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

Monday, April 1, 2019

Linkee-poo Monday

Welcome to our new readers. Not sure what you're looking for, but welcome.

"Clear images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have provided researchers with new insight into asteroid Gault’s unusual past. The object is 4–9 kilometres wide and has two narrow, comet-like tails of debris that tell us that the asteroid is slowly undergoing self-destruction. Each tail is evidence of an active event that released material into space." The asteroid is self-destructing by spinning itself to death (well, disintegration). I will leave it to the reader to make the obvious Libertarian metaphor.

The day the dinosaurs died.

"The European Southern Observatory has just revealed there will be a huge announcement next week. Yes, we know how that sounds - but as far as we can tell, it appears the world is about to finally see the first ever photo of a black hole's event horizon." Ooo., Kremlinology as it applies to science. I'm not entirely certain this isn't an April Fools joke.

"While the rich world braces for future climate change, the poor world is already being devastated by it."

"But after two decades of studying productivity, I’ve become convinced that time management is not a solution — it’s actually part of the problem." There goes an industry. Just as a reminder, for those jobs remaining the people working them are doing the work it used to take 3 or 4 people to do just 3 decades ago. But in our society with it's atrophied morality of Calvinism, and the business climate worship of "The Market", it's never enough. It will never be enough. But this "attention management" is just as much bullshit as Franklin Planner processes.

"A California man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for making a hoax 911 call about a hostage situation in Kansas that ended up with police fatally shooting an innocent man at that address."

"The Social Security Administration may be the latest front in the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration… The agency is reviving the controversial practice of sending 'no match' letters to businesses across the country, notifying them when an employee's Social Security number doesn't match up with official records."

"Trump threatens to close 'large sections' of US-Mexico border next week over illegal immigration." Shit, I didn't make enough pop-corn.

"Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan suffered stunning setbacks in local elections as his ruling AK Party lost control of the capital Ankara for the first time since the party’s founding in 2001, and was on course to lose the biggest prize of all, Istanbul." Okay, that's interesting.

"The White House has received a long-awaited package of new sanctions on Russia, intended to punish the Kremlin for a 2018 nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in the U.K… U.S. officials at the State and Treasury departments have vetted the sanctions and are awaiting approval from the White House to issue them, according to two people familiar with the matter who discussed the internal deliberations on condition of anonymity." I'mma not gonna hold my breath on this waiting for them to be approved or fully enforced.

"Democracy is on the ropes. In the United States and abroad, citizens of democracies are feeling increasingly alienated, disaffected, and powerless. Some are even asking themselves a question that feels almost too dangerous to say out loud: is democracy fundamentally broken?"

"Three-quarters of a million people would likely lose their food stamps later this year under a new proposal by the Trump administration. The goal is to encourage able-bodied adults to go to work and get off government aid. But opponents predict people would go hungry instead, if the rule goes into effect." You say that like it's not the intended outcome. Another example of that atrophied morality of Calvinism.

"The Chinese government will add fentanyl-related substances to their list of controlled drugs from May 1, in a move aimed at curtailing the manufacturing and distribution of one of the world's most powerful opioids." Get it while you can.

"Hundreds of families of asylum-seekers are no longer being detained in an enclosure beneath an El Paso, Texas, bridge, according to The New York Times." The question is where were they moved to.

"With the Mueller investigation complete, talking heads have given the short public summary their usual spin. This week, On the Media looks at why the framing of the report produced so much misunderstanding. Plus, how historical amnesia and old ideas about limitless growth have influenced American psychology and foreign policy." Recommended especially for the interview with Corey Robin about our flawed historical memories.

"Democratic lawmakers said they need access to that evidence to get a clear picture of Russian interference in the 2016 election and how that benefited Donald Trump's presidential campaign, even if no Americans conspired with foreigners. They could launch a legal battle to obtain the information as soon as Wednesday."

The president's speech. "For the record, the Mueller probe produced 199 charges against 37 people and entities. Seven people pleaded guilty. Five people were sentenced to prison. So, this investigation was not quite a 'hoax.' And away we go!"

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