There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Linkee-poo will deliver, you know I'm a forgiver, reach out and touch faith

"Queen Elizabeth II and world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump gathered Wednesday on the south coast of England to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings that, at great human cost, turned the tide of World War II and helped liberate Europe from Nazi occupation."

But the Earth has warmed before… "About 250 million years ago or so, an enormous volcanic field erupted in what is now Siberia. It spewed lava that burned though limestone and coal beds and filled the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and pollution, possibly for millions of years. That in turn warmed the planet, made the oceans acidic and robbed them of oxygen. More than 90% of species in the oceans died out as did two-thirds of those on land." We're boned.

"China on Wednesday launched a rocket from a mobile platform at sea for the first time, sending a five commercial satellites and two others containing experimental technology into space."

"Teenagers using dietary supplements to lose weight, gain weight or build muscle could be putting themselves at risk for serious harm and even death." Those things put adults at risk too, but for kids it can be much more dramatic. And while this is an important issue, this is, again, one more attack against all "supplements" (including vitamins). Why? Because the pharmaceutical industry can't make money off of them. But they can make money off prescription Niacin, and most doctors and pharmacists won't tell you that it's just B3 and B6.

"Research points to another way heavier children and teens are at risk: their own doctors' bias. This prejudice has real health consequences for kids, making families less likely to show up for appointments or get recommended vaccines."

All in all it's just another brick in the wall. "Restraint and seclusion are most often used on students with disabilities or special needs — children like Tidd's son. Those terms can mean anything from holding or using restraints on students to isolating them in a separate room or space." And politicians and parents will point and say how terrible it is, and the parents are left to deal with the trauma and other consequences and the politicians can go back to defunding education.

"…(R)etailers that accept SNAP benefits are required to stock a variety of staple foods — including a minimum number of fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and grain options… Now, there's a controversy brewing over which foods count as staples. Should beef jerky, spray cheese and queso dip count? The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would allow retailers to include these items." Oh look, ketchup is a vegetable again.

"A Russian aircraft intercepted a US aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea three times in just under three hours Tuesday, according to the US 6th Fleet."

"Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added just 27,000 jobs in May, the fewest since March 2010. Jobs in construction fell 36,000 and in manufacturing by 3,000." So the numbers this Friday may not be so good.

How go the Trade Wars? "China's State Administration for Market Regulation slapped Changan Ford with a 162.8 million yuan ($23.6 million) fine for setting minimum resale prices on its cars in the city of Chongqing, according to a statement posted on the regulator's website on Wednesday."

"Republican senators railed against President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs against Mexico in a private lunch on Tuesday with White House and Justice Department officials, who struggled to explain their legal process for implementing the new levies." Concerned people are concerned once again.

"The IRS collected $1.97 trillion in gross collections (the amount before refunds) for 2018. That figure stood at roughly $1.87 trillion for 2017. Refunds did increase this year — but not by much. The IRS refunded about $398 billion to taxpayers for 2018. For 2017, it was roughly $386 billion." So a good year for the government. And although there's a lot of statistics in that article, they don't paint a cohesive picture (and I believe that's on purpose). So conservatives can talk about how the "increased" revenues, but not nearly as much as it will cost us (especially in the long run). Also note the late rush of a lot of refunds (not fully calculated). Mostly those are the high-income and corporate tax filings (most people who expect a "great" refund file early). And the year isn't out, all those who filed extensions have until August to complete (if they don't file for another extension). (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"The House Judiciary Committee and Justice Department traded letters Tuesday in an effort to kickstart negotiations for Congress to obtain documents from special counsel Robert Mueller's report, but the efforts did not appear to halt a looming vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress."

"The Internet Research Agency campaign may not only have had more sway — reaching large numbers of real users — than previously thought, it also demonstrated ample patience and might have generated income for some of the phony accounts, Symantec found." Don't spend it all in one place, my Russian friends. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

"President Donald Trump is spinning a tall tale about crowd sizes and the protests in London." A little fact checking.

"Trump's U.K. visit protests are so hilarious because the president is so easy to mock." Well, yes.

Fox News link, "A woman popped the massive balloon depicting President Trump as a baby in London on Tuesday, berating protesters for disrespecting the 'best president ever.'" Crazy woman attacks protestors, stabs balloon, injures self while doing it, tries to claim she's being persecuted while being arrested for it. Apparently she's a known quantity in the UK, and the balloon was easily repaired.

"Trump appeared onstage briefly to read from a prayer originally delivered over the radio by one of his predecessors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on the evening of the landings… before dancers emerged to the upbeat strains of 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,' the wartime ditty sung by the Andrews Sisters… Earlier in the morning, Trump's mind was in a less reverent place. He tweeted barbs directed at former Vice President Joe Biden, the news media and the actress Bette Midler…"

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