There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Friday, August 23, 2024

Linkee-poo Aug 23

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.

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