Sorry, I'm shocked to find I didn't finish publishing this yesterday. Things are that crazy. So this is a double header. About halways down we start a new list.
The Speculative Literature Foundation's deep dive interviews.
"NASA's Perseverance rover spotted something that was not like the others on Mars. On June 13, Percy snapped a photo of a rock that had a strange-looking object stuck on it… The object is a piece of foil with dots visible all across it. 'My team has spotted something unexpected: It's a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021,' the rover team tweeted on Wednesday." To the side, a stoic Martian face with 1 tear running down it.
"Chinese state media is reporting that the nation’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) has detected what could be signals sent from ‘extraterrestrial civilizations‘. FAST is a radio telescope capable of picking up signals from space… Researchers from Beijing Normal University published their findings in a report Tuesday. In the report, translated using Google Translate, the team claims to have discovered 'several cases of possible technological traces of extraterrestrial civilizations from outside the Earth.' Those traces include narrowband signals, which are used for short-range transmissions." But then they deleted it. And more than likely it was just interference from Earthbound emissions.
"Microsoft will start automatically redirecting Internet Explorer users to its Edge browser over the next few months. Internet Explorer is being retired today, and consumers or businesses still using the browser will start to see a prompt soon that will redirect them to Microsoft Edge instead." The hospital still uses IE for several of our apps. But see ya later IE, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.
"A letter sent to city leaders in Chardon (ED Note: Ohio, which is local to me) has a lot of people talking. The note surrounds the city's first-ever gay pride celebration in the town square… Wayne Sanders is among the 18 people, many of them pastors, who signed the letter voicing their concerns." Apparently they don't want the little children to see it. And there's concern about the drag show (which will be a part, but not the whole thing). Like they're going to do burlesque in the park or something… "'We did not ask it to be canceled. As a matter of fact, the letter itself was a private letter that we sent to the mayor and to the council,' said Sanders. 'It wasn't meant to go out for publication. It was simply us voicing our opinion that we didn't think it was a healthy thing for our community.'" There is no such thing as a "private letter" sent to the mayor and council. You can send it to their residences, individually. But if it was sent to city hall asking for some action, you should consider that it will be made public.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance Tuesday about how to identify monkeypox during this outbreak, based on the symptoms doctors have observed so far. Some recent infections have presented differently than past cases in Africa, where monkeypox is endemic in 11 countries."
"The Covid-19 pandemic has abated in much of the world and, with it, many of the social restrictions implemented to curb its spread, as people have been eager to return to pre-lockdown life… But in its place have emerged a series of viruses behaving in new and peculiar ways." Narrator, it's still a pandemic and we're still seeing spikes in infection.
"A committee of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend that the agency authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children as young as 6 months."
"Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.75%, most since 1994, amid effort to slow inflation… The Fed decision lifts short-term borrowing costs to a target range between 1.50% and 1.75%."
"The Bank of England on Thursday implemented a fifth consecutive hike to interest rates as it looks to rein in soaring inflation."
"Abbott has stopped production of its infant formula at its Sturgis, Mich., plant less than two weeks after restarting due to severe thunderstorms that caused flooding inside the plant… The company announced the pause in production in a statement on Wednesday, adding that it will re-sanitize the plant and production is likely to resume in a few weeks." Dramatic music here.
"The data shows travel is surging — despite high plane-ticket prices — as many countries loosen their COVID-19 restrictions and reopen borders… Analysts say vacation-starved Americans are making up for lost time during the pandemic, and there's even a new term for it: revenge travel." And then there's this idiocy… "It's a proclamation of 'Screw you, COVID, I can travel and I'm going to,' he said. In his own words, Hrubant describes it as 'revenge against 'rona.'" You let me know how that works out.
"The PM's ethics adviser has quit a day after saying there was a 'legitimate question' about whether Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules over Partygate… Lord Geidt did not give a reason for leaving the role he took in 2021, but said it was the 'right thing' to do… His predecessor, Sir Alex Allan, quit in 2020 after Mr Johnson overruled him over a report into alleged bullying by Home Secretary Priti Patel." Note this is not an ethics advisor to the British Government, this is an ethics advisor just to Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
"Recognition of Juneteenth, the effective end of slavery in the U.S., gained traction after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. But after an initial burst of action, the movement to have it recognized as an official holiday in the states has largely stalled."
"The European Union's embargo on 90% of the oil it imports from Russia is the toughest punishment it's inflicted on the Kremlin since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine… But a smaller part of the latest sanctions package could prove just as significant. A ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil would make it harder for Moscow to divert hundreds of thousands of barrels a day to other buyers in India and China, and that could drive global oil prices even higher."
"Sanctions have affected many aspects of life in Russia, but one particular shortage has sent the wealthy elite into a spin: beauty clinics are running out of Botox." Oh noes, the ruskies will have wrinkles!
"Picture a court of law, jury in place, set to determine the fate of a woman who has had a miscarriage. And she's been charged with murder… This hypothetical is part of how the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is training its members to prepare for a wave of criminal charges if, as expected, the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade." As they explain, this is already happening.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked 11-11 along party lines on the nomination of Steve Dettelbach to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives… Democrats can still advance the nomination to the full Senate using procedural moves, and three key lawmakers — Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Angus King of Maine and John Tester of Montana — say they support his nomination. Dettelbach would be the first Senate confirmed ATF director in seven years."
It's Raw Story, so… "Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's attempt at a fiery populist speech in front of a federal courthouse was marred by a single protester on Wednesday." Please tell me the guy with the "Failed Coup" sign was on their livestream. Also, Reichs are a thousand years, Steve-o. Not a hundred.
"Thursday’s Jan. 6 select committee hearing will focus on President Trump’s efforts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to summarily overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory."
"The video, portions of which were released by the committee on Wednesday, appears to show a man taking photos of tunnels, hallways and staircases within the Capitol complex while on a tour led by Loudermilk. The committee also released footage that appears to show that same man marching to the Capitol on January 6."
"The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack is in possession of email correspondence between conservative attorney John Eastman and Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, a conservative activist who's the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a source familiar with the committee's investigation told CNN."
"It says the Trump campaign took $250 million in donations from supporters that it said would go to an election defense fund to pay for legal fees to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. But the fund was never actually created, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., one of the committee members, said Monday in the panel's second public hearing… Instead, the money went to the Save America political action committee, she said, and the money went from there to several pro-Trump organizations which are headed by former officials close to Donald Trump's inner circle." It's a grift all the way down. I'm sure there have the record for al the consulting fees (I'm assuming) they used to pay with this money.
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"China's Chang'e 5 lunar landing and sampling mission found water on the moon both through on-site analysis and in materials delivered to Earth."
"When each population of bacteria was measured for its fitness in the D-serine environment before any evolution occurred, the more genetically diverse populations fared the better than the clones… At the early stages of the experiment (around 50 generations in), the wealth of genetic diversity in the initial population was important for adaptation… But, by the 500th generation, the diversity at the start of the experiment 'no longer mattered' because the new mutations were 'sufficiently large', the authors write in their preprint, which is available on BioRxiv ahead of peer review." As a comparison, for humans 500 generations is approximately 1000 years.
"Now scientists are reporting on three successful kidney organ transplants, carried out in children in California, without the need for immune suppression. The transplants used a new method that minimizes the risk of the new kidney getting rejected… The innovative technique works by safely transplanting the donor's immune system into the patient – via stem cells from bone marrow – before the kidney also moves over: dual immune/solid organ transplant or DISOT. This has been tried before, but with a limited amount of success."
"Three former fraternity members were sentenced Thursday to jail terms for their roles in the hazing death of a Bowling Green State University student, while two others were ordered to serve house arrest." It's not enough.
"And the Fed will continue to raise rates as needed throughout the year if inflation doesn't abate, Powell said. Its next meeting will be in late July… 'The Federal Reserve got inflation wrong. And now they're trying to correct their mistake by pretty quickly hiking interest rates. And that will slow the economy,' said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in an interview with NPR." You say that like it's a bad thing. Raising interest rates is meant to slow the economy. That's how it fights inflation. Jesus, it's like nobody remembers a pre-2007 world.
"Under intense political pressure to address soaring gasoline prices, President Biden is trying to push the nation's largest refiners to do more to boost supplies and lower prices… In a letter to the companies on Wednesday, Biden said refiners are taking advantage of the crisis, seeing record-high profit margins at a time when inflation has soared and families are finding it hard to afford to fill up their cars." These companies are used to empty threats. Until you throw executives in jail and claw back profits, they won't change.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Ramsey argued the Biden administration’s policies related to energy industry, the labor market and government spending in recent years are the major factors driving inflation… 'The Fed raising the interest rate is not going to lower gas prices, so it's not going to stem inflation,' Ramsey said on 'America’s Newsroom' Thursday."
Just for shits and giggles, domestic oil production history.
"Elon Musk prefers employees in the office, for the most part, he told Twitter employees… At a town hall with Twitter workers on Thursday, Elon Musk — who submitted a bid to buy the social media company for $44 billion but has publicly wavered over the issue of spambots — answered questions about how he would run the business, from layoffs to product management… One major thing: He really prefers in-person work, Insider reported… Musk said he thinks only high-power employees should be able to skip the office, generally speaking." Note that here, "high-power" is a euphemism for "executive class."
"SpaceX has fired at least five employees involved in circulating a letter around the company that was critical of CEO Elon Musk, two people familiar with the company told CNBC… The open letter, first reported by The Verge, was circulated and signed by an unknown number of SpaceX employees earlier this week. The letter was addressed to company executives, according to media reports, and described the billionaire’s public behavior as 'a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment' for SpaceX employees." Shocked, shocked I am…
"Two people were killed and a third wounded in a shooting at a church in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday night, police said. A suspect, who hasn't been named, is in custody." Another day full of freedom in the US.
"The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse and launch a new task force to oversee further reforms in the nation's largest Protestant denomination… The vote came three weeks after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant on the long-simmering scandal, revealing that Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years."
"But according to the South China Morning Post, new textbooks for use in Hong Kong contend the territory was never a British colony. The reason: China never recognized the treaties that ceded it to Britain." Authoritarians need to control the narrative, and they can never be wrong or have seen set backs in the past. It's just one long parade of glorious history. Echos reverberating her win the US over CRT and the 1619 Project.
"China has launched its third aircraft carrier, the first designed and built entirely in the country, marking a significant military advance for the Asian superpower… The announcement comes as tensions between China and the US have ramped up in recent weeks over Beijing’s sabre-rattling towards self-ruled Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province to be seized by force if necessary." Congrats, China, that is a big step. But building and launching a ship is very different from keeping it in working order when it's halfway around the world.
"The worry for many is just how dependable Russian gas flows are to Europe as the conflict continues and as economic sanctions bite. Indeed, Moscow has already cut gas supplies to Finland, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark’s Orsted, Dutch firm Gasterra and energy giant Shell for its German contracts, all over a gas-for-rubles payment dispute."
"Ukraine's bid to join the European Union received a major boost on Friday morning, after the bloc's executive said it believed the country should be formally considered for candidate status in the wake of Russia's invasion."
"But inside the Treasury Department, teams of sanctions experts view that resilience as a mirage. In exclusive interviews with CNN, top Treasury Department officials say they remain confident the sanctions are working and that beneath the surface, a much more dire story is unfolding within Russia's economy, where they contend real and lasting damage is being inflicted."
"After disruptions to two LGBTQ pride events over the weekend — the arrest of a group of extremists who allegedly planned to riot near a Pride event in Idaho and the interruption of a 'Drag Queen Story Hour' in the Bay Area — organizers of similar events this June say they are on edge as Pride Month continues."
"Karen Amsden hoped that being arrested and accused of criminal conspiracy to riot would change her son's heart. When he stood by his hateful views, she says she told him to get out of her house… Jared Boyce was one of 31 men arrested in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Saturday as they gathered near a Pride parade. Police said they believed all are affiliated with or part of the White nationalist Patriot Front group and were planning to 'antagonize and cause disorder,' according to a court filing." Being arrested for being a Nazi piece of shit is one thing, disappointing your Mom is another.
"The committee’s third public hearing examined the intense pressure Trump and his allies heaped on Pence to reject key electoral votes when he presided over a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to confirm President Joe Biden’s victory. The hearing also focused heavily on John Eastman, a lawyer advising Trump who pushed the dubious legal theory that Pence held virtually unilateral power to overturn the election." While most news stories like the "the rioters were within 40 feet of Pence" because that's a good sensational news bit. But most overlook that Pence told his Secret Service team captain that while he trusted him, he would not get in the limo sent to whisk him away because he didn't trust the rest of the Secret Service.
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