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

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Linkee-poo Tuesday April 12

"At least five people were shot in a New York City subway station on Tuesday during morning rush hour, police said. Authorities say they are still looking for the shooter… The shooting took place at 36th Street Station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park around 8:30 a.m."

"NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has determined the size of the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers. The estimated diameter is approximately 80 miles across, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. The nucleus is about 50 times larger than found at the heart of most known comets. Its mass is estimated to be a staggering 500 trillion tons, a hundred thousand times greater than the mass of a typical comet found much closer to the Sun."

"NASA will resume its efforts to complete a key fueling test of the Space Launch System rocket on Tuesday… The space agency has decided to modify this test, however, due to a problem with a check valve on the rocket's upper stage that leads to a pressurized helium bottle. The valve was found to be stuck last week and will need to be replaced."

"In 2019, two of the Harvard researchers who studied Oumuamua in depth drafted a new paper positing that an extremely speedy meteorite that blazed a trail through the atmosphere in 2014 was also interstellar… However, as Siraj recently told Vice, peer review and publication of the paper have been held up because the US military had classified some of the data needed to confirm the scientists' calculations… That bureaucratic logjam now appears to be broken." IS this a horror movie? Because this feels like how the horror movie begins. Actually, this will lend credence to the panspermia argument.

"The psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms helps to open up depressed people’s brains and make them less fixed in negative thinking patterns, research suggests… According to the findings, psilocybin makes the brain more flexible, working differently to regular antidepressants, even weeks after use. Researchers say the findings indicate that psilocybin could be a viable alternative to depression treatments." Feed your head.

"If you have a history of asthma or allergies, you may be at increased risk of developing high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, new research finds… Adults between the ages of 18 and 57 who have suffered from an allergic disorder had a higher risk of high blood pressure, according to the research, which will be presented at the American College of Cardiology and Korean Society of Cardiology's spring conference in Gyeongju, South Korea."

"Some residents of Shanghai were allowed out of their homes as the city of 25 million eased a two-week-old shutdown Tuesday after a video posted online showed what was said to be people who ran out of food breaking into a supermarket."

"'We found reports of increased constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain,' says Kendra Kamp, a researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She surveyed IBS patients with anxiety or depression about their experiences early in the pandemic. More than 90% reported increased stress and 81% reported increased anxiety. Another survey sponsored by a pharmaceutical company found half of IBS patients say their symptoms have been more challenging to manage, and many reported an initial onset of IBS amid the pandemic." Working with the ER, can confirm. Here's the thing, the SARS-CoV2 virus, while we've focused on respiratory issues, tends to show up a lot with symptoms along the lower digestive tract, and can be detected more easily in feces than through the nasal mucous. Again, this is a brand new disease, it will hit us in ways we haven't even explored yet. So this and long COVID are starting to be more of a concern for medicine.

"Heart inflammation after a Covid jab is not only rare but no more common than after other types of vaccinations, researchers have found… As Covid vaccination programmes began around the world it emerged that some people – particularly young men – subsequently developed myocarditis, a type of inflammation of the heart muscle, or pericarditis, inflammation of the outer lining of the heart." The truth is finally getting its boots on.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.5% in March compared to the same month last year, according to the latest report released Tuesday. That marked the fastest rise since December 1981. This followed a 7.9% annual increase in February. Heading into the report, consensus economists were looking for an 8.4% jump for March, according to Bloomberg data."

"The Biden administration will temporarily allow gasoline with 15% ethanol to be sold between June 1 and Sept. 15. Normally only a cleaner10% blend can be sold in the summer."

"Once it shutters, the number of Kmarts in the U.S. — once well over 2,000 — will be down to three in the continental U.S. and a handful of stores elsewhere, according to multiple reports, in a retail world now dominated by Walmart, Target and Amazon."

"Amazon is handling a rapidly growing number of returns that are causing a massive problem for the e-commerce giant and the planet… A National Retail Federation survey found a record $761 billion of merchandise was returned to retailers in 2021. That amount surpasses what the U.S. spent on national defense in 2021, which was $741 billion."

"Elon Musk has decided not to join Twitter's board, the company said on Sunday, less than a week after the billionaire Tesla CEO disclosed he is the social media company's largest shareholder and was offered a seat." Not really surprised, because as a board member Elon would have to behave. And he doesn't do that well.

"One year ago this month, Apple unveiled the AirTag, a shiny, half-dollar-sized coin with a speaker, Bluetooth antenna, and battery inside, which helps users keep track of their missing items. Attach an AirTag to your purse, keys, wallet, or even your car, and if you lose it, the device will ping every nearby Apple product with Bluetooth turned on to triangulate its location… Police records reviewed by Motherboard show that, as security experts immediately predicted when the product launched, this technology has been used as a tool to stalk and harass women." Just as they did with other technologies.

"Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak have been told they will be fined by police over lockdown-breaking parties held on UK government premises, a Downing Street spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday."

"President Biden has picked former federal attorney Steve Dettelbach to serve as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as the administration takes new steps to address the scourge of gun violence in America."

"The Department of Justice said Monday that it had submitted to the Federal Register a final rule designed to curb the proliferation of so-called 'ghost guns' — untraceable firearms that don't have serial numbers."

"The thought of an extreme-right leader standing at the helm of the European Union would be abhorrent to most in the 27-nation bloc. But if Emmanuel Macron falters in the April 24 French presidential elections, it might be two weeks away."

"President Emmanuel Macron and the far right's Marine Le Pen won Sunday's vote and will face off in the April 24 presidential runoff that will offer voters two sharply contrasting visions of France… Sunday's vote is a repeat of the results five years ago, when the two faced off in a runoff vote. In 2017, however, Macron easily won the runoff by attracting two out of three ballots cast. This time, Le Pen attracted a much higher percentage with 23.3% of the vote, according to exit polls. Macron has 28.1%."

"Ukraine's military has fought so effectively that Russia has abandoned its Plan A, which envisioned a quick takeover of the capital Kyiv. Russia has now turned to Plan B, with troops focused on the eastern part of Ukraine… So as the war enters a new phase, what does this mean for both sides?"

The NPR daily roundup of Ukraine news, including 10 million have fled, it's possible to prove war crimes are genocide, Holocaust museums are calling out Russia over their actions, things not looking good in Mariupol, and mines left around Kyiv. Also, the world is dividing up.

"The US and Britain say they are looking into reports that chemical weapons have been used by Russian forces attacking the Ukrainian port of Mariupol… Ukraine's Azov regiment said three soldiers were injured by 'a poisonous substance' in an attack on Monday… However, no evidence has been presented to confirm the use of chemical weapons." Not that the Above regiment are trustworthy (they are the ultra-right wing militia), but if this proves out, my Russian friends, that is a grave escalation which will demand an international response. Again, your leaders are making this a moral imperative to intervene.

"Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he raised alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine during a "tough" and unfriendly meeting Monday with Vladimir Putin -- the first Western sit-down with the Russian President since he launched his invasion in February."

"President Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday that Russia’s bloody offensive in Ukraine would continue until its goals are fulfilled, and insisted the campaign was going as planned, despite a major withdrawal in the face of stiff Ukrainian opposition and significant losses." I wonder how long it will take to get to "a land bridge to Crimea"?

"New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has surrendered to authorities to face campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with a past campaign, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday… His arrest comes after reports that Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating whether Benjamin knowingly engaged in a campaign finance fraud scheme. Subpoenas were issued in connection with the investigation, two sources familiar with the subpoenas said at the time."

"That is not the thinking now. With Biden's struggling approval ratings in states across the country and high inflation a top concern for voters, Republicans have significantly improved their likelihood to take control of the Senate, based on conversations with operatives and strategists in both parties." Release the prognosticators.

"A federal judge has indicated that an attempt to stop the far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene running for re-election will be allowed to proceed… The challenge from a group of Georgia voters says Greene should be disqualified under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, because she supported insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021."

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