"Starting in July, Microsoft will be closing its e-book library and erasing all content purchased through the Microsoft e-bookstore from devices. Consumers will receive a refund for every e-book bought." Say goodbye to your DRM'ed content.
"'Since the days of Apollo, the greatest adventures in space have been these robots that have gone all over the solar system,' says Emily Lakdawalla, a self-described planetary evangelist at the Planetary Society."
"According to CNN, the national survey is the third dataset committed to gathering information on bees that has been scaled back under Trump. The survey is also reportedly the only government-overseen dataset that tracks losses to the honeybee population… The move comes months after the Trump administration reversed a rule rolled out under the Obama administration that banned the use of pesticides in national wildlife refuges." Can't argue the point if there's no data. It would be funny except for our extinction. (Grokked from Seanan McGuire)
Who needs the environment? "With all Mississippi beaches closed due to blooms of toxic algae, officials are warning people against eating seafood and fish from the affected areas." Note the top picture is of Lake Erie, which is no where near Mississippi.
So, you may have heard about meatless meat, but have you heard about beanless coffee? "Atomo won't reveal exactly what its beanless coffee is made of, but the company says it is a mixture of dozens of compounds found in food, such as antioxidants, flavonoids and coffee acids. Atomo adds caffeine to its blend." Which given the rate of climate change and how it's affecting coffee growing areas this is a just in time technology.
"But Jones has emphasized throughout her career that it's just a matter of time before a devastating earthquake hits a more populated area of Southern California."
"A recent NPR poll of rural Americans found that nearly a quarter have used some kind of telehealth service within the past few years; 14% say they received a diagnosis or treatment from a doctor or other health care professional using email, text messaging, live text chat, a mobile app, or a live video like FaceTime or Skype. And 15% say they have received a diagnosis or treatment from a doctor or other health professional over the phone." Welcome to rural American healthcare. Also note, not all rural areas have "broadband" connections, and even those with a big pipe, compared to urban areas it's still damn slow. And then there is this, "But the policies on the books of what Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers will pay for often means these services are not fully covered." Insurance standing in the way again.
"Rieder likens his experiences trying to get off prescription pain meds to a game of hot potato. 'The patient is the potato,' he says. 'Everybody had a reason to send me to somebody else.'"
"If the lower court ruling is ultimately upheld, the case, Texas v. United States, has the potential to shake the nation's entire health care system to its core. First, such a decision would immediately affect the estimated 20 million people who get their health coverage through programs created under the law. But ending the ACA would also create chaos in other parts of the health care system that were directly or indirectly changed under the law's multitude of provisions — including calorie counts on menus, a pathway for approval of generic copies of expensive biologic drugs and, perhaps most important politically, protections for people who have preexisting conditions."
"Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers in Minnesota plan to strike during the online retailer’s summer sales extravaganza, a sign that labor unrest persists even after the company committed to paying all employees at least $15 an hour last year." It's almost like pay isn't the only thing that matters, and $15 an hour isn't enough to watch your coworkers die. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)
"Retail chain Kohl started a program to accept unwanted Amazon returns at all 1,150 of its stores in April, and it looks like it’s rolling the dice on it big time now that a limited test period has concluded. According to a report in the New York Times on Monday, Kohl’s is now describing the effort to lure Amazon customers unsatisfied with their purchases into its stores as the chain’s 'single biggest initiative' the retailer is pursuing in all of 2019, in what could either be described as a cunning ploy to stave off Amazon encroachment or a big red flag about the future of retail." I think this sounded fabulous in the board room… and won't play-out well in the real world.
"Our call of the day though, kicks things off with a warning from Morgan Stanley which is 'putting our money where our mouth is' and downgrading global equities to underweight from equal-weight." Rhut rho.
"British Airways faces a record $230 million fine after a website failure compromised the personal details of roughly 500,000 customers." Those silly Europeans fining companies for not protecting their consumers' personal data… wait a sec.
Meanwhile, here in the US, "More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions."
How go the Trade Wars? "The US State Department has approved a potential arms sale to Taiwan, estimated to be worth $2.2bn (£1.76bn), the Pentagon said." Unfortunately I don't see Trump playing chess with his staff and telling them to "look at the whole board." Hell, I don't think Trump even knows how to play chess.
"Yesterday, Deutsche Bank started a massive overhaul of it's business, cutting 18,000 jobs globally in the process. It's yet another blow to the shrinking European finance industry." Those poor investment bankers all out of a job.
"A federal program to help injured veterans and their spouses conceive children through in vitro fertilization is being hobbled by anti-abortion forces that oppose how the process can lead to embryos being destroyed." Because it's not about abortion, it's about the world "being different." Although it is nice to see anti-abortion advocates finally realize the striking inconsistency between "life begins at conception" and exactly how IVF (and other technologies) work. Like they're playing "catch-up". Odd they'd focus here first (except they know how it would play in the general populace). But then, "life at conception" is a relatively new concept in the abortion wars. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)
"Chief Justice John Roberts repeatedly voted with the Supreme Court's conservatives this term, except in one, and only one, 5-to-4 decision. Written by Roberts, the ruling blocked the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 census, leaving an angry President Trump desperately trying to find a way around it." A little on the Chief Justice and how, because he voted the "wrong way" on 2 cases, conservatives are upset. Just in case anyone tries to sell you on that GOP "Big Tent"/Diverse Ideas and how the Democrats all must be "ideologically pure" bullshit. "Curt Levey, president of the conservative Committee for Justice, doesn't go that far, but he said the census decision means that 'having a conservative majority on the court is still a dream rather than a reality.'" Because for conservatives, you can never be too far to the right.
"Attorney General William Barr on Monday announced his recusal from the high-profile Jeffrey Epstein case because his former law firm once represented the convicted sex offender." Huh, so he does have some resemblance of ethics, just not a lot of them.
Conservatives just don't care. "At a golf tournament hosted by a Pennsylvania county’s chamber of commerce, four golfers reportedly dressed up as U.S. Border Patrol agents, while their caddy played the part of an undocumented immigrant driving a cart decorated as the U.S. Mexico border wall." Until they're called on their callousness. Until then, it's all fun and games (note, this group won the "costume award", also note the non-apology).
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