Linkee-poo won't back down

"Yahoo on Tuesday said that all 3 billion of its accounts were hacked in a 2013 data theft, tripling its earlier estimate of the size of the largest breach in history, in a disclosure that attorneys said sharply increased the legal exposure of its new owner, Verizon Communications Inc." Oopsie.

In a poorly timed release, "The tomb belonging to Saint Nicholas – the original Santa Claus – may have just been discovered underneath an ancient church in Demre in southern Turkey, according to archaeologists." Put that on your Advent Calendar!

Black and green tea may aid weight loss by altering you intestinal micro biome.

"Democrats lashed out at the National Rifle Association after the worst mass shooting in American history on Monday, but instead of fighting back the gun rights group retreated to a familiar posture: silence… The NRA’s website, Twitter feed and Facebook page — all of which are typically updated frequently throughout the day —went dark on Monday, posting no new content, and the group did not respond to several calls and emails seeking comment." Because they know they can't win the argument when a massive shooting happens.

"Reporters from Splinter News used the (FOIA) to get logs of these calls (to the ICE's "Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE)" 800 number)… What they found is a ghastly assortment of people secretly trying to get rid of their husbands' mistresses, their wives' children from earlier marriages, and their in-laws, as well as lots of petty grievances and score-settling. Then there was the charming gentleman who was trying to get his wife deported because she'd brought charges against her for beating her up." Who would have thought that could happen.

"We already knew that (Rep. Tim Murphy) had engaged in an extramarital affair, after it came out in his mistress's divorce records. But things got much worse for Murphy on Tuesday: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that text messages indicate he told his mistress to get an abortion when they had a pregnancy scare… That's especially problematic because Murphy is supposed to be an antiabortion congressman. He's got nearly a flawless voting record, as far as groups like the Family Research Council are concerned." He sounds nice. "If there's any consolation for Murphy, it's that he wouldn't be the only House Republican to be pro-choice for himself and pro-life for everyone else. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) remains in Congress four years after it was revealed that he had asked both his ex-wife and reportedly a mistress to obtain abortions." Wonderful people in that party. But this is just a reminder that abortion was always available (even if it was illegal) before Roe v Wade, if you were rich enough.

To wit, "Dr. Graham Chelius has delivered hundreds of babies. But when a woman comes into his family medicine practice in Waimea, Hawaii, seeking an abortion, he can only advise her to buy a plane ticket."

"Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was reprimanded for breaking a federal law that prohibits members of the executive branch from engaging in some forms of political activity."

Fortune magazine/website, "Warren Barks up the Wrong Tree" for criticizing Wells Fargo CEO. Well, besides being wrong on this (as CEO he is responsible for the actions of his company, that's why he got paid the big bucks), but "barks"? Dear Fortune, please feel free to fuck off and die you misogynist, retrograde, enabling piece of crap. Also, yes, he started the incentive program which included firings for failure to meet arbitrary goals. He created the atmosphere which allowed the behavior, he looked the other way when confronted with the data that showed what was going on. Tim Sloan is directly responsible, and as CEO is fully responsible. I know all you people with your MBAs have forgotten that, or would like to ignore it. But when you're in charge, you are responsible for the actions of the people who report to you.

"Looking at a set of industrialized countries from the 1970s until the years preceding the financial crisis, the economists found no meaningful correlation between cuts in top tax rates and economic growth. Big tax cutters like the United States did not grow faster than countries like Denmark, which kept taxes high. What did respond to lower taxes was inequality: The income share of the top 1 percent grew much more sharply among big tax cutters like the United States than in countries like France or Germany, where top tax rates changed little." Yeah, my face is going to stick like this (in my "shocked" face position) for a while. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"The IRS will pay Equifax $7.25 million to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent fraud under a no-bid contract issued last week, even as lawmakers lash the embattled company about a massive security breach that exposed personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans." I'm sure they'll do fine. (Grokked from Maureen Johnson)

"Two of President Trump's adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, were very close to being indicted in 2012 on accusations they misled prospective buyers about units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was hurting for buyers." There were only a few campaign contributions made. Insert standard joke about my shocked face.

Things just aren't the same here on Walton's Mountain. "Pence has since spoken to Tillerson about being respectful of the president in meetings and in public, urging that any disagreements be sorted out privately, a White House official said. The official said progress has since been made… Yet the disputes have not abated. This weekend, tensions spilled out into the open once again when the president seemed to publicly chide Tillerson on his handling of the crisis with North Korea."

"But Trump’s focus was on the 'unbelievable' and 'incredible' job that his administration has done so far. He repeatedly played down the destruction to the island, telling local officials they should feel 'very proud' they ­haven’t lost hundreds of lives like in 'a real catastrophe' like Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005. But he also complained that the small territory’s disaster threw the nation’s budget 'a little out of whack.'… At one brief stop at a church, Trump told the gathering that they no longer needed flashlights, and he tossed rolls of paper towels into the crowd as if they were basketballs…" I guess the t-shirt cannon was still on the fritz. Also just a comment about "wiping away" PR's debt, most of that debt is held by the citizens of Puerto Rico (only something like 20% is held by institutional investors). So when they start talking about a "haircut", understand whose hair is going to be cut. And then he just kept digging that hole. "As he finished talking with one family, he told them: 'Have a good time.'"

Why do people commit mass murder? Well it could be because the media glorifies them (video report from BBC4 focused on a mass shooting in Germany in 2010). (Grokked from Shiela)