Neil Gaiman answers some questions about writing.
"A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Puerto Rico late Monday, scaring and rousing many from their sleep in the U.S. territory."
"Just four years after a major marine heat wave killed nearly half of (Hawaii) coastline's coral, federal researchers are predicting another round of hot water will cause some of the worst coral bleaching the region has ever experienced."
"Greta Thunberg has a message for world leaders at the United Nations this week: 'We'll be watching you.' Speaking at the Climate Action Summit in New York, Thunberg added, 'This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school, on the other side of the ocean.'"
"Posting a fatalistic statement the Swedish teen had made earlier Monday at the United Nations' special meeting on climate change, Trump tweeted: 'She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!'" Well it's good to know the president wouldn't be a patronizing asshole about this.
"From mammoths to passenger pigeons, we have driven our favorite meals to extinction through overhunting and habitat destruction. And globally, our tendency to overharvest just a narrow range of crops has limited the variety of foods we eat."
"Making genes from scratch used to be laborious and time consuming, but not anymore. That's why federal officials are now considering new measures to prevent this rapidly advancing technology from being misused to create dangerous viruses or bioweapons." O brave new world that has such people in it.
"It turns out the woman was suffering from an unpredictable condition called methemoglobinemia, which can be brought on by certain drugs or, in some cases, can be inherited. In this case, the culprit was benzocaine in a topical treatment she used to relieve her toothache. Benzocaine is commonly used as a local anesthetic in other over-the-counter products for things like minor cuts and poison ivy." (Grokked from John)
"For people who live with chronic pain, getting up, out and moving can seem daunting. Some fear that physical activity will make their pain worse. But in fact, researchers find the opposite is true: The right kind of exercise can help reduce pain."
"Since her death in March, Evee has served as a literal poster child for the anti-vaccination movement. Her face and chunky legs… are featured on anti-vaccination websites and billboards. The story of her death is told at protests, read aloud at statehouses, and offered up by her mother and other activists as proof of the horror vaccines can bring." Only that's not what happened, and the parents of children who die suddenly are being recruited into the anti-vax movement.
"Now, new computer models show that a habitable Venus was not only possible but likely."
"The EU's top court has ruled that Google does not have to apply the right to be forgotten globally… It means the firm only needs to remove links from its search results in Europe - and not elsewhere - after receiving an appropriate request." So, apparently after complaining about how hard it would be to remove all linking to erroneous information, it's easier to block those search results just in the EU… Uh, yeah, Bob.
"The tales of credit card gamesmanship can verge on the extreme. There's the guy who opened a credit card and immediately bought $3,000 worth of Amazon gift cards — just to qualify for the sign-up bonus. Another filled his garage with blenders to take advantage of a promotion offering extra points on appliances." An incidental and unplanned tale of two societies, the haves and the have-nots who try to play the same game. "However, one survey found that nearly 60% of reward cards holders don't pay off their balances each month. That statistic troubles personal finance experts, because credit card interest rates are at a 25-year high."
"The Labor Department is expanding the pool of workers eligible for overtime pay by about 1.3 million workers, an update to rules that is more than four decades in the making… But many critics say the rules finalized Tuesday should have been rewritten to benefit more workers who routinely work over 40 hours a week without additional pay." And it doesn't address people who work more than one job.
How goes Brexit? "The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the suspension of Parliament that was recently orchestrated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was illegal. In light of the decision, the House of Commons will convene on Wednesday, Speaker John Bercow says."
"An Orlando elementary school resource officer who arrested two 6-year-olds in two separate incidents was fired Monday, said Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon."
"The remains of right-wing dictator General Francisco Franco can be exhumed, Spain's Supreme court ruled Tuesday, resolving an issue that has divided opinion for decades."
"'If migrant family units do not claim fear of return, they will be quickly returned to their country of origin, in close collaboration with Central American countries,' the statement (from DHS) read. 'If they do claim fear, they will generally be returned to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).'" Performative cruelty.
"At the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, President Trump told world leaders to reject 'globalism' and to look out for the interests of their own countries first." So, anyone want to discuss how "globalists" is anti-semitic? And also how if he's into this sovereign navel-gazing why is he so worked up about Iran.
"A 24-year-old soldier in Kansas who allegedly planned to fight with a violent far-right group in Ukraine was charged Monday with distributing bomb-making information over social media, according to the Justice Department."
"A new report from the Vietnam Veterans Association has uncovered an ongoing two-year effort by actors in several foreign countries, including Russia, to target U.S. veterans and servicemembers." Oh, our madcap friends in Russia. Funny how they also mention Italy (it's an inside joke). (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"President Donald Trump asked his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to put a hold on millions in military aid to Ukraine roughly one week before a call with the Ukrainian president in which he pressured the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son, two senior administration officials said on Monday."
"(The president and his supporters) argue that Joe Biden wanted the prosecutor ousted to protect his son from being investigated. But there has been no evidence of wrongdoing, and Joe Biden was tasked as vice president with helping to weed out corruption in Ukraine."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) knocked Democrats on Monday, accusing them of trying to 'politicize' a whistleblower complaint reportedly involving President Trump's phone calls with Ukraine's leader." Because this… wouldn't involve politics somehow? Look, Mitchel, I know this is just the "playbook", but seriously, you look fucking stupid trying this when what you mean to say is you're upset this is going to be hashed out in the open, instead of where you could keep it all under wraps.
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