"That’s when he saw it, a faint object at a distance 140 times farther from the sun than Earth — the farthest solar system object yet known, some 3.5 times more distant than Pluto. The object, if confirmed, would break his team’s own discovery, announced in December, of a dwarf planet 120 times farther out than Earth, which they nicknamed 'Farout.' For now, they are jokingly calling the new object 'FarFarOut'." I'm not sure I like the direction this naming scheme is leading.
"Israel's non-profit SpaceIL launched its spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral Thursday on board a Falcon 9 rocket, in a bid to become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon."
"Pinterest has stopped returning results for searches related to vaccinations, a drastic step the social-media company said is aimed at curbing the spread of misinformation but one that demonstrates the power of tech companies to censor discussion of hot-button issues." Well, that's one way to solve a problem.
"Ford Motor said on Thursday it has hired outside experts to investigate its vehicle fuel economy and testing procedures after employees raised concerns, and did not know whether it would have to correct data provided to regulators or consumers." Oopsie.
"Now Lighthizer is leading President Trump's negotiations with China for what is shaping up to be the final round of trade talks that could change the destinies of the world's two largest economies." A story about one of Trump's top negotiators on trade. I'll note the new Mexico/Canada/US agreement has been described as a slight adjustment and updating of NAFTA.
"Google ends forced arbitration contracts for workers after googler uprising." Funny how when workers unite and fight together they're able to change corporate culture/procedures. And it's almost like corporations have been working hard to keep their workers from providing a united front. If only there were a word for such organizations of workers coming together in a… oh it's right on the tip of my tongue. It also helps that we have near full employment.
It tells you what kind of world this is that this news story has slipped off the radar so quickly. "We know their names, and where they were. But no one has given a public explanation for what several former elite U.S. service members were doing in Haiti — and why they were driving without license plates, carrying an assortment of automatic rifles, drones and other gear… 'They said that they were here on a '"government mission,"' Miami Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles told NPR from Port-au-Prince on Wednesday. 'They did not specify which government, but then they did tell the police that… their boss was going to call their boss.'" Mercenaries. And this is why we outlawed mercenaries for so long. Why do I think they're mercs? Because special forces don't try to intimidate when they are captured. In fact they're trained to STFU. Mercs like to showboat cowboy style, especially those employed by Academi (aka Blackwater or Xe). Apparently Triple Canopy hasn't cleaned them up, yet. The president of Haiti's office did try and get them released, which didn't stick (good on the local Haitian police).
Florida man. "The mayor of Port Richey, Florida, is 'lucky he's not dead' after firing two shots at a SWAT team at his house to serve a warrant, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters Thursday… Dale Massad, who was elected mayor in 2015, was arrested by the officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and accused of practicing medicine without a license. He now also faces two charges of attempted murder."
"Fox News senior executive producer Justin Wells blamed (Rutger) Bregman, saying he 'turned an opportunity to have a substantive, informative discussion into an obviously calculated personal insult campaign. We were disappointed in the segment and respect our audience’s time too much to consider airing it.'" You know, not that Tucker Carlson lost it or Bregman accurately pointed out that Tucker Carlson and Fox News have played the game for rich people and have gotten rich themselves in the process. It must really suck when those of us on the progressive and liberal spectrums don't play into their narratives and refused to be pushed into the responses they've prepared for. (Grokked from Wesley Chu)
"Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is facing international pressure to step down after elections widely seen as rigged, ordered the country's vast border with Brazil to be closed. The move will make it harder for aid groups to get emergency food and medicine into the country." Just a reminder that what many on the right will call "socialism" (mostly pointing to Central and South American countries) are dictatorships that wrap themselves in "socialist policies", but are not actually socialists.
"'Sitting here four days into this meeting ... my son was a bit prophetic in his statement that day,' (Mark) Harris said of his son John's warning about McCrae Dowless, the political hand that is accused of running an illegal absentee ballot collecting scheme in the state's 9th Congressional District." Because apparently when he son, the lawyer, part of the US Attorneys' office, tried to warn him, well that was just that little boy making noise again. Nothing to really worry about. Seriously NC9th, this is the guy you want to represent you? I'm not buying it. Mark Harris, IMHO, is not some guy Dowless duped. He set up another corporation to hire Dowless so he could put distance between himself and Dowless. He's just affecting the "awe shucks, I'm just a trusting homebody who is just an innocent in the world" act. So you have the choice, either reverend Mark Harris is a conniving fraud attempting to picking your pockets, or he's too gullible to be allowed to spend more than pocket money. I don't think I'd want either person representing me. (Grokked from Amy Walter)
"When migrant children cross the border without their parents, they're sent to federal shelters until caseworkers can find them a good home. But everything changes when they turn 18. That's when, in many cases, they're handcuffed and locked up in an adult detention facility. The practice is sparking lawsuits and outrage from immigrant advocates." Abolish ICE.
"The Trump administration just walked back its approach to North Korea — less than a week before the president is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam… During a background call with reporters about the upcoming meeting, a senior administration official with knowledge of the negotiation’s status made two statements that contradict Washington’s previous stances on its effort to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear arsenal." The article headline implies that our negotiations with North Korea are now in total chaos. I disagree. They've always been in chaos. It's just that now the press can't hide behind the spin of the administration any more and appear credible.
This story just keeps getting deeper and weirder. "The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State in Syria filed suit against the Trump administration Thursday in an effort to allow her return to the United States."
Here we go, I say here we go again. "A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at Democratic 2020 candidates is already underway on social media, with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity." So, the question is if this is their focus, or noise. I'm gonna reverse and earlier statement and bet that the Kremlin has decided Trump is a useful tool going forward and will press (mostly) for his re-election. But the end goal, again, is chaos and enmity which will disable the US's ability to react on the world stage. Once the calculation changes to one where the largest impact will be tearing down Trump we can then expect to see evidence of how he was controlled and how we were manipulated. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"As of Friday only 627 days remain until the 2020 presidential election, which means reporters editors anchors and pundits are running out of time to speculate, trivialize and marginalize. To be baited by irrelevancy and to otherwise miss the forest for the clicks. But they've already got a head start with at least a half dozen women in the running for the Democratic nomination. The media ether already abounds with nonsensical tropes."
"The Russia investigation could be on the verge of a spectacular finale — or it could be about to puff out like a damp firecracker… Or, as has been the case so often before, Washington could be gearing itself up for a fireworks display that doesn't even happen. Despite some indications that special counsel Robert Mueller could be wrapping up, there has been no official word from the Justice Department confirming that's so." I think the chance of nothing is not going to happen, but there is a chance we've seen all the fireworks that are going to launch. I think the most disappointing ending (for me) would be that Mueller determines there isn't enough evidence of direct coordination and manipulation with the Trump Campaign to effectively prosecute. Although we should note here that if the allegations against Cohen, Manafort, and Stone (and some others) are all true, that implicates the president in several breaches of election law and points to a strong interaction between Moscow and the current White House.
On the Media podcast on the Bund's rally in Madison Square Garden and a commercial for a new documentary about it. "Founded in 1936, the German-American Bund had approximately 25,000 members and 70 chapters around the country… February 20th marks the 80th anniversary of the Bund’s most notorious event when 20,000 of its members gathered at Madison Square Garden for a 'Pro-American Rally' featuring speeches and performances, staged in front of a 30-foot-high portrait of George Washington… The rally is the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary short 'A Night at The Garden' by filmmaker Marshall Curry."
Tweet of my heart: @Amy_Siskind Putin threatened to bomb the U.S. yesterday in his state of the nation speech. Still waiting for Trump or his regime - or even a Republican - to respond. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
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