"A growing number of residents and officials in Los Angeles County are demanding answers in the death of a black man whose body was discovered hanging from a tree."
"On the evening of Friday, June 12, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police Department officer in the parking lot of the Wendy’s restaurant on University Avenue in Peoplestown. Here is what we know so far; we will update this story as more news comes in."
"Authorities in Georgia ruled Sunday that the fatal police shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside an Atlanta Wendy’s was a homicide."
"Fox News published digitally altered and misleading images on its website's homepage Friday that made a demonstration in Seattle, in which a group of largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters have occupied six city blocks, appear violent and dangerous… The deceitful tactic was called out by The Seattle Times. The local newspaper reported that when it asked Fox News about the images, the network removed them." And their "correction" didn't really correct much.
"French police have clashed with activists protesting in Paris against racism and alleged police brutality… Police used tear gas against stone-throwing protesters who tried to hold a march that was banned."
"Far-right protesters clashed in London on Saturday with anti-racism demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart after they rallied in London in rival demonstrations, despite strict restrictions and warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus."
"Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield plans to kneel during the national anthem this upcoming season to support protests of social injustice, police brutality and racism."
"Standing among a group of peaceful anti-racism protesters in downtown Seattle on a recent Saturday afternoon, Mando Avery held his seven-year-old son’s hand… That was when, Avery said, out of nowhere, a police officer fired mace at the group. It hit his son square in the face."
"By the standards of the pandemic, Thursday had been a normal day for Peter Weinberg. A 49-year-old finance marketing executive, he worked from his home in Bethesda, Maryland, right outside of the District of Columbia, staying busy with Zoom meetings and the new rituals of our socially isolated world… Then, around 10 p.m., he received an irate message on LinkedIn from someone he didn’t know." When crowd sourcing goes wrong, especially when the police publish the wrong details.
"Hoof it through the national parks of the western United States—Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon—and breathe deep the pristine air. These are unspoiled lands, collectively a great American conservation story. Yet an invisible menace is actually blowing through the air and falling via raindrops: Microplastic particles, tiny chunks… of fragmented plastic bottles and microfibers that fray from clothes, all pollutants that get caught up in Earth’s atmospheric systems and deposited in the wilderness."
"Falerii Novi was once a walled town just north of Rome, likely founded around 241 BC as a relocation site for a Falisci tribe that had rebelled against the Romans. Located on a volcanic plateau, archaeologists surmise that the new site was chosen because it wasn't as easy to defend, thereby discouraging further uprisings. There were likely some 2,500 residents during the third and fourth centuries BC. The ruins are deep underground, but a team of archaeologists from the University of Cambridge and Ghent University in Belgium have used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to map the complete city. They described their findings in a recent paper in the journal Antiquity."
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it has 'serious doubts' that SpaceX will be able to deliver internet service with latency under 100 milliseconds (via Ars Technica). That would not only be bad for users, but means that SpaceX could be at a disadvantage in an auction to distribute $16 billion in federal funds to support rural broadband access. SpaceX strongly disagrees, but it may not be able to prove its case in time." Will my telecom attempt to get funds to improve our broadband connection? My money is on no.
"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that existing federal law forbids job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status, a major victory for advocates of gay rights — and a surprising one from an increasingly conservative court."
"Amid the tumult over police brutality allegations across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to reexamine the much-criticized, modern-day legal doctrine created by judges that has shielded police and other government officials from lawsuits over their conduct."
"The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up a legal battle over whether local governments can declare themselves sanctuaries and refuse to help federal agents enforce immigration laws."
"Maria Ressa, the former CNN journalist who co-founded the Philippines' Rappler news site, has been convicted of cyberlibel, a controversial charge that she has denied, maintaining that it's a politically motivated effort to silence independent journalism in the country."
"Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in Moscow in 2018 on charges of espionage, has been found guilty in a closed trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a case that has strained relations between the two countries."
"As Palestinian leaders see it, Israel — by moving to annex territory instead of negotiating its fate — is not holding up its side of the peace agreements. So the Palestinians will stop holding up theirs."
"Construction is under way on a major new ring road for Jerusalem that Israeli officials say will benefit all of its residents, but critics of the project say is another obstacle to Palestinian hopes to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future state."
"Ukrainian officials on Saturday said they were offered $5 million in bribes to end a probe into energy company Burisma’s founder, but said there was no connection to former board member Hunter Biden whose father is running for the U.S. presidency."
"President Donald Trump tweeted indignantly on Saturday in reaction to videos that showed him unsteadily walking down a ramp after giving a speech to the graduating class at West Point earlier that day."
Monday, June 15, 2020
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Linkee-poo weekend
"Rocket Lab has returned to active launch status from its first launchpad in New Zealand, after the global COVID-19 pandemic temporarily paused its work there. Early this morning, it flew its 12th Electron launch vehicle from its launch site on NZ’s Mahia Peninsula, carrying payloads on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaisance Office (NRO), NASA, and the University of New South Wales Canberra."
"We can no longer ignore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat depression." An opinion piece, but worth it.
"A district of Beijing was on a “wartime” footing and the capital banned tourism on Saturday after a cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred (SIC) around a major wholesale market sparked fears of a new wave of COVID-19."
"White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is not concerned about a second wave of coronavirus cases, the Wall Street Journal reported." That won't age well.
"'In the beginning, "everyone had the concern of getting infected,' Dr. Francis Castiller, medical director of critical care at UNC REX Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, said. The new disease was spreading rapidly, before many ICUs were able to prepare for the surge or protect their staff appropriately." A little bit on what we've learned.
"States may need to reimplement the strict social distancing measures that were put in place earlier this year if U.S. coronavirus cases rise 'dramatically,' a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Friday." I'm willing to be wrong, but I doubt such orders would actually curb people from going out and I think we'd see a lot more businesses ignoring the rules.
"Police are searching for a shooter who opened fire after he was denied entry into a bar in San Antonio, wounding eight people, authorities said… The Friday night incident started when a group that included the shooter was denied entry into a bar because they were intoxicated, the police chief said."
"Rumors of marauding antifa buses have popped up on local social media networks all across the country, sometimes leading to direct, dangerous action by locals and police departments." Priming the well.
"A statue of Winston Churchill may have to be put in a museum to protect it if demonstrations continue, his granddaughter has said… It came after protesters daubed 'was a racist' on the statue last weekend." History can be a terrible awakening.
"Building ramparts of secrecy around a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin… told Congress at a hearing this week that the names of loan recipients and the amounts are 'proprietary information.' While he claimed the information is confidential, ethics advocates and some lawmakers see the move as an attempt to dodge accountability for how the money is spent." Going from "taxes are theft" to stealing our tax money. That information isn't "proprietary", and since it's the taxpayers' money, it can't be "confidential."
"Customs and Border Protection officials at the U.S.-Mexico border encountered more than 23,000 unauthorized migrants in May and swiftly expelled over 20,000 of them under an emergency directive by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to government statistics published on Friday. In April, the first full month of the public health order being in place, nearly 17,000 migrants were apprehended. Over 15,000 of them were expelled." Any stupid excuse.
The On the Media podcast with… "In fact, according to Candida Moss, Christian historians coined the idea that to be persecuted was to be righteous in the 4th Century and they exaggerated claims that Christians were persecuted in the first place. Moss is a professor of theology and religion at Birmingham University in the U.K., and author of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. Moss spoke to Bob just after Trump has announced his call for churches to open. In this week's Pod Extra she explains how Christian history has been revised for political means, from the early church to present day."
"President Donald Trump announced late Friday night that he is rescheduling a rally that was to be held on June 19 -- Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States -- 'out of respect for this holiday.'" He look, he can learn something. But the message was already sent, so it costs him nothing to reschedule.
"We can no longer ignore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat depression." An opinion piece, but worth it.
"A district of Beijing was on a “wartime” footing and the capital banned tourism on Saturday after a cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred (SIC) around a major wholesale market sparked fears of a new wave of COVID-19."
"White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is not concerned about a second wave of coronavirus cases, the Wall Street Journal reported." That won't age well.
"'In the beginning, "everyone had the concern of getting infected,' Dr. Francis Castiller, medical director of critical care at UNC REX Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, said. The new disease was spreading rapidly, before many ICUs were able to prepare for the surge or protect their staff appropriately." A little bit on what we've learned.
"States may need to reimplement the strict social distancing measures that were put in place earlier this year if U.S. coronavirus cases rise 'dramatically,' a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Friday." I'm willing to be wrong, but I doubt such orders would actually curb people from going out and I think we'd see a lot more businesses ignoring the rules.
"Police are searching for a shooter who opened fire after he was denied entry into a bar in San Antonio, wounding eight people, authorities said… The Friday night incident started when a group that included the shooter was denied entry into a bar because they were intoxicated, the police chief said."
"Rumors of marauding antifa buses have popped up on local social media networks all across the country, sometimes leading to direct, dangerous action by locals and police departments." Priming the well.
"A statue of Winston Churchill may have to be put in a museum to protect it if demonstrations continue, his granddaughter has said… It came after protesters daubed 'was a racist' on the statue last weekend." History can be a terrible awakening.
"Building ramparts of secrecy around a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin… told Congress at a hearing this week that the names of loan recipients and the amounts are 'proprietary information.' While he claimed the information is confidential, ethics advocates and some lawmakers see the move as an attempt to dodge accountability for how the money is spent." Going from "taxes are theft" to stealing our tax money. That information isn't "proprietary", and since it's the taxpayers' money, it can't be "confidential."
"Customs and Border Protection officials at the U.S.-Mexico border encountered more than 23,000 unauthorized migrants in May and swiftly expelled over 20,000 of them under an emergency directive by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to government statistics published on Friday. In April, the first full month of the public health order being in place, nearly 17,000 migrants were apprehended. Over 15,000 of them were expelled." Any stupid excuse.
The On the Media podcast with… "In fact, according to Candida Moss, Christian historians coined the idea that to be persecuted was to be righteous in the 4th Century and they exaggerated claims that Christians were persecuted in the first place. Moss is a professor of theology and religion at Birmingham University in the U.K., and author of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. Moss spoke to Bob just after Trump has announced his call for churches to open. In this week's Pod Extra she explains how Christian history has been revised for political means, from the early church to present day."
"President Donald Trump announced late Friday night that he is rescheduling a rally that was to be held on June 19 -- Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States -- 'out of respect for this holiday.'" He look, he can learn something. But the message was already sent, so it costs him nothing to reschedule.
Friday, June 12, 2020
Linkee-poo Friday
"University of Maryland geophysicists analyzed thousands of recordings of seismic waves, sound waves traveling through the Earth, to identify echoes from the boundary between Earth's molten core and the solid mantle layer above it. The echoes revealed more widespread, heterogenous structures—areas of unusually dense, hot rock—at the core-mantle boundary than previously known."
Something new has been added. "A fifth state of matter has been created in space, with scientists producing Bose-Einstein condensates onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in the Cold Atom Lab experiment."
"Coronavirus cases in Arizona have continued to surge since late May as the state’s hospital capacity begins to tighten, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services."
Last Week Tonight on the police.
"In Seattle, a group of peaceful protesters have cornered off several city blocks and established the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – a sort of protest haven where artists paint murals, speakers discuss topics of racial equity, snacks are handed out for free and virtually no police are in sight."
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Seattle police say they have received reports of armed guards and potential extortion in a self-declared autonomous zone that spans several blocks and includes a now-closed precinct."
"Late one night two weeks ago, a group of Chicago police officers put up their feet and lounged in the burglarized office of a U.S. congressman, preparing popcorn and coffee for themselves and napping on the couch."
"These Republican aides — people of color appointed by the Trump team — say they are mystified as to why the president can so forcefully call for law and order amid ongoing protests, yet he cannot speak with the same conviction about racism in America, or offer words to soothe a divided and scared nation as it faces social unrest alongside a pandemic and an economic downturn." Anybody know the answer? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
"The Pentagon's top general discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in President Donald Trump's controversial photo opportunity at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News… Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized over the incident Thursday, saying, 'I should not have been there.'" Well, you got that one right. You shouldn't have been there.
"President Donald Trump lobbed a broadside attack Thursday against the International Criminal Court by authorizing economic sanctions and travel restrictions against court workers directly involved in investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan without U.S. consent."
"Customs and Border Protection spent parts of a $112 million emergency fund meant to buy food, medicine and other items for migrants on all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and boats, according to a Government Accountability Office report published Thursday."
How's the North Korea initiative going? "North Korea on Friday again vowed to build up its military force to counter what it perceives as U.S. threats and said there would be little reason for a personal relationship between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump if Washington persists with sanctions and pressure."
"Iraq and the United States affirmed their commitment to the reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, a statement from the two countries said, as officials discussed Washington’s future relationship with Baghdad."
"When the first lady didn't move into the White House after the presidential inauguration in early 2017, the official White House line was that she did not want to disrupt her son Barron Trump's schooling… But according to The Post's write-up of the book ahead of its release, Jordan wrote that Melania was actually looking to 'amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as "taking care of Barron."'"
Something new has been added. "A fifth state of matter has been created in space, with scientists producing Bose-Einstein condensates onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in the Cold Atom Lab experiment."
"Coronavirus cases in Arizona have continued to surge since late May as the state’s hospital capacity begins to tighten, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services."
Last Week Tonight on the police.
"In Seattle, a group of peaceful protesters have cornered off several city blocks and established the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – a sort of protest haven where artists paint murals, speakers discuss topics of racial equity, snacks are handed out for free and virtually no police are in sight."
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Seattle police say they have received reports of armed guards and potential extortion in a self-declared autonomous zone that spans several blocks and includes a now-closed precinct."
"Late one night two weeks ago, a group of Chicago police officers put up their feet and lounged in the burglarized office of a U.S. congressman, preparing popcorn and coffee for themselves and napping on the couch."
"These Republican aides — people of color appointed by the Trump team — say they are mystified as to why the president can so forcefully call for law and order amid ongoing protests, yet he cannot speak with the same conviction about racism in America, or offer words to soothe a divided and scared nation as it faces social unrest alongside a pandemic and an economic downturn." Anybody know the answer? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
"The Pentagon's top general discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in President Donald Trump's controversial photo opportunity at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News… Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized over the incident Thursday, saying, 'I should not have been there.'" Well, you got that one right. You shouldn't have been there.
"President Donald Trump lobbed a broadside attack Thursday against the International Criminal Court by authorizing economic sanctions and travel restrictions against court workers directly involved in investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan without U.S. consent."
"Customs and Border Protection spent parts of a $112 million emergency fund meant to buy food, medicine and other items for migrants on all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and boats, according to a Government Accountability Office report published Thursday."
How's the North Korea initiative going? "North Korea on Friday again vowed to build up its military force to counter what it perceives as U.S. threats and said there would be little reason for a personal relationship between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump if Washington persists with sanctions and pressure."
"Iraq and the United States affirmed their commitment to the reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, a statement from the two countries said, as officials discussed Washington’s future relationship with Baghdad."
"When the first lady didn't move into the White House after the presidential inauguration in early 2017, the official White House line was that she did not want to disrupt her son Barron Trump's schooling… But according to The Post's write-up of the book ahead of its release, Jordan wrote that Melania was actually looking to 'amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as "taking care of Barron."'"
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Linkee-poo Thursday
"Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday its early-stage human trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine will begin in the second half of July, earlier than its initial forecast of September." Ah, the race for market value.
"Three weeks after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted his stay-at-home order, the state has seen a big spike in the number of coronavirus cases… With nearly 1,100 dead and hospitalizations spiking rapidly, lawmakers and medical professionals are warning there might not be enough emergency room beds to handle what could be a big influx of new cases."
"Nursing homes with urgent needs for personal protective equipment say they're getting gowns that look more like large tarps -- with no holes for hands -- and surgical masks that are paper-thin as part of the administration's initiative to bolster supplies for vulnerable populations amid the pandemic… 'It would be funny if the stakes weren't so high,' a Washington state official told CNN."
"President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson has rejected suggestions that Russia is underreporting the number of coronavirus deaths in the country, as Moscow recorded a spike in additional mortality and the number of national cases passed 500,000."
"Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc on Thursday said it has begun human testing of its experimental antibody cocktail as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus." Gotta pump that stock.
"At least seven Los Angeles police officers were removed from their field duties after using excessive force during recent protests, the police department told CNN Wednesday… The move comes as police across the nation have come under fire for violent responses to demonstrators protesting police brutality. Critics have pointed to the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and in several cases, physical actions as examples of excessive force."
"A spokesperson for HBO Max, which like CNN is owned by WarnerMedia, told CNN Business that 'Gone with the Wind' is 'a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.'" Gee, ya think? when it returns, it will be shown unedited, unlike what the fuckers did to the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons.
"It wasn’t the first time CBP got involved in the protests. A few days earlier, on May 29, a CBP Predator Drone mysteriously appeared in the skies over Minneapolis-St. Paul to monitor protests in the Twin Cities. The CBP said that it deployed the drone 'at the request of our federal law enforcement partners in Minneapolis,' but to date, no federal agency has come forward to admit to asking for the drone. 'Nothing says protecting free speech like a Predator,' quipped Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Night Show.'… For the many Americans watching and reading about the protests, the assortment of federal forces dispatched to the scene in Washington, DC, was dizzying—and, in the case of CBP, baffling. How did the CBP even have the authority to be there, on the streets of a city that feels far away from any border?"
"NASCAR announced Wednesday that it would ban the display of the Confederate flag at all its events and properties — a day after Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s first full-time Black driver, called for the American racing body to prohibit the controversial symbol." Now that is a cultural shift.
"Ray Ciccarelli, a NASCAR Truck Series driver, announced on social media Wednesday that he plans to quit the sport shortly after the release of new guidelines that include a ban on Confederate flags at races." Don't let the door kick… you know what, just get the fuck out of here.
"Zoom shut down the account of an activist who was holding an event on the video conferencing platform to commemorate China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown… The move has prompted accusations that Zoom, a U.S. company, has bowed to pressure from Beijing."
"A statue of a 17th-century slave trader that was toppled by anti-racism protesters in Bristol, England, has been fished out of the harbor by city authorities. Bristol City Council said the bronze statue of Edward Colston was recovered early Thursday morning to avoid drawing a crowd."
"Amazon is instituting a one-year moratorium on police use of Rekognition, its facial recognition software, the company announced on Wednesday." They expect us to forget in one year.
"Israel's Supreme Court struck down a law on Tuesday that had retroactively legalized about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank."
"The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that would make it harder for immigrants to claim asylum in the U.S., even after the COVID-19 pandemic… If enacted after a public comment period, the rule would allow immigration judges to throw out asylum cases before holding a hearing." Well that'll clear up the backlog quickly.
"Hundreds of Russian polling station officials, citing the risk of spreading the coronavirus, say they won’t help organise a nationwide vote on reforms that could extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule until 2036." Here we go.
Good news, people! "The pace of unemployment claims declined again last week as the U.S. jobs market continued its plodding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Labor Department data showed Thursday… Initial claims totaled 1.54 million, compared with the 1.6 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and a plunge of 355,000 from the previous week’s total just shy of 1.9 million. The four-week moving average, which smooths volatility in the numbers fell by 286,250 to 2 million." This spin of how 1.3M new people filing claims in just one week is somehow "good news" is just mind boggling. Words mean nothing to these people. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
"The Trump administration has awarded energy companies hundreds of breaks on payments for oil and gas extraction from U.S. lands and the Gulf of Mexico during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government database and federal officials." The Trump administration and conservative rape of the land and public coffers continues unabated.
"Senate Democrats are voicing deep skepticism toward the GOP’s newfound embrace of police reform. And they may soon have to decide whether they’ll accept incremental measures or nothing at all… Though careful not to pre-emptively dismiss South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s work designing a police reform package, Democrats said in interviews Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is unlikely to endorse the type of far-reaching legislation needed to respond to police killings of black people and nationwide unrest."
The Fresh Air podcast… "The events of the past 10 days are a painful reminder that police officers we count on to serve and protect our communities can sometimes abuse their authority and commit brutal acts whose victims are disproportionately people of color. Our guest today, journalist Doug Swanson, has a new book (Cult of Glory) about one of the oldest and most celebrated law enforcement agencies in America, the Texas Rangers."
The On the Media podcast on that Tom Cotton option piece. "Last week, however, the (NYT) invited Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to write an opinion piece arguing for the military to be sent to American streets to 'restore order.' Former Times opinion editor James Bennet (who has since resigned) also admitted that he had not read it before it was published. So, what does this latest episode tell us about the media's role in upholding America's values? This week, David Roberts once again wrote about the Times opinion section for Vox, in a post arguing that the Cotton op-ed 'revealed a pathology on the editorial side... an insistence on extending the presumption of good faith to the GOP, even in the face of its rising authoritarianism.'"
"Check it out: In the second half of 2019 alone, Trump used the words "socialist" or 'socialism' more than 100 times on Twitter or in speeches, according to the folks at Factbase. In January, he used the S-word 30 times -- in February, 34 times -- the equivalent of more than once a day… Then things fell off a cliff: Trump invoked the bogeyman of socialism only four times in March, one time in April and a grand total of zero times in May." Socialism seems so quaint these days.
"President Donald Trump called on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to 'take back' the city from protesters, whom he called 'domestic terrorists,' threatening to handle the demonstrators if they do not in a pair of late-night tweets Wednesday… 'Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker,' Durkan tweeted."
"A former judge selected to advise on a path forward in the criminal case against Michael Flynn is accusing the Justice Department of exercising a “gross abuse of prosecutorial power” to protect an ally of President Donald Trump, distorting known facts and legal principles to shield Flynn from a jail sentence… describing it as an 'irregular' effort that courts would 'scoff' at were the subject anyone other than an ally of Trump. The 82-page excoriation featured a painstaking reconstruction of the Flynn case and accused DOJ of contradicting its own arguments and precedents to justify dropping the case against Flynn." Conservatives no longer believe they even need to make a semblance of logical sense for their arguments.
"Three weeks after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted his stay-at-home order, the state has seen a big spike in the number of coronavirus cases… With nearly 1,100 dead and hospitalizations spiking rapidly, lawmakers and medical professionals are warning there might not be enough emergency room beds to handle what could be a big influx of new cases."
"Nursing homes with urgent needs for personal protective equipment say they're getting gowns that look more like large tarps -- with no holes for hands -- and surgical masks that are paper-thin as part of the administration's initiative to bolster supplies for vulnerable populations amid the pandemic… 'It would be funny if the stakes weren't so high,' a Washington state official told CNN."
"President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson has rejected suggestions that Russia is underreporting the number of coronavirus deaths in the country, as Moscow recorded a spike in additional mortality and the number of national cases passed 500,000."
"Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc on Thursday said it has begun human testing of its experimental antibody cocktail as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus." Gotta pump that stock.
"At least seven Los Angeles police officers were removed from their field duties after using excessive force during recent protests, the police department told CNN Wednesday… The move comes as police across the nation have come under fire for violent responses to demonstrators protesting police brutality. Critics have pointed to the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and in several cases, physical actions as examples of excessive force."
"A spokesperson for HBO Max, which like CNN is owned by WarnerMedia, told CNN Business that 'Gone with the Wind' is 'a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.'" Gee, ya think? when it returns, it will be shown unedited, unlike what the fuckers did to the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons.
"It wasn’t the first time CBP got involved in the protests. A few days earlier, on May 29, a CBP Predator Drone mysteriously appeared in the skies over Minneapolis-St. Paul to monitor protests in the Twin Cities. The CBP said that it deployed the drone 'at the request of our federal law enforcement partners in Minneapolis,' but to date, no federal agency has come forward to admit to asking for the drone. 'Nothing says protecting free speech like a Predator,' quipped Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Night Show.'… For the many Americans watching and reading about the protests, the assortment of federal forces dispatched to the scene in Washington, DC, was dizzying—and, in the case of CBP, baffling. How did the CBP even have the authority to be there, on the streets of a city that feels far away from any border?"
"NASCAR announced Wednesday that it would ban the display of the Confederate flag at all its events and properties — a day after Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s first full-time Black driver, called for the American racing body to prohibit the controversial symbol." Now that is a cultural shift.
"Ray Ciccarelli, a NASCAR Truck Series driver, announced on social media Wednesday that he plans to quit the sport shortly after the release of new guidelines that include a ban on Confederate flags at races." Don't let the door kick… you know what, just get the fuck out of here.
"Zoom shut down the account of an activist who was holding an event on the video conferencing platform to commemorate China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown… The move has prompted accusations that Zoom, a U.S. company, has bowed to pressure from Beijing."
"A statue of a 17th-century slave trader that was toppled by anti-racism protesters in Bristol, England, has been fished out of the harbor by city authorities. Bristol City Council said the bronze statue of Edward Colston was recovered early Thursday morning to avoid drawing a crowd."
"Amazon is instituting a one-year moratorium on police use of Rekognition, its facial recognition software, the company announced on Wednesday." They expect us to forget in one year.
"Israel's Supreme Court struck down a law on Tuesday that had retroactively legalized about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank."
"The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that would make it harder for immigrants to claim asylum in the U.S., even after the COVID-19 pandemic… If enacted after a public comment period, the rule would allow immigration judges to throw out asylum cases before holding a hearing." Well that'll clear up the backlog quickly.
"Hundreds of Russian polling station officials, citing the risk of spreading the coronavirus, say they won’t help organise a nationwide vote on reforms that could extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule until 2036." Here we go.
Good news, people! "The pace of unemployment claims declined again last week as the U.S. jobs market continued its plodding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Labor Department data showed Thursday… Initial claims totaled 1.54 million, compared with the 1.6 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and a plunge of 355,000 from the previous week’s total just shy of 1.9 million. The four-week moving average, which smooths volatility in the numbers fell by 286,250 to 2 million." This spin of how 1.3M new people filing claims in just one week is somehow "good news" is just mind boggling. Words mean nothing to these people. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
"The Trump administration has awarded energy companies hundreds of breaks on payments for oil and gas extraction from U.S. lands and the Gulf of Mexico during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government database and federal officials." The Trump administration and conservative rape of the land and public coffers continues unabated.
"Senate Democrats are voicing deep skepticism toward the GOP’s newfound embrace of police reform. And they may soon have to decide whether they’ll accept incremental measures or nothing at all… Though careful not to pre-emptively dismiss South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s work designing a police reform package, Democrats said in interviews Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is unlikely to endorse the type of far-reaching legislation needed to respond to police killings of black people and nationwide unrest."
The Fresh Air podcast… "The events of the past 10 days are a painful reminder that police officers we count on to serve and protect our communities can sometimes abuse their authority and commit brutal acts whose victims are disproportionately people of color. Our guest today, journalist Doug Swanson, has a new book (Cult of Glory) about one of the oldest and most celebrated law enforcement agencies in America, the Texas Rangers."
The On the Media podcast on that Tom Cotton option piece. "Last week, however, the (NYT) invited Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to write an opinion piece arguing for the military to be sent to American streets to 'restore order.' Former Times opinion editor James Bennet (who has since resigned) also admitted that he had not read it before it was published. So, what does this latest episode tell us about the media's role in upholding America's values? This week, David Roberts once again wrote about the Times opinion section for Vox, in a post arguing that the Cotton op-ed 'revealed a pathology on the editorial side... an insistence on extending the presumption of good faith to the GOP, even in the face of its rising authoritarianism.'"
"Check it out: In the second half of 2019 alone, Trump used the words "socialist" or 'socialism' more than 100 times on Twitter or in speeches, according to the folks at Factbase. In January, he used the S-word 30 times -- in February, 34 times -- the equivalent of more than once a day… Then things fell off a cliff: Trump invoked the bogeyman of socialism only four times in March, one time in April and a grand total of zero times in May." Socialism seems so quaint these days.
"President Donald Trump called on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to 'take back' the city from protesters, whom he called 'domestic terrorists,' threatening to handle the demonstrators if they do not in a pair of late-night tweets Wednesday… 'Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker,' Durkan tweeted."
"A former judge selected to advise on a path forward in the criminal case against Michael Flynn is accusing the Justice Department of exercising a “gross abuse of prosecutorial power” to protect an ally of President Donald Trump, distorting known facts and legal principles to shield Flynn from a jail sentence… describing it as an 'irregular' effort that courts would 'scoff' at were the subject anyone other than an ally of Trump. The 82-page excoriation featured a painstaking reconstruction of the Flynn case and accused DOJ of contradicting its own arguments and precedents to justify dropping the case against Flynn." Conservatives no longer believe they even need to make a semblance of logical sense for their arguments.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Linkee-poo Wednesday
"Over the weekend, authors took to Twitter to share what they were paid for their books."
"'Harry Potter' actor Daniel Radcliffe has sharply criticized controversial comments from author J.K. Rowling. In a piece published Monday for LGBTQ youth nonprofit The Trevor Project, Radcliffe said he felt 'compelled to say something at this moment.'"
"Texas reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday as the governor plans to reopen more businesses and double capacity… Texas Department of State Health Services figures show 1,935 people were admitted as hospital patients for coronavirus-related treatment. That is up from a previous record of 1,888 on May 5." Ummm…
"Over the last week, Florida has seen rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Since last Tuesday, the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus totaled more than 1,000 each day. Saturday's total of 1,426 positive tests was the most since early April."
"The city of Moscow, the epicenter of Russia's coronavirus pandemic, is lifting lockdown restrictions as the Kremlin prepares for a massive military parade on Red Square and a national referendum that will seal President Vladimir Putin's political future."
"President Trump this month will begin hitting the road once again to make his pitch for reelection in the 2020 White House race, despite the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of households across the country." Well, he has to. He feels he's losing his grip and his people are starting to peer outside his reality bubble.
"The U.S. government has granted contracts worth as much as $25 billion as it races to address the COVID-19 public health crisis. NPR reviewed a database of thousands of contracting actions and found more than 250 companies that got contracts worth more than $1 million without going through a fully competitive bidding process." Money for nothing.
"After long nights of tear gas and rubber bullets, some protesters, news crews, and medics in Minneapolis last weekend found themselves stranded: The tires of their cars had been slashed… In a city upended by protests about police brutality after the death of George Floyd, many assumed protesters were to blame. But videos reveal a different culprit: the police."
"Sen. Portman heard from ‘dozens’ of black leaders. His office won’t name one." Oh, Robbie.
"Some of the country's most polluting industries have flooded state regulators with requests to ease environmental regulations, according to an NPR review of hundreds of state environmental records… Companies across the country say the pandemic is interfering with their ability to comply with laws that protect the public from pollution."
"Congress sent more than $150 billion in aid to states and cities two months ago. Yet much of that money has failed to make it to places that need it… A review by NPR has found in some cases, states and counties – which are strapped in their own right – are holding onto the money. Some states like Vermont, Mississippi and Alabama are locked in heated debates over who gets to spend the money."
"If Russia's attack on the 2016 election and other elections in Great Britain and Western Europe seemed like bolts from the blue, they shouldn't. Shimer's authoritative book places them in their proper context as only the latest installments in the long-running and sometimes grim practice of statecraft."
Preview of the Fall… "The lines on Election Day in Georgia were so long that state officials announced investigations before the polls even closed, raising fears of what's to come when the nation votes in November."
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Attorney General William Barr told 'Special Report' in the second part of an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday that he believes social media platforms are 'engaged in censorship' and are acting more like 'publishers'." That distinction is crucial in the terms of the law.
"U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, according to Law & Crime's Matt Naham, has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to answer questions "regarding certain redactions of the Mueller Report" at a hearing now set for July 20. In the past, Walton has been critical of Attorney General William Barr's response to the Mueller Report, asserting that Barr, in 2019, 'distorted' the findings of former special counsel Robert Mueller. And now that Walton has read the Mueller Report in unredacted form, he is more concerned than ever about Barr's response to it."
"'Harry Potter' actor Daniel Radcliffe has sharply criticized controversial comments from author J.K. Rowling. In a piece published Monday for LGBTQ youth nonprofit The Trevor Project, Radcliffe said he felt 'compelled to say something at this moment.'"
"Texas reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday as the governor plans to reopen more businesses and double capacity… Texas Department of State Health Services figures show 1,935 people were admitted as hospital patients for coronavirus-related treatment. That is up from a previous record of 1,888 on May 5." Ummm…
"Over the last week, Florida has seen rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Since last Tuesday, the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus totaled more than 1,000 each day. Saturday's total of 1,426 positive tests was the most since early April."
"The city of Moscow, the epicenter of Russia's coronavirus pandemic, is lifting lockdown restrictions as the Kremlin prepares for a massive military parade on Red Square and a national referendum that will seal President Vladimir Putin's political future."
"President Trump this month will begin hitting the road once again to make his pitch for reelection in the 2020 White House race, despite the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of households across the country." Well, he has to. He feels he's losing his grip and his people are starting to peer outside his reality bubble.
"The U.S. government has granted contracts worth as much as $25 billion as it races to address the COVID-19 public health crisis. NPR reviewed a database of thousands of contracting actions and found more than 250 companies that got contracts worth more than $1 million without going through a fully competitive bidding process." Money for nothing.
"After long nights of tear gas and rubber bullets, some protesters, news crews, and medics in Minneapolis last weekend found themselves stranded: The tires of their cars had been slashed… In a city upended by protests about police brutality after the death of George Floyd, many assumed protesters were to blame. But videos reveal a different culprit: the police."
"Sen. Portman heard from ‘dozens’ of black leaders. His office won’t name one." Oh, Robbie.
"Some of the country's most polluting industries have flooded state regulators with requests to ease environmental regulations, according to an NPR review of hundreds of state environmental records… Companies across the country say the pandemic is interfering with their ability to comply with laws that protect the public from pollution."
"Congress sent more than $150 billion in aid to states and cities two months ago. Yet much of that money has failed to make it to places that need it… A review by NPR has found in some cases, states and counties – which are strapped in their own right – are holding onto the money. Some states like Vermont, Mississippi and Alabama are locked in heated debates over who gets to spend the money."
"If Russia's attack on the 2016 election and other elections in Great Britain and Western Europe seemed like bolts from the blue, they shouldn't. Shimer's authoritative book places them in their proper context as only the latest installments in the long-running and sometimes grim practice of statecraft."
Preview of the Fall… "The lines on Election Day in Georgia were so long that state officials announced investigations before the polls even closed, raising fears of what's to come when the nation votes in November."
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Attorney General William Barr told 'Special Report' in the second part of an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday that he believes social media platforms are 'engaged in censorship' and are acting more like 'publishers'." That distinction is crucial in the terms of the law.
"U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, according to Law & Crime's Matt Naham, has ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to answer questions "regarding certain redactions of the Mueller Report" at a hearing now set for July 20. In the past, Walton has been critical of Attorney General William Barr's response to the Mueller Report, asserting that Barr, in 2019, 'distorted' the findings of former special counsel Robert Mueller. And now that Walton has read the Mueller Report in unredacted form, he is more concerned than ever about Barr's response to it."
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Linkee-poo Tuesday
"Brazil is the second hardest hit country in terms of number of cases, with the third highest deaths in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Despite that, Reuters reported that President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to pull out of the WHO." Because of course he did.
"Now, seven years after the old department was booted, the city's crime has dropped by close to half. Officers host outdoor parties for residents and knock on doors to introduce themselves. It's a radically different Camden than it was even a decade ago. Here's how they did it."
"A Virginia judge has issued an 10-day injunction that prevents Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an iconic but controversial statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond."
"Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now 'open' to renaming the service's 10 bases and facilities that are named after Confederate leaders, an Army spokesperson told POLITICO, in a reversal of the service's previous position." Open? How about "done"?
"The contrast is striking: On May 28, Donald Trump demanded the First Amendment right of free speech for himself on privately owned social media, and then, four days later, declared war on the people, gathered on public property, as they sought, in the words of the amendment itself, 'to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'" One rule for him, other rules for us.
"The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, a group of economists declared Monday, ending the longest expansion on record." February would make it before COVID infections force governors to issue stay at home orders.
"Thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Hong Kong in defiance of a police order to mark the first anniversary of the anti-government movement have been charged at by riot units who arrested several of them."
"Attorney General William Barr said Monday that the US Secret Service recommended moving President Donald Trump to the underground White House bunker during late May protests, contradicting the President's earlier assertion that his visit to the bunker was for 'inspection.'" At this point the ground is prepared so that this contradiction really doesn't matter anymore. The president can say whatever he likes and his base will believe him. Such as, "Trump also told Kilmeade he'd been to the bunker before, what he said was 'two and a half times,' also to get a sense of the space rather than to protect himself from harm." How do you visit some a "half time"? WTF is that?
"Trump lit into Biden on Twitter, painting him as the leader of the 'radical left' and responsible for a movement that celebrates anarchy, coddles 'antifa' and demonizes law enforcement… But the swiftness and clarity of Biden's dismissal, which came as CBS, ABC’s 'The View' and other media outlets were peppering Democratic politicians with questions about defunding the police, suggests Biden's team wanted to head off an issue it saw as politically poisonous."
"Now, seven years after the old department was booted, the city's crime has dropped by close to half. Officers host outdoor parties for residents and knock on doors to introduce themselves. It's a radically different Camden than it was even a decade ago. Here's how they did it."
"A Virginia judge has issued an 10-day injunction that prevents Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an iconic but controversial statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond."
"Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now 'open' to renaming the service's 10 bases and facilities that are named after Confederate leaders, an Army spokesperson told POLITICO, in a reversal of the service's previous position." Open? How about "done"?
"The contrast is striking: On May 28, Donald Trump demanded the First Amendment right of free speech for himself on privately owned social media, and then, four days later, declared war on the people, gathered on public property, as they sought, in the words of the amendment itself, 'to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'" One rule for him, other rules for us.
"The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, a group of economists declared Monday, ending the longest expansion on record." February would make it before COVID infections force governors to issue stay at home orders.
"Thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Hong Kong in defiance of a police order to mark the first anniversary of the anti-government movement have been charged at by riot units who arrested several of them."
"Attorney General William Barr said Monday that the US Secret Service recommended moving President Donald Trump to the underground White House bunker during late May protests, contradicting the President's earlier assertion that his visit to the bunker was for 'inspection.'" At this point the ground is prepared so that this contradiction really doesn't matter anymore. The president can say whatever he likes and his base will believe him. Such as, "Trump also told Kilmeade he'd been to the bunker before, what he said was 'two and a half times,' also to get a sense of the space rather than to protect himself from harm." How do you visit some a "half time"? WTF is that?
"Trump lit into Biden on Twitter, painting him as the leader of the 'radical left' and responsible for a movement that celebrates anarchy, coddles 'antifa' and demonizes law enforcement… But the swiftness and clarity of Biden's dismissal, which came as CBS, ABC’s 'The View' and other media outlets were peppering Democratic politicians with questions about defunding the police, suggests Biden's team wanted to head off an issue it saw as politically poisonous."
Monday, June 8, 2020
Linkee-poo Monday
"William 'Roddie' Bryan told investigators he overheard Travis McMichael use a racial epithet after fatally shooting a black man in Glynn County, Ga., in February, according to court testimony Thursday by a Georgia Bureau of Investigation official." It isn't so much what these ignorant shit kickers said, but the article has more details about the attack.
"NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday the NFL admits that 'we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.'" Gee, ya think? (Note, a lot of black people watch NFL).
The Throughline podcast with… "Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system."
"Anger over the death of George Floyd has spread to Australia, with Black Lives Matter protests being held across the country… But Australian demonstrators are not just expressing solidarity. Many are using the moment to vent fury about indigenous deaths in custody in Australia. So what is the situation?"
"A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down and thrown into Bristol Harbor on Sunday by protesters demonstrating against racism and police brutality in England. According to the BBC, one person was seen with their knee on the statue's neck in reference to the fatal arrest of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis inspired protests across the globe." OMG, people disrespected a statue of :: checks notes :: a person who was responsible for enslaving tens of thousands of people and transporting them across an ocean in an incomprehensibly cruel manner including throwing many overboard in the middle of the ocean to teach the others a lesson. Yeah. I'm not gonna be worked up about people throwing that statue into the water.
"Few sights from the nation’s protests in recent days have seemed more dystopian than the appearance of rows of heavily-armed riot police around Washington in drab military-style uniforms with no insignia, identifying emblems or name badges. Many of the apparently federal agents have refused to identify which agency they work for. 'Tell us who you are, identify yourselves!' protesters demanded, as they stared down the helmeted, sunglass-wearing mostly white men outside the White House. Eagle-eyed protesters have identified some of them as belonging to Bureau of Prisons’ riot police units from Texas, but others remain a mystery." Failure for police to identify themselves is a crime.
What does "Defund the Police" look like? "The next day, Garcetti called a press conference to announce that the city would be reallocating$250 million from its budget— including as much as $150 million from the LAPD — to 'invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing' in the 'black community here in Los Angeles.'"
"First lady Melania Trump's messaging in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the resulting protests around the country has frustrated the West Wing, according to a White House official… Out of sync with the 'law and order' mantra President Donald Trump has supported, the first lady in a handful of tweets has noted peace and healing." She's the kinder, gentler hand behind the leather glove that slaps you in the face. Now, if she could only talk with her husband.
"About a third of Americans surveyed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have used some kind of risky cleaning practice to stop the spread of Covid-19, the CDC said on Friday… People have put bleach their food. Others have gargled or inhaled it. And some have washed their bodies with household cleaning and disinfectant products." MAGA.
"Work from home, but have no room? Buy an Airstream RV." Sure. As most people live paycheck to paycheck, I'm sure they could do this. And the high-speed internet connection doesn't hurt either.
Everything but the squeal. "He says farmers made some quick adaptations--they converted older buildings into additional housing for hogs, fed the animals low-energy rations that kept them from gaining weight rapidly, and sent some of their animals to local butcher shops. Others hogs were shipped halfway across the country, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania or California, to processing plants that could handle them."
"When the May jobs report dropped Friday morning, the numbers were shocking: US unemployment actually fell, defying virtually all economists' predictions… How did they get it so wrong?" Whispers, the numbers were cooked. Mostly it was because of a difference in how you count things.
"An astonishing pickup in payrolls during May has rekindled hopes that the economic slump may not be nearly as bad as it looked and could soon give way to an exodus of workers back to their jobs and a sharp broader recovery." It's amazing how some of the supposed "brightest" business minds have no fucking clue when it comes to business. That 2.5 million jobs gained? Yeah, that was businesses reopening and reclassifying people.
"Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Monday, extending a rally into its fourth week… Banks and industrial companies had some of the biggest gains in the first few minutes of trading."
The real life "It's a Mad Mad… World" ends. "A decade-long search for a treasure hidden deep in the Rocky Mountains that led to multiple people’s deaths is over, the man who hid the treasure announced… Forrest Fenn, a New Mexican art dealer, revealed on Sunday that his famed treasure was found, according to a post on his website that he confirmed to NBC News."
"OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed on Saturday to extend the historic 9.7 million barrels per day production cut for an additional month in an ongoing effort to balance the global oil market. The agreement was finalized during the group’s video-conference meeting." Goodbye lower gas prices.
Hello higher executive pay. "BP has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs amid following a global slump in demand for oil because of the coronavirus crisis… The oil giant had paused redundancies during the peak of the pandemic but told staff on Monday that around 15% will leave by the end of the year."
"Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd." Poor, little rich girl doesn't get to give a speech and now it's a tragedy.
"Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that President Donald Trump has 'drifted away' from the Constitution, adding to a growing list of former top military officials who have strongly criticized the President's response to the nationwide protests surrounding the police killing of George Floyd."
"NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday the NFL admits that 'we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.'" Gee, ya think? (Note, a lot of black people watch NFL).
The Throughline podcast with… "Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system."
"Anger over the death of George Floyd has spread to Australia, with Black Lives Matter protests being held across the country… But Australian demonstrators are not just expressing solidarity. Many are using the moment to vent fury about indigenous deaths in custody in Australia. So what is the situation?"
"A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down and thrown into Bristol Harbor on Sunday by protesters demonstrating against racism and police brutality in England. According to the BBC, one person was seen with their knee on the statue's neck in reference to the fatal arrest of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis inspired protests across the globe." OMG, people disrespected a statue of :: checks notes :: a person who was responsible for enslaving tens of thousands of people and transporting them across an ocean in an incomprehensibly cruel manner including throwing many overboard in the middle of the ocean to teach the others a lesson. Yeah. I'm not gonna be worked up about people throwing that statue into the water.
"Few sights from the nation’s protests in recent days have seemed more dystopian than the appearance of rows of heavily-armed riot police around Washington in drab military-style uniforms with no insignia, identifying emblems or name badges. Many of the apparently federal agents have refused to identify which agency they work for. 'Tell us who you are, identify yourselves!' protesters demanded, as they stared down the helmeted, sunglass-wearing mostly white men outside the White House. Eagle-eyed protesters have identified some of them as belonging to Bureau of Prisons’ riot police units from Texas, but others remain a mystery." Failure for police to identify themselves is a crime.
What does "Defund the Police" look like? "The next day, Garcetti called a press conference to announce that the city would be reallocating$250 million from its budget— including as much as $150 million from the LAPD — to 'invest in jobs, in health, in education and in healing' in the 'black community here in Los Angeles.'"
"First lady Melania Trump's messaging in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the resulting protests around the country has frustrated the West Wing, according to a White House official… Out of sync with the 'law and order' mantra President Donald Trump has supported, the first lady in a handful of tweets has noted peace and healing." She's the kinder, gentler hand behind the leather glove that slaps you in the face. Now, if she could only talk with her husband.
"About a third of Americans surveyed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have used some kind of risky cleaning practice to stop the spread of Covid-19, the CDC said on Friday… People have put bleach their food. Others have gargled or inhaled it. And some have washed their bodies with household cleaning and disinfectant products." MAGA.
"Work from home, but have no room? Buy an Airstream RV." Sure. As most people live paycheck to paycheck, I'm sure they could do this. And the high-speed internet connection doesn't hurt either.
Everything but the squeal. "He says farmers made some quick adaptations--they converted older buildings into additional housing for hogs, fed the animals low-energy rations that kept them from gaining weight rapidly, and sent some of their animals to local butcher shops. Others hogs were shipped halfway across the country, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania or California, to processing plants that could handle them."
"When the May jobs report dropped Friday morning, the numbers were shocking: US unemployment actually fell, defying virtually all economists' predictions… How did they get it so wrong?" Whispers, the numbers were cooked. Mostly it was because of a difference in how you count things.
"An astonishing pickup in payrolls during May has rekindled hopes that the economic slump may not be nearly as bad as it looked and could soon give way to an exodus of workers back to their jobs and a sharp broader recovery." It's amazing how some of the supposed "brightest" business minds have no fucking clue when it comes to business. That 2.5 million jobs gained? Yeah, that was businesses reopening and reclassifying people.
"Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Monday, extending a rally into its fourth week… Banks and industrial companies had some of the biggest gains in the first few minutes of trading."
The real life "It's a Mad Mad… World" ends. "A decade-long search for a treasure hidden deep in the Rocky Mountains that led to multiple people’s deaths is over, the man who hid the treasure announced… Forrest Fenn, a New Mexican art dealer, revealed on Sunday that his famed treasure was found, according to a post on his website that he confirmed to NBC News."
"OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed on Saturday to extend the historic 9.7 million barrels per day production cut for an additional month in an ongoing effort to balance the global oil market. The agreement was finalized during the group’s video-conference meeting." Goodbye lower gas prices.
Hello higher executive pay. "BP has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs amid following a global slump in demand for oil because of the coronavirus crisis… The oil giant had paused redundancies during the peak of the pandemic but told staff on Monday that around 15% will leave by the end of the year."
"Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd." Poor, little rich girl doesn't get to give a speech and now it's a tragedy.
"Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that President Donald Trump has 'drifted away' from the Constitution, adding to a growing list of former top military officials who have strongly criticized the President's response to the nationwide protests surrounding the police killing of George Floyd."
Friday, June 5, 2020
Linkee-poo Friday
"Our guest (on Fresh Air), journalist and historian Anne Applebaum, has a new piece in The Atlantic examining the motives and behavior of Republican leaders, who she says have abandoned their principles to support a president who's built a proto-authoritarian cult in the White House."
And her article, "History Will Judge the Complicit."
It's a phrase of mine, "Remember when computers were fast?" To wit… "The system with the lowest input latency — the amount of time between when you hit a key and that keystroke appears on the computer — is the Apple IIe, at 30ms." (Grokked from John)
"But after serious challenges, the mole has finally reached a new milestone. 'After several assists from my robotic arm, the mole appears to be underground,' the official Twitter account for the mission wrote yesterday (June 3). 'It's been a real challenge troubleshooting from millions of miles away. We still need to see if the mole can dig on its own.'"
"The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced Thursday." With all the stay at home orders and reduced flights and road traffic CO2 emissions decreased only slightly. It's not what consumers are doing, it's mostly industry. So when people try to tell you otherwise, you'll know the truth.
"President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency in a region within the Arctic Circle in far northern Russia after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into a river from a power plant." And Vlad is grumpy about it.
"Two influential medical journals retracted separate coronavirus studies Thursday over concerns about the data used in both studies -- data that came from the same international registry." How science works.
"Infusions of antibody-rich blood plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus, so-called convalescent plasma, failed to make a difference in a study of hospitalized patients in China, researchers reported on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a randomized trial involving 103 COVID-19 patients, convalescent plasma made no difference in the time it took to show signs of improvement or in rates of death at 28 days versus a placebo." That's… not good.Also, "U.S. emergency departments may be packed with coronavirus patients, but the number of people coming in for other reasons has plummeted, a U.S. study confirms." Can confirm, although it's getting better. And yes, we worry about those patients we're not seeing. (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"An unidentified Orange County sheriff’s deputy is under investigation for wearing patches connected with extremist groups on his uniform during a protest in Costa Mesa over the killing of George Floyd." Funny, I thought the oath keepers were dead-set against using government forces against the people. The best part is where the fix the problem by reminding all the sheriffs they're not supposed to wear their extremist iconography on their official uniforms. Not helping.
"Videos of police brutality during protests shock US." It's not that this hasn't happened before, it's just we now have video to prove it.
"After another night of peaceful protests outside Lafayette Square, workers were seen putting up new fencing barriers around the White House complex Thursday morning, adding to the 8-foot fence that was erected around the entrance to Lafayette Square earlier this week." Bunker mentality. "The additional fencing did not have the same slightly sharper edges at the top as the fence blocking off the entrance to Lafayette Square, where the majority of the protests have taken place." Well, at least there's that. But "sharper" fencing might has been on back order.
"Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration and federal law enforcement agencies, saying they violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators who were violently evacuated out of a park Monday to clear the path for a photo op by President Trump."
"A similar genre of unidentified, armed personnel clad in insignia-free uniforms has appeared policing street protests in Washington, D.C., in recent days, and Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers about just who these anonymous enforcers are." Just a reminder, if you wear no insignia or identifying marker & are unwilling to identify yourself, you are outside the law. You have no authority or legal protection as an enforcement officer. You are only a citizen. You have no power to protect, direct, or expect your orders to be obeyed. And you are personally liable for your actions.
"Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a residence in Morgan County (Alabama) late Thursday."
"A family of six — a husband, wife, and four children, the oldest of whom is four — was found dead Thursday in a vehicle in the garage of a San Antonio home after police were called for a welfare check and discovered what was reported to be a 'cryptic' note on the front door… Authorities could smell carbon monoxide that 'kind of blew everybody back out the door,' McManus told reporters Thursday night." Carbon monoxide is odorless, which is why it's so deadly.
"The American economy just got a shocking piece of good news: The job market may be recovering well ahead of schedule… The US unemployment rate surprisingly fell to 13.3% in May, as the economy gained 2.5 million jobs… It was the largest monthly gain in new jobs since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data series in 1939." Plays "we're in the money." But wait a second, "The Labor Department noted that during the pandemic, millions of workers were misclassified as 'employed but not at work,' when they should have been counted as 'unemployed on temporary layoff.' If it weren't for those misclassifications, the unemployment rate would have been higher — around 19.2% in April and 16.1% in May, not including seasonal adjustments." Um…
"Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Hong Kong have defied a ban to stage a mass vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing."
"Fox News host Laura Ingraham appears to have changed her mind whether athletes should express political opinions." Shocking, I know. Gee, what could be the difference here between LaBron James and Drew Brees? It seems like it's white in front of my face.
"The Republican Party is facing a reckoning over some of its most divisive candidates. So far the results are mixed, and that’s dicey for the GOP as a country shuddering from coast-to-coast civic unrest hurtles toward November elections." It's a problem of their own making and the direct result of the Southern Strategy and the Reagan compromise. It's just they thought they could ride that tiger and didn't realize that the tiger could bite them back.
Not that Piers Morgan isn't also a dick… "The interview went south four minutes into the 13-minute long interview when Morgan asked Giuliani about Trump's 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts' tweet in reference to the nationwide protests against police brutality. (The controversial tweet was hidden by Twitter for violating its rules against glorifying violence.)… Morgan pushed Giuliani to explain why Trump used the quote, to which an increasingly agitated Giuliani replied: 'It isn't inflammatory, it's accurate.'" Rudy must be drinking again.
"The campaign to reelect President Donald Trump has pulled a short-lived 'Make Space Great Again' video ad this week that surprised NASA and appeared to violate the agency's advertising regulations on the depictions of its astronauts." Naughty naughty.
"In rare public comments, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Ret. Gen. Martin Dempsey condemned Trump's threat to use military force to suppress nationwide protests as 'dangerous' and 'very troubling,' in an interview with NPR on Thursday."
"Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska said Thursday she isn't sure she can support President Trump's bid for reelection." A concerned Senator is concerned again.
"Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Thursday that President Donald Trump 'has clearly forgotten' the circumstances of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's departure from the administration, breaking with his former boss to side with a fellow retired Marine Corps general." No, John Kelly, the president just doesn't care and is trying to enforce his view of reality. The president lies about everything. I'm sorry that as his chief-of-staff you couldn't recognize what he does. And that's on you, sir.
"Make no mistake what Murkowski is acknowledging here: that many of her fellow Republicans -- and, presumably, her colleagues in the Senate -- have long held deep doubts about Trump and his conduct, but have lacked the courage of their convictions to speak out about those worries." So begins the conservative "Great Awakening" when those who supported the president finally see how badly this will end and have decided to try the gambit of, "Oh no, I was with you blokes the whole time (while I worked directly with/for the fucker). Please don't jail me as well."
And her article, "History Will Judge the Complicit."
It's a phrase of mine, "Remember when computers were fast?" To wit… "The system with the lowest input latency — the amount of time between when you hit a key and that keystroke appears on the computer — is the Apple IIe, at 30ms." (Grokked from John)
"But after serious challenges, the mole has finally reached a new milestone. 'After several assists from my robotic arm, the mole appears to be underground,' the official Twitter account for the mission wrote yesterday (June 3). 'It's been a real challenge troubleshooting from millions of miles away. We still need to see if the mole can dig on its own.'"
"The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced Thursday." With all the stay at home orders and reduced flights and road traffic CO2 emissions decreased only slightly. It's not what consumers are doing, it's mostly industry. So when people try to tell you otherwise, you'll know the truth.
"President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency in a region within the Arctic Circle in far northern Russia after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into a river from a power plant." And Vlad is grumpy about it.
"Two influential medical journals retracted separate coronavirus studies Thursday over concerns about the data used in both studies -- data that came from the same international registry." How science works.
"Infusions of antibody-rich blood plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus, so-called convalescent plasma, failed to make a difference in a study of hospitalized patients in China, researchers reported on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a randomized trial involving 103 COVID-19 patients, convalescent plasma made no difference in the time it took to show signs of improvement or in rates of death at 28 days versus a placebo." That's… not good.Also, "U.S. emergency departments may be packed with coronavirus patients, but the number of people coming in for other reasons has plummeted, a U.S. study confirms." Can confirm, although it's getting better. And yes, we worry about those patients we're not seeing. (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"An unidentified Orange County sheriff’s deputy is under investigation for wearing patches connected with extremist groups on his uniform during a protest in Costa Mesa over the killing of George Floyd." Funny, I thought the oath keepers were dead-set against using government forces against the people. The best part is where the fix the problem by reminding all the sheriffs they're not supposed to wear their extremist iconography on their official uniforms. Not helping.
"Videos of police brutality during protests shock US." It's not that this hasn't happened before, it's just we now have video to prove it.
"After another night of peaceful protests outside Lafayette Square, workers were seen putting up new fencing barriers around the White House complex Thursday morning, adding to the 8-foot fence that was erected around the entrance to Lafayette Square earlier this week." Bunker mentality. "The additional fencing did not have the same slightly sharper edges at the top as the fence blocking off the entrance to Lafayette Square, where the majority of the protests have taken place." Well, at least there's that. But "sharper" fencing might has been on back order.
"Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration and federal law enforcement agencies, saying they violated the constitutional rights of demonstrators who were violently evacuated out of a park Monday to clear the path for a photo op by President Trump."
"A similar genre of unidentified, armed personnel clad in insignia-free uniforms has appeared policing street protests in Washington, D.C., in recent days, and Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers about just who these anonymous enforcers are." Just a reminder, if you wear no insignia or identifying marker & are unwilling to identify yourself, you are outside the law. You have no authority or legal protection as an enforcement officer. You are only a citizen. You have no power to protect, direct, or expect your orders to be obeyed. And you are personally liable for your actions.
"Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a residence in Morgan County (Alabama) late Thursday."
"A family of six — a husband, wife, and four children, the oldest of whom is four — was found dead Thursday in a vehicle in the garage of a San Antonio home after police were called for a welfare check and discovered what was reported to be a 'cryptic' note on the front door… Authorities could smell carbon monoxide that 'kind of blew everybody back out the door,' McManus told reporters Thursday night." Carbon monoxide is odorless, which is why it's so deadly.
"The American economy just got a shocking piece of good news: The job market may be recovering well ahead of schedule… The US unemployment rate surprisingly fell to 13.3% in May, as the economy gained 2.5 million jobs… It was the largest monthly gain in new jobs since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data series in 1939." Plays "we're in the money." But wait a second, "The Labor Department noted that during the pandemic, millions of workers were misclassified as 'employed but not at work,' when they should have been counted as 'unemployed on temporary layoff.' If it weren't for those misclassifications, the unemployment rate would have been higher — around 19.2% in April and 16.1% in May, not including seasonal adjustments." Um…
"Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Hong Kong have defied a ban to stage a mass vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing."
"Fox News host Laura Ingraham appears to have changed her mind whether athletes should express political opinions." Shocking, I know. Gee, what could be the difference here between LaBron James and Drew Brees? It seems like it's white in front of my face.
"The Republican Party is facing a reckoning over some of its most divisive candidates. So far the results are mixed, and that’s dicey for the GOP as a country shuddering from coast-to-coast civic unrest hurtles toward November elections." It's a problem of their own making and the direct result of the Southern Strategy and the Reagan compromise. It's just they thought they could ride that tiger and didn't realize that the tiger could bite them back.
Not that Piers Morgan isn't also a dick… "The interview went south four minutes into the 13-minute long interview when Morgan asked Giuliani about Trump's 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts' tweet in reference to the nationwide protests against police brutality. (The controversial tweet was hidden by Twitter for violating its rules against glorifying violence.)… Morgan pushed Giuliani to explain why Trump used the quote, to which an increasingly agitated Giuliani replied: 'It isn't inflammatory, it's accurate.'" Rudy must be drinking again.
"The campaign to reelect President Donald Trump has pulled a short-lived 'Make Space Great Again' video ad this week that surprised NASA and appeared to violate the agency's advertising regulations on the depictions of its astronauts." Naughty naughty.
"In rare public comments, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Ret. Gen. Martin Dempsey condemned Trump's threat to use military force to suppress nationwide protests as 'dangerous' and 'very troubling,' in an interview with NPR on Thursday."
"Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska said Thursday she isn't sure she can support President Trump's bid for reelection." A concerned Senator is concerned again.
"Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Thursday that President Donald Trump 'has clearly forgotten' the circumstances of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's departure from the administration, breaking with his former boss to side with a fellow retired Marine Corps general." No, John Kelly, the president just doesn't care and is trying to enforce his view of reality. The president lies about everything. I'm sorry that as his chief-of-staff you couldn't recognize what he does. And that's on you, sir.
"Make no mistake what Murkowski is acknowledging here: that many of her fellow Republicans -- and, presumably, her colleagues in the Senate -- have long held deep doubts about Trump and his conduct, but have lacked the courage of their convictions to speak out about those worries." So begins the conservative "Great Awakening" when those who supported the president finally see how badly this will end and have decided to try the gambit of, "Oh no, I was with you blokes the whole time (while I worked directly with/for the fucker). Please don't jail me as well."
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Linkee-poo Thursday
"Schwab’s skills are on full display in this page. She’s a master of characterization and she knows how to let a moment breathe." DongWon Song on openings. Rewrote part of chapter 1 of WIP to emphasize what the character notices and why, and to add more characterization. I'm on the 3rd file for Chapter 1, and at least the first part is almost Draft 1 level.
"In partnership with Den of Geek, we are proud to announce the launch of TorCon, an all-new virtual convention that brings all the fun of panels directly to the fans. From Thursday, June 11th through Sunday, June 14th, Tor and Tor.com Publishing are presenting eight panels featuring over twenty of your favorite authors across different platforms, in conversation with each other—and with you!" Have you ever wanted to know what a convention is like, but didn't want the expense or the travel? Well, here's one way to experience panels of a convention. So far I'm not seeing a cost (other than your internet connection and time).
"As Jack Zipes asks in his fairytale analysis Why Fairy Tales Stick, why do some fairytales stick and not others? I decided to ask several writers and retellers of fairytales this question to get their opinions. Their answers are multi-faceted." Generations have their favorites (although The Mouse now controls some of the arc of that). The same is true for orchestral music. I'm glad my generation got Mozart (mostly because of the movie "Amadeus" which tore through the public consciousness when I was in my late teens). While I love Beethoven, Bach, List, Handel (somewhat), Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and a lot of others, Mozart just resonates. The same is true with fairy tales. Something about one or the other resonates with the zeitgeist of the time. Also, fairy tales were not meant to calcify. They changed like the folk tales they came from. There is a whole area of study researching the etymology of various tales (in the same way Joseph Campbell did comparative religions and myths to find commonalities and the "meta" story).
"Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is on shaky ground with the White House after saying Wednesday that he does not support using active duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd and those forces should only be used in a law enforcement role as a last resort." I mean, he only referred to DC and the "battlespace", it's not like he transmitted the codes.
"Revising an earlier account, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he was aware of the Monday night plan to visit a Washington church — where President Donald Trump posed for photos holding a bible — but he didn't know what would happen when they arrived." You're saying the cat is on the roof and won't come down?
"Defense Department officials say they are increasingly uncomfortable with the more prominent role the U.S. military is playing in tamping down violent protests breaking out all over the U.S., and the growing tendency of the president to call on the troops for domestic missions ranging from border security to law enforcement." Gee, is there an election coming up or what.
"A friend of George Floyd who was in his car when he was killed in a confrontation with police says Floyd did not resist arrest, but the Minnesota attorney general warns that winning convictions against the officers will be difficult."
"President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied multiple news reports that he took refuge for his personal safety in an underground White House bunker Friday night during intense protests outside the building over George Floyd’s death, claiming he only visited the bunker during the day for 'a short inspection.'" Uh huh. Uh huh. Sure.
"His death came on a violent night in St. Louis, where four officers were shot, officers were pelted with rocks and fireworks, and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged, including a convenience store that burned. Police also shot and gravely injured a burglary suspect who they say shot at officers."
"The bigger picture is clear: The police showed up in Minneapolis looking for a fight and were ready to use even the slimmest excuses in order to unleash violence on protesters who weren't armed and didn't injure anyone. (And some of whom were literally children.) But in Ohio and Michigan and other places, anti-lockdown protesters literally showed up to threaten politicians with an implicit message of violence by performing their paramilitary cosplay — and police did nothing." Funny, that.
"Drifting out of the shadows in small groups, dressed in black, carrying shields and wearing knee pads, they head toward the front lines of the protest. Helmets and gas masks protect and obscure their faces, and they carry bottles of milk to counteract tear gas and pepper spray… Most of them appear to be white. They carry no signs and don't want to speak to reporters. Trailed by designated 'medics' with red crosses taped to their clothes, these groups head straight for the front lines of the conflict."
"U.S. unrest over the death of a black man in police custody has reversed the usual tide of diplomacy over human rights, as nations stung by American criticism over the years return fire, accusing U.S. authorities of double standards." So much winning.
"Violent protests are less likely when police have a good relationship with the local community - but how they react to demonstrations on the day also matters, experts say." On how peaceful protests can turn violent.
"And this is why, rather than the words of the chiefs, it’s been much more instructive to follow what’s been going on with their rank-and-file officers since the death of Floyd." The difference between what they say and what they do.
"Those who remember the last time the Insurrection Act was used, during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, warn that President Donald Trump could undo decades of progress between police and the communities they serve if he invokes it now." Even though it's been minimal, there has been movement.
Forming neighborhood protection groups… "But is this a path to vigilante justice?" Yes. No matter how noble the impulse, or how needed it is initially.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Organizers of protests in Los Angeles against police brutality say they have deliberately avoided South L.A. in order to focus on more affluent areas like Hollywood and Beverly Hills." They're coming to get you, booga booga.
"Piece by piece, authorities overnight began pulling down a five-story-tall monument to Confederate troops that has stood for more than a century in Birmingham, Ala… By the time the workers paused Tuesday morning, little was left of a spire that had become a lightning rod for controversy in recent years and a focal point for local protesters outraged by George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis."
And it's not just in the South. "Workers removed a statue of Philadelphia's controversial former Mayor Frank Rizzo from its place of honor across from City Hall early Wednesday morning, finishing a job that protesters attempted to accomplish during recent demonstrations against police brutality." Fuck Rizzo.
"The Missouri city where the death of a black teen set off weeks of nationwide protests and outrage in 2014 elected its first woman and first black mayor Tuesday night, according to CNN affiliate KMOV."
"The House-passed anti-lynching bill won’t pass the Senate without changes, Sen. Rand Paul said on Wednesday, raising the prospect that Congress may once again fall short of confronting the abhorrent practice." On how to look like you're doing something when in reality you're just spinning your wheels for show.
"Now the man credited as the architect behind (Sweden's coronavirus) policy, Anders Tegnell, is acknowledging that he sees 'potential for improvement in what we have done in Sweden.'… if Sweden kept its bars and restaurants open, more people among the less vulnerable would develop immunity and ultimately slow the spread… So far, though, Sweden has not yet seen the health results for which it's hoping." I know, I'm shocked too.
"A malaria drug President Donald Trump took to try to prevent COVID-19 proved ineffective for that in the first large, high-quality study to test it in people in close contact with someone with the disease."
"The two doses are likely to be required because SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged virus that no one has developed antibodies against. Also, with many potential vaccines being created using new systems it’s believed two doses will be required for full immunity." There are several vaccines like that. Also, again, we don't know how long immunity will last.
"One of the largest publishers of coronavirus disinformation on Facebook has been banned from the platform for using content farms from North Macedonia and the Philippines, Facebook said on Friday."
"After brushing off Democrats’ demands for more relief, Senate Republicans now say the next major coronavirus package is likely to move in the coming weeks. And a key conflict ahead will be over how to help the 40 million Americans out of work." But McConnell will only support it if the rich get more and we stiff the poor.
"The European Central Bank (ECB) announced Thursday that it will increase its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) by 600 billion euros ($672 billion), as it attempts to bolster the region’s economy following the coronavirus crisis."
"White House officials have decided not to release updated economic projections this summer, opting against publishing forecasts that would almost certainly codify an administration assessment that the coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe economic downturn, according to three people with knowledge of the decision." Cool. Cool.
"An additional 1.877 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 30, exceeding economists’ estimates for 1.843 million initial jobless claims during the week. The prior week’s figure was revised higher to 2.13 million from the previously reported 2.12 million… This week’s report marked the first time that weekly initial jobless claims came in below two million in 10 weeks." So much winning.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Thursday's report would suggest the worst is over for the labor market…" You know, except for the 40+ million people out of work.
"The US government says it will block Chinese airlines from flying into the US in response to what it says is a policy that has prevented US carriers from service between the two countries." The horses are all out, time to close the barn doors.
"In the past, Twitter has said that incitements to violence from world leaders like President Donald Trump should be treated differently from those made by the rest of us. This week, that policy was shown to clear effect when the social media network banned the @SuspendThePres account and ordered it to delete a tweet. Its crime? Tweeting the exact same words used by Trump a day earlier."
"Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, on Wednesday said that it would stop promoting Trump’s campaign account on its Discover tab, which has been a strategic priority for Trump to reach the younger voters who are Snapchat’s core audience. That decision provoked a searing statement from Trump’s campaign manager and instantly made Snapchat and its CEO a flashpoint in the escalating fight between Trump and tech." And because they're no longer giving the president free promotion, the right has labeled them as "radicals".
"Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, who resigned as President Trump's defense secretary nearly a year and a half ago over policy differences, has issued an extraordinary critique of the White House's handling of nationwide unrest, saying Trump has sought to divide Americans and warning against 'militarizing our response' to the protests." To bad he didn't have the same fortitude while he was defense secretary. But I guess we all have our lines we're not willing to cross.
"Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Wednesday he would not have signed off on a foreign surveillance warrant used in the FBI's Russia investigation, but he defended his appointment of former special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian election interference and President Donald Trump's associates." Ah, that's a hard baby to split, isn't it?
"Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday defended his role overseeing the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, blaming senior FBI officials for withholding vital information related to the probe." It's not my fault, he cried. It's McCabe's fault. Sure.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "What was Rosenstein thinking when he approved the fourth and final of my FISA warrants, after so many of the lies that precipitated this fiasco had already been debunked? How did that application manage to elide all the exculpatory evidence the FBI held about me and other supporters of President Trump? Did the bureau lie to Rosenstein as well, or was he somehow complicit?" Dear Carter Page, you bragged about being an advisor to the Kremlin. George Papadopoulos whom you worked with bragged about being in touch with the Russians while working on the campaign. So please feel free to fuck off and die.
"After years of racist comments that lost him the support of many Republican Party leaders, conservative Iowa Rep. Steve King has lost his bid for reelection to a primary challenge by GOP state Sen. Randy Feenstra." Well, some good news (not that the replacement will be much better, just slightly less vocal). I wonder how much Fox News will pay him now?
"In partnership with Den of Geek, we are proud to announce the launch of TorCon, an all-new virtual convention that brings all the fun of panels directly to the fans. From Thursday, June 11th through Sunday, June 14th, Tor and Tor.com Publishing are presenting eight panels featuring over twenty of your favorite authors across different platforms, in conversation with each other—and with you!" Have you ever wanted to know what a convention is like, but didn't want the expense or the travel? Well, here's one way to experience panels of a convention. So far I'm not seeing a cost (other than your internet connection and time).
"As Jack Zipes asks in his fairytale analysis Why Fairy Tales Stick, why do some fairytales stick and not others? I decided to ask several writers and retellers of fairytales this question to get their opinions. Their answers are multi-faceted." Generations have their favorites (although The Mouse now controls some of the arc of that). The same is true for orchestral music. I'm glad my generation got Mozart (mostly because of the movie "Amadeus" which tore through the public consciousness when I was in my late teens). While I love Beethoven, Bach, List, Handel (somewhat), Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and a lot of others, Mozart just resonates. The same is true with fairy tales. Something about one or the other resonates with the zeitgeist of the time. Also, fairy tales were not meant to calcify. They changed like the folk tales they came from. There is a whole area of study researching the etymology of various tales (in the same way Joseph Campbell did comparative religions and myths to find commonalities and the "meta" story).
"Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is on shaky ground with the White House after saying Wednesday that he does not support using active duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd and those forces should only be used in a law enforcement role as a last resort." I mean, he only referred to DC and the "battlespace", it's not like he transmitted the codes.
"Revising an earlier account, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he was aware of the Monday night plan to visit a Washington church — where President Donald Trump posed for photos holding a bible — but he didn't know what would happen when they arrived." You're saying the cat is on the roof and won't come down?
"Defense Department officials say they are increasingly uncomfortable with the more prominent role the U.S. military is playing in tamping down violent protests breaking out all over the U.S., and the growing tendency of the president to call on the troops for domestic missions ranging from border security to law enforcement." Gee, is there an election coming up or what.
"A friend of George Floyd who was in his car when he was killed in a confrontation with police says Floyd did not resist arrest, but the Minnesota attorney general warns that winning convictions against the officers will be difficult."
"President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied multiple news reports that he took refuge for his personal safety in an underground White House bunker Friday night during intense protests outside the building over George Floyd’s death, claiming he only visited the bunker during the day for 'a short inspection.'" Uh huh. Uh huh. Sure.
"His death came on a violent night in St. Louis, where four officers were shot, officers were pelted with rocks and fireworks, and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged, including a convenience store that burned. Police also shot and gravely injured a burglary suspect who they say shot at officers."
"The bigger picture is clear: The police showed up in Minneapolis looking for a fight and were ready to use even the slimmest excuses in order to unleash violence on protesters who weren't armed and didn't injure anyone. (And some of whom were literally children.) But in Ohio and Michigan and other places, anti-lockdown protesters literally showed up to threaten politicians with an implicit message of violence by performing their paramilitary cosplay — and police did nothing." Funny, that.
"Drifting out of the shadows in small groups, dressed in black, carrying shields and wearing knee pads, they head toward the front lines of the protest. Helmets and gas masks protect and obscure their faces, and they carry bottles of milk to counteract tear gas and pepper spray… Most of them appear to be white. They carry no signs and don't want to speak to reporters. Trailed by designated 'medics' with red crosses taped to their clothes, these groups head straight for the front lines of the conflict."
"U.S. unrest over the death of a black man in police custody has reversed the usual tide of diplomacy over human rights, as nations stung by American criticism over the years return fire, accusing U.S. authorities of double standards." So much winning.
"Violent protests are less likely when police have a good relationship with the local community - but how they react to demonstrations on the day also matters, experts say." On how peaceful protests can turn violent.
"And this is why, rather than the words of the chiefs, it’s been much more instructive to follow what’s been going on with their rank-and-file officers since the death of Floyd." The difference between what they say and what they do.
"Those who remember the last time the Insurrection Act was used, during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, warn that President Donald Trump could undo decades of progress between police and the communities they serve if he invokes it now." Even though it's been minimal, there has been movement.
Forming neighborhood protection groups… "But is this a path to vigilante justice?" Yes. No matter how noble the impulse, or how needed it is initially.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Organizers of protests in Los Angeles against police brutality say they have deliberately avoided South L.A. in order to focus on more affluent areas like Hollywood and Beverly Hills." They're coming to get you, booga booga.
"Piece by piece, authorities overnight began pulling down a five-story-tall monument to Confederate troops that has stood for more than a century in Birmingham, Ala… By the time the workers paused Tuesday morning, little was left of a spire that had become a lightning rod for controversy in recent years and a focal point for local protesters outraged by George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis."
And it's not just in the South. "Workers removed a statue of Philadelphia's controversial former Mayor Frank Rizzo from its place of honor across from City Hall early Wednesday morning, finishing a job that protesters attempted to accomplish during recent demonstrations against police brutality." Fuck Rizzo.
"The Missouri city where the death of a black teen set off weeks of nationwide protests and outrage in 2014 elected its first woman and first black mayor Tuesday night, according to CNN affiliate KMOV."
"The House-passed anti-lynching bill won’t pass the Senate without changes, Sen. Rand Paul said on Wednesday, raising the prospect that Congress may once again fall short of confronting the abhorrent practice." On how to look like you're doing something when in reality you're just spinning your wheels for show.
"Now the man credited as the architect behind (Sweden's coronavirus) policy, Anders Tegnell, is acknowledging that he sees 'potential for improvement in what we have done in Sweden.'… if Sweden kept its bars and restaurants open, more people among the less vulnerable would develop immunity and ultimately slow the spread… So far, though, Sweden has not yet seen the health results for which it's hoping." I know, I'm shocked too.
"A malaria drug President Donald Trump took to try to prevent COVID-19 proved ineffective for that in the first large, high-quality study to test it in people in close contact with someone with the disease."
"The two doses are likely to be required because SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged virus that no one has developed antibodies against. Also, with many potential vaccines being created using new systems it’s believed two doses will be required for full immunity." There are several vaccines like that. Also, again, we don't know how long immunity will last.
"One of the largest publishers of coronavirus disinformation on Facebook has been banned from the platform for using content farms from North Macedonia and the Philippines, Facebook said on Friday."
"After brushing off Democrats’ demands for more relief, Senate Republicans now say the next major coronavirus package is likely to move in the coming weeks. And a key conflict ahead will be over how to help the 40 million Americans out of work." But McConnell will only support it if the rich get more and we stiff the poor.
"The European Central Bank (ECB) announced Thursday that it will increase its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) by 600 billion euros ($672 billion), as it attempts to bolster the region’s economy following the coronavirus crisis."
"White House officials have decided not to release updated economic projections this summer, opting against publishing forecasts that would almost certainly codify an administration assessment that the coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe economic downturn, according to three people with knowledge of the decision." Cool. Cool.
"An additional 1.877 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 30, exceeding economists’ estimates for 1.843 million initial jobless claims during the week. The prior week’s figure was revised higher to 2.13 million from the previously reported 2.12 million… This week’s report marked the first time that weekly initial jobless claims came in below two million in 10 weeks." So much winning.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Thursday's report would suggest the worst is over for the labor market…" You know, except for the 40+ million people out of work.
"The US government says it will block Chinese airlines from flying into the US in response to what it says is a policy that has prevented US carriers from service between the two countries." The horses are all out, time to close the barn doors.
"In the past, Twitter has said that incitements to violence from world leaders like President Donald Trump should be treated differently from those made by the rest of us. This week, that policy was shown to clear effect when the social media network banned the @SuspendThePres account and ordered it to delete a tweet. Its crime? Tweeting the exact same words used by Trump a day earlier."
"Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, on Wednesday said that it would stop promoting Trump’s campaign account on its Discover tab, which has been a strategic priority for Trump to reach the younger voters who are Snapchat’s core audience. That decision provoked a searing statement from Trump’s campaign manager and instantly made Snapchat and its CEO a flashpoint in the escalating fight between Trump and tech." And because they're no longer giving the president free promotion, the right has labeled them as "radicals".
"Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, who resigned as President Trump's defense secretary nearly a year and a half ago over policy differences, has issued an extraordinary critique of the White House's handling of nationwide unrest, saying Trump has sought to divide Americans and warning against 'militarizing our response' to the protests." To bad he didn't have the same fortitude while he was defense secretary. But I guess we all have our lines we're not willing to cross.
"Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Wednesday he would not have signed off on a foreign surveillance warrant used in the FBI's Russia investigation, but he defended his appointment of former special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian election interference and President Donald Trump's associates." Ah, that's a hard baby to split, isn't it?
"Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday defended his role overseeing the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, blaming senior FBI officials for withholding vital information related to the probe." It's not my fault, he cried. It's McCabe's fault. Sure.
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "What was Rosenstein thinking when he approved the fourth and final of my FISA warrants, after so many of the lies that precipitated this fiasco had already been debunked? How did that application manage to elide all the exculpatory evidence the FBI held about me and other supporters of President Trump? Did the bureau lie to Rosenstein as well, or was he somehow complicit?" Dear Carter Page, you bragged about being an advisor to the Kremlin. George Papadopoulos whom you worked with bragged about being in touch with the Russians while working on the campaign. So please feel free to fuck off and die.
"After years of racist comments that lost him the support of many Republican Party leaders, conservative Iowa Rep. Steve King has lost his bid for reelection to a primary challenge by GOP state Sen. Randy Feenstra." Well, some good news (not that the replacement will be much better, just slightly less vocal). I wonder how much Fox News will pay him now?
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Linkee-poo Wednesday
Sorry for the lateness, also not much from today's raft of news (it's been a busy few weeks).
On writing (and being creative) in this time. "And then Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun spoke. Turns out that Braun is a lifelong SF/F reader and her words hit me in just the right way… 'You are needed,' she said. 'Your words and stories are important.'" Also links the various writing award winners and nominees (and other writing news). Thanks, Jason. You're doing good work.
"The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that boosted astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken into space provided a slightly rougher ride than expected during the later stages of the climb to orbit, but both said Monday they enjoyed their historic trip and marveled at a sooth-as-silk docking with the space station."
"Artificial intelligence (AI) just seems to get smarter and smarter… The surge reflects faster chips, more data, and better algorithms. But some of the improvement comes from tweaks rather than the core innovations their inventors claim—and some of the gains may not exist at all, says Davis Blalock, a computer science graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Blalock and his colleagues compared dozens of approaches to improving neural networks—software architectures that loosely mimic the brain. 'Fifty papers in,' he says, 'it became clear that it wasn’t obvious what the state of the art even was.'" You say that like it's a bug and not a feature.
"We know that global warming is forcing many animals around the world to flee their normal habitats, but now, an exhaustive analysis has shown marine species are booking it for the poles six times faster than those on land."
"How do pieces of virus from different species end up being mashed together? The underlying biology is a uniquely viral twist on a common biological process: recombination." And if you think that's wild, you should see how bacteria do it. Basically, life (like us humans) makes mistakes when it works fast. And virus reproduction is very fast. Also, yes, this is how new viruses get introduced to humans. You may have heard of viruses "learning how to infect humans", well here is how it works. Two viruses infecting the same host animal, and their RNA gets exchanged. Most times (as with all mutations) it doesn't really affect anything or the molecule is unable to reproduce or infect anything and it dies. But all you need is one in a million that takes hold. Because that's the scale we're talking about, hundreds of thousands and millions of virus particles produced.
Unsatisfied with the apocalypse they got (SARS-CoV2), white supremacists and nazis are attempting to bring about the apocalypse they envisioned (race war and social collapse).
"Police officers were among those injured across the U.S. overnight amid continuing protests and violence sparked by the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week."
"A Twitter account that tweeted a call to violence and claimed to be representing the position of 'Antifa' was in fact created by a known white supremacist group, Twitter said Monday. The company removed the account… Before it emerged the account was run by white supremacists, Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump's son, pointed his 2.8 million Instagram followers to the account as an example how dangerous Antifa is." That's pretty amazing for an account that was just created and had only a handful (relatively) of followers.
"When Kenston Schools sophomore Chase Tuller organized a 'Rally for Justice' in Chagrin Falls Village for June 2, he had hoped to rouse dialogue around race issues and police violence, both in the country and within his community." And a little about race relations just East of Cleveland.
How go the Trade Wars? "China has told state-owned firms to halt purchases of soybeans and pork from the United States, two people familiar with the matter said, after Washington said it would eliminate special treatment for Hong Kong to punish Beijing… Large volume state purchases of U.S. corn and cotton have also been put on hold, one of the sources said."
"U.S. stocks added to their gains on Wednesday, a day after major equity benchmarks closed at their highest levels since early March, as labor and services data showed a slowdown in the pace of the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic." A slowdown of the meltdown… and it's time to celebrate.
"The Taliban have retained close links to al Qaeda and sought its advice during recent negotiations with U.S. officials, despite promising to break ties with the terror group under a preliminary peace agreement with the U.S., according to a U.N. report released Monday." This is my shocked face.
"Many Hong Kong people will find their own way to mark the 31st anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on protesters in and around Tiananmen Square, after an annual candlelight vigil was cancelled for the first time because of the coronavirus."
"The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to 'conduct covert surveillance' and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News."
"U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to regulate social media companies’ content decisions may face an uphill battle from regulators who have previously said they cannot oversee the conduct of internet firms." I believe that's called karma. But of course Chairman Pai will roll over for his boss.
On writing (and being creative) in this time. "And then Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun spoke. Turns out that Braun is a lifelong SF/F reader and her words hit me in just the right way… 'You are needed,' she said. 'Your words and stories are important.'" Also links the various writing award winners and nominees (and other writing news). Thanks, Jason. You're doing good work.
"The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that boosted astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken into space provided a slightly rougher ride than expected during the later stages of the climb to orbit, but both said Monday they enjoyed their historic trip and marveled at a sooth-as-silk docking with the space station."
"Artificial intelligence (AI) just seems to get smarter and smarter… The surge reflects faster chips, more data, and better algorithms. But some of the improvement comes from tweaks rather than the core innovations their inventors claim—and some of the gains may not exist at all, says Davis Blalock, a computer science graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Blalock and his colleagues compared dozens of approaches to improving neural networks—software architectures that loosely mimic the brain. 'Fifty papers in,' he says, 'it became clear that it wasn’t obvious what the state of the art even was.'" You say that like it's a bug and not a feature.
"We know that global warming is forcing many animals around the world to flee their normal habitats, but now, an exhaustive analysis has shown marine species are booking it for the poles six times faster than those on land."
"How do pieces of virus from different species end up being mashed together? The underlying biology is a uniquely viral twist on a common biological process: recombination." And if you think that's wild, you should see how bacteria do it. Basically, life (like us humans) makes mistakes when it works fast. And virus reproduction is very fast. Also, yes, this is how new viruses get introduced to humans. You may have heard of viruses "learning how to infect humans", well here is how it works. Two viruses infecting the same host animal, and their RNA gets exchanged. Most times (as with all mutations) it doesn't really affect anything or the molecule is unable to reproduce or infect anything and it dies. But all you need is one in a million that takes hold. Because that's the scale we're talking about, hundreds of thousands and millions of virus particles produced.
Unsatisfied with the apocalypse they got (SARS-CoV2), white supremacists and nazis are attempting to bring about the apocalypse they envisioned (race war and social collapse).
"Police officers were among those injured across the U.S. overnight amid continuing protests and violence sparked by the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week."
"A Twitter account that tweeted a call to violence and claimed to be representing the position of 'Antifa' was in fact created by a known white supremacist group, Twitter said Monday. The company removed the account… Before it emerged the account was run by white supremacists, Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump's son, pointed his 2.8 million Instagram followers to the account as an example how dangerous Antifa is." That's pretty amazing for an account that was just created and had only a handful (relatively) of followers.
"When Kenston Schools sophomore Chase Tuller organized a 'Rally for Justice' in Chagrin Falls Village for June 2, he had hoped to rouse dialogue around race issues and police violence, both in the country and within his community." And a little about race relations just East of Cleveland.
How go the Trade Wars? "China has told state-owned firms to halt purchases of soybeans and pork from the United States, two people familiar with the matter said, after Washington said it would eliminate special treatment for Hong Kong to punish Beijing… Large volume state purchases of U.S. corn and cotton have also been put on hold, one of the sources said."
"U.S. stocks added to their gains on Wednesday, a day after major equity benchmarks closed at their highest levels since early March, as labor and services data showed a slowdown in the pace of the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic." A slowdown of the meltdown… and it's time to celebrate.
"The Taliban have retained close links to al Qaeda and sought its advice during recent negotiations with U.S. officials, despite promising to break ties with the terror group under a preliminary peace agreement with the U.S., according to a U.N. report released Monday." This is my shocked face.
"Many Hong Kong people will find their own way to mark the 31st anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on protesters in and around Tiananmen Square, after an annual candlelight vigil was cancelled for the first time because of the coronavirus."
"The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to 'conduct covert surveillance' and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News."
"U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to regulate social media companies’ content decisions may face an uphill battle from regulators who have previously said they cannot oversee the conduct of internet firms." I believe that's called karma. But of course Chairman Pai will roll over for his boss.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Fuck cancer. Fuck, cancer.
Well, friends, third time is a charm. I have skin cancer again. And while so far I have been extremely lucky in the cancer lottery (basal cell carcinoma), this time it's melanoma. Fortunately caught it early. So I will be having Mohs Surgery for a 3rd time later this month. We're early enough in the process that the doctors don't believe there's any need to look at the lymph nodes.
But things can change. None of my cancers have presented in a normal manner, so things could change while I'm in the doctor's office. All three were only diagnosed because I requested (on the first one demanded) a biopsy.
Many of my new friends here never knew Jay Lake. But he showed us the way. Face cancer head on. It will not control me. When my grandfather had cancer, it was spoken of in whispers for some fear of summoning it like speaking the name of the devil. Now we speak about it openly and I wear my scars with some pride (although I now have to wear a hat while outside, and that covers the first two). But that won't be the case for this one. This site is on my left temple, just over the eyebrow. While I'll follow wound management instructions and try and make the scar as small as possible, it will be very visible.
This will disrupt work, and I'm sorry about that. I tried to make it the least disruptive I could while not delaying surgery too long. This surgery will be a little more involved than the previous, and the incision will be deeper, but it still will only be a local anesthetic, and I'll be released the same day. Except for temporary lifting restrictions while it starts healing, and I expect to be driven mad by seeing a bandage just at the edge of my vision (the band-aid from the biopsy was bad enough), there won't be much inconvenience from the surgery.
Wear sunscreen, get your kids to wear sunscreen. Check yourself often. Don't delay getting something weird looked at. My first cancer was just a dry spot on my scalp. Cancer caught early is treatable and survivable (for this I have over 95% survival rate for both 5 and 10 years).
So, once more, fuck cancer.
But things can change. None of my cancers have presented in a normal manner, so things could change while I'm in the doctor's office. All three were only diagnosed because I requested (on the first one demanded) a biopsy.
Many of my new friends here never knew Jay Lake. But he showed us the way. Face cancer head on. It will not control me. When my grandfather had cancer, it was spoken of in whispers for some fear of summoning it like speaking the name of the devil. Now we speak about it openly and I wear my scars with some pride (although I now have to wear a hat while outside, and that covers the first two). But that won't be the case for this one. This site is on my left temple, just over the eyebrow. While I'll follow wound management instructions and try and make the scar as small as possible, it will be very visible.
This will disrupt work, and I'm sorry about that. I tried to make it the least disruptive I could while not delaying surgery too long. This surgery will be a little more involved than the previous, and the incision will be deeper, but it still will only be a local anesthetic, and I'll be released the same day. Except for temporary lifting restrictions while it starts healing, and I expect to be driven mad by seeing a bandage just at the edge of my vision (the band-aid from the biopsy was bad enough), there won't be much inconvenience from the surgery.
Wear sunscreen, get your kids to wear sunscreen. Check yourself often. Don't delay getting something weird looked at. My first cancer was just a dry spot on my scalp. Cancer caught early is treatable and survivable (for this I have over 95% survival rate for both 5 and 10 years).
So, once more, fuck cancer.
Linkee-poo black and blue and who knows which is which and who is who
Sorry, lots of things happening including car trouble.
So, what shall we talk about today?
"Declaring himself 'your president of law and order,' President Donald Trump vowed Monday to return order to American streets using the military if widespread violence isn't quelled, even as peaceful protesters just outside the White House gates were dispersed with tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets. It was all, apparently, so Trump could visit a nearby church."
"Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Monday that the protesters removed from Lafayette Park 'deliberately stayed to trigger police action.'" "Baby, why do you make me hurt you this way," Marco, probably.
"… Elizabeth Warren criticized President Donald Trump's statements that the military could be called in against demonstrators on Monday."
"Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday labeled President Donald Trump 'a miserable failure' as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd."
I’m old enough to remember when Pat Buchanan stood in front of the Republican National Convention and said that we needed to take back control of the nation the way the 81st Airborne took back control of Los Angeles and people were like, “whoa, that’s way out there.”
"DPS Commissioner John Harrington says it appears that no protesters on the southbound lanes of the interstate were seriously hurt. He estimates that 5,000 to 6,000 people were on the bridge at the time the truck sped through. Harrington says the truck was already on the interstate before the incident, even though it had closed about 40 minutes earlier at 5 p.m. and barriers were in place specifically for the marchers." (Grokked form Xeni Jardin)
"In footage of the moment referenced by the network, a man could be seen appearing to load an arrow into a hunting bow while standing in the middle of the street on Saturday." The man wants you to know he's not a racists. Sure, Bob.
"U.S. cities are assessing the aftermath of another night of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Peaceful protests against police brutality and systemic racism once again turned destructive overnight, with tensions flaring between law enforcement and demonstrators."
"A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national 'antifa' organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson."
"(The memo) also reveals, citing the FBI, that on May 27, two days after Floyd’s death, 'a white supremacist extremist Telegram channel incited followers to engage in violence and start the "boogaloo" — a term used by some violent extremists to refer to the start of a second Civil War — by shooting in a crowd.' One Telegram message encouraged potential shooters to 'frame the crowd around you' for the violence, the document said… Despite the DHS intelligence note, administration officials have focused overwhelmingly on alleged left-wing violence." Never let a crisis go to waste.
"Civil rights leaders have criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take no action against a Facebook post from Donald Trump appearing to threaten to start shooting 'looters', after a Monday night meeting with the company’s executives ended in acrimony."
"Some Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout on Monday to protest CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to take action on a series of controversial posts from President Donald Trump last week, a person familiar with the plans told CNN Business."
"Twitter on Monday added a warning label to a tweet by Rep. Matt Gaetz that called for members of the radical activist group antifa to be hunted down like 'terrorists' for violating the company’s policies against glorifying violence — the social network’s latest enforcement action against a prominent GOP official."
So, what shall we talk about today?
"Declaring himself 'your president of law and order,' President Donald Trump vowed Monday to return order to American streets using the military if widespread violence isn't quelled, even as peaceful protesters just outside the White House gates were dispersed with tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets. It was all, apparently, so Trump could visit a nearby church."
"Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Monday that the protesters removed from Lafayette Park 'deliberately stayed to trigger police action.'" "Baby, why do you make me hurt you this way," Marco, probably.
"… Elizabeth Warren criticized President Donald Trump's statements that the military could be called in against demonstrators on Monday."
"Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday labeled President Donald Trump 'a miserable failure' as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd."
I’m old enough to remember when Pat Buchanan stood in front of the Republican National Convention and said that we needed to take back control of the nation the way the 81st Airborne took back control of Los Angeles and people were like, “whoa, that’s way out there.”
"DPS Commissioner John Harrington says it appears that no protesters on the southbound lanes of the interstate were seriously hurt. He estimates that 5,000 to 6,000 people were on the bridge at the time the truck sped through. Harrington says the truck was already on the interstate before the incident, even though it had closed about 40 minutes earlier at 5 p.m. and barriers were in place specifically for the marchers." (Grokked form Xeni Jardin)
"In footage of the moment referenced by the network, a man could be seen appearing to load an arrow into a hunting bow while standing in the middle of the street on Saturday." The man wants you to know he's not a racists. Sure, Bob.
"U.S. cities are assessing the aftermath of another night of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Peaceful protests against police brutality and systemic racism once again turned destructive overnight, with tensions flaring between law enforcement and demonstrators."
"A Twitter account claiming to belong to a national 'antifa' organization and pushing violent rhetoric related to ongoing protests has been linked to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to a Twitter spokesperson."
"(The memo) also reveals, citing the FBI, that on May 27, two days after Floyd’s death, 'a white supremacist extremist Telegram channel incited followers to engage in violence and start the "boogaloo" — a term used by some violent extremists to refer to the start of a second Civil War — by shooting in a crowd.' One Telegram message encouraged potential shooters to 'frame the crowd around you' for the violence, the document said… Despite the DHS intelligence note, administration officials have focused overwhelmingly on alleged left-wing violence." Never let a crisis go to waste.
"Civil rights leaders have criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take no action against a Facebook post from Donald Trump appearing to threaten to start shooting 'looters', after a Monday night meeting with the company’s executives ended in acrimony."
"Some Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout on Monday to protest CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to take action on a series of controversial posts from President Donald Trump last week, a person familiar with the plans told CNN Business."
"Twitter on Monday added a warning label to a tweet by Rep. Matt Gaetz that called for members of the radical activist group antifa to be hunted down like 'terrorists' for violating the company’s policies against glorifying violence — the social network’s latest enforcement action against a prominent GOP official."
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