Helen Gould's Eastercon address, "Subtle Forms of Racism to Avoid in SFF." Recommended for both writers and readers, as well as to understand some current political context.
"Since 1850, the plant lay frozen under a 100-foot-thick slab of ice as humans discovered antibiotics, visited the moon and burned 2 trillion tons of fossil fuels… Thanks to this latest exploit, evolutionary biologist Catherine La Farge arrived centuries later at Teardrop's melting edge to find the tuft of the species Aulacomnium turgidum finally free from its icy entombment. The moss was faded and torn but sported a verdant hue - a possible sign of life." You might remember an ancient form of anthrax that was recently revived as reindeer in Russia feed on land contaminated by thawing carcasses. So it's not all giggles and grapes.
"The U.S. women's soccer team is still the world's best after dominating the Netherlands in the Women's World Cup final and winning 2-0. Throughout the tournament, the U.S. brushed aside criticism, complaints of arrogance and calls for the team to tone down their goal celebrations. All the team did was win. All seven World Cup games, in fact." Pay them the same as the men, because 1) it's the right thing to do, but also 2) they fucking earned it.
How goes the Trade Wars? "China and the rest of the world must co-exist, Vice President Wang Qishan said on Monday, in an indirect jab at the United States, with which Beijing is trying to resolve a bitter trade war."
So how did the numbers turn out? "Nonfarm payrolls rose 224,000 in June, well above market expectations of 165,000, according to the Labor Department." Not shabby, but we'll see how much is adjusted.
"The election result gave New Democracy an outright majority with 158 seats in the 300-member Greek parliament. This marks a significant shift for the crisis-hit country that was run for almost a decade by fragile coalitions of ideologically divergent parties united by their stance either in favour or against Greece's bailout deals." Not stated in the article, there were no seats won by Golden Dawn, the ultra-far-right party. The question is now will New Democracy continue austerity programs, or will they buck the international systems?
"The drama on this round is intensified by the overarching clash between the Republican administration of Trump, who has tried in vain to win repeal of the ACA, and the now Democratic-led House of Representatives, which has intervened to try to keep the law in the place. The administration wants the judiciary to do what it could not win legislatively: eliminate the entire 2010 law." Once again conservatives are trying to strike down Obamacare. Because of course they are.
"The four-star admiral set to become the Navy’s top officer on Aug. 1 will instead retire, an extraordinary downfall prompted by what Navy Secretary Richard Spencer called poor judgment regarding a professional relationship." Well at least someone still has standards.
"US President Donald Trump has issued a warning to Iran after the country moved to increase uranium enrichment beyond the purity threshold reached in a landmark nuclear deal Washington pulled out of last year." You know what would have helped our position here? Staying in the agreement.
"A federal grand jury in New York is investigating top Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy, examining whether he used his position as vice chair of President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee to drum up business deals with foreign leaders, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and people familiar with the matter." This is my shocked face. Only the best people, eh Sparky? (Grokked from Joy Reid)
Turns out there was a child sex-ring… only it wasn't Democrats. From 2018, "One of President Trump’s loudest supporters will likely spend the rest of his life in jail after the conclusion of his child sex trafficking case." From the wikipedia, "Timothy L. Nolan… is a registered sex offender and an American former state district court judge, a former leader in the Republican Party and a former Campbell County chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Kentucky. On February 9, 2018, he pled guilty to 19 counts of child sex trafficking and human trafficking; on February 11, 2018 he was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The arrest of financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on federal child sex trafficking charges elicited fresh demands for the resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who helped Epstein secure a "sweetheart plea deal" for previous allegations while serving as Miami's top federal prosecutor over a decade ago."
"President Donald Trump said Sunday he wants members of the press to 'go in and see' migrant detention centers." They have. And I have a great idea, let them in whichever one they want into, and do it right now. This is a bully tactic that he believes no one will really do. But they're waiting to do it. Allow them in, allow them cameras, allow them to interview the detainees.
"The leak of confidential memos from Britain’s ambassador to the United States in which he describes President Donald Trump’s administration as 'dysfunctional' and 'inept' could damage relations, a British minister said on Monday." No matter how true it may be.
"The Justice Department announced a major shakeup Sunday in its team of lawyers involved in the ongoing legal battle over the citizenship question the Trump administration wants to add to the 2020 census forms." You know, after SCOTUS said, basically, the Executive Branch was full of shit with their reasoning. But, you know, Trump may somehow add the question to the preprinted forms through executive order because as we all know executive orders trump SCOTUS rulings, or something. See earlier comment about "inept."
No comments:
Post a Comment