Godnapping in the ancient Near East. Well, okay then. (Grokked from Dr Caitlin Green)
John E. McIntyre's trigger warning for his editing class. One, okay, that's not what "trigger warning" means. Two, yeah, I think I need that class. Three, remind me to tell you the classic etching class story (pre class: buy two copper plates and a set of etching tools. first day you're instructed to make the deepest and longest gouge you can in one of the plates. second day you are to polish out that gouge. third day, after more than half the class drops the class, turn the first plate's gouged side down and the instructor begins to teach you how to properly etch a plate). (Grokked from Wesley Chu)
As your antidote to the political linkage, a rescue cat see its first red laser dot ever. Or, to comp another meme, find someone who views you the way this cat view that dot. I expect 100 lolcat captioned photos by the weekend.
Fifteen photos from Nat Geos' nature photographer of the year contest. (Grokked from Dan)
"The (new) map (of the Milky Way), based on observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia probe, still only represents about 1% of the Milky Way’s stars, but is already 20 times more complete than any previous observations of the night sky." (Grokked from Deborah Beale)
MacSweeney's question, did you have a child or have you just been followed home by a hyena? I don't have kids, but I've heard stories. (Grokked from John)
To stop school shootings, let's let the teachers come to school armed. What could possibly go wrong? Moar guns is never the answer, unless you're running a buy-back program.
Back in the early troll wars, there was a recurring meme about how no-one in the US goes hungry. And while it's true there aren't villages of Kwashiorkor babies, it's bullshit to think hunger isn't a driving force in this country. "The subjects reported that they and their friends and family members routinely resorted to selling sex (for girls) and committing petty theft and selling drugs (for boys and girls) in order to get enough to eat; they also reported hoarding their school meals to eat at bedtime in order to stave off sleep-disrupting hunger; as well as skipping meals so that their younger siblings could get enough to eat." That's 6.8 million teens and tweens living in hunger (often called "food insecurity" in the US). And while this is also a byproduct of the Bill Clinton presidency (like mass incarceration), please note there are many calls that "welfare" in this country is still too much and is rife with fraud, and there is a party calling to end even this meager programs that are shells of their former selves.
"The discovery this month in Nunavut of HMS Terror, the second ship of Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition, is adding fuel to a disagreement over who – Canada, the local Inuit organizations or Britain – controls the artifacts from the shipwrecks." Fight fight fight fight. (Grokked from Ann Leckie)
The questions surrounding long term pot usage and how it affects the brain. Lots of moving goal posts there, not to mention echoes of Reefer Madness.
The Russians are at it again. And the "it" is hacking, and "again" is the World Anti-Doping Agency. (Grokked from Dan)
Well, thanks to Boko Haram's campaign (which mirrors ISIL, al Qaeda, and Taliban beliefs) against vaccination polio has a toehold in Nigeria.
"A national campaign to rewrite state laws and allow businesses to decide how to care for their injured workers suffered a significant setback Tuesday when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma's version of the law is unconstitutional." If upheld (and considerings they are individual state laws, it seems less likely that SCOTUS would hear an appeal) that would be a fantastic check against the rise of corporatism.
"Dr Ryabov said it was now beyond doubt that dolphins speak their own language and it is time to start studying how to communicate directly with them." Well, first, it's hard to compare brains between species (we've been trying that ever since mankind figured out that's where all the thinking stuff goes on). And the more we learn about brain physiology, the harder those comparisons get (that doesn't stop us, it's just easier to see it as bullshit). And we've sorta known this for a long time (including the fact that dolphins have individual names), but seeing that there is a structure in their language is the first step. Note for us SF writing types, here's why interspecies communications would be so damn hard (and is usually handled by handwaveium alien technology or everybody in the universe speaking English). (Grokked from Ken McConnell)
"'And here come the gap plans.'" Obamacare, the increase in deductibles, and the (re)rise of "gap insurance" to cover those costs. Also note, that the example person in the story went and got insurance on her own with a huge deductible, and it cost her more than her plan from Obamacare that covers more and has a much smaller deductible. Funny that. Also, "For people who are intimidated, overwhelmed or find the whole process of choosing a plan unmanageable, there are dozens of free health insurance navigators in each state — people you can talk to who will help you choose your coverage (also a part of Obamacare). It's something (the person profiled) wishes she had known about when she started searching for a plan."
"I think some of it is that you have people that have been used to doing things on public lands for many, many years, generational perhaps, but that doesn't necessarily make it right,' (Bureau of Land Management Ranger Shane) Nalen says."
"Indeed, what Breitbart understood, what his spiritual heir Donald Trump has banked on, what Hillary Clinton’s recent pillorying has clarified, is that white grievance, no matter how ill-founded, can never be humiliating nor disqualifying. On the contrary, it is a right to be respected at every level of American society from the beer-hall to the penthouse to the newsroom." Ta-Nehisi Coates on the "basket of deplorables" reporting. (Grokked from someone, sorry lost the link)
"That hasn’t stopped GOP lawmakers, online commentators and a Veterans for Trump co-chair from calling for Clinton's execution. A West Virginia lawmaker said Clinton should be 'hung on the mall' for 'treason, murder, and crimes against the U.S. Constitution,' while Trump adviser Al Baldasaro said she should be 'shot in a firing squad.'" And now Trumpster supporters are hanging her in effigy.
"Moments after Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, sidestepped questions about the GOP nominee’s health in an interview, saying he has a 'right to privacy,' she slammed Hillary Clinton for allowing secrecy about her health to overshadow the anniversary of 9/11." It's not often the double standard shares the same sentence.
The "basket of deplorables." "Police say they arrested five people at Trump's Monday night rally in Asheville, and as of publishing have warrants out for two more people… for assault on a female… That female is 69-year-old Shirley Teeter." On the positive side (if you can call it that), I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about these kinds of actions by Trumpster supporters (and that might wake up some people). (Grokked from Fred Clark)
In what comes as no great surprise, the Trumpster won't release his medical records or discuss his recent physical when he tapes a show with Dr. Oz. So, if the report about his physical isn't released this Friday in the media dump (where most politicians release information they hope nobody pays any attention to), serious questions need to be asked. If I were a dick, I'd mention how he rode an escalator to the stage to announce his candidacy. (Grokked from Dan)
Tweet of my heart: @JoshMarvine "The iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack but the Galaxy literally explodes" is a perfect metaphor for this election. (Grokked from Lisa N Morton)
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