I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Friday, December 7, 2018

Linkee-poo closes out the week

Still alligators up to the armpits.

"Damian Collins chairs the UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee; it was he who ordered the Parliamentary Serjeant at Arms to drag a visiting US tech executive named Ted Kramer out of his hotel to surrender his laptop to Parliament so they could see the internal Facebook documents that a US federal judge had ordered sealed." Rhut rho. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"On Wednesday, 24 Amazon employees working in a Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, warehouse were sent to five different area hospitals after a 9oz canister of bear spray was deployed… Early reports that the canister was punctured by an Amazon robot have not been confirmed by either Amazon or the Township's communication official… Robbinsville first responders only reported that an 'automated machine' was to blame, which could mean anything from a programmed robotic arm to an automated conveyor belt." Skynet strikes again. (Grokked from John)

"The study, published Thursday in the scientific journal Nature, found that Greenland's ice loss accelerated rapidly in the past two decades after remaining relatively stable since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s." We're boned.

"Extreme global warming that left ocean animals unable to breathe triggered Earth’s biggest ever mass extinction, according to new research… Around 95 per cent of marine species and 70 per cent of life on land was wiped out in the event often referred to as “The Great Dying”, which struck 252 million years ago."

"A study published last week in Global Change Biology warns that without the snowpack, maple trees are projected to grow about 40 percent slower. As climate change reduces the amount of deep snow in New England, the study says this spells trouble for the trees — and for humans — as the trees not only give us syrup, but also eat up a chunk of carbon pollution." Well fuckstockings. Also please note that the snowpack is what really recharges aquifers.

"The Trump administration took aim at two Obama-era environmental policies on Thursday to boost the oil and coal industries, proposing to open up a bird’s wildlife habitat to drilling and mining and remove hurdles to new coal-fired power plant construction."

How goes the Trade Wars? "The U.S. trade deficit rose nearly $1 billion in October, reaching the highest level in a decade as imports outpaced declining exports, according to federal data released Thursday." (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"Influential state media linked to China's ruling Communist Party on Friday described Washington as a 'despicable rogue' attempting to 'stifle' China's global rise by arranging for the arrest of a top executive at one of its major technology firms."

"The jobless rate remained at a nearly 50-year low of 3.7 percent in November as employers added 155,000 jobs, fewer than in October and less than expected by private analysts… In October, employers added a revised 237,000 workers — down from the 250,000 originally reported. September's job growth was revised up slightly to a gain of 119,000."

How goes Brexit? "A no-deal Brexit could see charter planes used to fly in drugs to prop up the NHS and medicines given priority access through gridlocked ports, health secretary Matt Hancock has said… The minister also revealed the government was consulting on plans for chemists to ration medication so that patients can retain access to vital treatments in the event of shortages caused by the UK’s withdrawal." Can't wait to see American conservatives use this as a "see what you get with socialized medicine?" When it has more to do with conservative politics driving the Brexit. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig in a roundabout way)

"Police have given the all-clear after a phoned in bomb threat forced the evacuation of CNN’s offices in New York." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"The outgoing chair of the California GOP — the nation’s largest state Republican Party — has issued a dire warning that his state represents 'the canary in the coal mine' for the party‘s national fortunes unless it confronts demographic shifts that have already turned California into a majority-minority state." Maybe not being, supporting, and running racist and misogynist assholes might help. But then you'd have to jettison the Social Conservatives and relegate your party to a 3rd party status. Looking at the 3 candidates running to replace him, there is no hope of that happening. All are embracing the "we just need to be more 'conservative'" to win. Clapping harder to bring TinkerBell back.

"A woman who has worked for years as a maid at President Trump’s New Jersey golf club is an undocumented immigrant, The New York Times reported Thursday." Because of course you had to know there was at least one. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"From Fox & Friends to the State Department, and now likely to the United Nations… President Trump is expected to announce Friday that he has chosen Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman and a former Fox News host, to become the next ambassador to the U.N., a senior administration official tells NPR's Tamara Keith." What could go wrong?

"Nancy MacLean, author of an intellectual biography of James McGill Buchanan, explains how this little-known libertarian’s work is influencing modern-day politics." You may have thought I was shooting from the hip when I said conservative leaders realized they were on the way to the minority (actually, they are already) and so have been tilting the field to hold power as long as possible (including packing the judiciary). (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"The double-jeopardy clause of the Constitution says a person can't be prosecuted twice for the same crime… But, in fact, for 170 years, the Supreme Court has said that separate sovereigns — state and federal governments — can do just that, because each sovereign government has separate laws and interests." And what that means for the Mueller investigation and the prospect of presidential pardons.

No comments: