Linkee-poo Late Thursday June 3

"Nasa has announced that it is sending two new missions to Venus in order to examine the planet's atmosphere and geological features."

"Sri Lankan authorities are preparing for an oil spill from a sunken container ship after efforts to tow the vessel into deeper waters failed… The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for two weeks near the port of Colombo. Part of the hull has now settled on the seabed."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "But we were wrong. It soon became clear that Tony Fauci was just another sleazy federal bureaucrat — deeply political and often dishonest. More shocking, we then learned that Fauci himself was implicated in the very pandemic he’d been charged with fighting. Fauci supported the grotesque and dangerous experiments that appear to have made COVID possible."

"China has indefinitely suspended extreme sports events, including ultramarathons, trail running and wingsuit flying, in response to the deaths of 21 long-distance runners in Gansu last month… Extreme weather hit Yellow River Stone Forest trail race in Gansu province a few hours into the race on 22 May as many of the competitors were crossing a remote and treacherous part of the 100km mountain track. Of the 172 competitors, 21 died and eight were injured. Scores of competitors sheltered in caves, some rescued by residents from nearby villages."

"When Paxton Smith got up to deliver her high school graduation speech, it was supposed to be about TV and the media… But the teenager ditched the script that had been approved by her school, and spoke about abortions instead." You go, girl.

"For decades, policymakers in Washington and state capitals have fretted about the patchwork of broadband access in the United States, which has held back economic development in underserved areas and became a major problem during the pandemic, when residents in these pockets suddenly couldn’t tap into what abruptly became the online default for much of the nation." Technically, my little community has great broadband, but my neighborhood is stuck in the early 2000's because of crappy unground wiring that the telecom refuses to replace.

"Initial jobless claims fell below 400,000 for the first time since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Labor Department reported Thursday… First-time filings for unemployment benefits totaled 385,000 for the week ended May 29, a decline from the previous week’s 405,000 and below the Dow Jones estimate of 393,000." One data point does not a trend make. However the trend has been down.

"United Airlines is planning to turn the friendly skies into the ultrafast skies with the addition of supersonic jets… The carrier announced Thursday it’s buying 15 planes from Boom Supersonic with the option to purchase 35 more at some point… Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not been built or certified yet." You know, if it works.

"Now, lawmakers and First Nations groups are calling for all former residential schools across Canada to be examined for signs of unmarked graves… For decades, residential school survivors have been telling 'horror' stories of children disappearing without a trace, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee told NBC News on the phone from Prince George, British Columbia."

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents pushed Thursday for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts to derail their newly announced coalition government."

"A coalition of Israeli political parties announced Wednesday night they had agreed ​to a deal to form a new government, paving the way for the exit of Israel's longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu." Not that I like the coalition (and except for their hatred of Netanyahu, they hardly agree on anything else), but bye-bye Benny.

"Over the past few weeks, people have been attacking Jews in American streets for being Jewish, as well as vandalizing synagogues and other Jewish sites. No, I’m not talking about the scuffles at protests; I’m talking about the premeditated attacks on random people who look Jewish — sucker-punching, shooting fireworks, pulling people up from seats at restaurants, screaming threats." This shouldn't need to be said, but being Jewish does not equal being Israeli , or vice versa (there are many Israelis who aren't Jewish, and a lot of the Jews worldwide are not Israelis). The actions happening in Israel against the West Bank and Gaza strip are political actions being disguised as religious actions (and it's easy for people to mistake that given statements on both sides). But none of that makes it okay to attack people here in the US (or around the world). (Grokked from several people)

"Republicans, who are fighting the teaching of critical race theory in schools, contend it divides Americans. Democrats and their allies maintain that progress is unlikely without examining the root causes of disparity in the country. The issue is shaping up to be a major cultural battle ahead of next year's midterm elections." Can't have any of that critical thinking, because that leads to ideas, which leads to progressivism.

"The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of 'race-norming' — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias." The fuck you say?

"Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel excoriated the Commission on Presidential Debates in a letter on Tuesday, threatening to advise any future Republican nominee against participating in general election presidential debates unless significant changes are made to the commission." Changing the rules while they think no one is looking.

"To Matt Masterson, the review of 2020 ballots from Maricopa County, Ariz., that's underway is 'performance art' or 'a clown show,' and definitely 'a waste of taxpayer money.'… But it's not an audit… The process is a simple exercise in how disinformation spreads and takes hold in 2021. And experts fear it presents a blueprint for other states and lawmakers to follow, one that is already showing signs of being emulated across the country."