The Planet Money podcast with "In Hollywood, 'packaging' has been a longstanding industry practice: An agency assembles a group of clients--such as a writer, an actor, and a director--and pitches them all together to a studio or network. Then, instead of collecting a commission from its individual clients, the agency gets a fee from the studio once the project is sold and airs." The WGA struggle last year and the practice of "packaging" and who pays whom for what.
"A meteorite that crashed into rural southeastern Australia in a fireball in 1969 contained the oldest material ever found on Earth, stardust that predated the formation of our solar system by billions of years, scientists said on Monday."
"The planet’s oceans were the warmest in recorded history in 2019, according to a new analysis published Monday." But for the full atmosphere it was the 3rd warmest. We're boned.
"Researchers in the US have created the first living machines by assembling cells from African clawed frogs into tiny robots that move around under their own steam." Xenobots… the future is weirder than we imagined.
"The researchers also looked specifically at the 2008 economic collapse and estimate that a $1 minimum wage increase could have prevented over 13,000 suicides if previous trends held for this period." (Grokked from John who reminds us that if the minimum wage set in 1968 had been tied to inflation it would be $22/hr right now, that's almost as much as I make at the hospital for skilled, accredited, and knowledgable work).
"On January 8 2020, MSN.com aggregated a Los Angeles Times article, which reported that Americans pay four times as much per capita for health care than Canadians did under their country’s single-payer healthcare program…"
"A traveller in Thailand has become the first person outside China to be diagnosed with a new coronavirus… The Chinese woman was quarantined after arriving in Bangkok from Wuhan, in eastern China, where the outbreak began in December." Rhut rho.
"A 4-year-old has gone blind after getting the flu. The little girl, Jade DeLucia, hadn’t received the flu vaccine this year, and now her mom is sharing Jade's story to raise awareness, with the aim of saving other families from a similar fate." Get the goddamn flu shot.
"Some people pay $200 a month on the golf course or a fancy cable TV package, says David Westbrook, a hospital executive in Kansas City, Mo. His splurge? He pays Dr. John Dunlap $133 a month for what he considers exceptional primary care." Concierge health care.
"Here are 10 headlines comparing Meghan Markle to Kate Middleton that might show why she and Prince Harry are cutting off royal reporters… Over the years, Meghan has been shamed for the same things for which her sister-in-law, Kate, has been praised." Totally not racist at all. (Grokked from Anne Wheaton)
"Princes William and Harry have denied a UK newspaper story alleging that a rift in the royal family was caused by William's 'bullying attitude.'"
"Discussions are ongoing in Canada over who will pay the costs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security for their proposed new life in the country, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau."
"NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with The Economist's Anne McElvoy about what it would take for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to become financially independent."
"What students learn about U.S. history can differ drastically depending on the state where they live. A new analysis from The New York Times shows stark political differences in social studies textbooks in California and Texas even though they're the same books with the same titles from the same publishers." We no longer have a shared history.
"Over the past 41 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been buying up land on the lower Texas-Mexico border to protect one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America from developers and farmers… But the Rio Grande Valley of Texas is a hotspot for illegal immigration and drug smuggling, as well as biodiversity. That's why the Trump administration is planning to build 110 miles of border wall through the valley (which is actually a river delta)." If only we can get the deer, rabbits, and lizards to recognize international borders.
"The owner of the Houston Astros announced Monday that he is dismissing the baseball team's general manager, Jeff Luhnow, and manager, A.J. Hinch, over an elaborate sign-stealing scheme during the 2017 and 2018 seasons."
How go the Trade Wars? "Here’s what’s in the phase one China trade deal Trump is signing this week… For all the pomp and circumstance expected of the signing ceremony, many are still unsure of exactly what the two nations are agreeing to and how they’ll enforce their deal." Basically there's not a lot in there.
UK "Counter-terrorism police placed the non-violent group Extinction Rebellion (XR) on a list of extremist ideologies that should be reported to the authorities running the Prevent programme, which aims to catch those at risk of committing atrocities, the Guardian has learned." Making climate activism a crime. You're doing something right when the government is that scared of you.
"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that the victims of the Ukrainian airliner shot down in Iran would still be alive if the recent escalation of tensions in the region had not happened, according to a transcript of an interview with Global News TV." Mirror Mirror Universe Trudeau wants you to know that Trump bears some responsibility here.
"'Bridgegate' was the political scandal that marked the beginning of the end of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential hopes. The scandal's legal consequences could prove more consequential if, as prosecutors fear, the criminal convictions in the case are thrown out by the Supreme Court." In case you forgot about the other conservative corruption cases.
And with Sen. Booker "suspending" his presidential campaign the only people of color left are Deval Patrick (who doesn't even show up in the polling) and Andrew Yang (best poll number is 5%)… Not a good look fellow liberals.
"The blessing of what's being called 'the official Bible for the new U.S. Space Force' at the Washington National Cathedral on Sunday is drawing an outpouring of criticism on social media and condemnation from a prominent religious freedom advocacy group." When I swore in, there was no Bible used. For any oath of office (or even oath to "tell the truth") no Bible is required. This is complete bullshit.
"On the day the U.S. military killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad, U.S. forces carried out another top-secret mission against a senior Iranian military official in Yemen, according to U.S. officials… The strike targeting Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander in Iran’s elite Quds Force who has been active in Yemen, did not result in his death, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the matter." Again the "imminent attack" narrative (which is necessary because without it we are violating many international laws and would face sanction in the UN) doesn't hold up. (Grokked from Dan)
"In the 10 days since it carried out the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Trump administration has been struggling to draft an after-the-fact narrative to justify it. On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. 'It doesn’t really matter,' he tweeted, 'because of his horrible past.'" Actually, Mr. President, it matters a lot.
"Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the U.S. has the constitutional authority to strike Iranian proxies in Iraq and Iran on the Islamic Republic's home soil in retaliation for attacks on American forces." That's an interesting take, Sec. Esper, especially after you admitted that you had not seen the intelligence the president had cited as justification for the last strike. Also, IIRC, the AUMFR was specifically crafter for al Qaeda and allied forces. The definition for "allied forces" has been stretched very thin, and with Iran I believe it will break.
"After the US military assassinated an Iranian military general, war propaganda kicked into overdrive. On this week’s On the Media, how news consumers can cut through the misleading claims and dangerous frames. Plus, how Generation Z is interpreting the geopolitical crisis through memes. And, how apocalyptic thinking is a near-constant through history."
"US Attorney General William Barr has asked Apple to unlock two phones of a Saudi man who carried out a mass shooting at a US base… He accused the company of not having 'given us any substantive assistance', a claim that Apple denies." The government again demand crypto backdoors and Apple (again) tells them to shove it. "Apple had given the FBI iCloud data from the attacker's online account, the New York Times reported, but refused to unlock the phone, saying it would undermine their own encryption software."
"President Trump is adding one of his personal attorneys to the team of White House lawyers defending him in the impeachment trial. Here's why."
Tweet of my heart: @chelseagsummers Gwyneth not choosing to call her vagina candle “Pepper’s Pot” is a missed opportunity IMO. (Grokked from Dan)
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Monday, January 13, 2020
Linkee-poo, for I have dined on honey dew and drunk the milk of paradise
Neil Peart, and so it goes.
The I Should Be Writing podcast with "ISBW #472: Trust the Basement Dwellers… It’s easy to get mired in your own mind. Trust your subconscious, and know they don’t work very well if you’re not letting them write." On the intuition of doing things, or how internalized rules and functions help you work. Also, that subconscious, here there be Muses. For those long-time reader know, for writing I often talk about the Muse. The muse, your muse, is your subconscious mind (which works at speeds that are multiples of your conscious mind, that internal dialog). And I intentionally talk about the Muse as if she (and mine is a she) were an external entity in the classic Greek style (on my office wall at work I have framed postcards of Charles Meynier's Apollo and the Muses except for the center painting with Apollo and Urania because ick). But she is the voice from my subconscious that sometimes knows better than my conscious just WTF I'm trying to write about. And here I will give my caution to new writers, do not be dependent on the Muse showing up before you write. Muses are fickle and they will only reward those who show up to do the work. Start writing without the Muse. You'll find they'll show up after you start, even if you don't recognize them. Sometimes it's a leap of faith. Be willing to make it.
"Using home remedies such as herbs, teas and vitamins or a prescription drug obtained from Mexico, Texas women have tried to end their pregnancies themselves three times more often than women in other states, a new study finds." And abortion is still legal, although not geographically or demographically evenly available. This is the future of a nation under right-to-life. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"One of the largest studies about women's emotions after an abortion finds most feel relieved and don't regret their choice, even if they struggled beforehand or worried about stigma… Researchers found that at five years after having an abortion, only 6% expressed primarily negative emotions. The overwhelming majority of women surveyed -- 84% -- had positive emotions or no emotions whatsoever about their abortion decision, even if they hadn't felt that way when they were making the decision to have an abortion."
"Sentencing is scheduled to begin on Monday in the criminal trial of top executives at Insys Therapeutics. This landmark case was the first successful prosecution of high-ranking pharmaceutical executives linked to the opioid crisis, including onetime billionaire John Kapoor."
"A volcano south of the Philippine capital has sent a massive plume of ash and steam spewing miles into the sky and pushed red-hot lava out of its crater, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people and the closure of Manila's airport."
How goes the Trade Wars? "How Trump’s trade war is making lobbyists rich and slamming small businesses… Washington’s influence industry, including former Trump officials and allies, has made big money helping companies get exemptions from tariffs — sometimes by undercutting small business owners like Mike Elrod." How's that libertarian ideal working out for you? Kinda sucks, doesn't it. The president is draining the swamp… right into his and his friends pockets. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured her second presidential term with 8.2 million votes — the most any leader has secured since Taiwan held its first direct presidential elections in 1996."
"In the months since office-sharing startup WeWork’s botched public debut, mid- and late-stage investors in big start-ups have been pushing for more safeguards in case their firms fail to go public or sell shares at a lower valuation than pre-IPO financing rounds." Ah, the myth of the risk taking entrepreneurs and our bold and brave investor class. I don't know, maybe investigate actual business performance instead of "capital potential" before investing? I know, crazy idea, right? But again you see how those with money want a guarantee of major returns on their money. But they're all for sticking the down side with the rest of the public schmucks.
"In an open letter, a group of 13 former White House press secretaries, foreign service and military officials call for the return of regular White House and other press briefings. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the authors." An unaccountable government.
"The Trump administration is planning to announce on Monday that more than 20 Saudi students receiving military training in the United States will be sent back to their home country, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter." I guess the Saudi's $1B for more US troops didn't include a training rider.
"Apologies from Iranian leaders over the downing of an airliner last week have done little to quell mass anti-government protests spreading across the country… Thousands of demonstrators hit the streets this weekend condemning Iranian authorities for shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane and killing all 176 people on board."
"Less than a day after Iran finally acknowledged that its armed forces unintentionally brought down a Ukrainian jetliner, Iranian authorities' admission of the 'unforgivable mistake' has had major reverberations — both in Iran's capital, Tehran, where demonstrators crowded local universities Saturday, and around a stunned world."
Just as a reminder, the crew of the American destroyer USS Vincennes that downed an Iranian jet liner Flight 655 were given medals by Pres. Reagan.
"President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran's increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials." The story keeps changing, demolishing all attempts at justification that have been given previously. But it's beginning to look like an assassination that was executed as a target of opportunity. "Defense Secretary Mark Esper presented a series of response options to the president two weeks ago, including killing Soleimani. Esper presented the pros and cons of such an operation but made it clear that he was in favor of taking out Soleimani, officials said." And yet, in a stunning admission over the weekend, Sec. Esper admits he did not see any intelligence about Soleimani planning attacks against our embassies (the justification given by the president). Let that one sink in. This was a military strike (not a CIA directed drone strike) that the justification was imminent attack on four of our embassies (as explained by the president), and yet our Secretary of Defense did not have the intelligence and wasn't concerned enough to get briefed on the matter before giving an interview. The person at the nexus for military intelligence didn't see anything. The person responsible (besides the president) and they didn't even both to ask what the hell happened (and was completely side-lined for the operation). The obvious answer is the intelligence does not exist, but that's even more worrying that this extrajudicial killing is entirely unjustifiable.
"The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, and her aides were scrambling to prepare for an event with little precedent in American history — the impeachment trial of a U.S. president. In just a few weeks, they would have to advise Chief Justice John Roberts on how to run that trial and address a slew of arcane procedural questions that few — if any — had ever been asked. Their answers, they knew, could influence how the historic event unfolded." How the sausage is actually made. Also, this is how government is supposed to work. People tasked with carrying on the actual work do research and prepare themselves to answer the questions of the people who will "do" the work. Prepared. It's like we haven't seen that from our elected or appoint officials in years.
An opinion piece… "In the Soviet Union, show trials were a legal farce in which the guilt of the accused had been determined well before the hapless defendant was dragged before the court. But even in the most grotesque of Stalinist proceedings, the court went through the motions of hearing the testimony of witnesses and receiving evidence, even if those motions were entirely pro forma… Today in America, we are confronted with a sad inversion of the Stalinist show trial: the 'McConnell show trial.'" Other countries have claimed our justice is a sham, it's just they had to work hard to make that point. Now they can just phone it in.
The I Should Be Writing podcast with "ISBW #472: Trust the Basement Dwellers… It’s easy to get mired in your own mind. Trust your subconscious, and know they don’t work very well if you’re not letting them write." On the intuition of doing things, or how internalized rules and functions help you work. Also, that subconscious, here there be Muses. For those long-time reader know, for writing I often talk about the Muse. The muse, your muse, is your subconscious mind (which works at speeds that are multiples of your conscious mind, that internal dialog). And I intentionally talk about the Muse as if she (and mine is a she) were an external entity in the classic Greek style (on my office wall at work I have framed postcards of Charles Meynier's Apollo and the Muses except for the center painting with Apollo and Urania because ick). But she is the voice from my subconscious that sometimes knows better than my conscious just WTF I'm trying to write about. And here I will give my caution to new writers, do not be dependent on the Muse showing up before you write. Muses are fickle and they will only reward those who show up to do the work. Start writing without the Muse. You'll find they'll show up after you start, even if you don't recognize them. Sometimes it's a leap of faith. Be willing to make it.
"Using home remedies such as herbs, teas and vitamins or a prescription drug obtained from Mexico, Texas women have tried to end their pregnancies themselves three times more often than women in other states, a new study finds." And abortion is still legal, although not geographically or demographically evenly available. This is the future of a nation under right-to-life. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"One of the largest studies about women's emotions after an abortion finds most feel relieved and don't regret their choice, even if they struggled beforehand or worried about stigma… Researchers found that at five years after having an abortion, only 6% expressed primarily negative emotions. The overwhelming majority of women surveyed -- 84% -- had positive emotions or no emotions whatsoever about their abortion decision, even if they hadn't felt that way when they were making the decision to have an abortion."
"Sentencing is scheduled to begin on Monday in the criminal trial of top executives at Insys Therapeutics. This landmark case was the first successful prosecution of high-ranking pharmaceutical executives linked to the opioid crisis, including onetime billionaire John Kapoor."
"A volcano south of the Philippine capital has sent a massive plume of ash and steam spewing miles into the sky and pushed red-hot lava out of its crater, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people and the closure of Manila's airport."
How goes the Trade Wars? "How Trump’s trade war is making lobbyists rich and slamming small businesses… Washington’s influence industry, including former Trump officials and allies, has made big money helping companies get exemptions from tariffs — sometimes by undercutting small business owners like Mike Elrod." How's that libertarian ideal working out for you? Kinda sucks, doesn't it. The president is draining the swamp… right into his and his friends pockets. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured her second presidential term with 8.2 million votes — the most any leader has secured since Taiwan held its first direct presidential elections in 1996."
"In the months since office-sharing startup WeWork’s botched public debut, mid- and late-stage investors in big start-ups have been pushing for more safeguards in case their firms fail to go public or sell shares at a lower valuation than pre-IPO financing rounds." Ah, the myth of the risk taking entrepreneurs and our bold and brave investor class. I don't know, maybe investigate actual business performance instead of "capital potential" before investing? I know, crazy idea, right? But again you see how those with money want a guarantee of major returns on their money. But they're all for sticking the down side with the rest of the public schmucks.
"In an open letter, a group of 13 former White House press secretaries, foreign service and military officials call for the return of regular White House and other press briefings. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the authors." An unaccountable government.
"The Trump administration is planning to announce on Monday that more than 20 Saudi students receiving military training in the United States will be sent back to their home country, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter." I guess the Saudi's $1B for more US troops didn't include a training rider.
"Apologies from Iranian leaders over the downing of an airliner last week have done little to quell mass anti-government protests spreading across the country… Thousands of demonstrators hit the streets this weekend condemning Iranian authorities for shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane and killing all 176 people on board."
"Less than a day after Iran finally acknowledged that its armed forces unintentionally brought down a Ukrainian jetliner, Iranian authorities' admission of the 'unforgivable mistake' has had major reverberations — both in Iran's capital, Tehran, where demonstrators crowded local universities Saturday, and around a stunned world."
Just as a reminder, the crew of the American destroyer USS Vincennes that downed an Iranian jet liner Flight 655 were given medals by Pres. Reagan.
"President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran's increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials." The story keeps changing, demolishing all attempts at justification that have been given previously. But it's beginning to look like an assassination that was executed as a target of opportunity. "Defense Secretary Mark Esper presented a series of response options to the president two weeks ago, including killing Soleimani. Esper presented the pros and cons of such an operation but made it clear that he was in favor of taking out Soleimani, officials said." And yet, in a stunning admission over the weekend, Sec. Esper admits he did not see any intelligence about Soleimani planning attacks against our embassies (the justification given by the president). Let that one sink in. This was a military strike (not a CIA directed drone strike) that the justification was imminent attack on four of our embassies (as explained by the president), and yet our Secretary of Defense did not have the intelligence and wasn't concerned enough to get briefed on the matter before giving an interview. The person at the nexus for military intelligence didn't see anything. The person responsible (besides the president) and they didn't even both to ask what the hell happened (and was completely side-lined for the operation). The obvious answer is the intelligence does not exist, but that's even more worrying that this extrajudicial killing is entirely unjustifiable.
"The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, and her aides were scrambling to prepare for an event with little precedent in American history — the impeachment trial of a U.S. president. In just a few weeks, they would have to advise Chief Justice John Roberts on how to run that trial and address a slew of arcane procedural questions that few — if any — had ever been asked. Their answers, they knew, could influence how the historic event unfolded." How the sausage is actually made. Also, this is how government is supposed to work. People tasked with carrying on the actual work do research and prepare themselves to answer the questions of the people who will "do" the work. Prepared. It's like we haven't seen that from our elected or appoint officials in years.
An opinion piece… "In the Soviet Union, show trials were a legal farce in which the guilt of the accused had been determined well before the hapless defendant was dragged before the court. But even in the most grotesque of Stalinist proceedings, the court went through the motions of hearing the testimony of witnesses and receiving evidence, even if those motions were entirely pro forma… Today in America, we are confronted with a sad inversion of the Stalinist show trial: the 'McConnell show trial.'" Other countries have claimed our justice is a sham, it's just they had to work hard to make that point. Now they can just phone it in.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Linkee-poo has been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
Mike Resnick and Buck Henry, and so it goes.
Cue the fanbase, Fox hints at Firefly revival.
"The heart of NASA's first Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket is on the move… The 212-foot-long (65 meters) SLS core stage rolled out of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Wednesday (Jan. 8) and was loaded onto a barge, agency officials announced."
"The couple say that about 95% of their income comes from the Prince of Wales. He pays for the public duties of Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and some of their private costs." Like I said, I think they'll be fine. Their life might not be up to "royal" levels, but they certainly won't be eating raman to get by.
"One of the largest known meteorites to hit Earth struck nearly 800,000 years ago, but the exact spot where it smashed into our planet has been a mystery -- until now."
"A pair of massive bushfires in southeastern Australia has merged into a 'megafire' engulfing some 2,300 square miles — a single blaze more than three times as large as any known fire in California."
"A 5-year-old boy was taken to the hospital Wednesday after a coyote bit him several times outside a nature museum in Lincoln Park, CBS Chicago reports. Police said the boy was near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum when a coyote bit him 'multiple times' around 4 p.m." That's quite unique coyote behavior. So is going after pets. Cities harbor enough rodentia that coyotes seldom have to change their diet, and they'd hardly ever get close enough to a human to attack (or be attacked).
"The mysterious outbreak in China causing dozens of people to fall sick with pneumonia may be the result of a new coronavirus, a member of the same family of viruses that caused SARS."
"President Donald Trump appeared to take credit for a low cancer rate under his presidency Thursday… Under Trump’s leadership, however, the administration proposed a $6 billion cut to the National Institute of Health and a $1 billion cut to the National Cancer Institute."
"The increase in lifespan would be the equivalent of a human living for 400 or 500 years, according to one of the scientists." :: puts finger to ear :: this just in, Republicans announce changing Social Security retirement age for full benefits to 390. Just like we have the best medicine for laboratory mice, we now have extremely long lived nematodes.
"The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a $35 million judgment against Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to report child sexual abuse… The unanimous decision from seven state Supreme Court justices found that religious authorities are not always obligated to report child sexual abuse to authorities due to an exemption in Montana state law." Fuckers.
"Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have gotten the memo about not offending, appropriating, or exploiting while navigating places foreign to their own. In an attempt to make your trip worthwhile and respectful to the people you will meet while on vacation, here’s how not to be a jerk when visiting another country, from someone in the know." Don't be the ugly American/colonizer, Karen. (Grokked form Xopher Halftongue)
"A new poll finds that rich people are much happier with their lives than poorer people. They're also far more likely to say they've achieved the 'American dream,' that they're satisfied with their education, and that they're not anxious about the future." That seems so weird. Well, actually, the various breakdowns are more interesting (including the differences between "conservative" and "liberal" 1%ers).
"Federal agencies may not have to consider climate change when approving big new infrastructure projects, such as highways or oil and gas pipelines, under new rules proposed by the Trump administration." Because that won't come back to bite us in the ass.
"J.C. Penney wasn’t able to buck the trend of declining sales at U.S. department store chains this holiday season. But despite a steep sales decline, it reaffirmed its financial outlook for the year."
"Somehow, in the midst of a monster holiday shopping season, America's biggest department stores managed to lose sales. Despite several attempts to revamp their images, department stores have gotten the cold shoulder from shoppers." The retail apocalypse continues unabated. But discount stores continue to grow. Funny that.
"The home of Doritos Locos Tacos says it’s going to test paying managers $100,000 a year at some company-owned locations in the Northeast and Midwest starting later this year." Funny what having problems with staffing will do for your "razor-thin margin" business.
"Lebanon has imposed a travel ban on fugitive former auto executive Carlos Ghosn one day after he briefed the world's media on why he fled Japan." Now don't you go nowhere.
"A crime wave is lapping at the undersides of cars, trucks and SUVs across the Twin Cities, as police field dozens of reports of catalytic converter thefts. St. Paul police say 70 vehicles have lost the auto parts since just the beginning of December. Even the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s truck fleet was hobbled by the thefts." Catalytic converters use platinum and some other precious metals. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"However, the latest court documents state, 'After reviewing the video, it appeared to the Government that the footage contained on the preserved video was for the correct date and time, but captured a different tier than the one where [Epstein] was located because the preserved video did not show corrections officers responding to any of the cells seen on the video.'" How convenient.
How goes Brexit? "The House of Commons has voted overwhelmingly in favor of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, finally paving the way for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union later this month after more than four decades of membership."
"Hiring slowed somewhat in December, as U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, that's down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years." Considering just yesterday analysts were touring 225,000 as the possible number, that's a little disappointing. Also, manufacturing continues to decline and the majority of jobs were in the service sector. "Steady job gains, coupled with wage increases, are expected to keep fueling consumer spending in 2020. Consumers have been the most reliable drivers in the U.S. economy as business investment has faded." That's a little worrying.
"New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, but the labor market appears to be cooling, with the number of Americans on unemployment rolls surging to more than a 1-1/2-year high at the end of 2019." Whistling past the graveyard.
"On August 3, 1981, air traffic controllers all over the United States went on strike, threatening to shut down the skies and paralyze the country. But then President Reagan fired them." The Planet Money podcast on when Reagan broke the unions. And that's when the middle-class decline began in earnest, and it's the reason it happened. Yes, conservatives are directly fucking you over.
"The latest documents Boeing has released related to the design and certification of the 737 Max paint a dark picture of employee reactions to problems that came up during the development of the now-grounded airliners." People are assholes.
"Ukrainian officials were on Thursday considering terrorism, a missile strike and catastrophic engine failure as potential causes for the fatal crash of one of its airliners in Iran, as aviation authorities in Tehran revealed the jetliner was on fire before it came down." Here we go.
"Video verified by The New York Times appears to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran’s airport, the area where a Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board."
"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that evidence suggests an Iranian missile strike brought down the Ukrainian jetliner that plunged from the sky Wednesday outside Tehran."
"A majority of those surveyed, by 52%-34%, called Trump's behavior with Iran 'reckless.'" Well, yes. Especially the more we hear about it, like how Soleimani was a late addition to a menu of responses and was only added to make the other options look less extreme (because killing him was the most extreme).
"'As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,' Trump said in an address to the nation." Again, what is left to sanction?
So, was killing Soleimani an assassination or an act of self-defense. This Intercept article breaks it down and includes this bit, "Although Trump and has referred to the killing of an American defense contractor by rocket fire attributed to an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq last month as just the latest in a series of intolerable attacks, an analysis of a Pentagon casualty database, cross-referenced with news releases and obituaries, reveals the surprising fact that none of the nine American service members killed in action in Iraq since 2014 appears to have died at the hands of Iranian-backed militias. All of the fatalities came in connection with the fight against Islamic State militants." And yes, it does make a difference. (Grokked for someone, sorry, lost the link)
And now there is chatter about how Trump used the strike on Soleimani as an attempt to divert attention away from the impeachment to how he may have been a part of a deal (that fell through) that would have helped Iran, and Soleimani individually, launder money through a real estate development.
"Iran's UN ambassador said Friday the Iraqi bases housing US troops were primarily selected for this week's missile strikes to demonstrate target accuracy, not to kill Americans, disputing public claims made by top Trump administration officials."
"Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq."
"The House of Representatives approved a resolution that would force President Trump to seek consent from Congress before taking new military action against Iran… The nonbinding war powers resolution was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-194. Only three Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to pass the measure. Eight Democrats opposed it." Seriously, Republicans mostly voted to hand unrestricted power to the presidency?
"A federal appeals court has handed the Trump administration a victory by allowing the president to tap military construction funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border… A divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision late Wednesday, reversing a lower court order that stopped Trump from using $3.6 billion in U.S Defense Department money to construct the long-promised border wall." The guardrails are coming off.
In case you ever wondered about my vitriolic against conservatives, it's because they believe these things… "Dear Representative Doug Collins… You are not my congressman, and while I am ever thankful for that fact, after seeing your performance on Fox News on Wednesday night, I'm not sure you are fit to be anyone's congressman. Specifically, I saw you blithely assert on national television that Democrats 'are in love with terrorists. We see that they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families.'" Preet Bharara chalks this up to politics and posturing, and I used to as well. I no longer do that, because this has gone from a political position to a world view among conservatives and it's part of what is dividing the country. So no, this is not political messaging, conservatives actually believe this crap. Conservatives have declared war on progressives, so confirmed in their righteousness they've forgotten that the American way is compromise and the middle road. In modern politics the middle-road is solidly in the "leftie" spectrum. So we can no longer "understand" the right's abusive behavior. So fuck them. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed John Huber, Utah's top federal prosecutor, to look into matters including allegations that the FBI had not fully pursued possible corruption cases at the Clinton Foundation and during her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, when the federal government allowed the sale of a company called Uranium One, the Post reported… The assignment has ended, but no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, the Washington Post reported." They didn't find anything actionable. I know, you're shocked too.
"And not just Senate Democrats who have become quite vocal in their desire to see the impeachment articles transmitted, finally, to the Senate. Several House Democrats that CNN spoke to Wednesday made clear (though notably not attributable to them by name), that while they believe Pelosi's strategy has been successful to a degree, and their trust in the Speaker remains rock solid, it was time for the speaker to pull the trigger and send the articles to the Senate."
Cue the fanbase, Fox hints at Firefly revival.
"The heart of NASA's first Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket is on the move… The 212-foot-long (65 meters) SLS core stage rolled out of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Wednesday (Jan. 8) and was loaded onto a barge, agency officials announced."
"The couple say that about 95% of their income comes from the Prince of Wales. He pays for the public duties of Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and some of their private costs." Like I said, I think they'll be fine. Their life might not be up to "royal" levels, but they certainly won't be eating raman to get by.
"One of the largest known meteorites to hit Earth struck nearly 800,000 years ago, but the exact spot where it smashed into our planet has been a mystery -- until now."
"A pair of massive bushfires in southeastern Australia has merged into a 'megafire' engulfing some 2,300 square miles — a single blaze more than three times as large as any known fire in California."
"A 5-year-old boy was taken to the hospital Wednesday after a coyote bit him several times outside a nature museum in Lincoln Park, CBS Chicago reports. Police said the boy was near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum when a coyote bit him 'multiple times' around 4 p.m." That's quite unique coyote behavior. So is going after pets. Cities harbor enough rodentia that coyotes seldom have to change their diet, and they'd hardly ever get close enough to a human to attack (or be attacked).
"The mysterious outbreak in China causing dozens of people to fall sick with pneumonia may be the result of a new coronavirus, a member of the same family of viruses that caused SARS."
"President Donald Trump appeared to take credit for a low cancer rate under his presidency Thursday… Under Trump’s leadership, however, the administration proposed a $6 billion cut to the National Institute of Health and a $1 billion cut to the National Cancer Institute."
"The increase in lifespan would be the equivalent of a human living for 400 or 500 years, according to one of the scientists." :: puts finger to ear :: this just in, Republicans announce changing Social Security retirement age for full benefits to 390. Just like we have the best medicine for laboratory mice, we now have extremely long lived nematodes.
"The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a $35 million judgment against Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to report child sexual abuse… The unanimous decision from seven state Supreme Court justices found that religious authorities are not always obligated to report child sexual abuse to authorities due to an exemption in Montana state law." Fuckers.
"Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have gotten the memo about not offending, appropriating, or exploiting while navigating places foreign to their own. In an attempt to make your trip worthwhile and respectful to the people you will meet while on vacation, here’s how not to be a jerk when visiting another country, from someone in the know." Don't be the ugly American/colonizer, Karen. (Grokked form Xopher Halftongue)
"A new poll finds that rich people are much happier with their lives than poorer people. They're also far more likely to say they've achieved the 'American dream,' that they're satisfied with their education, and that they're not anxious about the future." That seems so weird. Well, actually, the various breakdowns are more interesting (including the differences between "conservative" and "liberal" 1%ers).
"Federal agencies may not have to consider climate change when approving big new infrastructure projects, such as highways or oil and gas pipelines, under new rules proposed by the Trump administration." Because that won't come back to bite us in the ass.
"J.C. Penney wasn’t able to buck the trend of declining sales at U.S. department store chains this holiday season. But despite a steep sales decline, it reaffirmed its financial outlook for the year."
"Somehow, in the midst of a monster holiday shopping season, America's biggest department stores managed to lose sales. Despite several attempts to revamp their images, department stores have gotten the cold shoulder from shoppers." The retail apocalypse continues unabated. But discount stores continue to grow. Funny that.
"The home of Doritos Locos Tacos says it’s going to test paying managers $100,000 a year at some company-owned locations in the Northeast and Midwest starting later this year." Funny what having problems with staffing will do for your "razor-thin margin" business.
"Lebanon has imposed a travel ban on fugitive former auto executive Carlos Ghosn one day after he briefed the world's media on why he fled Japan." Now don't you go nowhere.
"A crime wave is lapping at the undersides of cars, trucks and SUVs across the Twin Cities, as police field dozens of reports of catalytic converter thefts. St. Paul police say 70 vehicles have lost the auto parts since just the beginning of December. Even the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s truck fleet was hobbled by the thefts." Catalytic converters use platinum and some other precious metals. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"However, the latest court documents state, 'After reviewing the video, it appeared to the Government that the footage contained on the preserved video was for the correct date and time, but captured a different tier than the one where [Epstein] was located because the preserved video did not show corrections officers responding to any of the cells seen on the video.'" How convenient.
How goes Brexit? "The House of Commons has voted overwhelmingly in favor of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, finally paving the way for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union later this month after more than four decades of membership."
"Hiring slowed somewhat in December, as U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, that's down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years." Considering just yesterday analysts were touring 225,000 as the possible number, that's a little disappointing. Also, manufacturing continues to decline and the majority of jobs were in the service sector. "Steady job gains, coupled with wage increases, are expected to keep fueling consumer spending in 2020. Consumers have been the most reliable drivers in the U.S. economy as business investment has faded." That's a little worrying.
"New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, but the labor market appears to be cooling, with the number of Americans on unemployment rolls surging to more than a 1-1/2-year high at the end of 2019." Whistling past the graveyard.
"On August 3, 1981, air traffic controllers all over the United States went on strike, threatening to shut down the skies and paralyze the country. But then President Reagan fired them." The Planet Money podcast on when Reagan broke the unions. And that's when the middle-class decline began in earnest, and it's the reason it happened. Yes, conservatives are directly fucking you over.
"The latest documents Boeing has released related to the design and certification of the 737 Max paint a dark picture of employee reactions to problems that came up during the development of the now-grounded airliners." People are assholes.
"Ukrainian officials were on Thursday considering terrorism, a missile strike and catastrophic engine failure as potential causes for the fatal crash of one of its airliners in Iran, as aviation authorities in Tehran revealed the jetliner was on fire before it came down." Here we go.
"Video verified by The New York Times appears to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran’s airport, the area where a Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board."
"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that evidence suggests an Iranian missile strike brought down the Ukrainian jetliner that plunged from the sky Wednesday outside Tehran."
"A majority of those surveyed, by 52%-34%, called Trump's behavior with Iran 'reckless.'" Well, yes. Especially the more we hear about it, like how Soleimani was a late addition to a menu of responses and was only added to make the other options look less extreme (because killing him was the most extreme).
"'As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,' Trump said in an address to the nation." Again, what is left to sanction?
So, was killing Soleimani an assassination or an act of self-defense. This Intercept article breaks it down and includes this bit, "Although Trump and has referred to the killing of an American defense contractor by rocket fire attributed to an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq last month as just the latest in a series of intolerable attacks, an analysis of a Pentagon casualty database, cross-referenced with news releases and obituaries, reveals the surprising fact that none of the nine American service members killed in action in Iraq since 2014 appears to have died at the hands of Iranian-backed militias. All of the fatalities came in connection with the fight against Islamic State militants." And yes, it does make a difference. (Grokked for someone, sorry, lost the link)
And now there is chatter about how Trump used the strike on Soleimani as an attempt to divert attention away from the impeachment to how he may have been a part of a deal (that fell through) that would have helped Iran, and Soleimani individually, launder money through a real estate development.
"Iran's UN ambassador said Friday the Iraqi bases housing US troops were primarily selected for this week's missile strikes to demonstrate target accuracy, not to kill Americans, disputing public claims made by top Trump administration officials."
"Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has told the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq."
"The House of Representatives approved a resolution that would force President Trump to seek consent from Congress before taking new military action against Iran… The nonbinding war powers resolution was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-194. Only three Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to pass the measure. Eight Democrats opposed it." Seriously, Republicans mostly voted to hand unrestricted power to the presidency?
"A federal appeals court has handed the Trump administration a victory by allowing the president to tap military construction funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border… A divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision late Wednesday, reversing a lower court order that stopped Trump from using $3.6 billion in U.S Defense Department money to construct the long-promised border wall." The guardrails are coming off.
In case you ever wondered about my vitriolic against conservatives, it's because they believe these things… "Dear Representative Doug Collins… You are not my congressman, and while I am ever thankful for that fact, after seeing your performance on Fox News on Wednesday night, I'm not sure you are fit to be anyone's congressman. Specifically, I saw you blithely assert on national television that Democrats 'are in love with terrorists. We see that they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families.'" Preet Bharara chalks this up to politics and posturing, and I used to as well. I no longer do that, because this has gone from a political position to a world view among conservatives and it's part of what is dividing the country. So no, this is not political messaging, conservatives actually believe this crap. Conservatives have declared war on progressives, so confirmed in their righteousness they've forgotten that the American way is compromise and the middle road. In modern politics the middle-road is solidly in the "leftie" spectrum. So we can no longer "understand" the right's abusive behavior. So fuck them. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed John Huber, Utah's top federal prosecutor, to look into matters including allegations that the FBI had not fully pursued possible corruption cases at the Clinton Foundation and during her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, when the federal government allowed the sale of a company called Uranium One, the Post reported… The assignment has ended, but no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, the Washington Post reported." They didn't find anything actionable. I know, you're shocked too.
"And not just Senate Democrats who have become quite vocal in their desire to see the impeachment articles transmitted, finally, to the Senate. Several House Democrats that CNN spoke to Wednesday made clear (though notably not attributable to them by name), that while they believe Pelosi's strategy has been successful to a degree, and their trust in the Speaker remains rock solid, it was time for the speaker to pull the trigger and send the articles to the Senate."
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Linkee-poo alligators stole my homework
Very busy day, so not much.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — also known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — have announced that they will step back from their duties as senior members of the British royal family." They intend to become "independently" wealthy, although I'm sure if they need a loan they know who they can ask.
So how's those other healthcare conspiracies going? "It's been ten years since the people of Juneau, Alaska succumbed to conspiracy theories and voted to ruin their kids' teeth by removing fluoride from the drinking water… A BMC Oral Health study by Jennifer Meyer (U Alaska), Vasileios Margaritis (Walden U) and Aaron Mendelsohn (Walden U) found that, on average, the families of unfluoridated kids of Juneau paid an extra $300 to have preventable cavities drilled and filled." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"'There was no way I was going to be treated fairly,' (former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn) said. 'No sign that I was going to have a normal life for the next four or five years. So I can tell you that, I mean, it's not very difficult to come to [the] conclusion that you're going to die in Japan, or you're going to have to get out.'" Yes, that's called having consequences and facing them for the crimes you committed. Tell ya what, Carlos. Why don't you go to France, which has already said they won't deport you to Japan. Oh, wait, that's because you also face criminal charges in Japan.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — also known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — have announced that they will step back from their duties as senior members of the British royal family." They intend to become "independently" wealthy, although I'm sure if they need a loan they know who they can ask.
So how's those other healthcare conspiracies going? "It's been ten years since the people of Juneau, Alaska succumbed to conspiracy theories and voted to ruin their kids' teeth by removing fluoride from the drinking water… A BMC Oral Health study by Jennifer Meyer (U Alaska), Vasileios Margaritis (Walden U) and Aaron Mendelsohn (Walden U) found that, on average, the families of unfluoridated kids of Juneau paid an extra $300 to have preventable cavities drilled and filled." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"'There was no way I was going to be treated fairly,' (former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn) said. 'No sign that I was going to have a normal life for the next four or five years. So I can tell you that, I mean, it's not very difficult to come to [the] conclusion that you're going to die in Japan, or you're going to have to get out.'" Yes, that's called having consequences and facing them for the crimes you committed. Tell ya what, Carlos. Why don't you go to France, which has already said they won't deport you to Japan. Oh, wait, that's because you also face criminal charges in Japan.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Linkee-poo ain't been sober since maybe October of last year
State of the book publishing business, from the prospect of new writers. "In 1990… the universe of books available for a person to buy or for a store to carry was pretty much defined by 'Books in Print'… At that time, the total was in the mid six figures, not more than 500,000 titles… That means each new book brought out by a publisher was competing against a universe of half-a-million other books… As we begin 2020, Ingram’s Lightning Source has about 18 million titles in its Lightning print-on-demand database, ready to be printed and delivered to you tomorrow. Of course, there are duplicates to consider and some junk in there too, so let’s say that there are actually 15 million discrete titles. There are also more than 750,000 titles in stock in Ingram’s warehouses, most of which are not reflected in the POD database… So each new book brought out by a publisher today may be competing against 15 million other possible titles. The competitive set has grown by as much as 30 times." Fuuuuuuu-ck. The good news is that those titles are not evenly disbursed among genres, but the overall market pressures on publishers (not distributors or sellers) is not a very good development (and is another example of late stage capitalism, where codependent industries have competing interests and don't believe that the survival of the the other parts of the industry that feed content and materials is really any concern of theirs, until they find themselves alone in the supply chain). (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
It's a wave… "Our solar system resides in one of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms, and for the first time, astronomers have realized we're close to a giant wave-shaped gaseous structure that connects star nurseries."
"For three decades, Georgia and Florida have been battling over how to share a precious resource: water. Georgia has it, and Florida, which is downstream, says it's not getting its fair share. The dispute is once again headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Florida wants the justices to cap Georgia's water use. But a court-appointed special master recently rejected that idea."
"The Australia wildfires are a countrywide catastrophe, mainly caused by drought and extreme heat, but dozens of people are directly to blame for some of the problem, officials say… Police have charged at least 24 people for intentionally starting bushfires in the state of New South Wales, according to a statement the New South Wales Police released Monday." Fuckers.
"The Silicon Valley-based startup that launched the Impossible Burger in 2016 is tackling another meat. At CES 2020 in Las Vegas on Monday, the company debuted Impossible Pork, a plant-based substitute designed to mimic ground meat from pigs. It'll launch Impossible Sausage later this month with a new Burger King partnership, this time in an Impossible Croissan'wich."
"The writer Ada Calhoun has talked to a lot of Generation X women about the angst they might be feeling as they hit midlife."
"Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Sanofi SA are planning to hike U.S. list prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States on Wednesday, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors." While the hikes are mostly below 10%, they're all above the rate of inflation (yes, I understand the statistical fallacy I made there). Trump and his Grima Wormtounge (Mitch McConnell) have helped stop legislation meant to lower prescription drug prices. Also, I'm willing to be these increases are mostly this "small" because it's an election year (sort of like how the increase in oil prices should have sent gas over $3/gallon, but didn't). (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"Cancer death rates in the United States took their sharpest drop on record between 2016 and 2017, according to an analysis by the American Cancer Society… 'It seems to be driven by accelerating declines in lung cancer mortality,' Siegel says. That's 'very encouraging, because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., causing more deaths than breast, colorectal and prostate cancers combined.'" Don't worry, the vaping craze will help those number bump back up in a decade or two.
"Fueled by influencers peddling extreme diets on social media, Murphy began following a raw diet mostly comprised of fruits and vegetables, and shied away from any situation where she couldn’t control what she ate, even if it meant isolating herself socially." Most eating disorders are really about control. "'(O)rthorexia,' or an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food" is no different.
"It need hardly be said that these fads were and are (at best) a waste of time and (at worst) a set of expensive distractions. But open plan offices are worse. Much worse. Why? Because they decrease rather than increase employee collaboration." As anyone who worked in creative communications (where this "fad" was spearheaded coughOgilvycough) could have told you in the 90s. Seriously. I can work in the most chaotic space because I've learned how to go into my own head as my office space. You could be yelling in my face and if I was listening to something else, or reading something it's like you aren't even there. When I listen to podcasts or audiobooks I often have to rewind because I'll realize that even though I had headphones on, and the volume was loud enough to drown out all other noise, and I haven't processed a single word of it because I was reading something else or focused of design issues. (Grokked from Xopher Halftongue)
"The most buzzed-about company at CES 2020 doesn’t make a gadget you can see or touch. It doesn’t even have a product yet. But for reasons I’m still not entirely sure I grasp, the lead-up to this week’s show in Las Vegas was dominated by discussion of a project called Neon, which has emerged from a previously unknown Samsung subsidiary known as STAR Labs." Vaporware comes to AI, and they're all a buzz about it. I've seen enough tech demos that went absolutely nowhere. Neon has all the same hallmarks.
"The United Methodist Church announced a proposal Friday to split the denomination over what it called 'fundamental differences' regarding its beliefs on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy." So the people who believe gays are icky can still attend a church that supports that belief. Because they realize they were about to lose the majority. It won't work.
How's that "robots will replace workers if they demand $15/hr" thought going? "'In a little over a year, pizza-making robot startup Zume has gone from getting $375 million from SoftBank, to pivoting to food packaging through an acquisition, to raising at a reported $4 billion valuation, to its latest: laying off 80 percent of its employees,' writes Natasha Mascarenhas at news.crunchbase.com." Robots aren't ready, food prep and delivery are not exactly unskilled labor. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
How go the Trade Wars? "Borden Dairy, one of the oldest milk processors in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy on Monday, making it the second large milk seller in nearly two months to restructure amid rising raw milk costs and lackluster consumer demand." Note in these stories there is no mention of how our trade wars with Canada and China have hit the dairy industry hard. (Grokked from Dan)
"California has gone through several difficult fire seasons in recent years. Now, some cities are investing in unconventional fire prevention methods, including goats." It still tickles me pink that goat herders have figured out how to get people to pay them to feed their goats. But there's a lot in there about invasive species management and how the water cycle affects these actions.
"Millions of Taiwanese are preparing for key elections this weekend — and some are even flying back by plane to vote." Because they have to.
Welcome to the new decade! "Disinformation For Hire: How A New Breed Of PR Firms Is Selling Lies Online." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Facebook says it's banning many types of misleading videos from its site, in a push against deepfake content and online misinformation campaigns." Uh, yeah, Bob. "But Facebook isn't banning all deepfake videos. It will allow the technique to be used in parodies or satire, and it will also allow clips that were edited only to cut out or change the order of words." So, basically they're not (or at least not going to ban the examples we've already seen). Waits for the inevitable sociology experiment showing just what they'll ban and what they won't.
"Did Mike Pompeo declare, 'We will continue to fight these battles. It is a never-ending struggle ... until the Rapture.'" Yes, yes he did, but in the context of changing the social mores of America. Our Secretary of State is a dominionist (or at least sympathetic to their cause).
"An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the U.S." Guess which party he belongs to. It's no fun unless you guess.
"The Kentucky Republican said Tuesday that he has locked down sufficient backing from his 53-member caucus to pass a blueprint for the trial that leaves the question of seeking witnesses and documents until after opening arguments are made." I wonder if this is within the phillibuster rules? And since it's getting lots of media attention, the argument "'All we’re doing here is saying we’re going to get started in exactly the same way that 100 senators agreed to 20 years ago," as stated by Mitch McConnell is a completely bullshit political argument. If you want to accept this as actual procedure, that Roe v Wade is settled law and has been for 40 years. You're new SCOTUS can't change it, Mr. Speaker.
"The Selective Service question on the FAFSA form caused a stir on social media over the weekend, with students concerned over a potential draft after the U.S. airstrike in Baghdad." Settle down people, it's been the law since the 80s. The government is just making it easier to comply.
"A 2010 UN report on 'targeted killings' said there was a weighty body of scholarship that viewed the self-defence argument as having the right to use force 'against a real and imminent threat when the necessity of that self-defence is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation.'" And so far our evidence for such is classified as "weak sauce."
"Iran has launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces, targeting at least two military bases in Iraq, the U.S. Defense Department announced late Tuesday." Launched from Iran so there was no mistaking the action, and at a distance where Iran would have good targeting control.
"Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops."
"Yet Wednesday morning's missile strikes against al-Asad airbase and Erbil airport -- both of which play host to US troops -- were clearly not an act designed to kill the most Americans possible." So while much of American Media will probably play this about the even-handedness, clear mind, and "instinctual" calculations of Trump that he could push this far and not all the way into war, my guess is the international media will talk about how the Iranians demonstrated how they are the adults in the room.
"President Trump just finished addressing the nation on the Iran crisis. The President spoke for about 10 minutes and didn't take questions from reporters afterward." He said Iran is backing down, uh, sure, Mr. President. And that he's enacting new, stricter sanctions on Iran. Really, WTF is left to sanction?
"President Donald Trump is planning an Iowa rally in the days before the Democratic caucuses there, according to people familiar with the plans." Because, mumble mumble, Democrats badmouthing the president and that message has to be countered.
"A new book looks at the many untruths on which the Trump administration has been built. It's called 'American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps And The Marriage Of Money And Power.' Author Andrea Bernstein spoke with our co-host Ailsa Chang." They're criminal organizations, and dismissing their criminality with "everybody does it" and "it was necessary" is an example of privilege and white washing.
"Ivanka Trump’s appearance at a major technology conference in Las Vegas has been met with a backlash from industry figures, who denounced her 'privilege' and lack of tech qualifications." But she was there to talk about the future of jobs, you know, something she knows nothing about having never really held a job that required work. From what I could find her talk was mostly platitudes, buzzwords, and promotional material for her Dad.
"A clear majority of people living outside the U.S. do not trust President Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, with fewer than one-third expressing confidence in him — an opinion also reflected in attitudes toward America generally, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center… However, the metrics have improved somewhat for the president since a similar survey two years ago, increasing to 29% expressing confidence from 22%." I winder what the numbers would show if they repeated the surgery now?
It's a wave… "Our solar system resides in one of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms, and for the first time, astronomers have realized we're close to a giant wave-shaped gaseous structure that connects star nurseries."
"For three decades, Georgia and Florida have been battling over how to share a precious resource: water. Georgia has it, and Florida, which is downstream, says it's not getting its fair share. The dispute is once again headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Florida wants the justices to cap Georgia's water use. But a court-appointed special master recently rejected that idea."
"The Australia wildfires are a countrywide catastrophe, mainly caused by drought and extreme heat, but dozens of people are directly to blame for some of the problem, officials say… Police have charged at least 24 people for intentionally starting bushfires in the state of New South Wales, according to a statement the New South Wales Police released Monday." Fuckers.
"The Silicon Valley-based startup that launched the Impossible Burger in 2016 is tackling another meat. At CES 2020 in Las Vegas on Monday, the company debuted Impossible Pork, a plant-based substitute designed to mimic ground meat from pigs. It'll launch Impossible Sausage later this month with a new Burger King partnership, this time in an Impossible Croissan'wich."
"The writer Ada Calhoun has talked to a lot of Generation X women about the angst they might be feeling as they hit midlife."
"Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Sanofi SA are planning to hike U.S. list prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States on Wednesday, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors." While the hikes are mostly below 10%, they're all above the rate of inflation (yes, I understand the statistical fallacy I made there). Trump and his Grima Wormtounge (Mitch McConnell) have helped stop legislation meant to lower prescription drug prices. Also, I'm willing to be these increases are mostly this "small" because it's an election year (sort of like how the increase in oil prices should have sent gas over $3/gallon, but didn't). (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"Cancer death rates in the United States took their sharpest drop on record between 2016 and 2017, according to an analysis by the American Cancer Society… 'It seems to be driven by accelerating declines in lung cancer mortality,' Siegel says. That's 'very encouraging, because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., causing more deaths than breast, colorectal and prostate cancers combined.'" Don't worry, the vaping craze will help those number bump back up in a decade or two.
"Fueled by influencers peddling extreme diets on social media, Murphy began following a raw diet mostly comprised of fruits and vegetables, and shied away from any situation where she couldn’t control what she ate, even if it meant isolating herself socially." Most eating disorders are really about control. "'(O)rthorexia,' or an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food" is no different.
"It need hardly be said that these fads were and are (at best) a waste of time and (at worst) a set of expensive distractions. But open plan offices are worse. Much worse. Why? Because they decrease rather than increase employee collaboration." As anyone who worked in creative communications (where this "fad" was spearheaded coughOgilvycough) could have told you in the 90s. Seriously. I can work in the most chaotic space because I've learned how to go into my own head as my office space. You could be yelling in my face and if I was listening to something else, or reading something it's like you aren't even there. When I listen to podcasts or audiobooks I often have to rewind because I'll realize that even though I had headphones on, and the volume was loud enough to drown out all other noise, and I haven't processed a single word of it because I was reading something else or focused of design issues. (Grokked from Xopher Halftongue)
"The most buzzed-about company at CES 2020 doesn’t make a gadget you can see or touch. It doesn’t even have a product yet. But for reasons I’m still not entirely sure I grasp, the lead-up to this week’s show in Las Vegas was dominated by discussion of a project called Neon, which has emerged from a previously unknown Samsung subsidiary known as STAR Labs." Vaporware comes to AI, and they're all a buzz about it. I've seen enough tech demos that went absolutely nowhere. Neon has all the same hallmarks.
"The United Methodist Church announced a proposal Friday to split the denomination over what it called 'fundamental differences' regarding its beliefs on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy." So the people who believe gays are icky can still attend a church that supports that belief. Because they realize they were about to lose the majority. It won't work.
How's that "robots will replace workers if they demand $15/hr" thought going? "'In a little over a year, pizza-making robot startup Zume has gone from getting $375 million from SoftBank, to pivoting to food packaging through an acquisition, to raising at a reported $4 billion valuation, to its latest: laying off 80 percent of its employees,' writes Natasha Mascarenhas at news.crunchbase.com." Robots aren't ready, food prep and delivery are not exactly unskilled labor. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
How go the Trade Wars? "Borden Dairy, one of the oldest milk processors in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy on Monday, making it the second large milk seller in nearly two months to restructure amid rising raw milk costs and lackluster consumer demand." Note in these stories there is no mention of how our trade wars with Canada and China have hit the dairy industry hard. (Grokked from Dan)
"California has gone through several difficult fire seasons in recent years. Now, some cities are investing in unconventional fire prevention methods, including goats." It still tickles me pink that goat herders have figured out how to get people to pay them to feed their goats. But there's a lot in there about invasive species management and how the water cycle affects these actions.
"Millions of Taiwanese are preparing for key elections this weekend — and some are even flying back by plane to vote." Because they have to.
Welcome to the new decade! "Disinformation For Hire: How A New Breed Of PR Firms Is Selling Lies Online." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Facebook says it's banning many types of misleading videos from its site, in a push against deepfake content and online misinformation campaigns." Uh, yeah, Bob. "But Facebook isn't banning all deepfake videos. It will allow the technique to be used in parodies or satire, and it will also allow clips that were edited only to cut out or change the order of words." So, basically they're not (or at least not going to ban the examples we've already seen). Waits for the inevitable sociology experiment showing just what they'll ban and what they won't.
"Did Mike Pompeo declare, 'We will continue to fight these battles. It is a never-ending struggle ... until the Rapture.'" Yes, yes he did, but in the context of changing the social mores of America. Our Secretary of State is a dominionist (or at least sympathetic to their cause).
"An elected official in metro Phoenix resigned Tuesday, months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the U.S." Guess which party he belongs to. It's no fun unless you guess.
"The Kentucky Republican said Tuesday that he has locked down sufficient backing from his 53-member caucus to pass a blueprint for the trial that leaves the question of seeking witnesses and documents until after opening arguments are made." I wonder if this is within the phillibuster rules? And since it's getting lots of media attention, the argument "'All we’re doing here is saying we’re going to get started in exactly the same way that 100 senators agreed to 20 years ago," as stated by Mitch McConnell is a completely bullshit political argument. If you want to accept this as actual procedure, that Roe v Wade is settled law and has been for 40 years. You're new SCOTUS can't change it, Mr. Speaker.
"The Selective Service question on the FAFSA form caused a stir on social media over the weekend, with students concerned over a potential draft after the U.S. airstrike in Baghdad." Settle down people, it's been the law since the 80s. The government is just making it easier to comply.
"A 2010 UN report on 'targeted killings' said there was a weighty body of scholarship that viewed the self-defence argument as having the right to use force 'against a real and imminent threat when the necessity of that self-defence is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation.'" And so far our evidence for such is classified as "weak sauce."
"Iran has launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces, targeting at least two military bases in Iraq, the U.S. Defense Department announced late Tuesday." Launched from Iran so there was no mistaking the action, and at a distance where Iran would have good targeting control.
"Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops."
"Yet Wednesday morning's missile strikes against al-Asad airbase and Erbil airport -- both of which play host to US troops -- were clearly not an act designed to kill the most Americans possible." So while much of American Media will probably play this about the even-handedness, clear mind, and "instinctual" calculations of Trump that he could push this far and not all the way into war, my guess is the international media will talk about how the Iranians demonstrated how they are the adults in the room.
"President Trump just finished addressing the nation on the Iran crisis. The President spoke for about 10 minutes and didn't take questions from reporters afterward." He said Iran is backing down, uh, sure, Mr. President. And that he's enacting new, stricter sanctions on Iran. Really, WTF is left to sanction?
"President Donald Trump is planning an Iowa rally in the days before the Democratic caucuses there, according to people familiar with the plans." Because, mumble mumble, Democrats badmouthing the president and that message has to be countered.
"A new book looks at the many untruths on which the Trump administration has been built. It's called 'American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps And The Marriage Of Money And Power.' Author Andrea Bernstein spoke with our co-host Ailsa Chang." They're criminal organizations, and dismissing their criminality with "everybody does it" and "it was necessary" is an example of privilege and white washing.
"Ivanka Trump’s appearance at a major technology conference in Las Vegas has been met with a backlash from industry figures, who denounced her 'privilege' and lack of tech qualifications." But she was there to talk about the future of jobs, you know, something she knows nothing about having never really held a job that required work. From what I could find her talk was mostly platitudes, buzzwords, and promotional material for her Dad.
"A clear majority of people living outside the U.S. do not trust President Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, with fewer than one-third expressing confidence in him — an opinion also reflected in attitudes toward America generally, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center… However, the metrics have improved somewhat for the president since a similar survey two years ago, increasing to 29% expressing confidence from 22%." I winder what the numbers would show if they repeated the surgery now?
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Linkee-poo Tuesday
"A 6.4 magnitude earthquake jolted southern Puerto Rico on Tuesday morning, killing at least one man, damaging homes and businesses and cutting power to swaths of the island a day after a 5.8 magnitude quake shook the US territory, officials said." Apparently the quake yesterday was a pre-shock.
"NASA's planet-hunting mission TESS has found its first potentially habitable exoplanet the size of Earth orbiting a star about 100 light-years from Earth, according to the agency." One-hundred light-years is still out of reach.
"Astronomers have traced the signal of an enigmatic repeating fast radio burst for only the second time -- and it's in a spiral galaxy similar to our own, not so far away." And it's only :: checks notes :: half a billion light-years away.
"The American College of Physicians (ACP) has updated its guidelines on testosterone treatments for men, stating supplements can help men with sexual problems, but appear to do little for problems like low energy." You mean it's only a marketing scheme that attempts to exploit men's feelings of inadequacy and natural aging to take their money in exchange for pills which aren't regulated, may or may not have testosterone that could be processed and used by our bodies, and it won't increase the size of our penises? Shocked, shocked I am…
The Dyatlov Pass mystery. Ten Soviet students go for a pre-finals skiing trip to Mount Ortorten in 1959. Only one made it out alive, because he left early because of sciatica pain. (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Amazon’s famous speed and technological innovation have driven the company’s massive global expansion and a valuation well over $800 billion. It’s also helped make Amazon the nation’s second-largest private employer behind Walmart, and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, one of the richest humans on Earth. Now an investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting has found that the company’s obsession with speed has turned its warehouses into injury mills." As Sallah said in the Raiders of the Lost Ark, "They hire only strong backs and they pay pennies for them. It's as if the pharaohs have returned." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
How's that "more guns make us safer" thing going on? "A manhunt is underway for a Milwaukee driver who allegedly shot two children after they threw snowballs at passing vehicles on Saturday." Apparently more guns do not make us a more polite society either.
"Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States could be sent to Guatemala under a bilateral agreement signed by the Central American nation last year, according to documents sent to U.S. asylum officers in recent days and seen by Reuters." I'm not an international law lawyer, but I'll bet the UN has something to say about that.
"A senior employee at a for-profit immigrant detention center in Nevada was active on the neo-Nazi site Iron March and aspired to establish a white nationalist chapter in his area… Travis Frey, 31, is currently employed as a captain at the Nevada Southern Detention Center, which is run by private prison behemoth CoreCivic and contracted with ICE." (Grokked from Steven Brust)
"The United States has no plans to pull its troops out of Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday, following reports by Reuters and other media of an American military letter informing Iraqi officials about repositioning troops in preparation for leaving the country." Oopsie.
"Former national security adviser John Bolton in a surprise announcement said Monday he'd be willing to testify in the Senate's impeachment trial of President Trump — if the Senate subpoenas him." That's a good thing to say, which you're pretty sure it won't happen.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., insisted Sunday that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not deliver articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate by the end of the week, the Senate should 'take matters in our own hands.'" Yeah, it doesn't work like that. "'We’ll use the Clinton model, where you take the record established in the House, let the House managers appointed by Pelosi make the argument, let the president make his argument why the two articles are flawed, and then we’ll decide whether we want witnesses. But this should be done in a couple of weeks,' he said." That first part, where you take the House record, and have the House managers argue the case, just how the fuck do you expect that to happen is Speaker Pelosi doesn't transmit the record and has not appointed managers? Or is this just an attempt to throw out the case because the House isn't there? (Yes, that's actually their plan) And then WTF do you do when Speaker Pelosi does hand over the House impeachment?
"NASA's planet-hunting mission TESS has found its first potentially habitable exoplanet the size of Earth orbiting a star about 100 light-years from Earth, according to the agency." One-hundred light-years is still out of reach.
"Astronomers have traced the signal of an enigmatic repeating fast radio burst for only the second time -- and it's in a spiral galaxy similar to our own, not so far away." And it's only :: checks notes :: half a billion light-years away.
"The American College of Physicians (ACP) has updated its guidelines on testosterone treatments for men, stating supplements can help men with sexual problems, but appear to do little for problems like low energy." You mean it's only a marketing scheme that attempts to exploit men's feelings of inadequacy and natural aging to take their money in exchange for pills which aren't regulated, may or may not have testosterone that could be processed and used by our bodies, and it won't increase the size of our penises? Shocked, shocked I am…
The Dyatlov Pass mystery. Ten Soviet students go for a pre-finals skiing trip to Mount Ortorten in 1959. Only one made it out alive, because he left early because of sciatica pain. (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Amazon’s famous speed and technological innovation have driven the company’s massive global expansion and a valuation well over $800 billion. It’s also helped make Amazon the nation’s second-largest private employer behind Walmart, and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, one of the richest humans on Earth. Now an investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting has found that the company’s obsession with speed has turned its warehouses into injury mills." As Sallah said in the Raiders of the Lost Ark, "They hire only strong backs and they pay pennies for them. It's as if the pharaohs have returned." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
How's that "more guns make us safer" thing going on? "A manhunt is underway for a Milwaukee driver who allegedly shot two children after they threw snowballs at passing vehicles on Saturday." Apparently more guns do not make us a more polite society either.
"Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States could be sent to Guatemala under a bilateral agreement signed by the Central American nation last year, according to documents sent to U.S. asylum officers in recent days and seen by Reuters." I'm not an international law lawyer, but I'll bet the UN has something to say about that.
"A senior employee at a for-profit immigrant detention center in Nevada was active on the neo-Nazi site Iron March and aspired to establish a white nationalist chapter in his area… Travis Frey, 31, is currently employed as a captain at the Nevada Southern Detention Center, which is run by private prison behemoth CoreCivic and contracted with ICE." (Grokked from Steven Brust)
"The United States has no plans to pull its troops out of Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday, following reports by Reuters and other media of an American military letter informing Iraqi officials about repositioning troops in preparation for leaving the country." Oopsie.
"Former national security adviser John Bolton in a surprise announcement said Monday he'd be willing to testify in the Senate's impeachment trial of President Trump — if the Senate subpoenas him." That's a good thing to say, which you're pretty sure it won't happen.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., insisted Sunday that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not deliver articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate by the end of the week, the Senate should 'take matters in our own hands.'" Yeah, it doesn't work like that. "'We’ll use the Clinton model, where you take the record established in the House, let the House managers appointed by Pelosi make the argument, let the president make his argument why the two articles are flawed, and then we’ll decide whether we want witnesses. But this should be done in a couple of weeks,' he said." That first part, where you take the House record, and have the House managers argue the case, just how the fuck do you expect that to happen is Speaker Pelosi doesn't transmit the record and has not appointed managers? Or is this just an attempt to throw out the case because the House isn't there? (Yes, that's actually their plan) And then WTF do you do when Speaker Pelosi does hand over the House impeachment?
Monday, January 6, 2020
Linkee-poo that's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, and aeroplanes
"The researchers concluded that telling people what you want to achieve creates a premature sense of completeness. While you feel a sense of pride in letting people know what you intend to do, that pride doesn't motivate you and can in fact hurt you later on." Well, one, 47 people is an extremely small study and the results could just be an anomaly (there's actually a movement to replicate economic and psychological studies to see if they're results are repeatable). But yes. It's also why I don't worry about word counts anymore and took those counters off the blog (also because I've abandoned some of those projects). (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
The Hidden Brain podcast on developing habits and the strength of those habits. There's a little bit of ableism in here (for more than willpower). But they also talk about just how inconsequential willpower is.
You've heard how AI can help diagnose and treat patients "better than doctors", now a little from the other side of the equation. "(AI) Systems developed in one hospital often flop when deployed in a different facility, Cho said. Software used in the care of millions of Americans has been shown to discriminate against minorities. And AI systems sometimes learn to make predictions based on factors that have less to do with disease than the brand of MRI machine used, the time a blood test is taken or whether a patient was visited by a chaplain. In one case, AI software incorrectly concluded that people with pneumonia were less likely to die if they had asthma ― an error that could have led doctors to deprive asthma patients of the extra care they need."
"A mysterious viral pneumonia that has infected dozens in central China is not Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), health chiefs have said… They also discounted bird flu and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and said investigations were continuing."
"We're only a few days into 2020 and SpaceX is already gearing up for its first launch of the year. On Jan. 6, the workhorse Falcon 9 booster will be sending a batch of 60 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of the company's plans to deliver broadband internet across the globe."
"While (Venus) is known to have been volcanically active as recent as 2.5 million years ago, no concrete evidence has been found that there are still volcanic eruptions on Venus’ surface. However, new research led by the USRA’s Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) has shown that Venus may still have active volcanoes, making it the only other planet in the Solar System (other than Earth) that is still volcanically active today."
"A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the U.S. territory that has been shaking for the past week." Someone please remind the president that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States.
"Australia’s government said Monday it was willing to pay 'whatever it takes' to help communities recover from deadly wildfires that have ravaged the country."
"Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein heads to court Monday to face sex assault charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life."
"Oil prices jumped 1% during Monday trading — building on Friday’s gains — as tensions in the Middle East escalated over the weekend."
"Students across India have been protesting against an attack on a prestigious Delhi university by masked men wielding sticks on Sunday… At least 40 students and staff of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were admitted to hospital with injuries."
"Venezuelan security forces on Sunday blocked opposition leader Juan Guaidó from a special session of the National Assembly, where he was expected to be reelected as the legislature's leader — an apparent bid by President Nicolás Maduro to outmaneuver the man who has staked a rival claim to the presidency."
"It's become nearly impossible for migrants at the Southern border to win asylum. And even when they do get protection from a judge, the Trump administration sometimes sends them to Mexico anyway." These people believe they're Sheriff Cooley from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
"Reports of Iranians and Iranian-Americans being detained for questioning upon entering the U.S. kicked off a furor on Sunday from Washington state to Washington, D.C., marking a new domestic blowback to the Trump administration’s targeted killing of a key Iranian leader." US Citizens of Iranian descent held at the border. For no other reason than their Iranian ancestral ties.
And of course… "U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a statement saying allegations they are singling out and stopping Iranian Americans as they try to enter the country are false."
"Tehran's streets were packed with black-clad mourners Monday as a sea of people turned out to pay their respects to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad last week." Well, that's one way to unite a fractured people.
"On the night of June 19, President Donald Trump approved and then abruptly called off military strikes against Iran in retaliation for a downed US surveillance drone… The next time an opportunity arose to strike back at Iran, the hawks hoped, Trump would be primed to act." There are few sane people left in Trump's direct orbit.
"More than a year after his death, a cache of computer files saved on the hard drives of Thomas Hofeller, a prominent Republican redistricting strategist, is becoming public… Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina fought in court to keep copies of these maps, spreadsheets and other documents from entering the public record. But some files have already come to light in recent months through court filings and news reports." If it weren't the the ongoing trash fires, this would be a bigger news story.
"So for those just tuning back in for the first full workweek of 2020, nothing substantive has changed in the story (of impeachment) — but that also means the coming month may churn into a whirlwind." Welcome my friends to the show that never ends…
"U.S. senators, who had expected just weeks ago to be turning their attention to an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, will kick off the week focusing on 'ordinary business,' with lawmakers still at loggerheads over trial rules."
"Ruslan Parshutin was just a teenager, but he still remembers New Year's Eve 20 years ago… Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president, flickered on TV screens, speaking slowly and deliberately. Eight years of political and economic turmoil following the collapse of the Soviet Union had taken its toll on him. Yeltsin announced his resignation and handed over power to his energetic 47-year-old prime minister, Vladimir Putin."
The Hidden Brain podcast on developing habits and the strength of those habits. There's a little bit of ableism in here (for more than willpower). But they also talk about just how inconsequential willpower is.
You've heard how AI can help diagnose and treat patients "better than doctors", now a little from the other side of the equation. "(AI) Systems developed in one hospital often flop when deployed in a different facility, Cho said. Software used in the care of millions of Americans has been shown to discriminate against minorities. And AI systems sometimes learn to make predictions based on factors that have less to do with disease than the brand of MRI machine used, the time a blood test is taken or whether a patient was visited by a chaplain. In one case, AI software incorrectly concluded that people with pneumonia were less likely to die if they had asthma ― an error that could have led doctors to deprive asthma patients of the extra care they need."
"A mysterious viral pneumonia that has infected dozens in central China is not Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), health chiefs have said… They also discounted bird flu and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and said investigations were continuing."
"We're only a few days into 2020 and SpaceX is already gearing up for its first launch of the year. On Jan. 6, the workhorse Falcon 9 booster will be sending a batch of 60 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of the company's plans to deliver broadband internet across the globe."
"While (Venus) is known to have been volcanically active as recent as 2.5 million years ago, no concrete evidence has been found that there are still volcanic eruptions on Venus’ surface. However, new research led by the USRA’s Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) has shown that Venus may still have active volcanoes, making it the only other planet in the Solar System (other than Earth) that is still volcanically active today."
"A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the U.S. territory that has been shaking for the past week." Someone please remind the president that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States.
"Australia’s government said Monday it was willing to pay 'whatever it takes' to help communities recover from deadly wildfires that have ravaged the country."
"Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein heads to court Monday to face sex assault charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life."
"Oil prices jumped 1% during Monday trading — building on Friday’s gains — as tensions in the Middle East escalated over the weekend."
"Students across India have been protesting against an attack on a prestigious Delhi university by masked men wielding sticks on Sunday… At least 40 students and staff of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were admitted to hospital with injuries."
"Venezuelan security forces on Sunday blocked opposition leader Juan Guaidó from a special session of the National Assembly, where he was expected to be reelected as the legislature's leader — an apparent bid by President Nicolás Maduro to outmaneuver the man who has staked a rival claim to the presidency."
"It's become nearly impossible for migrants at the Southern border to win asylum. And even when they do get protection from a judge, the Trump administration sometimes sends them to Mexico anyway." These people believe they're Sheriff Cooley from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
"Reports of Iranians and Iranian-Americans being detained for questioning upon entering the U.S. kicked off a furor on Sunday from Washington state to Washington, D.C., marking a new domestic blowback to the Trump administration’s targeted killing of a key Iranian leader." US Citizens of Iranian descent held at the border. For no other reason than their Iranian ancestral ties.
And of course… "U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a statement saying allegations they are singling out and stopping Iranian Americans as they try to enter the country are false."
"Tehran's streets were packed with black-clad mourners Monday as a sea of people turned out to pay their respects to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad last week." Well, that's one way to unite a fractured people.
"On the night of June 19, President Donald Trump approved and then abruptly called off military strikes against Iran in retaliation for a downed US surveillance drone… The next time an opportunity arose to strike back at Iran, the hawks hoped, Trump would be primed to act." There are few sane people left in Trump's direct orbit.
"More than a year after his death, a cache of computer files saved on the hard drives of Thomas Hofeller, a prominent Republican redistricting strategist, is becoming public… Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina fought in court to keep copies of these maps, spreadsheets and other documents from entering the public record. But some files have already come to light in recent months through court filings and news reports." If it weren't the the ongoing trash fires, this would be a bigger news story.
"So for those just tuning back in for the first full workweek of 2020, nothing substantive has changed in the story (of impeachment) — but that also means the coming month may churn into a whirlwind." Welcome my friends to the show that never ends…
"U.S. senators, who had expected just weeks ago to be turning their attention to an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, will kick off the week focusing on 'ordinary business,' with lawmakers still at loggerheads over trial rules."
"Ruslan Parshutin was just a teenager, but he still remembers New Year's Eve 20 years ago… Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president, flickered on TV screens, speaking slowly and deliberately. Eight years of political and economic turmoil following the collapse of the Soviet Union had taken its toll on him. Yeltsin announced his resignation and handed over power to his energetic 47-year-old prime minister, Vladimir Putin."
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Linkee-poo weekend
The president has gone full-on shit bonkers. In case you were following the narrative. Apparently he now believes tweets are official communications and he has the right to do anything.
"A top New York state legislator was charged with driving while intoxicated on New Year's Eve after urging his constituents not to drink and drive around the holidays." Who coulda seen that one coming? And he was driving a state vehicle. Oopsie.
"Google’s artificial intelligence system can identify breast cancer more accurately than radiologists, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday… The system produced a 1.2% reduction of false positives in the U.K. and a 5.7% reduction in the U.S. It was able to reduce false negatives by 2.7% in the U.K. and 9.4% in the U.S." That sounds great, and we are all for better systems and better detection, but let's talk about actual numbers. Those false negatives (2.7% UK and 9.4% US)? Let's say out of every 100 people, 10 have a false negative result (IIRC, this is much higher than actual stats), but that 9.4% US means than instead of 10 false negatives, the software only had 9 false negatives (actually it's a little smaller, but this is a good yardstick measure). For the UK, that would be instead of 10 false negatives for 300 patients, they only had 9. So while, yes, it's better, it's also in the realm of statistical anomaly not actual progress (note that many medical "breakthroughs" fall into this category, although the study here was of 91,000 women, that's pretty large).
"A group of Amazon employees has said the company has threatened to fire some of them for speaking out on environmental issues… Amazon Employees for Climate Justice said the workers were told they were in violation of company policies." Let's see, ah yes, "Number 12, thou shall not bother the Bezos."
"A NASA astronaut developed a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis - DVT) in the jugular vein partway through a long-term mission on the International Space Station. The space agency called in University of North Carolina doctor Stephan Moll, a blood-clot expert, to help develop a treatment plan for the tricky situation." Dr. McCoy to the command bridge, STAT.
"A Texas man who used 'affluenza' as a defense at his trial for killing four people while driving drunk was arrested Thursday after authorities say he violated the terms of his probation." Shocked, shocked I am that a person who feels no responsibility for their actions would have violated their parol by using marijuana.
"She was curious how the regional decline might have shaped her subjects’ politics. But she quickly noticed a startling trend alongside the growing unemployment: Her subjects and their families were struggling with opioid abuse. At community meetings, doctors and coroners would debate solutions to the problem. Should they be arresting people? Should they be creating support groups? She describes one desperate parent who asked whether Donald Trump’s proposed border wall would keep black tar heroin from getting to Pennsylvania." Winner winner, chicken dinner. Economic opportunity and depression, both can be self-medicated with opioids (and other drugs). How the new opioids were marketed certainly is a factor (and the unstated truth that they became the drug cartel, only fully licensed by the government).
"Major Asia markets subdued and oil prices surge as Middle East tensions ramp up." The Aristocrats!
"The US has announced a countrywide ban on some e-cigarette flavours amid concerns about vaping among teens… The ban applies to mint and fruit flavours that are offered in cartridge-based e-cigarettes, like the popular pods sold by Juul." Some people ain't gonna be happy.
They'll cheer us in the streets. "As thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Iran on Sunday to mourn the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a series of dizzying developments convulsed the Middle East, generating new uncertainty around everything from the future of U.S. forces in Iraq to the battle against ISIS and the effort to quell Tehran's nuclear ambitions." With the killing of Soleimani the president has accomplished what people in the Middle East couldn't do after centuries, he united the Shiite factions and revitalized support for Iran's government. He's handed a huge victory to the terrorists and weakened our position in the world even more.
"Iran will no longer honor its commitment to limit its enrichment of uranium, stepping away from a key component of the landmark nuclear deal it agreed to with six nations, including the United States, in 2015." Iran is now less than a year away from building an atomic weapon. And the president's actions have fragmented the fragile coalition that helped walk Iran away from the bomb.
Meanwhile terrorist organizations on the brink of failure are now re-enegerized. "A U.S. service member and two Defense Department contractors were killed Sunday when the terrorist organization al-Shabab attacked a Kenyan airfield used by both Kenyan and U.S. forces." Al-fucking-Shabab.
"President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday evening that if Iran attacks any American assets to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general, the U.S. has 52 targets across the Islamic Republic that 'WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.'" That is a war crime. Our president is tweeting out that he will commit war crimes.
Remember Trump promised to pull us out of the Middle-East. "Being a U.S. soldier in a fast-response force sometimes means being sent halfway across the world within a day, leaving no time to say goodbye to those staying behind… That’s what happened to April Shumard when her husband, a member of the 82 Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, got the call. He was at home, minding the couple’s five children while Shumard was at work at Healing Hands day spa, when he sent her a text. He had to rush to base. He wasn’t sure if it was a drill or a deployment. Then she got another text: 'We’re leaving tomorrow.'"
"The U.S. military may strike more Iranian leaders if the Islamic Republic retaliates for the Trump administration’s killing of Tehran’s most powerful general last week by attacking Americans or American interests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday." This violates several conventions of war, this violates standing orders and presidential directives. There's a reason why the CIA was taken out of the assassination game. Because it never works.
"A top New York state legislator was charged with driving while intoxicated on New Year's Eve after urging his constituents not to drink and drive around the holidays." Who coulda seen that one coming? And he was driving a state vehicle. Oopsie.
"Google’s artificial intelligence system can identify breast cancer more accurately than radiologists, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday… The system produced a 1.2% reduction of false positives in the U.K. and a 5.7% reduction in the U.S. It was able to reduce false negatives by 2.7% in the U.K. and 9.4% in the U.S." That sounds great, and we are all for better systems and better detection, but let's talk about actual numbers. Those false negatives (2.7% UK and 9.4% US)? Let's say out of every 100 people, 10 have a false negative result (IIRC, this is much higher than actual stats), but that 9.4% US means than instead of 10 false negatives, the software only had 9 false negatives (actually it's a little smaller, but this is a good yardstick measure). For the UK, that would be instead of 10 false negatives for 300 patients, they only had 9. So while, yes, it's better, it's also in the realm of statistical anomaly not actual progress (note that many medical "breakthroughs" fall into this category, although the study here was of 91,000 women, that's pretty large).
"A group of Amazon employees has said the company has threatened to fire some of them for speaking out on environmental issues… Amazon Employees for Climate Justice said the workers were told they were in violation of company policies." Let's see, ah yes, "Number 12, thou shall not bother the Bezos."
"A NASA astronaut developed a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis - DVT) in the jugular vein partway through a long-term mission on the International Space Station. The space agency called in University of North Carolina doctor Stephan Moll, a blood-clot expert, to help develop a treatment plan for the tricky situation." Dr. McCoy to the command bridge, STAT.
"A Texas man who used 'affluenza' as a defense at his trial for killing four people while driving drunk was arrested Thursday after authorities say he violated the terms of his probation." Shocked, shocked I am that a person who feels no responsibility for their actions would have violated their parol by using marijuana.
"She was curious how the regional decline might have shaped her subjects’ politics. But she quickly noticed a startling trend alongside the growing unemployment: Her subjects and their families were struggling with opioid abuse. At community meetings, doctors and coroners would debate solutions to the problem. Should they be arresting people? Should they be creating support groups? She describes one desperate parent who asked whether Donald Trump’s proposed border wall would keep black tar heroin from getting to Pennsylvania." Winner winner, chicken dinner. Economic opportunity and depression, both can be self-medicated with opioids (and other drugs). How the new opioids were marketed certainly is a factor (and the unstated truth that they became the drug cartel, only fully licensed by the government).
"Major Asia markets subdued and oil prices surge as Middle East tensions ramp up." The Aristocrats!
"The US has announced a countrywide ban on some e-cigarette flavours amid concerns about vaping among teens… The ban applies to mint and fruit flavours that are offered in cartridge-based e-cigarettes, like the popular pods sold by Juul." Some people ain't gonna be happy.
They'll cheer us in the streets. "As thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Iran on Sunday to mourn the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a series of dizzying developments convulsed the Middle East, generating new uncertainty around everything from the future of U.S. forces in Iraq to the battle against ISIS and the effort to quell Tehran's nuclear ambitions." With the killing of Soleimani the president has accomplished what people in the Middle East couldn't do after centuries, he united the Shiite factions and revitalized support for Iran's government. He's handed a huge victory to the terrorists and weakened our position in the world even more.
"Iran will no longer honor its commitment to limit its enrichment of uranium, stepping away from a key component of the landmark nuclear deal it agreed to with six nations, including the United States, in 2015." Iran is now less than a year away from building an atomic weapon. And the president's actions have fragmented the fragile coalition that helped walk Iran away from the bomb.
Meanwhile terrorist organizations on the brink of failure are now re-enegerized. "A U.S. service member and two Defense Department contractors were killed Sunday when the terrorist organization al-Shabab attacked a Kenyan airfield used by both Kenyan and U.S. forces." Al-fucking-Shabab.
"President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday evening that if Iran attacks any American assets to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general, the U.S. has 52 targets across the Islamic Republic that 'WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.'" That is a war crime. Our president is tweeting out that he will commit war crimes.
Remember Trump promised to pull us out of the Middle-East. "Being a U.S. soldier in a fast-response force sometimes means being sent halfway across the world within a day, leaving no time to say goodbye to those staying behind… That’s what happened to April Shumard when her husband, a member of the 82 Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, got the call. He was at home, minding the couple’s five children while Shumard was at work at Healing Hands day spa, when he sent her a text. He had to rush to base. He wasn’t sure if it was a drill or a deployment. Then she got another text: 'We’re leaving tomorrow.'"
"The U.S. military may strike more Iranian leaders if the Islamic Republic retaliates for the Trump administration’s killing of Tehran’s most powerful general last week by attacking Americans or American interests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday." This violates several conventions of war, this violates standing orders and presidential directives. There's a reason why the CIA was taken out of the assassination game. Because it never works.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Linkee-poo Friday, I think
Serious alligators today. Sorry. I guess everybody finally figured out they needed to write 2020 on the checks and suddenly panicked.
"Iran’s top security and intelligence commander was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that was authorized by President Trump, American officials said." I'm not sure anyone understands proportional and appropriate response anymore.
"U.S. forces assassinated Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike early Friday near the Baghdad International Airport, an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran that is prompting concerns of further violence in the region." There's the word. Now it just remains to be seen as who "signed" the order and who was directing the drone operation.
"A US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump on Baghdad airport has killed a top Iranian commander, in a major escalation in regional tensions that have pitted Tehran against Washington and its allies in the Middle East."
And in case you're wondering, yes, this is very bad. It's even worse because Trump himself complained about President Obama possibly getting us into a war with Iran in 2012 just to win re-election.
"Australian authorities are launching naval and air rescue operations along the country's southeast coast as deadly wildfires intensify, stranding residents and tourists in towns that may be wiped out by Saturday." Okay, who had Australians as the first major climate change refugees? Cause they might win the office pool.
"An enormous number of tumbleweeds blew onto a road in eastern Washington state on New Year's Eve, piling up into a mountain of tangled branches that blocked traffic and even buried some cars, trapping travelers inside." Tumblegeddon. Even the plants are attacking us.
"If you've decided to take a break from drinking alcohol, you're not alone. Breaking the booze habit, whether it's for 30 days or longer, has its benefits. But for many people, the challenge is getting started… Here are six strategies and tips to get you on your way." And here is one more tip, but for those who are quitting. If someone in your group is not drinking, don't make a stink, don't even mention it at all. Give them your support for their choice and have their backs. Oh, and don't expect them to be your designated driver. Finally, whatever you do, don't recommend non-alcoholic beer. Because friends don't force that junk on anyone.
"A former Senate candidate and participant in the deadly 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Virginia was arrested Wednesday in Brevard County, Florida, on kidnapping and domestic violence charges, according to the Miami Herald." This is my shocked face. (Grokked form Jim Wright, I think)
The rich are just like you and I. "A wanted notice was delivered to Lebanese authorities on Thursday by Interpol for Carlos Ghosn, three days after the former head of Nissan jumped bail in Japan and surreptitiously fled to Beirut via Turkey… In addition, seven people suspected of being accomplices in Ghosn's escape to Lebanon have been detained in Turkey." Don't we all have a private jet and multiple passports, residences, bank accounts, and citizenships?
"Thirty-nine Republican senators and 168 members of the House of Representatives, almost all of them Republicans, signed a so-called 'friend of the court' brief filed on Thursday by the national anti-abortion group Americans United for Life in connection with a challenge to a Louisiana abortion access law due to be heard in March." Of course they did. They're running out of time and they believe they've finally stacked the court the way they wanted to all along.
"Fabricated or misreported quotes by Democratic politicians continue to circulate on social media." Ah, I see we've hit Stage 3 a little earlier than I thought. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"In the face of warnings from the Pentagon that the hold on military aid to Ukraine could be illegal, an official from the Office of Management and Budget made it clear that the order to keep the freeze in place came directly from President Donald Trump, according to unredacted documents reviewed by Just Security." So much for the "nobody complained at the time" defense. Also there are now questions why the documents released to Congress and under FoIA were redacted. Also there was bickering about who would be held responsible if the money wasn't distributed by the end of the fiscal year.
"Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) seized on newly released emails surrounding President Trump's decision to delay aid to Ukraine, arguing they underscored the need for witnesses and documents as part of an impeachment trial." Unforced errors.
"President Donald Trump berated his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and other senior staff members for holding off on arranging a phone call with the Russian president in January 2017, according to a new book." Again there's a fucking lot of Russians hanging around.
"Iran’s top security and intelligence commander was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that was authorized by President Trump, American officials said." I'm not sure anyone understands proportional and appropriate response anymore.
"U.S. forces assassinated Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike early Friday near the Baghdad International Airport, an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran that is prompting concerns of further violence in the region." There's the word. Now it just remains to be seen as who "signed" the order and who was directing the drone operation.
"A US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump on Baghdad airport has killed a top Iranian commander, in a major escalation in regional tensions that have pitted Tehran against Washington and its allies in the Middle East."
And in case you're wondering, yes, this is very bad. It's even worse because Trump himself complained about President Obama possibly getting us into a war with Iran in 2012 just to win re-election.
"Australian authorities are launching naval and air rescue operations along the country's southeast coast as deadly wildfires intensify, stranding residents and tourists in towns that may be wiped out by Saturday." Okay, who had Australians as the first major climate change refugees? Cause they might win the office pool.
"An enormous number of tumbleweeds blew onto a road in eastern Washington state on New Year's Eve, piling up into a mountain of tangled branches that blocked traffic and even buried some cars, trapping travelers inside." Tumblegeddon. Even the plants are attacking us.
"If you've decided to take a break from drinking alcohol, you're not alone. Breaking the booze habit, whether it's for 30 days or longer, has its benefits. But for many people, the challenge is getting started… Here are six strategies and tips to get you on your way." And here is one more tip, but for those who are quitting. If someone in your group is not drinking, don't make a stink, don't even mention it at all. Give them your support for their choice and have their backs. Oh, and don't expect them to be your designated driver. Finally, whatever you do, don't recommend non-alcoholic beer. Because friends don't force that junk on anyone.
"A former Senate candidate and participant in the deadly 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Virginia was arrested Wednesday in Brevard County, Florida, on kidnapping and domestic violence charges, according to the Miami Herald." This is my shocked face. (Grokked form Jim Wright, I think)
The rich are just like you and I. "A wanted notice was delivered to Lebanese authorities on Thursday by Interpol for Carlos Ghosn, three days after the former head of Nissan jumped bail in Japan and surreptitiously fled to Beirut via Turkey… In addition, seven people suspected of being accomplices in Ghosn's escape to Lebanon have been detained in Turkey." Don't we all have a private jet and multiple passports, residences, bank accounts, and citizenships?
"Thirty-nine Republican senators and 168 members of the House of Representatives, almost all of them Republicans, signed a so-called 'friend of the court' brief filed on Thursday by the national anti-abortion group Americans United for Life in connection with a challenge to a Louisiana abortion access law due to be heard in March." Of course they did. They're running out of time and they believe they've finally stacked the court the way they wanted to all along.
"Fabricated or misreported quotes by Democratic politicians continue to circulate on social media." Ah, I see we've hit Stage 3 a little earlier than I thought. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"In the face of warnings from the Pentagon that the hold on military aid to Ukraine could be illegal, an official from the Office of Management and Budget made it clear that the order to keep the freeze in place came directly from President Donald Trump, according to unredacted documents reviewed by Just Security." So much for the "nobody complained at the time" defense. Also there are now questions why the documents released to Congress and under FoIA were redacted. Also there was bickering about who would be held responsible if the money wasn't distributed by the end of the fiscal year.
"Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) seized on newly released emails surrounding President Trump's decision to delay aid to Ukraine, arguing they underscored the need for witnesses and documents as part of an impeachment trial." Unforced errors.
"President Donald Trump berated his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and other senior staff members for holding off on arranging a phone call with the Russian president in January 2017, according to a new book." Again there's a fucking lot of Russians hanging around.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Linkee-poo's brand new day
It's a new day, a new year, and a new decade (insert consternation here). But it's the same old shit we're dealing with.
"You know how sometimes you’ll read a particular author and find that their cadences and word choices are creeping into your own head-voice?… I ask because I have spent these last few days reading a lot of Chuck Tingle, and my brain is currently a CAPSLOCK wonderland filled with buckaroos and sentient jet-skis… The purpose, you ask? Well, aside from the sheer joy of proving love, I thought it might be a fun quest: is it possible that such an eccentric body of work could yield practical writing advice?"
So let's check in with the down under… "The leader of Australia's eastern New South Wales state has declared a week-long state of emergency in response to the escalating bushfire threat… PM Scott Morrison had to cut short a visit to one fire-hit town after being heckled by angry residents."
"At least 21 people have died in flooding in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, after the city had its most intense rainfall for at least 24 years… The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) measured 377mm (14.8 inches) of rainfall in a day at an airport in East Jakarta… The agency said the intensity of the rain was due to several factors, including the monsoon season, as well as a high amount of water vapour in the air." We're boned.
"US farmers have taken a particularly harsh beating this year from a one-two punch of nasty flooding exacerbated by climate change and a trade war with China." As I've said before, with climate change we're growing the wrong crops in the wrong places because the weather is hitting at the wrong time. But don't worry… "In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in fourteen years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress." I'm sure it's totally legal to not have Congress allocate and appropriate those funds. And then there is this, "For one thing, it's an enormous amount of money, more than the final cost of bailing out the auto industry during the financial crisis of 2008." And yet, I'm not seeing Tea Party rallies and calls for cutting the deficit. Say, what do we call it when governments in other countries just hand money to certain groups like farmers or industry? Something, something about communes or something like that.
"In a desert far from any city, farmers use groundwater to grow lush green hay. The hay fattens livestock all over the world. But there's a big problem: The water is drying up. Now scientists warn it will take thousands of years for an aquifer in southeastern Oregon to recover, while residents there are already hurting." Welcome to the new water wars.
"Wind accounted for 47% of Denmark’s power usage in 2019, the country’s grid operator Energinet said on Thursday citing preliminary data, up from 41% in 2018 and topping the previous record of 43% in 2017." But apparently we can't because… um… we don't wear wooden shoes. Or something (yes, yes, scale blah blah… but here in Ohio we've removed any renewable power mandate just last year). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"Authorities are investigating an outbreak of viral pneumonia in central China amid online speculation that it might be linked to SARS, the flu-like virus that killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago." Here we go again.
"Required parental consent is one of the main reasons Massachusetts, often viewed as a bastion of liberal laws, only gets a grade of 'C' for abortion access from an abortion rights group. Now, there's an ongoing, vigorous debate in Massachusetts about whether to keep or remove this restriction." Remove it.
"A police officer made up a story about having "f---ing pig" written on his coffee cup at a McDonald's in Junction City, Kansas, as a joke, his chief said Monday."> This is my shocked face. What happens when a civilian manufactures evidence? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The congregation at a Texas church where two people were fatally shot had repeatedly given food to the gunman, according to the pastor, but had declined to give money to him, angering a man who court records show was deemed mentally incompetent for trial in 2012." Oh, well, at least we can now categorize this into a convenient silo and say there's nothing we could do.
The most dangerous catch. "The Coast Guard in Alaska has suspended a search for five fishermen missing after the boat they were in sank on Tuesday… Two survivors of the seven aboard were rescued by helicopter early Wednesday from a life raft, officials said."
How go the Trade Wars? "Here are six charts that look at how the world’s top two economies and their financial markets have performed in the year."
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he will seek immunity from prosecution in corruption cases he's facing." From the parliament. Which he hasn't been able to convene because he can't form a government. Yeah. This will totally work.
"Hong Kong police arrested about 400 people in New Year’s Day protests after what started as a peaceful pro-democracy march of tens of thousands spiraled into chaotic scenes with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowds."
"President Trump and his Russian counterpart have the coming year to deal with an expiring nuclear treaty that will lapse just after the end of his first term… Trump hasn't ruled out renewing the treaty, known as New START. But he has made it clear that he would rather strike a bigger deal that includes different kinds of nuclear weapons — and that also brings China into the fold." Anyone think that'll happen? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
"Recreational marijuana use became legal in just one more state, Illinois, with the start of the New Year on Wednesday. More states could follow suit in 2020, with several states set to put recreational marijuana on the ballot. Cannabis is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level."
"But the Postal Service as a public, government-run entity is not guaranteed, and advocates in Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration, and consulting firms like McKinsey & Co. have called for privatization of the agency for some time… Those changes could come as early as next month." This should be burning up the airwaves, but in this climate of daily crisis and heinous fuckery, it's barely a news blip.
"In a court filing Christmas Eve in Los Angeles Superior Court, lawyers for Durst conceded he had written the note directing police to the home of his best friend, Susan Berman, in December 2000."
"The State Department launched an intense investigation to find out who 'liked' Chelsea Clinton’s tweet at President Donald Trump, The Daily Beast reports." The link was from the official USA's EU delegation twitter account. Petty, thy name is president. (Grokked from George Takei)
"The IRS announced significant changes Monday to its deal with the tax prep software industry. Now companies are barred from hiding their free products from search engines such as Google, and a years-old prohibition on the IRS creating its own online filing system has been scrapped." Well see just how far they'll go to enforce these new rules. (Grokked from DongWon Song)
"One surprisingly simple reason evangelicals love Trump… It’s his immigration policy." That's a nice way of saying they're racist.
"You know how sometimes you’ll read a particular author and find that their cadences and word choices are creeping into your own head-voice?… I ask because I have spent these last few days reading a lot of Chuck Tingle, and my brain is currently a CAPSLOCK wonderland filled with buckaroos and sentient jet-skis… The purpose, you ask? Well, aside from the sheer joy of proving love, I thought it might be a fun quest: is it possible that such an eccentric body of work could yield practical writing advice?"
So let's check in with the down under… "The leader of Australia's eastern New South Wales state has declared a week-long state of emergency in response to the escalating bushfire threat… PM Scott Morrison had to cut short a visit to one fire-hit town after being heckled by angry residents."
"At least 21 people have died in flooding in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, after the city had its most intense rainfall for at least 24 years… The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) measured 377mm (14.8 inches) of rainfall in a day at an airport in East Jakarta… The agency said the intensity of the rain was due to several factors, including the monsoon season, as well as a high amount of water vapour in the air." We're boned.
"US farmers have taken a particularly harsh beating this year from a one-two punch of nasty flooding exacerbated by climate change and a trade war with China." As I've said before, with climate change we're growing the wrong crops in the wrong places because the weather is hitting at the wrong time. But don't worry… "In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in fourteen years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress." I'm sure it's totally legal to not have Congress allocate and appropriate those funds. And then there is this, "For one thing, it's an enormous amount of money, more than the final cost of bailing out the auto industry during the financial crisis of 2008." And yet, I'm not seeing Tea Party rallies and calls for cutting the deficit. Say, what do we call it when governments in other countries just hand money to certain groups like farmers or industry? Something, something about communes or something like that.
"In a desert far from any city, farmers use groundwater to grow lush green hay. The hay fattens livestock all over the world. But there's a big problem: The water is drying up. Now scientists warn it will take thousands of years for an aquifer in southeastern Oregon to recover, while residents there are already hurting." Welcome to the new water wars.
"Wind accounted for 47% of Denmark’s power usage in 2019, the country’s grid operator Energinet said on Thursday citing preliminary data, up from 41% in 2018 and topping the previous record of 43% in 2017." But apparently we can't because… um… we don't wear wooden shoes. Or something (yes, yes, scale blah blah… but here in Ohio we've removed any renewable power mandate just last year). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"Authorities are investigating an outbreak of viral pneumonia in central China amid online speculation that it might be linked to SARS, the flu-like virus that killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago." Here we go again.
"Required parental consent is one of the main reasons Massachusetts, often viewed as a bastion of liberal laws, only gets a grade of 'C' for abortion access from an abortion rights group. Now, there's an ongoing, vigorous debate in Massachusetts about whether to keep or remove this restriction." Remove it.
"A police officer made up a story about having "f---ing pig" written on his coffee cup at a McDonald's in Junction City, Kansas, as a joke, his chief said Monday."> This is my shocked face. What happens when a civilian manufactures evidence? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The congregation at a Texas church where two people were fatally shot had repeatedly given food to the gunman, according to the pastor, but had declined to give money to him, angering a man who court records show was deemed mentally incompetent for trial in 2012." Oh, well, at least we can now categorize this into a convenient silo and say there's nothing we could do.
The most dangerous catch. "The Coast Guard in Alaska has suspended a search for five fishermen missing after the boat they were in sank on Tuesday… Two survivors of the seven aboard were rescued by helicopter early Wednesday from a life raft, officials said."
How go the Trade Wars? "Here are six charts that look at how the world’s top two economies and their financial markets have performed in the year."
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he will seek immunity from prosecution in corruption cases he's facing." From the parliament. Which he hasn't been able to convene because he can't form a government. Yeah. This will totally work.
"Hong Kong police arrested about 400 people in New Year’s Day protests after what started as a peaceful pro-democracy march of tens of thousands spiraled into chaotic scenes with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowds."
"President Trump and his Russian counterpart have the coming year to deal with an expiring nuclear treaty that will lapse just after the end of his first term… Trump hasn't ruled out renewing the treaty, known as New START. But he has made it clear that he would rather strike a bigger deal that includes different kinds of nuclear weapons — and that also brings China into the fold." Anyone think that'll happen? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
"Recreational marijuana use became legal in just one more state, Illinois, with the start of the New Year on Wednesday. More states could follow suit in 2020, with several states set to put recreational marijuana on the ballot. Cannabis is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level."
"But the Postal Service as a public, government-run entity is not guaranteed, and advocates in Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration, and consulting firms like McKinsey & Co. have called for privatization of the agency for some time… Those changes could come as early as next month." This should be burning up the airwaves, but in this climate of daily crisis and heinous fuckery, it's barely a news blip.
"In a court filing Christmas Eve in Los Angeles Superior Court, lawyers for Durst conceded he had written the note directing police to the home of his best friend, Susan Berman, in December 2000."
"The State Department launched an intense investigation to find out who 'liked' Chelsea Clinton’s tweet at President Donald Trump, The Daily Beast reports." The link was from the official USA's EU delegation twitter account. Petty, thy name is president. (Grokked from George Takei)
"The IRS announced significant changes Monday to its deal with the tax prep software industry. Now companies are barred from hiding their free products from search engines such as Google, and a years-old prohibition on the IRS creating its own online filing system has been scrapped." Well see just how far they'll go to enforce these new rules. (Grokked from DongWon Song)
"One surprisingly simple reason evangelicals love Trump… It’s his immigration policy." That's a nice way of saying they're racist.
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