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

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Linkee-poo Tuesdays

"Scientists don't know much yet about the long-term effects of 'vape juice,' the liquid used in e-cigarettes and vaporizers. But researchers analyzing the liquid and the vapor produced when it's heated say some kinds of e-liquids are reacting to form irritating chemicals called acetals while they're sitting on shelves." Oopsies.

"To summarize: The bill would subsidize four uncompetitive power plants, remove all incentive to build more renewable energy projects, and cancel efforts to help customers use less energy. It is a bill only a utility (and the lawmakers who do its bidding) could love, an extravagant gift to utility investors that hoses Ohio ratepayers." Yep. Our conservative government at work, for their sponsors. We've paid for these plants over and over (and over) again. Conservatives are all for the free market, until it's their money about to be lost.

"They've created a contact lens, controlled by eye movements, that can zoom in if you blink twice." Because why the fuck not. Waits for the inevitable traffic crashes and other accidents that will result.

The thing about the "opioid crisis" is that they is always a drug crisis in America. It's just that the drug of choice changes are market forces put people in different directions (and this is why the "pain misuse" argument is bullshit). "Methamphetamine, an illegal drug that sends the body into overdrive, is surging through the United States. Federal drug data provided exclusively to NPR show seizures of meth by authorities have spiked, rising 142% between 2017 and 2018." Remember meth? The reason why you can't buy good decongestants until you have your license information scanned in and star of the "Breaking Bad" series? It's back. Remember cocaine? It never left.

"The gunman who police say opened fire at a popular garlic festival in Northern California and killed three people reportedly referenced a neo-Nazi manifesto on social media before the shooting." This is my shocked face. So while the government is attempting to classify antifa as a terrorist organization, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists continue to kill people where as antifa doesn't.

They're just like you and me. "A rising number of American workers may be feeling nearly as dazzled on the job. One of the fastest-growing job categories of the past decade has been in what David Autor, an economics professor at MIT, calls 'wealth work': Catering to the whims and desires of affluent households." Well, I guess they are at least creating some jobs. "Yet economists note that most so-called wealth jobs don’t benefit workers or the economy as much as traditional employment does. Most wealth workers are self-employed and so lack employer-provided health insurance, retirement plans and other benefits. They often earn relatively low wages, and their incomes tend to fluctuate depending on how many clients they have. Nor do they have many opportunities to learn new skills, undergo advanced training or move up a career ladder."

How go the Trade Wars? "President Donald Trump is threatening to get 'much tougher' with China on trade if he wins reelection in 2020." There's only so much blood in a stone.

How goes Brexit? "The pound has continued to fall on currency markets as the government insists that the UK is prepared to leave the EU without a deal… Sterling hit a fresh two-year low of $1.2120 against the dollar on Tuesday, before recovering some ground."

What was in your wallet? "Millions of Capital One customers have been affected by a data breach that the bank says happened in March when a software engineer allegedly exploited a vulnerability to access its systems."

"Central bank officials are expected to cut interest rates for the first time since the global financial crisis not because Trump demanded it. Instead, they will move in part because the president’s bruising trade policy has helped fuel a global manufacturing slowdown and injected deep uncertainty into executive suites around the world." This is all just, "they gotta cut rates" argument, ignoring the argument about keeping your powder try in case you have to lower rates later.

"U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro contended Monday that analysis of federation finances showed that it paid members of the women's national team millions of dollars more than members of the men's national team over a period of nearly a decade." But only when you don't include the amount FIFA paid for World Cup bonuses and when you consider that the women's team has won how many championships in that time whereas the men have even failed to qualify most of the time. Also USSF just ignored a lot of other money that has been paid out to the men's team.

"Attorney General William Barr ruled Monday that immigrants fearing persecution because of threats against their family members are no longer eligible for asylum." Performative cruelty.

"Carol Evans approves of Donald Trump’s immigration policy. She gives him credit for the strong economy. But the Republican from the affluent Milwaukee suburbs of Waukesha County, a GOP bedrock in the state, just can’t commit to voting for the president next year like she did in 2016." They aren't full-on racists, just mildly racists. Don't worry, they'll still vote for him over choosing a dirty liberal.

"Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats in recent months saw his warnings about threats posed by Russia watered down by the White House, The New York Times reported Sunday." If only we could see a connection…

"Mary Anne Marsh, a political analyst for Fox News, raised concerns on Monday that President Donald Trump appeared to be consolidating his control over the U.S. intelligence community with the nomination of GOP Representative John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence." Almost there…

"A conservative lawyer and writer who argues for selling off the nation’s public lands is now in charge of a nearly quarter-billion acres in federally held rangeland and other wilderness." It's a fire sale.

"When candidate Donald Trump prepared to give a major energy speech during the 2016 campaign, one of his closest advisers provided a pre-speech review to senior United Arab Emirates officials, an unorthodox move that caught the attention of federal investigators, according to emails and text messages uncovered by a House Oversight Committee investigation." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"President Donald Trump is claiming a groundswell of African American support in response to his comments insulting Rep. Elijah Cummings and calling his majority-black Baltimore district a 'disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.'" They love him in the emails.

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