"There are now 359,000 people without power in the Bay Area after phase 2 of PG&E's power shutoffs were implemented overnight. Parts of the East Bay, Peninsula, South Bay and Santa Cruz lost energy in the latest outages."
"Scientists in Siberia have discovered an area of sea that is 'boiling' with methane, with bubbles that can be scooped from the water with buckets. Researchers on an expedition to the East Siberian Sea said the 'methane fountain' was unlike anything they had seen before, with concentrations of the gas in the region to be six to seven times higher than the global average." We're boned. (Grokked from John)
"Musk has repeatedly stressed that he founded SpaceX back in 2002 primarily to help humanity colonize Mars. It's vital that we become a multiplanet species, the billionaire entrepreneur has said, citing both a much-reduced probability of extinction and the thrill that meaningful space exploration will deliver to billions of people around the world." A deeper dive into Starship and SuperHeavy thought processes and history.
Eating healthy, real foods isn't important as they're not different from processed foods… so they tell us. "There's fresh evidence that eating a healthy diet, one that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and limits highly processed foods, can help reduce symptoms of depression." But, you know, I'm sure organic foods and dietary supplements still don't do anything for you at all (hint: yes, yes they do). "However, most of these studies show an association and 'can't imply causation,' cautions Sarris. In other words, the studies don't prove that changes in diet directly cause the improvement or decline in mood." You might recall that argument from the recent "red meat is really good for you" news cycle. So here's the thing. Eat a lot of different foods and become conscious of how you feel (physically and mentally) afterward. Write it down. And then eat the things that make you feel better physically. Comfort foods, which are not necessarily the best for you, might give you a better mental state for a short time. But improving your physical well being will be the most beneficial in the long run. For instance, I do better drinking green tea than drinking black tea. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've noticed the difference. Recently I've also noticed a difference between the tea I brew at home and store bought tea (or systems like Keurig). However, improved diet can help, but it's not a replacement for mental healthcare.
"Women may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, but men are typically diagnosed at earlier stages, when symptoms are mild. By tweaking memory tests a little, more women might be caught at an early stage of the disease, when they can benefit from treatment, a study suggests." Or, you know, we could change to a test that detects the disease instead of one that only tests for the symptoms. Unfortunately we don't have a way (yet) of testing for the actual disease in the early stages that is inexpensive. But then maybe we should adjust the test to a wider scope of areas instead of verbal cognition.
"The Hollywood Reporter reports tonight that Sesame Street… has begun working to help kids who have been affected by America’s opioid crisis, and substance abuse and addiction in general. The material—which, like the show’s efforts to address issues like the foster care system, homelessness, and being HIV positive, will air online, rather than in the show proper—is aimed at helping kids to understand what it means when their parents and caregivers are struggling with addiction." But only if you have HBO.
"Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws Wednesday aimed at increasing housing density by limiting cities’ ability to block new construction and making it easier to build so-called granny flats, part of a larger push to boost supply as California grapples with a severe housing shortage." Now do apartment housing.
Murder in the selfie-age. "A digital memory card found on a street in Alaska's largest city contained videos of a woman being strangled and pictures of her face down in the back of a truck, according to police and a charging document released Wednesday."
"Two people were killed (yesterday) following a shooting rampage near a synagogue in the eastern German town of Halle."
How go the Trade Wars? "U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower Thursday morning, as investors closely monitor the status of high-level trade talks between the world’s two largest economies." Dear Wall Street, you're being played.
"A small group of Activision Blizzard employees walked out of work Tuesday afternoon to protest the company’s actions against a gamer who expressed support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong during an official livestream." I put this with the trade war material because it illustrates some of the problems with our business relationship with China. Because they're an "important part" of our economy and through their government can exert censorship on non-Chinese entities. JFC, when South Park becomes a champion of American Values you know the world is fucked up.
"President Trump has dismissed concerns that Turkey's incursion into northern Syria could enable hundreds of hardened ISIS fighters to go free as a problem for other countries. There are more than 10,000 ISIS detainees held in jails across northern Syria run by America's long-time Kurdish allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurds had warned that a Turkish offensive against them, which began on Wednesday, would force them to turn their attention from ISIS, to self defense." I believe this is the 8th time the US has betrayed the Kurdish people. And this one will come back to bite us in the ass. This is so incredibly bad for the area, the greater world politics, and the US. Our president is a mentally-deficient madman. With this withdraw we are doubly screwed. Turkey is a NATO member, and if the SDF attacks into Turkey we will be treaty-bound to help Turkey. ISIS/DASH is not defeated, and with 2000-5000 trained fighters who might now be freed, along with the insurgency groups still active, they could quickly re-establish ground control.
"Republicans savaged President Donald Trump Wednesday for allowing Turkey to attack US allies in Syria as the President offered varying reasons for giving Turkey the green light, including the fact that Kurds did not fight alongside the US in World War II." And the concerned senators and congresspeople line up to be seen shedding tears, this won't change their political loyalty or calculus. So, GOP, spare me your concern and tears.
"NPR examined Trump's tweets, both positive and negative, about every single current member of Congress starting from his inauguration day until last week. As of October 4, Trump has tweeted more than 700 times about sitting members of Congress." And you won't believe what they found! (Sorry, been reading too much on the internets these days.) Gee, the president is a misogynistic racists (or at least acts like one on twitter)? Who'da thunk it?
"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been threatened with the possibility of jail after a judge deemed she was violating a court order for continuing to collect student debts on a now-defunct school." Silly people, she's too rich to go to jail. Although I'd really like to see it. (Grokked from Dan)
"'I had said for months that...Barr was a principled institutionalist,' said Chuck Rosenberg, who previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia as well as the Southern District of Texas, during a segment of MSNBC's Morning Joe. 'I was flat-out wrong,' he continued. 'I had it wrong. I have been deeply disappointed by what I've seen.'" So many rats leaving.
"Are we in a constitutional crisis yet?" Oh we passed that point early in 2017. Try to keep up. But yes, when one branch of the government refuses to recognize the power of a co-equal branch, it is a new crisis.
"As President Trump has lobbed unsubstantiated and false claims of international corruption at former vice president Joe Biden and his son, he’s often turned to one source for ammunition: conservative author Peter Schweizer. So when the New York Times ran an op-ed on Wednesday written by Schweizer about Biden and his son Hunter, the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign cried foul." So the disgruntlement surrounding the NYT op-eds have now reached the presidential campaign level.
"Vice President Mike Pence has been struggling to explain how much he knew about President Donald Trump soliciting election interference from Ukraine, repeatedly dodging questions from reporters on the issue on Wednesday… 'What I can tell you is that all of our discussions internally, between the president and our team, and our contacts in my office with Ukraine, were entirely focused on the broader issues of the lack of European support and corruption.'" Pence is up to his neck in this and will most likely be facing his own impeachment inquiry soon.
What, me, worry? "In private, Trump is increasingly leaning on the Republican leader in the Senate. In a return to the President's panicked behavior during the height of the Mueller investigation, Trump is calling McConnell as often as three times a day, according to a person familiar with the conversations."
"One of Donald Trump’s most prominent Christian supporters will argue in a book due out before the 2020 general election that American evangelicals 'have a moral obligation to enthusiastically back' the president." The book's original title was "Render to God and Trump." Yes, Ralph Reed just called Trump Caesar, misquoted the Bible, and labeled himself a false profit in that all-in-one shot. For in these later days there will rise false prophets. (Grokked from Cherie Priest)
Every time I think I've finally gotten rid of the urge to write Post-Rapture Industries, one of these assholes comes along and reminds me that I should really write that damn book.
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