Linkee-poo can sit around and wait for the phone to ring

"'These new discoveries tell us that dinosaurs were much more adaptable and creative in attaining huge size than we used to think, which I think means that there are even bigger and weirder dinosaurs out there remaining to be found,' Brusatte said."

"By grinding up pieces of marine shale, a team of researchers from the Australian National University has discovered the oldest known colors produced by living things. The pigments, which are 1.1. billion years old, once belonged to cyanobacteria, and were used in photosynthesis."

"Archaeological digs around ancient Egyptian sites still have plenty of secrets to give up yet – like the huge, black granite sarcophagus just discovered at an excavation in the city of Alexandria, on the northern coast of Egypt." I've seen this movie, cover it back up, pour cement over it, salt the earth around it, pretend like it wasn't even there. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

Or, you know, given the current political landscape, go ahead. Open that fucker up. Can't be that much worse.

"'We can only recommend that residents avoid entering brackish waters, especially if they have are immunocompromised or have open wounds or sores on their body,' Hetzell highlighted. Brackish water is the combination of fresh and seawater often found in the area where rivers meet the sea."

Why do we need to protect clean sources of water? "In response to a survey sent out by health officials, at least 548 people reported gastrointestinal illness after visiting CLIMB Works in Gatlinburg, Tennessee since June 15. That number is likely a low estimate."

"But for many people with disabilities, going without plastic straws isn't a question of how much they care about dolphins or sea turtles; it can be a matter of life or death." Here's the thing, you can still have plastic straws, just don't give them to everybody. It's sort of like when there's a water shortage, some restaurants go to serving water only when a customer asks. I personally hate the straws in most drinks I get, but really like them for things like shakes. You don't need to serve me a straw when I order water or tea. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have then in case a customer needs one. When I worked in fast food we had people order food with no-salt (burgers and fries), and we accommodated them. It seems pretty easy to solve this, it just requires people to pay attention.

"In a statement, the company confirmed the conversation, calling it extensive. Pfizer said it will return prices on dozens of the company's drugs to where they were before July 1 'as soon as technically possible.'" But no word on how long that will last, they already had raised prices and aren't rolling those back (only the ones schedule for this month) and (whispers) other than increased profits, bonuses, and shareholder payments there's no real reason to raise prices in the first place. Note increases in Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share (EPS) (ie. profits paid out to shareholders).

"Does your doctor’s mental health and well-being affect the care you receive? A new study says yes -- burnout, fatigue and depression may affect major medical errors." And then there is this, "Systems issues include 'inefficiencies of the electronic health record, complexities of documentation requirements mandated by CMS, and responsibility placed on the physician to complete tasks that are better achieved by team-based care,' Ripp said." Inefficiencies is putting it mildly. Just for me to do my work requires me to run 5 pieces of software, competently, including adding specific coding to exams for billing purposes, checking codes for accuracy along with a bunch of other fuckery and that's even before we get to the software to take x-rays. And to add to the fun, there's a constant level of change in those codes, our procedures, and software upgrades.

"Researchers are now exploring whether some cheap and common drugs have side effects that could help people fight off the flu and other lung infections."

"Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, says many cancer deaths could be averted if these demographic gaps were narrowed. He discussed the future of cancer prevention, screening and treatment, as the American Cancer Society lays out its vision for cancer control in a series of articles that are being published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians starting Tuesday."

"Nelson, who practices internal medicine, is the medical director of the Highland Human Rights Clinic, part of the Alameda County health system. A few times each week, he and his team conduct medical evaluations of people who are seeking asylum in the United State… The doctors listen to the patients' stories. They search for signs of trauma. They scrutinize injuries, including electrocution scars, bullet wounds and unset broken bones."

How go the Trade Wars? "Here's a list of goods whose prices are already up or are expected to rise shortly…"

"The proportion of American workers who quit their jobs in May reached the highest level in 17 years, a sign that more people are confident they can find a new job, probably at higher pay… Businesses advertised fewer jobs in May than the previous month, but the tally of open positions still outnumbered the ranks of the unemployed for the second time in the last two decades, the Labor Department said Tuesday." In a normal economy this would mean increases in pay as companies compete for quality employees. Instead, we have anemic wage growth.

"Now, 10 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia are taking on the issue with an investigation into eight national fast-food chains. At issue are 'noncompete' clauses that limit where employees can work after they leave." Why do fast-food companies need noncompete clauses or no-poach agreements for their rank-and-file employees? Their claim of "training" doesn't wash. It's not like people are getting advanced degrees for this work.

"The NFL had intended for its rule (regarding the National Anthem) to achieve a resolution… But if it was resolution the league was seeking, the move failed." And it failed in a predictable way. Hall of Fame is coming up, guys. Time to get it together.

"A member of a German neo-Nazi gang was jailed for life on Wednesday for her part in the murders of 10 people during a seven-year campaign of racially-motivated violence."

"Two weeks after arriving in the US seeking asylum, E, 23, found herself in a detention cell in San Luis, Arizona, bleeding profusely and begging for help from staff at the facility. She was four months pregnant and felt like she was losing her baby. She had come to the US from El Salvador after finding out she was pregnant, in the hopes of raising her son in a safer home." So much for the vaunted "sanctity of life" stance of the pro-lifers. (Grokked from Fred Clark)

"Several naturalized U.S. citizens in Tennessee have allegedly being told by the state’s online voter registration service that they are not citizens at all and thus have been barred from voting."

"Trump wasted no time, on Wednesday accusing fellow NATO ally Germany of being beholden to Russia because it buys energy from Moscow, in pointed remarks ahead of a summit of the military alliance in Brussels." Projection, it's never pretty.

"President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort asked a federal judge on Tuesday to keep him in a jail about 100 miles from Washington, D.C., after receiving permission earlier in the day to move closer." I wonder if he realized that it wouldn't be the cushy jail (as far as these things go) that he's in now and he may have had to share a toilet with someone.