Linkee-poo, why do the white gulls call

Ian Holm, Bilbo has left the Grey Havens and gone into the West.

"Researchers, armchair astronauts and even brides and grooms looking for an out-of-this-world wedding experience will be able to celebrate, collect data or simply enjoy the view from an altitude of 100,000 feet in a balloon-borne pressurized cabin, complete with a bar and a restroom, a space startup announced Thursday." Its not actually space, but close enough. Also it's all theoretical at this time.

"A prime of example of said chaos was the freakishly low sea ice extent in Antarctica in 2016 and 2017. Ice extent crashed hard everywhere, but particularly in the Weddell Sea near the Antarctic Peninsula. Among the oddities of the austral spring and summer those years was a Netherlands-sized hole in the ice known as a polynya… Now, new findings published in Geophysical Research Letters show the likely cause of the abnormal conditions were intense, warm winds, which also helped usher in powerful storms that wiped out icepack."

"A prolonged heatwave in Siberia is 'undoubtedly alarming', climate scientists have said. The freak temperatures have been linked to wildfires, a huge oil spill and a plague of tree-eating moths… On a global scale, the Siberian heat is helping push the world towards its hottest year on record in 2020, despite a temporary dip in carbon emissions owing to the coronavirus pandemic." We're boned.

"President Donald Trump said some Americans might wear face masks not as a way to prevent the spread of coronavirus but as a way to 'signal disapproval of him.'" This also gives a green light to those idiots who feel wearing a mask is an infringement on their liberty and have become hostile when asked to wear one. Also, sometimes the movie ain't about you, Sparky.

Whatever happened to the American economy coming "roaring back"? "Washington’s massive small business rescue is ending after delivering more than half a trillion dollars to millions of employers. Now, everyone from key lawmakers to the Federal Reserve says it may not be enough… That’s spurring a debate in Washington over how to provide a new lifeline to the beleaguered businesses." Hey, while we're at it, let's make it part of the law that every loan given out is public record (including loans in the past two bills).

How go the Trade Wars? "The European Union said on Thursday it could impose taxes on digital giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook even without a global agreement by the year-end, after Washington quit talks and stoked fears of a new trade war." Sure it's a negotiation tactic, but it's one the other countries could say, "Fine, pay the tax."

Like this… "After Washington’s move, France said it would move ahead with plans to impose digital taxes at the national level, while Italy and the U.K. said they remained committed to finding a 'global solution.'"

"A New Mexico prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a shooting charge against an Albuquerque man suspected of shooting a protester and called for further investigations after allegations the protester was armed at the time he was shot."

"Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday he will introduce legislation making Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of formerly enslaved African Americans, a federal holiday." Oh look, it's the annual attempt again.

"California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday to require county officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter for the November election, cementing into law the Democratic governor's earlier order to mail out ballots statewide in response to the coronavirus outbreak."

"Pyongyang-watchers are waiting to see if the silence portends a fresh escalation following the destruction of the inter-Korean liaison office in the Northern city of Kaesong on Tuesday. Pyongyang has warned that its military may re-enter border areas demilitarized as part of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement, and turn the zones into a 'fortress.'"

"Religious Jewish settlers like Deutsch are mounting unexpected, vocal opposition as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to execute one of the provisions of President Trump's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank."

"The Trump administration plans to reinterpret a Cold War-era arms agreement between 34 nations with the goal of allowing U.S. defense contractors to sell more American-made drones to a wide array of nations, three defense industry executives and a U.S. official told Reuters."

"Senate Republicans are unmoved by the stunning allegations in former national security adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book, saying Bolton's accusation that President Donald Trump sought reelection help from Chinese President Xi Jinping did not change their minds against calling him as a witness in the impeachment trial." Don't let conservatives fool you this coming Winter, they are all totally fine with Trump. Even the Lincoln Project. They're just upset at what they see as the coming blowback. Trump is what conservative ideology calls for. He is the base.

"President Donald Trump is not 'fit for office' and doesn't have 'the competence to carry out the job,' his former national security adviser John Bolton told ABC News in an exclusive interview." We already knew that.

"A doctored viral video shared by President Donald Trump on Twitter has been labeled as 'manipulated media' by the microblogging site as it looks to clean up disinformation." The president is an idiot.

"Facebook (FB) on Thursday said it had taken action against ads run by President Trump's re-election campaign for breaching its policies on hate. The ads, which attacked what the Trump campaign described as "Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups," featured an upside-down triangle… The Anti-Defamation League said Thursday the triangle 'is practically identical to that used by the Nazi regime to classify political prisoners in concentration camps.'"

"On Friday morning, before an ill-advised campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will take place in the middle of an unabated COVID-19 pandemic, the president of the United States threatened Americans who might come to the rally to express their first amendment rights." America in 2020.