Linkee-poo Monday June 14

Ned Beatty, and so it goes.

"Earthworms are often seen as a welcome presence in gardens, and even on fishing hooks. But in the Northeast, experts say invasive 'crazy worms' from Asia are creating havoc in forests — and they say the unusual worms are a danger to animals and plants, and especially to sugar maple trees."

"Lobster diver swallowed by humpback whale off Provincetown." Beats "man bites dog" by a country mile. (Grokked from Mary Robinnette Kowal)

"The Maryland-based biotech company Novavax reported Monday that its experimental Covid-19 vaccine is safe and 100 percent effective against moderate to severe disease." Again, notice what it's protecting you against.

"Most coronavirus rules will remain in place in England for another four weeks after the planned 21 June unlocking, government sources have told the BBC… Senior ministers have signed off on the decision to delay the lifting of all legal restrictions on social contact."

"Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said Sunday that a coronavirus strain known as the Delta variant is likely to become the dominant source of new infections in the U.S. and could lead to new outbreaks in the fall, with unvaccinated Americans being most at risk." Well, yes. It's still a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. That's how more virulent forms of viruses act.

"A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 117 employees at Houston Methodist Hospital who were suing the hospital system over its COVID-19 vaccine requirement… In a five-page ruling issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes upheld the hospital's vaccination policy, saying the requirement broke no federal law."

"A woman was killed and another person was injured after a car drove into protesters in Minneapolis late Sunday night, according to police… Minneapolis Police said in a statement that the driver, who protesters pulled from the car after the collision, was taken into police custody. He also received treatment at an area hospital."

"At least three people have been killed and 42 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday night, including a mass shooting Saturday morning in Chatham that left one dead and nine others hurt."

"At least eight people were injured, including three critically, after a car ran into a crowd Sunday night at a mud racing event in Texas."

"Investigators digging under the house of a suspected serial killer on the outskirts of Mexico City said Saturday they have found 3,787 bone fragments so far, apparently belonging to 17 different victims."

"Delta Flight 1730 out of Los Angeles was originally headed to Atlanta, Georgia, but was diverted to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where the man who caused the disturbance was taken into custody. Passengers aboard the flight said the man made an announcement over the plane's PA system telling the passengers to take their seats and prepare to put on their oxygen masks, CBS LA reports."

"Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns and Chief Financial Officer Julio Rodriguez have resigned from the startup commercial electric vehicle maker… The announcement Monday comes less than a week after Lordstown cautioned that it may not be in business a year from now as it tries to secure funding to start full production of an electric pickup truck. In a quarterly regulatory filing, the company said that the $587 million it had on hand as of March 31 isn’t enough to start commercial production and begin selling the full-size pickup, called the Endurance."

"Gold prices fell more than 1% on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and easing concerns about inflation, while investors awaited cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting due later this week." Run for the doors, the end is neigh! Or, you know, a move below 5% is basically nothing.

"The Supreme Court is leaving in place the convictions of two men who as members of a white supremacist group participated in a white nationalist rally in Virginia in 2017 that turned violent." So there is a line, now we just need to define it.

"Long a fixture at international summits, Biden's return to the table represented more than just an elder statesman finally taking his place among the club of world leaders. For the White House, it also signaled a return of the United States to the type of consensus-based diplomacy shunned by former President Donald Trump… But he also found some things have changed. Staunch American allies, shaken after the political upheaval of the Trump era, are increasingly working to define their own foreign policies separate from a country whose internal politics remain mired in dysfunction."

"China has accused the G7 of 'political manipulation' after it criticised Beijing over a range of issues… In a joint statement at the end of a three-day summit, leaders of the G7 countries urged China to 'respect human rights and fundamental freedoms'."

"China on Sunday pointedly cautioned Group of Seven leaders that the days when 'small' groups of countries decided the fate of the world was long gone, hitting back at the world's richest democracies which have sought a unified position over Beijing." Should we count the number of countries that disagree with China's expansionist actions in the South China Sea versus how many support them?

"Russian President Vladimir Putin denied ordering a hit on political rival Alexei Navalny, but in an exclusive interview with NBC News he did not guarantee that the jailed Kremlin critic, who survived being poisoned with a nerve agent, would get out of prison alive… 'Look, such decisions in this country are not made by the president,' Putin said… Reminded that Navalny wasn't just any prisoner, Putin replied: 'He will not be treated any worse than anybody else.'" Vlad should take that act on the road, he'll slay them. Waves to my Russian friends.

"With the 2022 Republican primary season beginning to take shape, candidates up and down the ballot are portraying themselves as staunch Trump loyalists, showing off photos they've taken with the former president, divulging private conversations they’ve had with him and, in Blanchard’s case, brandishing Trump-signed nomination papers. But some candidates are taking it too far — and Trump and his team are aggressively letting them know it." There's an in club and an out club. In the presence of a dictator, you have to know which you're in.

"The Justice Department secretly subpoenaed Apple in February 2018 for account information of then-White House Counsel Don McGahn, as well as his wife, and secured a gag order barring the company from telling them about it, according to a person familiar with the matter… It is unclear what the Justice Department was investigating or whether prosecutors actually obtained any of McGahn's account information, the individual said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter."

On the Media podcast with "After a young Associated Press journalist lost her job last month following online attacks, On the Media considers how bad faith campaigns against the media have become an effective weapon for the far right. Plus, should we cancel the word 'cancel'? One journalist argues, yes, and one academic says, no. Plus, the origins of 'cancelled' in Black culture."

Linkee-poo Friday June 11

"The European Space Agency has just selected a probe called Envision to go study the second planet from the Sun… Esa made the announcement one week after its American counterpart, Nasa, chose two Venus projects of its own, known as Veritas and Davinci+."

"Earlier last month, a cargo ship carrying chemicals caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka - leaving in its wake an environmental disaster that the island will likely have to live with for decades… For days it stood burning off the Sri Lanka coast, plumes of thick dark smoke that could be seen from miles away… But though the flames have now been doused - the problems have only just begun."

"Around the world, volunteers are getting a vaccine developed to prevent tuberculosis in studies that have nothing to do with TB. Called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, or BCG, the shot is being tested as a treatment for type 1 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and even COVID-19."

"As temperatures rise in California and people in search of respite head for the beach, there's a new concern beyond damaging sun rays and strong undercurrents: disease-carrying ticks that appear to be spreading all along the Golden State's coast."

"A higher-than-expected number of young men have experienced heart inflammation after their second dose of the mRNA COVID-19 shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, according to data from two vaccine safety monitoring systems, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday."

"House Bill 248, or the 'Vaccine Choice and Anti-discrimination Act,' was introduced in April by Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester). It would allow individuals to decline any vaccine and for parents to decline for their children to be vaccinated… Testimony for the bill has drawn national attention this week after one of its proponents falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines can leave people magnetized." If you had written that in a novel the editors would have rightly asked you to remove it as being too outlandish.

"Many education experts say in-person instruction is the best way to help hasten an academic recovery for those who fell behind and to address emotional and social consequences after two disrupted school years. But the orders may deny many families, especially parents of color, the choice to continue an education style they say was working for them." People learn differently, and this continues to surprise lots of other people.

"The bad-faith 'balance' game is used by fraudsters and crooks to sow doubt. It’s how homeopaths, anti-vaxers, eugenicists, raw milk pushers and other members of the Paltrow-Industrial Complex played the BBC and other sober-sided media outlets, demanding that they be given airtime to rebut scientists’ careful, empirical claims with junk they made up on the spot." Cory Doctorow on how denialism is it's own industry, mostly focusing on smoking, but with take aways into other denialism products, and his tweet storm about how denialism works.

"Treasury yields fell again on Friday morning, as investors shrugged off the 5% annual jump in inflation reported in the previous session and appeared to buy the Federal Reserve’s argument that the price increases will be temporary."

"The cost of used cars and trucks jumped 10 percent month-on-month in April and was up 21 percent compared with a year earlier, making it one of the main drivers of the 4.2 percent year-on-year surge in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index. Core inflation—excluding volatile food and energy prices—hit 3 percent."

"States are about to undertake a reckless and unnecessary experiment in cutting off expanded unemployment in the midst of a rocky recovery, with the lives and livelihoods of an estimated 4 million workers in the balance." Cruelty is the point of the program.

"What should people know about how AI products are made?… We aren’t used to thinking about these systems in terms of the environmental costs. But saying, 'Hey, Alexa, order me some toilet rolls,' invokes into being this chain of extraction, which goes all around the planet… We’ve got a long way to go before this is green technology. Also, systems might seem automated but when we pull away the curtain we see large amounts of low paid labour, everything from crowd work categorising data to the never-ending toil of shuffling Amazon boxes. AI is neither artificial nor intelligent. It is made from natural resources and it is people who are performing the tasks to make the systems appear autonomous."

"And DarkSide wasn't even one of the most prolific ransomware groups, said Brett Callow, an analyst at the cybersecurity company Emsisoft… 'While the seizing of the funds is a positive, I don't think it will act as a deterrent at all,' Callow said in a text message. 'For the criminals, it's a win some, lose some situation, and the amount they win means the occasional loss is a minor setback.'"

"U.S.-China relations are getting worse and have not 'reset' under President Joe Biden in the way that many had previously expected, said Max Baucus, a former American ambassador to China… 'The situation unfortunately is generally still deteriorating,' Baucus told CNBC’s 'Squawk Box Asia' on Friday."

"If all goes according to plan, Israel will swear in a new government on Sunday, ending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s record 12-year rule and a political crisis that inflicted four elections on the country in less than two years."

"With the Biden administration crowing that 'America is back' and looking to bask in applause for resetting the transatlantic relationship onto a positive path, European leaders aren’t quite ready to start clapping. They’re expecting proof that America is in it for the long haul, and are already steeling themselves for Washington’s next departure from the uneasy transatlantic marriage."

"A bipartisan group of senators is eyeing an infrastructure deal with $579 billion in new spending as negotiators try to strike a nearly $1 trillion deal on President Joe Biden’s top priority, according to those briefed on the plan."

"Texas will begin building its own border wall and next week will start arresting migrants who trespass on private property, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday… Abbott also spoke of a disaster declaration he had issued last week, which directed the state's Department of Public Safety to enforce both federal and state criminal laws, including criminal trespassing, smuggling and human trafficking while having Texas Health and Human Services Commission take 'all necessary steps' to discontinue the state licensure of 'any child care facility that shelters or detains unlawful immigrants' under a contract with the federal government." It might just be the reporting, but it doesn't sound like Texas knows what the fuck it's actually doing.

"FBI Director Chris Wray on Thursday suggested 'serious charges' are still coming in the criminal investigation of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump." Serious charges brought by serious people with serious briefcases, or something like that.

"Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, called for an inspector general investigation of the Trump Justice Department on Thursday after a report said that his phone records, along with those of aides and another member of the committee, had been seized — what he condemned as a 'terrible abuse of power.'… 'It also makes the Department of Justice just a fully owned subsidiary of the president’s personal legal interests and political interests,' the California Democrat told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow."

Blame Canada… "Social media posts claim Democrats are responsible for crises that mirror some of the worst events of the past century. The claims, however, are false or misleading; the pandemic originated in China, not the US, ongoing economic problems stem from a recession that the coronavirus caused, rather than new government policies, and protests about race peaked in 2020 under Republican president Donald Trump, long before Joe Biden entered the White House."

"Moderate Senate Democrats from Republican-leaning states and swing states are flexing the power that comes along with a 50-50 Senate, where every vote has the potential to make or break a bill." There are two ways to play that field. The first, and it appears the way Schumer is playing it, is to molly coddle the moderates and put them into more of a power position that they warrant. Throw them in as the "ambassadors" of bipartisanship, the go betweens, and they raise even more of a power block. The second would be to make them work for their power by making them the ones responsible for "bipartisan" action (as in, "why couldn't you get the Republicans to come our way" instead of a "what do they want for their vote") and the ones to blame for failed initiatives.

"Trump benefited from the white evangelical support that Reagan helped solidify, but he also presided over a country that, religiously, looks far different from the one Reagan took over after 1980. Trump's presidency is one early case study in how the Republican Party — which has long associated itself with conservative Christian values — may attempt to deal with a country that's less and less religious." Good thing the "conservative white evangelicals" (ie the social conservatives) that the strategy is based on aren't all that religious to begin with.

Linkee-poo Saturday June 5

"On May 22nd, a stationary robot on Mars used its arm to scoop up some Martian sand. It then slowly dumped it onto itself, with the brisk Mars wind snatching the tiny grains and whipping them against the machine’s solar panels."

"A heroic rat named Magawa has been working for five years in Cambodia, sniffing out dozens of land mines. He is believed to have saved lives… Now, the animal is about to embark on a well-deserved retirement." That'll do, rat. That'll do.

"The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged parents to vaccinate their teenagers against Covid-19, citing a rise in the number of adolescents hospitalized with the disease in March and April."

"The United States was unprepared for the coronavirus, the response 'wasn't a good performance,' and there's still "a lot of work to do" to get ready for the next pandemic when it comes. That's the assessment of Dr. Anne Schuchat, the No. 2 official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is retiring this summer after 33 years at the agency."

"A year and a half into the pandemic, we still don’t know how it began. This week, a look at how investigating COVID-19’s origins became a political and scientific minefield. Plus, how a mistake of microns caused so much confusion about how COVID spreads. And, making sense of the 'metaverse.'"

On the Media podcast with some insights. "President Joe Biden portrayed the May jobs report as a jumping off point for more spending on infrastructure and education to keep growth going — essentially an argument for his agenda. But the employment numbers issued Friday also hinted at the possible limits of how much government aid can be pumped into the world's largest economy."

"The Group of Seven wealthy democracies agreed Saturday to support a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15% in order to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries."

"Authorities said Friday that a man wanted on a weapons violation fired a gun before deputies fatally shot him in Minneapolis, a city on edge since George Floyd’s death more than a year ago under an officer’s knee and the more recent fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in a nearby suburb."

Why the judiciary matters… "In a ruling that compared the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife, a federal judge overturned California's longtime ban on assault weapons on Friday, ruling it violates the Second Amendment's right to bear arms."

"The American Legion Department of Ohio has suspended the charter of a post in the city of Hudson after a Memorial Day incident in which the keynote speaker's microphone was turned off during part of his speech that touched on Black people's historic role in creating the national holiday, the state organization said in a news release."

"Almost five decades later, police have arrested and charged a man in the death of an Illinois teen whose body was found in a field stabbed multiple times… Barry Lee Whelpley, 76, of Mounds View, Minnesota, was arrested on June 2 for the 1972 killing of Julie Ann Hanson, a 15-year-old resident of Naperville, Illinois, according to the Naperville Police Department."

"The FBI responded Friday after a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Nashville was diverted to Albuquerque after a passenger approached the cabin in a way that forced flight attendants to act. Delta said Flight 386 landed in Albuquerque without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement."

"The Justice Department is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over political fundraising activity at his former business, a DeJoy spokesman said Thursday." Couldn't happen to a nicer person.

"In the two decades since, the Taliban have fought the Afghan government and its international allies to regain land and power. Analysts say the insurgents have been growing stronger for years. Now, as American and NATO troops withdraw, the Taliban appear even more emboldened and are wresting more territory from the U.S.-backed Afghan government."

"The Arizona emails were obtained by American Oversight, a legal watchdog, via a Freedom of Information request. They showed how Trump and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, pushed officials to act and how a controversial election audit in Arizona’s most populous county came to be set up."

"Alec Beck, the lawyer representing MyPillow's CEO, Mike Lindell, has left his law firm a day after filing a new lawsuit against Smartmatic and Dominion, according to Bloomberg… Barnes & Thornburg, Beck's former employer, said he filed the suit without its authorization."

"But back home, Manchin is facing a set of opposing forces. Republicans in the state, loyal to former President Donald Trump and consumed with the partisan politics of the moment, have grown annoyed at how Manchin signals a willingness to break with Democrats but often votes with the party in the end. And many Democrats in the state, worn down by years of Republican domination, worry that Manchin's undying focus on bipartisanship is no longer possible when the Republican Party is unwilling to meet in the middle."

"Facebook has extended former President Donald Trump's suspension for two years and says it will only reinstate him 'if the risk to public safety has receded.'… The decision comes after Facebook's Oversight Board told the company it had been wrong to impose an indefinite ban on Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol." Yeah, that'll help.

"A day after being suspended from Facebook for another two years, former President Donald Trump returns to the political arena Saturday night, poised to get back into his comfort zone speaking from the kind of platform he seems to enjoy most… He's making a speech before the North Carolina Republican Party convention, kicking off what's likely to be a spree of summer campaigning. It's his first public speech since his address at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February."

Linkee-poo Late Thursday June 3

"Nasa has announced that it is sending two new missions to Venus in order to examine the planet's atmosphere and geological features."

"Sri Lankan authorities are preparing for an oil spill from a sunken container ship after efforts to tow the vessel into deeper waters failed… The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for two weeks near the port of Colombo. Part of the hull has now settled on the seabed."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "But we were wrong. It soon became clear that Tony Fauci was just another sleazy federal bureaucrat — deeply political and often dishonest. More shocking, we then learned that Fauci himself was implicated in the very pandemic he’d been charged with fighting. Fauci supported the grotesque and dangerous experiments that appear to have made COVID possible."

"China has indefinitely suspended extreme sports events, including ultramarathons, trail running and wingsuit flying, in response to the deaths of 21 long-distance runners in Gansu last month… Extreme weather hit Yellow River Stone Forest trail race in Gansu province a few hours into the race on 22 May as many of the competitors were crossing a remote and treacherous part of the 100km mountain track. Of the 172 competitors, 21 died and eight were injured. Scores of competitors sheltered in caves, some rescued by residents from nearby villages."

"When Paxton Smith got up to deliver her high school graduation speech, it was supposed to be about TV and the media… But the teenager ditched the script that had been approved by her school, and spoke about abortions instead." You go, girl.

"For decades, policymakers in Washington and state capitals have fretted about the patchwork of broadband access in the United States, which has held back economic development in underserved areas and became a major problem during the pandemic, when residents in these pockets suddenly couldn’t tap into what abruptly became the online default for much of the nation." Technically, my little community has great broadband, but my neighborhood is stuck in the early 2000's because of crappy unground wiring that the telecom refuses to replace.

"Initial jobless claims fell below 400,000 for the first time since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Labor Department reported Thursday… First-time filings for unemployment benefits totaled 385,000 for the week ended May 29, a decline from the previous week’s 405,000 and below the Dow Jones estimate of 393,000." One data point does not a trend make. However the trend has been down.

"United Airlines is planning to turn the friendly skies into the ultrafast skies with the addition of supersonic jets… The carrier announced Thursday it’s buying 15 planes from Boom Supersonic with the option to purchase 35 more at some point… Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not been built or certified yet." You know, if it works.

"Now, lawmakers and First Nations groups are calling for all former residential schools across Canada to be examined for signs of unmarked graves… For decades, residential school survivors have been telling 'horror' stories of children disappearing without a trace, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee told NBC News on the phone from Prince George, British Columbia."

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents pushed Thursday for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts to derail their newly announced coalition government."

"A coalition of Israeli political parties announced Wednesday night they had agreed ​to a deal to form a new government, paving the way for the exit of Israel's longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu." Not that I like the coalition (and except for their hatred of Netanyahu, they hardly agree on anything else), but bye-bye Benny.

"Over the past few weeks, people have been attacking Jews in American streets for being Jewish, as well as vandalizing synagogues and other Jewish sites. No, I’m not talking about the scuffles at protests; I’m talking about the premeditated attacks on random people who look Jewish — sucker-punching, shooting fireworks, pulling people up from seats at restaurants, screaming threats." This shouldn't need to be said, but being Jewish does not equal being Israeli , or vice versa (there are many Israelis who aren't Jewish, and a lot of the Jews worldwide are not Israelis). The actions happening in Israel against the West Bank and Gaza strip are political actions being disguised as religious actions (and it's easy for people to mistake that given statements on both sides). But none of that makes it okay to attack people here in the US (or around the world). (Grokked from several people)

"Republicans, who are fighting the teaching of critical race theory in schools, contend it divides Americans. Democrats and their allies maintain that progress is unlikely without examining the root causes of disparity in the country. The issue is shaping up to be a major cultural battle ahead of next year's midterm elections." Can't have any of that critical thinking, because that leads to ideas, which leads to progressivism.

"The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of 'race-norming' — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias." The fuck you say?

"Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel excoriated the Commission on Presidential Debates in a letter on Tuesday, threatening to advise any future Republican nominee against participating in general election presidential debates unless significant changes are made to the commission." Changing the rules while they think no one is looking.

"To Matt Masterson, the review of 2020 ballots from Maricopa County, Ariz., that's underway is 'performance art' or 'a clown show,' and definitely 'a waste of taxpayer money.'… But it's not an audit… The process is a simple exercise in how disinformation spreads and takes hold in 2021. And experts fear it presents a blueprint for other states and lawmakers to follow, one that is already showing signs of being emulated across the country."

Linkee-poo Wednesday June 2

Sorry so late. Also, for the next two weeks, expect disruptions of publishing schedule. We should be back to normal around the 15th or so.

"In recent years, the (fantasy) genre has undergone a noticeable shift. Authors of color are breaking onto the fantasy scene with stories that center BIPOC characters and draw inspiration from non-Western cultures. In particular, Asian fantasy is growing as a distinct sub-genre. These stories, which feature Asian main characters and take place in settings directly influenced and shaped by Asian cultures, have found critical acclaim… However, not all Asian authors writing fantasy feel at home with the genre label."

"Whether it was bravery or just plain instincts, a teenage girl was able to fight off a bear that was attacking her dogs with her bare hands… Viral video shows the mother bear and her cubs climbing over a wall to get into 17-year-old Hailey Morinico’s backyard in Bradbury, California." The bear was already retreating and fighting a rear guard action to keep her cubs safe.

"Last month's 'super flower blood moon' lunar eclipse was hardly the only exciting celestial event of the season. Next week brings an even bigger spectacle — a rare 'ring of fire' solar eclipse… On June 10, skywatchers all over the world will be able to view the eclipse." Remember to wear protective glasses.

"The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins Tuesday, June 1, and the National Hurricane Center has designated 21 storm names for the six-month period ending Nov. 30… But as in the previous seven years, the season got an early start when Tropical Storm Ana formed in the Atlantic on May 22. Forecasters say that the short-lived storm is a likely sign of what's predicted to be another above-average season."

"For months, their trek through China’s south-western Yunnan province had gone almost unnoticed. But last week, when images of a herd of 15 Asian elephants walking through a residential area appeared on social media, it immediately captured the imagination of the nation, generating intense media interest and sparking questions as to what prompted the epic journey."

"The Biden administration Tuesday took its first steps toward reversing the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain to oil drilling, by suspending leases issued in the final days of the Trump administration."

"AMC Entertainment made a gutsy move Tuesday. The movie theater chain has pivoted back to an offensive strategy on a bet that its retail investors will stick with the company long enough for it to recoup its pandemic losses."

"Insight into the pressure that was heaped upon Fauci, the head of the national institute for allergy and infectious diseases, comes from thousands of pages of his communication records obtained by the Washington Post and the BuzzFeed news site, separately, and published on Tuesday." Part insight, part oversight, and a lot of voyeurism.

"An attorney for an Ohio high school football player who says coaches forced him to eat pork in violation of his religious beliefs for missing a voluntary workout has announced plans to sue the school district." These coaches shouldn't just be suspended, they should be fired. I know football is big in Canton, but punishing a student for missing a practice by ordering him to eat an entire pizza by himself? That's just idiotic and childish even before we get to the religious issues of consuming pork. These people have no business being near kids let alone coaching them. Have some balls, Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert, fire them.

"Malaysia says it is to summon China's ambassador after 16 Chinese military aircraft flew over disputed waters off its eastern state of Sarawak… Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the transport planes on Monday after detecting 'suspicious' activity over the South China Sea."

"The US secretary of state has warned leaders of Pacific countries about 'threats to the rules-based international order' and 'economic coercion', in what appears to be a veiled swipe at China’s growing influence in the region."

"The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semiofficial news agencies reported."

"Now, a United Nations report about a March 2020 skirmish in the military conflict in Libya says such a drone, known as a lethal autonomous weapons system — or LAWS — has made its wartime debut. But the report does not say explicitly that the LAWS killed anyone."

"The language of the (2nd) amendment, Anderson says, was crafted to ensure slave owners could quickly crush any rebellion or resistance from those they'd enslaved. And she says the right to bear arms, presumably guaranteed to all citizens, has been repeatedly denied to Black people."

"President Joe Biden wants to raise the top income tax rate for wealthy households to 39.6%, from the current 37%, to help finance his legislative agenda… That top rate would apply to single individuals with taxable income of more than $452,700 and married couples filing a joint tax return with income over $509,300, according to a budget proposal issued Friday by the Treasury Department."

"The Senate on Friday agreed to delay final passage of a wide-ranging bipartisan bill aimed at confronting China after Republican senators forced a series of procedural hurdles that threatened to keep the chamber in session through the holiday weekend… A group of Republicans grinded the Senate to a halt on Thursday night and into the early hours on Friday over their objections to the sweeping legislation. The delays came even after senators struck a bipartisan eleventh-hour deal on a GOP push for changes to the bill which were eventually adopted." Again, Republicans get what they asked for, but still hold up or won't vote for the bills.

"House Democrats aren't giving up on their intention to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and are weighing a range of options -- even after Senate Republicans blocked legislation on Friday to create a special commission to investigate the events of that day… In a call with House Democrats on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered four options, including continuing to push for a commission or keeping the investigation inside of a congressional committee, according to multiple sources familiar with the call."

"Former President Donald Trump’s blog — a webpage where he shared statements after larger social media companies banned him from their platforms — has been permanently shut down, his spokesman said Wednesday." Blogs is hard, especially when you're a one-trick pony (goes whistling past the graveyard).

"And in all, at least four new Republican-aligned groups have cropped up, involving at least two dozen Trump alums and surrogates, with the goal of raising money, pushing Trump's policies and message to the public and in the courts, as well as backing candidates in the mold of the former president." But mostly raise money.

"A Florida man who stormed the U.S. Capitol and stood on the Senate floor during the Jan. 6 insurrection has become the second person to plead guilty in the federal investigation into the deadly riot… Paul Hodgkins entered his plea during a virtual hearing Wednesday in federal court in Washington. The 38-year-old was originally facing five charges, but under a deal negotiated with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding."

"More than three dozen members and associates across both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes. Some local chapters cut ties with national leadership in the weeks after the deadly siege. The Proud Boys’ chairman called for a pause in the rallies that often have led to clashes with anti-fascist activists. And one Oath Keeper has agreed to cooperate against others charged in the riot."

Linkee-poo June 1st, it's a biggen

Gavin MacLeod, B.J. Thomas, and Eric Carle, and so it goes.

"A cornerstone event of the Tulsa Race Massacre commemoration in Oklahoma was abruptly canceled because lawyers representing survivors and descendants demanded a higher fee for their participation in the event than had been originally agreed upon, a commission official said."

"In recent weeks, Republican legislatures in roughly half a dozen states have either adopted or advanced bills purporting to take aim at the teaching of critical race theory, an academic approach that examines how race and racism function in law and society. Conservatives have made the teaching of critical race theory a rallying cry in the culture wars, calling it divisive and unpatriotic for forcing students to consider the influence of racism in situations where they might not see it otherwise." Fear is the point. It is always the point for supremacists. Their intent is to keep the status quo where the default is; WASP, heterosexual, and male.

The Bob Ross lorem ipsum generator. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

"A combination of extreme weather, climate change and environmental degradation have created the perfect storm – or rather, a series of eight cross-border sandstorms through March, April and May that have destroyed animal herds, exacerbated respiratory problems and cancelled flights in both Mongolia and China."

"It’s a composite of 370 observations over the past two decades by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, depicting billions of stars and countless black holes in the center, or heart, of the Milky Way. A radio telescope in South Africa also contributed to the image, for contrast."

"Photos from Mars are often eye-catching but rarely do the Martian clouds provide visual splendor."

"A piece of space junk smacked into the robotic arm on the International Space Station, but near-term operations should not be affected, according to the agencies involved… Robotic operators noticed a hole in the station's Canadarm2 provided by the Canadian Space Agency, which has been in service in orbit since 2001, during a routine inspection on May 12, the CSA officials said in a blog post Friday (May 28)."

"Several tons of salmon, engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies Inc., will now head to restaurants and away-from-home dining services — where labeling as genetically engineered is not required — in the Midwest and along the East Coast, company CEO Sylvia Wulf said."

"After more than 50 years, the federal government is lifting a roadblock to cannabis research that scientists and advocates say has hindered rigorous studies of the plant and possible drug development… Since 1968, U.S. researchers have been allowed to use cannabis from only one domestic source: a facility based at the University of Mississippi, through a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)."

"Pro-choice activists say that state lawmakers across the country are trying to restrict abortion at a pace not seen in decades. So what will this mean for a decades-long fight over the issue in America?"

"President Biden's budget proposal fulfills a campaign promise to remove a longstanding ban on federal funding for most abortions known as the Hyde Amendment… The budget plan, released late last week, would drop the policy which has restricted funding for abortion through federal programs such as Medicaid. The rule, in effect since 1980, includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save a pregnant woman's life."

"But with cases the lowest in years, Scott County's commissioners are considering shutting the (needle exchange) program down. Two of three commissioners have said they plan to vote to end the program during their meeting June 2, arguing it enables drug use." Bad idea.

"A man in eastern China has contracted what might be the world’s first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, but the risk of large-scale spread is low, the government said Tuesday."

"The US just recorded a seven-day average of fewer than 20,000 new daily Covid-19 cases for the first time since March 2020… The daily average of new cases dropped to about 17,248 as of Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. However, that number might be lower than reality, as some cases from the weekend and the Memorial Day holiday might not have been reported yet."

"Peru has more than doubled its official death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic following a government review of the figures, leaving the country with the highest coronavirus-related death rate per capita in the world."

"A heart inflammation condition in adolescents and young adults who received Covid-19 vaccines appears to be very rare and it remains unclear if the issue is actually related to the shots, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, said Thursday."

"The Gen Zer from Ohio who made a splash two years ago for defying his mother to get his childhood immunizations has a message for teenagers seeking Covid-19 vaccinations and getting pushback from their parents — get one if you can."

"The first cruise set to sail from American ports in more than 15 months is headed to the Caribbean this summer… Celebrity Cruises got approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring passengers aboard for the seven-night cruise on June 26, the company announced this week."

"Garry and many other scientists, including the President's chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, continue to believe the preponderance of evidence points toward a natural source. That's been the case for every previous disease known to infect humans."

"The central government announced Monday that each couple could now have three children, generating a buzz of online discussion — primarily on why it isn’t practical to have children, let alone three, in modern China… High education costs and insufficient support for maternity leave and retirement have contributed to a growing reluctance to have children. Loosening the restrictions to two children per couple in the last few years has done little to stall a drop in births, and keep a population of 1.4 billion people from aging rapidly."

"The gunman who nursed a seething hatred of his California workplace amassed an arsenal and 25,000 rounds of ammunition at the home he tried to burn down before killing nine co-workers at a rail yard, authorities said after searching the residence."

"Major meat producer JBS USA suffered a cyberattack on Sunday… The attack affected servers supporting its IT systems in North America and Australia, the company said in a news release."

"(A group of Democratic lawmakers) want to push the country's largest financial institutions to be agents of social change. And they have specific goals, like expanding access to loans and impose fewer fees for average Americans, or more outreach to unbanked and underserved communities… 'They did very well during the pandemic,' (Sen. Sharrod) Brown notes about the banks. 'We've seen stratospheric compensation levels. We see stock buybacks and dividend distribution. Yet, wages throughout our economy are essentially flat.'"

"Among the many problems the Biden administration is facing is a surge in homelessness. More than 580,000 people in the U.S. were homeless at the beginning of last year, prior to the pandemic. The number is expected to grow this year, especially if a federal eviction moratorium ends on June 30 as scheduled… Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge told NPR in an exclusive interview that the administration is committed to housing as many people as possible and preventing an explosion of homelessness in the months ahead."

"The Bernina’s impossible journey may show the next frontier in the evolving methods used by rogue states and their enablers to fool satellite-based tracking systems so that they can circumvent sanctions without detection."

"The White House on Friday tried to assuage Americans’ concerns about rising gas prices ahead of Memorial Day weekend, saying gas prices have “stabilized” and are 'well in line with what they’ve been in recent decades.'"

"But a recent poll of 1,000 unemployed workers by CNBC and Morning Consult told a different story. Respondents said the trickle-down effect of job openings had not reached them — at least, not yet. Some 87% said they had not received job offers in the last six months… What’s more, 65% of those surveyed said unemployment benefits were not a factor in their rejecting a job. Instead, they cited too-low salary (36%), concerns about COVID-19 (35%) and the need to care for family (31%). In fact, 76% of those offered a new position said the proposed wages were lower than their prior job."

"The CEO's and all executives' pay are tied to how well the company performs," so say the boards and the capitalist apologists. Oh really? "As a result, pay packages rose yet again last year for the CEOs of the biggest companies, even though the pandemic sent the economy to its worst quarter on record and slashed corporate profits around the world. The median pay package for a CEO at an S&P 500 company hit $12.7 million in 2020, according to data analyzed by Equilar for The Associated Press." Company does well, executive pay skyrockets. Company's books shit the bed, executive pay skyrockets. It's never a bad year for executive pay. Yes, you can find exceptions. (Grokked from SouthernCoca)

"A court in the Netherlands issued a landmark ruling against Royal Dutch Shell — an oil company already pledging to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 — ordering it to act faster… At Chevron's shareholder meeting, investors voted to demand that the company reduce its contribution to climate change… And a much bigger shareholder revolt took place at Exxon Mobil. Activist investors took on the giant and won, delivering a stinging rebuke to the company's management."

"A steadily growing pipeline of cash for U.S. colleges and universities from international students was abruptly cut off with the pandemic. Now higher education institutions are looking to the White House to shore up a besieged visa process to bring those lucrative students back." Well that and the Trump foreign and immigration policies.

"Belgium is recalling Ambassador Peter Lescouhier from his post in South Korea, saying the diplomat can't perform his duties in a "serene" manner after his wife was accused of assaulting two clothing store workers. Surveillance video of the incident sparked public outrage after it was broadcast on national television in Korea… Belgian authorities also say they're waiving diplomatic immunity for Lescouhier's wife, Xiang Xueqiu. She said she would invoke that privilege earlier this month, to avoid potential charges."

"The remains of 215 children, some as young as 3 years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school — one of the institutions that held children taken from families across the nation."

"The reconstruction effort that lies ahead will likely be massive: Gaza’s ministry of building and housing says more than 107,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes due to the airstrikes. It’s estimated that more than 1,800 houses were demolished or severely damaged, and another 13,000 were moderately or partially damaged. Three tower blocks were completely destroyed."

"A manhunt continued into Memorial Day for three masked suspects who opened fire early Sunday morning outside a Miami banquet hall, killing two men and wounding 21 others, in a shooting authorities said had spread terror and grief through their communities."

"Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, is claiming he didn't endorse a Myanmar-style coup over the weekend despite video in which he appeared to support such an overthrow in the United States… For months, QAnon and Trump-supporting online forums have celebrated the deadly military coup in Myanmar and suggested the same should happen in the United States so Trump could be reinstated as President." Oh, all that sedition talk? Just over bar-b-que. You know, locker room stuff.

"Days before the Senate voted down the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, was adamant: he would oppose the bill, regardless of any amendments – and he expected his colleagues to follow suit."

(Also from before the vote) "One of those Republicans told CNN that McConnell has even made the unusual move of asking wavering senators to support filibustering the bill as 'a personal favor' to him… No one can understand why Mitch is going to this extreme of asking for a "personal favor" to kill the commission,' said the Republican." I can think of 3 reasons, mostly to retain power.

"Texas Democrats launched the most dramatic revolt yet against nationwide Republican bills to restrict voting by walking out of the state's legislature over the holiday weekend. But their last-ditch effort may only temporarily stall the effort and underscores how the deadlock in Washington is making it easier for Republicans to act on Donald Trump's election fraud lies to stack the deck in future votes."

"Democrats vowed to continue to fight a Texas bill that would add restrictions on voting as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to cut off funding for the Legislature if they do so… 'I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature. Article 10 funds the legislative branch,' Abbott tweeted Monday. 'No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned.'"

"The Republican governor of Idaho has repealed an executive order prohibiting mask mandates that was issued by his lieutenant governor while he was out of the state… Brad Little called Janice McGeachin’s action 'an irresponsible, self-serving political stunt' and an example of the government 'tyranny' she claimed to oppose." The crazies eventually turn on each other.

"Republican politics in Ohio has also changed in the era of Trump. And with the retirement of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman — a fixture of the GOP establishment — more change is coming. As the Republican field to replace him begins to take shape in these very early days, it's clear Trump retains an outsized influence in the state."

"In conversations with more than 20 lawmakers, ex-lawmakers, top advisers and aides, a common concern has emerged — that a host of national and statewide Republicans are either leaving office or may not choose to pursue it for fear that they can’t survive politically in the current GOP. The worry, these Republicans say, is that the party is embracing personality over policy, and that it is short sighted to align with Trump, who lost the general election and continues to alienate a large swath of the voting public with his grievances and false claims that the 2020 election was stolen."

"Greene's political security in the district -- where 75% of voters supported former President Donald Trump last November -- doesn't mean that all of her constituents are relishing her role as the GOP's flamethrower or that they approve of the recent anti-Semitic comments that she has used to rally her supporters."

Linkee-poo Friday May 28

For those of you in the US, have a great long Memorial Day weekend. More than likely with my schedule there won't be any updates until Tuesday, and probably not until Wednesday.

"Telemetry from Flight Six shows that the first 150-meter leg of the flight went off without a hitch. But toward the end of that leg, something happened: Ingenuity began adjusting its velocity and tilting back and forth in an oscillating pattern. This behavior persisted throughout the rest of the flight. Prior to landing safely, onboard sensors indicated the rotorcraft encountered roll and pitch excursions of more than 20 degrees, large control inputs, and spikes in power consumption." Oppsie.

"The cause of the excitement was the sighting, last week, of a wild giant river otter – an animal feared extinct in the country due to habitat loss and hunting – on the Bermejo River in Impenetrable national park, in north-east Argentina’s Chaco province. The last sighting of a giant otter in the wild in Argentina was in the 1980s. On the Bermejo, none have been seen for more than a century."

"The average temperature on Earth is now consistently 1 degree Celsius hotter than it was in the late 1800s, and that temperature will keep rising toward the critical 1.5-degree Celsius benchmark over the next five years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization."

"(French) Oil and gas giant Total will be rebranded as TotalEnergies as it shifts some of its focus towards renewable energy sources… Shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move and approved the firm's environmental goals."

Hey, ho, way to go, Ohio. "The city council in Lebanon, Ohio, voted unanimously Tuesday night to pass an ordinance that outlawed abortion in the town… The ordinance declares Lebanon a "sanctuary city for the unborn," with abortion punishable with six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to the city council. It takes effect immediately." Well, Lebanon, I hope you have the budget for the lawsuits. I don't think ya do.

"President Biden said on Wednesday that he has asked the U.S. intelligence community to push to get closer to a 'definitive conclusion' on how the pandemic started… In a statement, Biden said the intelligence community has 'coalesced around two likely scenarios' — that the coronavirus either came from human contact with an infected animal, or from a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China."

"Facebook said it's no longer removing from its platforms claims that coronavirus was man-made… That announcement comes shortly after President Joe Biden announced he had directed the US intelligence community to redouble its efforts into the origin of Covid-19." Understand that the "lab leak" theory as proposed by scientists is not that it was made, but was gathered in the wild, brought to the lab for study, and then somehow escaped.

Also in Ohio news… "Lawmakers are working on legislation to call off the lottery immediately. They’re also trying to head off any plans for 'vaccine passports.' And last month, they introduced a sweeping anti-vaccination bill that would essentially demolish public health and vaccination requirements in the state—and not just requirements for COVID-19 vaccines—requirements for any vaccine." Ya know, those reeducation camps the conservatives were all worried about during the Obama administration are starting to look like a real good idea about now. (Grokked from John)

"Data obtained exclusively by CNN shows that interest in getting vaccinated against Covid-19 increased right after Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced two weeks ago that vaccinated people could take off their masks."

"If an employer wants its workers back in the office, can it mandate a vaccine to come back? And if a reluctant worker refuses to get immunized, can an employer show them the door?… There is no federal law specifically addressing that issue. The matter remains up to private businesses, state or other local laws, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." The answer is in most cases, because of conservative law making, they can.

"A Pennsylvania judge has ordered former Penn State President Graham Spanier to report to jail on July 9 for charges related to the child abuse scandal that embroiled the university a decade ago… A Daulphin County Court judge ordered Spanier to serve two months in a Centre County correctional facility followed by two months of house arrest for charges of endangering the welfare of children."

"Amy Cooper, the White woman who went viral last year for calling 911 to claim that a Black birdwatcher in Central Park was threatening her, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer. She temporarily surrendered her dog and was fired from her job shortly after the incident." Okay, Karen.

"The U.S. jobs market edged closer to its pre-pandemic self last week as initial jobless claims totaled just 406,000 for the week ended May 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday… While that level is still well above the pre-Covid norm, it is the closest to the previous trend since the crisis began in March 2020 and a decline from the previous week’s 444,000." I'm starting to think CNBC doesn't have actual statisticians check their reporting.

"U.S. consumer prices surged in April, with a measure of underlying inflation blowing past the Federal Reserve's 2% target and posting its largest annual gain since 1992, reflecting pent-up demand as the economy reopens."

A visual representation of the wealth divid in America. A scrolling version showing in a volumetric way the difference between the average person and the wealth of Jeff Bezos.

"In the last year, major social media companies have raced to announce dozens of features aimed at attracting creators, an estimated 50 million people like Feeney and Shaw who range from internet personalities posting beauty tutorials on YouTube and TikTok to independent journalists selling newsletter subscriptions on Substack to video gamers live-streaming on Twitch."

"A database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University found that between 2006 and February 2020, there had been 13 mass workplace shootings carried out by a current or former employee — roughly one a year on average… 'The reason they seem more frequent right now is because we haven't had them really for the last year because of COVID,' Schildkraut says. Such restrictions have also served to limit opportunities for potential shooters 'because it reduces the available targets for a person.' she says."

"Germany on Friday apologized for its role in slaughter of Herero and Nama tribespeople in Namibia more than a century ago and officially described the massacre as genocide for the first time, as it agreed to fund projects worth over a billion euros."

"In a key speech on his visit to Rwanda, French President Emmanuel Macron said he recognizes that France bears a heavy responsibility for the 1994 genocide in the central African country… Macron solemnly detailed how France had failed the 800,000 victims of the genocide but he stopped short of an apology."

"Stewart was arrested after he posted the photo on the encrypted messaging service EncroChat, via his handle 'Toffeeforce.' Unbeknownst to him, the service had been cracked by police in Europe. From that, his palm and fingerprints were analyzed and police had their man."

"Now, merely a day or so after the company mistakenly put a bounty on an L.A. homeless man and falsely accused him of starting wildfires, Motherboard reports that ex-employees and leaked internal documents show Citizen’s next cool thing: imminent plans to contract with major security firms to send private goon squads to your neighborhood, where they will ostensibly check on whether you’re OK or not." What could possibly go wrong?

"The Russian hackers thought to be behind the catastrophic SolarWinds attack last year have launched another major cyberattack, Microsoft warned three weeks before President Joe Biden is to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin… Microsoft said in a blog post Thursday that the hacking group, known as Nobelium, had targeted over 150 organizations worldwide in the last week, including government agencies, think tanks, consultants and nongovernmental organizations."

"Senate Republicans unveiled a $928 billion infrastructure counteroffer to President Joe Biden." What $928 billion? Because Biden has said it needs to be at least $1 trillion.

"It’s been less than two weeks since South Carolina Republicans rejected Lin Wood’s Q-Anon-inspired run for state party chair. In Arizona, the GOP is still consumed with infighting over a farcical review of November election results… Now comes Nevada, where open warfare has broken out in recent days between state and local party officials over a pro-Trump insurgency involving far-right activists with ties to the Proud Boys."

"The former speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, sounded a pointed warning to the GOP in a speech about its future, arguing that voters will have little patience for a party built on fealty to former President Trump. He told conservatives gathered at the Reagan Library, in Simi Valley California, Thursday night that they were at a crossroads… And leaving no doubt about who he was talking about, though he did not name Mr. Trump, Ryan continued, 'They will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.'" Trump as "he who shall not be named" is not a good look.

"In a filing, Joseph Bondy, an attorney for Lev Parnas, accidentally revealed statements he had made under seal by blackening lines in the court document while leaving it possible for them to be copied and pasted to another file, CNN first reported." Thank the gods for stupid criminals and their lawyers… although in this case I'm not convinced it was completely "on accident." Remember, Parnas has offered to turn state witness, and the "redacted" parts don't concern him completely, but instead give a wider view of the case against Giuliani. (Grokked from John)

"But in recent weeks, those hopes have been extinguished, and what was already a tense relationship between Capitol Police and some lawmakers has only gotten worse. Officers bristle at the efforts of some Republicans to whitewash and move past the January 6 insurrection, and many worry the moment will go down as a missed opportunity to fix the substantial shortcomings the attack revealed."

"Senate Republicans were poised on Friday to kill an attempt by Democrats to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the 6 January attack on the Capitol in which a pro-Trump mob ransacked the building in an attempt to disrupt the formalization of Joe Biden’s winning of the presidency… The bill was intended to set up a 9/11-style commission that would examine its causes and impact and exactly who was involved."

"Those who wonder why Republicans today are resisting the creation of a new independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol might review the tape of that moment in 2004 for a potential insight. That's because the new commission plan has been advertised as being modeled on the 9/11 Commission, and Republicans have long memories."

Linkee-poo Wednesday May 26

"A recent study suggests that active volcanoes may lurk on the seabed of the 1,940-mile-wide (3,120 kilometers) Europa, which harbors a huge ocean of salty water beneath its icy shell… Such volcanoes could power deep-sea hydrothermal systems, environments rich in chemical energy that potential Europa lifeforms could exploit, researchers said."

"The Biden administration plans to open the California coast to offshore wind development, ending a long-running stalemate with the Department of Defense that has been the biggest barrier to building wind power along the Pacific Coast."

"That skepticism is understandable when a new battery design promises a revolution, but it risks missing the fact that batteries have gotten better. Lithium-ion batteries have reigned for a while now—that’s true. But “lithium-ion” is a category of batteries that includes a wide variety of technologies, both in terms of batteries in service today and the ones we've used previously. A lot can be done—and a lot has been done—to make a better lithium-ion battery. In fact, gains in the amount of energy they can store have been on the order of five percent per year. That means that the capacity of your current batteries is over 1.5 times what they would have held a decade ago."

"This year, the tick population is expected to surge due to a mild winter and early spring as well as abundant rainfall. Also, people who have been getting outdoors because of the coronavirus pandemic are encountering the insects more frequently."

"Forty-nine percent of both vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents who still wear masks said they did so to protect themselves from the coronavirus, 42 percent said they wanted to make sure they didn’t spread the virus to those around them, and 21 percent said they wore masks to protect themselves from illnesses other than the coronavirus. Only 8 percent said they wore masks because they worried others would judge them, and just 6 percent said they did because it was an expression of their political views." It's that last one that gets me. The disinformation campaign is so prevalent that people on all sides are believing it.

And the disinformation campaign continues to ramp up… "A US intelligence report found that several researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and had to be hospitalized, a new detail about the severity of their symptoms. It's not clear the researchers contracted Covid-19 and the lab strongly denied the report, calling it a lie to push the so-called lab-leak theory for the disease origin." Until you know what those workers were hospitalized for and how they contracted a disease or fell ill, you've got nothing. Again, we know the virus was circulating in the Fall, long before anyone (publicly) called it a new disease (there are always novel viruses causing disease in humans, most burn out before we can identify them). Also, again, the scientists live in Wuhan. It's not like the lab is an isolated community. What you are seeing here is the workings of medicine being exposed and it's hitting the lack of scientific education and knowledge in the general public.

Don't think so? Okay, did you know about Candida auris and Aspergillus?

So why did I point to the disinformation campaign about SARS-CoV2? Because on Bullshit Mountain from the mouth of Tucker Carlson… "At other parts of Michael Gerson’s own newspaper, we’ve learned, they’re working on new stories about how the virus did in fact escape from the lab in Wuhan. So, the debate among serious people over the origins of COVID appears to be pretty much winding up. Pretty much every sane person acknowledges at this point that the government of China likely caused the single worst man-made disaster in human history. As if we need more evidence, over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that the first people infected with COVID-19 were probably researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In November of 2019, three of them were taken to the hospital with symptoms. The Journal did solid reporting, but it wasn’t entirely new. Back in January of this year, the State Department issued a fact sheet telling the entire country the same thing." So let me state clearly here, if SARS-CoV2 was created or adjusted in a lab (and there are no indicators that it was, and yes you can tell by sequencing the RNA), by the standards of biowarfare it is infinitesimally a failure.

Also on Bullshit Mountain from the mouth of Sean Hanninty… "Sean Hannity criticized mainstream media Tuesday for their reporting on the origins of COVID, saying there is a 'very real possibility the Wuhan lab was the origin,' and that most journalists and 'so-called fact-checkers…called this a debunked conspiracy theory.'"

So it's time to say it out loud, Fox News is a propaganda organization that is peddling Russian sponsored disinformation. They are anti-American and anti-democracy. They are purposefully trying to destroy our society, our nation, and our civilization. And the worst part about it, is they're doing it for the ad revenue.

As I've stated before, you can tell when a protagonist reaches their goal, because the movie ends soon after. We are still in the middle of an intense information (or disinformation) war… "But also online are posts riddled with disinformation, including those specifically targeting BLM. Activists charge that those disparaging posts are part of an overall effort to undermine the movement and its message." Waves to my Russian and Italian friends.

"Amazon has made a deal to buy Hollywood studio MGM for almost $8.5 billion. It's the second-largest acquisition for the company after purchasing Whole Foods."

"(At the beginning of the month), the Department of Labor released its monthly jobs report, and the numbers were...disappointing… But for weeks prior to the report, the press had offered stories across the country with a simple explanation: there are jobs, but no one wants them. The great labor shortage. And as anecdotes of fast food chains begging for workers and local restaurants limiting hours poured in, so did theories of an alleged culprit keeping potential employees away: covid-era unemployment benefits were depressing America’s work ethic. Bob spoke with Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, and former chief economist for the Department of Labor during the Obama administration, to find out what the numbers can really tell us, and what they can't."

"U.S. Treasury yields are flat on Wednesday, as Federal Reserve officials restated their dovish views on easy monetary policy and inflation."

"About 400,000 more women than men have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. The percentage of women in the paid labor force has not recovered from the steep drop in the spring of 2020… Many had to leave their jobs last year to take care of their children when schools closed… A new business coalition wants companies to take the lead in creating better options for child care and elder care, as well as push the federal government to create a minimum standard of federally funded family and medical leave. The group also advocates better working conditions for people who work as caregivers." I'm old enough to remember when having in-office daycare was a radical new idea that was sweeping the nation.

"But beyond the ridiculousness of how journalists told the story, is there actually a 'nationwide shortage' of truck drivers? The lobbying organization for the nation's big trucking employers, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), has been making this argument since the 1980s, yet store shelves somehow remained stocked. In a capitalist system, where you can pay people to do basically anything, how is it even possible to have a worker shortage for multiple decades?"

"A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled oil giant Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels… That’s a much higher reduction than the company’s current aim of lowering its emissions by 20% by 2030… The landmark ruling comes at a time when the world’s largest corporate emitters are under immense pressure to set short, medium and long-term emissions targets that are consistent with the Paris Agreement. The climate accord is widely recognized as critically important to avoid an irreversible climate crisis."

"Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine is suing Amazon, accusing the online retail giant of unfairly inflating prices and stifling competition… The lawsuit, filed in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, alleges violations of the city's Antitrust Act."

"Law enforcement and firefighters on Wednesday responded to reports of an active shooter during a union meeting at the VTA light rail yard in San Jose in a situation that left multiple people, including the shooter, dead, according to authorities and sources."

"President Biden announced his intention Tuesday afternoon to appoint four new members to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the body that oversees design and architecture of federal buildings in Washington, D.C… The four intended appointees are meant to replace four commissioners who had been installed by former President Donald Trump, and who helped shape a controversial executive order intended to promote neoclassical architecture as the official style for federal buildings in Washington and at new federal courthouses elsewhere."

"Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has made a series of explosive claims about mistakes made by the government in handling coronavirus… Here are the key points so far from his evidence to a joint session of the Commons Heath, and Science and Technology committees."

"Former President Donald Trump 'derailed' the UK government's coronavirus planning at a crucial moment in March last year after he asked the UK to 'join a bombing campaign in the Middle East,' members of the UK parliament have been told."

"President Biden has proposed a jobs and infrastructure plan of more than $2 trillion that would set aside billions to replace the nation's lead water pipes. When he announced his American Jobs Plan in April, the president pointed to Flint's troubles as a cautionary tale about the dangers of letting infrastructure decay… But Flint is also an example of how to fix the problem — and the many challenges along the way that could slow progress."

"Instead, they stuck with (Trump), which has led to many GOP members downplaying the Capitol attack, fighting the creation of a bipartisan commission to study what happened on Jan. 6, and watching the former president continue to question the legitimacy of a contest he lost fair and square… And now they face the very real possibility of seeing their party’s de-facto leader and potential 2024 frontrunner getting indicted in the coming months." Again, I'll believe it when I see it.

"New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's business dealings, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday."

"Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Tuesday called for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to be booted from the House Republican conference over her comparing mask requirements to the Holocaust." I believe what we are seeing is a "last stand" of people who could be called "moderate" in the GOP. Note in this instance, "moderate" would have been considered "far right" only 2 decades ago. As I've stated elsewhere, there are calls for a "new party" made up of the "sane" members of the GOP. What those people know and that most of the general public haven't realized is that the GOP (with Democrats' help) have spent the last four decades making it nearly impossible to launch a third party.

"Top House Republicans including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday repudiated comments by Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene comparing vaccination requirements to the Holocaust… McCarthy did not say whether Greene, who was removed from her committee assignments in February because of her history of promoting conspiracy theories and posting videos with antisemitic and anti-Muslim sentiment, would face any repercussions for her latest offensive remarks." Why do I think not much will happen, and that eventually the Greenes of the GOP will win? I don't know, maybe because… "However, neither Scalise nor McCarthy proposed any consequences for Greene's remarks, and both took the opportunity to criticize Democrats in their statements."