"Serruyo won’t be the only one using that underbelly, exploiting the lack of real guardrails on Amazon and other sites for a few bucks." Nora Roberts on plagiarism, ghost writing, novel mills, and some of the problems with the modern self-publishing industry. (Grokked from Patrick Nielsen Hayden)
"New Yorkers fond of eating out in the last decade weren’t just saved from doing the dishes. Residents’ blood levels of artificial trans fats, which increase the risk of heart disease, dropped following a 2006 citywide policy that banned restaurants from using the fats." Just nit picking here, but IIRC, all trans fats are artificial. It's sort of in the definition.
While most conservatives continue to deny climate change, the military has to make plans. "At the farthest edge of North America, across the Bering Strait from Russia, U.S. military radar stations are threatened by the consequences of climate change." No transcript as of this posting, but worth listening. We're seeing changes we didn't expect until after 2040. It'll be costing us tens of millions to save some of our vital national security infrastructure from the effects of global climate change. To bad the president didn't feel this was more important than a wall on our Southern Border.
"They're now measuring real-world impacts (of global climate change): everything from sharp declines in bird populations to the rapid spread of human diseases carried by deer ticks." (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
There is burying your head in the sand, and then there's Arizona. "As the measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest continues to worsen, an Arizona House panel has approved multiple bills to expand vaccine exemptions in the state, the Arizona Republic reported Friday."
Also in Arizona… "Arizona is one of at least seven states with curriculum laws around LGBTQ issues, according to the advocacy group GLSEN. But of all the state laws, Arizona's is the only one that bans promoting 'a homosexual life-style,' says University of Utah law professor Clifford Rosky."
The troll in all of us. "Even if you're not aware of it, it's likely that your emotions will influence someone around you today."
The new benefit. "That financial pain is also creating a recruitment opportunity: Some employers are offering to help repay loans on workers' behalf as a way of attracting and keeping people like O'Brien."
Trigger warning. A story from the inside a content management group for Facebook. "Collectively, the employees described a workplace that is perpetually teetering on the brink of chaos. It is an environment where workers cope by telling dark jokes about committing suicide, then smoke weed during breaks to numb their emotions. It’s a place where employees can be fired for making just a few errors a week — and where those who remain live in fear of the former colleagues who return seeking vengeance." Remember when FB told us they had AI working to do this? Nope, years after that it's still an intense, human driven effort. "The median Facebook employee earns $240,000 annually in salary, bonuses, and stock options. A content moderator working for Cognizant in Arizona, on the other hand, will earn just $28,800 per year." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"A new investigative report from The Wall Street Journal today looks into the controversial practice of popular third-party iOS and Android apps sending very personal user data to Facebook. In some cases, this happened immediately after an app recorded new data, even if the user wasn’t logged into Facebook or wasn’t a Facebook user at all. Notably, the report highlights that Apple and Google don’t require apps to divulge all the partners that user data is shared with." With Facebook, you are the product. (Grokked from John)
"A federal judge in Texas has declared that an all-male military draft is unconstitutional, ruling that 'the time has passed' for a debate on whether women belong in the military."
"A giant concrete cross standing in the middle of a busy median strip is the latest symbol of a constitutional fight that has raged for decades. It's a fight over the concept of the separation of church and state, and what the Founding Fathers meant when they wrote into the First Amendment a ban on government 'establishment' of religion… Just how to treat such religious symbols and taxpayer funding for programs at religious institutions will play out Wednesday before a newly constituted conservative Supreme Court majority."
"A decade after Sig Sauer inked a deal to sell up to $306 million worth of pistols to Colombia's National Police, company CEO Ron Cohen is facing jail time in Germany for making the sale."
How goes Brexit? "Theresa May once again postponed a final vote on her Brexit divorce agreement, raising the stakes in a battle with members of her own cabinet who are fighting to avert a no-deal exit."
How go the Trade Wars? "U.S. President Donald Trump and China's state-run news agency Xinhua both announced "significant progress" from the last week of trade negotiations."
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to raise the minimum salary in her Congressional office led to some jeers over on Fox News… 'Fox & Friends' weekend co-host Pete Hegseth slammed the move, calling it 'socialism and communism on display' and mockingly urged her to give some of her own salary to her staff." Yes, that's what they call socialism and communism, paying people a decent salary instead of exploiting them with a lower wage to pay the top end of the staff even more. It seems crazy until you realize their version of capitalism is a winner take all scheme, a "got mine, fuck you" strategy. (Grokked from Xopher Halftongue)
"Last week, Sanders launched his second presidential campaign, amid a field of presidential candidates who are trying to figure out how to position themselves around the policy. Trying to stand out from the pack, though — especially on health care — poses a problem: Differentiating yourself means getting into the details, and getting into the details can turn voters off." Yes, Virginia, there are many differences in single-payer systems. And it seems to get lost in the noise surround healthcare reform, but half of the people who opposed Obamacare did so because it wasn't a single-payer system/didn't include a "public option."
"President Trump is ramping up his formidable digital operation nearly two years before the 2020 election, doubling down on a playbook that helped pave his path to the White House… Trump's campaign has already spent more than $3.5 million in small, targeted ads on Facebook, while an allied group has spent over $6 million, making him the biggest U.S. political spender since Facebook began tracking ad spending in May 2018."
"CNN reports (February 21st) that Senate investigators plan to question David Geovanis, an American businessman based in Moscow whose ties to Donald Trump in Russia date back decades. Witnesses told investigators that Geovanis may be able to fill in missing details on Trump's business and personal activities in Russia which are now believed to date as far back as the 1990s." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Prosecutors for special counsel Robert Mueller say they take no position on what Paul Manafort's prison sentence should be, but say President Trump's former campaign chairman acted in 'bold' fashion to commit a multitude of crimes." Ah, that "bold action" thing again. There's a meme in conservative politics to "be bold", doesn't matter for or about what, but just be bold about it. In this case, Manafort was being bold by breaking a lot of laws.
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