"Go for a walk in a Danish forest and you may spot a giant troll peeking out from behind a tree, or lounging luxuriously across the ground. These folkloric creatures are made by recycling artist, designer and activist Thomas Dambo, who sculpts the enormous beings from reclaimed wood." (Grokked from Sheila)
"NASA's Opportunity rover begins its 15th year on the surface of Mars today." Oppy, call home.
"Earth's oldest known rock may have been found, in the last place anyone would have thought to look for it: in samples of rock from the Moon, brought back home to Earth by Apollo 14 astronauts in 1971." Actually, IIRC, that was one of the reasons we went to the Moon. Besides sticking it to Russia.
"Health officials near Portland, Oregon, have declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak that's affecting mostly young children."
I am not an investment advisor, you should talk with your own advisors. But I've long held the view that if you're in a 401(k) (or one of the equivalents), the best strategy for me was to pick the lowest cost, broadest index fund available. Why? "In 2006, Warren Buffett bet a million dollars that over ten years, his investment in the most brainless, boring fund would do better than the investment of some of the smartest hedge fund managers in the world… Today on the show, we look at how that bet turned out." This Planet Money first aired in 2016, the bet ended in 2017. Guess who won.
"New York state has enacted strong new legal protections for abortion rights. The new law, signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, safeguards rights laid out in Roe v. Wade and other court rulings, including a provision permitting late-term abortions when a woman's health is endangered, The Associated Press reports. The state's previous law, which had been on the books for nearly 50 years, only permitted abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy if a woman's life was at risk."
"The gunman who took over a Florida bank made the five women inside lie down on the lobby floor before shooting them in the back of their heads — a horrific attack that took just six minutes, police and court documents said Thursday."
"The most comprehensive study done to assess the link between climate change, war and migration has confirmed that the warming planet is fueling conflicts that lead to more refugees." The Pentagon has been warning about this since 2000 (when they published a paper on the defense aspects of global warming). And look at the world, more conflicts and more human migration. It's almost like this Climate Change thing isn't a hoax. I joke. The real problem is the world's rich think they can mitigate the problem by coming up with "(p)olicies to 'improve the adaptive capacity to deal with the effects of climate change in developing economies may have additional returns by reducing the likelihood of conflict and forced migration…'" Yeah, that ship has already sailed, made landfall, and the crew burnt the ship in the harbor. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"James Jackson wanted to kill black people. Specifically, he wanted to kill black men. A lot of them… That's what the white supremacist admitted to in court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to killing Timothy Caughman in a gruesome act of violence he believed would spark a nationwide race war." I wonder where he was radicalized?
Proof that a broken clock occasionally tells the correct time? "President Trump instructed administration officials Wednesday to investigate how to prevent surprise medical bills, broadening his focus on drug prices to include other issues of price transparency in health care." But then there's this. "'The pricing is hurting patients, and we've stopped a lot of it, but we're going to stop all of it,' Trump said during a roundtable discussion when reporters were briefly allowed into the otherwise closed-door meeting." Dear Mr. President, you haven't stopped shit.
"Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook's ad model: 'We don't sell people's data'." Sure, Mark. We believe you.
How goes Brexit? "The Queen has urged people to find 'common ground' and to respect 'different points of view'." Queen yells from the front seat, "Don't make me turn this country around because I will!"
The rich are just like you and I. "How much house do you get for $238 million? Try 24,000 square feet across four stories with 360-degree views through floor-to-ceiling windows, right across the street from New York's Central Park."
"Florida’s top elections official abruptly resigned Thursday after a newspaper obtained pictures of him in blackface dressed as a Hurricane Katrina victim at a 2005 party." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"When Trump FCC Chairman Ajit Pai cheated his way to a repeal of Net Neutrality, he justified allowing ISPs to decide to slow down the services you want to use by saying that doing so would encourage investment in network buildout, saving America from its sad status as one of the most expensive, slowest places to use the internet in the rich world… But after a full year of neutracide, Comcast has made a liar out of Ajit Pai, reducing infrastructure spending by 3% in 2018, according to the company's latest earnings report." Wut? A telecom lie? Whodathunkit. And just a note here, at this point the telecoms should be building out 5G, which is going to be expensive. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Religious conservatives have rarely faced much competition in the political realm from faith-based groups on the left… The provocations of President Trump may finally be changing that." I remember hearing the same things in 2003 and 2007.
"'This is your fault,' Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at one point, according to two Republicans who attended the lunch and witnessed the exchange… 'Are you suggesting I’m enjoying this?' McConnell snapped back, according to the people who attended the lunch." No, but I think you actually are. Here's the thing, Mitch, Trump is going to throw you under the bus at some point. Why carry his water? Be the Majority Leader you wanted to be and do your damn job. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"There's some key economic data that may not get released thanks to the partial government shutdown, which has now become the longest-running one in U.S. history… While the subject matter might sound wonky, these are numbers that have very real consequences for economists, investors and companies. They show us how the economy is doing and can affect the decisions that we make." Seems like every decade or so we need to relearn just how much our government does for us. It's like there's some program of ideology out there that continually masks government from the people and tries to drive a wedge in-between them.
"President Donald Trump on Thursday defended himself against complaints that his negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have yielded few steps toward denuclearization, saying ahead of a potential second summit that he sees 'much potential' for progress." Uh, yeah, Bob.
"As the ongoing partial government shutdown continues, President Trump postponed his State of the Union address originally scheduled for Jan. 29." Fox News is so cute. Look how they spin the story to make believe the President drove the decision like it was his idea and how this is Totally Normal™ with the zinger that Trump is just like Reagan. Can't wait for the president to say, "I totally meant to do that."
"Michael Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis on Thursday called for a criminal investigation into Rudy Giuliani, a member of President Trump's legal team, for alleged witness tampering." Shit is getting real.
"Longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone was arrested in Florida early Friday as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, the day after a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. handed down a seven-count indictment against him." There's another shoe dropped. And most of the evidence against him? His own statements in public. Dumbest criminal conspiracy ever. Notice that Roger Stone has not been offered the chance to cooperate and was not asked to self-surrender. Mueller doesn't need him. Roger will try and make a deal (they all do) and my guess is Mueller will tell him to go to hell. But in nicer language. The longer question will be does Mueller actually need Roger's testimony and this action is mostly a negotiating tactic. So look for actions over the next 2 weeks. My marker is on the spot that Mueller is willing to burn Stone as an example (or because Stone is an asshole). (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
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