"Wildfires driven by strong winds were racing through more than a dozen Western states Thursday, taking lives and scarring a swath of land almost as big as Connecticut… At least seven people have died as more than 90 major fires burn through 13 Western states." I'm assuming you've all seen the orange sky photos from California by now.
"Humans are wiping out wildlife at a 'unprecedented' rate with wildlife populations down by 68 percent on average since 1970, according to a new World Wildlife Fund report published on Thursday… Unsustainable agriculture and deforestation are two of the main drivers, and urgent action is required to reverse the trend, the Living Planet Report 2020 said." The Great Extinction of the Anthropocene.
"A commercial satellite photo may reveal a new Chinese space plane just moments after it landed at a remote site on the western side of China… The photo, which is too low resolution to be conclusive, was snapped by the San Francisco-based company Planet. It shows what could be the classified Chinese spacecraft on a long runway, along with several support vehicles lined up nearby."
"By tracking the journeys of hundreds of ejected particles, Chesley and his collaborators were also able to better understand what might be causing the particles to launch from the surface of Bennu. The particle sizes match what is expected for thermal fracturing (as the asteroid's surface is repeatedly heated and cooled while it rotates), but the locations of the ejection events also match the modeled impact locations of meteoroids (small rocks hitting the surface of Bennu as it orbits the Sun). It may even be a combination of these phenomena, added Chesley. But to come to a definitive answer, more observations are needed."
"We’ve heard a lot of first words about SARS-CoV-2. Some of them turned out to be prescient, some of them turned out to not matter, some of them turned out to point us in the exact wrong direction. Together, they hint at what we’re up against in the months (years) to come, though none of them can tell us what, exactly, will happen. Holding up any single study as proof of a concept or even a tide shift in thinking can be a dangerous exercise—science after all is the sum of a vast collective of research, not a new paper."
What does "Defund the Police" look like? Well, here's one example. "This, Sailon explained, is Denver’s new Support Team Assistance Response program, which sends a mental health professional and a paramedic to some 911 calls instead of police… Since its launch June 1, the STAR van has responded to more than 350 calls, replacing police in matters that don’t threaten public safety and are often connected to unmet mental or physical needs. The goal is to connect people who pose no danger with services and resources while freeing up police to respond to other calls. The team, which is not armed, has not called police for backup, Sailon said."
"The group, founded in 2016, has also had close associations with far-right groups like the Proud Boys and with white supremacists. A man who murdered two people on a train in May 2017 had previously attended a Patriot Prayer event, giving fascist salutes and yelling racist slurs. (Gibson said in an interview with the Guardian that the man had 'nothing to do with' Patriot Prayer.)… The group’s goals seem, at best, amorphous. But their enemy is not: They want to fight the left, and win."
"Armed right-wingers are stoking violence in cities across the country. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the origins of the American militia movement. Plus, as things heat up, Facebook is fanning the flames. And, in the face of an incendiary headline from the Kenosha News, a digital editor resigns."
"The Labor Department on Thursday reported 884,000 first-time filings for unemployment insurance, compared with 850,000 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total was unchanged from the previous week… Continuing claims from those filing for at least two weeks rose from the previous week, hitting 13.385 million, an increase of 93,000 from last week’s report and an indicator that the strong jobs improvement through the summer may be tailing off entering the fall."
"The European Central Bank discussed the appreciation of the euro at its latest policy meeting due to the downward pressure it puts on inflation, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday… The euro has firmed around 8% against the dollar since the spring and 4% against a basket of currencies, eroding the competitiveness of exporters and dampening inflation by making imports cheaper."
"Beijing on Thursday hit back at a U.S. decision to revoke visas for more than a 1,000 Chinese students and researchers who the American government deemed posed a security risk or had ties to China's military… Prejudice was behind the visa decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said."
"The Senate will vote on Thursday to advance a Republican proposal to address the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic, four months after House Democrats passed their $3 trillion plan… The narrower Senate bill is expected to fail to reach the requisite 60 votes but could help Republican senators in tough reelection races by giving them a rebuttal to Democratic challengers attacking their delayed response." Again, it's an election year. Don't expect anything new to pass until the lame duck session.
"The former chief of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security has filed a whistleblower complaint describing repeated instances in which he claims the Trump administration sought to “censor or manipulate” intelligence for political purposes, including information about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2020 elections." Here we go again.
"Acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told a former top aide to stop providing assessments of the threat of Russian interference in the Nov. 3 election and to play down U.S. white supremacist activity, according to a whistleblower complaint released on Wednesday."
"Author and veteran journalist Bob Woodward conducted 18 interviews with President Donald Trump for his new book, "Rage." The wide-ranging conversations are a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes… At times, Trump is serious and focused, divulging stunning details about his handling of the coronavirus and a new secret nuclear weapons system. In other interviews, Trump tries to show off and impress Woodward -- giving a tour of the Oval Office, discussing his preference for long neckties, and showing Woodward the hideaway office, which he smirked and called the 'Monica Room,' a reference to Monica Lewinsky."
"President Trump bragged about a supposedly secret nuclear weapons system in an interview with Bob Woodward, according to excerpts from the veteran journalist's new book." The president is a security liability.
And we've gone from "gotcha questions" to "gotcha books." Pretty soon conservatives will be complaining about "gotcha reality."
"President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched a new baseless accusation on how he believes Democrats will attempt to commit fraud during the presidential election, this time telling North Carolina rallygoers (SIC) to act as poll watchers to prevent fraud at voting locations." Poll watchers are registered. You can't just sit there and watch the voting space. "'Watch it,' (Trump) continued. 'Be poll watchers when you go there. Watch all the thieving and stealing and robbing they do. Because this is important. We win North Carolina, we win.'" There's this story of Jim Morrison of The Doors in Florida on stage telling people he was going to flash the crowd (despite being warned by the police), he warmed them up, told him he was going to do it, got the crowd in a lather over it and then pantomimed the action. People swear he flashed them and he was arrested for lewd behavior. But he never actually did it. The president is warming up the crowd in the same way. He's preparing their minds to see it.
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