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

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Linkee-poo is proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free* (* limited time offer)

I'm Batman… "Thinking of yourself as a separate entity can reduce anxiety, while also kicking up some major benefits for your confidence and determination." I remember during on panel that a moderator got upset when I admitted that my being on the panel was "acting." Yes, my normal self is sitting to the side in the audience, listening intently and processing. To get in front I have to moderate myself, ramp parts of me up to 10 and other parts back to 2. So it's me, but with a different equalizer setting. He seemed offended that someone would "act" on a panel. And I wanted to reply that I knew another member of the panel as an extreme introvert who would probably go back to their room right after the panel to decompress, are they not also acting? But I didn't want to out them.

"A plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021 and 2022 received final approval from local authorities, against the objection of many local residents and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups. The proposal had already won state and federal approval." A bold experiment, or extreme folly? We probably won't know for a few years.

"Lava tubes beneath the surface of Mars and the moon could be, respectively, 100 and 1,000 times wider than lava tubes on Earth, which could provide shelter and create exploration opportunities for astronauts in the future, according to a new study." As lots of science fiction stories have postulated.

"The US state of Michigan has agreed to pay a settlement of $600m to victims of the Flint water crisis, US media say… Most of the money will go to children in the city who were exposed to drinking water poisoned with lead, reports add." How's that new investigation coming along? Hello? Hello?

"The idea of using a public bathroom with see-through walls may sound like the stuff of nightmares. But a famous Japanese architect is hoping to change that view, using vibrant colors and new technology to make restrooms in Tokyo parks more inviting."

"The piece was among thousands looted from the National Museum in Baghdad in 2003, he says. Without instructions from the U.S. military to protect the museum, American soldiers who helped topple Saddam Hussein stood by while Iraqi looters rampaged through the museum… Heritage experts estimate hundreds of thousands of other objects were looted directly from Iraq's archaeological sites after Saddam lost control of parts of the country in 1991, following the war to end Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. The looting and illegal trade of its antiquities in international markets continue to this day, Iraqi officials say."

"President Donald Trump urged universities to continue reopening their campuses on Wednesday, even as some institutions across the country report clusters of coronavirus outbreaks among their students."

"Children infected with the coronavirus have been found to carry high levels of the germ, according to the authors of a study who warned students could fuel the pandemic if the correct precautions aren't taken when schools reopen." Too late.

"One of the few treatment options for patients seriously ill with COVID-19 is the antiviral drug remdesivir. Authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in May for emergency use in the pandemic, remdesivir is in short supply. The federal government has taken on the responsibility for deciding where vials of the medicine should go… Between July 6 and July 19, the federal Department of Health and Human Services allocated shipments of remdesivir to 31 states… North Carolina wasn't one of them."

Heinous fuckery… "During the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has taken a public stance against bogus health claims that discourage people from taking proper precautions against the virus. The company even gave the World Health Organization free advertising to help fight misinformation… But research from Avaaz, a global non-profit that works to protect democracies from disinformation on social media, shows that global health misinformation accumulated an estimated 3.8 billion views on Facebook in the past year. The conspiracies circulating on Facebook can be fatal — some of them suggest ingesting poisonous substances, while others tell people not to wear masks or to shun vaccines." An On the Media podcast extra (about 20 minutes) about the problem of misinformation (warfare) and how Facebook's intentionally not addressing the problem (because of the politics of the owners and the business models) have left the public in a position to be preyed upon.

"How do you fix healthcare's medical waste problem?"

"State officials and federal agencies warn there's a new phone scam circulating: Callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers are trying to pry credit card or bank account information from unsuspecting victims… The grifters apparently are taking advantage of a genuine public health intervention that is crucial to stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus: contact tracing."

"Dramatic new footage has emerged of the altercation between Toronto Raptors' president, Masai Ujiri, and a San Francisco Bay Area police officer, following the Canadian team's decisive game 6 victory in the NBA Finals last year… The video, obtained by CNN, raises questions about a claim by the officer -- Sheriff's Deputy Alan Strickland -- that Ujiri was the aggressor in the exchange."

"Educators from around the country have been reflecting on what they teach and how they teach it in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the national protests that followed… Some lessons up for reconsideration: the dismissive take that it was simply 'the norm' that Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves in the late 1700s and language around Christopher Columbus' 'discovery' of America." The history is the same, but it's time for it to have a more truthful flavor and focus. Waits for the inevitable conservative backlash about "indoctrination" and "people who don't love this country."

And in today's "Well, duh" news… "Federal Open Market Committee members expressed concern at their latest meeting over the future of the economy, saying that the coronavirus likely would continue to stunt growth and potentially pose dangers to the financial system." Shocked, shocked investors are…

One data point does not a trend make… "The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 15 came in at 1.106 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a total of 923,000. Initial claims for the previous week were also revised higher by 8,000 to 971,000. Last week marked the first time in 21 weeks that initial claims came in below 1 million."

"American Airlines said Thursday it plans to cut service to 15 small U.S. cities with low demand in October after the terms of federal aid requiring the flights expires… American and the other U.S. passenger carriers that accepted portions of $25 billion in federal payroll support were required to maintain minimum levels of service through Sept. 30." That's going to hurt those cities economies.

"Alexei Navalny, Russia's most outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, is fighting for his life in a hospital, and his spokeswoman says she believes Navalny was poisoned as he was flying from Siberia back to Moscow." Stay safe my Russian friends. Don't drink the tea at work.

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to demand Thursday that crippling international sanctions are reinstated against Iran… President Donald Trump has directed Pompeo to travel to the United Nations Security Council in New York to enforce what's known as the 'snapback,' a mechanism built into the Iran nuclear deal signed under President Barack Obama in 2015." I have a feeling this won't go as they think it will and will be proof of just how far our standing in the world has dropped.

"Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday that there have been nearly 1,500 arrests across eight U.S. cities thus far under the 'Operation Legend' law enforcement initiative launched roughly six weeks ago and highlighted by President Donald Trump in his reelection campaign… Of those arrests, according to the Justice Department, approximately 217 defendants have been charged with federal crimes, most of which are drug and gun-related. Barr said investigators have also assisted state and local authorities in bringing homicide charges against more than 90 defendants." Which will be spun by all sides for their own purposes. But here's one thing I don't see covered, prison populations had been steadily decreasing over the past decade, which might have lead to some private prisons going bust. Now they won't. I'm sure that had nothing to do with this initiative.

"Democrats, however, appear to be awakening to this threat to their ability to govern. In contrast to prior versions of its party platform, which barely mentioned the courts, the Democratic Party’s 2020 party platform states that the party 'will commit to creating new federal district and circuit judgeships.'… That means that, if Democrats follow through on this proposal under a President Biden, the influence of President Trump’s unusually conservative crop of judicial appointees will be diluted by Biden appointees named to fill newly created seats on the federal bench." It's a good start, but more is needed. Also with a little history of the problem.

"The Democratic National Committee has removed a provision in its party platform that called for an end to subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry… First reported by HuffPost on Tuesday, the revelation comes amid the party’s convention this week, where fighting climate change has been a recurring theme and where there has been a particular emphasis on switching to cleaner alternatives and away from dirty energy sources like coal and oil that emit greenhouse gases." That's a mistake.

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Fox News host Trace Gallagher asked ex-Obama spokesperson-turned-Joe Biden surrogate Zach Friend if it was 'very confusing' when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nominated Sen. Bernie Sanders during her Democratic National Convention speech." There is no confusion. This is reporters trying to find conflict when there isn't any. And it's a smarmy story from Fox. This is what happens when stupid people become reporters and talking heads.

Trump endorses QAnon… "President Trump addressed the baseless, far-right QAnon conspiracy theory directly for the first time on Wednesday, saying he didn't know much about the online community and its followers other than 'they like me very much.'… 'I heard that these are people who love our country,' Trump added in response to a question about the conspiracy community during a press briefing at the White House."

"The Susan B. Anthony Museum and House has rejected President Donald Trump’s pardon, arguing that the move would go against the late women’s suffrage leader’s wishes… 'On news of a presidential pardon for Susan B. Anthony on August 18, 2020: Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon today!' the museum tweeted." As anyone even cursorily familiar with the suffragette's story could have told the president, and why many people in the audience for his proclamation laughed, even as they tried to support Trump. Even the dead are telling Trump he can fuck right off.

"Steve Bannon, President Trump's former political adviser, has been arrested alongside three other people in connection with an online fundraising scheme that federal prosecutors in New York say is responsible for defrauding hundreds of thousands of people." Fraud? Bannon? Inconcevable!

The company you keep… "Loomer is one of the most high-profile figures of this movement -- and one of its most controversial. She has described Islam as a 'cancer on humanity' and said that Muslim candidates should not be allowed to hold office in America. She has called herself a 'proud Islamophobe.'… That behavior has led to Loomer being banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram -- not to mention ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft. (She tweeted in 2018 that 'someone needs to create a non Islamic form of Uber or Lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver.')… And as of Wednesday morning, Loomer is the Republican nominee in Florida's 21st District, which happens to include President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort." Whackaloon quotient goes up.

"President Donald Trump may rail against mail-in ballots in public, but state and local Republicans are quietly telling Americans that’s exactly how they should vote… In Iowa, the Republican Party mailed absentee ballot applications to voters without waiting for requests. In Pennsylvania, the GOP’s website promotes voting by mail: 'Vote Safe: By mail. From home.' And in Ohio, the Republican Party sent mailers with Trump’s photo saying 'Join President Trump and Vote by Absentee Ballot.'" Calling the Republic Party hypocrites is like saying water is wet. It's become so regular, it hardly even registers anymore.

"From the Philadelphia ground where the American experiment was born, one former president -- in a stunning prime-time address to the nation he once led -- warned that his successor was on the cusp of destroying democracy itself… Trump meanwhile, back at the White House, was rage-tweeting in real time in all-caps, flinging wild accusations and lies that, if anything, provided contemporaneous evidence of his predecessor's somber warnings."

2 comments:

Jim C. Hines said...

Re: your first post, I'm happy to out myself as someone who does the same thing. I'm still me when I'm on panels, but it's a performance version of me. And I definitely have to recharge at cons to make up for the amount of time I'm "on".

Steve Buchheit said...

Hey Jim, thanks for that. As we'd talked before I've seen you put on your con persona for a reading, and I also know that it's not much different than your "real self" (or at least your BarCon self). I think some people are ashamed of doing it, or they think people at the panel won't trust or like them if they say they also do it. Speaking in front of groups of people isn't natural, and we don't do it all the time. I think it's a normal thing for people to say "I'm going to show this side of me (and hide this other side)" in those circumstances. Maybe people don't realize that's "acting"?