"Arctic researchers just starting out face an intriguing but unsettling reality: much of the sea ice that's covered the Arctic Ocean for thousands of years may rapidly melt away over their careers. In fact, some projections say the region may see its first ice-free summer in modern history by 2040." Let's see, last I knew 2040 is earlier than 2050, and much earlier than "by the end of the century." We're boned.
"However, this year's report describes more of a chasm than a gap. Global emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses have continued to steadily increase over the last decade. In 2018, the report notes that global fossil fuel CO2 emissions from electricity generation and industry grew by a mammoth 2%." Really boned.
"Weather forecasters pushing for strict limits on 5G’s rapidly growing footprint were dealt a blow today by the World Radiocommunication Conference in Egypt. Delegates there voted to create a new international standard that places much looser limits on interference from 5G operating in a specific radio frequency that’s crucial to accurate weather forecasting. Meteorology experts worry that this decision could one day seriously impact their ability to forecast severe storms, leaving communities around the world vulnerable to extreme weather events." All for a chance at better crappy internet service. Note that some parts of my commute I only get 3G service. And given the technical limits of 5G, more than likely it won't come out to us.
"Storms emit sounds before tornadoes form, but the signals at less than 20Hz are below the limit for human hearing. What causes these rumbles has also been a conundrum." Borborygmus?
It'll be safe, they said. It's the state-of-the-art technology they said. It's perfectly safe. "The amount of land impacted by an oil spill in North Dakota is almost 10 times larger than initially reported, officials say. The disclosure comes about a month after the Keystone 1 Pipeline leaked about 383,040 gallons of oil… TC Energy, the company that owns the pipeline, shut down it down on October 29 after discovering that the oil had leaked from the pipe into the surrounding wetlands. The pipeline was returned to service on November 10 following approval by the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, TC Energy says." It destroyed crucial habitat and poisoned waters. The Keystone XL cuts through the Ogallala Aquifer. If it spills there, we are fucked. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
"Uganda has come up with a solution that goes back to basics with one of the world's original painkillers: morphine… The government mixes a powdered form of the drug with water to create a drinkable analgesic that officials say has provided patients with effective relief without giving rise to widespread addiction. Just as important, it's cheap." This is something big pharma doesn't want you to know, the older drugs still work and many newer drugs aren't as effective (although sometimes the reverse is true).
"A measles outbreak in the Pacific nation of Samoa has killed 22 people, nearly all children under five."
"A 63-year-old man in Germany has died after contracting a rare infection when he was licked by his dog."
"Earlier this year, (Texas) lawmakers from both parties came together on legislation to protect people in state-regulated health plans from getting outrageous bills for out-of-network care. The new law… creates an arbitration process for insurers and providers to negotiate fair prices in those cases. The intention of the law is to get to those fair prices without ever involving patients… But that protection is at risk of becoming 'irrelevant,' consumer advocates in Texas say." Who writes the rules is also very important.
"McDonald's has agreed to pay $26 million to settle a years-long legal battle with California cooks and cashiers who have accused the company of failing to properly pay them for their work and expenses." That's a nice way to say McD's ripped their employees off.
"Amazon subsidiary Ring, which makes home surveillance equipment and cameras, has 'partnerships' with more than 600 law enforcement agencies nationwide, allowing those police access to users' footage. And while Ring says it sets terms around how and when it will share that footage with police, anything the police do with it afterward is entirely out of its hands, the company says." All your face are belong to us.
"But looked at another way, the prospect of free tuition does inspire students to enroll in college who might not have considered it previously. A recent report found that 15% of Chilean students in the program would have otherwise not sought a college education. And Chileans who get free tuition are also slightly less likely to drop out than their classmates who don't, the government has found." Chile goes to (limited) free college.
"But economists say the dramatic proposals from Sanders and Warren to free millions of Americans from the burden of student debt could boost the economy in significant ways and help combat income inequality."
"A nonprofit student loan group is suing the nation's most powerful consumer watchdog agency. The lawsuit, first obtained by NPR, alleges that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has abandoned its obligation to oversee companies that manage student loans, in particular a troubled loan forgiveness program." You government, unable to work for you.
More guns make us safer. "The man charged with murder in the shooting death of Lowndes County Sheriff 'Big John' Williams appeared in court Monday morning… William Chase Johnson, 18, arrived escorted by four state troopers. He is the son of a sheriff's deputy in neighboring Montgomery County." He was asked why he was playing his music so loud, and then he shot the sheriff. But he didn't not kill the deputy.
"Russian athletes will have a chance to compete at next year’s Olympics, but their flag would not fly in Tokyo if the World Anti-Doping Agency approves a recommendation it received Monday." Waves to my Russian friends.
How go the Trade Wars? "Liu He, China’s top negotiator on trade, spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday morning, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement."
"The watch towers, double-locked doors and video surveillance in the Chinese camps are there 'to prevent escapes.' Uighurs and other minorities held inside are scored on how well they speak the dominant Mandarin language and follow strict rules on everything down to bathing and using the toilet, scores that determine if they can leave." Just so you know the quality of those very fine people Trump is trying to get a deal with.
"Stocks ended higher Monday as the market’s rally to records resumed amid increasing expectations that China and the U.S. will reach a so-called phase one trade deal." Here we go, again.
"U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly for a fourth consecutive month, but it remains elevated with the holiday shopping season ramping up."
"The letter was from Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile, and it accused Lemonade of stealing its trademark… But, oddly, the dispute wasn't over the name T-Mobile or even its logo or tagline. It was over a color. In this case, Pantone Rhodamine Red U, also known as magenta." Uh, yeah, Bob.
"General Motors is building a $175 million plant in Ohio to produce truck engine components that will employ about 100 people… Plant construction is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of next year in the Dayton suburb of Brookville." GM to Lordstown, "Fuck you."
"On November 22nd, roughly 200 Google employees and supporters rallied to protest the suspension of two colleagues, Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland, for allegedly accessing internal information they shouldn’t have in the course of their worker activism. Now, it appears Google has fired both those workers, as well as two other employees who participated in the rally." How much deeper are they going to bury "Do no evil"?
"More than a decade and a half after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a new study found that babies are being born today with gruesome birth defects connected to the ongoing American military presence there. The report, issued by a team of independent medical researchers and published in the journal Environmental Pollution, examined congenital anomalies recorded in Iraqi babies born near Baghdad at Camp Taji, a base operated by the U.S.-led foreign military coalition. According to the study, babies showing severe birth defects — including neurological problems, congenital heart disease, and paralyzed or missing limbs — also had corresponding elevated levels of a radioactive compound known as thorium in their bodies." "Depleted" uranium rounds, they're a bitch. (Grokked from Ali A Olomi)
Oh look, after months of searching, they finally came up with a reason the president said the US wanted to buy Greenland. "The craggy hills surrounding the town are estimated to hold about a quarter of the world's rare earth minerals. With names such as cerium and lanthanum, rare earths contain key ingredients used in many of today's technologies — from smartphones to MRI machines, as well as electric cars and military jets."
"Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he was 'flabbergasted' to discover that then-Navy Secretary Richard Spencer had been working a White House back channel to resolve a standoff over controversial Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher." Shocked, shocked they were to discover… Meanwhile I'll just note the silence of all those who like to trot out the "unit cohesion" and "force readiness" arguments whenever it comes to progressive issues. In this case, here is something that demoralizes the troops (Trump's pardons and interference in the chain of command decisions) and breaks down good order, and yet we hear crickets from them. Gallagher is not an "ultimate fighter", he's a cowboy and a criminal.
"'However busy or essential a presidential aide might be, and whatever their proximity to sensitive domestic and national-security projects, the President does not have the power to excuse him or her from taking an action that the law requires,' Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote." Don McGahn must obey the subpoena and testify before Congress. And there goes the "executive privilege" argument. And yes, they're appealing to SCOTUS. They have until mid December to file their briefs. No kings or landlords.
"Louisiana senator John Kennedy, a key ally of President Trump, has meanwhile admitted he was wrong to push a debunked conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine, not Russia, who hacked a Democratic National Committee server in 2016." Now do it on Fox. And apparently to build the border wall, Trump went to Jareds.
Oh yes, the left is full of anti-semites. "Popular conservative Christian TV Host Rick Wiles warns his followers that the effort to impeach President Donald Trump is a 'Jew coup.'" Just dripping with them. (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)
"President Donald Trump has been working to defend himself against the ongoing impeachment inquiry by citing polling he says shows support for impeachment is on the decline. While some polling does in fact show a decrease in support for impeachment, it is not 'dropping like a rock' as the president has claimed, nor have polls 'turned very strongly against Impeachment.'" Can't wait to see the Nielsen Overnights for this.
"The Supreme Court is shielding President Trump's financial records from House Democrats for now. On Monday, the court agreed to temporarily stay the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruling demanding that Mr. Trump's accounting firm, Mazars, hand over his tax and financial records to the House Oversight Committee… The high court's stay will remain in effect until December 5, the deadline it has given the president's legal team to file its appeal of the lower court's ruling." It's going to be a big Christmas for Trump's lawyers.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "'Democrats have been talking about impeachment since the very day that Trump was inaugurated, but until recently, no one here in Washington took that idea very seriously,' Carlson said on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' 'Suddenly, we had impeachment hearings playing out live on TV. Nobody explained why. Looking back, what exactly happened? Well, part of the answer is that Democrats were simply responding to their own cheerleaders on cable news.'"
No comments:
Post a Comment