Sorry, because of the power interruptions with the storm earlier this month I've been without a desktop computer until yesterday. So still in the process of recovering accounts, etc. But hopefully back to our very irradict publishing schedule.
"Two nights of violent protest in English towns this week, following the knife attack in Southport, reveal how today’s far-right is organising in the UK… A BBC analysis of activity on mainstream social media and in smaller public groups shows a clear pattern of influencers driving a message for people to gather for protests, but there is no single organising force at work."
"The Conservative government left the UK wide open to the far-right violence erupting across parts of the country by ignoring red flags and stoking fires with a culture war agenda, a senior adviser on extremism to Tory prime ministers has said… Dame Sara Khan, who was Rishi Sunak’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience until May this year and acted as counter-extremism commissioner under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, said the recent administrations had failed the British people."
"This is the first summer (Phoenix) has offered overnight or evening hours at any of its cooling centers. That timing has proved critical — summer nights have never been hotter. Phoenix has now set a new record for the most nights with low temperatures in the 90s in a year. As of Tuesday, 36 nights this summer have stayed above 90 degrees. And the city could record even more 90-degree nights before the end of August."
"The Food and Drug Administration Thursday gave the green light to two updated COVID-19 vaccines to help people protect themselves from the latest strains of the virus."
"Joe Biden’s administration announced a landmark healthcare negotiation on Thursday in which 10 popular medications will now be available at lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries… The discounts on the 2023 prices ranged from 38% to 79%, according to the figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS)." This is what a government that works for people looks like.
"A Georgia couple has filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta hospital after they say hospital staff allegedly misplaced part of the husband’s skull following his brain surgery." I know we had it around here someplace. Did you look in the cushions? Yes, actually this is a case of "incomplete documentation." Welcome to the new healthcare future where the loss of institutional knowledge (trobal knowledge) becomes magnified because of staff turnover.
"Beginning August 26, Subway will sell any footlong sandwich for $6.99 — a steep discount considering that some footlongs can cost as much as $14 in some cities… The deal has a catch: The offer is only available via its app or website with the code '699FL' and ends on September 8… Subway is owned by a private equity firm…" Hey, remember when private equity killed the things you liked?
"Forty-percent of companies said they have posted a fake job listing this year, according to a survey in May of 650 hiring managers from career site Resume Builder. Three in 10 companies currently have fake listings on their sites or on job boards, according to the survey." Mother fuckers.
"The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit on Friday against the real estate software company RealPage, saying its software enabled landlords to collude to raise rents across the United States."
"A dispute between two major Canadian freight railways and their union is expected to come to a close soon as the country’s labor minister has ordered a third party to mediate."
"The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana, and the country's president showed off the fist-sized stone to the world at a viewing ceremony Thursday."
"The full list of investors in X Corp has been unsealed. See them for yourselves." A Bluesky post. Checking my investments to see if Fidelity is in the mix (note, Fidelity runs the 403b at the current paycheck job, and I've already moved my other Fidelity accounts to another servicer).
"Germany’s navy says there was 'no deeper message' in the choice to blast the famed Imperial March — Darth Vader’s theme song in the 'Star Wars' films — from one of its warships as it cruised down the River Thames through London this week." Salutes.
"The U.S. Postal Service wants to save $3 billion annually on changes that reflect its greater reliance on streamlined regional networks — while retaining local mail delivery times of one to three days and allowing customers to track some delivery schedules with greater precision." Fire DeJoy.
A company that sent deceptive calls to New Hampshire voters using artificial intelligence to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice agreed Wednesday to pay a $1 million fine, federal regulators said."
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a mixed ruling on a controversial Arizona voting law… The Republican National Committee had asked the court to put a pause on a lower court ruling against the 2022 law. And in a 5-4 decision, the high court granted part of that request, allowing Arizona to enforce — for now — a section that requires election officials to reject state voter registration forms that are submitted without an applicant’s proof of U.S. citizenship. That provision will remain in effect as an appeal proceeds." Papers, please, citizen.
"The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free." And here's a thing not stipulated in the article, if you remove tips from taxable income then you're reducing your (hopeful) Social Security benefits. And if it's "not income" then the agreement in minimum wage laws, where tips make up for the lower wage you're paid ($2.65/hr IIRC) and employers need to pay you more if the tips don't bring you above the regular hourly minimum wage (which hardly ever happens) because tips are considered part of the compensation, then employers should be forced to pay tipped workers at the standard minimum wage.
Friday, August 23, 2024
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Linkee-poo Aug 4th late night
From the BBC Sunday Aug 4… "We're bringing our coverage of the violence seen in several towns around England to a close now… A riot in Rotherham was followed by violent scenes in Middlesbrough, with chanting between rival groups and one arrest… If you want more on this story…" There are five pages of rolling dispatches.
"Two nights of violent protest in English towns this week, following the knife attack in Southport, reveal how today’s far-right is organising in the UK… A BBC analysis of activity on mainstream social media and in smaller public groups shows a clear pattern of influencers driving a message for people to gather for protests, but there is no single organising force at work."
"Cave discovered on Moon could be home for humans." Wasn't this the plot of Women In the Moon?
"The world's largest renewable energy and transmission project has received key approval from government officials. The Australia-Asia Power Link project will send Australian solar power to Singapore via 4,300 kilometer-long undersea cables."
"A political action committee backed by billionaire Elon Musk is being investigated by the Michigan secretary of state’s office amid efforts to collect voter data." Good. In some states it is explicitly illegal to solicit for voter registrations and then NOT pass on all information and cards gathered to the proper elections board. You may remember several stories where these groups submitted flagrantly mis-filled out cards. It's because they have to. Musk's site appears to be gathering info to register voters, but it's not actually doing that.v
"Two nights of violent protest in English towns this week, following the knife attack in Southport, reveal how today’s far-right is organising in the UK… A BBC analysis of activity on mainstream social media and in smaller public groups shows a clear pattern of influencers driving a message for people to gather for protests, but there is no single organising force at work."
"Cave discovered on Moon could be home for humans." Wasn't this the plot of Women In the Moon?
"The world's largest renewable energy and transmission project has received key approval from government officials. The Australia-Asia Power Link project will send Australian solar power to Singapore via 4,300 kilometer-long undersea cables."
"A political action committee backed by billionaire Elon Musk is being investigated by the Michigan secretary of state’s office amid efforts to collect voter data." Good. In some states it is explicitly illegal to solicit for voter registrations and then NOT pass on all information and cards gathered to the proper elections board. You may remember several stories where these groups submitted flagrantly mis-filled out cards. It's because they have to. Musk's site appears to be gathering info to register voters, but it's not actually doing that.v
Friday, August 2, 2024
Linkee-poo Aug 2
"Bernt’s words are an echo of those commonly cited by wind power’s opponents, with arguments often hinging on the idea that wind developers under-deliver on their promises. Unpicking facts from fiction — and the gray area of people’s personal feelings in between — is difficult. And even some local leaders who can see money flowing into government coffers say they had trouble understanding a complex taxing system at first."
"An Associated Press analysis of county tax data from local governments in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska — states either with many wind farms or a high potential for wind power — found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities, with their total tax bills at times outstripping that of large farms, power plants and other major businesses. While that tax income from wind power does not represent a significant percent of counties’ budgets, it totals millions of dollars some local leaders say has translated into meaningful change. But the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, which tallies local opposition to wind power, finds efforts to block wind projects are 'widespread and growing.'"
"Sensor readings seemed to show that oxygen was being made on the seabed 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet) below the surface, where no light can penetrate. The same thing happened on three subsequent voyages to a region known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone."
"While recent research shows many pervasive health problems, including cancers, heart disease, obesity and depression are linked to UPFs (ultra processed foods), there’s no proof, as yet, that they are caused by them... For example, a recent meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Chicago was presented with an observational study of more than 500,000 people in the US. It found that those who ate the most UPFs had a roughly 10% greater chance of dying early, even accounting for their body-mass index and overall quality of diet."
"End-of-life decisions can be extremely upsetting for surrogates, the people who have to make those calls on behalf of another person, says David Wendler, a bioethicist at the US National Institutes of Health. Wendler and his colleagues have been working on an idea for something that could make things easier: an artificial-intelligence-based tool that can help surrogates predict what patients themselves would want in any given situation." Fuck no.
"Researchers have found that including the words 'artificial intelligence' in product marketing is a major turn-off for consumers, suggesting a growing backlash and disillusionment with the tech — and that startups trying to cram 'AI' into their product are actually making a grave error." AI is the new "connected to the web." It's something manufacturers think they can add and jack up the price all while they try and figure out why anyone would really want to have their dishwasher connected to the internet. "Companies are feverishly trying to stuff what they claim to be AI into every product, from dating apps to automated car salesmen — despite glaring shortcomings that have yet to be solved and mounting, astronomical costs."
"Buchholz is one of the many small sellers overwhelmed with a flood of knockoff and counterfeit versions of their work appearing for sale online. Major platforms allow these fakes to quickly find an audience — he estimates dozens of his work on Facebook alone. And while there are ways to get them taken down, it’s time-consuming to chase down every fake to get it removed, and demoralizing to see ripoffs continue to proliferate across the internet." I'm not as big, but yes this. And it is a game of whack-a-mole.
"The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)—a controversial initiative mandated by Congress in the early ’90s and first implemented in Texas in 2005—requires the state to collect money from the estates of people over the age of 55 who received Medicaid. If an individual receives Medicaid for long-term institutional care, in-home services, prescription drugs, or hospitalization costs, the state can 'recover' or 'claw back' (to use agency speak) funds after the individual dies." This is a program that needs to die right now.
You know that line, guns don't kill people? https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/nx-s1-5023043/sig-sauer-guns-military-new-hampshire-investigation">"The gun that wounded the sergeant is a version of one of the country’s most popular pistols: Sig Sauer’s P320, which is manufactured in New Hampshire. The gun has also been at the center of dozens of lawsuits claiming it has a design or manufacturing flaw that leaves it susceptible to these types of incidents: people being shot by their own gun, without a trigger pull." To be fair, for the weapon to discharge there has to be a round in the chamber, which if you are not about fire the weapon, is a no no.
"A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term 'unborn human being' to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters would use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state."
"Wisconsin Republicans are asking voters to take away the governor’s power to unilaterally spend federal money, a reaction to the billions of dollars that flowed into the state during the COVID-19 pandemic."
"Hurricane Beryl caused some significant power outages in Houston, and with temperatures in the 90s, it’s a dangerous, miserable situation all around. It’s bad enough that many utility workers came in from out of state to assist with the attempts to restore power across the city. Instead of being greeted by grateful residents expressing their appreciation, though, some utility workers have been threatened, assaulted and even shot at. Things got so bad that Texas Governor Greg Abbott was forced to address it, Click2Houston reports." Ah, this must be that "an armed society is a polite society" I hear about. Also, as just a note, the stress if this situation, which was life and death, was exceedingly high.
"In May, a group of right-wing 'undercover journalists' descended on a hotel in… the city of Dearborn, which has a large Arab population, to infiltrate pro-Palestinian groups. But the effort was derailed on their first day in town when they got drunk and rowdy at their hotel, and the leader of the group was hauled off in handcuffs after he hurled insults and expletives at police officers, according to a police report and bodycam video obtained by NBC News." Ah, those wonderful people at Project Veritas strike again.
"Americans released in Russian prisoner swap are back in the U.S."
"New details emerged Friday on the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, with the Kremlin acknowledging for the first time that some of the Russians held in the West belonged to its security services. Families of freed dissidents, meanwhile, expressed their joy at the surprise release of their loved ones."
"I’m thinking right now about the psychological state of Trump Land, which in a matter of two days has gone from hubristic triumphalism to overwhelming panic and fear… Just last week, their Anointed Savior had, after miraculously dodging a literal bullet, appeared before them to claim his long-ordained nomination to the presidency, which at the moment he seemed overwhelmingly likely to recapture. His opponents were demoralized and desperate; his fortunes were ascending by the hour; the sweet ambrosia of ultimate victory seemed almost close enough to taste… And then everything went very, very wrong."
"John Oliver discusses Donald Trump’s plans for a second term, why it could be much worse than his first term, and what Trump has in common with a hamster."
"Kamala Harris’s campaign has raised more than $200 million since President Biden endorsed her last Sunday and terminated his own presidential bid — with two-thirds of the vice president’s haul coming from first-time donors, according to Harris campaign officials."
"Trump also urged Christians to turn out for him ahead of Election Day, calling it the 'most important election ever.' He added that if elected, Christian-related concerns will be 'fixed' so much so that they would no longer need to be politically engaged... 'You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,' he said." There is some debate over exactly what he is saying here (because the man is a moron and frankly more than a little dotty) with some people linking this in with Project 2025 and other statements by the conservative fringe about ending elections and some people saying he's only saying that he'll give the "Christians" everything they want (the social conservative movement, which has been called various flavors of "Christian" were really not a voting block until Reagan mobilized them in 1980 to put him over the top and since then conservatives have had to put a lot of energy into keeping the larger block motivated to vote).
"Two former FBI officials settled lawsuits with the Justice Department on Friday, resolving claims that their privacy rights were violated when the department leaked to the news media text messages that they had sent one another that disparaged former President Donald Trump."
"An Associated Press analysis of county tax data from local governments in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska — states either with many wind farms or a high potential for wind power — found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities, with their total tax bills at times outstripping that of large farms, power plants and other major businesses. While that tax income from wind power does not represent a significant percent of counties’ budgets, it totals millions of dollars some local leaders say has translated into meaningful change. But the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, which tallies local opposition to wind power, finds efforts to block wind projects are 'widespread and growing.'"
"Sensor readings seemed to show that oxygen was being made on the seabed 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet) below the surface, where no light can penetrate. The same thing happened on three subsequent voyages to a region known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone."
"While recent research shows many pervasive health problems, including cancers, heart disease, obesity and depression are linked to UPFs (ultra processed foods), there’s no proof, as yet, that they are caused by them... For example, a recent meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Chicago was presented with an observational study of more than 500,000 people in the US. It found that those who ate the most UPFs had a roughly 10% greater chance of dying early, even accounting for their body-mass index and overall quality of diet."
"End-of-life decisions can be extremely upsetting for surrogates, the people who have to make those calls on behalf of another person, says David Wendler, a bioethicist at the US National Institutes of Health. Wendler and his colleagues have been working on an idea for something that could make things easier: an artificial-intelligence-based tool that can help surrogates predict what patients themselves would want in any given situation." Fuck no.
"Researchers have found that including the words 'artificial intelligence' in product marketing is a major turn-off for consumers, suggesting a growing backlash and disillusionment with the tech — and that startups trying to cram 'AI' into their product are actually making a grave error." AI is the new "connected to the web." It's something manufacturers think they can add and jack up the price all while they try and figure out why anyone would really want to have their dishwasher connected to the internet. "Companies are feverishly trying to stuff what they claim to be AI into every product, from dating apps to automated car salesmen — despite glaring shortcomings that have yet to be solved and mounting, astronomical costs."
"Buchholz is one of the many small sellers overwhelmed with a flood of knockoff and counterfeit versions of their work appearing for sale online. Major platforms allow these fakes to quickly find an audience — he estimates dozens of his work on Facebook alone. And while there are ways to get them taken down, it’s time-consuming to chase down every fake to get it removed, and demoralizing to see ripoffs continue to proliferate across the internet." I'm not as big, but yes this. And it is a game of whack-a-mole.
"The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)—a controversial initiative mandated by Congress in the early ’90s and first implemented in Texas in 2005—requires the state to collect money from the estates of people over the age of 55 who received Medicaid. If an individual receives Medicaid for long-term institutional care, in-home services, prescription drugs, or hospitalization costs, the state can 'recover' or 'claw back' (to use agency speak) funds after the individual dies." This is a program that needs to die right now.
You know that line, guns don't kill people? https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/nx-s1-5023043/sig-sauer-guns-military-new-hampshire-investigation">"The gun that wounded the sergeant is a version of one of the country’s most popular pistols: Sig Sauer’s P320, which is manufactured in New Hampshire. The gun has also been at the center of dozens of lawsuits claiming it has a design or manufacturing flaw that leaves it susceptible to these types of incidents: people being shot by their own gun, without a trigger pull." To be fair, for the weapon to discharge there has to be a round in the chamber, which if you are not about fire the weapon, is a no no.
"A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term 'unborn human being' to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters would use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state."
"Wisconsin Republicans are asking voters to take away the governor’s power to unilaterally spend federal money, a reaction to the billions of dollars that flowed into the state during the COVID-19 pandemic."
"Hurricane Beryl caused some significant power outages in Houston, and with temperatures in the 90s, it’s a dangerous, miserable situation all around. It’s bad enough that many utility workers came in from out of state to assist with the attempts to restore power across the city. Instead of being greeted by grateful residents expressing their appreciation, though, some utility workers have been threatened, assaulted and even shot at. Things got so bad that Texas Governor Greg Abbott was forced to address it, Click2Houston reports." Ah, this must be that "an armed society is a polite society" I hear about. Also, as just a note, the stress if this situation, which was life and death, was exceedingly high.
"In May, a group of right-wing 'undercover journalists' descended on a hotel in… the city of Dearborn, which has a large Arab population, to infiltrate pro-Palestinian groups. But the effort was derailed on their first day in town when they got drunk and rowdy at their hotel, and the leader of the group was hauled off in handcuffs after he hurled insults and expletives at police officers, according to a police report and bodycam video obtained by NBC News." Ah, those wonderful people at Project Veritas strike again.
"Americans released in Russian prisoner swap are back in the U.S."
"New details emerged Friday on the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, with the Kremlin acknowledging for the first time that some of the Russians held in the West belonged to its security services. Families of freed dissidents, meanwhile, expressed their joy at the surprise release of their loved ones."
"I’m thinking right now about the psychological state of Trump Land, which in a matter of two days has gone from hubristic triumphalism to overwhelming panic and fear… Just last week, their Anointed Savior had, after miraculously dodging a literal bullet, appeared before them to claim his long-ordained nomination to the presidency, which at the moment he seemed overwhelmingly likely to recapture. His opponents were demoralized and desperate; his fortunes were ascending by the hour; the sweet ambrosia of ultimate victory seemed almost close enough to taste… And then everything went very, very wrong."
"John Oliver discusses Donald Trump’s plans for a second term, why it could be much worse than his first term, and what Trump has in common with a hamster."
"Kamala Harris’s campaign has raised more than $200 million since President Biden endorsed her last Sunday and terminated his own presidential bid — with two-thirds of the vice president’s haul coming from first-time donors, according to Harris campaign officials."
"Trump also urged Christians to turn out for him ahead of Election Day, calling it the 'most important election ever.' He added that if elected, Christian-related concerns will be 'fixed' so much so that they would no longer need to be politically engaged... 'You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,' he said." There is some debate over exactly what he is saying here (because the man is a moron and frankly more than a little dotty) with some people linking this in with Project 2025 and other statements by the conservative fringe about ending elections and some people saying he's only saying that he'll give the "Christians" everything they want (the social conservative movement, which has been called various flavors of "Christian" were really not a voting block until Reagan mobilized them in 1980 to put him over the top and since then conservatives have had to put a lot of energy into keeping the larger block motivated to vote).
"Two former FBI officials settled lawsuits with the Justice Department on Friday, resolving claims that their privacy rights were violated when the department leaked to the news media text messages that they had sent one another that disparaged former President Donald Trump."
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