Links

In case you don't already now, it is easy to do conversions in Google search, don't know about other search engines.
Eg., to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, search for:
c to f


https://www.epi.org/publication/the-new-gilded-age-income-inequality-in-the-u-s-by-state-metropolitan-area-and-county/
July 19, 2018
Income inequality has risen in every state since the 1970s and, in most states, it has grown in the post–Great Recession era. From 2009 to 2015, the incomes of the top 1 percent grew faster than the incomes of the bottom 99 percent in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The top 1 percent captured half or more of all income growth in nine states. In 2015, a family in the top 1 percent nationally received, on average, 26.3 times as much income as a family in the bottom 99 percent.


https://www.wired.com/story/guerrilla-wikipedia-editors-who-combat-conspiracy-theories/
July 25, 2018
The 'Guerrilla' Wikipedia Editors Who Combat Conspiracy Theories


https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tight-blood-pressure-control-reduces-alzheimer-s-dementia-risk-study-n894481?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma
July 25, 2018
Lowering blood pressure to recommended levels can prevent dementia and the memory and thinking problems that often show up first, researchers reported Wednesday.
People whose top blood pressure reading was taken down to 120 were 19 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, the loss of memory and brain processing power that usually precedes Alzheimer’s, the study found. And they were 15 percent less likely to eventually develop cognitive decline and dementia.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/trump-is-fulfilling-russias-dream-of-splitting-the-west.html
June 8, 2018
One of Russia’s principal foreign-policy goals for decades has been to split the United States from is allies. Whether by accident or by design, President Trump appears intent on bringing that dream to fruition.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-trump-california-clean-air-20180723-story.html
July 23, 2018
The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile emissions — including its mandate for electric-car sales — in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to three people familiar with the plan.
The proposal, expected to be released this week, amounts to a frontal assault on one of former President Obama’s signature regulatory programs to curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. It also sets up a high-stakes battle over California’s unique ability to combat air pollution and, if finalized, is sure to set off a protracted courtroom battle.
[What about states rights, which republicans love when it's for the sake of hurting people?]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/07/15/doctors-to-trump-suspending-insurer-payments-hurts-our-sickest-patients/#40584180238f
July 15, 2018
A coalition of more than 500,000 U.S. physicians says the Donald Trump administration’s move to suspend billions of dollars in payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act hurts patients with “chronic health conditions and pre-existing conditions.”
The payments, funded by contributions from health insurers, “are not from taxpayer dollars” and “help protect patients by allowing insurers to compete without cherry-picking healthy consumers over those with chronic illnesses and pre-existing conditions,” say coalition members that include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Osteopathic Association and the American Psychiatric Association.
“The suspension of risk adjustment payments could lead to significant premium increases across the country –resulting in families, especially those with chronic health conditions and pre-existing conditions, losing their health care coverage due to insurer departures from the market or the inability to afford coverage,” the doctor coalition says. “This decision contradicts the administration’s pledge to provide individuals and families with more options to secure affordable health care coverage.”


https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/buying-or-selling/online-shopping-scams
Online shopping scams involve scammers pretending to be legitimate online sellers, either with a fake website or a fake ad on a genuine retailer site.
Warning signs
A product is advertised at an unbelievably low price, or advertised to have amazing benefits or features that sound too good to be true.
The other party insists on immediate payment, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service. They may insist that you pay up-front for vouchers before you can access a cheap deal or a give-away.
The social media based store is very new and selling products at very low prices. The store may have limited information about delivery and other policies.
An online retailer does not provide adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details. The seller may be based overseas, or the seller does not allow payment through a secure payment service such as PayPal or a credit card transaction.


https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-acting-like-russian-asset-experts-say-2018-7?utm_source=facebook&utm_content=top-bar&utm_term=desktop
July 17, 2018
In Helsinki on Monday, US President Donald Trump touted the "direct, open, deeply productive dialogue" he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And experts warn Putin played Trump like a fiddle.
That was the broad consensus of national-security and intelligence veterans following a bizarre press conference during which Trump stood next to Putin and spent more time denigrating his political opponents and intelligence agencies than he did a hostile foreign power.
Glenn Carle, a longtime former CIA spy, said he wasn't the least bit surprised by Trump's actions because "it's becoming more and more clear that Trump is either a witting or unwitting Russian asset."
"People say this is so mystifying, but it's not," Carle said. "Intelligence assets become convinced to be spies for multiple reasons. It might start with kompromat or financial hooks, and the asset may be convinced he is acting as a patriot until he becomes accustomed to his role."
One former senior intelligence official, who requested anonymity because they are not directly involved in the proceedings, emphasized that they "absolutely" believe Putin has something on Trump.
"There are four possibilities," this person told Business Insider. "One is that Trump is not very smart. The second is that he's lazy and incurious. The third is that he is acting this way toward Russia because of some financial desire, like building a Trump Tower in Moscow. The fourth is that the Russian leader has something serious on him, from either a business or personal standpoint.
"My money is on the latter two," they said.
"You have to look at these comments objectively," said a former senior FBI official who requested anonymity to speak freely. "And when you put it together with Trump's statements, his affinity toward Putin, his willingness to concede to Russia, his cold shoulder toward the US's closest allies ... at some point you have to start thinking the unthinkable, which is that the president of the United States may have been compromised by Russia."


http://www.philly.com/philly/health/environment/2-billion-spent-to-influence-congress-on-climate-change-drexel-study-finds-20180725.html
July 25, 2018
Lobbyists spent more than $2 billion trying to influence Congress on climate change from 2000 to 2016, with fossil-fuel industry groups outspending environmental groups by 10-1,  according to a new study by a Drexel University professor.


https://newrepublic.com/article/150124/medias-failure-connect-dots-climate-change
July 25, 2018
The Media’s Failure to Connect the Dots on Climate Change
[I wonder of fossil fuel companies are manipulating the ratings somehow?]


https://abcnews.go.com/International/arson-suspected-devastating-greece-fires-killed-79-people/story?id=56807876
July 25, 2018
Multiple fires in different areas outside the capital of Athens seemed to ignite at once, leading investigators to probe whether they were deliberately set.
"Fifteen fires were started simultaneously on three different fronts in Athens," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1561542/Greek-fires-blamed-on-culture-of-arson.html
July 23, 2018
Greek fires blamed on 'culture of arson'
Anti-terror squads were already questioning 32 suspects yesterday afternoon, as the Greek government offered rewards of up to \u20AC1 million (£675,000) for information.
The money appeared to be a concerted attempt to challenge what seems the routine of setting fires every summer.
Dimitris Karavellas, the Greek World Wildlife Fund's director, said yesterday: "It is a culture of arson."
He said Greeks "still consider the forest as an area of land for development" and criticised the country's failure to establish a land registry that sets out which areas are protected from development.
"We are the only country in the EU that doesn't have a land registry," he said. "We get situations where there are forest fires one year and nothing but houses a couple of years later."
Costas Karamanlis, the prime minister, has announced that all burned trees would be replanted to counter the threat of mass development.
Authorities believe most of the fires were deliberate, with reports of the Mafia paying arsonists to clear land wanted for profitable development.


https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/ivanka-trump-closing-down-her-fashion-business-citing-conflict-white-n894141?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma
July 24, 2018
Ivanka Trump is shuttering her clothing line in order to focus on her role as senior adviser in her father's White House, the company announced Tuesday.
The closure of Ms. Trump's business, which was first reported by the The Wall Street Journal, will reduce its entanglements in President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda and protectionist trade practices. According to a report, workers at one of the Chinese factories of Ivanka Trump's clothing line were paid $62 a week. Her business employs 18 people.
Critics uncovered records of Chinese trademark approvals for Ivanka Trump products that showed the applications were approved after President Trump conceded to Chinese demands to lift a ban on the ZTE electronics manufacturing company that had been put in place following allegations it was involved in stealing American trade secrets.
Ms. Trump had put her company, IT Collection LLC, in a trust to help alleviate conflict-of-interest concerns. But because she is a public figure, those concerns were unavoidable. She wore items from her company's collection during appearances in her White House role, granting free advertising to her personal company from her public role, potentially running afoul of rules that bar government employees from using their public office for private gain or endorsements.
Ivanka Trump wore a $10,000 bracelet from her collection during an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" and one of her vice presidents of sales sent a "style alert" to journalists encouraging them to share it.