Linkee-poo speaks about the monsters, I used to have demons in my room at night, desire, despair, desire, so many monsters

"The fast food chain Wendy's has released a full fantasy pen-and-paper tabletop RPG." Oooookay. (Grokked from John)

"One particular fungus was the most abundant in the pancreas: a genus of Basidiomycota called Malassezia, which is typically found on the skin and scalp of animals and humans, and can cause skin irritation and dandruff. A few studies have also linked the yeast to inflammatory bowel diseases, but the new finding is the first to link it to cancer." Again, it's relatively early research and they don't understand (or fake an understanding) of the mechanisms, but interesting. (Grokked from Dan)

"A new study, published in Fisheries Research, reveals that the sheer amount of tuna being taken from our seas, including some species considered 'vulnerable,' has increased by an astonishing 1,000% in the last 60 years — a rate that some scientists are saying is unsustainable."

"The Fieldale factory employs about 1,900 people. A lawn sign advertises jobs for $11-plus an hour and a big banner shouts 'Think Safe, Work Safe.' But in recent years, according to federal safety records obtained by ProPublica, the factory has been the site of several grisly accidents, resulting in hospitalizations, amputations and death… Those accidents didn’t prevent Fieldale from getting special permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to speed up its processing lines." Upton Sinclair is so old. So as the USDA and OSHA point fingers at each other, poultry line-workers are losing theirs. It's as if the pharaohs have returned, as they say. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"The executive order, which (Trump) is scheduled to discuss at a speech in Florida later Thursday, is intended to bolster Medicare Advantage, private Medicare insurance for seniors that currently covers 22 million people, senior administration officials said on a call with reporters. The plan would also offer more affordable plan options, increase use of telehealth services and bring payments in Medicare fee-for-service program in line with payments for Medicare Advantage, officials said." The Medicare "fee-for-service" is currently less than Advantage pavements. So he's talking about increasing outflows from Medicare, side-stepping the board which oversees payment schedules, and basically wrecking the program. Also, EOs can be overturned at any time. "'Medicare for All” isn’t “just impractical but morally wrong,' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said on the call. 'I’m deeply concerned about proposals that eviscerate Medicare by indiscriminately stripping private health insurance.'" I'm just curious on how that works out in their head, because on the face of it they're speaking apples and whales here. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"Square Inc. has become one of the first U.S. payments platforms doing business with CBD providers, just as the industry is booming."

"U.S. employers added 136,000 jobs in September — a sign of continued resilience in the labor market amid growing signals that the economy is losing steam… The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% — the lowest since December 1969 — but the pace of hiring has slowed from last year. The jobless rate was 3.7% in August… Job gains for the two previous months were revised up by a total of 45,000." Slowing seems to be the theme of the Fall.

"A civilian employee raged through Paris police headquarters with a knife Thursday, stabbing four police colleagues to death before he was shot and killed, French authorities said."

Just in time for the 2020 elections… "Last week, Facebook quietly changed the language of its advertising policies to make it easier for politicians to lie in ads." Guess s who is first out of the gate. It's no fun unless you guess. Good thing the FEC doesn't have a quorum or this might be trouble. Dear Facebook, you're doing this wrong. Political ads should be subject to twice the scrutiny. But then, you were never our friends and never gave a damn about the USA. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"Attorney General Bill Barr and officials from the U.K. and Australia have penned a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg requesting the company not implement end-to-end encryption on its messaging services, citing concerns regarding threats of child exploitation and terrorism."

People say, "Oh the protestors these days, they're so violent. Why can't they protest like we used to." Really? "On this day in 1936, Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists were blocked from marching through the streets of East London by the Jewish community and its allies." In that tweet is a newsreel of The Battle of Cable Street. Today rioters look like pikers in comparison. (Grokked from Patrick Nielsen Hayden)

"Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday invoked emergency powers and banned face masks, saying the order goes into effect on Saturday, Oct. 5." What could possibly go wrong.

"Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has called for dialogue after a third consecutive day of deadly anti-government protests in the capital, Baghdad, and several southern cities." Here comes democracy.

"Large protests have triggered a state of emergency in Ecuador, after President Lenín Moreno moved ahead with his plan to end fuel subsidies. Moreno says he's ending the "perverse" gasoline subsidy after 40 years because it was distorting Ecuador's economy."

"Brandt Jean's extraordinary response to a convicted murderer — he hugged Amber Guyger as she was sentenced for killing his brother, Botham Jean — has provoked an array of reactions, from admiration to frustration. It has also deepened a national debate over regulating police use of force." Funny how the same people who are praising this forgiveness as an example for all also seem to be the same ones who tell us we need to keep the death penalty to give justice to the victims' families.

"Ocasio-Cortez posted a couple of tweets in response to this incident, saying the person in question might have been suffering from a 'mental condition'." In case you were wondering what the "eat the babies" thing was about. Oh look, a "constituent" said something crazy… and the politician in this case responded instead of just nodding and agreeing, like conservatives do these days.

What Fox News won't tell you (sorry, I've been reading my Facebook page again)… "A newly unearthed letter from 2016 shows that Republican senators pushed for reforms to Ukraine's prosecutor general's office and judiciary, echoing calls then-Vice President Joe Biden made at the time." I haven't actually looked at Fox to see if they have this or not. Disproving republican claims has become so easy, I feel like Jon Stewart when he said, "we've taken to hiding the tapes around the office, just to make it sporting." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

Diplomat caught telling the truth. "In newly disclosed text messages shared with Congress, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine writes to a group of other American diplomats that 'I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.'" Of course the person he was texting to responded that this was totally not the case, and that the conversation should be moved off of texting (where there is a record). (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

In case you were wondering how the Ukraine got the aid without investigating the Bidens… "That money had been blocked by the White House, but Smith says neither the Pentagon nor the executive branch made Congress aware of that decision. 'It is very unusual that we would not be notified,' he adds. 'They certainly move money around a lot and make decisions that are not completely in keeping with what we've passed, but they always tell us and they also have a legal justification for doing it. Neither was true in this case.'" And then the lobbyists called the Freedom Caucus, who pressured the president to release the funds. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Hillary Clinton called out President Trump on Twitter for telling reporters that Ukraine and China should investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter." Oh look, it is literally She Said/He Said reporting. So, for those of you not following yet, after a week of saying, "I never asked them to," the president now not only doubles-down in public, in front of the camera, but includes China as well. Hey Sparky, isn't Russia your go to dirt diggers? (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"President Donald Trump urged another foreign government to probe Joe Biden and his son Thursday, saying the Chinese government should investigate the former vice president and son Hunter Biden over the latter's involvement with an investment fund that raised money in the country."

"A NUMBER OF STORIES dropped Thursday night that confirm this thesis, including a batch of text messages that look damning for the administration."

"CNN, The New York Times and others reported Wednesday that the whistleblower had reached out to a House Intelligence Committee aide before filing the whistleblower complaint. The committee directed the whistleblower to report it to the intelligence community inspector general, which is standard committee protocol when intelligence community officials bring concerns to the committee. The committee had no role in the writing of the complaint and the whistleblower shared only vague allegations about the complaint with the committee aide, according to sources familiar with the matter." Which is entirely what they should have done. Why? Because if they moved with the complaint directly, this person would have zero protections and it would appear to be a political attack.

"Over the years, right-wing media has successfully managed to lock the Republican Party from access to its own base. Republican voters have been taught not to trust politicians or the mainstream media. So who have they been conditioned to trust? Media personalities like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, etc. Elected Republicans know that speaking out against Trump will result in facing a vicious wrath from the very people who their voters trust most."

"Text messages given to Congress show U.S. ambassadors working to persuade Ukraine to publicly commit to investigating President Donald Trump’s political opponents and explicitly linking the inquiry to whether Ukraine’s president would be granted an official White House visit." Waits for the inevitable "both sides" arguments. Uh, no. No they didn't. This is all on Trump. Note the stress on using the prepared statement. To bad our president didn't understand the same concept (well, not "to bad" because he basically said what he wanted which makes this an impeachable offense). What's actually surprising is the Ukrainians have more integrity than those conservatives in our government.

"U.S. President Donald Trump’s public attacks on the unidentified whistleblower at the center of a Democratic-led impeachment inquiry are complicating negotiations for the person to testify to Congress, according to three people familiar with the matter." If it was just a threat from Trump that would be one thing (although also incredibly a miss-use of the office of president), but there are many interested parties who would like this person silenced.

"A far-right activist tried to levy bogus and salacious allegations against Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday — but she apparently had a plan for that, too… The Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 contender tweeted a subtle jab at right-wing conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl after the Trump supporter claimed that 70-year-old Warren had an affair with a 24-year-old sex worker and Marine." Why does any media outlet give Jacob Wohl the time of day anymore? Wait for the sudden but inevitable meltdown.

Tweet of my heart: @ManlnTheHoody this presidency is like if dick cheney shot someone in the face every day for three years and no one did anything (Grokked from Gabriel Novo)