"On October 25, 2020, Sinbad suffered an ischemic stroke as a result of a blood clot that traveled from his heart to his brain." Oh fuck. Just a note, this is a fundraiser to help cover his medical costs (of which this line is just the first in a series of bad turns). As many of you know, comedians are a favorite of mine for studying wordplay and dialog, and Sinbad is a master. And frankly I can't hear a kid say, "Momma, momma," without counting because of him. "After you hit 12, just back on up." (Grokked from Chang)
NPR's 2022 book list.
"NASA's Orion capsule reached the moon Monday, whipping around the far side and buzzing the lunar surface on its way to a record-breaking orbit with test dummies sitting in for astronauts."
"NASA’s Orion capsule entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon Friday, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight."
"Ryan Mackey quietly sang a sacred Cherokee verse as he pulled a handful of tobacco out of a zip-close bag. Reaching over a barbed wire fence, he scattered the leaves onto the pasture where a growing herd of bison — popularly known as American buffalo — grazed in northeastern Oklahoma."
"Up to 2.4 million trees would be cut down as part of a project to prevent major wildfires in a federally protected New Jersey forest heralded as a unique environmental treasure."
"Conservationists have notified U.S. wildlife officials that they will sue over delinquent decisions related to protections for two rare fish species that are threatened by groundwater pumping in the drought-stricken West."
"Hundreds of activists, among them Greta Thunberg, marched through the Swedish capital to a court Friday to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state for what they say is insufficient climate action."
"Newly released federal audits reveal widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average." Say, which party set up this scheme anyway?
"That connection between extreme weather and climate change has never been clearer, thanks to an area of science known as extreme-event attribution. It allows scientists to describe exactly how much worse a specific flood, heat wave, hurricane or drought is because of human-caused global warming… But that science is largely missing from public weather forecasts that millions of people in the U.S. rely on."
"The European Union and the United States are treading precariously close to a major trans-Atlantic trade dispute at a time when the two Western giants want to show unity in the face of challenges from Russia and China."
"There are many like Yoo in South Korea who have chosen either not to have children or not to marry. Other advanced countries have similar trends, but South Korea’s demographic crisis is much worse."
"Silver Peak, halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, may not resemble most people's mental image of a mine. But for decades it's been the sole domestic producer of lithium in the United States. Now the small mine is in the process of doubling its output, and facing new rivals, as part of a massive global phenomenon that's reshaping multiple industries."
"Elon Musk says he has a tentative timeframe to once again roll out his new paid verification system for Twitter… 'Sorry for the delay, we're tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week,' the embattled new CEO wrote in a tweet early Friday."
"New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting 'amnesty' for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation." Won't that be fun.
"Half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers appear to no longer be advertising on the website. A report from Media Matters for America states that these 50 advertisers have spent almost $2 billion on Twitter ads since 2020 and more than $750 million just in 2022."
"Fears that the collapse of FTX will lead to more destruction in the crypto industry are hitting almost every investor in the United States, from individuals to major Wall Street firms, with many wondering if another cryptocurrency trading platform called Genesis will fall next."
"The first of several ships that will serve as floating terminals to receive liquefied natural gas imports in Germany arrived Wednesday off the Baltic Sea port of Mukran."
"These days, more than 90% of Afghans don't have enough food to eat, according to the WFP and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction — and the hardships families endured last year feel insurmountable this year… 'When we talk to people at our distribution sites, everybody tells us, "Last winter was difficult, but we have no idea how we will get through the coming winter,"' says Philippe Kropf, the WFP's Kabul-based spokesperson."
"A federal appeals court has revived a wrongful death claim against Walmart by the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer inside an Ohio store after picking up a pellet rifle from a shelf."
"Officials in Chesapeake, Va., confirmed in a statement that the Walmart supervisor who fatally shot six coworkers inside the store on Tuesday left a note in his phone in which he described being harassed."
"A growing list of Oregon sheriffs are telling their constituents they won’t enforce voter-approved gun restrictions despite not yet knowing how some aspects of the law will work and not having a clear role in enforcing others… In a Nov. 9 Facebook post, Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan said Measure 114, which 50.7% of voters approved the day before, is a terrible law for gun owners, crime victims and public safety. The measure would require a permit to buy a firearm and ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds."
"Mexican prosecutors have filed charges against a U.S. woman suspected of killing another American seen being beaten in a viral video."
"The Biden administration is extending its student loan repayment pause — which was set to expire at the end of the year — into 2023 while its promise of federal relief remains hung up in court."
"State-level law enforcement units created after the 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into scattered complaints more than two weeks after the midterms but have provided no indication of systemic problems." But that really wasn't the point of these new law enforcement groups, was it.
"Kari Lake, the defeated Republican candidate for Arizona governor, has filed a public records lawsuit demanding Maricopa County hand over a variety of documents related to the election."
"On Wednesday, Murkowski defeated fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who was backed by Trump, to win her fourth term in office. Murkowski won the ranked choice election with 54% of the vote with help from independents and Democrats."
Saturday, November 26, 2022
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Linkee-poo Sunday Nov 20
Robert Clary and Greg Bear, so it goes.
"Residents in western New York are digging out after a massive winter storm passed though the region, dropping more than 6 feet of snow in some areas."
"Locus Magazine is delighted to announce our first annual crowdfunding campaign!"
A twitter thread on ebooks and libraries and the heinous fuckery surrounding the issue. I think I posted a link to the Planet Money podcast before, but here it is again. Libraries are not the problem, but publishers will try to make it about them. Remember that the main publishers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the e-book platform.
"New baby pictures of the universe, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, show that galaxies started forming faster and earlier than expected."
"U.S. regulators approved a plan Thursday to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward."
Just in case you though viruses are only a human problem… "Plant pathogens that are spreading disease in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley are leading to a nationwide lettuce shortage and higher prices at the supermarket… At Nob Hill in Salinas, a head of lettuce was being sold for more than $4 on Monday." Good thing we haven't totally centralized our vegetable supply sources to only 2 places… oh, wait.
"A measles outbreak in Ohio has swiftly expanded, spreading to seven childcare facilities and one school, all with unvaccinated children, according to local health officials. The outbreak highlights the risk of the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease mushrooming amid slipping vaccination rates."
"But one by one, different monoclonal treatments have lost their efficacy against new variants of the coronavirus. The rise of Paxlovid antiviral pills earlier this year, further dented their appeal."
"The Justice Department is now negotiating the terms of a consent decree with Philips, underscoring the deep concern about what the company knew — or should have known — before millions of people received devices that many believe caused devastating illnesses. A decree would most likely require the company to document the steps it would take to prevent such a failure in the future… Doug Shiffler, a retired tech executive in Utah, is one of hundreds of people suing the company. His wife began using the device in 2018, when there were no public warnings of possible problems with the machines, and developed a persistent cough." Dear DoJ, you aren't going far enough here.
"Results from Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap on Thursday further underscored the cloudy picture for U.S. retailers heading into the start of the holiday season… A day after Target reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits, it’s clear that inflation-hit shoppers in the last few weeks were waiting for deals and not willing to pay full price for purchases they could put off. The big question will be if U.S. consumers will spend more freely in the coming weeks."
"Twitter saw a fresh exodus of employees on Thursday as the company hit a deadline set by billionaire owner Elon Musk for remaining staff to commit to being 'extremely hardcore' or leave the company."
"The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a 'complete failure' of corporate control." Crypto firm was a scam? Well knock me over with a feather.
"At least five people were killed and 18 others wounded after a gunman opened fire on a LGBTQ club called Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Police said a suspect is in custody."
I'm not sure if I posted this when it came out, but the Throughline podcast with… "It has been nearly twenty years since 9/11 and during that time much of the media coverage and government attention has been directed at the threat of radical Islamist terrorism. Yet, during that time, it has been domestic terrorism from armed, mostly white American men, that has posed the biggest threat. This week, the rise of the modern white power movement." Stochastic terrorism and "lone wolf" attacks aren't an unfortunate by product of the hate machine, it's the goal.
"A week after Kentucky voters rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure, the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed the constitutionality of a statewide ban approved by lawmakers in a case that seems destined to become a defining moment for abortion rights in the state."
"Russia's systematic and repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure — the latest of which involved the heaviest missile strikes in a nearly nine-month war — have led to regular power outages in some of the country's largest cities."
"A Missouri judge ruled that a state agency previously led by Republican Josh Hawley broke public record laws on purpose to help his U.S. Senate campaign… Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem on Monday fined the Attorney General’s Office $12,000 and attorney fees, the maximum penalty for violating what’s known as the Sunshine Law."
"In Ohio, some students had to cast provisional ballots because poll workers wouldn’t accept university-issued utility bills as proof of residency, in violation of state law. Ohio is one of the seven states that refuses to accept any student IDs as voter identification."
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who shattered the "marble ceiling" to become the first woman to lead the U.S. House — announced Thursday she will step down from party leadership."
"Attorney General Merrick Garland said he's charged former Justice Department prosecutor Jack Smith with overseeing two major Justice Department investigations concerning former-President Donald Trump to best serve the public interest."
"Residents in western New York are digging out after a massive winter storm passed though the region, dropping more than 6 feet of snow in some areas."
"Locus Magazine is delighted to announce our first annual crowdfunding campaign!"
A twitter thread on ebooks and libraries and the heinous fuckery surrounding the issue. I think I posted a link to the Planet Money podcast before, but here it is again. Libraries are not the problem, but publishers will try to make it about them. Remember that the main publishers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the e-book platform.
"New baby pictures of the universe, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, show that galaxies started forming faster and earlier than expected."
"U.S. regulators approved a plan Thursday to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward."
Just in case you though viruses are only a human problem… "Plant pathogens that are spreading disease in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley are leading to a nationwide lettuce shortage and higher prices at the supermarket… At Nob Hill in Salinas, a head of lettuce was being sold for more than $4 on Monday." Good thing we haven't totally centralized our vegetable supply sources to only 2 places… oh, wait.
"A measles outbreak in Ohio has swiftly expanded, spreading to seven childcare facilities and one school, all with unvaccinated children, according to local health officials. The outbreak highlights the risk of the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease mushrooming amid slipping vaccination rates."
"But one by one, different monoclonal treatments have lost their efficacy against new variants of the coronavirus. The rise of Paxlovid antiviral pills earlier this year, further dented their appeal."
"The Justice Department is now negotiating the terms of a consent decree with Philips, underscoring the deep concern about what the company knew — or should have known — before millions of people received devices that many believe caused devastating illnesses. A decree would most likely require the company to document the steps it would take to prevent such a failure in the future… Doug Shiffler, a retired tech executive in Utah, is one of hundreds of people suing the company. His wife began using the device in 2018, when there were no public warnings of possible problems with the machines, and developed a persistent cough." Dear DoJ, you aren't going far enough here.
"Results from Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap on Thursday further underscored the cloudy picture for U.S. retailers heading into the start of the holiday season… A day after Target reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits, it’s clear that inflation-hit shoppers in the last few weeks were waiting for deals and not willing to pay full price for purchases they could put off. The big question will be if U.S. consumers will spend more freely in the coming weeks."
"Twitter saw a fresh exodus of employees on Thursday as the company hit a deadline set by billionaire owner Elon Musk for remaining staff to commit to being 'extremely hardcore' or leave the company."
"The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a 'complete failure' of corporate control." Crypto firm was a scam? Well knock me over with a feather.
"At least five people were killed and 18 others wounded after a gunman opened fire on a LGBTQ club called Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Police said a suspect is in custody."
I'm not sure if I posted this when it came out, but the Throughline podcast with… "It has been nearly twenty years since 9/11 and during that time much of the media coverage and government attention has been directed at the threat of radical Islamist terrorism. Yet, during that time, it has been domestic terrorism from armed, mostly white American men, that has posed the biggest threat. This week, the rise of the modern white power movement." Stochastic terrorism and "lone wolf" attacks aren't an unfortunate by product of the hate machine, it's the goal.
"A week after Kentucky voters rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure, the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed the constitutionality of a statewide ban approved by lawmakers in a case that seems destined to become a defining moment for abortion rights in the state."
"Russia's systematic and repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure — the latest of which involved the heaviest missile strikes in a nearly nine-month war — have led to regular power outages in some of the country's largest cities."
"A Missouri judge ruled that a state agency previously led by Republican Josh Hawley broke public record laws on purpose to help his U.S. Senate campaign… Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem on Monday fined the Attorney General’s Office $12,000 and attorney fees, the maximum penalty for violating what’s known as the Sunshine Law."
"In Ohio, some students had to cast provisional ballots because poll workers wouldn’t accept university-issued utility bills as proof of residency, in violation of state law. Ohio is one of the seven states that refuses to accept any student IDs as voter identification."
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who shattered the "marble ceiling" to become the first woman to lead the U.S. House — announced Thursday she will step down from party leadership."
"Attorney General Merrick Garland said he's charged former Justice Department prosecutor Jack Smith with overseeing two major Justice Department investigations concerning former-President Donald Trump to best serve the public interest."
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Linkee-poo Wednesday Nov 16
"The predawn sky over Florida's space coast lit up early Wednesday morning as NASA's new 322-foot-tall moon rocket roared off its launch pad with a few mannequins — but no astronauts — strapped into a crew capsule… This white, bell-shaped capsule, called Orion, has now embarked on a 25-day test flight that will take it around the moon and back. The approximately 1.2-million-mile trip will bring NASA one step closer to achieving its goal of returning humans to the lunar surface."
"The Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane landed back on Earth after spending a record-breaking two and a half years (908 days) in orbit. It landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, November 12th at 5:22AM ET, marking its sixth successful mission so far."v "Poland's president said Wednesday that it appears a missile that landed just inside the country's border was from Ukraine in what he called an 'unfortunate accident.'"
"A volcano is likely erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don’t know for sure because it’s so inaccessible… All indications are that the Ahyi Seamount began erupting in mid-October, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Honolulu."
"Art restorers have embarked on a project to digitally unveil what was once a nude painting by Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most prominent female artists from the period… The Allegory of Inclination, as the 1616 work is titled, originally depicted a nude female figure. But about 70 years later, the nudity was concealed with another painter's addition — to adhere to the moral sensibilities of the male-dominated art world."
"They arrived at University Hospitals TriPoint Medical Center in Painesville, Ohio, at around 6 a.m. Medical staff there did her bloodwork and an ultrasound – again, there was no heartbeat. To check how much blood she had lost, they measured her hemoglobin level – Zielke says they told her she hadn't lost enough for it to be of concern yet." Fuck. This is criminal neglect, IMHO. And I have so many thoughts on this, including TriPoints nickname, but I don't feel I can share them here. We have guidelines, they are published on our intranet site, this doctor neglected to follow them. But not stated in this article, our ED doctors are not UH employees. And no, this isn't the only problem that setup causes.
"It has taken years of experimentation by a crew of biologists, biochemists and engineers to turn that concept into a product ready to eat. Now the company is awaiting a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its first cultivated meat products, including a chicken fillet."
"Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Monday announced that the department is assessing fines totaling $7.5 million against six airlines, and the DOT is ordering those airlines to pay $600 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers who had been denied them."
"More than 24,000 tech workers across 72 companies have been laid off this month, adding to a total of 120,000 tech jobs lost this year, according to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts in the tech industry. It's safe to say a reckoning is underway, even as each company is grappling with its own challenges."
"President Joe Biden was set to try to cajole the world’s largest economies to further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically over its invasion of Ukraine despite a souring global outlook that has tested other nations’ resolve."
"As a result, in some places teachers and administrators — already facing long hours and low pay — now find themselves under additional pressure from politicians, parents and even their own school districts. It all comes as many schools are losing qualified teachers and waging an uphill battle to improve flagging test scores."
"Conservative groups that sought to get hundreds of 'parents’ rights' activists elected to local school boards largely fell short in last week’s midterm elections, notching notable wins in some Republican strongholds but failing to gain a groundswell of support among moderate voters."
"All six school board members endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won their runoffs Tuesday, results that deliver the Republican governor a total of 24 wins out of 30 local education candidates he backed this year."
"Arizona voters have approved an initiative to extend cheaper in-state college tuition to some non-citizen students, cheering supporters who hope the measure’s passage Monday will help spark momentum for wider immigration reform in Congress."
"Voting has ended, and most winners have been declared… But even after all states finish counting and reviewing the votes, the 2022 midterm general elections are not officially over until the results are certified… That largely ceremonial step in the election process that turns unofficial results into official ones had generally not garnered much attention until the 2020 election."
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called for state authorities to investigate the administration of the midterm election in Harris County, where multiple polling locations opened late on Election Day and some ran out of ballot paper, causing delays for voters and prompting a judge to keep voting centers open later than planned." I wonder if the result "the state fucked up the election" will be an acceptable result.
"As Arizona election deniers get more and more bad news, protesters at an election office demanded 'the military step in' and redo the election, claimed Jan. 6 rioters are being 'tortured in cages,' and more." Whackaloon quotient sky-high.
"About 27% of voters between the ages of 18-29 cast a ballot in the midterm election this year, according to an early estimate from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, also known as CIRCLE." Which is a record.
"After days of ballot counting, Arizona Democrat Katie Hobbs has been elected governor in a hotly-contested race against election-denying Republican Kari Lake, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, according to a race call by The Associated Press."
"Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor-elect of Pennsylvania, will take office with a decisive mandate from voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a Republican drive to pare back abortion rights and voting laws in the premier battleground state… Shapiro, the state’s two-term attorney general, scored a massive 14 percentage point win over Republican rival Doug Mastriano in last week’s midterm election, smashed state campaign finance records and became the first candidate since 1966 to succeed a governor of the same party in Pennsylvania."
"Documents released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee show extravagant spending from foreign leaders at former President Donald Trump's luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., which the committee says could have violated his oath of office by distorting U.S. foreign policy for personal financial gain."
"Donald Trump, who tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a deadly riot at the Capitol in a desperate attempt to keep himself in power, announced he is running again for president in 2024." And that's how you write the news story.
"The Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane landed back on Earth after spending a record-breaking two and a half years (908 days) in orbit. It landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, November 12th at 5:22AM ET, marking its sixth successful mission so far."v "Poland's president said Wednesday that it appears a missile that landed just inside the country's border was from Ukraine in what he called an 'unfortunate accident.'"
"A volcano is likely erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don’t know for sure because it’s so inaccessible… All indications are that the Ahyi Seamount began erupting in mid-October, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Honolulu."
"Art restorers have embarked on a project to digitally unveil what was once a nude painting by Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most prominent female artists from the period… The Allegory of Inclination, as the 1616 work is titled, originally depicted a nude female figure. But about 70 years later, the nudity was concealed with another painter's addition — to adhere to the moral sensibilities of the male-dominated art world."
"They arrived at University Hospitals TriPoint Medical Center in Painesville, Ohio, at around 6 a.m. Medical staff there did her bloodwork and an ultrasound – again, there was no heartbeat. To check how much blood she had lost, they measured her hemoglobin level – Zielke says they told her she hadn't lost enough for it to be of concern yet." Fuck. This is criminal neglect, IMHO. And I have so many thoughts on this, including TriPoints nickname, but I don't feel I can share them here. We have guidelines, they are published on our intranet site, this doctor neglected to follow them. But not stated in this article, our ED doctors are not UH employees. And no, this isn't the only problem that setup causes.
"It has taken years of experimentation by a crew of biologists, biochemists and engineers to turn that concept into a product ready to eat. Now the company is awaiting a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its first cultivated meat products, including a chicken fillet."
"Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Monday announced that the department is assessing fines totaling $7.5 million against six airlines, and the DOT is ordering those airlines to pay $600 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers who had been denied them."
"More than 24,000 tech workers across 72 companies have been laid off this month, adding to a total of 120,000 tech jobs lost this year, according to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts in the tech industry. It's safe to say a reckoning is underway, even as each company is grappling with its own challenges."
"President Joe Biden was set to try to cajole the world’s largest economies to further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically over its invasion of Ukraine despite a souring global outlook that has tested other nations’ resolve."
"As a result, in some places teachers and administrators — already facing long hours and low pay — now find themselves under additional pressure from politicians, parents and even their own school districts. It all comes as many schools are losing qualified teachers and waging an uphill battle to improve flagging test scores."
"Conservative groups that sought to get hundreds of 'parents’ rights' activists elected to local school boards largely fell short in last week’s midterm elections, notching notable wins in some Republican strongholds but failing to gain a groundswell of support among moderate voters."
"All six school board members endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won their runoffs Tuesday, results that deliver the Republican governor a total of 24 wins out of 30 local education candidates he backed this year."
"Arizona voters have approved an initiative to extend cheaper in-state college tuition to some non-citizen students, cheering supporters who hope the measure’s passage Monday will help spark momentum for wider immigration reform in Congress."
"Voting has ended, and most winners have been declared… But even after all states finish counting and reviewing the votes, the 2022 midterm general elections are not officially over until the results are certified… That largely ceremonial step in the election process that turns unofficial results into official ones had generally not garnered much attention until the 2020 election."
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called for state authorities to investigate the administration of the midterm election in Harris County, where multiple polling locations opened late on Election Day and some ran out of ballot paper, causing delays for voters and prompting a judge to keep voting centers open later than planned." I wonder if the result "the state fucked up the election" will be an acceptable result.
"As Arizona election deniers get more and more bad news, protesters at an election office demanded 'the military step in' and redo the election, claimed Jan. 6 rioters are being 'tortured in cages,' and more." Whackaloon quotient sky-high.
"About 27% of voters between the ages of 18-29 cast a ballot in the midterm election this year, according to an early estimate from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, also known as CIRCLE." Which is a record.
"After days of ballot counting, Arizona Democrat Katie Hobbs has been elected governor in a hotly-contested race against election-denying Republican Kari Lake, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, according to a race call by The Associated Press."
"Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor-elect of Pennsylvania, will take office with a decisive mandate from voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a Republican drive to pare back abortion rights and voting laws in the premier battleground state… Shapiro, the state’s two-term attorney general, scored a massive 14 percentage point win over Republican rival Doug Mastriano in last week’s midterm election, smashed state campaign finance records and became the first candidate since 1966 to succeed a governor of the same party in Pennsylvania."
"Documents released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee show extravagant spending from foreign leaders at former President Donald Trump's luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., which the committee says could have violated his oath of office by distorting U.S. foreign policy for personal financial gain."
"Donald Trump, who tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a deadly riot at the Capitol in a desperate attempt to keep himself in power, announced he is running again for president in 2024." And that's how you write the news story.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Linkee-poo Sunday Nov 13
Kevin Conroy, Gallagher, and so it goes.
"But if the planet heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse. Scientists warn that abrupt changes could be set off, with devastating impacts around the world… If countries, including the United States, follow through on current promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the latest estimates suggest that Earth's temperature will still top out around 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming."
"Over the past two years, the nine-year teaching veteran was growing alarmed with the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Legislature’s increasing efforts to restrict access to books in public schools. In her classroom, she covered some bookshelves with red butcher tape and labeled them 'Books the state doesn’t want you to read.' She gave students a QR code link to the Brooklyn Public Library, which provides access to a variety of banned books."
"Across the county, librarians are fighting to keep libraries open and books on the shelves. On this week’s (On the Media) show, hear what the American Library Association is doing to stand up to unprecedented challenges, and what a suit against the Internet Archive could mean for the future of e-books. Plus, how the legend of the ancient Library of Alexandria continues to inspire utopian projects today."
The Planet Money podcast with… "In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major book publisher, Macmillan. They carried boxes stuffed with petitions. They'd collected thousands of signatures, and now, they wanted to deliver them in person. Their goal: to put an end to a controversial policy known as "windowing." It would prohibit libraries from loaning out more than one copy of a new e-book in the first 8 weeks after its release, leading to long wait times for bestsellers. Librarians saw this as a threat to their mission to freely share knowledge with the public."
"Union members at HarperCollins, one of the largest publishers in the country, started an indefinite strike today. Workers and supporters gathered outside the company's New York City offices this morning to make their demands… The action comes after a drawn out negotiation process, with workers asking for higher wages, stronger commitments to diversifying staff and better family leave. The approximately 250 unionized workers are represented by UAW 2110, and include people in design, marketing, publicity and sales. These employees have been working without a contract since April."
"Stocks surged in their biggest rally in two years on Thursday, after a better-than-expected inflation report showed that the galloping price increases that consumers have endured all year are beginning to slow."
"On Saturday, AI image service Midjourney began alpha testing version 4 ("v4") of its text-to-image synthesis model, which is available for subscribers on its Discord server. The new model provides more detail than previously available on the service, inspiring some AI artists to remark that v4 almost makes it 'too easy' to get high-quality results from simple prompts." Well I'm sure glad the AI scientists are working hard at improving their work and not engaged in base level marketing disguised as journalism.
"Few people outside computer programmers or engineers had heard of the social network Mastodon before Elon Musk bought Twitter… Now, Twitter users queasy about changes the eccentric billionaire is making are signing up for Mastodon accounts in droves. Mastodon reached a million users earlier this week, up from under 400,000 before Musk closed the Twitter deal on Oct. 27."
Why should we have to take all these classes that don't really apply to our majors (shout the mostly business major class). Sigh. "KFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews by ordering fried chicken and cheese."
"Israel’s president officially tapped former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government on Sunday, opening the door for the likely return to power of the long-serving leader after a one-year hiatus. With Netanyahu comes what’s expected to be Israel’s most right-wing coalition ever." Here we go again.
"A former FBI agent and families of eight victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are set to receive an additional half a billion dollars in damages from Infowars host Alex Jones, a Connecticut judge ruled Thursday."
"Tommy Bryant was charged with third-degree assault after striking mayor Wayman Newton in the parking lot of Tarrant city hall in a Monday night incident witnessed by multiple people, including the police chief, reported TMZ… Witnesses say Bryant used racial slurs during the incident, which came after he challenged the mayor, who is Black, to step down during a heated exchange during the City Council meeting."
"Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there."
"Under Georgia’s 2021 election law, there will be only four weeks before the runoff — with Thanksgiving in the middle. Many Georgians will be offered only five weekdays of early in-person voting beginning Nov. 28. And June’s primary runoffs showed time for mail ballots to be received and returned can be very tight."
"But if the planet heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse. Scientists warn that abrupt changes could be set off, with devastating impacts around the world… If countries, including the United States, follow through on current promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the latest estimates suggest that Earth's temperature will still top out around 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming."
"Over the past two years, the nine-year teaching veteran was growing alarmed with the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Legislature’s increasing efforts to restrict access to books in public schools. In her classroom, she covered some bookshelves with red butcher tape and labeled them 'Books the state doesn’t want you to read.' She gave students a QR code link to the Brooklyn Public Library, which provides access to a variety of banned books."
"Across the county, librarians are fighting to keep libraries open and books on the shelves. On this week’s (On the Media) show, hear what the American Library Association is doing to stand up to unprecedented challenges, and what a suit against the Internet Archive could mean for the future of e-books. Plus, how the legend of the ancient Library of Alexandria continues to inspire utopian projects today."
The Planet Money podcast with… "In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major book publisher, Macmillan. They carried boxes stuffed with petitions. They'd collected thousands of signatures, and now, they wanted to deliver them in person. Their goal: to put an end to a controversial policy known as "windowing." It would prohibit libraries from loaning out more than one copy of a new e-book in the first 8 weeks after its release, leading to long wait times for bestsellers. Librarians saw this as a threat to their mission to freely share knowledge with the public."
"Union members at HarperCollins, one of the largest publishers in the country, started an indefinite strike today. Workers and supporters gathered outside the company's New York City offices this morning to make their demands… The action comes after a drawn out negotiation process, with workers asking for higher wages, stronger commitments to diversifying staff and better family leave. The approximately 250 unionized workers are represented by UAW 2110, and include people in design, marketing, publicity and sales. These employees have been working without a contract since April."
"Stocks surged in their biggest rally in two years on Thursday, after a better-than-expected inflation report showed that the galloping price increases that consumers have endured all year are beginning to slow."
"On Saturday, AI image service Midjourney began alpha testing version 4 ("v4") of its text-to-image synthesis model, which is available for subscribers on its Discord server. The new model provides more detail than previously available on the service, inspiring some AI artists to remark that v4 almost makes it 'too easy' to get high-quality results from simple prompts." Well I'm sure glad the AI scientists are working hard at improving their work and not engaged in base level marketing disguised as journalism.
"Few people outside computer programmers or engineers had heard of the social network Mastodon before Elon Musk bought Twitter… Now, Twitter users queasy about changes the eccentric billionaire is making are signing up for Mastodon accounts in droves. Mastodon reached a million users earlier this week, up from under 400,000 before Musk closed the Twitter deal on Oct. 27."
Why should we have to take all these classes that don't really apply to our majors (shout the mostly business major class). Sigh. "KFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews by ordering fried chicken and cheese."
"Israel’s president officially tapped former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government on Sunday, opening the door for the likely return to power of the long-serving leader after a one-year hiatus. With Netanyahu comes what’s expected to be Israel’s most right-wing coalition ever." Here we go again.
"A former FBI agent and families of eight victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are set to receive an additional half a billion dollars in damages from Infowars host Alex Jones, a Connecticut judge ruled Thursday."
"Tommy Bryant was charged with third-degree assault after striking mayor Wayman Newton in the parking lot of Tarrant city hall in a Monday night incident witnessed by multiple people, including the police chief, reported TMZ… Witnesses say Bryant used racial slurs during the incident, which came after he challenged the mayor, who is Black, to step down during a heated exchange during the City Council meeting."
"Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there."
"Under Georgia’s 2021 election law, there will be only four weeks before the runoff — with Thanksgiving in the middle. Many Georgians will be offered only five weekdays of early in-person voting beginning Nov. 28. And June’s primary runoffs showed time for mail ballots to be received and returned can be very tight."
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
There has to be a morning after
"Razor-thin margins around the country left control of Congress still undetermined Wednesday, but Democrats showed surprising strength in the midterm election, topping Republicans in a series of competitive races and defying expectations that high inflation and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings would drag his party to key defeats."
Not good, but not as bad as it could have been. Here in the Ohio wasteland, the GOP swept most statewide offices. And JD Vance is in the Senate. Gods help us all.
Not good, but not as bad as it could have been. Here in the Ohio wasteland, the GOP swept most statewide offices. And JD Vance is in the Senate. Gods help us all.
Monday, November 7, 2022
Linkee-poo Monday Nov 7
Go and vote, if you haven't already.
"In North America and around the globe, 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers. A new study warns that glaciers in a third of them will disappear by 2050 due to carbon emissions warming the planet… The other two-thirds can still be saved — but only if global temperatures don't exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times, UNESCO says."
"Cannon is getting help to finance this climate-friendly way of farming, which costs him thousands of dollars for additional machinery and seed, from the kinds of companies that ultimately buy his product. Footing the bill in his case is PepsiCo and Unilever, which own food brands ranging from Lay's and Gatorade to Hellman's and Ben & Jerry's."
"But now something remarkable has happened. The fish has come back to the lakes of Medio Jurua. The story of how involves people of different backgrounds cooperating on many levels — a vision of what’s possible that veterans of the Amazon say they’ve seen nowhere else across the vast region."
"When put to the test, bees have proved over and over again that they've got a lot more to offer than pollinating, making honey and being fiercely loyal to a queen. The industrious insects can count and alter their behavior when things seem difficult, and now some scientists say there's proof they also like to play."
"As climate change impacts the production of prized saffron in Indian-controlled Kashmir, scientists are shifting to a largely new technique for growing one of the world’s most expensive spices in the Himalayan region: indoor cultivation."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidance for clinicians on how and when to prescribe opioids for pain. Released Thursday, this revamps the agency's 2016 recommendations which some doctors and patients have criticized for promoting a culture of austerity around opioids." This is what, the third revision to the 2016 rules?
"Applications for jobless benefits fell slightly last week with the U.S. job market remaining resilient in the face of rising interest rates and persistent inflation."
"The FBI said Thursday that it had received credible information about a 'broad' threat to synagogues in New Jersey, a warning that prompted some municipalities to send extra police officers to guard houses of worship."
"Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with American officials that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom, three U.S. officials said Tuesday." Look at the price of gas. Gee, would like to help, but, you know. Hey, why don't you call your friend Vlad. What do you mean he supports Iran? Well, I guess you shouldn't have sided with him over oil production quotas.
"There was one problem: neither soldier had ever fired an NLAW. So, as the tanks approached, they hid amongst some trees and looked up a YouTube video on how to do so. They took their positions, prepared the missiles."
"What happened that day in Bucha was what Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called 'zachistka' — cleansing. The Russians hunted people on lists prepared by their intelligence services and went door to door to identify potential threats. Those who didn’t pass this filtration, including volunteer fighters and civilians suspected of assisting Ukrainian troops, were tortured and executed, surveillance video, audio intercepts and interviews show."
"As Russians seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, civilian administrators and others, including nuclear power plant workers, say they have been abducted, threatened or beaten to force their cooperation — something that legal and human rights experts say may constitute a war crime."
"Now that two of the warring parties in Ethiopia have signed a landmark peace deal, the world is watching to see if it will truly mean the end of one of the world's deadliest conflicts… The deal was struck Wednesday as the war neared the two-year mark since fighting erupted in the Tigray region, in the early hours of Nov. 4, 2020. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people, uprooted millions from their homes and devastated one of Africa's biggest economies."
"A Manhattan judge said Thursday he will appoint an independent monitor 'to ensure there is no further fraud' at former President Donald Trump’s company, restricting its ability to freely make deals, sell assets and change its corporate structure."
"President Joe Biden took off on a personal final-days campaign sprint Thursday that reflects the Democrats’ major concerns before next week’s midterm elections, appealing to New Mexico voters to defeat “reckless and irresponsible” Republicans and reelect Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham."
"In North America and around the globe, 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers. A new study warns that glaciers in a third of them will disappear by 2050 due to carbon emissions warming the planet… The other two-thirds can still be saved — but only if global temperatures don't exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times, UNESCO says."
"Cannon is getting help to finance this climate-friendly way of farming, which costs him thousands of dollars for additional machinery and seed, from the kinds of companies that ultimately buy his product. Footing the bill in his case is PepsiCo and Unilever, which own food brands ranging from Lay's and Gatorade to Hellman's and Ben & Jerry's."
"But now something remarkable has happened. The fish has come back to the lakes of Medio Jurua. The story of how involves people of different backgrounds cooperating on many levels — a vision of what’s possible that veterans of the Amazon say they’ve seen nowhere else across the vast region."
"When put to the test, bees have proved over and over again that they've got a lot more to offer than pollinating, making honey and being fiercely loyal to a queen. The industrious insects can count and alter their behavior when things seem difficult, and now some scientists say there's proof they also like to play."
"As climate change impacts the production of prized saffron in Indian-controlled Kashmir, scientists are shifting to a largely new technique for growing one of the world’s most expensive spices in the Himalayan region: indoor cultivation."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidance for clinicians on how and when to prescribe opioids for pain. Released Thursday, this revamps the agency's 2016 recommendations which some doctors and patients have criticized for promoting a culture of austerity around opioids." This is what, the third revision to the 2016 rules?
"Applications for jobless benefits fell slightly last week with the U.S. job market remaining resilient in the face of rising interest rates and persistent inflation."
"The FBI said Thursday that it had received credible information about a 'broad' threat to synagogues in New Jersey, a warning that prompted some municipalities to send extra police officers to guard houses of worship."
"Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with American officials that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom, three U.S. officials said Tuesday." Look at the price of gas. Gee, would like to help, but, you know. Hey, why don't you call your friend Vlad. What do you mean he supports Iran? Well, I guess you shouldn't have sided with him over oil production quotas.
"There was one problem: neither soldier had ever fired an NLAW. So, as the tanks approached, they hid amongst some trees and looked up a YouTube video on how to do so. They took their positions, prepared the missiles."
"What happened that day in Bucha was what Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called 'zachistka' — cleansing. The Russians hunted people on lists prepared by their intelligence services and went door to door to identify potential threats. Those who didn’t pass this filtration, including volunteer fighters and civilians suspected of assisting Ukrainian troops, were tortured and executed, surveillance video, audio intercepts and interviews show."
"As Russians seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, civilian administrators and others, including nuclear power plant workers, say they have been abducted, threatened or beaten to force their cooperation — something that legal and human rights experts say may constitute a war crime."
"Now that two of the warring parties in Ethiopia have signed a landmark peace deal, the world is watching to see if it will truly mean the end of one of the world's deadliest conflicts… The deal was struck Wednesday as the war neared the two-year mark since fighting erupted in the Tigray region, in the early hours of Nov. 4, 2020. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people, uprooted millions from their homes and devastated one of Africa's biggest economies."
"A Manhattan judge said Thursday he will appoint an independent monitor 'to ensure there is no further fraud' at former President Donald Trump’s company, restricting its ability to freely make deals, sell assets and change its corporate structure."
"President Joe Biden took off on a personal final-days campaign sprint Thursday that reflects the Democrats’ major concerns before next week’s midterm elections, appealing to New Mexico voters to defeat “reckless and irresponsible” Republicans and reelect Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham."
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Linkee-poo Thursday Nov3
Vote like democracy depends on it, because it does.
"The event description sells itself: 'the greatest masquerade on earth, hosted at the largest Masonic Temple in the world.'… Theatre Bizarre has not always called the Detroit Masonic Temple home, but it's hard to imagine it happening anywhere else. As one of the most storied buildings in Detroit, featuring a seemingly endless collection of rooms, hallways, and hiding places, the setting seems perfect for hosting an evening of unexpected delights and terrors."
"While coal's devastating contribution to climate change has been well documented, it has also left a long and painful legacy in communities where it's mined. A joint investigation by Bloomberg News and NPR found that Alpha is one of several large U.S. coal companies that used the same playbook. They transferred old mines in need of cleanup to smaller operators with meager financial resources, raising the risk that taxpayers, rather than industry, will eventually be stuck with the cost."
"So much has been lost over time that residents have voted twice to relocate. But Shishmaref remains in the same place. The relocation is too costly. In this Inupiat village of 600 residents live mostly off subsistence hunting of seals, fishing and berry picking. Some fear that if they move, they’d lose that traditional way of life that they’ve carried on from their ancestors."
"The answer is yes, according to a new paper in Nature Communications presenting evidence that many species thought to be mute do in fact vocalize — and the researchers caught it on tape." It's amazing what you find when you just look.
"Just after news leaked in May that the Supreme Court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, Liz Lebrón and her colleagues noticed something unusual: a spike in false and misleading information on abortion being shared in Spanish on social media."
"The drug that killed her daughter was rare a decade ago, but fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids now are driving an overdose crisis deadlier than any the U.S. has ever seen. Last year, overdoses from all drugs claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and the deaths this year have remained at nearly the same level — more than gun and auto deaths combined."
"'Long COVID is destroying lives. It is actively destroying lives. And right now, there is no known cure for long COVID,' Dr. David Putrino says… Meanwhile, researchers who’ve spent decades studying Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also known as ME/CFS, are saying, 'We can help.'"
"The analysis found the average student lost more than half a school year of learning in math and nearly a quarter of a school year in reading – with some district averages slipping by more than double those amounts, or worse… Online learning played a major role, but students lost significant ground even where they returned quickly to schoolhouses, especially in math scores in low-income communities."
"The unusually high number of RSV infections so early in the year are already pushing hospitals to capacity. In normal years, RSV sends thousands of children to the hospital over fall and winter, but for the second year in a row experts have seen an unprecedented spike in the number of cases beginning during the summer months." And many are treating RSV as "not serious" because it's not COVID. But then we're also seeing a decrease in the proper use of PPE with COVID patients as well.
"Bernal says that, through marketing and advertising, state-run lotteries have no regulation to their 'predatory practices' that affect low-income communities — which are made up of primarily Black and brown people."
"Time is running out if you're hoping to book a relatively inexpensive flight over the holidays. Airlines say that demand is sky high and, as a result, airfares are soaring." What coming recession?
"Inflation hit a new record in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, fueled by out-of-control prices for natural gas and electricity due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Economic growth also slowed ahead of what economists fear is a looming recession, largely as a result of those higher prices sapping Europeans’ ability to spend."
"Across the board, government bonds are giving investors the best payouts seen in years: 4%, 5%, 6%. This is far better than the return you'll get on the stock market right now (the S&P 500 is down nearly 20% so far this year), though still not enough to keep up with inflation."
"New York will require employers as of Nov. 1 to disclose 'a good faith salary range for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised,' according to the city’s Commission on Human Rights… Similar salary transparency laws are being adopted by a small but growing number of cities and states across the country in an effort to address pay disparities for women and people of color."
"Biden in brief remarks criticized major oil companies for making record-setting profits while refusing to help lower prices at the pump for the American people. The president suggested he will look to Congress to levy tax penalties on oil tax companies if they don’t begin to invest some of their profits in lowering costs for American consumers. The president issued the warning just days before the Nov. 8 midterm elections." A windfall tax is certainly justified at this time.
"The Federal Reserve ordered another big boost in interest rates on Wednesday, and warned that rates will have to go even higher to bring stubbornly high inflation under control." If inflation is being driven by profiteering (as it's starting to look like), higher interest rates won't affect this.
"The Justice Department has arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a theft ring that made millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have increasingly become targets across the country."
"In a dystopian nightmare come to life, the Cambodian government has given Chinese crime syndicates free rein to bring in tens of thousands of foreign men and women who — according to human rights organizations and their own accounts — are held captive to work in crowded cyber scam mills."
"A massive barrage of Russian strikes Monday morning hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, leaving residents without water and power supplies. The strikes appear to be retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea Fleet over the weekend. Russia suspended a Ukraine grain export deal last week that has helped keep world food prices down."
"A small number of U.S. military forces inside Ukraine have recently begun doing onsite inspections to ensure that Ukrainian troops are properly accounting for the Western-provided weapons they receive, a senior U.S. defense official told Pentagon reporters Monday."
"Afghan special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to Iran after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told The Associated Press." Oh look, it's our broken promises coming back to bite us. Again.
"United States Capitol Police security cameras installed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco residence recorded the break-in to her home early last Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the investigation." So much for the conspiracy theories. Unfortunately the truth is not a cure for the lies, because the content of the lie is not the thrust of the lie.
"Voters in five states, including four that are among the most conservative in the country, are deciding on whether to legalize recreational marijuana this election. If passed in each state, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia where cannabis has already been legalized for personal use."
"He won by a razor-thin margin over an opponent who refuses to concede. He'll take over a deeply polarized country with a troubled economy. And while some Brazilians are hopeful he can put the country back on track, others view him as a crook… Despite engineering a stunning political comeback by winning the presidency in Sunday's runoff election over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could face a short honeymoon — and a long four years in office."
"Florida motorists can expect to pay more at the pump as the state’s month-long gas tax 'holiday' ends… The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas Monday stood at $3.29, about a dime cheaper than at the start of October. But the AAA auto club said that likely will change quickly when the state’s 25.3-cent-a-gallon gas tax returns Tuesday, after being suspended in October by lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis."
"Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors say was a 15-year scheme by his most trusted lieutenant to avoid paying taxes on those fringe benefits."
"Another pro-MAGA activist has been outed as a Chinese spy, according to the Washington Post… Just as Elon Musk is taking over Twitter, the company uncovered three China-based operatives pretending to be influencers in American politics as part of an effort to polarize Americans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections."
"The New Hampshire dynamic reflects the emboldened GOP’s increasing confidence in candidates who party leaders believed were essentially unelectable — or at least seriously flawed — just weeks or months ago. But heading into the final full week of the 2022 midterms, Republican leaders are betting that anti-Democratic political headwinds will supersede what Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell himself called 'candidate quality' issues in his own party."
"Yesterday, the State of Minnesota Campaign Finance Board determined that there is prima facie evidence that Jim Schultz’s campaign violated campaign finance laws by illegally coordinating with the independent expenditure group Minnesota for Freedom… This determination resulted from a complaint filed by the DFL Party alleging that Schultz’s campaign and Minnesota for Freedom both bought ads using Steve Syckes as an agent, which is expressly prohibited by Minnesota campaign finance law."
"Ahead of Election Day in the high-stakes 2022 midterm elections, right-wing groups have spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-transgender ads in battleground states… America First Legal, an organization launched by former Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller, is behind many of the political ads targeting transgender kids that have run in at least 25 states."
"What Burden said that day in May 2021 was a violation of a long-standing federal law barring churches and nonprofits from directly or indirectly participating in political campaigns, tax law experts told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Although the provision was mostly uncontroversial for decades after it passed in 1954, it has become a target for both evangelical churches and former President Donald Trump, who vowed to eliminate it."
"The event description sells itself: 'the greatest masquerade on earth, hosted at the largest Masonic Temple in the world.'… Theatre Bizarre has not always called the Detroit Masonic Temple home, but it's hard to imagine it happening anywhere else. As one of the most storied buildings in Detroit, featuring a seemingly endless collection of rooms, hallways, and hiding places, the setting seems perfect for hosting an evening of unexpected delights and terrors."
"While coal's devastating contribution to climate change has been well documented, it has also left a long and painful legacy in communities where it's mined. A joint investigation by Bloomberg News and NPR found that Alpha is one of several large U.S. coal companies that used the same playbook. They transferred old mines in need of cleanup to smaller operators with meager financial resources, raising the risk that taxpayers, rather than industry, will eventually be stuck with the cost."
"So much has been lost over time that residents have voted twice to relocate. But Shishmaref remains in the same place. The relocation is too costly. In this Inupiat village of 600 residents live mostly off subsistence hunting of seals, fishing and berry picking. Some fear that if they move, they’d lose that traditional way of life that they’ve carried on from their ancestors."
"The answer is yes, according to a new paper in Nature Communications presenting evidence that many species thought to be mute do in fact vocalize — and the researchers caught it on tape." It's amazing what you find when you just look.
"Just after news leaked in May that the Supreme Court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, Liz Lebrón and her colleagues noticed something unusual: a spike in false and misleading information on abortion being shared in Spanish on social media."
"The drug that killed her daughter was rare a decade ago, but fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids now are driving an overdose crisis deadlier than any the U.S. has ever seen. Last year, overdoses from all drugs claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and the deaths this year have remained at nearly the same level — more than gun and auto deaths combined."
"'Long COVID is destroying lives. It is actively destroying lives. And right now, there is no known cure for long COVID,' Dr. David Putrino says… Meanwhile, researchers who’ve spent decades studying Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also known as ME/CFS, are saying, 'We can help.'"
"The analysis found the average student lost more than half a school year of learning in math and nearly a quarter of a school year in reading – with some district averages slipping by more than double those amounts, or worse… Online learning played a major role, but students lost significant ground even where they returned quickly to schoolhouses, especially in math scores in low-income communities."
"The unusually high number of RSV infections so early in the year are already pushing hospitals to capacity. In normal years, RSV sends thousands of children to the hospital over fall and winter, but for the second year in a row experts have seen an unprecedented spike in the number of cases beginning during the summer months." And many are treating RSV as "not serious" because it's not COVID. But then we're also seeing a decrease in the proper use of PPE with COVID patients as well.
"Bernal says that, through marketing and advertising, state-run lotteries have no regulation to their 'predatory practices' that affect low-income communities — which are made up of primarily Black and brown people."
"Time is running out if you're hoping to book a relatively inexpensive flight over the holidays. Airlines say that demand is sky high and, as a result, airfares are soaring." What coming recession?
"Inflation hit a new record in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, fueled by out-of-control prices for natural gas and electricity due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Economic growth also slowed ahead of what economists fear is a looming recession, largely as a result of those higher prices sapping Europeans’ ability to spend."
"Across the board, government bonds are giving investors the best payouts seen in years: 4%, 5%, 6%. This is far better than the return you'll get on the stock market right now (the S&P 500 is down nearly 20% so far this year), though still not enough to keep up with inflation."
"New York will require employers as of Nov. 1 to disclose 'a good faith salary range for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised,' according to the city’s Commission on Human Rights… Similar salary transparency laws are being adopted by a small but growing number of cities and states across the country in an effort to address pay disparities for women and people of color."
"Biden in brief remarks criticized major oil companies for making record-setting profits while refusing to help lower prices at the pump for the American people. The president suggested he will look to Congress to levy tax penalties on oil tax companies if they don’t begin to invest some of their profits in lowering costs for American consumers. The president issued the warning just days before the Nov. 8 midterm elections." A windfall tax is certainly justified at this time.
"The Federal Reserve ordered another big boost in interest rates on Wednesday, and warned that rates will have to go even higher to bring stubbornly high inflation under control." If inflation is being driven by profiteering (as it's starting to look like), higher interest rates won't affect this.
"The Justice Department has arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a theft ring that made millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have increasingly become targets across the country."
"In a dystopian nightmare come to life, the Cambodian government has given Chinese crime syndicates free rein to bring in tens of thousands of foreign men and women who — according to human rights organizations and their own accounts — are held captive to work in crowded cyber scam mills."
"A massive barrage of Russian strikes Monday morning hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, leaving residents without water and power supplies. The strikes appear to be retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea Fleet over the weekend. Russia suspended a Ukraine grain export deal last week that has helped keep world food prices down."
"A small number of U.S. military forces inside Ukraine have recently begun doing onsite inspections to ensure that Ukrainian troops are properly accounting for the Western-provided weapons they receive, a senior U.S. defense official told Pentagon reporters Monday."
"Afghan special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to Iran after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told The Associated Press." Oh look, it's our broken promises coming back to bite us. Again.
"United States Capitol Police security cameras installed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco residence recorded the break-in to her home early last Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the investigation." So much for the conspiracy theories. Unfortunately the truth is not a cure for the lies, because the content of the lie is not the thrust of the lie.
"Voters in five states, including four that are among the most conservative in the country, are deciding on whether to legalize recreational marijuana this election. If passed in each state, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia where cannabis has already been legalized for personal use."
"He won by a razor-thin margin over an opponent who refuses to concede. He'll take over a deeply polarized country with a troubled economy. And while some Brazilians are hopeful he can put the country back on track, others view him as a crook… Despite engineering a stunning political comeback by winning the presidency in Sunday's runoff election over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could face a short honeymoon — and a long four years in office."
"Florida motorists can expect to pay more at the pump as the state’s month-long gas tax 'holiday' ends… The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas Monday stood at $3.29, about a dime cheaper than at the start of October. But the AAA auto club said that likely will change quickly when the state’s 25.3-cent-a-gallon gas tax returns Tuesday, after being suspended in October by lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis."
"Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors say was a 15-year scheme by his most trusted lieutenant to avoid paying taxes on those fringe benefits."
"Another pro-MAGA activist has been outed as a Chinese spy, according to the Washington Post… Just as Elon Musk is taking over Twitter, the company uncovered three China-based operatives pretending to be influencers in American politics as part of an effort to polarize Americans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections."
"The New Hampshire dynamic reflects the emboldened GOP’s increasing confidence in candidates who party leaders believed were essentially unelectable — or at least seriously flawed — just weeks or months ago. But heading into the final full week of the 2022 midterms, Republican leaders are betting that anti-Democratic political headwinds will supersede what Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell himself called 'candidate quality' issues in his own party."
"Yesterday, the State of Minnesota Campaign Finance Board determined that there is prima facie evidence that Jim Schultz’s campaign violated campaign finance laws by illegally coordinating with the independent expenditure group Minnesota for Freedom… This determination resulted from a complaint filed by the DFL Party alleging that Schultz’s campaign and Minnesota for Freedom both bought ads using Steve Syckes as an agent, which is expressly prohibited by Minnesota campaign finance law."
"Ahead of Election Day in the high-stakes 2022 midterm elections, right-wing groups have spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-transgender ads in battleground states… America First Legal, an organization launched by former Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller, is behind many of the political ads targeting transgender kids that have run in at least 25 states."
"What Burden said that day in May 2021 was a violation of a long-standing federal law barring churches and nonprofits from directly or indirectly participating in political campaigns, tax law experts told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Although the provision was mostly uncontroversial for decades after it passed in 1954, it has become a target for both evangelical churches and former President Donald Trump, who vowed to eliminate it."
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Linkee-poo hey there Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good
Jerry Lee Lewis, and Leslie Jordan, and so it goes.
"While Halloween conjures images of candy and costumes around the U.S., the holiday looks different across the globe. Here's a breakdown into how the holiday is celebrated in seven other countries."
"A painting by abstract Dutch artist Piet Mondrian has been hanging upside down in various museums since it was first put on display 75 years ago, an art historian has found, but warned it could disintegrate if it was hung the right side up now." This is one of the longest running jokes in modern art, "which way is up?"
"Two NASA spacecraft at Mars — one on the surface and the other in orbit — have recorded the biggest meteor strikes and impact craters yet."
"Several marketable species harvested by U.S. fishermen are the subject of quota cuts, seasonal closures and other restrictions as populations have fallen and waters have warmed. In some instances, such as the groundfishing industry for species like flounder in the Northeast, the changing environment has made it harder for fish to recover from years of overfishing that already taxed the population."
"The head of the U.S. Forest Service has denounced the arrest by an Oregon sheriff of a Forest Service employee after a planned burn in a national forest spread onto private land."
Not sure if I linked this here before… "A massive recall of millions of sleep apnea machines has stoked anger and frustration among patients, and U.S. officials are weighing unprecedented legal action to speed a replacement effort that is set to drag into next year." Philips has been dicking around with people who rely on these devices (full disclosure, I am one of those). At least they offered this guy $50 for his machine. They only offered me $25 for my machine. CPAP devices typically cost $1,300.
"Commissioner Louis Molina said at a city council hearing Tuesday that fentanyl-soaked children’s drawings, love letters, prayer schedules, and T-shirts have been shipped to detainees. To address that he plans to hire a vendor to scan letters and distribute them to detainees digitally on tablets. Molina also said he may restrict packages so they only come from approved vendors." Note no evidence was presented to back up the claim.
"The authors of the interim report do not claim to have definitively solved the mystery of COVID-19’s origin. 'The lack of transparency from government and public health officials in the [People’s Republic of China] with respect to the origins of SARS-CoV-2 prevents reaching a more definitive conclusion,' the report says, adding that its conclusion could change if more independently verifiable information becomes available." Lemme call bullshit right here. One, this "investigation" into the lab origin theory relies on Kremlinology processes and only focuses on the lab origin theory. It's no wonder they came to this conclusion. Two, no one is saying we shouldn't address lab safety issues, this is an ongoing argument that started decades ago. Three, correlation is not causation. Let's say their analysis is accurate an a Wuhan virology lab had an accident prior to the discovery of the COVID19 outbreak. This does not mean the accident released COVID19. Four, a lot of the "facts" regarding concern for security in a the bio lab center around "discussions" that sound alarming. Considering the research, they should sound this way. The concern for lab safety is a normal thing for labs of this type. China is just a few decades into this high tech world, there should be concern. As for the conditions and "deficiencies" in lab techniques, I'd really hate for you to see JACO reports on the hospitals you go to. And finally, to the statement "adding that its conclusion could change if more independently verifiable information becomes available." There is more independently verified information that shows that SARS-CoV2 is zoonotic in origin, there is an identifiable hotspot that harbored animals that can both carry this type of coronavirus and help it acquire the ability to infect humans, and there are none of the genetic markers that would show any artificial adjustment. The preponderance of available evidence points to an animal sold at a Wuhan wet market "most likely" harbored the virus and spread it to 3 people who visited the market on a single day. That said, the article (and Sen. Burr's single report not authorized by the committee) leverages "scientific speak" (not the Chinese dispatches, but how scientists speak in general) to fan fear and suspicion. Science of this type speaks in probabilities, not concrete terms.
"Early in the pandemic, weight was named a risk factor for severe covid-19. But what if the greater risk is poor medical treatment for fat people? This week, On the Media dives into the fictions, feelings, and fraught history of fat. Including how sugar and the slave trade laid the groundwork for American beauty standards."
"The drug that killed her daughter was rare a decade ago, but fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids now are driving an overdose crisis deadlier than any the U.S. has ever seen. Last year, overdoses from all drugs claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and the deaths this year have remained at nearly the same level — more than gun and auto deaths combined."
"In September, the share of people 55 and older who were working or looking for work was down 1.5 percentage points as compared with February 2020, according to the Labor Department. (For comparison, prime-age workers, or those 25 to 54 years old, are down just 0.3 percentage points from before the pandemic.)"a I'm sure ageism in hiring has nothing to do with this phenomenon.
"An investigation by nonprofit newsroom The Markup found that four internet providers disproportionately offered lower-income and least-White neighborhoods slow internet service for the same price as speedy connections they offered in other areas." An On The Media midweek (short) podcast.
"The transition to electric vehicles is underway for homeowners who can power up in their own garage, but for millions of renters, access to charging remains a significant barrier. Now, cities across the U.S. are trying to come up with innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, erect private charging stations on city right-of-ways and queue at public facilities." I would say this would force savvy landlords to install chargers as a marketing advantage, but that would require landlords who cared about their renters and not just about how money they can get out of them. But more than likely it'll lead to one realizing they could convert their property to a pay-for-charging outlet.
"Twitter’s unending fight against spam accounts is now a problem for new owner Elon Musk, who pledged in April to defeat the bot scourge or 'die trying!'" Puts my quarter on "dies."
"The troops moving toward the capitol had been ordered to block and destroy 'nationalist resistance,' according to the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank that has reviewed copies of Russia’s battle plans. Soldiers used lists compiled by Russian intelligence and conducted 'zachistka' — cleansing operations — sweeping neighborhoods to identify and neutralize anyone who might pose a threat."
"Authorities in Iowa are investigating a woman’s claim that her late father was a prolific serial killer who murdered dozens of people over decades… Fremont County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andrew Wake said his office is looking into allegations, first reported last week by Newsweek, that Donald Dean Studey buried the bodies around his property in Thurman, in southwest Iowa near the border with Nebraska." She tried to tell them earlier, but they brushed her off.
The Throughline podcast with - "Is the U.S. on the brink of civil war? It's a question that has been in the air for a while now, as divisions continue to worsen. Beyond the political speeches and debates in the halls of Congress, it's something you're likely feeling in your day-to-day life. Vaccines, school curriculums, climate change, what you define as a human rights issue, even who you call a friend. Some say we've moved beyond the point of discussion. But when words fail, what comes next? In conversation with Malcolm Nance, Anne Applebaum, and Peniel Joseph, we take a deeper look at what we mean when we say civil war, how exactly the country reached this political moment, and where we go from here." Nice democracy you got there. Shame if anything happened to it.
"Crime and public safety are among the issues that have taken center stage in many midterm races nationwide, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to New York… Republicans are repeating a page from their 2020 playbook by ramping up ads accusing Democrats of being soft on crime. The GOP spent nearly $40 million on crime-related messaging in September alone, as NPR has reported — and ad spending tends to be a good indication of what candidates and their backers think will sway voters."
"With early midterm voting underway, Fox News has been increasing crime coverage to drive voters to the polls. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the ways fear impacts our minds and bodies, both on and off screen. Plus, how filmmakers like Jordan Peele have inspired a renaissance of the Black Horror genre."
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration compiled extensive intelligence dossiers on people who were arrested, even for minor offenses, during Black Lives Matter protests in Oregon… Initial drafts of the dossiers even included friends of the subjects as well as their interests, but those were later removed and replaced with a note that they would be made available upon request, according to an internal review by the Department of Homeland Security." Of course they did.
"Brazilians head to the polls Sunday to vote in a crucial presidential election that is testing the world's fourth-largest democracy and could have a critical impact on the fight against climate change."
"The next day, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former chief strategist and a family friend of Bolsonaro’s, took to his podcast, ‘Bannon’s War Room’, to raise allegations of electoral fraud. Bannon was joined by Matthew Tyrmand, a board member for Project Veritas – a discredited US group that uses hidden cameras to supposedly ‘expose’ leftist journalists – and Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after it emerged he had met with white nationalists two years earlier. (Beattie told US media he had said 'nothing objectionable' at this meeting.)" The warmup.
"A Tennessee man who dragged a police officer into a mob of rioters, initiating one of the most harrowing acts of violence during the U.S. Capitol attack, was sentenced on Thursday to more than seven years in prison."
"A 78-year-old woman is taking Bullhead City, Ariz., to court over her arrest earlier this year for feeding the homeless community at a local public park… The Institute for Justice wants a federal court to effectively end the city ordinance that prohibits Norma Thornton from giving food to the hungry in a public park. Thornton's attorneys say the ordinance violates several of the woman's civil rights granted under the 14th amendment."
"Most notably, a passage in the recalled version of the book (2,000 Mules) that accused specific, named nonprofit organizations of involvement in illegal 'ballot trafficking' has been rewritten, softening certain claims and outright removing the names of the groups. Separately, sections of the book that purported to link election fraud to antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement have also been deleted." When you tell the truth, and have actual evidence, you don't need to do that.
"The most influential anti-abortion group in Kansas politics is urging voters in mailers to remove five of the seven justices on a state Supreme Court that declared access to abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution."
"Election Day is 12 days away. But in courtrooms across the country, efforts to sow doubt over the outcome have already begun… More than 100 lawsuits have been filed this year around the Nov. 8 elections. The legal challenges, largely by Republicans, target rules for mail-in voting, early voting, voter access, voting machines, voting registration, the counting of mismarked absentee ballots and access for partisan poll watchers."
"Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said those voters who heed advice from a prominent national group of Republican election deniers and hold onto their paper ballots until Nov. 8 must deliver them to their county board of elections office. Poll workers at precinct-level voting locations cannot accept them, he said." No, they don't know what they're doing.
"The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday, searching for the Democratic leader and shouting, 'Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?'" And rightwing media and talking heads have spent the last few days trying everything from deflection, denial, and saying he had it coming.
"Officials in Ann Arbor, Mich., Union County, N.C., and Contra Costa County, Calif., are posting infographics on social media urging people to 'think critically' about what they see and share about voting and to seek out reliable election information… Earlier this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency put out a public service announcement saying cyberattacks are not likely to disrupt voting."
"Social media users are sharing an edited video showing an interaction between Jean-Pierre and Doocy after he asked about Biden’s plans to combat high gas prices during an Oct. 19 White House press briefing."
"While Halloween conjures images of candy and costumes around the U.S., the holiday looks different across the globe. Here's a breakdown into how the holiday is celebrated in seven other countries."
"A painting by abstract Dutch artist Piet Mondrian has been hanging upside down in various museums since it was first put on display 75 years ago, an art historian has found, but warned it could disintegrate if it was hung the right side up now." This is one of the longest running jokes in modern art, "which way is up?"
"Two NASA spacecraft at Mars — one on the surface and the other in orbit — have recorded the biggest meteor strikes and impact craters yet."
"Several marketable species harvested by U.S. fishermen are the subject of quota cuts, seasonal closures and other restrictions as populations have fallen and waters have warmed. In some instances, such as the groundfishing industry for species like flounder in the Northeast, the changing environment has made it harder for fish to recover from years of overfishing that already taxed the population."
"The head of the U.S. Forest Service has denounced the arrest by an Oregon sheriff of a Forest Service employee after a planned burn in a national forest spread onto private land."
Not sure if I linked this here before… "A massive recall of millions of sleep apnea machines has stoked anger and frustration among patients, and U.S. officials are weighing unprecedented legal action to speed a replacement effort that is set to drag into next year." Philips has been dicking around with people who rely on these devices (full disclosure, I am one of those). At least they offered this guy $50 for his machine. They only offered me $25 for my machine. CPAP devices typically cost $1,300.
"Commissioner Louis Molina said at a city council hearing Tuesday that fentanyl-soaked children’s drawings, love letters, prayer schedules, and T-shirts have been shipped to detainees. To address that he plans to hire a vendor to scan letters and distribute them to detainees digitally on tablets. Molina also said he may restrict packages so they only come from approved vendors." Note no evidence was presented to back up the claim.
"The authors of the interim report do not claim to have definitively solved the mystery of COVID-19’s origin. 'The lack of transparency from government and public health officials in the [People’s Republic of China] with respect to the origins of SARS-CoV-2 prevents reaching a more definitive conclusion,' the report says, adding that its conclusion could change if more independently verifiable information becomes available." Lemme call bullshit right here. One, this "investigation" into the lab origin theory relies on Kremlinology processes and only focuses on the lab origin theory. It's no wonder they came to this conclusion. Two, no one is saying we shouldn't address lab safety issues, this is an ongoing argument that started decades ago. Three, correlation is not causation. Let's say their analysis is accurate an a Wuhan virology lab had an accident prior to the discovery of the COVID19 outbreak. This does not mean the accident released COVID19. Four, a lot of the "facts" regarding concern for security in a the bio lab center around "discussions" that sound alarming. Considering the research, they should sound this way. The concern for lab safety is a normal thing for labs of this type. China is just a few decades into this high tech world, there should be concern. As for the conditions and "deficiencies" in lab techniques, I'd really hate for you to see JACO reports on the hospitals you go to. And finally, to the statement "adding that its conclusion could change if more independently verifiable information becomes available." There is more independently verified information that shows that SARS-CoV2 is zoonotic in origin, there is an identifiable hotspot that harbored animals that can both carry this type of coronavirus and help it acquire the ability to infect humans, and there are none of the genetic markers that would show any artificial adjustment. The preponderance of available evidence points to an animal sold at a Wuhan wet market "most likely" harbored the virus and spread it to 3 people who visited the market on a single day. That said, the article (and Sen. Burr's single report not authorized by the committee) leverages "scientific speak" (not the Chinese dispatches, but how scientists speak in general) to fan fear and suspicion. Science of this type speaks in probabilities, not concrete terms.
"Early in the pandemic, weight was named a risk factor for severe covid-19. But what if the greater risk is poor medical treatment for fat people? This week, On the Media dives into the fictions, feelings, and fraught history of fat. Including how sugar and the slave trade laid the groundwork for American beauty standards."
"The drug that killed her daughter was rare a decade ago, but fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids now are driving an overdose crisis deadlier than any the U.S. has ever seen. Last year, overdoses from all drugs claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and the deaths this year have remained at nearly the same level — more than gun and auto deaths combined."
"In September, the share of people 55 and older who were working or looking for work was down 1.5 percentage points as compared with February 2020, according to the Labor Department. (For comparison, prime-age workers, or those 25 to 54 years old, are down just 0.3 percentage points from before the pandemic.)"a I'm sure ageism in hiring has nothing to do with this phenomenon.
"An investigation by nonprofit newsroom The Markup found that four internet providers disproportionately offered lower-income and least-White neighborhoods slow internet service for the same price as speedy connections they offered in other areas." An On The Media midweek (short) podcast.
"The transition to electric vehicles is underway for homeowners who can power up in their own garage, but for millions of renters, access to charging remains a significant barrier. Now, cities across the U.S. are trying to come up with innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, erect private charging stations on city right-of-ways and queue at public facilities." I would say this would force savvy landlords to install chargers as a marketing advantage, but that would require landlords who cared about their renters and not just about how money they can get out of them. But more than likely it'll lead to one realizing they could convert their property to a pay-for-charging outlet.
"Twitter’s unending fight against spam accounts is now a problem for new owner Elon Musk, who pledged in April to defeat the bot scourge or 'die trying!'" Puts my quarter on "dies."
"The troops moving toward the capitol had been ordered to block and destroy 'nationalist resistance,' according to the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank that has reviewed copies of Russia’s battle plans. Soldiers used lists compiled by Russian intelligence and conducted 'zachistka' — cleansing operations — sweeping neighborhoods to identify and neutralize anyone who might pose a threat."
"Authorities in Iowa are investigating a woman’s claim that her late father was a prolific serial killer who murdered dozens of people over decades… Fremont County Sheriff’s Sgt. Andrew Wake said his office is looking into allegations, first reported last week by Newsweek, that Donald Dean Studey buried the bodies around his property in Thurman, in southwest Iowa near the border with Nebraska." She tried to tell them earlier, but they brushed her off.
The Throughline podcast with - "Is the U.S. on the brink of civil war? It's a question that has been in the air for a while now, as divisions continue to worsen. Beyond the political speeches and debates in the halls of Congress, it's something you're likely feeling in your day-to-day life. Vaccines, school curriculums, climate change, what you define as a human rights issue, even who you call a friend. Some say we've moved beyond the point of discussion. But when words fail, what comes next? In conversation with Malcolm Nance, Anne Applebaum, and Peniel Joseph, we take a deeper look at what we mean when we say civil war, how exactly the country reached this political moment, and where we go from here." Nice democracy you got there. Shame if anything happened to it.
"Crime and public safety are among the issues that have taken center stage in many midterm races nationwide, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to New York… Republicans are repeating a page from their 2020 playbook by ramping up ads accusing Democrats of being soft on crime. The GOP spent nearly $40 million on crime-related messaging in September alone, as NPR has reported — and ad spending tends to be a good indication of what candidates and their backers think will sway voters."
"With early midterm voting underway, Fox News has been increasing crime coverage to drive voters to the polls. On this week’s On the Media, a look at the ways fear impacts our minds and bodies, both on and off screen. Plus, how filmmakers like Jordan Peele have inspired a renaissance of the Black Horror genre."
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration compiled extensive intelligence dossiers on people who were arrested, even for minor offenses, during Black Lives Matter protests in Oregon… Initial drafts of the dossiers even included friends of the subjects as well as their interests, but those were later removed and replaced with a note that they would be made available upon request, according to an internal review by the Department of Homeland Security." Of course they did.
"Brazilians head to the polls Sunday to vote in a crucial presidential election that is testing the world's fourth-largest democracy and could have a critical impact on the fight against climate change."
"The next day, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former chief strategist and a family friend of Bolsonaro’s, took to his podcast, ‘Bannon’s War Room’, to raise allegations of electoral fraud. Bannon was joined by Matthew Tyrmand, a board member for Project Veritas – a discredited US group that uses hidden cameras to supposedly ‘expose’ leftist journalists – and Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter who was fired in 2018 after it emerged he had met with white nationalists two years earlier. (Beattie told US media he had said 'nothing objectionable' at this meeting.)" The warmup.
"A Tennessee man who dragged a police officer into a mob of rioters, initiating one of the most harrowing acts of violence during the U.S. Capitol attack, was sentenced on Thursday to more than seven years in prison."
"A 78-year-old woman is taking Bullhead City, Ariz., to court over her arrest earlier this year for feeding the homeless community at a local public park… The Institute for Justice wants a federal court to effectively end the city ordinance that prohibits Norma Thornton from giving food to the hungry in a public park. Thornton's attorneys say the ordinance violates several of the woman's civil rights granted under the 14th amendment."
"Most notably, a passage in the recalled version of the book (2,000 Mules) that accused specific, named nonprofit organizations of involvement in illegal 'ballot trafficking' has been rewritten, softening certain claims and outright removing the names of the groups. Separately, sections of the book that purported to link election fraud to antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement have also been deleted." When you tell the truth, and have actual evidence, you don't need to do that.
"The most influential anti-abortion group in Kansas politics is urging voters in mailers to remove five of the seven justices on a state Supreme Court that declared access to abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution."
"Election Day is 12 days away. But in courtrooms across the country, efforts to sow doubt over the outcome have already begun… More than 100 lawsuits have been filed this year around the Nov. 8 elections. The legal challenges, largely by Republicans, target rules for mail-in voting, early voting, voter access, voting machines, voting registration, the counting of mismarked absentee ballots and access for partisan poll watchers."
"Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said those voters who heed advice from a prominent national group of Republican election deniers and hold onto their paper ballots until Nov. 8 must deliver them to their county board of elections office. Poll workers at precinct-level voting locations cannot accept them, he said." No, they don't know what they're doing.
"The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday, searching for the Democratic leader and shouting, 'Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?'" And rightwing media and talking heads have spent the last few days trying everything from deflection, denial, and saying he had it coming.
"Officials in Ann Arbor, Mich., Union County, N.C., and Contra Costa County, Calif., are posting infographics on social media urging people to 'think critically' about what they see and share about voting and to seek out reliable election information… Earlier this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency put out a public service announcement saying cyberattacks are not likely to disrupt voting."
"Social media users are sharing an edited video showing an interaction between Jean-Pierre and Doocy after he asked about Biden’s plans to combat high gas prices during an Oct. 19 White House press briefing."
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Linkee-poo keep comin' up with love but it's so slashed and torn
"Insurance companies that have long said they’ll cover anything, at the right price, are increasingly ruling out fossil fuel projects because of climate change — to cheers from environmental campaigners."
"Photos and satellite imagery from the central United States show how the region’s worst drought in at least a decade has pushed the Mississippi River and its tributaries to drop to record lows this month." (Grokked from John)
"The Greek electrical system has hit a new milestone, after running completely on 'clean' renewable energy for the first time."
"The U.S. Mint will begin shipping coins featuring actress Anna May Wong on Monday, the first U.S. currency to feature an Asian American."
"There are plenty of machines that can wash and dry clothes. So why isn't there a way to similarly automate the dreaded folding process?… Researchers have looked into it over the years — and, as it turns out, robots just aren't good at folding laundry." They may rule the future, but it'll be a very messy future. Can't wait for the speculative fiction that foils the robot uprising by throwing t-shirts at them and they implode like Norman in I, Mudd.
"A Scottish woman named Joy Milne made headlines in 2015 for an unusual talent: her ability to sniff out people afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative illness that is estimated to affect nearly a million people in the U.S. alone. Since then a group of scientists in the U.K. has been working with Milne to pinpoint the molecules that give Parkinson’s its distinct olfactory signature. The team has now zeroed in on a set of molecules specific to the disease—and has created a simple skin-swab-based test to detect them."
"Drink eight glasses of water a day. Coffee will make you dehydrated. Drinking extra water can help you lose weight… You've probably heard these claims about water and hydration before. But are they true?"
Anyone who has been around me long enough will hear me spout off about how what we think of as consciousness, this movie in our head, is not reality. It isn't what our eyes see or our ears hear, although it's informed by them. It's a fully holographic projection in our heads. So when out off the corner of your eye you think you see A but when you can focus on it it's actually B, I will tell you that literally you saw A, because that's what your mind fed this consciousness. Whelp… "According to a new theory, choices are formed unconsciously and become conscious around half a second later." Your conscious brain is too slow to keep up with reality. And that is nothing new. (Grokked from Dan)
"In the study, Barreiro and his colleagues found that Black Death survivors in London and Denmark had an edge in their genes – mutations that helped protect against the plague pathogen, Yersinia pestis. Survivors passed those mutations onto their descendants, and many Europeans still carry those mutations today… But that edge comes at a cost: It increases a person's risk of autoimmune diseases." Evolution giveth, and taketh away.
"What a pregnancy actually looks like before 10 weeks – in pictures."
"Each year, child protective services agencies inspect the homes of roughly 3.5 million children, opening refrigerators and closets without a warrant. Only about 5% of these kids are ultimately found to have been physically or sexually abused."
"The U.S. is exporting more LNG to Europe as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine and cuts made to natural gas supplies ahead of winter, but there has been a buildup of LNG vessels waiting to unload at ports with European infrastructure unable to handle the increased LNG shipments." EU storage is at 93% capacity. (Grokked from Levin Armwood)
"Five months after the deadly mass shooting that claimed the lives of 10 Black people and injured three others at a Buffalo, N.Y. grocery store, the New York Attorney General's office released a scathing report calling on the state legislature to pass new laws to stop the livestreaming of homicides."
"The state of Texas is sending public school students home with DNA kits designed to help their parents identify their children 'in case of an emergency.'" One, how fucked up is that? And two, never give the government your DNA if you can avoid it.
"The Internal Revenue Service is increasing its inflation adjustments for the 2023 tax year after prices for rent, groceries and gas have reached heights not seen in 40 years… The announcement of adjustments is an annual occurrence, but in a year of high inflation, the move to raise the standard deduction and income thresholds where tax rates take effect may mean savings for people in all income brackets."
"California is slowly clawing back some of the estimated $20 billion in unemployment money stolen by domestic and international criminals, money earmarked for jobless relief during the height of the pandemic."
How to buy a US election… "More than $1.6 billion has been spent or booked on TV ads in a dozen Senate races, with $3 out of every $4 being spent in six states — Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and Ohio, according to an NPR analysis of data provided by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact… Most of that money is coming from dark money outside groups with little-to-no donor transparency — and Republicans are getting a huge boost from them."
"Two right-wing conspiracy theorists who placed thousands of robocalls with false information to largely minority and Democratic voters in Cleveland in the months before the November 2020 election pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony charge."
"A jury on Tuesday acquitted on all counts a think tank analyst accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a discredited dossier about former President Donald Trump… The case against Igor Danchenko was the third and possibly final case brought by Special Counsel John Durham as part of his probe into how the FBI conducted its own investigation into allegations of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin."
"Baseless claims that voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic are being used to rig voting in Brazil are circulating online and in far-right media in the U.S. — even though neither company's hardware or software is being used in the current election there." It's not about the veracity of the lie, it's about the lie itself.
"Photos and satellite imagery from the central United States show how the region’s worst drought in at least a decade has pushed the Mississippi River and its tributaries to drop to record lows this month." (Grokked from John)
"The Greek electrical system has hit a new milestone, after running completely on 'clean' renewable energy for the first time."
"The U.S. Mint will begin shipping coins featuring actress Anna May Wong on Monday, the first U.S. currency to feature an Asian American."
"There are plenty of machines that can wash and dry clothes. So why isn't there a way to similarly automate the dreaded folding process?… Researchers have looked into it over the years — and, as it turns out, robots just aren't good at folding laundry." They may rule the future, but it'll be a very messy future. Can't wait for the speculative fiction that foils the robot uprising by throwing t-shirts at them and they implode like Norman in I, Mudd.
"A Scottish woman named Joy Milne made headlines in 2015 for an unusual talent: her ability to sniff out people afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative illness that is estimated to affect nearly a million people in the U.S. alone. Since then a group of scientists in the U.K. has been working with Milne to pinpoint the molecules that give Parkinson’s its distinct olfactory signature. The team has now zeroed in on a set of molecules specific to the disease—and has created a simple skin-swab-based test to detect them."
"Drink eight glasses of water a day. Coffee will make you dehydrated. Drinking extra water can help you lose weight… You've probably heard these claims about water and hydration before. But are they true?"
Anyone who has been around me long enough will hear me spout off about how what we think of as consciousness, this movie in our head, is not reality. It isn't what our eyes see or our ears hear, although it's informed by them. It's a fully holographic projection in our heads. So when out off the corner of your eye you think you see A but when you can focus on it it's actually B, I will tell you that literally you saw A, because that's what your mind fed this consciousness. Whelp… "According to a new theory, choices are formed unconsciously and become conscious around half a second later." Your conscious brain is too slow to keep up with reality. And that is nothing new. (Grokked from Dan)
"In the study, Barreiro and his colleagues found that Black Death survivors in London and Denmark had an edge in their genes – mutations that helped protect against the plague pathogen, Yersinia pestis. Survivors passed those mutations onto their descendants, and many Europeans still carry those mutations today… But that edge comes at a cost: It increases a person's risk of autoimmune diseases." Evolution giveth, and taketh away.
"What a pregnancy actually looks like before 10 weeks – in pictures."
"Each year, child protective services agencies inspect the homes of roughly 3.5 million children, opening refrigerators and closets without a warrant. Only about 5% of these kids are ultimately found to have been physically or sexually abused."
"The U.S. is exporting more LNG to Europe as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine and cuts made to natural gas supplies ahead of winter, but there has been a buildup of LNG vessels waiting to unload at ports with European infrastructure unable to handle the increased LNG shipments." EU storage is at 93% capacity. (Grokked from Levin Armwood)
"Five months after the deadly mass shooting that claimed the lives of 10 Black people and injured three others at a Buffalo, N.Y. grocery store, the New York Attorney General's office released a scathing report calling on the state legislature to pass new laws to stop the livestreaming of homicides."
"The state of Texas is sending public school students home with DNA kits designed to help their parents identify their children 'in case of an emergency.'" One, how fucked up is that? And two, never give the government your DNA if you can avoid it.
"The Internal Revenue Service is increasing its inflation adjustments for the 2023 tax year after prices for rent, groceries and gas have reached heights not seen in 40 years… The announcement of adjustments is an annual occurrence, but in a year of high inflation, the move to raise the standard deduction and income thresholds where tax rates take effect may mean savings for people in all income brackets."
"California is slowly clawing back some of the estimated $20 billion in unemployment money stolen by domestic and international criminals, money earmarked for jobless relief during the height of the pandemic."
How to buy a US election… "More than $1.6 billion has been spent or booked on TV ads in a dozen Senate races, with $3 out of every $4 being spent in six states — Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and Ohio, according to an NPR analysis of data provided by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact… Most of that money is coming from dark money outside groups with little-to-no donor transparency — and Republicans are getting a huge boost from them."
"Two right-wing conspiracy theorists who placed thousands of robocalls with false information to largely minority and Democratic voters in Cleveland in the months before the November 2020 election pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony charge."
"A jury on Tuesday acquitted on all counts a think tank analyst accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a discredited dossier about former President Donald Trump… The case against Igor Danchenko was the third and possibly final case brought by Special Counsel John Durham as part of his probe into how the FBI conducted its own investigation into allegations of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin."
"Baseless claims that voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic are being used to rig voting in Brazil are circulating online and in far-right media in the U.S. — even though neither company's hardware or software is being used in the current election there." It's not about the veracity of the lie, it's about the lie itself.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Linkee-poo Brexit Update
Because this won't hold.
How goes Brexit? "The United Kingdom used to be synonymous with stable, dependable, if sometimes dull, governance. But the resignation Thursday of Prime Minister Liz Truss — after six weeks in office — shows just how chaotic British politics has become in recent years." I tall ya, if the whole purpose of pushing for Brexit was a foregin operation meant to destablize the UK and the EU, it's been wildly successful at at least half of that goal.
How goes Brexit? "The United Kingdom used to be synonymous with stable, dependable, if sometimes dull, governance. But the resignation Thursday of Prime Minister Liz Truss — after six weeks in office — shows just how chaotic British politics has become in recent years." I tall ya, if the whole purpose of pushing for Brexit was a foregin operation meant to destablize the UK and the EU, it's been wildly successful at at least half of that goal.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Linkee-poo Wednesday Oct 19
Not a full set, but…
"In a major blow to America's seafood industry, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has, for the first time in state history, canceled the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea due to their falling numbers. While restaurant menus will suffer, scientists worry what the sudden population plunge means for the health of the Arctic ecosystem."
"We attached satellite tags to 26 eels from rivers in the Azores archipelago and tracked them for periods between 40 and 366 days at speeds between 3 and 12 km day−1, and provide the first direct evidence of adult European eels reaching their presumed breeding place in the Sargasso Sea."
"Hoping to win a pro fishing tournament with nearly $30,000 on the line, Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky illegally stacked the deck in their favor, according to officials in Ohio — and now the pair have been indicted on three felony charges each."
"Han Solo may be a hunk. But 'Pan Solo' is a hunk of bread… That's what a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area has dubbed its 6-foot bread sculpture of the Star Wars character as he appeared after being frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back."
"Florida has seen an increase in cases of flesh-eating bacteria this year driven largely by a surge in the county hit hardest by Hurricane Ian… The state Department of Health reports that as of Friday there have been 65 cases of vibrio vulnificus infections and 11 deaths in Florida this year. That compares with 34 cases and 10 deaths reported during all of 2021."
"Starting Monday, hearing aids will be available to buy over the counter across the U.S.…The major shift in hearing health care is due to a recent rule change by the Food and Drug Administration, which in August cleared the way for the devices to be sold in retail stores without the need for buyers to see a doctor first."
"There is significant radioactive contamination at an elementary school in suburban St. Louis where nuclear weapons were produced during World War II, according to a new report by environmental investigation consultants… The report by Boston Chemical Data Corp. confirmed fears about contamination at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District in Florissant raised by a previous Army Corps of Engineers study."
"You’ll never guess who’s behind the fascist ads being aired during postseason baseball games…"
Part of what we mean when we say it was a grift all the way down. "The Trump Organization appears to have overcharged the Secret Service for stays at Trump-owned properties… According to the documents, the Secret Service was charged as much as $1,185 per room per night, nearly five times the government rate, which is set by the General Services Administration… This is a far cry from what Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump claimed in 2020 — that rooms were provided 'at cost' to the Secret Service."
"In a major blow to America's seafood industry, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has, for the first time in state history, canceled the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea due to their falling numbers. While restaurant menus will suffer, scientists worry what the sudden population plunge means for the health of the Arctic ecosystem."
"We attached satellite tags to 26 eels from rivers in the Azores archipelago and tracked them for periods between 40 and 366 days at speeds between 3 and 12 km day−1, and provide the first direct evidence of adult European eels reaching their presumed breeding place in the Sargasso Sea."
"Hoping to win a pro fishing tournament with nearly $30,000 on the line, Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky illegally stacked the deck in their favor, according to officials in Ohio — and now the pair have been indicted on three felony charges each."
"Han Solo may be a hunk. But 'Pan Solo' is a hunk of bread… That's what a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area has dubbed its 6-foot bread sculpture of the Star Wars character as he appeared after being frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back."
"Florida has seen an increase in cases of flesh-eating bacteria this year driven largely by a surge in the county hit hardest by Hurricane Ian… The state Department of Health reports that as of Friday there have been 65 cases of vibrio vulnificus infections and 11 deaths in Florida this year. That compares with 34 cases and 10 deaths reported during all of 2021."
"Starting Monday, hearing aids will be available to buy over the counter across the U.S.…The major shift in hearing health care is due to a recent rule change by the Food and Drug Administration, which in August cleared the way for the devices to be sold in retail stores without the need for buyers to see a doctor first."
"There is significant radioactive contamination at an elementary school in suburban St. Louis where nuclear weapons were produced during World War II, according to a new report by environmental investigation consultants… The report by Boston Chemical Data Corp. confirmed fears about contamination at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District in Florissant raised by a previous Army Corps of Engineers study."
"You’ll never guess who’s behind the fascist ads being aired during postseason baseball games…"
Part of what we mean when we say it was a grift all the way down. "The Trump Organization appears to have overcharged the Secret Service for stays at Trump-owned properties… According to the documents, the Secret Service was charged as much as $1,185 per room per night, nearly five times the government rate, which is set by the General Services Administration… This is a far cry from what Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump claimed in 2020 — that rooms were provided 'at cost' to the Secret Service."
Busy Steve is busy
Sorry, been busy busy busy. But I had a breakthrough today, my Wordpress site build finally recognized the products I've been creating. Yippie.
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