"The good news is that Hurricane Lee is weakening and will keep doing so before making landfall near the U.S.-Canada border. The bad news is that it will bring dangerous winds and a massive amount of water to areas that are already saturated from heavy rainfall this summer."
"The death toll in Libya's coastal city of Derna has soared to 11,300 as search efforts continue following a massive flood fed by the breaching of two dams in heavy rains, the Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday"
"Earth’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out of whack, a group of international scientists said in Wednesday’s journal Science Advances. Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study said."
"Executives at ExxonMobil continued in recent years to raise doubts internally about the dangers of climate change and the need to cut back on oil and gas use, even though the company had previously conceded publicly that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal." Someone, somewhere, is sharpening a guillotine blade, slowly and deliberately.
"The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free on Thursday, three days after running aground in Greenland with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said."
"A typical vaccine teaches the human immune system to recognize a virus or bacteria as an enemy that should be attacked. The new “inverse vaccine” does just the opposite: it removes the immune system’s memory of one molecule. While such immune memory erasure would be unwanted for infectious diseases, it can stop autoimmune reactions like those seen in multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or Crohn’s disease, in which the immune system attacks a person’s healthy tissues." Of course, it's still in the "some day soon" stages.
"The Southern Indian state of Kerala is now battling another deadly outbreak of the Nipah virus, its fourth since 2018. Authorities were alerted to the outbreak after two deaths attributed to the virus."
"The mixture of stimulants like cocaine and meth with highly potent synthetic opioids is a fast-growing driver of fatal overdoses in the U.S… Since 2010, overdoses involving both stimulants and fentanyl have increased 50-fold, and now account for 32% of U.S. overdoses in 2021 and nearly 35,000 deaths, according to a study published Thursday in the scientific journal Addiction."
"The psychedelic drug MDMA can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers reported in a new study published Thursday."
"It’s been a favorite topic among some of the GOP’s top presidential contenders. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that people are 'lurching toward' COVID-19 restrictions and 'there needs to be pushback.' South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott posted online that the 'radical Left' seeks to bring back school closures and mandates. And former President Donald Trump urged congressional Republicans to stop the Biden administration from bringing back COVID-19 'mandates, lockdowns or restrictions of any kind.'"
"The Big Three CEOs saw their pay increase by 40% over the last four years, while our pay only went up by 6%," UAW President Shawn Fain said at a news conference last week… As of Tuesday, the UAW is proposing an approximately 40% compounded wage increase over the course of a four-year contract, a tad lower than its opening bid of 46%."
Why we can have nice things part somewhere in the thousands. "It's rare for a government policy to have an immediate and measurable impact on an individual or large portion of the population. But experts say the monthly payments to low-income families with children were doing just that… After the expanded credit took effect, child poverty hit a historic low of 5.2% a year ago. New Census data shows it has since rocketed to 12.4%."
"The survey of 1,568 adults between 18 and 34 found that young people are optimistic about their futures and envision becoming more successful than their parents. But they express more negativity when thinking about the effect the government and political system will have on their lives in the coming decades."
"The Biden administration said Thursday that Egypt’s poor human rights record hasn’t improved, but it won’t withhold as much military aid as it did last year regardless. Administration officials cited what they said were overriding U.S. national security interests for the decision to limit the extent they would penalize Egypt for the abuses." It's like the 80s all over.
Why we can't have nice things, part whatever… "Fifty years ago in Chile, the United States worked to end the presidency of an elected Marxist and, in turn, helped usher in an authoritarian right-wing dictatorship." This is also why when I heard the CIA was directing the drone war and controlling a large contingent of Special Forces I wrote a lot of emails. It's why the CIA had a fence places around it.
"A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a same-sex couple who sued a former county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue them a marriage license, claiming that doing so would violate her religious beliefs." But then to the second couple that sued, they awarded nothing.
"In bodycam footage released this week, a Seattle Police officer is heard making callous comments about a young woman who died after she was struck in a crosswalk by an officer responding to a call." Yeah, I don't buy their cover story.
"New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday narrowed an order that broadly suspended the right to carry firearms in and around Albuquerque to apply only to public parks and playgrounds where children and their families gather."
"The immigrant population in the U.S. is growing again… The number of people born somewhere else climbed by nearly a million last year, reaching a record high of just over 46 million, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau."
"A year ago, 49 migrants arrived unexpectedly on Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy island community off the Massachusetts coast. Immigration advocates called it a cruel political stunt, but it has surprisingly created a legal advantage that some of the migrants might be able to use to remain in the United States."
"A tearful Eric Molitor gave hugs to supporters in an Antrim County courtroom Friday, where a jury acquitted him and two other men who were accused of aiding in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer." Note that most of the accused are going to jail.
"The U.S. government has warned a Virginia judge that allowing an American Marine to keep an Afghan war orphan risks violating international law and could be viewed around the world as 'endorsing an act of international child abduction,' according to secret court records reviewed by The Associated Press."
"The defense team for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton rested its case late Thursday afternoon after witnesses refuted allegations that the three-term elected official abused his office and committed bribery to benefit a real estate developer and campaign donor."
"The Ohio Attorney General’s Office again rejected petition language Thursday for a constitutional amendment aimed at remaking the state’s troubled system for drawing political maps, frustrating the effort’s backers."
"Alex Jones' personal spending is frustrating families who are trying to collect on the $1.5 billion in judgments against him for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting a hoax... His total personal expenses for July topped $93,000, up from nearly $75,000 in April, not including legal fees and other costs for his court cases, according to bankruptcy filings." Time for the Marshalls to get involved.
"U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a Denver theater on Sunday night after several people seated near her in the audience complained she was creating a disturbance." Yes, it's petty, but I never said I wasn't. It's also to show how some people don't think they are more equal than others.
"Hunter Biden has been indicted on felony gun charges weeks after a plea deal struck between President Biden's son and prosecutors fell apart. The charges possibly set the stage for yet another high-profile criminal trial in the middle of the 2024 election as President Biden is seeking reelection." Note the preplanted concept of, "if he's not indicted for other things, that shows Pres Biden is protecting him."
"Hard-line Republicans have spent the week explicitly tying McCarthy's political fate to the spending fight in a chaotic push for further control. The dynamic has ground the House to a standstill, just weeks before the deadline to fund the government or shut down."
"Hundreds of rioters have been charged, convicted and sentenced for joining the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike their cases, Samuel Lazar’s appears to have been resolved in secret — kept under seal with no explanation, even after his release from prison." Pretty sure he's providing testimony in another case.
"Federal prosecutors are seeking an order that would prevent Donald Trump from making 'inflammatory' and 'intimidating' comments about witnesses, lawyers and other people involved in the criminal case charging the former president with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election." Good luck with that.
"Former President Donald Trump has 'no idea' whether Republicans will vote to impeach President Joe Biden... But he does have a theory on what motivated House Republicans to launch a Biden impeachment inquiry: revenge... 'They did it to me,' Trump told former Fox and NBC host Megyn Kelly during an hourlong interview on SiriusXM radio that aired Thursday. 'And had they not done it to me, I think, and nobody officially said this, but I think had they not done it to me … perhaps you wouldn’t have it being done to them.'" Saying the quite part out loud again.
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Saturday, September 9, 2023
Linkee-poo Saturday Sept 9
"Lee is expected to keep strengthening and reach winds of up to 180 mph (290 kph). Only seven Atlantic hurricanes have had winds of that magnitude since 1966, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. Among those was Hurricane Dorian, which pummeled the northern Bahamas in 2019 as a Category 5 storm, hovering over small islands for some two days."
"Archeologists in Norway discovered an arrow shaft that appears to be from the Stone Age, meaning it is approximately 4,000 years old… The discovery was made on the side of Mount Lauvhøe, which stands at just over 6,500 feet in Norway's Lom Municipality. Archeologists had found arrows from the Iron and Middle ages when they last surveyed the area in 2017. However, this arrow shaft was found after ice at the site melted away in recent years, according to Lars Holger Pilø, co-director Secrets of the Ice, part of Norway's Department of Cultural Heritage."
"Now, more recent sites in (Turkey's) southeast are yielding finds that archaeologists say may change modern understanding of this part of the world's past, moving the footprint of pre-Roman activity in the area farther east than was previously believed."
"Texas’ power grid manager on Thursday again asked residents to cut their electricity use as the state endures another stretch of sizzling summer heat. The request carried fresh urgency, coming the day after the system was pushed to the brink of outages for the first time since a deadly winter blackout in 2021."
"Two Chinese construction workers looking for a shortcut last month destroyed part of the country's Great Wall by driving heavy machinery through it, authorities say." Oopsie.
"Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander."
"The Biden administration is canceling the only seven oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The leases were originally issued by the Trump administration over the protests of environmentalists and some Alaska Native groups who argue the region should be protected as a critical wildlife habitat." It's a mixed bag, really.
"A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws."
"The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats."
"Heavy rains and thick mud stranded thousands at this year's Burning Man music and arts festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. But some who were caught in the mix said learning to roll with the mayhem is part of the experience."
"The Biden administration last year promised to establish minimum staffing levels for the nation's roughly 15,000 nursing homes. It was the centerpiece of an agenda to overhaul an industry the government said was rife with substandard care and failures to follow federal quality rules." At the hospital we see a lot of elderly patients and I can say for a fact that their care in nursing homes is far, far below adequate (although better than it was in the 80s). I am really glad we were able to get my mother into a reputable facility.
"Scientists have produced the first data indicating that a variant that has raised alarm is unlikely to pose a big new COVID-19 threat… Four preliminary laboratory studies released over the weekend found that antibodies from previous infections and vaccinations appear capable of neutralizing the variant, known as BA.2.86."
"The 2018 Farm bill removed hemp as a controlled substance, so long as it has less than .3 percent Delta 9 THC. That's the active ingredient in marijuana that produces intoxicating effects… After that law, the market found new ways to make hemp mimic marijuana."
"The IRS announced on Friday it is launching an effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes." Good.
"UAW, which represents 150,000 workers at General Motors, Stellantis and Ford, is not alone in asking for big pay raises over the course of their contract. In recent months, workers across industries have fought for — and, in a handful of cases, won — around 50% wage increases over the next four to five years, as they call out years of stagnant wages and robust company profits." What's not noted in here is that in the 90s and 00s the unions accepted tiered pay systems that payed new workers less. I certainly hope these contracts are rolling those provisions back as well.
Why can't they resolve this Hollywood strike? "Studios like Warner Bros. and Disney are on the other end of the negotiating table — a table they last shared with negotiators from WGA on Aug. 18. They have not negotiated with SAG-AFTRA yet." Oh, that's why.
"One of the demands that actors and screenwriters are making in trying to renegotiate their contracts with Hollywood studios is greater residual payments, and several people in the entertainment industry have come forward to share what those residual checks look like." Entertainment accounting is the most creative in the world. Like, it should win awards.
"From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' to a complete Stormtrooper costume from 'Star Wars,' bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career."
"Why does every social media platform seem to get worse over time? This week’s On the Media explores an expansive theory on how we lost a better version of the internet, and the systems that insulate Big Digital from competition. Plus, some solutions for fixing the world wide web." The full "enshittification" conversation. Highly recommend.
On the previous podcast Core Doctorow goes on to admire Lena Khan. "In March 2021, when President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Lina Khan to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, the decision was met with a rare kind of excitement for the otherwise sleepy agency. The excitement seemed bipartisan as 21 Republican senators voted to confirm the commissioner. Not long after, then 32-year-old Khan was promoted to chairperson of the agency, making her the youngest chair in the FTC's history. Since then the tone around Khan has changed dramatically, as Republican commissioners at the agency have pushed back against what they see as a radical agenda. Back in March, OTM correspondent Micah Loewinger spoke to Emily Birnbaum, technology and lobbying reporter for Bloomberg, about a growing anti-antitrust movement emerging in the press and in Washington, and why Khan has become its main target." The consider it a radical agenda because Lena Khan made her splash by writing a rebuttal to Bork's revision of anti-trust laws. So she it putting the FTC back to work and enforcing the laws as they were intended. That, of course, upsets many conservatives.
"To lose service entirely is rare. But the withdrawal of legacy airlines from regional airports is a growing phenomenon… American, Delta and United combined have left 74 regional airports since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by aviation consulting firm Ailevon Pacific." Ah, I see we are going to have to learn this lesson again.
How goes the war? "Cuba says it has disrupted a scheme in Russia to recruit Cuban citizens to fight in Ukraine… In a statement, Cuba's Foreign Ministry called the alleged plan a human trafficking ring. It said Cubans, both in Russia and on the island, had been recruited to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine."
"A retired teacher in Saudi Arabia was recently sentenced to death for his tweets criticizing the country's leadership to his handful of followers, according to rights advocates and his family." And now you know why the crowned prince of SA holds so much equity in X (aka Twitter).
"Alabama is once again appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court ruling that found the state's map of congressional election districts likely violates the Voting Rights Act by weakening Black voters' power… The extraordinary move comes after a panel of three federal judges struck down Alabama's latest congressional redistricting plan for not following their court order to comply with the landmark civil rights law." Just as a reminder, Ohio also does not have an approved map.
"A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a controversial floating border barrier in the Rio Grande River violates federal law and must be removed… U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled that the 1,000-foot-long string of large buoys and saw blades in Eagle Pass, Texas, was ordered deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott without proper federal authorization."
"Lawmakers return this week with one pressing challenge this month — avoiding a potential government shutdown… The Senate is back Tuesday to sort out the next steps on crafting a short-term funding bill that can pass before federal agencies run out of money on Sept. 30. But talk of the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., following another episode when he froze at a press conference last week, will also dominate Capitol Hill." Is it September already?
"Trump White House official Peter Navarro was found guilty Thursday of contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."
"Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he will not recuse himself from a major tax case. His statement, attached to a Supreme Court orders list on Friday, came after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the chief justice in August, urging that steps be taken to assure that Alito not take part in the tax case." But if he recuses himself, how is he going to accept the grift with a good conscience?
"Prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., say they expect that a trial in their election interference case would last four months — not including jury selection — and they'd expect to call more than 150 witnesses."
"The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with former President Donald Trump. The names of those not indicted included Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn."
"Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol." Good.
"Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country’s bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs."
"Archeologists in Norway discovered an arrow shaft that appears to be from the Stone Age, meaning it is approximately 4,000 years old… The discovery was made on the side of Mount Lauvhøe, which stands at just over 6,500 feet in Norway's Lom Municipality. Archeologists had found arrows from the Iron and Middle ages when they last surveyed the area in 2017. However, this arrow shaft was found after ice at the site melted away in recent years, according to Lars Holger Pilø, co-director Secrets of the Ice, part of Norway's Department of Cultural Heritage."
"Now, more recent sites in (Turkey's) southeast are yielding finds that archaeologists say may change modern understanding of this part of the world's past, moving the footprint of pre-Roman activity in the area farther east than was previously believed."
"Texas’ power grid manager on Thursday again asked residents to cut their electricity use as the state endures another stretch of sizzling summer heat. The request carried fresh urgency, coming the day after the system was pushed to the brink of outages for the first time since a deadly winter blackout in 2021."
"Two Chinese construction workers looking for a shortcut last month destroyed part of the country's Great Wall by driving heavy machinery through it, authorities say." Oopsie.
"Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander."
"The Biden administration is canceling the only seven oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The leases were originally issued by the Trump administration over the protests of environmentalists and some Alaska Native groups who argue the region should be protected as a critical wildlife habitat." It's a mixed bag, really.
"A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws."
"The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats."
"Heavy rains and thick mud stranded thousands at this year's Burning Man music and arts festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. But some who were caught in the mix said learning to roll with the mayhem is part of the experience."
"The Biden administration last year promised to establish minimum staffing levels for the nation's roughly 15,000 nursing homes. It was the centerpiece of an agenda to overhaul an industry the government said was rife with substandard care and failures to follow federal quality rules." At the hospital we see a lot of elderly patients and I can say for a fact that their care in nursing homes is far, far below adequate (although better than it was in the 80s). I am really glad we were able to get my mother into a reputable facility.
"Scientists have produced the first data indicating that a variant that has raised alarm is unlikely to pose a big new COVID-19 threat… Four preliminary laboratory studies released over the weekend found that antibodies from previous infections and vaccinations appear capable of neutralizing the variant, known as BA.2.86."
"The 2018 Farm bill removed hemp as a controlled substance, so long as it has less than .3 percent Delta 9 THC. That's the active ingredient in marijuana that produces intoxicating effects… After that law, the market found new ways to make hemp mimic marijuana."
"The IRS announced on Friday it is launching an effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes." Good.
"UAW, which represents 150,000 workers at General Motors, Stellantis and Ford, is not alone in asking for big pay raises over the course of their contract. In recent months, workers across industries have fought for — and, in a handful of cases, won — around 50% wage increases over the next four to five years, as they call out years of stagnant wages and robust company profits." What's not noted in here is that in the 90s and 00s the unions accepted tiered pay systems that payed new workers less. I certainly hope these contracts are rolling those provisions back as well.
Why can't they resolve this Hollywood strike? "Studios like Warner Bros. and Disney are on the other end of the negotiating table — a table they last shared with negotiators from WGA on Aug. 18. They have not negotiated with SAG-AFTRA yet." Oh, that's why.
"One of the demands that actors and screenwriters are making in trying to renegotiate their contracts with Hollywood studios is greater residual payments, and several people in the entertainment industry have come forward to share what those residual checks look like." Entertainment accounting is the most creative in the world. Like, it should win awards.
"From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' to a complete Stormtrooper costume from 'Star Wars,' bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career."
"Why does every social media platform seem to get worse over time? This week’s On the Media explores an expansive theory on how we lost a better version of the internet, and the systems that insulate Big Digital from competition. Plus, some solutions for fixing the world wide web." The full "enshittification" conversation. Highly recommend.
On the previous podcast Core Doctorow goes on to admire Lena Khan. "In March 2021, when President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Lina Khan to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, the decision was met with a rare kind of excitement for the otherwise sleepy agency. The excitement seemed bipartisan as 21 Republican senators voted to confirm the commissioner. Not long after, then 32-year-old Khan was promoted to chairperson of the agency, making her the youngest chair in the FTC's history. Since then the tone around Khan has changed dramatically, as Republican commissioners at the agency have pushed back against what they see as a radical agenda. Back in March, OTM correspondent Micah Loewinger spoke to Emily Birnbaum, technology and lobbying reporter for Bloomberg, about a growing anti-antitrust movement emerging in the press and in Washington, and why Khan has become its main target." The consider it a radical agenda because Lena Khan made her splash by writing a rebuttal to Bork's revision of anti-trust laws. So she it putting the FTC back to work and enforcing the laws as they were intended. That, of course, upsets many conservatives.
"To lose service entirely is rare. But the withdrawal of legacy airlines from regional airports is a growing phenomenon… American, Delta and United combined have left 74 regional airports since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by aviation consulting firm Ailevon Pacific." Ah, I see we are going to have to learn this lesson again.
How goes the war? "Cuba says it has disrupted a scheme in Russia to recruit Cuban citizens to fight in Ukraine… In a statement, Cuba's Foreign Ministry called the alleged plan a human trafficking ring. It said Cubans, both in Russia and on the island, had been recruited to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine."
"A retired teacher in Saudi Arabia was recently sentenced to death for his tweets criticizing the country's leadership to his handful of followers, according to rights advocates and his family." And now you know why the crowned prince of SA holds so much equity in X (aka Twitter).
"Alabama is once again appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court ruling that found the state's map of congressional election districts likely violates the Voting Rights Act by weakening Black voters' power… The extraordinary move comes after a panel of three federal judges struck down Alabama's latest congressional redistricting plan for not following their court order to comply with the landmark civil rights law." Just as a reminder, Ohio also does not have an approved map.
"A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a controversial floating border barrier in the Rio Grande River violates federal law and must be removed… U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled that the 1,000-foot-long string of large buoys and saw blades in Eagle Pass, Texas, was ordered deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott without proper federal authorization."
"Lawmakers return this week with one pressing challenge this month — avoiding a potential government shutdown… The Senate is back Tuesday to sort out the next steps on crafting a short-term funding bill that can pass before federal agencies run out of money on Sept. 30. But talk of the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., following another episode when he froze at a press conference last week, will also dominate Capitol Hill." Is it September already?
"Trump White House official Peter Navarro was found guilty Thursday of contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."
"Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he will not recuse himself from a major tax case. His statement, attached to a Supreme Court orders list on Friday, came after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to the chief justice in August, urging that steps be taken to assure that Alito not take part in the tax case." But if he recuses himself, how is he going to accept the grift with a good conscience?
"Prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., say they expect that a trial in their election interference case would last four months — not including jury selection — and they'd expect to call more than 150 witnesses."
"The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with former President Donald Trump. The names of those not indicted included Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn."
"Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol." Good.
"Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country’s bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs."
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Linkee-poo Wednesday Aug 30
"Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, Fla., on Wednesday morning as a Category 3 storm. Georgia and South Carolina could see heavy wind and flooding as the storm moves east."
Yeah, I know, I've missed a lot of stuff.
Bob Barker, and Sam Wurzelbacker (aka Joe the Plumber), and so it goes.
"Humans have always created. But historian Samuel W. Franklin argues that 'creativity' didn't become a social value until the Cold War. Today, we're at another inflection point for humanity, technology, and national identity. The meaning of originality is blurring; there are legal disputes about what constitutes original art; and AI can write a song like your favorite artist in seconds. So what does it mean to put creativity on a pedestal? And what would it look like to tear it down?" The Throughline podcast with an interesting topic, at least to me. I disagree somewhat with some of the definitions and assumptions they make here, but overall a good episode. Yes, at a reductive level, nothing is new (eventually it all comes down to atoms and energy which have been here since a little after the Big Bang). But as someone who has put things out into culture and is both tickled and enraged (like when it's pirated) when it comes back, I know what it is to create something new.
"People are freaking out over a question mark seen in space. Scientists can explain." But nobody is listening.
"The US Copyright Office is opening a public comment period around AI and copyright issues beginning August 30th as the agency figures out how to approach the subject… As announced in the Federal Register, the agency wants to answer three main questions: how AI models should use copyrighted data in training; whether AI-generated material can be copyrighted even without a human involved; and how copyright liability would work with AI. It also wants comments around AI possibly violating publicity rights but noted these are not technically copyright issues. The Copyright Office said if AI does mimic voices, likenesses, or art styles, it may impact state-mandated rules around publicity and unfair competition laws… Written comments are due on October 18th, and replies must be submitted to the Copyright Office by November 15th." So here's the US Copyright Office's page on AI., the Regulations.gov page with their notice which outlines the questions they are seeking comment on. To submit your comment, click the "comment" button under the title.
"An ancient Christian mosaic bearing an early reference to Jesus as God is at the center of a controversy that has riled archaeologists: Should the centuries-old decorated floor, which is near what’s believed to be the site of the prophesied Armageddon, be uprooted and loaned to a U.S. museum that has been criticized for past acquisition practices?"
"New material provides clean water and electricity using nothing but the Sun." I've heard these claims before. Hopefully this is more than vapor ware, because we really need moisture farmers in some parts of the world.
"After a disaster happens, it could take days before first responders are able to reach people. And it's usually friends or neighbors in your community who can get to each other first… Lea Crager, FEMA's Ready Campaign Director, says there are still steps you can take to prepare yourself for situations where your access to medical assistance is limited." As demonstrated last week in NE Ohio.
"The Biden administration released its list of the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts – reductions the government plans to achieve by negotiating the prices with drugmakers." And guess who is not happy.
"As President Joe Biden touts the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price talks, Republicans are searching for their own message that would resonate with voters on the downsides of his signature domestic achievement... Piggybacking on the pharmaceutical industry’s strategy, Republicans are working to persuade Americans that the Biden plan will stifle innovation and lead to price controls, several strategists say." Just in case you needed reminding who was on which side here.
Our wonderful US Healthcare system, the envy of the world… "Imagine if each time your wages were deposited in your bank account, your employer deducted a fee of 1.5% to 5% to provide the money electronically. That, increasingly, is what health insurers are imposing on doctors. Many insurers, after whittling down physicians' reimbursements, now take an additional cut if the doctor prefers — as almost all do — to receive funds electronically rather than via a paper check." I wonder how much it would cost to have a physical check cut? "With more than $2 trillion a year of medical claims paid electronically, these fees likely add up to billions of dollars that could be spent on care but instead are going to insurers and middlemen."
"Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled western Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening."
Businesses posted far fewer open jobs in July and the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation."
"Target reported Wednesday that the backlash over its LGBTQ+ merchandise before and during Pride month in June took a bite from its sales. This comes on the heels of Bud Light's parent company also reporting substantial losses in U.S. sales and profits due to similar reaction to a marketing campaign… The moment is leading executives to wonder about the benefits of supporting social causes during a time of such polarization in the country." Or, and just hear me out here, it was because of your hesitation to support your decisions, and the eventual rollback of the position. My guess is this wasn't so much a result of the conservative screaming (if so, it would be one of the first instances they actually moved the needle), but a reaction from the LGBTQ+ community when they walked back their support.
Canada, citing the risk of potential dangers, is advising LGBTQ travelers planning trips to the United States to check how they might be affected by recently passed laws in some states, Ottawa said Tuesday." Really, Canada? I thought we were friends. But seriously, how fucked up do you have to be that Canada says, "hey, wait, you might want to rethink your vacation plans."
Nashville Rep. Justin Jones was silenced on the Tennessee House floor after he was ruled out of order on Monday... The House voted that he was speaking “off the bill,” which put him out of order for a second time, and — per the new rules in place for the special session — meant he would not be recognized to speak on the chamber floor for the rest of the day." Racists gonna racist.
"All it takes to render the technology-packed self-driving car inoperable is a traffic cone. If all goes according to plan, it will stay there, frozen, until someone comes and removes it… An anonymous activist group called Safe Street Rebel is responsible for this so-called coning incident and dozens of others over the past few months. The group's goal is to incapacitate the driverless cars roaming San Francisco's streets as a protest against the city being used as a testing ground for this emerging technology."
"Over the past year, the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred nearly $280 billion in new investments across the country. The vast majority of those investments have flowed into Republican-held districts, according to numbers compiled by advocacy group Climate Power." You know, the districts whose representatives voted against the bill.
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed and heckled on Sunday while attending a prayer vigil in Jacksonville for the three victims killed in what authorities say was a racially motivated attack at a local Dollar General." Faith in humanity restored.
In our name… "These findings are all part of a trove of more than 1,600 pages of previously secret inspection reports written by experts hired by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. In examining more than two dozen facilities across 16 states from 2017 to 2019, these expert inspectors found 'negligent' medical care (including mental health care), 'unsafe and filthy' conditions, racist abuse of detainees, inappropriate pepper-spraying of mentally ill detainees and other problems that, in some cases, contributed to detainee deaths… These reports almost never become public."
"Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a filing Tuesday reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants charged in her Georgia election interference case to stand trial together, telling the judge that her office 'maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together…' The development came on the same day that the judge overseeing the hearing over former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' request to move his case from state court into federal court requested "limited additional briefing" before he renders a decision on the matter."
"Jenna Ellis, a conservative media figure and former attorney for Donald Trump, is crowdfunding her defense fees after being indicted along with the former president and 17 others earlier this week." Actually a lot of them are. Grifters gonna grift.
Look, actual voter fraud. An Alabama legislator was arrested Tuesday on felony voter fraud charges accusing him of voting in a district where he did not live. Oops, another Republican. Never mind. Move along.
Yeah, I know, I've missed a lot of stuff.
Bob Barker, and Sam Wurzelbacker (aka Joe the Plumber), and so it goes.
"Humans have always created. But historian Samuel W. Franklin argues that 'creativity' didn't become a social value until the Cold War. Today, we're at another inflection point for humanity, technology, and national identity. The meaning of originality is blurring; there are legal disputes about what constitutes original art; and AI can write a song like your favorite artist in seconds. So what does it mean to put creativity on a pedestal? And what would it look like to tear it down?" The Throughline podcast with an interesting topic, at least to me. I disagree somewhat with some of the definitions and assumptions they make here, but overall a good episode. Yes, at a reductive level, nothing is new (eventually it all comes down to atoms and energy which have been here since a little after the Big Bang). But as someone who has put things out into culture and is both tickled and enraged (like when it's pirated) when it comes back, I know what it is to create something new.
"People are freaking out over a question mark seen in space. Scientists can explain." But nobody is listening.
"The US Copyright Office is opening a public comment period around AI and copyright issues beginning August 30th as the agency figures out how to approach the subject… As announced in the Federal Register, the agency wants to answer three main questions: how AI models should use copyrighted data in training; whether AI-generated material can be copyrighted even without a human involved; and how copyright liability would work with AI. It also wants comments around AI possibly violating publicity rights but noted these are not technically copyright issues. The Copyright Office said if AI does mimic voices, likenesses, or art styles, it may impact state-mandated rules around publicity and unfair competition laws… Written comments are due on October 18th, and replies must be submitted to the Copyright Office by November 15th." So here's the US Copyright Office's page on AI., the Regulations.gov page with their notice which outlines the questions they are seeking comment on. To submit your comment, click the "comment" button under the title.
"An ancient Christian mosaic bearing an early reference to Jesus as God is at the center of a controversy that has riled archaeologists: Should the centuries-old decorated floor, which is near what’s believed to be the site of the prophesied Armageddon, be uprooted and loaned to a U.S. museum that has been criticized for past acquisition practices?"
"New material provides clean water and electricity using nothing but the Sun." I've heard these claims before. Hopefully this is more than vapor ware, because we really need moisture farmers in some parts of the world.
"After a disaster happens, it could take days before first responders are able to reach people. And it's usually friends or neighbors in your community who can get to each other first… Lea Crager, FEMA's Ready Campaign Director, says there are still steps you can take to prepare yourself for situations where your access to medical assistance is limited." As demonstrated last week in NE Ohio.
"The Biden administration released its list of the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts – reductions the government plans to achieve by negotiating the prices with drugmakers." And guess who is not happy.
"As President Joe Biden touts the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price talks, Republicans are searching for their own message that would resonate with voters on the downsides of his signature domestic achievement... Piggybacking on the pharmaceutical industry’s strategy, Republicans are working to persuade Americans that the Biden plan will stifle innovation and lead to price controls, several strategists say." Just in case you needed reminding who was on which side here.
Our wonderful US Healthcare system, the envy of the world… "Imagine if each time your wages were deposited in your bank account, your employer deducted a fee of 1.5% to 5% to provide the money electronically. That, increasingly, is what health insurers are imposing on doctors. Many insurers, after whittling down physicians' reimbursements, now take an additional cut if the doctor prefers — as almost all do — to receive funds electronically rather than via a paper check." I wonder how much it would cost to have a physical check cut? "With more than $2 trillion a year of medical claims paid electronically, these fees likely add up to billions of dollars that could be spent on care but instead are going to insurers and middlemen."
"Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled western Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening."
Businesses posted far fewer open jobs in July and the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation."
"Target reported Wednesday that the backlash over its LGBTQ+ merchandise before and during Pride month in June took a bite from its sales. This comes on the heels of Bud Light's parent company also reporting substantial losses in U.S. sales and profits due to similar reaction to a marketing campaign… The moment is leading executives to wonder about the benefits of supporting social causes during a time of such polarization in the country." Or, and just hear me out here, it was because of your hesitation to support your decisions, and the eventual rollback of the position. My guess is this wasn't so much a result of the conservative screaming (if so, it would be one of the first instances they actually moved the needle), but a reaction from the LGBTQ+ community when they walked back their support.
Canada, citing the risk of potential dangers, is advising LGBTQ travelers planning trips to the United States to check how they might be affected by recently passed laws in some states, Ottawa said Tuesday." Really, Canada? I thought we were friends. But seriously, how fucked up do you have to be that Canada says, "hey, wait, you might want to rethink your vacation plans."
Nashville Rep. Justin Jones was silenced on the Tennessee House floor after he was ruled out of order on Monday... The House voted that he was speaking “off the bill,” which put him out of order for a second time, and — per the new rules in place for the special session — meant he would not be recognized to speak on the chamber floor for the rest of the day." Racists gonna racist.
"All it takes to render the technology-packed self-driving car inoperable is a traffic cone. If all goes according to plan, it will stay there, frozen, until someone comes and removes it… An anonymous activist group called Safe Street Rebel is responsible for this so-called coning incident and dozens of others over the past few months. The group's goal is to incapacitate the driverless cars roaming San Francisco's streets as a protest against the city being used as a testing ground for this emerging technology."
"Over the past year, the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred nearly $280 billion in new investments across the country. The vast majority of those investments have flowed into Republican-held districts, according to numbers compiled by advocacy group Climate Power." You know, the districts whose representatives voted against the bill.
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was booed and heckled on Sunday while attending a prayer vigil in Jacksonville for the three victims killed in what authorities say was a racially motivated attack at a local Dollar General." Faith in humanity restored.
In our name… "These findings are all part of a trove of more than 1,600 pages of previously secret inspection reports written by experts hired by the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. In examining more than two dozen facilities across 16 states from 2017 to 2019, these expert inspectors found 'negligent' medical care (including mental health care), 'unsafe and filthy' conditions, racist abuse of detainees, inappropriate pepper-spraying of mentally ill detainees and other problems that, in some cases, contributed to detainee deaths… These reports almost never become public."
"Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a filing Tuesday reiterated her desire for all 19 defendants charged in her Georgia election interference case to stand trial together, telling the judge that her office 'maintains its position that severance is improper at this juncture and that all Defendants should be tried together…' The development came on the same day that the judge overseeing the hearing over former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' request to move his case from state court into federal court requested "limited additional briefing" before he renders a decision on the matter."
"Jenna Ellis, a conservative media figure and former attorney for Donald Trump, is crowdfunding her defense fees after being indicted along with the former president and 17 others earlier this week." Actually a lot of them are. Grifters gonna grift.
Look, actual voter fraud. An Alabama legislator was arrested Tuesday on felony voter fraud charges accusing him of voting in a district where he did not live. Oops, another Republican. Never mind. Move along.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Linkee-poo Tuesday August 15
"A Georgia grand jury has indicted Donald Trump and 18 attorneys and allies for an alleged scheme to overturn the state's 2020 election results, implicating the former president as the head of a sweeping conspiracy."
"Kunzru was irked enough to add his own voice to the rising Prosecraft protest. He wasn’t mad about the analysis itself. But he strongly suspected that the founder, Benji Smith, had obtained his catalog without paying for it. 'It seemed very clear to me that he couldn’t have assembled this database in any legal way,' he says." I wouldn't say this was specifically "against AI." It's more of a reassertion of the rights of the IP holders. It's just that it appears that AI (and the tech industry in general) are serial content pirates and plagiarizers. Or as they say in the article, "But it appears to share something crucial with most of the AI projects making headlines these days: It trained on a massive set of data scraped from the internet without regard to possible copyright infringement issues." And, of course, he still doesn't get it. He asks if "Would people be less angry with me if I bought a copy of each of these books?" The author of the article says, "Yes", but the answer is "No." You need to buy the rights to use the novels as part of a new work, and that will be much more than the cover-price of a physical or digital book.
"Human-driven climate change pushed global temperatures to never-before-seen heights in July, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. The month is now officially the hottest July on record since record-taking began in the 1800s… And it wasn't even close: the month was a whopping 0.4 °F warmer than the previous record set in 2019, and well over 2.1 °F hotter than the 20th century average."
"This summer has been among the hottest and hardest in memory. Austin broke an all-time heat index record in June when the 'feels like' temperature topped off at 118 degrees. Then, we had our hottest July ever recorded… This week, only halfway through August, it looks like we’ll surpass 40 days straight of triple-digit heat. This could end up being our hottest summer ever."
"Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat."
"Juneau’s glacial outburst floods have happened every year since 2011, but this year was the worst by far. The Mendenhall River eroded the bank in a matter of hours, undermining some homes and sending at least one into the river."
"A devastating wildfire that tore though parts of Maui and destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina has killed at least 89, officials said Saturday afternoon, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century."
"Hawaii wildfires: Photos show the destruction and devastation."
"The U.S. government will settle a lawsuit with conservation groups and commit to releasing more endangered red wolves into the wilds of North Carolina, where nearly three dozen of the canine species are believed to still run free."
"California wildlife officials say they've confirmed a new gray wolf pack in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains… The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday the pack was found in Tulare County — the farthest south a pack of wolves has been detected in the state in more than a century."
"Baltimore's harm reduction vans have long been a place for people to exchange used needles for clean needles. In recent months, more people have been coming to Baltimore's two mobile harm intervention vans in need of serious wound care due to a drug called xylazine. Among users, it is commonly referred to as Tranq."
"Five people were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said Sunday."
"59-year-old Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was a former investigative journalist who was outspoken against what he saw to be clear, increasing government corruption in his country… Villavicencio was fatally shot on Wednesday, moments after exiting a campaign rally in Quito, the nation's capital."
"The Texas attorney general's office has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, effectively blocking a judge's hours-old order that temporarily lifted a ban on emergency abortions."
"Ashley was discharged from the hospital only hours ago, but there are no baby presents or toys in the room, no visible diapers or ointments or bottles. Almost nobody knows that Peanut exists, because almost nobody knew that Ashley was pregnant. She is 13 years old. Soon she’ll start seventh grade."
"Ohio voters have defeated Issue 1, according to a race call by the Associated Press on Tuesday night. The no vote rejects a proposed constitutional change that would have made it harder to pass future amendments to the Ohio Constitution." Than you, my fellow Ohioans. Although ti was much closer than it had a right to be.
"It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — 'turn the other cheek' — [and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?' And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ," the response would not be, 'I apologize.' The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak.' And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis."
"Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won’t sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month."
Hey, remember when Democrats called out Republicans for their violent imagery and the use of "targets" and "scope" graphics in their political advertising, and the conservatives were all, "this is just rhetoric, nothing real to be worried about." "For extremism researchers, the shooting death this week of a Utah man who was alleged to have made violent threats against President Biden and other public officials highlights a concerning trend. For years, they have watched a steady escalation in violent political rhetoric that appears to be fueling acts of real-life violence."
"An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said."
"Here's the thing: The real threats to democracy aren't at the ballot box and never were… The real threat comes from those like Trump who would ignore democracy and the will of the people altogether and who daily attempt to replace democracy with disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, intimidation, dark money, and when all that fails: seize power with violence and insurrection."
"Kunzru was irked enough to add his own voice to the rising Prosecraft protest. He wasn’t mad about the analysis itself. But he strongly suspected that the founder, Benji Smith, had obtained his catalog without paying for it. 'It seemed very clear to me that he couldn’t have assembled this database in any legal way,' he says." I wouldn't say this was specifically "against AI." It's more of a reassertion of the rights of the IP holders. It's just that it appears that AI (and the tech industry in general) are serial content pirates and plagiarizers. Or as they say in the article, "But it appears to share something crucial with most of the AI projects making headlines these days: It trained on a massive set of data scraped from the internet without regard to possible copyright infringement issues." And, of course, he still doesn't get it. He asks if "Would people be less angry with me if I bought a copy of each of these books?" The author of the article says, "Yes", but the answer is "No." You need to buy the rights to use the novels as part of a new work, and that will be much more than the cover-price of a physical or digital book.
"Human-driven climate change pushed global temperatures to never-before-seen heights in July, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. The month is now officially the hottest July on record since record-taking began in the 1800s… And it wasn't even close: the month was a whopping 0.4 °F warmer than the previous record set in 2019, and well over 2.1 °F hotter than the 20th century average."
"This summer has been among the hottest and hardest in memory. Austin broke an all-time heat index record in June when the 'feels like' temperature topped off at 118 degrees. Then, we had our hottest July ever recorded… This week, only halfway through August, it looks like we’ll surpass 40 days straight of triple-digit heat. This could end up being our hottest summer ever."
"Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat."
"Juneau’s glacial outburst floods have happened every year since 2011, but this year was the worst by far. The Mendenhall River eroded the bank in a matter of hours, undermining some homes and sending at least one into the river."
"A devastating wildfire that tore though parts of Maui and destroyed much of the historic town of Lahaina has killed at least 89, officials said Saturday afternoon, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century."
"Hawaii wildfires: Photos show the destruction and devastation."
"The U.S. government will settle a lawsuit with conservation groups and commit to releasing more endangered red wolves into the wilds of North Carolina, where nearly three dozen of the canine species are believed to still run free."
"California wildlife officials say they've confirmed a new gray wolf pack in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains… The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday the pack was found in Tulare County — the farthest south a pack of wolves has been detected in the state in more than a century."
"Baltimore's harm reduction vans have long been a place for people to exchange used needles for clean needles. In recent months, more people have been coming to Baltimore's two mobile harm intervention vans in need of serious wound care due to a drug called xylazine. Among users, it is commonly referred to as Tranq."
"Five people were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said Sunday."
"59-year-old Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was a former investigative journalist who was outspoken against what he saw to be clear, increasing government corruption in his country… Villavicencio was fatally shot on Wednesday, moments after exiting a campaign rally in Quito, the nation's capital."
"The Texas attorney general's office has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, effectively blocking a judge's hours-old order that temporarily lifted a ban on emergency abortions."
"Ashley was discharged from the hospital only hours ago, but there are no baby presents or toys in the room, no visible diapers or ointments or bottles. Almost nobody knows that Peanut exists, because almost nobody knew that Ashley was pregnant. She is 13 years old. Soon she’ll start seventh grade."
"Ohio voters have defeated Issue 1, according to a race call by the Associated Press on Tuesday night. The no vote rejects a proposed constitutional change that would have made it harder to pass future amendments to the Ohio Constitution." Than you, my fellow Ohioans. Although ti was much closer than it had a right to be.
"It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — 'turn the other cheek' — [and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?' And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ," the response would not be, 'I apologize.' The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak.' And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis."
"Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won’t sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month."
Hey, remember when Democrats called out Republicans for their violent imagery and the use of "targets" and "scope" graphics in their political advertising, and the conservatives were all, "this is just rhetoric, nothing real to be worried about." "For extremism researchers, the shooting death this week of a Utah man who was alleged to have made violent threats against President Biden and other public officials highlights a concerning trend. For years, they have watched a steady escalation in violent political rhetoric that appears to be fueling acts of real-life violence."
"An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said."
"Here's the thing: The real threats to democracy aren't at the ballot box and never were… The real threat comes from those like Trump who would ignore democracy and the will of the people altogether and who daily attempt to replace democracy with disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, intimidation, dark money, and when all that fails: seize power with violence and insurrection."
Monday, August 14, 2023
Linkee-poo Monday August 14
"The new images of the famous Ring Nebula from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are mesmerizing, with glowing rings of gas and wispy trails emanating from the core. We can see it in more clarity than ever, including thousands of clumps that make up its main ring."
"NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was back chatting it up Friday after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence."
"But this year there is a lot less sea ice than ever recorded before. And that is bad news for people around the world, because sea ice helps control how quickly the rest of Antarctica's ice melts, which contributes to global sea level rise." We're boned.
"Waves are getting bigger and surf at least 13 feet (about 4 meters) tall is becoming more common off California’s coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years."
"A D.C. restaurant started serving chicken made from cultivated animal cells this week — and DCist/WAMU was among the first customers to try it… It's something out of science fiction: Chicken produced in a stainless steel tank without killing any birds. The meat is grown from their cells that feed on nutrients and multiply until they can be harvested and molded into what will later be served on our plate — strips of chicken that have been skewered and grilled."
"A primordial sea animal that lives on the tidal mudflats of the East Coast and serves as a linchpin for the production of vital medicines stands to benefit from new protective standards… But conservationists who have been trying for years to save a declining bird species — the red knot — that depends on horseshoe crabs fear the protections still don’t go far enough."
"The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever pill for treating postpartum depression, a potentially life-threatening condition that affects hundreds of thousands of new parents across the U.S. each year."
"'There's been so much research that has shown that if you consume more fiber, you are healthier,' says Hannah Holscher, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, and self-proclaimed 'fiber nerd.'" Unless, you know, you have some condition that fiber is actually counter indicated. And there are people who have major problems with inulin. Also, note the dangers of highly processed foods (where the "added fiber" comes from).
"The COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) report that they have identified abnormal mitochondrial function in the heart, kidneys, and liver after SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leads to long-term damage and may help explain long COVID."
"The new research, which was an international collaboration between dozens of scientists, describes how some people carry a version of a single gene, FOXP4, that is associated with developing long COVID. Longet calls the new research an 'important element' in understanding why some people's COVID symptoms seemingly never resolve." We don't know much, but we're starting to learn some.
"Odds of a soft landing may have just gotten a little better… U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July. While job growth has moderated, it hasn't come close to stalling, even after the Fed raised interest rates to the highest level in 22 years."
"Ever since production of the first Star Wars movies in the 1970s, the visual effects industry has largely been non-unionized. But now for the first time, a group of 50 visual effects workers at Marvel Studios in LA, New York and Atlanta have signed authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board. They hope to become part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE."
"Rubalcaba said the actors had their faces and bodies scanned for about 15 minutes each. Then their digital replicas were created… But here's the rub: She was never told how or if this digital avatar of herself would ever be used on screen. If it's used, she might never know. No matter what happens with it, she'll never see any payment for it… Disney did not return a request for comment."
"President Biden just ordered U.S. investigators to share evidence of Russian war crimes with The International Criminal Court. On this week’s On the Media, what will it take to secure justice for Ukraine? Plus, a moving look back at the early days of the conflict."
"The researchers at Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab gather in a carpeted underground bunker, beneath the campus library, to steadily gather evidence of Russia's alleged war crimes. In a report published earlier this year, in collaboration with the State Department, they presented evidence of the Russian government operating more than 40 child custody centers for Ukrainian children who have been forcibly removed from their homes to Russia. On the other hand, Russia's embassy in Washington has claimed that the children were forced to flee to safety due to the war. About a month later, on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting children from Ukraine." Putin is a war criminal (waves to my Russian friends).
"The motion was filed last week by attorneys representing the School Board and argues that Zwerner, who was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary in January by a 6-year-old student, is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained from the shooting is a 'workplace injury,' and that the shooting was a hazard of the job."
"Eventually, two and a half hours after the pain started, the expectant mother said she was allowed to leave the Middleton Unit. As quickly as the pain would allow her, Issa drove to a nearby hospital, where doctors rushed her into emergency surgery after being unable to find a fetal heartbeat. The baby was delivered stillborn… If Issa had gotten to the hospital sooner, medical personnel told her, the baby would have survived, the lawsuit claims… For more than two decades, in legislation passed by lawmakers and defended in court by the attorney general’s office, Texas has insisted 'unborn children' be recognized as people starting at fertilization. And although it has traditionally referred to all stages of pregnancy, from fertilized egg to birth, as an unborn child, the state repeatedly referred to Issa’s stillborn baby as a fetus in legal briefings." Trying to have it both ways. What is missed here is not the facts, but the reasoning. See, it's not about "the baby", it's about punishing women.
"A Texas judge ruled Friday the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges… However, the injunction was immediately blocked by an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, the state attorney general’s office said."
"Ammon Bundy, the anti-government provocateur, has been arrested according to the Gem County dispatch service… Bundy has had an active arrest warrant since mid-April after an Ada County judge found him in contempt of court for refusing to show up to legal proceedings for nearly a year over a civil lawsuit filed by St. Luke’s Health System."
"Authorities in Montgomery, Ala., are charging three men with assault for attacking a riverboat co-captain on Saturday. When officers arrived on scene, the fight had spiraled out of control into a full on brawl at the city's Riverfront Park."
"In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home." The police, the sheriffs, and the judge all need to be ousted from the jobs they don't deserve. The stress and violence of the raid eventually lead to the death of a co-owner.
"Men who had sworn an oath to protect and serve were huddled on the back porch of a Mississippi home as Michael Corey Jenkins lay on the floor, blood gushing from his mutilated tongue where one of the police officers shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger… As Jenkins writhed in pain, the six white officers devised a scheme to cover up dozens of stunning acts of brutality that they had just carried out during 90 minutes of terror against Jenkins and a second Black victim."
"The College Board says the Florida Department of Education has, 'effectively' banned an AP Psychology class in the state. AP African American History is already banned in Florida… The only way districts in Florida will be allowed to teach the Advanced Placement Psychology course is if they omit chapters on gender identity and sexuality." Blatant and open fascism.
"When the US women’s soccer team was knocked out of the world cup, they became the latest target of a right-wing media campaign. On this week’s On the Media, the state of discourse around gender. Plus, the quality of coverage around trans rights, and how it’s changed."
"Mississippi is violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by permanently stripping voting rights from people convicted of some felonies, a federal appeals court panel ruled in a split decision Friday."
"Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville's disagreement with a Pentagon policy on abortion is upheaving life plans for hundreds of military families. Now those families are petitioning Senate leaders to intervene on their behalf."
"This year, the Department of Defense began renaming military bases that honor the Confederacy. On this week’s On the Media, a former general explains why the reckoning with the myth of the 'lost cause' is overdue. Plus, hear how Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine has been hundreds of years in the making."
"A judge has set a hearing for Friday about the parameters of a protective order dictating how former President Donald Trump and his legal team can talk about the evidence in the Jan. 6 criminal case."
"And now, Trump remains the undisputed front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, despite facing three indictments on a variety of criminal charges, most recently on Tuesday. While it's still unknown what impact the latest federal indictment — on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — will have on the electorate, so far he has weathered every storm."
"The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia is expected to present evidence to a grand jury and ask it to return indictments as early as next Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter."
"The editor in chief of Christianity Today is warning that evangelical Christianity is moving too far to the right, to the point that even Jesus’s teachings are considered 'weak' now." We all know this was happening, it's just interesting to see it actually happening.
"Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who has been investigating criminal allegations against President Biden's surviving son, Hunter Biden, has been named a special counsel, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday… Weiss, a Trump appointee as U.S. attorney who was retained during the Biden administration, has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019. He reached a tentative plea deal with Hunter Biden, but it collapsed amid scrutiny recently from a Delaware federal judge."
"NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was back chatting it up Friday after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence."
"But this year there is a lot less sea ice than ever recorded before. And that is bad news for people around the world, because sea ice helps control how quickly the rest of Antarctica's ice melts, which contributes to global sea level rise." We're boned.
"Waves are getting bigger and surf at least 13 feet (about 4 meters) tall is becoming more common off California’s coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years."
"A D.C. restaurant started serving chicken made from cultivated animal cells this week — and DCist/WAMU was among the first customers to try it… It's something out of science fiction: Chicken produced in a stainless steel tank without killing any birds. The meat is grown from their cells that feed on nutrients and multiply until they can be harvested and molded into what will later be served on our plate — strips of chicken that have been skewered and grilled."
"A primordial sea animal that lives on the tidal mudflats of the East Coast and serves as a linchpin for the production of vital medicines stands to benefit from new protective standards… But conservationists who have been trying for years to save a declining bird species — the red knot — that depends on horseshoe crabs fear the protections still don’t go far enough."
"The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever pill for treating postpartum depression, a potentially life-threatening condition that affects hundreds of thousands of new parents across the U.S. each year."
"'There's been so much research that has shown that if you consume more fiber, you are healthier,' says Hannah Holscher, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, and self-proclaimed 'fiber nerd.'" Unless, you know, you have some condition that fiber is actually counter indicated. And there are people who have major problems with inulin. Also, note the dangers of highly processed foods (where the "added fiber" comes from).
"The COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) report that they have identified abnormal mitochondrial function in the heart, kidneys, and liver after SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leads to long-term damage and may help explain long COVID."
"The new research, which was an international collaboration between dozens of scientists, describes how some people carry a version of a single gene, FOXP4, that is associated with developing long COVID. Longet calls the new research an 'important element' in understanding why some people's COVID symptoms seemingly never resolve." We don't know much, but we're starting to learn some.
"Odds of a soft landing may have just gotten a little better… U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July. While job growth has moderated, it hasn't come close to stalling, even after the Fed raised interest rates to the highest level in 22 years."
"Ever since production of the first Star Wars movies in the 1970s, the visual effects industry has largely been non-unionized. But now for the first time, a group of 50 visual effects workers at Marvel Studios in LA, New York and Atlanta have signed authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board. They hope to become part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE."
"Rubalcaba said the actors had their faces and bodies scanned for about 15 minutes each. Then their digital replicas were created… But here's the rub: She was never told how or if this digital avatar of herself would ever be used on screen. If it's used, she might never know. No matter what happens with it, she'll never see any payment for it… Disney did not return a request for comment."
"President Biden just ordered U.S. investigators to share evidence of Russian war crimes with The International Criminal Court. On this week’s On the Media, what will it take to secure justice for Ukraine? Plus, a moving look back at the early days of the conflict."
"The researchers at Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab gather in a carpeted underground bunker, beneath the campus library, to steadily gather evidence of Russia's alleged war crimes. In a report published earlier this year, in collaboration with the State Department, they presented evidence of the Russian government operating more than 40 child custody centers for Ukrainian children who have been forcibly removed from their homes to Russia. On the other hand, Russia's embassy in Washington has claimed that the children were forced to flee to safety due to the war. About a month later, on March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting children from Ukraine." Putin is a war criminal (waves to my Russian friends).
"The motion was filed last week by attorneys representing the School Board and argues that Zwerner, who was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary in January by a 6-year-old student, is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained from the shooting is a 'workplace injury,' and that the shooting was a hazard of the job."
"Eventually, two and a half hours after the pain started, the expectant mother said she was allowed to leave the Middleton Unit. As quickly as the pain would allow her, Issa drove to a nearby hospital, where doctors rushed her into emergency surgery after being unable to find a fetal heartbeat. The baby was delivered stillborn… If Issa had gotten to the hospital sooner, medical personnel told her, the baby would have survived, the lawsuit claims… For more than two decades, in legislation passed by lawmakers and defended in court by the attorney general’s office, Texas has insisted 'unborn children' be recognized as people starting at fertilization. And although it has traditionally referred to all stages of pregnancy, from fertilized egg to birth, as an unborn child, the state repeatedly referred to Issa’s stillborn baby as a fetus in legal briefings." Trying to have it both ways. What is missed here is not the facts, but the reasoning. See, it's not about "the baby", it's about punishing women.
"A Texas judge ruled Friday the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without doctors fearing the threat of criminal charges… However, the injunction was immediately blocked by an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, the state attorney general’s office said."
"Ammon Bundy, the anti-government provocateur, has been arrested according to the Gem County dispatch service… Bundy has had an active arrest warrant since mid-April after an Ada County judge found him in contempt of court for refusing to show up to legal proceedings for nearly a year over a civil lawsuit filed by St. Luke’s Health System."
"Authorities in Montgomery, Ala., are charging three men with assault for attacking a riverboat co-captain on Saturday. When officers arrived on scene, the fight had spiraled out of control into a full on brawl at the city's Riverfront Park."
"In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home." The police, the sheriffs, and the judge all need to be ousted from the jobs they don't deserve. The stress and violence of the raid eventually lead to the death of a co-owner.
"Men who had sworn an oath to protect and serve were huddled on the back porch of a Mississippi home as Michael Corey Jenkins lay on the floor, blood gushing from his mutilated tongue where one of the police officers shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger… As Jenkins writhed in pain, the six white officers devised a scheme to cover up dozens of stunning acts of brutality that they had just carried out during 90 minutes of terror against Jenkins and a second Black victim."
"The College Board says the Florida Department of Education has, 'effectively' banned an AP Psychology class in the state. AP African American History is already banned in Florida… The only way districts in Florida will be allowed to teach the Advanced Placement Psychology course is if they omit chapters on gender identity and sexuality." Blatant and open fascism.
"When the US women’s soccer team was knocked out of the world cup, they became the latest target of a right-wing media campaign. On this week’s On the Media, the state of discourse around gender. Plus, the quality of coverage around trans rights, and how it’s changed."
"Mississippi is violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by permanently stripping voting rights from people convicted of some felonies, a federal appeals court panel ruled in a split decision Friday."
"Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville's disagreement with a Pentagon policy on abortion is upheaving life plans for hundreds of military families. Now those families are petitioning Senate leaders to intervene on their behalf."
"This year, the Department of Defense began renaming military bases that honor the Confederacy. On this week’s On the Media, a former general explains why the reckoning with the myth of the 'lost cause' is overdue. Plus, hear how Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine has been hundreds of years in the making."
"A judge has set a hearing for Friday about the parameters of a protective order dictating how former President Donald Trump and his legal team can talk about the evidence in the Jan. 6 criminal case."
"And now, Trump remains the undisputed front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, despite facing three indictments on a variety of criminal charges, most recently on Tuesday. While it's still unknown what impact the latest federal indictment — on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — will have on the electorate, so far he has weathered every storm."
"The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia is expected to present evidence to a grand jury and ask it to return indictments as early as next Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter."
"The editor in chief of Christianity Today is warning that evangelical Christianity is moving too far to the right, to the point that even Jesus’s teachings are considered 'weak' now." We all know this was happening, it's just interesting to see it actually happening.
"Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who has been investigating criminal allegations against President Biden's surviving son, Hunter Biden, has been named a special counsel, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday… Weiss, a Trump appointee as U.S. attorney who was retained during the Biden administration, has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2019. He reached a tentative plea deal with Hunter Biden, but it collapsed amid scrutiny recently from a Delaware federal judge."
Friday, August 4, 2023
Linkee-poo Aug 4 early morning edition
The craziness continues. Once I think I've got it all squared away, another curve ball comes in and I have to spin more plates as well as all I'm dealing with. Sorry.
Tony Bennett, Sinead O'Conner, Paul Reubens, and so it goes.
"'Record breaking' loses some of its wow factor when that record just keeps getting broken. Tuesday marks 26 consecutive days in Phoenix, Az. with a temperature over 110 degrees."
"It's so hot in Florida right now that the ocean temperature in one area just crossed into the triple digits… On Monday, a water temperature sensor in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park recorded a temperature of 101.1 degrees, according to a park spokesperson." We're boned.
Hey, remember the whole, "we need to clear out the wildlands to prevent forest fires" push? "The U.S. Forest Service’s own prescribed burn started a sprawling 2022 wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, the agency acknowledged Monday in a report published after a lengthy investigation."
"Tens of thousands of people, many of them British tourists, are scrambling to evacuate from Rhodes and Corfu as wildfires rage across the country. Temperatures are expected to climb again Tuesday."
"Millions of Americans use kratom, which is sold at gas stations, vape shops and bars. It can act like an opiate on the body. The FDA warns against using kratom, but most states don't regulate it."
"The pandemic inflicted higher rates of excess deaths on both Republicans and Democrats. But after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, Republican voters in Florida and Ohio died at a higher rate than their counterparts, according to a new study."
"Countertops made of the engineered stone "quartz" are incredibly popular, but public health experts say cutting this material unsafely can expose workers to deadly dust."
"Dr. Alfonso Sabater pulled up two photos of Antonio Vento Carvajal’s eyes. One showed cloudy scars covering both eyeballs. The other, taken after months of gene therapy given through eyedrops, revealed no scarring on either eye."
"'What they're seeing is that there's an increase in folks who are saying, "Yes, I do receive SNAP," but their distribution numbers here are staying about the same,' said Emily Kraft, the director of community outreach and support services at the Foodbank, an organization in North Carolina. 'So it really reinforces that idea that SNAP is meant to be supplemental — that is not meant to be someone's entire food budget, which is why folks are still stopping in here.'" It's Farm Bill time again.
"Many parents are also hoping to pull back on spending on school supplies this year, according to a survey released Wednesday by Deloitte. The firm is predicting that spending will decrease 10% from last year, marking the first decline since 2014, said Stephen Rogers, the managing director of Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center. Inflation is having a big impact on how parents are shopping, he said."
"The Teamsters union said it has secured pay raises for United Parcel Service workers, averting what would have been one of the largest strikes in U.S. history." They always focus on the pay and miss the greater wins for safety and new hires.
"The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday it would raise interest rates a quarter percentage point (or 25 basis points), to a 22-year high. It marks a return to the long, steady climb interest rates have been on for the last year, as the Fed attempts to beat back inflation."
"Fitch Ratings cut the United States' credit rating by one notch, from the top-rated AAA to AA+, saying rising deficits and political brinkmanship are imperiling the government's ability to pay its debts… It marks another rebuke for the U.S., which lost its AAA rating from Standard & Poor's in 2011 in the midst of another debt ceiling standoff. Today, only one of the three major credit ratings agencies — Moody's Investors Service — gives the United States a top-notch AAA rating." Thanks to the petulance of the Republicans and conservative politics. Heck of a job, Brownie.
"IRS will stop making most unannounced visits to taxpayers' homes, businesses"
"The Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law stripping the Supreme Court of its power to block government decisions, the first part of a planned judicial overhaul that has sharply divided Israeli society and drawn fierce criticism from the White House."
"Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after a general election a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government... The uncertainty deepened as both of Spain’s two main parties indicated that they hope to take power. The only sure thing seems to be that the country faces weeks, perhaps months, of political negotiations and possibly a new election to sort out the mess."
"The Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for building a floating barrier at the southern border that the state says will deter migrants but that the Biden administration calls a threat to public safety."
"More notably, researchers analyzed the data to show how officers spend their time, and the patterns that emerge tell a striking story about how policing actually works. Those results, too, comport with existing research showing that U.S. police spend much of their time conducting racially biased stops and searches of minority drivers, often without reasonable suspicion, rather than 'fighting crime.'"
"A graphic designer and activist who made TikTok content debunking the claim by Jason Aldean that his controversial music video only uses 'real news footage' has been facing a wave of racist and violent hate mail by defenders of his song." Good thing this video isn't a racist piece of shit, or this might be bad. I mean, how hard would it be to just claim ignorance and say, "oops, my bad," pull the video and redo it. Unless you really are a racist piece of shit where you would do exactly as Jason Aldean has done.
"In 2017, a military judge told attorneys in Bowe Bergdahl's court-martial case that he was impervious to pressure from then-President Donald Trump — but he made a crucial omission: one week earlier, the judge had applied for a new job in the Trump administration… That's the conclusion of U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who on Tuesday vacated the former soldier's court-martial conviction and sentence that were overseen by former military judge Jeffrey Nance." Oopsie.
"A jury has ordered anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy and associates to pay more than $50 million in damages to Idaho's largest hospital in connection with armed protests last year that led to a security lockdown."
Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year." But fails to secure "x.com" or clear trademark protections held by Google and Microsoft.
"Elon Musk's X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is suing a nonprofit that researches hate speech on social media, accusing it of conducting 'a scare campaign to drive away advertisers.'" Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with someone calling out his bullshit and this isn't an attempt to further the degradation of Twitter's usefulness in the coming election.
"A Texas A&M University professor was suspended, investigated and ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing for allegedly criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture about the opioid crisis. The probe has free speech advocates concerned about political influence over academia in Texas."
Oh look, actual political considerations and attempts at stifling open debate at a college. "Texas A&M University reached a $1 million settlement Thursday with a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged by backlash over her past work promoting diversity." Wait, again, it's conservatives who did the Bad Thing™. Never mind.
"Several Ohio agencies are investigating why an officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back."
"Three months after Ms. Cotham took office in January, she delivered a mortal shock to Democrats and to abortion rights supporters: She switched parties, and then cast a decisive vote on May 3 to override a veto by the state’s Democratic governor and enact a 12-week limit on most abortions — North Carolina’s most restrictive abortion policy in 50 years." Groomers. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"McCarthy said he has not talked to Trump about any impeachment probe. But several far right House Republicans argue that because Democrats voted twice to impeach Trump it is appropriate to move forward now to remove Biden. Last month the speaker pushed back on an effort to hold an impeachment vote on a resolution introduced by Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert that cited the president's immigration policies, and instead the House voted to refer the matter to committees to investigate."
"The judge in the Hunter Biden case said Wednesday she is not ready to accept the plea deal struck between the president's son and the Justice Department, and asked both parties to submit additional briefs and return to the court on a future date… Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded that the lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings."
"The lead prosecutor in the case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says he is willing to testify publicly this fall, setting up a clash with House Republicans who have demanded he come in soon for a closed-door interview." Or no, considering the case is still ongoing.
"The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded the judge who oversaw the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz on Monday for showing bias toward the prosecution."
"The Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate met in a special session Monday and overrode GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills to extend existing agreements with Native American tribes for another year."
"The most recent Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general faces criminal charges for an alleged effort to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election as the results were being contested by then-President Donald Trump. That's after Democratic nominee Joe Biden won Michigan."
"State Issue 1, the sole question on the ballot, calls for raising the threshold for passing future changes to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Starting next year, it also would double the number of counties where signatures must be gathered, from 44 to all 88, and do away with the 10-day grace period for closing gaps in the total valid signatures submitted." Save our democracy, vote No on Issue 1 (if you're a voter in Ohio).
"A U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Tuesday temporarily blocked a voting law in the state that was supposed to go into effect July 1. The law, known as Senate Bill 2358, creates new restrictions for who can assist someone while voting by mail."
"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped talking at his weekly press conference with top Senate GOP leaders on Wednesday when he froze and appeared unable to continue for more than 30 seconds as he gripped the podium. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the third ranking Republican and a physician, walked with McConnell for a few steps near the Senate floor as other leaders resumed the press conference."
"The criminal charges against former President Donald Trump related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election are some of the most serious allegations facing him, one law professor told NPR."
"Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election." And no criming while you wait for trial (oh, this is gonna be good).
"Rudy Giuliani conceded in a court filing that he made false statements when he said two Georgia election workers mishandled ballots during the 2020 election."
Tony Bennett, Sinead O'Conner, Paul Reubens, and so it goes.
"'Record breaking' loses some of its wow factor when that record just keeps getting broken. Tuesday marks 26 consecutive days in Phoenix, Az. with a temperature over 110 degrees."
"It's so hot in Florida right now that the ocean temperature in one area just crossed into the triple digits… On Monday, a water temperature sensor in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park recorded a temperature of 101.1 degrees, according to a park spokesperson." We're boned.
Hey, remember the whole, "we need to clear out the wildlands to prevent forest fires" push? "The U.S. Forest Service’s own prescribed burn started a sprawling 2022 wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, the agency acknowledged Monday in a report published after a lengthy investigation."
"Tens of thousands of people, many of them British tourists, are scrambling to evacuate from Rhodes and Corfu as wildfires rage across the country. Temperatures are expected to climb again Tuesday."
"Millions of Americans use kratom, which is sold at gas stations, vape shops and bars. It can act like an opiate on the body. The FDA warns against using kratom, but most states don't regulate it."
"The pandemic inflicted higher rates of excess deaths on both Republicans and Democrats. But after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, Republican voters in Florida and Ohio died at a higher rate than their counterparts, according to a new study."
"Countertops made of the engineered stone "quartz" are incredibly popular, but public health experts say cutting this material unsafely can expose workers to deadly dust."
"Dr. Alfonso Sabater pulled up two photos of Antonio Vento Carvajal’s eyes. One showed cloudy scars covering both eyeballs. The other, taken after months of gene therapy given through eyedrops, revealed no scarring on either eye."
"'What they're seeing is that there's an increase in folks who are saying, "Yes, I do receive SNAP," but their distribution numbers here are staying about the same,' said Emily Kraft, the director of community outreach and support services at the Foodbank, an organization in North Carolina. 'So it really reinforces that idea that SNAP is meant to be supplemental — that is not meant to be someone's entire food budget, which is why folks are still stopping in here.'" It's Farm Bill time again.
"Many parents are also hoping to pull back on spending on school supplies this year, according to a survey released Wednesday by Deloitte. The firm is predicting that spending will decrease 10% from last year, marking the first decline since 2014, said Stephen Rogers, the managing director of Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center. Inflation is having a big impact on how parents are shopping, he said."
"The Teamsters union said it has secured pay raises for United Parcel Service workers, averting what would have been one of the largest strikes in U.S. history." They always focus on the pay and miss the greater wins for safety and new hires.
"The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday it would raise interest rates a quarter percentage point (or 25 basis points), to a 22-year high. It marks a return to the long, steady climb interest rates have been on for the last year, as the Fed attempts to beat back inflation."
"Fitch Ratings cut the United States' credit rating by one notch, from the top-rated AAA to AA+, saying rising deficits and political brinkmanship are imperiling the government's ability to pay its debts… It marks another rebuke for the U.S., which lost its AAA rating from Standard & Poor's in 2011 in the midst of another debt ceiling standoff. Today, only one of the three major credit ratings agencies — Moody's Investors Service — gives the United States a top-notch AAA rating." Thanks to the petulance of the Republicans and conservative politics. Heck of a job, Brownie.
"IRS will stop making most unannounced visits to taxpayers' homes, businesses"
"The Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law stripping the Supreme Court of its power to block government decisions, the first part of a planned judicial overhaul that has sharply divided Israeli society and drawn fierce criticism from the White House."
"Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after a general election a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government... The uncertainty deepened as both of Spain’s two main parties indicated that they hope to take power. The only sure thing seems to be that the country faces weeks, perhaps months, of political negotiations and possibly a new election to sort out the mess."
"The Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for building a floating barrier at the southern border that the state says will deter migrants but that the Biden administration calls a threat to public safety."
"More notably, researchers analyzed the data to show how officers spend their time, and the patterns that emerge tell a striking story about how policing actually works. Those results, too, comport with existing research showing that U.S. police spend much of their time conducting racially biased stops and searches of minority drivers, often without reasonable suspicion, rather than 'fighting crime.'"
"A graphic designer and activist who made TikTok content debunking the claim by Jason Aldean that his controversial music video only uses 'real news footage' has been facing a wave of racist and violent hate mail by defenders of his song." Good thing this video isn't a racist piece of shit, or this might be bad. I mean, how hard would it be to just claim ignorance and say, "oops, my bad," pull the video and redo it. Unless you really are a racist piece of shit where you would do exactly as Jason Aldean has done.
"In 2017, a military judge told attorneys in Bowe Bergdahl's court-martial case that he was impervious to pressure from then-President Donald Trump — but he made a crucial omission: one week earlier, the judge had applied for a new job in the Trump administration… That's the conclusion of U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, who on Tuesday vacated the former soldier's court-martial conviction and sentence that were overseen by former military judge Jeffrey Nance." Oopsie.
"A jury has ordered anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy and associates to pay more than $50 million in damages to Idaho's largest hospital in connection with armed protests last year that led to a security lockdown."
Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year." But fails to secure "x.com" or clear trademark protections held by Google and Microsoft.
"Elon Musk's X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is suing a nonprofit that researches hate speech on social media, accusing it of conducting 'a scare campaign to drive away advertisers.'" Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with someone calling out his bullshit and this isn't an attempt to further the degradation of Twitter's usefulness in the coming election.
"A Texas A&M University professor was suspended, investigated and ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing for allegedly criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture about the opioid crisis. The probe has free speech advocates concerned about political influence over academia in Texas."
Oh look, actual political considerations and attempts at stifling open debate at a college. "Texas A&M University reached a $1 million settlement Thursday with a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged by backlash over her past work promoting diversity." Wait, again, it's conservatives who did the Bad Thing™. Never mind.
"Several Ohio agencies are investigating why an officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back."
"Three months after Ms. Cotham took office in January, she delivered a mortal shock to Democrats and to abortion rights supporters: She switched parties, and then cast a decisive vote on May 3 to override a veto by the state’s Democratic governor and enact a 12-week limit on most abortions — North Carolina’s most restrictive abortion policy in 50 years." Groomers. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"McCarthy said he has not talked to Trump about any impeachment probe. But several far right House Republicans argue that because Democrats voted twice to impeach Trump it is appropriate to move forward now to remove Biden. Last month the speaker pushed back on an effort to hold an impeachment vote on a resolution introduced by Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert that cited the president's immigration policies, and instead the House voted to refer the matter to committees to investigate."
"The judge in the Hunter Biden case said Wednesday she is not ready to accept the plea deal struck between the president's son and the Justice Department, and asked both parties to submit additional briefs and return to the court on a future date… Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded that the lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings."
"The lead prosecutor in the case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says he is willing to testify publicly this fall, setting up a clash with House Republicans who have demanded he come in soon for a closed-door interview." Or no, considering the case is still ongoing.
"The Florida Supreme Court publicly reprimanded the judge who oversaw the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz on Monday for showing bias toward the prosecution."
"The Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate met in a special session Monday and overrode GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills to extend existing agreements with Native American tribes for another year."
"The most recent Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general faces criminal charges for an alleged effort to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election as the results were being contested by then-President Donald Trump. That's after Democratic nominee Joe Biden won Michigan."
"State Issue 1, the sole question on the ballot, calls for raising the threshold for passing future changes to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Starting next year, it also would double the number of counties where signatures must be gathered, from 44 to all 88, and do away with the 10-day grace period for closing gaps in the total valid signatures submitted." Save our democracy, vote No on Issue 1 (if you're a voter in Ohio).
"A U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Tuesday temporarily blocked a voting law in the state that was supposed to go into effect July 1. The law, known as Senate Bill 2358, creates new restrictions for who can assist someone while voting by mail."
"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped talking at his weekly press conference with top Senate GOP leaders on Wednesday when he froze and appeared unable to continue for more than 30 seconds as he gripped the podium. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the third ranking Republican and a physician, walked with McConnell for a few steps near the Senate floor as other leaders resumed the press conference."
"The criminal charges against former President Donald Trump related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election are some of the most serious allegations facing him, one law professor told NPR."
"Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election." And no criming while you wait for trial (oh, this is gonna be good).
"Rudy Giuliani conceded in a court filing that he made false statements when he said two Georgia election workers mishandled ballots during the 2020 election."
Monday, July 24, 2023
Linkee-poo Monday July 24
A bunch of older links, sorry.
"An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country's space agency said."
"Last month was the hottest June on record going back 174 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the latest temperature record to fall this summer, as the El Niño climate pattern exacerbates the effects of human-caused climate change." The previous record was June 2020. We're boned.
"An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup… Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting surfers and kayakers." I'm Team Otter.
"A group of 43 healthcare workers at the Ascension St. John Emergency Department have voted to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board… The union includes doctors, advanced practice clinicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners." I wish them luck. They're gonna need it. Also, I think it's interesting about how they view residents. Cause I gotta tell ya, I've said this directly to attendings, and they strongly refuse to train or correct the residents. Also it's great that they close rooms in the ED when they're short staffed. That certainly doesn't happen where I work.
"When you go on a diet, you don’t just lose fat – you lose muscle too. This can have many repercussions – not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism… To lose weight (body fat), you need to be in a calorie deficit. This means consuming fewer calories than your body uses, or exercising to burn more calories than you consume." Eat less, exercise more. But if you cut carbs, your body will have to convert protein for your brain to work.
"A committee of 25 international experts has determined that aspartame may "possibly" cause cancer in people, according to a report released Thursday by the World Health Organization… But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it disagrees with this new classification, pointing to evidence of safety. In a written statement, an FDA official told NPR that aspartame being labeled by the WHO 'as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" does not mean that aspartame is actually linked to cancer.'" Just going to point out that the FDA tried to ban aspartame in the 90s and couldn't as NutraSweet (as it was called then) was too deeply integrated into the food supply to just yank it off the market and ended up having to defend it in the face of several attempts to sue to take it off the market.
"Elon Musk said (awhile ago) that Twitter is struggling with a 'heavy debt load' due to losing 50% of advertising revenue, resulting in the platform having a negative cash flow." Negative cash flow is tech bro speak for "hemorrhaging cash." Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
"Light is almost certainly the fastest thing around. So it makes sense that "light-based wireless communications," or LiFi, could blow the theoretical doors off existing radio-wave wireless standards, to the tune of a maximum 224GB per second." Just an example of why many of the "new things" are a load of garbage. One, this is why we have fiber optics. Two, the benefit of light isn't the speed, it's the bandwidth (how much data can be carried at once), and really, this is just hyped up IR connections. (Grokked from John, I think)
"While the Supreme Court scuttled President Biden's efforts at widespread debt forgiveness, these borrowers are about to get an email from the U.S. Department of Education, notifying them that their debts will soon be automatically erased."
"A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin." Ah, we've reached the "firing generals" stage of this conflict. Not that this guy doesn't sound like a fucking delight to be under his command.
"Emails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the inhumane treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas… In the email, the trooper said medics 'were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico' and were also ordered not to give water to the migrants." Cruelty is the point.
"One hundred seventy-four defendants from 37 states who were charged for their participation in the January 6th insurrection have said they were answering Donald Trump’s calls when they traveled to Washington and joined the violent attack on the Capitol. CREW’s examination of court filings, transcripts, and news items regarding defendants in January 6th cases shows that defendants—ranging from convicted seditionists such as members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to individual members of the public—considered Trump their leader and believed they were following his lead by joining the insurrection." One, delusional, two, not a defense, three, doesn't mean too much in trying to convict TFG (that Fucking Guy).
Oh look, real voter fraud… "A Shaker Heights attorney accused of illegally voting in the last two general elections should be acquitted, in part, because he cast ballots in two states by accident, his attorney argued to a judge… James Saunders, a 56-year-old former lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service, did not mean to commit a crime when he cast ballots in both Cuyahoga County and Broward County, Florida, counties where he owns property and has been registered to vote since before 2009, his lawyer said during closing arguments…" Wait, it's another Republican. Never mind.
"An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country's space agency said."
"Last month was the hottest June on record going back 174 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the latest temperature record to fall this summer, as the El Niño climate pattern exacerbates the effects of human-caused climate change." The previous record was June 2020. We're boned.
"An aggressive sea otter in California is hassling locals by riding boards she stole from surfers in the lineup… Steamer Lane is a legendary point break nestled along the rocky shores of Santa Cruz, home to swaths of experienced surfers, as well as a 5-year-old female sea otter with a growing reputation for repeatedly confronting surfers and kayakers." I'm Team Otter.
"A group of 43 healthcare workers at the Ascension St. John Emergency Department have voted to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board… The union includes doctors, advanced practice clinicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners." I wish them luck. They're gonna need it. Also, I think it's interesting about how they view residents. Cause I gotta tell ya, I've said this directly to attendings, and they strongly refuse to train or correct the residents. Also it's great that they close rooms in the ED when they're short staffed. That certainly doesn't happen where I work.
"When you go on a diet, you don’t just lose fat – you lose muscle too. This can have many repercussions – not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism… To lose weight (body fat), you need to be in a calorie deficit. This means consuming fewer calories than your body uses, or exercising to burn more calories than you consume." Eat less, exercise more. But if you cut carbs, your body will have to convert protein for your brain to work.
"A committee of 25 international experts has determined that aspartame may "possibly" cause cancer in people, according to a report released Thursday by the World Health Organization… But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it disagrees with this new classification, pointing to evidence of safety. In a written statement, an FDA official told NPR that aspartame being labeled by the WHO 'as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" does not mean that aspartame is actually linked to cancer.'" Just going to point out that the FDA tried to ban aspartame in the 90s and couldn't as NutraSweet (as it was called then) was too deeply integrated into the food supply to just yank it off the market and ended up having to defend it in the face of several attempts to sue to take it off the market.
"Elon Musk said (awhile ago) that Twitter is struggling with a 'heavy debt load' due to losing 50% of advertising revenue, resulting in the platform having a negative cash flow." Negative cash flow is tech bro speak for "hemorrhaging cash." Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
"Light is almost certainly the fastest thing around. So it makes sense that "light-based wireless communications," or LiFi, could blow the theoretical doors off existing radio-wave wireless standards, to the tune of a maximum 224GB per second." Just an example of why many of the "new things" are a load of garbage. One, this is why we have fiber optics. Two, the benefit of light isn't the speed, it's the bandwidth (how much data can be carried at once), and really, this is just hyped up IR connections. (Grokked from John, I think)
"While the Supreme Court scuttled President Biden's efforts at widespread debt forgiveness, these borrowers are about to get an email from the U.S. Department of Education, notifying them that their debts will soon be automatically erased."
"A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, a move that reflected new fissures in the military command following a brief rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin." Ah, we've reached the "firing generals" stage of this conflict. Not that this guy doesn't sound like a fucking delight to be under his command.
"Emails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the inhumane treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas… In the email, the trooper said medics 'were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico' and were also ordered not to give water to the migrants." Cruelty is the point.
"One hundred seventy-four defendants from 37 states who were charged for their participation in the January 6th insurrection have said they were answering Donald Trump’s calls when they traveled to Washington and joined the violent attack on the Capitol. CREW’s examination of court filings, transcripts, and news items regarding defendants in January 6th cases shows that defendants—ranging from convicted seditionists such as members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to individual members of the public—considered Trump their leader and believed they were following his lead by joining the insurrection." One, delusional, two, not a defense, three, doesn't mean too much in trying to convict TFG (that Fucking Guy).
Oh look, real voter fraud… "A Shaker Heights attorney accused of illegally voting in the last two general elections should be acquitted, in part, because he cast ballots in two states by accident, his attorney argued to a judge… James Saunders, a 56-year-old former lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service, did not mean to commit a crime when he cast ballots in both Cuyahoga County and Broward County, Florida, counties where he owns property and has been registered to vote since before 2009, his lawyer said during closing arguments…" Wait, it's another Republican. Never mind.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Linkee-poo July 12
"For decades, scientists have believed that early humans had a division of labor: Men generally did the hunting and women did the gathering. And this view hasn't been limited to academics. It's often been used to make the case that men and women today should stick to the supposedly 'natural' roles that early human society reveals… Now a new study suggests the vision of early men as the exclusive hunters is simply wrong – and that evidence that early women were also hunting has been there all along." I know, this is my shocked face. It's almost like this whole "battle of the sexes" is bullshit created by old white men to glorify themselves and instill the patriarchy. Put that in your Paleo Diet and smoke it.
"Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, enabling people to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris."
"Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned tourists and other spectators to stay away from a newly erupting volcano that is spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure in the country’s southwest."
"A European space telescope has launched from Florida on a quest to resolve one of the biggest questions in science: What is the Universe made of?… The Euclid mission will make an immense 3D map of the cosmos in an effort to tie down some of the properties of so-called dark matter and dark energy." (Grokked from Dan, I think)
Four out of five geologists agree… "Called the Anthropocene — and derived from the Greek terms for 'human' and 'new' — this epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, according to the scientists. While there is evidence worldwide that captures the impact of burning fossil fuels, detonating nuclear weapons and dumping fertilizers and plastics on land and in waterways, the scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker."
For over a decade the US has experienced comparatively cool weather due to the cycles of El Nino and La Nina (helping to fuel the claims of "climate change, I don't see it"). It looks like that pattern is over. "Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings."
"The globe is coming off a week of heat not seen in modern measurements, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday, using data from Japan’s weather agency to confirm unofficial records reported nearly daily last week by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. Japan reported the global average temperature on Friday was half a degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) warmer than its past record hottest day in August 2016." When "taking a dip" doesn't actually cool you off. We're boned.
"The United States has officially destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons… In doing so, it is the last of eight countries to destroy its declared stocks of chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention – an international treaty signed by nearly 200 nations that bans the possession, production and use of the weapons on the battlefield."
"The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press… Decades later, even with much of the cleanup complete, the aftereffects haunt the region. Federal health investigators have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste. A grade school closed last year amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s." Whispers, this isn't just limited to the past.
"House and Senate members from both parties have launched at least nine bills, parts of which may be packaged together this fall, that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here's a primer to help you decipher what's happening." Or, and just hear me out here, we could have the government negotiate prices for us. Like they do in other countries.
"California-based transportation company Joby Aviation announced Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration had granted its aircraft a 'Special Airworthiness Certificate,' which allows it to operate in U.S. airspace with certain restrictions." Who knows, by the time I die we might have wider spread air taxis.
"But tipping culture might be reaching a tipping point. A survey from Bankrate found that two-thirds of customers now have a negative view of tipping… And this year, tips are down nearly 10% for restaurant servers. So while we're tipping for airport snacks and footlong subs, we're giving less to the workers whose pay depends the most on tips."
"Now, the Shein ambassadors are facing blowback from critics who say they are participating in a propaganda stunt designed to mislead customers." Most influencers are involved in payola. The kind of payola that if this were music, it would still be against the law.
"Despite widespread expectations that the U.S. could be headed for a recession this year, the economy has proved a lot sturdier than many on Wall Street had forecast." Thanks, Biden.
"Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries." Why, it's almost like when "greedflation" started gaining traction in economic circles and became a research topic (and governmental inquiry), inflation just started to ease all on its own.
"U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June, according to data out on Friday. That's below the pace of recent months but it's still a very solid number."
"He graduated in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and has yet to consider loan payments or interest yet – both have been on pause since he was a student. Now, with Biden's student loan relief plan officially dead, and payments set to resume in the fall, Strickland has resigned himself to his new debt-laden reality… 'So in terms of loan forgiveness, where do we go from here? I don't think there's anywhere we can go.'… If Strickland sounds defeated, he's not alone."
"Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday."
"And right on cue, here’s the inevitable Deadline article claiming that the AMPTP and their CEO bosses are ready to wait us out and let us 'go broke.'… They’re not. They can’t. This studio propaganda, and here’s why…" A tweet thread. (Grokked from John Scalzi, I think)
That Deadline article, "While some dismiss this as just 'cynical strike talk,' studio and streamer sources around town confirm the strategy. They also confirm that the plan to grind down the guild has long been in the works for a labor cycle that all sides agree is a game-changer one way or another for Hollywood."
"Contract negotiations between United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union stalled last week, heightening the odds of a UPS strike in early August — as well as shake-ups in an increasingly competitive package delivery market."
"The Iranian-flagged — MT Arman 114 — transporting 272,569 metric tons (2.3 million barrels) of crude oil worth 4.6 trillion rupiah ($305 million) was seized on Friday while carrying out illegal transshipment of oil to the Cameroon-flagged tanker — MT S Tinos — in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near Natuna waters, said Aan Kurnia, Indonesia’s Coast Guard chief." How Iran gets around sanctions.
"The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule." I'd avoid windows and high places.
"Investigators found traces of subsea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that has been one aspect of a probe into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last year, European diplomats have told the United Nations Security Council."
"A U.S. Army soldier from Massachusetts reported missing in action while his unit was involved in fighting against German forces in Italy during World War II has been accounted for, the military said."
"Five tractor trailers loaded with the four-foot diameter buoy balls arrived Friday in Eagle Pass. When assembled, they will make a thousand-foot-long obstacle for migrants crossing the Rio Grande." I'm sure this untested technology will work perfectly, just like the previous technology we've deployed at the border.
"The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state’s near-total abortion ban does not violate the Indiana Constitution… Under the law, abortions are only allowed if the pregnant person’s serious health or life is at risk; if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly up to 20 weeks post-fertilization; and in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks."
"Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued Gov. Laura Kelly today over what gender people can have on their state-issued IDs… Earlier this year, the Legislature passed the 'Women’s Bill of Rights,' a controversial bill that Democrats say targets the transgender community for discrimination. The exact implications of the new law remain unclear partly because the bill mentioned no ways to enforce provisions."
"A 40-year-old killed one man in a house before fatally shooting four others on the streets of a Philadelphia neighborhood, then surrendering to police officers after being cornered in an alley with an assault rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest, police said." Good thing we don't have a problem with guns or this would be worrying.
"When Luke Harper went to Atlanta in early March, he thought he would just be staying the weekend. Harper, a 27-year old copywriter from Florida, was going there to join demonstrators in opposition to the planned construction of a new police and fire training facility. But on his second night, after attending a music festival with other protesters, Harper was arrested and accused of being a 'domestic terrorist.' Despite having no prior criminal history, Harper was denied bond several times and finally left the DeKalb County jail in early June… 'I was released on day 90, which is the basically the last day that they could legally keep me incarcerated without an indictment,' Harper said. 'And I'm still unindicted as of now.'" Good thing our domestic police don't feel they can act in an extra-judicial manner (strong side-eye).
"The so-called harm reduction model, which has received endorsement and funding from the Biden administration, offers potentially life-saving services to opioid users, without requiring abstinence in return… Advocates say it acknowledges the importance of keeping people alive, first and foremost, while they confront the sometimes insurmountable challenges associated with recovery. Critics argue it enables illegal activity."
Who needs regulations? "Florida is another step closer to paving its roads with phosphogypsum — a radioactive waste material from the fertilizer industry — after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill into law Thursday… Conservation groups had urged DeSantis to veto the bill, saying phosphogypsum would hurt water quality and put road construction crews at a higher risk of cancer." What could possibly go wrong.
"Fox News paid $12 million on (June 30) to settle a former producer's lawsuit claiming that Tucker Carlson's show was an abusive place to work, defined by bigotry, misogyny and bullying… Abby Grossberg's suit helped trigger Carlson's ouster this spring. It also influenced the resolution of a blockbuster defamation suit brought against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election-fraud falsehoods."
"For decades, the University of Hawaii law school has marketed its Jurist-In-Residence program to the Supreme Court as an all-expenses-paid getaway, with the upside of considerable “down time” in paradise… The justices have enthusiastically participated."
"The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government." Good luck with that, Durbin.
"A Colorado web designer who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday could refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples cited a request from a man who says he never asked to work with her… The request in dispute, from a person identified as 'Stewart,' wasn't the basis for the federal lawsuit filed preemptively seven years ago by web designer Lorie Smith, before she started making wedding websites. But as the case advanced, it was referenced by her attorneys when lawyers for the state of Colorado pressed Smith on whether she had sufficient grounds to sue." There should be a word for when people lie in a court of law.
"A judge on (June 30) awarded more than $1 million to a Black church in downtown Washington, D.C. that sued the far-right Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 protest."
"The Justice Department said it will decline to shield former President Trump from a defamation claim by New York writer E. Jean Carroll, reversing course on one of its most controversial decisions during the early stretch of the Biden administration."
"On the day of his June 29 arrest, prosecutors said, Taranto reposted a Truth Social post from Trump containing what Trump claimed was Obama’s home address. In a post on Telegram, Taranto wrote: 'We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.' That’s a reference to John Podesta, the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign." These are not lone wolves.
"Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, enabling people to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris."
"Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned tourists and other spectators to stay away from a newly erupting volcano that is spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure in the country’s southwest."
"A European space telescope has launched from Florida on a quest to resolve one of the biggest questions in science: What is the Universe made of?… The Euclid mission will make an immense 3D map of the cosmos in an effort to tie down some of the properties of so-called dark matter and dark energy." (Grokked from Dan, I think)
Four out of five geologists agree… "Called the Anthropocene — and derived from the Greek terms for 'human' and 'new' — this epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, according to the scientists. While there is evidence worldwide that captures the impact of burning fossil fuels, detonating nuclear weapons and dumping fertilizers and plastics on land and in waterways, the scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker."
For over a decade the US has experienced comparatively cool weather due to the cycles of El Nino and La Nina (helping to fuel the claims of "climate change, I don't see it"). It looks like that pattern is over. "Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings."
"The globe is coming off a week of heat not seen in modern measurements, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday, using data from Japan’s weather agency to confirm unofficial records reported nearly daily last week by the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. Japan reported the global average temperature on Friday was half a degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) warmer than its past record hottest day in August 2016." When "taking a dip" doesn't actually cool you off. We're boned.
"The United States has officially destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons… In doing so, it is the last of eight countries to destroy its declared stocks of chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention – an international treaty signed by nearly 200 nations that bans the possession, production and use of the weapons on the battlefield."
"The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press… Decades later, even with much of the cleanup complete, the aftereffects haunt the region. Federal health investigators have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste. A grade school closed last year amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s." Whispers, this isn't just limited to the past.
"House and Senate members from both parties have launched at least nine bills, parts of which may be packaged together this fall, that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here's a primer to help you decipher what's happening." Or, and just hear me out here, we could have the government negotiate prices for us. Like they do in other countries.
"California-based transportation company Joby Aviation announced Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration had granted its aircraft a 'Special Airworthiness Certificate,' which allows it to operate in U.S. airspace with certain restrictions." Who knows, by the time I die we might have wider spread air taxis.
"But tipping culture might be reaching a tipping point. A survey from Bankrate found that two-thirds of customers now have a negative view of tipping… And this year, tips are down nearly 10% for restaurant servers. So while we're tipping for airport snacks and footlong subs, we're giving less to the workers whose pay depends the most on tips."
"Now, the Shein ambassadors are facing blowback from critics who say they are participating in a propaganda stunt designed to mislead customers." Most influencers are involved in payola. The kind of payola that if this were music, it would still be against the law.
"Despite widespread expectations that the U.S. could be headed for a recession this year, the economy has proved a lot sturdier than many on Wall Street had forecast." Thanks, Biden.
"Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries." Why, it's almost like when "greedflation" started gaining traction in economic circles and became a research topic (and governmental inquiry), inflation just started to ease all on its own.
"U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June, according to data out on Friday. That's below the pace of recent months but it's still a very solid number."
"He graduated in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and has yet to consider loan payments or interest yet – both have been on pause since he was a student. Now, with Biden's student loan relief plan officially dead, and payments set to resume in the fall, Strickland has resigned himself to his new debt-laden reality… 'So in terms of loan forgiveness, where do we go from here? I don't think there's anywhere we can go.'… If Strickland sounds defeated, he's not alone."
"Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday."
"And right on cue, here’s the inevitable Deadline article claiming that the AMPTP and their CEO bosses are ready to wait us out and let us 'go broke.'… They’re not. They can’t. This studio propaganda, and here’s why…" A tweet thread. (Grokked from John Scalzi, I think)
That Deadline article, "While some dismiss this as just 'cynical strike talk,' studio and streamer sources around town confirm the strategy. They also confirm that the plan to grind down the guild has long been in the works for a labor cycle that all sides agree is a game-changer one way or another for Hollywood."
"Contract negotiations between United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union stalled last week, heightening the odds of a UPS strike in early August — as well as shake-ups in an increasingly competitive package delivery market."
"The Iranian-flagged — MT Arman 114 — transporting 272,569 metric tons (2.3 million barrels) of crude oil worth 4.6 trillion rupiah ($305 million) was seized on Friday while carrying out illegal transshipment of oil to the Cameroon-flagged tanker — MT S Tinos — in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near Natuna waters, said Aan Kurnia, Indonesia’s Coast Guard chief." How Iran gets around sanctions.
"The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule." I'd avoid windows and high places.
"Investigators found traces of subsea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that has been one aspect of a probe into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last year, European diplomats have told the United Nations Security Council."
"A U.S. Army soldier from Massachusetts reported missing in action while his unit was involved in fighting against German forces in Italy during World War II has been accounted for, the military said."
"Five tractor trailers loaded with the four-foot diameter buoy balls arrived Friday in Eagle Pass. When assembled, they will make a thousand-foot-long obstacle for migrants crossing the Rio Grande." I'm sure this untested technology will work perfectly, just like the previous technology we've deployed at the border.
"The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state’s near-total abortion ban does not violate the Indiana Constitution… Under the law, abortions are only allowed if the pregnant person’s serious health or life is at risk; if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly up to 20 weeks post-fertilization; and in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks."
"Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued Gov. Laura Kelly today over what gender people can have on their state-issued IDs… Earlier this year, the Legislature passed the 'Women’s Bill of Rights,' a controversial bill that Democrats say targets the transgender community for discrimination. The exact implications of the new law remain unclear partly because the bill mentioned no ways to enforce provisions."
"A 40-year-old killed one man in a house before fatally shooting four others on the streets of a Philadelphia neighborhood, then surrendering to police officers after being cornered in an alley with an assault rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest, police said." Good thing we don't have a problem with guns or this would be worrying.
"When Luke Harper went to Atlanta in early March, he thought he would just be staying the weekend. Harper, a 27-year old copywriter from Florida, was going there to join demonstrators in opposition to the planned construction of a new police and fire training facility. But on his second night, after attending a music festival with other protesters, Harper was arrested and accused of being a 'domestic terrorist.' Despite having no prior criminal history, Harper was denied bond several times and finally left the DeKalb County jail in early June… 'I was released on day 90, which is the basically the last day that they could legally keep me incarcerated without an indictment,' Harper said. 'And I'm still unindicted as of now.'" Good thing our domestic police don't feel they can act in an extra-judicial manner (strong side-eye).
"The so-called harm reduction model, which has received endorsement and funding from the Biden administration, offers potentially life-saving services to opioid users, without requiring abstinence in return… Advocates say it acknowledges the importance of keeping people alive, first and foremost, while they confront the sometimes insurmountable challenges associated with recovery. Critics argue it enables illegal activity."
Who needs regulations? "Florida is another step closer to paving its roads with phosphogypsum — a radioactive waste material from the fertilizer industry — after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill into law Thursday… Conservation groups had urged DeSantis to veto the bill, saying phosphogypsum would hurt water quality and put road construction crews at a higher risk of cancer." What could possibly go wrong.
"Fox News paid $12 million on (June 30) to settle a former producer's lawsuit claiming that Tucker Carlson's show was an abusive place to work, defined by bigotry, misogyny and bullying… Abby Grossberg's suit helped trigger Carlson's ouster this spring. It also influenced the resolution of a blockbuster defamation suit brought against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election-fraud falsehoods."
"For decades, the University of Hawaii law school has marketed its Jurist-In-Residence program to the Supreme Court as an all-expenses-paid getaway, with the upside of considerable “down time” in paradise… The justices have enthusiastically participated."
"The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government." Good luck with that, Durbin.
"A Colorado web designer who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday could refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples cited a request from a man who says he never asked to work with her… The request in dispute, from a person identified as 'Stewart,' wasn't the basis for the federal lawsuit filed preemptively seven years ago by web designer Lorie Smith, before she started making wedding websites. But as the case advanced, it was referenced by her attorneys when lawyers for the state of Colorado pressed Smith on whether she had sufficient grounds to sue." There should be a word for when people lie in a court of law.
"A judge on (June 30) awarded more than $1 million to a Black church in downtown Washington, D.C. that sued the far-right Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 protest."
"The Justice Department said it will decline to shield former President Trump from a defamation claim by New York writer E. Jean Carroll, reversing course on one of its most controversial decisions during the early stretch of the Biden administration."
"On the day of his June 29 arrest, prosecutors said, Taranto reposted a Truth Social post from Trump containing what Trump claimed was Obama’s home address. In a post on Telegram, Taranto wrote: 'We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.' That’s a reference to John Podesta, the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign." These are not lone wolves.
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