Links

https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2016/01/14/federal-education-funding-where-does-the-money-go
Jan. 14, 2016
Federal Education Funding: Where Does the Money Go?


Sept. 3, 2018
Finally heard an interview on NPR this afternoon where the person being interviewed was able to point out some of the problems with Kavanaugh besides abortion, such as his likely damage to the environment and workers, and allowing free rein to damaging behaviour by a president. Most of the time since NPR started "reporting" on this, they mentioned only abortion. A day or two ago, they added gun rights. Most of the Democrats I know don't consider these the most important problems with him. This is another example where NPR is able to maintain its credentials with its liberal individual donors while actually serving the interests of its big business donors who control the republican party.


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/03/donald-trump-jeff-sessions-tweet-806298
Sept. 3, 2018
Trump has made a habit of tweeting insults at Sessions ever since the attorney general recused himself from oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe in March 2017. But Monday's jabs marked an extraordinarily brazen suggestion by the president that America's chief law enforcement officer should have weighted the political repercussions of the indictments against the basic integrity of the U.S. justice system.
According to a March 2012 Justice Department memorandum from then-Attorney General Eric Holder: "Law enforcement officers and prosecutors may never select the timing of investigative steps or criminal charges for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party."


https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2018/mars-terraforming
July 30, 2018
Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth-like or habitable environment on another planet, in their stories. Scientists themselves have proposed terraforming to enable the long-term colonization of Mars. A solution common to both groups is to release carbon dioxide gas trapped in the Martian surface to thicken the atmosphere and act as a blanket to warm the planet.
However, Mars does not retain enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the atmosphere to warm Mars, according to a new NASA-sponsored study.  Transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today’s capabilities.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/03/falling-yields-of-key-uk-crops-could-raise-food-prices-and-leave-farmers-struggling
Sept. 3, 2018
Yields of key crops in Great Britain have fallen significantly in this year’s harvest as a result of the hot summer and massive swings in weather, leaving farmers counting the cost and consumers facing higher prices for food.
After record heatwaves and drought, when rain finally arrived it caused problems in some areas, particularly the north and west, as farmers have struggled to bring in wet crops.
Early indications from the harvest are that yields of wheat are likely to be down by about a quarter, and those of staples such as potatoes, onions and carrots have plunged by as much as 20%.
Yields of key crops have fallen significantly in this year’s harvest as a result of the hot summer and massive swings in weather, leaving farmers counting the cost and consumers facing higher prices for food.
While food price rises have come as a shock to consumers – with prices to go up 5%, adding £7.15 to the monthly shopping bill, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research – little of those increases will return to the farmer. Of the price of a loaf of bread, for instance, flour makes up only about a tenth.
The international picture is also one of economic gloom for farmers. German harvests are forecast to be the lowest in 15 years, while Russia and Ukraine, the third and ninth biggest wheat producers globally, have suffered a combination of heavy rains and heatwaves which has lowered the quality. German farmers are likely to face economic losses of €2.5bn from this year’s weather, according to industry estimates, while the combined drought losses across Europe are estimated at $4bn.
Pig farmers were braced for the impact on feed prices later in the year, said Zoe Davies, chief executive of the National Pig Association. She said the impact of the summer’s heat on pig fertility would not be apparent for at least a month, though many farmers said their sows were well used to dealing with heat.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/moose-swims-vermont-new-york-drowns-crowd-photos
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/moose-swims-vermont-new-york-drowns-crowd-photos
Sept. 3, 2018
Vermont wildlife officials said a moose drowned in Lake Champlain on Saturday, after people crowded around the animal in order to take its picture.
The state fish and wildlife officer Robert Currier told the local TV station WCAX the moose swam across the lake from New York state to South Hero, Vermont.
The animal made it on to land near a cycle path, he said, but was forced back into the water, probably feeling threatened by onlookers. The moose then succumbed to exhaustion and drowned.