I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Monday, December 9, 2019

Linkee-poo Mondays

Caroll Spinney and René Auberjonois, and so it goes.

"Or, how about this approach: Simply limit your daily eating window to 10 hours. This means that if you take your first bite of food at 8 a.m., you'd need to consume your last calorie of the day by 6 p.m." Yeah, with my schedule that won't work for me.

"At least five people were killed, up to 20 injured and several reported missing after a volcano that is a tourist attraction suddenly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island on Monday."

"The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years… The agency on Friday estimated that there have already been 1.7 million flu illnesses, 16,000 hospitalizations, and 900 flu-related deaths nationally." Get the goddamn flu shot.

"The dilemma at dinner concerns a little less than $25 and how much it's worth to this family of four… Whitney and Tim Phinney couldn't have imagined how much time they would spend scrutinizing amounts like these, weighing options that never seem ideal. But then they had children in America." I don't have kids, but I've seen lots of people at work go through these decisions. Including one coworker for whom it was cheaper for their spouse to stay home than to work and pay for day care.

"A Southern California church is displaying a nativity scene depicting Jesus, Mary and Joseph as a family separated at the U.S.-Mexico border… A photo posted Saturday on Facebook by a senior minister at Claremont United Methodist Church, east of Los Angeles, showed the Holy Family inside three chain link cells topped with razor wire." Can't wait to hear conservatives talking about how churches shouldn't be political.

Who needs regulations? "Authorities said an electrical short circuit appeared to cause a fire that killed at least 43 people in a factory in central New Delhi early Sunday, as relatives of the workers who were trapped inside examined photos on police officers' phones to identify the dead… Firefighters had to fight the blaze from yards away because it broke out in one of the area's many alleyways, tangled in electrical wire and too narrow for vehicles to access, authorities said."

How goes Brexit? "UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to stop European Union migrants from treating Britain 'as their own country' if he wins this week's general election… 'You've seen quite a large number of people coming in from the whole of the EU — 580 million population — able to treat the UK as though it's basically part of their own country, and the problem with that is there has been no control at all and I don't think that is democratically accountable,' Johnson told Sky News on Sunday." I'm so glad Brexit wasn't about xenophobia, because if it was this would be a very bad place for the UK. And, oh, look, it's another "points based system" to only bring in the "right people." Fucking Nazis. (Grokked in a roundabout way from Tasha Suri)

"When turmoil erupted in the US overnight lending market in September, it came as a big surprise… But a big question has loomed: What caused the shock, unprecedented since the global financial crisis?"

"The FBI is investigating the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday as an act of terror."

"Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday and expressed his condolences and support for the families of the victims of the Florida naval base shooting, according to the state news agency." Just a reminder that most of the 9/11 hikackers were Saudis.

"Attorney General William Barr counseled President Donald Trump that his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has become a liability for his administration, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the conversations… In one instance, the Post said, Barr warned Trump that Giuliani was not serving him well as his lawyer, according to one person with knowledge of the situation." The Attorney General is not the president's personal lawyer.

"One of President Donald Trump's staunchest allies said it was 'weird' and 'odd' that the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was back digging for dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine… However, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told ABC's 'This Week' it was promising to hear that Trump said Giuliani wants to speak to Congress about his latest trip to Ukraine." Yeah, I didn't make enough popcorn for this. Say, isn't it illegal for a private citizen to conduct themselves as if they were enacting foreign policy and representing the United States in an official capacity?

"The findings from the House Judiciary Committee do not spell out the formal charges against the president, which are being drafted ahead of votes, possibly as soon as next week. Instead, the report refutes Trump's criticism of the impeachment proceedings, arguing that the Constitution created impeachment as a 'safety valve' so Americans would not have to wait for the next election to remove a president." Next up, water is wet.

"The second annual Reagan National Defense Survey, completed in late October, found nearly half of armed services households questioned, 46%, said they viewed Russia as ally." Well that's a little disturbing. There's a difference between respect and being an ally. I know I poke fun at them, and use some derogatory terms, but I do respect the ability of the Russians and their tech (waves to my Russian friends). But they are an adversary, not an ally. Our goals may align temporarily and I certainly support friendly relations and cooperation, but it's important to never forget that our national interests on the global stage are almost diametrically opposed. (Crooked from Laura J Nixon)

"US President Donald Trump told a pro-Israel conference Saturday night that some American Jews don’t love Israel enough. He also noting that he did not have to worry about getting his audience’s votes, because they would cast ballots with business interests in mind." That's not antisemitic at all. He also joked about not leaving office after his term is up. Again. "'You’re not going to vote for the wealth tax,' he went on. 'Let’s take 100 percent of your wealth away. No, no. Even if you don’t like me — and some of you don’t; some of you, I don’t like at all, actually — and you’re going to be my biggest supporters because you’ll be out of business in about 15 minutes.'" (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"US presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has released details of her past legal income, showing she earned $1.9m (£1.4m) in work for corporate and other private clients dating back to 1985." Yes, over the course of 30 years working as a lawyer with a lot of recognition for her expertise, Mrs. Warren made almost $2M. That averages to a little below $67,000 a year. I really don't see why this is actually newsworthy.

Tweet of my heart: @KameronHurley They keep coming for Warren with stuff like "she was paid a fair wage for doing work" and I'm like wow, why are they wasting space on this. That said, they sank the last woman candidate for sending emails while her opponent committed treason and tax fraud, so who the fuck knows.

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