"The report found corticosteroid shots in the hips and knees may accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis and potentially even hasten the need for joint replacement surgeries in the long run, said lead author Dr. Ali Guermazi, a professor of radiology at the Boston University School of Medicine." This is not new. Steroid shots can also accelerate osteoporosis (or osteopenia). It's part of our protocol for bone density scans to ask about steroid use (because it can skew results). But then everything has it's trade offs. Radiation, for example. We trade and increased chance of cancer for diagnostic information to help us diagnose problems (or in surgery, to help guide repairs). We trade kidney (and liver function) to take medications to help with other diseases. We trade risk of addiction for pain relief.
"The sixth grader was in Joseph Slifka's technology class when she suddenly needed emergency medical attention." There's no age limit for cardiac events, either at the top or bottom. Also, this is why AEDs are so damn important and worth the cost. And I'll note that most people we perform chest compressions on don't come back. But it can keep them alive to the point the body passes the trauma, or until more advanced procedures can be deployed. So it's still important to learn CPR and be prepared. Because there is no test to know which outcome you'll get (although I'll also note sometimes it is obvious that someone is not coming back, but as a healthcare worker we have legal obligations).
"We may have already discovered the essence of life on Mars 40 years ago, according to a former NASA scientist." Or maybe not.
"Today, NASA unveiled its designs for future spacesuits that astronauts will wear during trips to the lunar surface. The suits are still in development, but NASA claims they’ll be ready to keep astronauts alive in space by 2024 — the space agency’s deadline to return humans to the Moon."
"Ingredion isn't alone. 'Any publicly traded company, I think, is under increasing pressure from the investment community to articulate what we see as our upcoming climate risk," (Brian Nash, Ingredion's head of sustainability) says. That's partly because of prodding from an international organization called the Financial Stability Board, which set up a task force chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help companies voluntary disclose such risks." And insurance companies are adding in climate risks into the models.
"The Trump administration is proposing to exempt Alaska's Tongass National Forest from long-standing protections against logging and development, opening the door for potential timber harvesting on 165,000 acres of old-growth forest." The problem isn't the lack of wood in the market. Even with tariffs on Canadian lumber we have plenty of wood on the market. Add in the retaliatory Chinese tariffs on US lumber, we have more lumber on the market than it being used and it's depressing prices. But sure, let's go log one of the last old growth forests left. Burn it all down.
"The pay increase for restaurant workers in New York City to $15 represented the largest hike for a big group of low-wage workers since the 1960s, a new study found. (AND wait for it) During the years New York raised the minimum wage to $15 from $7.25, its restaurant industry outperformed the rest of the US in job growth and expansion, the study found." You're shocked, I can tell. But, because Business Insider is a business magazine, "While the city's restaurant growth is likely a result of the city's overall strong economy, the report's findings might suggest that paying workers more won't immediately lead to job loss or other negative business consequences as previously thought." (Grokked from John)
"But workers and employers are also navigating changing social norms around gender that can be confusing, and shifting workplace culture away from traditional gender identifiers can also be tricky." The gender questions come to corporate America.
AI in the workplace. "But Oracle’s Emily He says most workplace AI applications today are aiming a little lower than sentient world domination: 'simple things like what’s my vacation balance or what’s the 401(k) policy?'" As I've stated before, this isn't AI as we think it is, this is just white-collar automation. Frustrated by the lack of real AI, we drew the line behind us and declared we already had it. But what this really shows is just how ill informed management really is when workers would rather ask a computer to do an advanced search on digitized documents.
"'The right to throw a punch ends at the tip of someone’s nose.' It’s the idea that underlies American liberties — but does it still fit in 2019? This week, On the Media looks back at our country’s radical — and radically inconsistent — tradition of free speech. Plus, a prophetic philosopher predicts America 75 years after Trump." Which he made in the early 2000s.
What a strong CFPB is important. "Starting early last year, the nation's most powerful consumer protection agency sent examiners into companies that run student loan call centers to try to fix a troubled loan forgiveness program. But the Department of Education blocked the bureau from getting the information it needed, NPR has learned." The Trump administration blocked one part of the government from investigating another.
How goes Brexit? "A provisional deal now could mean yet another delay to Britain’s departure, currently due to take place on Oct. 31. It also raises the prospect that the EU need to hold another Brexit summit before the end of the month."
How goes the Trade Wars? "The goldfish tariff, like so many tariffs from the list, might seem negligible for someone buying a $10 common pet-store fish — the basic bright-orange kind one might get at a carnival." There are echoes here back to 1930's Smoot-Hawley Act.
"Retail sales fell 0.3% last month following a 0.6% gain in August, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the first decline since a 0.5% drop in February." In a later paragraph, the AP says the "spending decline in October…" This is either a simple typo, or Freudian/Timewarp slip-up.
"Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday delivered her annual policy address by video, after being heckled by pro-democracy lawmakers on the floor of the city’s parliament."
"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will refuse to meet with Vice President Mike Pence, who is due to travel to Turkey to argue for a ceasefire in the ongoing Syria conflict." Which is normal diplomatic protocol (like meets like)… except that Pence is traveling as Trump's proxy, which makes this a little slap in the face. Plus he's vowing no cease fire. So what would happen if there's a break in the West and Turkey becomes "independent", or aligns with Russia instead of NATO? Or even if Turkey feels like the ugly step-child of NATO?
"Eager for changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Donald Trump toyed early on with issuing an executive order to close parts of the VA health system without consulting Congress, according to an upcoming book by his former VA secretary." That would have gone over well.
"Documents recently obtained by CREW, in response to its Freedom of Information Act request for all records related to any investigation or inquiry by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, provide new information about his termination last year. They also raise questions about whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) followed the FBI’s procedural rules, which require the agency to give senior officials 30 days advance notice prior to disciplinary actions such as dismissal, and about the limited time DOJ provided McCabe and his lawyers to dispute the proposed decision." (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"For instance, Trump told the lender that he took in twice as much rent from one building as he reported to tax authorities during the same year, 2017. He also gave conflicting occupancy figures for one of his signature skyscrapers, located at 40 Wall Street." Well, the choice is financial fraud or tax fraud. Either one carries significant penalties. (Grokked from Elizabeth Bear)
"U.S. President Donald Trump has vetoed a joint resolution of Congress that sought to terminate his declaration of a national emergency on the southern border with Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday." And water remains wet.
Drain the swamp… "At the halfway mark of President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration has hired a lobbyist for every 14 political appointments made, welcoming a total of 281 lobbyists on board, a ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations analysis shows." Right into the administration. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Declaring the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry illegitimate, Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday refused to hand over documents on Ukraine." And Rudy is saying he won't appear. So, new level of Constitutional Crisis with implicit contempt (legal term). Just as a reminder, yes the Congress has it's own police force and it has it's own jail.
"A grand jury has subpoenaed former Republican Rep. Pete Sessions on matters connected to President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, two Giuliani associates' dealings with Ukraine and efforts to remove the US ambassador to Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told CNN." Sessions was the beneficiary of political donations funneled through Giuliani's friends (who are now in jail).
"A Florida man wanted in a campaign finance case involving associates of Rudy Giuliani is in federal custody after flying Wednesday to Kennedy Airport in New York City to turn himself in, federal authorities said."
"But new reporting about Giuliani’s own business dealings with shadowy Ukraine-linked figured shines a light on just how hypocritical his posturing has been… On Monday, both Reuters and the Washington Post reported that Giuliani received $500,000 from a company founded by a man at the center of a scheme to funnel foreign payments to Republican groups, including the pro-Trump super PAC 'America First Action,' in 2018… The company in question has the unfortunate name of Fraud Guarantee and was founded by Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian American associate of Giuliani’s who was arrested with Igor Fruman (another Giuliani associate) last week." This is fucking morality play territory. Seriously, if you included a company with that name in a novel your critique group, agent, and editor would spike it. It throws you out of suspension of disbelief and enters the realm of a Tom Swifty.
"The White House removed the core of its Ukraine policy team in the spring and replaced it with 'three amigos' considered more reliable for the plan to pressure Kyiv, a senior U.S. diplomat was described as telling House investigators on Tuesday." "More reliable" means they were willing to do the president's dirty work without asking questions.
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