"This is the story of the Rinka family and what happened when tragedy befell them. It's a story that explores how the choices we prefer when we're healthy may no longer make sense to us when we're actually confronting death." The Hidden Brain podcast on our choices, the power of wanting to live, and the effect of those choices. When of sound mind, the choice can appear easy and clean. In the crux, though, choices start getting fuzzier.
"Astronomers have found a compact group of galaxies clustered around an active galaxy, and that central galaxy's black hole is so powerful it's blowing a wind that's causing star formation in the galaxies around it!"
"FRONTLINE investigates the promise and perils of artificial intelligence, from fears about work and privacy to rivalry between the U.S. and China. The documentary traces a new industrial revolution that will reshape and disrupt our lives, our jobs and our world, and allow the emergence of the surveillance society." It's one of their longer shows (almost 2 hours), but highly recommended. But again, we're taking the state-of-the-art and drawing the line behind us to declare we've arrived. This is not AI except by the loosest of definitions. Mostly it's allowing the computer machine learning to determine it's own dataset and process for very specific, and limited, functionality. But this show does a good job running out where we are, how fast the future is coming, and where it may be leading us.
"But an investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found that, as Gov. Eric Holcomb sought to lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Indiana, state labor officials quietly absolved Amazon of responsibility. After Amazon appealed, they deleted every fine that had been levied and accepted the company’s argument — that the Amazon worker was to blame." There is a culture war, and we're losing. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Police said two people were killed in a stabbing near London Bridge on Friday afternoon that authorities are describing as a terrorist incident. A male suspect was shot and killed at the scene."
"The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy was expanding at a modest pace in October and early November, supported by growing consumer spending." I'll just note they don't give an actual number.
"The Commerce Department said Wednesday that consumer spending rose 0.3% last month, the best gain since a 0.5% rise in July." See, because they do have numbers.
"The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its pending home sales index, which measures the number of purchase contracts signed, fell 1.7% last month… Still, declining mortgage rates over time have lifted home sales. The index is up 4.4% from a year ago."
"An Indiana judge has canceled a trial challenging limits on the state’s religious objections law, finding conservative groups failed to prove they were harmed by changes the Republican-dominated Legislature approved shortly after then-Gov. Mike Pence signed it." But the religious groups feel they have been harmed because :: checks notes :: can't discriminate against gays, women, or any LGBTQ persons.
"After weeks in a makeshift refugee camp in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, Martinez knew he had to send 5-year-old Benjamin and 7-year-old Osiel without him. Benjamin had contracted bronchial pneumonia, and Martinez couldn't afford any more antibiotics." The changing face of asylum seekers, people who send their kids to the US alone.
"Mexico's Foreign Ministry is requesting a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after President Donald Trump told former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly he planned to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations." Words have meaning, and consequences.
"Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Friday he would step down following weeks of violent protests and a call for his ouster by the country's top Shia Muslim cleric."
"During a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to troops stationed in Afghanistan, President Trump said that his administration has reopened peace talks with the Taliban, nearly three months after he abruptly canceled them. Trump made the announcement at a rally staged at Bagram Airfield outside Kabul, where he exchanged handshakes and posed for photographs with U.S. troops."
"A former Deutsche Bank executive who signed off on several controversial loans to Donald Trump killed himself in his Malibu home earlier this month." Oddly, when I first heard about this I thought it was a retread of an old story, but it's not. This is not the first time an executive at Deutsche Bank, connected to loans to Donald Trump, has hung themselves. Add in Epstein, and you'd think the lunatic conspiracy fringe of the right would be adding 2 and 2 to get 22 and saying that Trump is having people bumped off. You know, like what they believe of the Clintons. (Grokked form Kathryn Cramer)
"President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that he directed his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to go to Ukraine and seek out investigations on his behalf, contradicting his own words to the Ukrainian President in the White House released transcript of the July 25 call." It's getting crowded under that bus. And then there's Rudy's statement about having "insurance" in his safe for just such an emergency.
"Former Republican congressman Charlie Dent said Thursday some of his former colleagues in the House of Representatives have privately told him they are 'absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the President's behavior.'" Doesn't mean squat unless it's done in public. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
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