Linkee-poo has had enough turkey already

I'll be over here in the corner hacking up a lung.

"Although there is enough expertise and knowledge to limit global warming, 'what is lacking is political will,' Guterres said. In order to combat the crisis, 'Our war against nature must stop,' he added. And that involves changing the old ways of doing things. 'We simply have to stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions,' he said." We're boned.

"It's long been suspected but scientists can now show conclusively that thinning in the ring of floating ice around Antarctica is driving mass loss from the interior of the continent."

"Canada's vaping approach was based on a hypothesis — that the minority of Canadians who still smoked might switch to vaping… And today it's becoming clear that the utopian post-tobacco vision is not materializing the way it was imagined." Vaping is just a new way to create the next generation of nicotine addicts. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"However, if countertop-making businesses don't follow worker protection rules, cutting these slabs to fit customers' kitchens can release lung-damaging silica dust." And we all know how well companies follow safety regulations.

"Rolling back federal regulations has been a cornerstone of the Trump presidency. Now the administration has proposed rolling back some Obama-era rules for nursing homes and how they care for more than 1.3 million residents." Fuck no. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

So in Ohio we now have a law which requires doctors to "transplant" ectopic pregnancies to a woman's uterus. There is no known medical procedure (or even a process) that would make that feasible. It simply doesn't exist. You may thing that would be the height of the right-to-life idiocy. Here comes Pennsylvania telling Ohio to hold PA's beer. "Anti-abortion lawmakers in Pennsylvania want to pass a bill that would require health providers to arrange burials or cremations for all of a person's 'fetal remains,' which under the lawmakers' terms, includes fertilized eggs that never implanted in the uterus." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"But boarding in the ER affects much more than patients' state of mind. The American College of Emergency Physicians has identified boarding as one of the most important factors in ER overcrowding. And overcrowding, in turn, has been associated with everything from delays in administration of pain medication and antibiotics to longer inpatient stays, greater exposure to medical error, delayed treatment for heart attack and even increased mortality." Yes, this. And it's not unknown to have a patient in the ER for over 24 hours. These are mostly waiting for outpatient beds or treatment openings. Although there are several times patients have been cleared for admission, but sit in the ER waiting for hours until they're transferred in.

"A small relic of wood believed to be a fragment of the manger where Jesus was laid after his birth arrived in Bethlehem on Saturday, a gift from Pope Francis to help mark the start of the Christmas season." The veneration of relics has always been interesting to me.

"As U.S. corporate jet use approaches pre-financial crisis levels and chief executives take an increasing number of personal trips on the company tab, many investors are being kept in the dark about the true cost of the perk." Ah, the poor investor not knowing exactly how much the CEO is being compensated and how much tax deductions are being lost because they use the corporate jet for personal travel.

"Police said Khan then left the building and moved to London Bridge, where he continued his attack before being apprehended by bystanders, one armed with a narwhal tusk, another with a fire extinguisher. Videos of the attack posted online show Khan being sprayed by a fire extinguisher as another man jabs forward with the tusk." You just couldn't make that up.

"Ten people were shot in New Orleans' French Quarter early Sunday morning, according to police. NPR affiliate WWNO reports that shooting victims were taken to University Medical Center New Orleans and Tulane hospital and that two victims are in critical condition."

How go the Trade Wars? "President Donald Trump announced Monday that the US will 'restore' steel and aluminum tariffs on Brazil and Argentina, citing a 'massive devaluation of their currencies.'"

"Spending on U.S. construction projects fell 0.8% in October, dragged down by declines in apartment and multi-family homebuilding."

"NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier this year that the summit on Dec. 3 and 4 will give members the opportunity to address 'current and emerging security challenges and how NATO continues to invest and adapt to ensure it will remain a pillar of stability in the years ahead.'" And how to survive when the US is no longer a world leader.

"China will ban US warships and military aircraft from making stops in Hong Kong in the wake of Washington passing legislation supporting the territory's pro-democracy protesters, the country's Foreign Ministry said Monday." Tit meets tat.

"Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page who was mocked by Donald Trump for tweets she exchanged with her lover has spoken of her anguish at the president's "reprehensible" stunt at a rally in October." One being personally called out by the president.

Why is control of the courts important? "With the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, there now are five conservative justices who may be willing to shut down many attempts at (gun) regulation, just as the NRA's lock on state legislatures may be waning."

"With the US deep in questions of impeachment, what lessons can we learn from divided societies abroad? This week, On the Media travels to Poland, where conspiracy, xenophobia and the rise of illiberalism have the country in an existential fight for its future. On the Media producer Leah Feder reports."

Again, the In The Media podcast, Purple Project, episode 3: "One of the reasons so many Americans have lost trust and faith is democratic institutions is simple misunderstanding about how the system is designed to work. Another, however, is familiarity with how the system does work— which isn’t exactly of, by and for the People. Anand Giridharadas is author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. He says the founders also didn’t plan on politicians constantly trash-talking government itself and that a decline in trust in government is the result of a concerted, private sector propaganda war waged over the last four decades."

"The rising stakes come as Republicans on Sunday launched a new offensive to destroy the legitimacy of the Democratic process by claiming that Trump's enemies are rushing the somber business of making him the third impeached President in order to dodge a voter backlash." Same crap, new wrapper.

Also, unsurprisingly, the Trump White House will not participate in the Judiciary Committee's look into impeachment. You would think they would at least want a lawyer in there.

"Ohio… Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the 'relatively unsophisticated' hacking attempt on Nov. 5 (of an election website), which was Election Day, originated in Panama but was traced to a Russian-owned company." Man, election hacking comes earlier and earlier every year. (Grokked from Michele)

"Professional trolls are good at their job. They have studied us. They understand how to harness our biases (and hashtags) for their own purposes. They know what pressure points to push and how best to drive us to distrust our neighbors. The professionals know you catch more flies with honey. They don’t go to social media looking for a fight; they go looking for new best friends. And they have found them." Waves to our Russian friends. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"Facebook’s only Dutch factchecker has quit over the social network’s refusal to allow them to highlight political lies as being false." It's not that Facebook didn't learn or isn't aware, they are fully aware of what they're doing. And as long as the check clears, they're fine with it.

Annalee Newitz's NYT op-ed on the future of social media. At the great age I've obtained I've seen so many of these futures, which never actually appear. The problem with all these futures is they're normally top down driven, "Someone comes up with a bright idea…" kinds of solutions. It's a slow evolution and the only thing which progresses is the speed of processing. What I do see if an extendable social media presence. Twitter is almost, almost there. You can use other apps to read your timeline and exclude things you don't want to see (as long as you know how to block the correct terms). It was almost there with the blue check box. But then all of these things were subverted. Because there are multiple information wars going on. And as the old saying goes, when you're at a poker table if you can't tell who the sucker is, the sucker is you. (Grokked from John Scalzi among others)

"Vote totals in a Northampton County judge’s race showed one candidate, Abe Kassis, a Democrat, had just 164 votes out of 55,000 ballots across more than 100 precincts. Some machines reported zero votes for him. In a county with the ability to vote for a straight-party ticket, one candidate’s zero votes was a near statistical impossibility. Something had gone quite wrong." Turns out a paper audit showed he won. And as stated in the article, what if the glitch was only 10% of a vote? (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"Facing shots over his planned pick for an open U.S. Senate seat, Gov. Brian Kemp’s inner circle unleashed a special type of vitriol against U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida after he blasted the governor’s plans to select financial executive Kelly Loeffler." Usually this type of pissing match is reserved for intrastate and local politics. But not in Trump's party where loyalty is utmost on people's minds and the small minions of brown shirts are always willing to step into the fray. (Grokked from Joy Reid)