Linkee-poo Monday March 14

William Hurt, and so it goes.

"Publishing twitter is having a very important public conversation, touched off by the announcement by Molly McGhee yesterday that she was leaving Tor after being refused a promotion, when her first acquisition hit the New York Times list this week. In her post, she detailed the large scale problems that led to this decision, including scads of administrative work she was also expected to do." Gwenda Bond with a post about last week's publication industry twitter kurfluffle. Of interest because as the big 5 continue down this "continuous improvement" process coupled with the waves of economic bad times leading to "cost cutting" we're seeing the industry lose it's (even now) diminished capacity to bring along new talent and instead rely on both established named authors (who are aging) and the unpaid work of those in the lower trenches of the publishing side (self-selecting for a higher economic class and eliminating minority voices and perspectives). In business speak, this is "focusing on the core competencies" while expecting other (smaller) publishing houses to do the hard work of training the next wave of talent (both on the author side and on the inside) that these businesses then expect to poach to continue the cycle in the decades to come and relying too much on the brand to carry the heavy lifting. This is a recipe for irrelevance. As it is, the business model has all but eliminated story and structure editing from their internal staff and rely on agents and contractors to massage books to reach a ready for publication stage. This means the work required of the new author has increased exponentially and places more risk on them (and the agents who represent them). If this is where the industry really wants to go, they should not be surprised if the people taking the risks, the authors and agents, begin demanding a much wider slice of the pie. The other option is to wrest control of distribution chains out of your hands. Frankly, that, with the democratization of the printing side of publishing, won't leave very much left for the publishing houses and every agent will become a small publisher.

"The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a backyard mixed species poultry flock in Franklin County, Kansas and a non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) in Mclean County, Illinois."

"After nearly a year of operations, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is still “as good as new” as it serves as a scout for the Perseverance rover… NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced March 11 that Ingenuity completed its 21st flight on the planet, traveling 370 meters during the 129-second flight. The helicopter has now traveled more than 4.6 kilometers since its first flight in April 2021."

"The Sun is continuing its rowdy behavior, with flares and coronal mass ejections almost every day since mid-January. That means the inevitable has happened: some of those eruptions have blasted in the general direction of Earth, which means we're in for some solar storms."

"'You know, it is such a hallelujah moment, absolutely,' says Enger, who works at the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Environments Division. For more than 25 years, she's been fighting to improve the air quality inside of America's schools… But there are lots of competing demands for limited school budgets. And in the past, getting school districts to prioritize indoor air quality hasn't been easy. Often, she says, it took some kind of crisis to get schools to focus on the issue – 'when they found the mold problem, when their asthma rates were kind of going through the roof.'"

"Deutsche Bank has said it will wind down its Russia operations — a major U-turn that sent shares higher Monday… In an announcement released late Friday, the German bank said it was joining a host of international peers in exiting the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine and resultant operational restrictions."

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 1%, or over 300 points, during intraday trading as the index recovered some losses following five straight weekly losses. The Nasdaq fell, while the S&P 500 gained about 0.5%. U.S. crude oil prices (CL=F) briefly dipped below $103 per barrel to a two-week low, while the average price for gas at the pump held near a record above $4.30 per gallon across the U.S." Just a reminder, gas prices rise like a rocket and float down like a feather.

"In an attempt to curb inflation, the Federal Reserve is expected this week to begin raising interest rates for the first time in three years… The move presents President Biden and Democrats with yet another political challenge from a different end of the economic spectrum than higher prices."

"There will be no limit to the number of Ukrainian refugees who can live with UK host families under a new visa scheme, the government has confirmed… It is hoped tens of thousands of displaced people will benefit from the Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme… More details will be set out later, before a website goes live for people to express an interest in helping."

"Another round of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials was underway on Monday. Both sides reported 'substantial progress' after several previous rounds, and there was even hope for some possible agreement within a matter of days. It wasn't clear what the delegations might actually agree to, but previous rounds have enabled 'humanitarian corridors' for civilians to evacuate some of the hardest-hit cities."

"Russia has asked China for military support, including drones, as well as economic assistance for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, according to conversations CNN had with two US officials… The requests came after the invasion, one of the officials said. That official declined to detail the Chinese reaction but indicated that the Chinese had responded. Both the Chinese and Russian governments publicly denied that the request happened."

"Russia is intensifying its attacks on western Ukraine… Here's a look into the last few days on the ground."

"The refugee crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be the fastest-growing displacement of people in Europe since World War II. On this week’s On the Media, hear the story of an internet community that guided an influencer and his family through the warzone. Plus, how Russia’s draconian anti-press laws have driven journalists out of the country."

"A series of shootings targeting sleeping homeless men in New York City and Washington, DC, over the past two weeks were carried out by a single suspect who remains at large and is the subject of an 'urgent' manhunt, officials said Sunday."

"Americans overwhelmingly support the White House's proposed ban on Russian oil, though they remain very critical of President Joe Biden's handling of the economy, in general, and inflation, in particular, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll."

"Adams demanded the name of the FirstEnergy official who approved the $60 million in payments to a nonprofit that federal prosecutors say acted as a collection plate for then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and a select group of allies… In exchange for the payments, Householder and others are accused of pushing a $1.3 billion legislative bailout of two nuclear plants that had been owned by a subsidiary of the Akron utility." He, ho, way to go Ohio. (Grokked from southerncoca)

"Conservative influence powerhouse CPAC and the American Conservative Union that sponsors it, face criticism on multiple fronts over financial and other dealings with foreign backers, and charges their gatherings have become pay-to-play affairs with corporate lobbyists as Donald Trump allies gain power and influence." It's grifts all the way down.

"A week ago this morning, the possibility of action seemed almost plausible. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told CNN and Punchbowl News that it was “appalling and wrong” for Gosar and Greene to attend the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC)… A week later, there’s reason to believe Republican leaders are prepared to accept that which they saw as unacceptable." That's because they think the spotlight has moved on.

"More than a year after he left the White House, Trump is still the center of the Republican universe. And that's truest of all for his most committed fans. Thousands of rallygoers waited for hours on Saturday in frigid, gusty weather for Trump to speak."