/bowe-bergdahl-desertion-conviction-voided">"In 2017, a military judge told attorneys in Bowe Bergdahl's court-martial case that he was impervious to pressure from then-President Donald Trump — but he made a crucial omission: one week earlier, the judge had applied for a new job in the Trump administration… That's the conclusion of U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who on Tuesday vacated the former soldier's court-martial conviction and sentence that were overseen by former military judge Jeffrey Nance."</a> Oopsie.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189953918/ammon-bundy-ordered-to-pay-50-million-but-will-the-hospital-ever-see-the-money">"A jury has ordered anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy and associates to pay more than $50 million in damages to Idaho's largest hospital in connection with armed protests last year that led to a security lockdown."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/twitter-x-logo-blue-bird-musk-0689e9a5c3a217afc2fbefeaf0e6d8a8">Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year."</a> But fails to secure "x.com" or clear trademark protections held by Google and Microsoft.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191318468/elon-musk-sues-disinformation-researchers-claiming-they-are-driving-away-adverti">"Elon Musk's X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is suing a nonprofit that researches hate speech on social media, accusing it of conducting 'a scare campaign to drive away advertisers.'"</a> Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with someone calling out his bullshit and this isn't an attempt to further the degradation of Twitter's usefulness in the coming election.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190245518/texas-professor-joy-alonzo-investigation-freedom-speech">"A Texas A&M University professor was suspended, investigated and ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing for allegedly criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture about the opioid crisis. The probe has free speech advocates concerned about political influence over academia in Texas."</a><br><br>
Oh look, actual political considerations and attempts at stifling open debate at a college. <A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-am-diversity-settlement-kathleen-mcelroy-9408f1196417e4cc554ffc74a19956e2">"Texas A&M University reached a $1 million settlement Thursday with a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged by backlash over her past work promoting diversity."</a> Wait, again, it's conservatives who did the Bad Thing™. Never mind.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/police-dog-attack-traffic-stop-circleville-ohio-9cde85629aa22f75520025706fdc4ffc">"Several Ohio agencies are investigating why an officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/us/inside-the-party-switch-that-blew-up-north-carolina-politics.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur">"Three months after Ms. Cotham took office in January, she delivered a mortal shock to Democrats and to abortion rights supporters: She switched parties, and then cast a decisive vote on May 3 to override a veto by the state’s Democratic governor and enact a 12-week limit on most abortions — North Carolina’s most restrictive abortion policy in 50 years."</a> Groomers. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1190048336/biden-impeachment-mccarthy-hunter">"McCarthy said he has not talked to Trump about any impeachment probe. But several far right House Republicans argue that because Democrats voted twice to impeach Trump it is appropriate to move forward now to remove Biden. Last month the speaker pushed back on an effort to hold an impeachment vote on a resolution introduced by Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert that cited the president's immigration policies, and instead the House voted to refer the matter to committees to investigate."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190211798/hunter-biden-plea-tax-charges">"The judge in the Hunter Biden case said Wednesday she is not ready to accept the plea deal struck between the president's son and the Justice Department, and asked both parties to submit additional briefs and return to the court on a future date… Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded that the lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-justice-department-congress-republicans-edebddf2c513b4ee59f57f00ced5520f
">"The lead prosecutor in the case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says he is willing to testify publicly this fall, setting up a clash with House Republicans who have demanded he come in soon for a closed-door interview."</a> Or no, considering the case is still ongoing.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/school-shooting-florida-judge-reprimand-0051d9e89da24e4a132568700796dc57
">"The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded the judge who oversaw the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz on Monday for showing bias toward the prosecution."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-tribal-compacts-ed8a8da090cee1a7d4389aee282951bb">"The Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate met in a special session Monday and overrode GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills to extend existing agreements with Native American tribes for another year."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1142599350/deperno-michigan-voting-machine-breach-charges">"The most recent Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general faces criminal charges for an alleged effort to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election as the results were being contested by then-President Donald Trump. That's after Democratic nominee Joe Biden won Michigan."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ohio-referendum-election-2023-7ea8656d35adce9dfb8d9a9bf8c69d60">"State Issue 1, the sole question on the ballot, calls for raising the threshold for passing future changes to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Starting next year, it also would double the number of counties where signatures must be gathered, from 44 to all 88, and do away with the 10-day grace period for closing gaps in the total valid signatures submitted."</a> Save our democracy, vote No on Issue 1 (if you're a voter in Ohio).<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190314813/mississippi-voting-rights-law-mail-in-voting-ballot-harvesting">"A U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Tuesday temporarily blocked a voting law in the state that was supposed to go into effect July 1. The law, known as Senate Bill 2358, creates new restrictions for who can assist someone while voting by mail."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190298694/mcconnell-press-conference">"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped talking at his weekly press conference with top Senate GOP leaders on Wednesday when he froze and appeared unable to continue for more than 30 seconds as he gripped the podium. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the third ranking Republican and a physician, walked with McConnell for a few steps near the Senate floor as other leaders resumed the press conference."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191493880/trump-january-6-charges-indictment-counts">"The criminal charges against former President Donald Trump related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election are some of the most serious allegations facing him, one law professor told NPR."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/03/1191901829/trump-indictment-arraignment-news">"Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election."</a> And no criming while you wait for trial (oh, this is gonna be good).<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190173929/rudy-giuliani-georgia-election-workers">"Rudy Giuliani conceded in a court filing that he made false statements when he said two Georgia election workers mishandled ballots during the 2020 election."</a><br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-14999033794059685052023-07-24T13:49:00.000-04:002023-07-24T13:49:00.880-04:00Linkee-poo Monday July 24A bunch of older links, sorry.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/14/1187650586/india-launches-mission-to-moon">"An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country's space agency said."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/13/1187530636/last-month-was-the-hottest-june-ever-recorded-on-earth">"Last month was the hottest June on record going back 174 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the latest temperature record to fall this summer, as the El Niño climate pattern exacerbates the effects of human-caused climate change."</a> The previous record was June 2020. We're boned.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/13/1187295769/otter-santa-cruz-surfboard-surfers-california">"An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup… Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting surfers and kayakers."</a> I'm Team Otter.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2023/07/13/contracted-emergency-doctors-at-ascension-st-john-hospital-vote-to-unionize-nlrb/70409871007/">"A group of 43 healthcare workers at the Ascension St. John Emergency Department have voted to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board… The union includes doctors, advanced practice clinicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners."</a> I wish them luck. They're gonna need it. Also, I think it's interesting about how they view residents. Cause I gotta tell ya, I've said this directly to attendings, and they strongly refuse to train or correct the residents. Also it's great that they close rooms in the ED when they're short staffed. That certainly doesn't happen where I work.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weight-loss-why-you-dont-just-lose-fat-when-youre-on-a-diet/">"When you go on a diet, you don’t just lose fat – you lose muscle too. This can have many repercussions – not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism… To lose weight (body fat), you need to be in a calorie deficit. This means consuming fewer calories than your body uses, or exercising to burn more calories than you consume."</a> Eat less, exercise more. But if you cut carbs, your body will have to convert protein for your brain to work.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/13/1187284010/world-health-organization-is-aspartame-carcinogenic">"A committee of 25 international experts has determined that aspartame may "possibly" cause cancer in people, according to a report released Thursday by the World Health Organization… But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it disagrees with this new classification, pointing to evidence of safety. In a written statement, an FDA official told NPR that aspartame being labeled by the WHO 'as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" does not mean that aspartame is actually linked to cancer.'"</a> Just going to point out that the FDA tried to ban aspartame in the 90s and couldn't as NutraSweet (as it was called then) was too deeply integrated into the food supply to just yank it off the market and ended up having to defend it in the face of several attempts to sue to take it off the market.<br><br>
<A href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/elon-musk-twitter-negative-cash-flow-heavy-debt/story">"Elon Musk said (awhile ago) that Twitter is struggling with a 'heavy debt load' due to losing 50% of advertising revenue, resulting in the platform having a negative cash flow."</a> Negative cash flow is tech bro speak for "hemorrhaging cash." Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.<br><br>
<A href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/light-based-lifi-promises-amazing-wireless-speeds-just-not-through-walls/">"Light is almost certainly the fastest thing around. So it makes sense that "light-based wireless communications," or LiFi, could blow the theoretical doors off existing radio-wave wireless standards, to the tune of a maximum 224GB per second."</a> Just an example of why many of the "new things" are a load of garbage. One, this is why we have fiber optics. Two, the benefit of light isn't the speed, it's the bandwidth (how much data can be carried at once), and really, this is just hyped up IR connections. (Grokked from John, I think)<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/14/1187660793/student-loan-forgiveness-income-driven-repayment">"While the Supreme Court scuttled President Biden's efforts at widespread debt forgiveness, these borrowers are about to get an email from the U.S. Department of Education, notifying them that their debts will soon be automatically erased."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/14/1187644890/russian-general-fired-for-being-critical">"A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin."</a> Ah, we've reached the "firing generals" stage of this conflict. Not that this guy doesn't sound like a fucking delight to be under his command.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/us/texas-troopers-migrant-treatment-concerns/index.html">"Emails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the inhumane treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas… In the email, the trooper said medics 'were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico' and were also ordered not to give water to the migrants."</a> Cruelty is the point.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/trump-incited-january-6-defendants/">"One hundred seventy-four defendants from 37 states who were charged for their participation in the January 6th insurrection have said they were answering Donald Trump’s calls when they traveled to Washington and joined the violent attack on the Capitol. CREW’s examination of court filings, transcripts, and news items regarding defendants in January 6th cases shows that defendants—ranging from convicted seditionists such as members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to individual members of the public—considered Trump their leader and believed they were following his lead by joining the insurrection."</a> One, delusional, two, not a defense, three, doesn't mean too much in trying to convict TFG (that Fucking Guy).<br><br>
Oh look, real voter fraud… <A href="https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2023/07/shaker-heights-attorney-a-trump-supporter-tells-judge-he-voted-twice-in-last-two-elections-by-accident.html">"A Shaker Heights attorney accused of illegally voting in the last two general elections should be acquitted, in part, because he cast ballots in two states by accident, his attorney argued to a judge… James Saunders, a 56-year-old former lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service, did not mean to commit a crime when he cast ballots in both Cuyahoga County and Broward County, Florida, counties where he owns property and has been registered to vote since before 2009, his lawyer said during closing arguments…"</a> Wait, it's another Republican. Never mind.<br><br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-52328356569383428362023-07-12T13:34:00.002-04:002023-07-12T13:34:16.241-04:00Linkee-poo July 12<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/07/01/1184749528/men-are-hunters-women-are-gatherers-that-was-the-assumption-a-new-study-upends-i">"For decades, scientists have believed that early humans had a division of labor: Men generally did the hunting and women did the gathering. And this view hasn't been limited to academics. It's often been used to make the case that men and women today should stick to the supposedly 'natural' roles that early human society reveals… Now a new study suggests the vision of early men as the exclusive hunters is simply wrong – and that evidence that early women were also hunting has been there all along."</a> I know, this is my shocked face. It's almost like this whole "battle of the sexes" is bullshit created by old white men to glorify themselves and instill the patriarchy. Put that in your Paleo Diet and smoke it.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/flash-flood-emergency-northeast-vermont-efaf15bf2fd322bc762c52c56a278762">"Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, enabling people to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/iceland-volcano-eruption-tourists-e997b7293f20322033649e42236df2c0">"Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned tourists and other spectators to stay away from a newly erupting volcano that is spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure in the country’s southwest."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66066710">"A European space telescope has launched from Florida on a quest to resolve one of the biggest questions in science: What is the Universe made of?… The Euclid mission will make an immense 3D map of the cosmos in an effort to tie down some of the properties of so-called dark matter and dark energy."</a> (Grokked from Dan, I think)<br><Br>
Four out of five geologists agree… <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1187125012/anthropocene-crawford-lake-canada-beginning">"Called the Anthropocene — and derived from the Greek terms for 'human' and 'new' — this epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, according to the scientists. While there is evidence worldwide that captures the impact of burning fossil fuels, detonating nuclear weapons and dumping fertilizers and plastics on land and in waterways, the scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker."</a><br><Br>
For over a decade the US has experienced comparatively cool weather due to the cycles of El Nino and La Nina (helping to fuel the claims of "climate change, I don't see it"). It looks like that pattern is over. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-southwest-extreme-heat-wave-8a1608fef6be5194931e8e2ef07440f4">"Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-ocean-heat-climate-coral-record-bfc3010460eb077fc14d53a6f768931d">"The globe is coming off a week of heat not seen in modern measurements, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday, using data from Japan’s weather agency to confirm unofficial records reported nearly daily last week by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. Japan reported the global average temperature on Friday was half a degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) warmer than its past record hottest day in August 2016."</a> When "taking a dip" doesn't actually cool you off. We're boned. <br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186550955/the-world-is-officially-free-of-chemical-weapons-heres-what-that-means">"The United States has officially destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons… In doing so, it is the last of eight countries to destroy its declared stocks of chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention – an international treaty signed by nearly 200 nations that bans the possession, production and use of the weapons on the battlefield."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-waste-cancer-st-louis-army-corps-school-9e1ceb765822fc53fcbc2e42005adef2">"The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press… Decades later, even with much of the cleanup complete, the aftereffects haunt the region. Federal health investigators have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste. A grade school closed last year amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s."</a> Whispers, this isn't just limited to the past.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/07/1186317498/pharmacy-benefit-manager-pbm-ads-congress">"House and Senate members from both parties have launched at least nine bills, parts of which may be packaged together this fall, that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here's a primer to help you decipher what's happening."</a> Or, and just hear me out here, we could have the government negotiate prices for us. Like they do in other countries.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185060325/joby-electric-flying-taxi">"California-based transportation company Joby Aviation announced Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration had granted its aircraft a 'Special Airworthiness Certificate,' which allows it to operate in U.S. airspace with certain restrictions."</a> Who knows, by the time I die we might have wider spread air taxis.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/05/1185160295/tipping-coffee-consumer-spending-inflation-tips">"But tipping culture might be reaching a tipping point. A survey from Bankrate found that two-thirds of customers now have a negative view of tipping… And this year, tips are down nearly 10% for restaurant servers. So while we're tipping for airport snacks and footlong subs, we're giving less to the workers whose pay depends the most on tips."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1184974003/shein-influencers-china-factory-trip-backlash">"Now, the Shein ambassadors are facing blowback from critics who say they are participating in a propaganda stunt designed to mislead customers."</a> Most influencers are involved in payola. The kind of payola that if this were music, it would still be against the law.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185375741/ai-recession-inflation-interest-rates-economy-wall-street-stocks-rally">"Despite widespread expectations that the U.S. could be headed for a recession this year, the economy has proved a lot sturdier than many on Wall Street had forecast."</a> Thanks, Biden.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-interest-rates-economy-federal-reserve-53d93610b5ccaacd097853593f29bc26">"Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries."</a> Why, it's almost like when "greedflation" started gaining traction in economic circles and became a research topic (and governmental inquiry), inflation just started to ease all on its own.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/07/1186405548/jobs-labor-market-hiring-employers-economy-inflation-interest-rates">"U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June, according to data out on Friday. That's below the pace of recent months but it's still a very solid number."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185327143/student-loan-forgiveness-supreme-court-reactions">"He graduated in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and has yet to consider loan payments or interest yet – both have been on pause since he was a student. Now, with Biden's student loan relief plan officially dead, and payments set to resume in the fall, Strickland has resigned himself to his new debt-laden reality… 'So in terms of loan forgiveness, where do we go from here? I don't think there's anywhere we can go.'… If Strickland sounds defeated, he's not alone."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/actors-strike-hollywood-writers-ab1cce432e5ce393d0c5b3416a9bc91a">"Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://twitter.com/slack2thefuture/status/1678960256586776576">"And right on cue, here’s the inevitable Deadline article claiming that the AMPTP and their CEO bosses are ready to wait us out and let us 'go broke.'… They’re not. They can’t. This studio propaganda, and here’s why…"</a> A tweet thread. (Grokked from John Scalzi, I think)<br><Br>
That Deadline article, <A href="https://deadline.com/2023/07/writers-strike-hollywood-studios-deal-fight-wga-actors-1235434335/">"While some dismiss this as just 'cynical strike talk,' studio and streamer sources around town confirm the strategy. They also confirm that the plan to grind down the guild has long been in the works for a labor cycle that all sides agree is a game-changer one way or another for Hollywood."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/1186984345/ups-strike-shipping-package-delivery">"Contract negotiations between United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union stalled last week, heightening the odds of a UPS strike in early August — as well as shake-ups in an increasingly competitive package delivery market."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-iran-tanker-oil-ceaf60e14d9a51aa65e894fe3291586c">"The Iranian-flagged — MT Arman 114 — transporting 272,569 metric tons (2.3 million barrels) of crude oil worth 4.6 trillion rupiah ($305 million) was seized on Friday while carrying out illegal transshipment of oil to the Cameroon-flagged tanker — MT S Tinos — in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near Natuna waters, said Aan Kurnia, Indonesia’s Coast Guard chief."</a> How Iran gets around sanctions.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-mutiny-belarus-d7134f34ccea592e52e1dcb39f4aeb94">"The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule."</a> I'd avoid windows and high places.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nord-stream-pipeline-attack-russia-investigation-4b7cb8117f420985b0d887117eebd786">"Investigators found traces of subsea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that has been one aspect of a probe into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last year, European diplomats have told the United Nations Security Council."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/soldier-remains-identified-world-war-ii-italy-48f75078b495a27881b3151af105effa">"A U.S. Army soldier from Massachusetts reported missing in action while his unit was involved in fighting against German forces in Italy during World War II has been accounted for, the military said."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2023-07-07/texas-gov-greg-abbotts-floating-border-wall-has-arrived-in-eagle-pass">"Five tractor trailers loaded with the four-foot diameter buoy balls arrived Friday in Eagle Pass. When assembled, they will make a thousand-foot-long obstacle for migrants crossing the Rio Grande."</a> I'm sure this untested technology will work perfectly, just like the previous technology we've deployed at the border. <br><Br>
<A href="https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2023-06-30/indiana-supreme-court-oks-near-total-abortion-ban-set-to-take-effect-soon">"The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state’s near-total abortion ban does not violate the Indiana Constitution… Under the law, abortions are only allowed if the pregnant person’s serious health or life is at risk; if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly up to 20 weeks post-fertilization; and in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-07-07/kobach-sues-governor-for-letting-trans-kansans-change-the-gender-on-their-ids-and-birth-certificates">"Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued Gov. Laura Kelly today over what gender people can have on their state-issued IDs… Earlier this year, the Legislature passed the 'Women’s Bill of Rights,' a controversial bill that Democrats say targets the transgender community for discrimination. The exact implications of the new law remain unclear partly because the bill mentioned no ways to enforce provisions."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/philadephia-shooting-7e205d7b2b89251ffb5a109a1a99c94a">"A 40-year-old killed one man in a house before fatally shooting four others on the streets of a Philadelphia neighborhood, then surrendering to police officers after being cornered in an alley with an assault rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest, police said."</a> Good thing we don't have a problem with guns or this would be worrying.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/28/1184782128/cop-city-atlanta-domestic-terrorism">"When Luke Harper went to Atlanta in early March, he thought he would just be staying the weekend. Harper, a 27-year old copywriter from Florida, was going there to join demonstrators in opposition to the planned construction of a new police and fire training facility. But on his second night, after attending a music festival with other protesters, Harper was arrested and accused of being a 'domestic terrorist.' Despite having no prior criminal history, Harper was denied bond several times and finally left the DeKalb County jail in early June… 'I was released on day 90, which is the basically the last day that they could legally keep me incarcerated without an indictment,' Harper said. 'And I'm still unindicted as of now.'"</a> Good thing our domestic police don't feel they can act in an extra-judicial manner (strong side-eye).<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/baltimore-opioid-harm-reduction-suboxone-mobile-treatment-d74e7b1452ebaf839871032ea2a73a5a">"The so-called harm reduction model, which has received endorsement and funding from the Biden administration, offers potentially life-saving services to opioid users, without requiring abstinence in return… Advocates say it acknowledges the importance of keeping people alive, first and foremost, while they confront the sometimes insurmountable challenges associated with recovery. Critics argue it enables illegal activity."</a><br><Br>
Who needs regulations? <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185280180/florida-roads-radioactive-desantis-signs-law">"Florida is another step closer to paving its roads with phosphogypsum — a radioactive waste material from the fertilizer industry — after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill into law Thursday… Conservation groups had urged DeSantis to veto the bill, saying phosphogypsum would hurt water quality and put road construction crews at a higher risk of cancer."</a> What could possibly go wrong.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185371179/fox-pays-lawsuit-tucker-carlson-producer-dominion-bias-discrimination">"Fox News paid $12 million on (June 30) to settle a former producer's lawsuit claiming that Tucker Carlson's show was an abusive place to work, defined by bigotry, misogyny and bullying… Abby Grossberg's suit helped trigger Carlson's ouster this spring. It also influenced the resolution of a blockbuster defamation suit brought against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election-fraud falsehoods."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-teaching-paradise-travel-46c7d9ed41a5fabc5c64579b45abdd98">"For decades, the University of Hawaii law school has marketed its Jurist-In-Residence program to the Supreme Court as an all-expenses-paid getaway, with the upside of considerable “down time” in paradise… The justices have enthusiastically participated."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-congress-durbin-john-roberts-5d357f00cfdf42b6515f2cb80db4166b">"The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government."</a> Good luck with that, Durbin.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185632827/web-designer-supreme-court-gay-couples">"A Colorado web designer who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday could refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples cited a request from a man who says he never asked to work with her… The request in dispute, from a person identified as 'Stewart,' wasn't the basis for the federal lawsuit filed preemptively seven years ago by web designer Lorie Smith, before she started making wedding websites. But as the case advanced, it was referenced by her attorneys when lawyers for the state of Colorado pressed Smith on whether she had sufficient grounds to sue."</a> There should be a word for when people lie in a court of law.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185630152/judge-awards-a-black-church-1m-over-blm-banner-burned-by-proud-boys-during-prote">"A judge on (June 30) awarded more than $1 million to a Black church in downtown Washington, D.C. that sued the far-right Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 protest."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1187100364/trump-carroll-lawsuit">"The Justice Department said it will decline to shield former President Trump from a defamation claim by New York writer E. Jean Carroll, reversing course on one of its most controversial decisions during the early stretch of the Biden administration."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-obama-justice-department-capitol-mccarthy-27934bbd095111e7eb2bac5b5bb24e06">"On the day of his June 29 arrest, prosecutors said, Taranto reposted a Truth Social post from Trump containing what Trump claimed was Obama’s home address. In a post on Telegram, Taranto wrote: 'We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.' That’s a reference to John Podesta, the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign."</a> These are not lone wolves.<br><Br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-50320199658769248442023-06-30T12:59:00.005-04:002023-06-30T12:59:37.299-04:00Linkee-poo Friday June 30<a href="https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2023-06-26/ut-austin-john-goodenough-dies-batteries-nobel-prize-chemistry">John Goodenough</a> and <A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185311319/alan-arkin-dead">Alan Arkin,</a>and so it goes.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1184989815/air-quality-midwest-red-purple-alert-canada-wildfires-smoke">"As the sun rose on Madison, Wis., Thursday morning, the air quality was measured at 242 — a 'very unhealthy' purple alert rating — due to smoke from Canada's wildfires… Madison wasn't alone: from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Columbus, Ohio, a swath of the Midwest was marked by a dense mass of purple dots on the U.S. AirNow fire and smoke map, signaling the need for people to limit their time outside."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/dolphin-mothers-baby-talk-calves-cc0c189aa1b8e1298155b1ea78c1002a">"A study published Monday found that female bottlenose dolphins change their tone when addressing their calves. Researchers recorded the signature whistles of 19 mother dolphins in Florida, when accompanied by their young offspring and when swimming alone or with other adults."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/giant-gravity-hole-in-the-ocean-may-be-the-ghost-of-an-ancient-sea1/">"A pronounced dip in the geoid under the Indian Ocean—called the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL)—is the planet’s most prominent gravitational anomaly… As a result of the low pull of gravity there, combined with the higher gravitational pull from the surrounding areas, the sea level of the Indian Ocean over the hole is a whopping 106 meters lower than the global average, says the new study’s senior author Attreyee Ghosh, a geophysicist at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore."</a> There's a hole in the bottom of the sea.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1185058476/milky-way-sending-neutrinos-ghost-particles">"A giant detector buried deep within the Antarctic ice at the South Pole has obtained the first evidence of eerie particles called neutrinos coming from the innards of our own home galaxy, the Milky Way… The discovery is a step towards scientists being better able to use particles to study hidden or elusive phenomena in the universe, rather than having to rely on light seen by telescopes."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2023-06-26/sweltering-round-the-clock-heat-will-plague-texas-all-this-week">"The oppressive heat that descended on Texas last week will continue this week, with nearly every weather service office in the state issuing heat advisories or warnings for the days ahead."</a><br><br>
A warmer globe and increased CO2 is better, they say. <A href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/first-us-malaria-cases-diagnosed-decades-florida-texas-2023-06-27/">"Five cases of malaria have been confirmed in Florida and Texas, the first time the potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease has been locally acquired in the United States in 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/warming-snow-rain-flooding-drought-climate-change-844da3efb28f2a236bb6192f39cf27fb">"A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into extreme rain over mountains instead, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study found."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1185092056/squirrels-splooting-heat-wave-climate-change">"'They're trying to find a cool space, and if they can put as much of their core body on to a cool space, then the heat is going to transfer from their bodies to the other surface. So in the case of squirrels, you'll often see them maybe on a shady sidewalk, or a park path, or in the grass, just splayed out.'"</a> Splootting.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/bald-golden-eagle-feathers-crime-dc9a638d81588f2be3f424cb0493bd22">"A federal judge in South Dakota has sentenced a Montana man to three years in prison for trafficking eagle feathers, wings and tails… Harvey Hugs, 59, of Hardin, Montana, was sentenced Monday in Rapid City. He was found guilty in February of three counts of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Rapid City Journal reported."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/were-building-things-based-on-a-climate-we-no-longer-live-in/">"A report published Monday morning by the nonprofit First Street Foundation warns that new infrastructure projects built today using Atlas 14 data 'are instantly decades out of date.'… As a result, the projects are 'unable to adequately protect against current and future flood risks from heavy precipitation events,' the report says."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/labgrown-chicken-cultivated-meat-863e7d68c8c4a5293683a7c5d6a58d15">"In January, I traveled to the Upside Foods manufacturing plant in Emeryville, California. There, chef Jess Weaver sauteed a cultivated chicken breast in a white wine butter sauce with tomatoes, capers and green onions… The aroma was enticing, just like any filet cooked in butter would be. And the taste was light and delicate with a tender texture, just like any chicken breast I’d make at home – if, that is, I were a chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America."</a> Here's the thing about stuff like this, if we're going to make things artificially, why the hell don't we emulate the good things that used to be? Like flooring, why emulate 4" boards instead of 10" and 12" floorboards. Decking emulates 6" planks, why not 10" planks, like we had. So why make lab grown chicken taste like modern chicken and not real chicken, flavorful, moist, meat that takes years to develop instead of emulating the chicken we kill at 6 weeks which is bland?<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/26/1184390543/intermittent-fasting-effective-weight-loss">"Intermittent fasting has taken off in popularity in recent years as an alternative to more traditional weight loss advice, including counting calories, which can be cumbersome and hard to sustain for some people… Intermittent fasting can take different forms. One approach — called time-restricted eating — limits when people eat to a specific window of time, often around six to eight hours."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/19/diary-woman-fled-texas-for-abortion">"I spoke with the genetic counselor from my OB’s office. There’s no good news. It just gets worse. Every day he continues to develop, he puts myself and his twin at greater risk for complications. She can’t say much because of the new Texas laws. She said that when she was in New York, they would do a single twin reduction (ie, an abortion of one twin), but she couldn’t give me any more information."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1182865322/google-abortion-clinic-search-results-anti-abortion">"When people are looking for abortion services, they often turn to Google, searching a phrase like 'abortion clinic near me' or 'planned parenthood.'… Yet the ads they'll see at the top of the Google search results are often not abortion providers at all, but instead misleading ads for anti-abortion 'crisis pregnancy centers' — facilities that use various tactics to dissuade or delay pregnant people from getting an abortion."</a> The combined result of enshittification and the wrongful decision linking money to free speech.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1183570525/paid-family-leave-teachers-summer-babies">"In many places, that leaves a teacher who wants to have a baby with few options: take limited unpaid leave, save up sick leave, hope for colleagues to share their sick leave, pay for their own substitute teacher, or try to time the birth for summer break."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.kcur.org/2023-06-26/kobach-says-trans-kansans-ids-will-be-changed-back-to-their-sex-assigned-at-birth">"Transgender Kansans who legally changed the gender on their drivers’ licenses or birth certificates will soon see them changed back by the state, Attorney General Kris Kobach said… Kobach said Monday that an expansive new Kansas law defining male and female according to a person’s biological characteristics requires state agencies to maintain records in line with a person’s sex assigned at birth."</a> What a bunch of bullshit.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/28/1184544944/tcm-turner-classic-movies-david-zaslav">"When the dismissal was announced recently of most of the people who have guided Turner Classic Movies brilliantly for years — the programmers, the producers of special material, even the executives who plan the TCM film festivals and party cruises — many people in Hollywood reacted like there'd been a death in the family. Because, to people who really love movies, that's what the news felt like."</a> Fuck. Enshittification before they become a widely available streaming service.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/03/i-spot-brand-new-tvs-here-to-be-shredded-the-truth-about-our-electronic-waste">"Waste electrical and electronic equipment (better known by its unfortunate acronym, Weee) is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Electronic waste amounted to 53.6m tonnes in 2019, a figure growing at about 2% a year. Consider: in 2021, tech companies sold an estimated 1.43bn smartphones, 341m computers, 210m TVs and 548m pairs of headphones. And that’s ignoring the millions of consoles, sex toys, electric scooters and other battery-powered devices we buy every year. Most are not disposed of but live on in perpetuity, tucked away, forgotten, like the old iPhones and headphones in my kitchen drawer, kept 'just in case'. As the head of MusicMagpie, a UK secondhand retail and refurbishing service, tells me: 'Our biggest competitor is apathy.'"</a> Including corporations sipping the middle-man (consumer) and just destroying products newly made.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/churches-europe-religion-reuse-hotel-belgium-d137b114ea729fc514f704676b981237">"Across Europe, the continent that nurtured Christianity for most of two millennia, churches, convents and chapels stand empty and increasingly derelict as faith and church attendance shriveled over the past half century."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184390064/putin-speech-prigozhin-wagner-group-deal">"In his first address since a group of rebellious mercenaries marched toward Moscow over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country had united in opposition to the uprising… In a brief five-minute speech, Putin seemed to reaffirm a deal he agreed on to end the conflict, which resulted in Wagner Group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin being exiled to Belarus."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-crackdown-opposition-ukraine-war-1507e9000a06ff08d9725a84f4520a0c">"Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed rebellion against the Russian military — and walked free. Others who merely voiced criticism against the Kremlin weren’t so lucky."</a> Yeah if I were Yevgeny Prigozhin, I'd stay away from windows, accepting tea, or touching a door knob.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184269979/australia-last-refugee-on-nauru">"The Australian government has evacuated the last refugee it was holding on Nauru, ushering in the end of its 11-year controversial off-shore detention processing policy on that Pacific island nation."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hungary-sweden-nato-vote-finland-turkey-65809a5f0e660ae91400e9ff3a8e3092">"Hungary’s parliament postponed ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession bid on Wednesday to its autumn legislative session."</a> Hungary, always wanting to be the turd in the punch bowl.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-mall-shooting-police-body-camera-3c8660813ebb9b5346b7f779fb5218fe">"Police released video footage on Wednesday of an officer killing a neo-Nazi gunman, quickly ending a mass shooting that left eight people dead and seven others wounded at a Dallas-area shopping mall."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/27/1184455537/a-man-is-fatally-shot-in-a-new-mexico-movie-theater-over-a-seat-dispute">"An argument over seating at an Albuquerque movie theater escalated into a shooting that left a man dead and sent frightened filmgoers scrambling to flee, police said Monday."</a> That "polite society" I'm always hearing about.<br><br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-state-legislatures-elections-voting-2024-eceb157b3e4f6628beec26a70d9aeaed">"The U.S. Supreme Court shot down a controversial legal theory that could have changed the way elections are run across the country but left the door open to more limited challenges that could increase its role in deciding voting disputes during the 2024 presidential election."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1183781580/supreme-court-dress-code">"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case challenging a skirts-only dress code for girls at a North Carolina charter school, letting stand a lower court ruling that the school's dress code violated federal law."</a> <br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185204304/affirmative-action-work-programs-supreme-court">"The Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday that effectively ends affirmative action in higher education raises questions about the future of employer-run initiatives and programs that consider race — which exist extensively across the United States."</a><br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184053690/chinese-owned-farmland-united-states">"Although Chinese-owned land is a tiny fraction of all foreign-owned land in the U.S., its purchases have raised fears that the Chinese government could have control, through the Chinese corporations, over U.S. assets or gain access to U.S.-based information. Indeed, during the past four decades, Chinese companies and investors have bought up land in the U.S. as well as purchased major food companies like Smithfield Foods, the United States' largest pork processor. Corporations own the majority of that land. Now legislation in Congress would restrict Chinese ownership of U.S. land."</a> Just because it's small doesn't mean we can't all freak the fuck out now. Beat the Christmas rush as it were. Wait until their hear about what Saudi Arabia has been doing.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1182121291/colorado-supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-decision">"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 long ideological lines that the First Amendment bars Colorado from 'forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees.'"</a> There's a hellalotta problems with this case, including that Ms Smith has no standing. <A href="https://coloradosun.com/2022/11/13/lorie-smith-colorado-supreme-court-case/">"Though Smith hasn’t yet expanded to her services to include wedding websites with her company, 303 Creative, she said she’s dreamed about doing so since she was a child."</a> The person she states asked her to make a wedding site is not gay, is in a heterosexual marriage, and didn't submit the request until after she filed her lawsuit. And, again, a "graphic designer" is not an "artist."<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185226895/heres-what-happened-when-affirmative-action-ended-at-california-public-colleges">"Here's the upshot: A quarter-century after California banned race-based admissions at public universities, school officials say they haven't been able to meet their diversity and equity goals — despite more than a half billion dollars spent on outreach and alternative admissions standards."</a> Um, NPR, that's not an "upshot." That's just a "result."<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/impeachment-house-censure-schiff-biden-boebert-70a2206fc0c543a307fc3ec63d5287e9">"Driven by the demands of hard-right members, Republicans in the House are threatening impeachment against Biden and his top Cabinet officials, creating a backbeat of chatter about “high crimes and misdemeanors” that is driving legislative action, spurring committee investigations, raking in fundraising money and complicating the plans of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his leadership team."</a> It's all about the money.<br><br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1183453514/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-trial-election">"Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro goes on trial… facing charges that he spread false information about Brazil's election system just months before he lost his reelection bid last October. He's also facing allegations that he abused his power to spread the misstatements."</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-indicted-again">"On Tuesday, former president Trump was arraigned following his federal indictment. On this week’s On the Media, debunking claims that the former president is being targeted for his politics. Plus, one reporter’s cross-country examination of fascism in the United States."</a> On the media podcast coverage of the events and politics around the case along with both the political mood of the nation and the stories we tell ourselves.<br><br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/250th-anniversary-us-july-4-celebration-semiquincentennial-e35a3f57b952663f60056c24d0e6a7f0">"The country is headed toward the anniversary date as it remains riven politically, its citizens divided over how to view the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and whether President Joe Biden was legitimately elected. Even decisions on where to shop or what beer to drink have been caught up in political fighting."</a><br><br>
How do you say "waaa" but you're rich? <A href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-trial-columnist-carroll-9a74506469da3b408b5a7f2ba4936254">"Former President Donald Trump is trying to turn the tables on the advice columnist who won a $5 million jury award against him in a sexual abuse lawsuit, saying in a countersuit that she owes him money and a retraction for continuing to insist she was raped even after a jury declined to agree."</a><br><br>
Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19111384.post-20849203984508543082023-06-26T10:56:00.001-04:002023-06-26T10:56:02.463-04:00Linkee-poo June 26, the much delayed editionSorry, way too much happening and my time is being pulled in many directions. I think part of it also has to do with the resurfacing of That Fucking Guy in the news.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/584849772/pat-robertson-dies-televangelist-and-a-leader-of-the-religious-right">Crazy Uncle Pat is gone?</a> Well, Hallelujah. While most deaths are at the very least regrettable, some are occasions for joy. If you think that's harsh, Pat should have emulated God's incarnation on Earth while he was alive. Instead he choose to use the Bible as a cudgel while engaging in every venal sin in an attempt to glorify himself. By his own standards he did wrong, and any minimal grace and compassion he had was vastly overshadowed by his cruelty, hate, and greed for worldly dominion and lucre.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180774279/george-winston-new-age-pianist-obituary">George Winston,</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/berlusconi-funeral-italy-politics-45a874e8736a40aa36050baab505142f">Silvio Berllusconi,</a> and so it goes.<br><Br>
Enter your zip code in this <A href="https://maps.dot.gov/BTS/NationalTransportationNoiseMap/">US Noise Level Map</a> to see how much noise stress you live with. (Grokked from Chang)<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/22/1183661199/sub-titan-titanic-missing-search">"All five passengers aboard the missing Titan submersible have died following a 'catastrophic implosion of the vessel,' the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday."</a> And then there's this, "When asked about the likelihood of recovering the bodies, Mauger said he does not have an answer and noted the 'incredibly unforgiving environment' of the sea floor." There are no bodies to recover. This isn't a conspiracy statement, this is physics from a small chamber going from 1 atmosphere to 398 in less than a second. Most likely there won't even be a grease stain on the metal. The people inside the Titan were dead before they could even process that something was wrong. And while there is some debate over when you die do you still have enough brain function to know you're dead, but in this case it's a moot question. It's quite possible the air inside the chamber became plasma because of the compression. Even if it didn't, the pressure at that depth, and the sudden change, would have literally ripped the cells of the passengers apart. Within that second there wouldn't even be a braincell left intact.<br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-lithium-mining-nevada-climate-change-018e9f36f82bcddff574deb1a0a2c6f2">"An ancient Nevada lakebed beckons as a vast source of the coveted element needed to produce cleaner electric energy and fight global warming. But NASA says the same site — flat as a tabletop and undisturbed like none other in the Western Hemisphere — is indispensable for calibrating the razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead."</a> Prospectors out in the field, "Wow, this is great, and nobody is using this area or lives around here. Woohoo!" Spacesuited astronaut descends on cable from the sky with a bullhorn, "Stop that!"<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/renewable-energy-texas-grid-heat-wave/">"Fortunately, the worst didn’t happen. There are a few reasons why. To reduce demand, many Texans turned up the thermostat by a few degrees to help save power, and ERCOT’s emergency response program paid some large energy customers to scale back usage during peak times. And significantly, solar power, which has been the star of the Texas grid so far during this interminable summer, continued to set records for energy production. If your air conditioner has been steadily running all summer long, you can thank the mighty power of the sun."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-lubbock-texas-matador-deaths-7ed9a7643a2401a1875db132597fbc0b?taid=6494691cb5f17200018cd676&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter">"A line of severe storms produced what a meteorologist calls a rare combination of multiple tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail in west Texas, killing at least four people, injuring nine and causing significant damage around the town of Matador, a meteorologist said Thursday."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/peru-mummy-archeologists-7b3da6834655848e860dcf982ef5bd8c">"Archeologists have found a pre-Hispanic mummy surrounded by coca leaves on top of a hill in Peru’s capital next to the practice field of a professional soccer club."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1181827077/va-hospitals-health-care">"A nationwide Medicare survey released Wednesday found that veterans rated Veterans Affairs hospitals higher than private health care facilities in all 10 categories of patient satisfaction."</A> I think they're taking the wrong lesson from this. It's not that VA care has gotten so much better from when it was rated far below probate care, it's that private care quality has gone in the toilet.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/illinois-hospital-links-closure-ransomware-attack-rcna85983">"An Illinois hospital will shutter its doors this week in part because of a devastating cyberattack, which experts say makes it the first hospital to publicly link criminal hackers to its closure."</a> Well, somewhat.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/on-the-media-understanding-greedflation">"In late 2021, Isabella Weber, an economist at University of Massachusetts, Amherst published a paper with a new idea. The theory, what she called 'seller's inflation,' sought to address the confounding fact that the economy was seeing rising high prices and skyrocketing corporate profits. The idea quickly moved from the halls of academia to the political arena. And quicker still, it was dismissed—at one point called a 'conspiracy theory.' But now, in 2023, 'greedflation' is popping up across headlines. This week, (On the Media) correspondent Micah Loewinger sits down with Lydia DePillis, a reporter on the business desk at The New York Times, to talk about her 2022 article dissecting the arguments for and against greedflation’s impact on the economy, and everything that's happened since."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-fraud-waste-billions-small-business-labor-fb1d9a9eb24857efbe4611344311ae78">"All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history, with thieves plundering billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief aid intended to combat the worst pandemic in a century and to stabilize an economy in free fall."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked">"The really remarkable thing isn't just that Microsoft has decided that the future of search isn't links to relevant materials, but instead lengthy, florid paragraphs written by a chatbot who happens to be a habitual liar – even more remarkable is that Google agrees."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183470389/ftc-sues-amazon-over-prime">"Federal regulators have sued Amazon, alleging the company for years "tricked" people into buying Prime memberships that were purposefully hard to cancel."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-foreign-adoptions-investigation-e7b826ee4a54d3680fec8b64f07da951">"South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Thursday it will investigate 237 more cases of South Korean adoptees who suspect their family origins were manipulated to facilitate their adoptions in Europe and the United States."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-tank-leopard-blew-up-tractor-2824d17105d3cfb875a5306acd2c9089">"A grainy black-and-white gunsight video Russia released this week to bolster a claim its military blew up some of Ukraine’s most fearsome tanks actually documented the destruction of a tractor, according to a visual analysis by The Associated Press."</a> Glory to the Motherland.<br><Br>
<A href="https://news.yahoo.com/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-vladimir-putin-181321132.html">"A deal struck Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group mercenary army that had advanced to the outskirts of Moscow late Saturday, ended what many saw as a coup attempt. Under the terms of the deal, Prigozhin agreed to call off a military assault on the Russian capital, withdraw forces from the captured city of Rostov-on-Don and leave Russia for Belarus."</A> Stay safe, my Russian friends.<br><Br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-morale-7cd580835746a4d0c66edf662e4faa20">"The armed rebellion against the Russian military may have been over in less than 24 hours, but the disarray within the enemy’s ranks was an unexpected gift and timely morale booster for Ukrainian troops."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180646146/florida-immigration-law-sb-1718-republican-lawmakers">"Florida Republicans who voted to pass the state's imminent anti-immigration law are trying to curb a potentially disastrous mass exodus of undocumented residents by touting the legislation's many 'loopholes.'"</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/extremism-disinformation/2023/06/07/what-ties-violent-extremists-together-military-service-study-says/">"Domestic extremists who plot or commit mass killings often share characteristics, like mental health problems and criminal histories. But the most common thread is a record of military service, according to new analysis of three decades of attacks inside the U.S."</a> Funny, that.<br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183045605/black-army-soldiers-england-wwii-battle">"The Battle of Bamber Bridge — which took place 80 years ago this weekend, on June 24-25, 1943 — was a precursor to battles that would unfold on American streets for decades to come, during the Civil Rights era. It horrified the mostly white local villagers, who were unaccustomed to segregation and had befriended their Black guests. But because of wartime censorship, the battle was virtually unknown outside the tiny English village where it happened."</a> The history they don't want you to know.<br><Br>
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/republicans-are-spending-millions-turnout-operations-are-deeply-flawed-rcna74920">"A few weeks before last fall’s midterm elections, a paid canvasser in Nevada did what thousands of door-knockers across the country were doing: They went on an app and marked off the homes they had visited that day… There was just one problem. This canvasser never went anywhere near those homes in a neighborhood in south Las Vegas. They were 8 miles away, sitting inside Caesars Palace casino, according to geotracking data obtained by NBC News."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/08/1181002182/supreme-court-voting-rights">"The court said that in Alabama, a state where there are seven congressional seats and one in four voters is black, the Republican-dominated state legislature had denied African American voters a reasonable chance to elect a second representative of their choice."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-outlaws-book-bans-libraries/">"Illinois became the first state in the U.S. to outlaw book bans, after Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed legislation that would cut off state funding for any Illinois library that tries to ban books, CBS Chicago reports… The new law comes as predominantly Republican-led states continue to restrict books some consider offensive in schools and libraries across the country."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/ohio-s-j-r-2-ballot-language-challenge/">"The petition filed against Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) and the Ohio Ballot Board alleges that the defendants used 'inaccurate, incomplete ballot language that improperly favor the Amendment in flagrant violation Ohio’s Constitution and laws and this Court’s jurisprudence.' The petitioners also argue that the amendment’s title 'is not impartial and will create prejudice in favor of the Amendment.'"</a> If you live in Ohio, and are registered, don't forget to vote to save our democracy on <A href="https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/05/16/save-the-date-ohios-aug-8-election-puts-nearly-175-years-of-majority-voter-authority-on-the-line/">Aug 8.</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/live-updates/trump-indictment-documents-grand-jury">"The indictment unsealed early Friday afternoon shows that a grand jury indicted Trump on 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and making false statements."</a><br><Br>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">"Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map, according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning portrait of the former president’s treatment of national security information."</a><br><Br>
<A href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183564794/schiff-censure-house-republicans">"The House of Representatives has voted to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for his past actions while chair of the House Intelligence Committee in leading investigations into then-President Donald Trump."</a><br><Br>Steve Buchheithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.com0