Saturday, October 21, 2017
Links
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Five former US presidents to appear at hurricane relief concert
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/politics/hurricane-relief-concert-five-former-presidents/index.html
Why does nobody mention that Hillary Clinton is perfectly nice?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/21/why-does-nobody-mention-that-hillary-clinton-is-perfectly-nice
Our cities need fewer cars, not cleaner cars
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/16/our-cities-need-fewer-cars-not-cleaner-cars-electric-green-transport
Niger Ambush Came After ‘Massive Intelligence Failure,’ Source Says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/africa/source-niger-attack-resulted-massive-intelligence-failure-n812626
Friday, October 20, 2017
Links
New Fire Danger Threatens to Worsen Most Disastrous Wildfire Season in California History
A record-breaking heat wave will build over Southern California over the weekend and peak on Tuesday, bringing triple-digit temperatures that could set marks for the hottest temperatures ever recorded so late in the year in the Los Angeles area. Accompanying the heat will be the notorious Santa Ana winds, which will bring a multi-day period of critical fire danger, Saturday through Tuesday.
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/new-fire-danger-threatens-worsen-most-disastrous-wildfire-season-california-history
White nationalist shot at protesters after Richard Spencer speech in Florida, police say
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-richard-spencer-speech-20171020-story.html
Texas city offers Harvey relief in exchange for Israel no-boycott pledge
https://www.upi.com/Texas-city-offers-Harvey-relief-in-exchange-for-Israel-no-boycott-pledge/7421508478544/
Report: Some North Korea elites being deprived of rations
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/10/20/Report-North-Korea-elites-being-deprived-of-rations/3301508504505/?utm_source=fp&utm_campaign=ts_pi&utm_medium=4
Gallup: Rate of American adults without health insurance rises
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/10/20/Gallup-Rate-of-American-adults-without-health-insurance-rises/8681508511518/?utm_source=fp&utm_campaign=mp&utm_medium=4
A restaurant worker in Nova Scotia was caught on camera jumping into a harbor to rescue a drowning seagull that was tangled in fishing line.
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/10/20/Man-jumps-into-harbor-to-rescue-seagull-from-drowning/8271508514654/?utm_source=fp&utm_campaign=lh&utm_medium=7
Scientists reveal e-cigarettes may trigger unique immune responses
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/10/20/Scientists-reveal-e-cigarettes-may-trigger-unique-immune-responses/7831508517312/
Workers are dangling from helicopters to fix Puerto Rico's power lines
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/20/us/puerto-rico-montana-power-repairs-weir/index.html
People With HIV Should Be Quarantined, Says Georgia Lawmaker and Wife of Tom Price
People with HIV should be quarantined, and the U.S. would be safer if they “died more readily,” according to Betty Price, a Republican state representative and wife of former Health Secretary Tom Price.
The Georgia-state lawmaker and former anesthesiologist, who now represents people who live in the northern Atlanta area,
http://www.newsweek.com/tom-prices-wife-georgia-lawmaker-says-people-hiv-should-be-quarantined-689836
'Our task was to set Americans against their own government': New details emerge about Russia's trolling operation
http://www.businessinsider.com/former-troll-russia-disinformation-campaign-trump-2017-10
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Links
After Ikea Dresser Recall, Another Toddler Reportedly Died In Tip-Over
Safety standards for dressers are currently voluntary. Last year, some lawmakers introduced a bill to call for mandatory safety standards, which died in committee.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/19/558850616/after-ikea-dresser-recall-another-toddler-reportedly-died-in-tip-over
As temperatures rise, mosquitoes will thrive. As a result, the tropical diseases they carry will creep across the South to places like Mississippi and possibly points north.
http://features.weather.com/us-climate-change/mississippi/
Trump pick for top environmental post called belief in global warming a 'kind of paganism'
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/politics/kfile-kathleen-hartnett-white-paganism/index.html
CMU Student Charters Plane, Delivers Aid to Puerto Rico
https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2017/october/student-delivers-aid-puerto-rico.html
Apocalypse survivalist donates stockpiled goods to Puerto Rico
http://theweek.com/speedreads/731837/apocalypse-survivalist-donates-stockpiled-goods-puerto-rico
More Rain In Puerto Rico Brings Misery To Those With Damaged Roofs
http://www.npr.org/2017/10/18/558614285/more-rain-in-puerto-rico-brings-misery-to-those-with-damaged-roofs
Report: Pollution Kills 3 Times More than AIDS, TB And Malaria Combined
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/10/19/558821792/report-pollution-kills-3-times-more-than-aids-tb-and-malaria-combined
October 19, 20176:30 PM ET
Susan Brink
Exposure to polluted air, water and soil caused nine million premature deaths in 2015, according to a report published Thursday in The Lancet.
The causes of death vary — cancer, lung disease, heart disease. The report links them to pollution, drawing upon previous studies that show how pollution is tied to a wider range of diseases than previously thought.
Those studies observed populations exposed to pollutants and compared them to people not exposed. The studies have shown that pollution can be an important cause of diseases — many of them potentially fatal — including asthma, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, birth defects in children, heart disease, stroke and lung disease.
The nine million figure adds up to 16 percent of all deaths worldwide, killing three times more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Pollution is responsible for 15 times more deaths than wars and all other forms of violence.
"No country is unaffected," the report notes. But 92 percent of those deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
"Pollution in rapidly developing countries is just getting worse and worse and worse.
•••••
Rates of heart disease and stroke are kicked up by air pollution. [Inhaled nanoparticles of pollution can play a role in rupturing plaque build-up in arteries, causing a heart attack or stroke, according to the American Heart Association.]
Arsenic in the water increases rates of some cancers, but the connection isn't immediate. When debates arise about controlling pollution, industry almost always says it's too expensive to make changes. Industries can make that statement because they can calculate how much it costs, say, to put filters on smokestacks. The health costs to people over many years of exposure to pollution is less obvious.
•••••
One blatant example is asbestos. About two million tons of new asbestos is produced every year. [Asbestos is outlawed in most of the developed world because of the high risk of lung cancer.] Virtually all of that goes to the world's poorest countries that have poor or no regulations against it. [According to reports it is used in the production of building materials, among other products.] It's going to continue to cause epidemics of cancer in poor counties. Another example is pesticides. About 20 percent of U.S. pesticide production is of pesticides not allowed in this country because of known health risks. So we export it to poor countries.
Then there is the international transfer of materials like old computers, cell phones, TVs, refrigerators from rich countries to the developing world. People break them up and try to extract valuable things like gold or copper, and pollutants get into the soil. Or lead batteries end up in developing countries and contaminate communities.
•••••
October 19, 20176:30 PM ET
Susan Brink
Exposure to polluted air, water and soil caused nine million premature deaths in 2015, according to a report published Thursday in The Lancet.
The causes of death vary — cancer, lung disease, heart disease. The report links them to pollution, drawing upon previous studies that show how pollution is tied to a wider range of diseases than previously thought.
Those studies observed populations exposed to pollutants and compared them to people not exposed. The studies have shown that pollution can be an important cause of diseases — many of them potentially fatal — including asthma, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, birth defects in children, heart disease, stroke and lung disease.
The nine million figure adds up to 16 percent of all deaths worldwide, killing three times more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Pollution is responsible for 15 times more deaths than wars and all other forms of violence.
"No country is unaffected," the report notes. But 92 percent of those deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
"Pollution in rapidly developing countries is just getting worse and worse and worse.
•••••
Rates of heart disease and stroke are kicked up by air pollution. [Inhaled nanoparticles of pollution can play a role in rupturing plaque build-up in arteries, causing a heart attack or stroke, according to the American Heart Association.]
Arsenic in the water increases rates of some cancers, but the connection isn't immediate. When debates arise about controlling pollution, industry almost always says it's too expensive to make changes. Industries can make that statement because they can calculate how much it costs, say, to put filters on smokestacks. The health costs to people over many years of exposure to pollution is less obvious.
•••••
One blatant example is asbestos. About two million tons of new asbestos is produced every year. [Asbestos is outlawed in most of the developed world because of the high risk of lung cancer.] Virtually all of that goes to the world's poorest countries that have poor or no regulations against it. [According to reports it is used in the production of building materials, among other products.] It's going to continue to cause epidemics of cancer in poor counties. Another example is pesticides. About 20 percent of U.S. pesticide production is of pesticides not allowed in this country because of known health risks. So we export it to poor countries.
Then there is the international transfer of materials like old computers, cell phones, TVs, refrigerators from rich countries to the developing world. People break them up and try to extract valuable things like gold or copper, and pollutants get into the soil. Or lead batteries end up in developing countries and contaminate communities.
•••••
Climate change at work? Weather Service calls for third straight mild winter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/10/19/climate-change-at-work-weather-service-calls-for-third-straight-mild-winter/?utm_term=.f0e720057605
Cold temps that used to occur regularly are now regarded as unbearably extreme.
I remember a few years ago when the Atlanta winter was mild until the very end, when we had a couple of weeks of really cold weather. The rest of the year, people were talking about how cold the winter had been, even though in reality it had almost all been very mild. Shows why science requires written records.
By Jason Samenow October 19, 2017
If you’re itching for outbreaks of the polar vortex and waist-deep snow, the upcoming winter may not be your cup of tea. And, thanks to climate change, the odds of brutally cold winters are decaying.
For the third time in as many years, the nation — on balance — should expect warmer-than-normal temperatures, according to the National Weather Service, which released its winter outlook on Thursday.
The Weather Service favors warmer-than-normal conditions for the southern two-thirds of the Lower 48, including the Mid-Atlantic. Only a sliver of the Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest is expected to experience colder-than-normal temperatures.
The mild forecast follows back-to-back lackluster winters across the nation.
Last winter was practically the winter without a winter. Spring arrived weeks ahead of time, and Chicago basked in record 70-degree warmth in February. It ranked as the sixth-warmest winter on record.
The winter before, with the exception of the blockbuster January snowstorm along the East Coast, was quite tame, as well, ranking as the warmest on record. Temperatures surged through the 70s to the Canadian border on the East Coast’s warmest Christmas Eve on record.
Climate warming from rising concentrations of carbon dioxide is exerting an effect on winter temperatures, said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. “It does, undoubtedly, play a role,” he said in a call with reporters. “The increase in CO2 factors into our model forecast.”
•••••
He further said that while winters are warming, on average, natural variability continues to play the dominant role in the ultimate outcome of the season’s temperatures.
Still, Halpert said “there was nothing to indicate” that the nation will have punishing outbreaks of the polar vortex as experienced in the winter of 2013-2014 and, to a lesser degree, the winter that followed. But he wouldn’t totally rule out some penetrating outbreaks of extreme cold, explaining that they usually can’t be predicted until about a week or so in advance.
•••••
Links
The controversy over whether Trump should call the family of every military person killed on duty shows that we are fortunately not losing large numbers. No way the president could have called the families of every military person killed in Vietnam, much less WWI, WWII, or Korea.
The controversy over whether Trump should call the family of every military person killed on duty shows that we are fortunately not losing large numbers. No way the president could have called the families of every military person killed in Vietnam, much less WWI, WWII, or Korea.
And I know from personal experience that some people look for the most negative way of interpreting other's statements, and claim they said something they didn't. .
Relationship between sugar and cancer is now clearer, scientists say
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/10/18/relationship-between-sugar-and-cancer-now-clearer-scientists-say/775963001/
George W. Bush: 'Bigotry seems emboldened' in US
Former President George W. Bush said Thursday that “bigotry seems emboldened” in the United States, warning that Americans need to reject “white supremacy.”
The former president also criticized the “governing class,” but did not specifically mention President Trump, Congress or any other politicians in office.
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/356212-george-w-bush-bigotry-seems-emboldened-in-us
Higher Education's Biggest Scam Is Legacy Admissions Policies
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/higher-education-s-biggest-scam-legacy-admissions-policies-ncna812116
Trump's Evangelical Fans Preach the Gospel of Greed, Not Grace
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-evangelical-fans-preach-gospel-greed-not-grace-ncna811046
Sleep Better Diet: The Eating Habits of Hightly Rested People
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-what-you-eat-affects-how-you-sleep-ncna805256
Maryland Office Shooter was always angry, victim's widow says
[His father was described as "strict", which in my experience usually means abusive.]
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/maryland-office-shooter-held-2-1-million-bail-n812256
Pittsburgh teacher beaten after cellphone dispute at school
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pittsburgh-teacher-beaten-cellphone-dispute-school/
Cop battling advanced cancer helps rescue nearly 1,500 in Harvey aftermath
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-cop-serves-through-harvey-with-stage-four-cancer/
Formerly homeless hairdresser gives free makeovers to homeless girls
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/formerly-homeless-hairdresser-gives-free-makeovers-to-homeless-girls/
Meet 60 Minutes, Washington Post DEA whistleblower
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-60-minutes-dea-whistleblower/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab0g
Former soldier posing as a hit man exposes Texas doctors' murder-for-hire plot
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-soldier-posing-as-a-hit-man-exposes-texas-doctors-murder-for-hire-plot/
Death toll rises to 42 as California anticipates much-needed rain this week after catastrophic wildfires
http://abcnews.go.com/US/death-toll-rises-42-california-anticipates-needed-rain/story?id=50554623
Hurricane Irma’s Overlooked Victims: Migrant Farm Workers Living at the Edge
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16102017/hurricanes-florida-agriculture-migrant-farm-workers-jobs-crop-loss
In attempt to sow fear, Russian trolls paid for self-defense classes for African Americans
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/18/media/black-fist-russia-self-defense-classes/index.html
by Donie O'Sullivan, Drew Griffin and Curt Devine @CNNMoney October 18, 2017
A group linked to the Russian troll farm behind thousands of fake Facebook ads paid personal trainers in New York, Florida, and other parts of the United States to run self-defense classes for African Americans in an apparent attempt to stoke fear and gather contact details of Americans potentially susceptible to their propaganda.
"Be ready to protect your rights... Let them know that black power matters," the group, known as Black Fist, wrote on its website promoting the events.
The group appears to have been set up in January 2017, and it ran events before stopping at some point this year, evidence that Russia's attempts to use social media to meddle in American affairs have extended far beyond the 2016 presidential election.
The events, which appear to have been designed to suggest a connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, were -- unbeknownst to the trainers who led them -- likely conceived by the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency.
The site lists Facebook and Instagram pages that CNN is told were removed as part of Facebook's investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. politics, a source familiar told CNN.
The mysterious effort matches other previously discovered Russia-connected efforts to engage in U.S. social issues, including promoting rallies for a fake secessionist group in Texas and protests and demonstrations that were, like Black Fist, supposed to seem connected to Black Lives Matter.
•••••
Black Fist is one of a series of campaigns run from Russia designed to look like part of the American Black Lives Matter movement. CNN first reported last month on Blacktivist, a campaign whose Facebook page had more than 300,000 followers on Facebook.
Black Fist's use of Eventbrite and MeetUp adds the two companies to a growing list of organizations utilized by Russian trolls in their attempt to sow discord in the U.S. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and even Pokemon Go were also employed in various ways.
by Donie O'Sullivan, Drew Griffin and Curt Devine @CNNMoney October 18, 2017
A group linked to the Russian troll farm behind thousands of fake Facebook ads paid personal trainers in New York, Florida, and other parts of the United States to run self-defense classes for African Americans in an apparent attempt to stoke fear and gather contact details of Americans potentially susceptible to their propaganda.
"Be ready to protect your rights... Let them know that black power matters," the group, known as Black Fist, wrote on its website promoting the events.
The group appears to have been set up in January 2017, and it ran events before stopping at some point this year, evidence that Russia's attempts to use social media to meddle in American affairs have extended far beyond the 2016 presidential election.
The events, which appear to have been designed to suggest a connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, were -- unbeknownst to the trainers who led them -- likely conceived by the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency.
The site lists Facebook and Instagram pages that CNN is told were removed as part of Facebook's investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. politics, a source familiar told CNN.
The mysterious effort matches other previously discovered Russia-connected efforts to engage in U.S. social issues, including promoting rallies for a fake secessionist group in Texas and protests and demonstrations that were, like Black Fist, supposed to seem connected to Black Lives Matter.
•••••
Black Fist is one of a series of campaigns run from Russia designed to look like part of the American Black Lives Matter movement. CNN first reported last month on Blacktivist, a campaign whose Facebook page had more than 300,000 followers on Facebook.
Black Fist's use of Eventbrite and MeetUp adds the two companies to a growing list of organizations utilized by Russian trolls in their attempt to sow discord in the U.S. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and even Pokemon Go were also employed in various ways.
For many older Americans, the rat race is over. But the inequality isn’t.
By Peter Whoriskey October 18, 2017
While the rat race ends with retirement, one of its principal features extends well past a person's last day of work.
Income inequality in the United States spills over from the job into the last decades of life, according to a new survey that ranks the differences among U.S. retirees as among the most extreme in the 35-country comparison.
The report being issued Wednesday by the OECD, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, reports levels of inequality in a survey of member countries.
The inequality among older people in the U.S. is among the most extreme, according to the report.
“Inequality has been growing from one generation to the next in the United States,” according to the report. “This is particularly alarming . . . as old age inequality among current [U.S.] retirees is already higher than in all other OECD countries, except Chile and Mexico.”
The gap between the top and bottom incomes seems destined to rise, too.
Within each generation of workers, according to the OECD data, inequality rises. For example, researchers tracked U.S. income inequality for four different generations — people born in 1920, 1940, 1960, and 1980. For each group, inequality has been more extreme than the previous generation.
•••••
Links
Baby & Child Among Those Rescued In Sex Trafficking Sting
The FBI has recovered a three-month-old baby and a five-year-old in Denver during a nationwide child sex trafficking investigation.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/10/18/baby-child-rescued-sex-trafficking/
Typhoon Lan poised to intensify into giant super typhoon, head for Japan
http://breaking.mrpt.org/latest/typhoon-lan-poised-to-intensify-into-giant-super-typhoon-head-for-japan
The Danger of President Pence
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/23/the-danger-of-president-pence
Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers
‘This is very alarming!’: Flying insects vanish from nature preserves
[There are hardly any fireflies in my backyard anymore.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/10/18/this-is-very-alarming-flying-insects-vanish-from-nature-preserves/?utm_term=.49317504579d
Suspect in shootings of 6 in Maryland and Delaware caught
Karen Flowers, 51, of Wilmington said in an interview that she has known Prince since he was a child. He was raised by caring parents, she said, including a strict father.
[Maybe his "strict" father was a factor.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/three-killed-in-shooting-at-a-business-park-outside-baltimore/2017/10/18/edaf2544-b438-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.c5aa7d77506c
Iceland’s Forgotten Fisherwomen
Many Icelandic women fished in the 18th and 19th centuries, but their work has been largely unrecognized. Why did these female seafarers fade from the country’s memory?
https://www.sapiens.org/culture/icelandic-fisherwomen-forgotten/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_campaign=Fisherwomen+-+Likes
September 2017: Earth's 4th Warmest September on Record
Dr. Jeff Masters · October 18, 2017, 12:04 PM EDT
September 2017 was the planet's fourth warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and NASA this week. The only warmer Septembers came during 2015, 2016, and 2014. Minor differences can occur between the NASA and NOAA rankings because of their different techniques for analyzing data-sparse regions such as the Arctic.
Global ocean temperatures last month were the fourth warmest on record for any September, according to NOAA, and global land temperatures were the third warmest on record.
•••••
Second-warmest year on record thus far
Each of the first eight months of 2017 have ranked among the top four warmest such months on record, giving 2017 the second highest January–September temperature in the 138-year record: 0.78°C (1.57°F) above the 20th-century average. This is behind the record year of 2016 by 0.13°C (0.24°F). This near-record warmth in 2017 is especially remarkable given the lack of an El Niño event this year. Global temperatures tend to be warmer during El Niño years, when the ocean releases more heat to the atmosphere. Given the lack of an El Niño event in 2017, it is unlikely that we will surpass 2016 as the warmest year on record. However, 2017 is almost certain to be the planet's warmest year on record that lacks any influence from El Niño, and Earth's four warmest years of the last century-plus are likely to be 2016, 2017, 2015, and 2014.
•••••
Arctic sea ice extent during September 2017 was the seventh lowest in the 38-year satellite record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center
•••••
Sea ice surrounding Antarctica had the second lowest extent on record in September 2017, and has been at record- to near-record lows since September 2016.
•••••
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Links
Ex-GOP lawmaker: Republicans hope Democrats take House in 2018 to save America from Trump
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/10/ex-gop-lawmaker-republicans-are-hoping-democrats-take-house-in-2018-to-save-america-from-trump/amp/
Portugal and Spain wildfires: Dozens dead and injured
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41634125
Strange Days: Ex-Hurricane Ophelia Batters Ireland Under Orange Skies
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/strange-days-ex-hurricane-ophelia-batters-ireland-under-orange-skies
Patriotic Millionaires
Proud “traitors to their class,” members of the Patriotic Millionaires are high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America.
https://patrioticmillionaires.org
Meet the new class traitors who are coming out as rich
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/16/coming-out-as-wealthy-inequality-progressives
Skimping on sleep may contribute to gestational diabetes
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoia-sos101617.php
Stress might be just as unhealthy as junk food to digestive system
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/byu-smb101617.php
Majority overestimates US gay population, could influence gay rights policies
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uok-mou101617.php
Childhood poverty, poor support may drive up pregnant woman's biological age
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/osu-cpp101617.php
Social media accounts promote skeletal images of women
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoe-sma101617.php
Surprisingly low concentrations of toxic chemicals - from fungicides to antidepressants - can change the way some aquatic creatures swim and feed, according to new research.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uop-cto101617.php
Integration of smoking cessation within CT lung cancer screenings shows life-saving results
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/iaft-ios101617.php
Brain training shows promise for patients with bipolar disorder
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/mh-bts101317.php
Healthy lifestyle reduces cardiovascular risk after gestational diabetes, NIH study shows
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/nksn-hlr101317.php
Doctors urged to make a public commitment to talk to their patients about guns
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/acop-dut101317.php
GP referral to Weight Watchers avoided type 2 diabetes in third of patients
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/b-grt101317.php
Ten pence (13 cents) restaurant chain levy on sugary drinks linked to fall in sales
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/b-tpr101317.php
Differences in insurance account for a substantial proportion of the excess risk of death from breast cancer faced by black women
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/acs-ips101117.php
In the UK, one in five witness someone collapse who requires CPR but the majority do not act
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uow-oif101317.php
Scientists reveal the relationship between sugar and cancer
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/vfi-srt101317.php
Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoe-las101217.php
Warming seas could lead to 70 percent increase in hurricane-related financial loss
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uov-wsc101217.php
What do Americans fear most? Chapman University releases 4th annual Survey of American Fears
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/cu-wda101017.php
Conservationists' eco-footprints suggest education alone won't change behavior
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoc-ces101017.php
Forest grazing counteracts the effectiveness of trees to reduce flood risk
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/lu-fgc101017.php
Pest resistance to biotech crops surging
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoa-prt100517.php
Scientists find evidence our best friends, dogs, similarly adapted to malaria in Africa
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/mbae-sfe100217.php
Formation of coal almost turned our planet into a snowball
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/pifc-foc100517.php
Monday, October 16, 2017
Links
Elephants mourn. Dogs love. Why do we deny the feelings of other species?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/11/elephants-animal-welfare-why-do-we-deny-ignore-feelings-other-species
As the climate changes, inmates without air-conditioning have no escape from extreme heat.
Lance Lowry, head of the state correctional officer union, said that the number of attempted suicides among prisoners usually rises in the summer — 93 in March 2015 versus 130 in August, for example — and that prisoners avoid taking psychotropic medications, thus increasing the risk of psychotic breaks that put staff at risk. “I don’t have love for these people,” he said. But “the incarceration is their punishment, not cooking them to death.”
http://features.weather.com/us-climate-change/texas/
How climate change is fueling wildfires and threatening human health
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2017/10/wildfires-threaten-human-health/
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Links
Almost half of Republicans want war with North Korea, a new poll says. Is it the Trump Effect?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/14/almost-half-of-republicans-want-war-with-north-korea-says-a-new-poll-is-it-the-trump-effect/?utm_term=.92f60c080436
Warming seas could lead to 70 percent increase in hurricane-related financial loss
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uov-wsc101217.php
Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoe-las101217.php
Public Release: 13-Oct-2017
Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan, study finds
University of Edinburgh
•••••
They found that cigarette smoking and traits associated with lung cancer had the greatest impact on shortening lifespan.
For example, smoking a packet of cigarettes per day over a lifetime knocks an average of seven years off life expectancy, they calculated. But smokers who give up can eventually expect to live as long as somebody who has never smoked.
Body fat and other factors linked to diabetes also have a negative influence on life expectancy.
•••••
Public Release: 13-Oct-2017
Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan, study finds
University of Edinburgh
•••••
They found that cigarette smoking and traits associated with lung cancer had the greatest impact on shortening lifespan.
For example, smoking a packet of cigarettes per day over a lifetime knocks an average of seven years off life expectancy, they calculated. But smokers who give up can eventually expect to live as long as somebody who has never smoked.
Body fat and other factors linked to diabetes also have a negative influence on life expectancy.
•••••
Links
Trump Nominee to Lead Climate Agency Supported Privatizing U.S. Weather Data
[Myers wants the government to withhold weather data from the public, whose tax money pays for it, and allow private companies access to it to make money.]
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12102017/trump-noaa-nomination-barry-myers-accuweather-weather-data-privatize-climate-change
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Links
Texas Inmates Donate More Than $53K for Hurricane Harvey Relief
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-harvey/texas-inmates-donate-more-53k-hurricane-harvey-relief-n810691
What Americans Heard in Mysterious Cuba Sound ‘Incidents’
[A human voice can cause a glass to shatter if a note is sung at a pitch that resonates with the glass. Glasses with a different shape will not be affected. So the same thing should be able to happen to the human brain. Since different people will have somewhat different brain shapes and densities of tissue, such a sound would not have the same effect on everybody.]
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/dangerous-sound-what-americans-heard-cuba-attacks-n810306
What is the drawer underneath your oven and how do you use it?
https://www.today.com/food/what-bottom-drawer-under-your-oven-t117265
Researchers say climate change may accelerate infectious disease outbreaks
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoca-car101217.php
Sheryl Sandberg Says Facebook Will Reveal How Russia Targeted U.S. Voters
Oct 12 2017, 12:24 pm ET
by Claire Atkinson
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, said Thursday that the social network would reveal how Russia-linked groups targeted Americans with ads that were designed to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and tip it to Donald Trump.
The action means that Facebook may be able to help explain to Congress which groups of people and geographic areas were the targets of the Russian ads, and who precisely paid for them. The company has already turned over about 3,000 ads that ran on its platform to congressional investigators, but they have not yet been made public.
•••••
On Sunday, the Trump campaign's digital director, Brad Parscale, bragged to CBS News about how he used Facebook.
“I understood early that Facebook was how Donald Trump was going to win,” he told "60 Minutes." He revealed that Facebook had embedded staff in the Trump campaign to help them use the targeting.
Parscale revealed the campaign made hundreds of thousands of ads, changing language and colors to best appeal to individuals.
The Trump campaign used Cambridge Analytica, a firm backed by Trump supporter Robert Mercer, which blended its own database of information on American voters with Facebook to find swing voters or discourage people from voting at all.
•••••
On Sunday, the Trump campaign's digital director, Brad Parscale, bragged to CBS News about how he used Facebook.
“I understood early that Facebook was how Donald Trump was going to win,” he told "60 Minutes." He revealed that Facebook had embedded staff in the Trump campaign to help them use the targeting.
Parscale revealed the campaign made hundreds of thousands of ads, changing language and colors to best appeal to individuals.
The Trump campaign used Cambridge Analytica, a firm backed by Trump supporter Robert Mercer, which blended its own database of information on American voters with Facebook to find swing voters or discourage people from voting at all.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Links
Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico, the vast majority of the island remains without power and the death toll from the storm has risen to 45, authorities said.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/11/us/puerto-rico-maria-crisis/index.html
Puerto Ricans face growing threat from disease after Maria, experts fear
http://abcnews.go.com/US/puerto-ricans-face-growing-threat-disease-maria-experts/story?id=50424694
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Links
Equifax hackers took driver's license info on 10M Americans
https://www.cnet.com/news/equifax-hackers-took-10-million-americans-drivers-license-info/
California fires: at least 15 killed in 'unprecedented' wine country blaze
Head, the Cal Fire captain, said the fires were probably linked to a warming climate. “It has been hotter, it has been drier, our fire seasons have been longer, fires are burning more intensely, which is a direct correlation to the climate changing,” she said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/09/california-wildfires-wine-country-blaze?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
How Sinclair Broadcasting puts a partisan tilt on trusted local news
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sinclair-broadcasting-puts-partisan-tilt-trusted-local-news/
Spanking and the Making of a Violent Society
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/98/4/837.short
Spanking children & other forms of violence:
Connections among war, violence, sexism and corporal punishment
http://nospank.net/eisler3.htm
Spanking and crime rates
https://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/07/spanking-and-crime-rates
Cultural Norms for Adult Corporal Punishment of Children and Societal Rates of Endorsement and Use of Violence
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2774244/
‘Spanking kids is why US is more violent than Germany’
https://www.thelocal.de/20160620/why-us-gun-violence-is-so-much-worse-than-germanys-gun-control-germany
The psychoacoustic effect of infrasonic, sonic and ultrasonic frequencies within non-lethal military warfare techniques.
Exploring the use of audio to influence humans physically and psychologically as a means of non-lethal warfare methods throughout both the 20th and the 21st century.
https://littlefield.co/the-psychoacoustic-effect-of-infrasonic-sonic-and-ultrasonic-frequencies-within-non-lethal-cf05e1fd8673
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Links
The Worst-Case Scenario for John Kelly’s Hacked Phone
https://www.wired.com/story/john-kelly-hacked-phone?mbid=nl_100717_daily
Security News This Week: Go Update Your Mac ASAP To Fix Some Serious Vulnerabilities
https://www.wired.com/story/update-macos-high-sierra-security-patch?mbid=nl_100717_daily
Cars Are Safer Than Ever—But Traffic Deaths Are Climbing
https://www.wired.com/story/traffic-deaths-rise-2016?mbid=nl_100717_daily
Algorithms Have Already Gone Rogue
In WTF you talk about a specific out-of-control algorithm: the capitalist impulse to maximize profits regardless of societal consequences. The way you describe is reminds me of Nick Bostrom’s scenario of an AI machine devoted to making paper clips—because that’s its sole mission, it winds up eating up all the materials in the world and even killing those who would turn it off. Corporations whose sole justification is shareholder value seem to be working on a similarly destructive algorithm.
https://www.wired.com/story/tim-oreilly-algorithms-have-already-gone-rogue?mbid=nl_100717_daily
Links & comments
How many people have lost birth certificates and other id needed to vote in some states, eg. Georgia, in the large wild fires in California and other states?
Coffee shops not doing enough to combat huge increase in wasted cups
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/10/coffee-shops-not-doing-enough-to-combat-huge-increase-in-wasted-cups
Lusius malfoyi wasp: New Zealand insect named after Harry Potter ‘redeemed’ villain
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/10/lusius-malfoyi-wasp-new-zealand-insect-named-after-harry-potter-villain
Ben & Jerry’s to launch glyphosate-free ice-cream after tests find traces of weedkiller
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/09/ben-jerrys-to-launch-glyphosate-free-ice-cream-after-tests-find-traces-of-weedkiller
'I hope you are taping': New York Times releases audio to instantly debunk Trump’s claim that the paper 'set up' Bob Corker
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-times-debunks-trump-bob-corker-claim-2017-10
Monday, October 09, 2017
Links & comments
Oct. 9, 2017
I noticed that NPR had plenty of time to report that there was no new information on the Las Vegas shooting. But when they reported on the California wildfires, they didn't have time to discuss the fact that global warming is causing more intense wildfires around the world.
‘Antibiotic apocalypse’: doctors sound alarm over drug resistance
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/08/world-faces-antibiotic-apocalypse-says-chief-medical-officer
Michigan Judge Gives Convicted Rapist Parental Rights for Victim’s Son
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-judge-gives-convicted-rapist-parental-rights-victim-s-son-n809196
Trump’s plan to bail out failing fossil fuels with taxpayer subsidies is perverse
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/oct/09/trumps-plan-to-bail-out-failing-fossil-fuels-with-taxpayer-subsidies-is-perverse
Sunday, October 08, 2017
Here's how you can help the victims of recent disasters
The multiple disasters around the U.S. & world, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, droughts, show why I never designate a charitable donation to a specific disaster. People often donate for a specified disaster that gets a lot of news coverage, so organizations may get more than they need for that disaster, then later or less prominent disasters don't get enough. If they use the unneeded funds for other, needed, purposes, human piranhas will jump on them for that.
See the links below to get links to helping agencies.
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/septembers-hurricanes-are-over-suffering-isnt
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/world/americas/hurricane-maria-donate-charity.html
•••••
Here’s How You Can Help People In Puerto Rico
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/puerto-rica-hurricane-irma-maria_us_59c7f699e4b06ddf45f89c7a?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/25/health/iyw-harvey-how-to-help/index.html
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/9/26/16365994/hurricane-maria-2017-puerto-rico-san-juan-humanitarian-disaster-electricty-fuel-flights-facts
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/can-help-hurricane-victims-puerto-rico/
•••••
By CNN Impact Your World Team
Updated 2:10 PM ET, Mon August 28, 2017
•••••
There are several ways you can help.
Donate money: By clicking on the button below, you can donate to charities vetted by CNN's Impact Your World. These organizations are helping in Harvey's immediate aftermath, and they will continue working through the long term.
•••••
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-charities-hurricane-harvey-2017-8/#st-bernard-project-9366-1
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/28/546745827/looking-to-help-those-affected-by-harvey-here-s-a-list
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-to-help-donate-to-assist-harvey-victims-reeling-from-the-storms-catastrophic-damage/70002574
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=5239&from=homepage
http://www.refinery29.com/2017/09/171206/how-to-help-hurricane-irma-victims?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebook_share
http://abcnews.go.com/International/charities-begin-accepting-donations-areas-affected-hurricane-irma/story?id=49681095
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-to-help-donate-to-assist-hurricane-harvey-irma-victims/70002574
Links
US Virgin Islands: The American citizens battered by hurricane Maria - and forgotten
Most of the 100,000 citizens here have no drinkable water or power, but the territory has been overlooked in the storm’s aftermath
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/us-virgin-islands-the-american-citizens-battered-by-hurricane-maria-and-forgotten
FEMA restores deleted Puerto Rico stats after uproar
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/354290-fema-restores-deleted-puerto-rico-stats-after-uproar
Whistleblower Quits with Scathing Letter Over Trump Interior Dept. Leadership
Joel Clement, who was reassigned after speaking out about climate change, says the administration ‘waged an all-out assault on civil service by muzzling scientists'.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05102017/whistleblower-resigns-letter-travel-misuse-trump-zinke-interior-dept-leadership-climate-change
Trump Nominates a Coal Lobbyist to Be No. 2 at E.P.A.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/climate/trump-epa-andrew-wheeler.html
Saturday, October 07, 2017
Comments & links
Oct. 6, 2017
NPR discussed copy-cat killers earlier today, how heavy news coverage of mass killers inspired others. Ironic since NPR has kept reporting on it, only being able to report that nothing much is known.
Really turned off by the news media harping on possible comment by Tillerson of Trump being a moron. I might feel that way about him, but I'm sure many of us have referred to our boss, parents, etc. as morons when we disagreed with them. Reminds me of a piranha feeding frenzy.
Puerto Rico’s Hospitals Still in Triage Mode, 2 Weeks After Maria
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/puerto-rico-s-hospitals-still-triage-mode-2-weeks-after-n807406
Japanese reporter died after clocking 159 hours of overtime in the month before her death.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/05/news/japan-work-overwork-woman-dies-karoshi/index.html
KIC 8462852: Mystery Dimming of Alien Megastructure Star Was Just Dust, NASA Says
http://www.newsweek.com/kic-8462852-alien-megastructure-nasa-dust-cloud-mystery-solved-678418
Hero who saved 30 people reunited with police officer who saved his own life
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/05/us/las-vegas-shooting-jonathan-smith-tom-mcgrath-hero-intv/index.html
No, gun silencers wouldn't have worsened the Las Vegas shooting
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/oct/04/hillary-clinton/no-gun-silencers-wouldnt-have-worsened-las-vegas-s/
Warming Drives Unexpected Pulses of CO2 from Forest Soil
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05102017/forest-soil-co2-carbon-global-warming-climate-change-study
Cannabis consumption increases violent behaviour in young people in psychiatric care
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uom-cci100617.php
Antibiotics for dental procedures linked to superbug infection, study shows
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/idso-afd100517.php
Bariatric surgery lowers cancer risk for severely obese patients
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoca-bsl100517.php
Good-guy bacteria may help cancer immunotherapies do their job
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/usmc-gbm100517.php
Women who get frequent UTIs may reduce risk by drinking plenty of water
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/idso-wwg100517.php
Multivitamin use during pregnancy linked to lower risk of autism with intellectual disability
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/du-mud100517.php
Air pollution exposure on home-to-school routes reduces the growth of working memory
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/bifg-ape100517.php
Simplifying information aids fight against childhood obesity, study finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uovh-sia100517.php
Screen children with reading difficulties for hearing problems, says report
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/cu-scw100517.php
The impact of hearing loss on those closest to the patients should be considered when personalising rehabilitation plans for patients with deafness.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uon-iyp100417.php
A need for bananas? Dietary potassium regulates calcification of arteries
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoaa-anf100217.php
The high price of the nocebo effect
People receiving an inert treatment believed they experienced more severe adverse side effects when the dummy drug was labeled as expensive, scientists report. The researchers say brain regions responsible for higher-order cognition can influence primal pain sensing at the spinal level.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/aaft-thp100217.php
tags: drug abuse
Thursday, October 05, 2017
Aerobic exercise — has a significant, beneficial impact on the brain.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/theres-even-more-evidence-one-180100084.html
I found that exercise in nature, like hiking in the woods or doing yard work, is especially helpful.
Erin Brodwin
Business Insider
October 4, 2017
Want an all-natural way to lift your mood, improve your memory, and protect your brain against age-related cognitive decline?
Get moving.
A wealth of recentresearch, including a new study published this month, suggests that any type of exercise that raises your heart rate and gets you moving and sweating for a sustained period of time — known as aerobic exercise — has a significant, beneficial impact on the brain.
"Aerobic exercise is the key for your head, just as it is for your heart," said an article in the Harvard Medical School blog "Mind and Mood."
Most research suggests that the best type of aerobic exercise for your mind is anything you can do regularly and consistently for 30-45 minutes at a time. But the latest study suggests that any kind of workout — whether it's for 5 minutes or 45 — can have beneficial impacts on mental health.
The new study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, is the largest long-term study of its kind to look at the link between exercise and mental health, with a special focus on depression.
•••••
The results suggested that as little as one hour of exercise each week helped shield people against depressive episodes. Notably, that exercise did not need to be aerobic — even participants who got moving without becoming breathless (perhaps with an activity like a long, moderately-paced walk) were significantly less likely to report symptoms of depression compared with those who did no exercise.
Plenty of other research has revealed a powerful connection between mental and physical fitness across varying levels of intensity. Some benefits — like a lift in mood — can emerge as soon as a few minutes into a sweaty endeavor, while others — like improved memory — might take several weeks to crop up.
•••••
A pilot study in people with severe depression, for example, found that just 30 minutes of treadmill walking for 10 consecutive days was "sufficient to produce a clinically relevant and statistically significant reduction in depression." Aerobic workouts appear to help reduce levels of the body's natural stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, according to a recent study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.
In older people, the best way to protect against age-related brain decline seems to be aerobic workouts. A study published in May found that in adults aged 60-88, walking for 30 minutes four days a week for 12 weeks appeared to strengthen connectivity in a region of the brain where weakened connections have been linked with memory loss. And a study in older women who displayed symptoms of dementia found that sweaty, heart-pumping exercise was linked with an increase in the size of the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory.
Several studies even suggest that aerobic workouts provide the best protection against other types of cognitive decline, too. A study involving hundreds of breast cancer survivors concluded that such exercise seemed to reduce the symptoms of "chemo brain," a commonly reported side effect of cancer treatment that involves memory loss and difficulty focusing.
Senate Intelligence Heads Warn That Russian Election Meddling Continues
By NICHOLAS FANDOS OCT. 4, 2017
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee delivered a stark warning on Wednesday to political candidates: Expect Russian operatives to remain active and determined to again try to sow chaos in elections next month and next year.
At a rare news conference, Senators Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and the committee’s chairman, and Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and its vice chairman, broadly endorsed the conclusions of American spy agencies that said President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia directed a campaign of hacking and propaganda to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.
“The Russian intelligence service is determined — clever — and I recommend that every campaign and every election official take this very seriously,” Mr. Burr said.
“You can’t walk away from this and believe that Russia’s not currently active,” he added.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that Mr. Putin initially wanted to hurt Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, but later tried to explicitly help Donald J. Trump’s insurgent campaign. The senators said they have reached no conclusion on whether anyone around Mr. Trump was part of that effort.
•••••
“There needs to be a more aggressive whole-of-government approach in terms of protecting our electoral system,” Mr. Warner said. “Remember, to make a change even in a national election doesn’t require penetration into 50 states.”
He added, “You could pick two or three states in two or three jurisdictions and alter an election.”
•••••
The senators said that their investigators have pored over nearly 100,000 pages of classified intelligence and documents turned over by the Trump campaign and other associates of the president’s, and they have conducted more than 100 interviews with many of the top officials connected to both the Trump campaign and the intelligence community. Investigators also recently received material from Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter, about advertisements on their platforms linked to Russia.
“This feels like it’s taking a long time. It is taking a long time,” Mr. Warner said. “But getting it right and getting all the facts is what we owe the American people.”
Mr. Burr had expressed a desire this summer to conclude the inquiry by year’s end. But on Wednesday, he all but conceded that with so many avenues of investigation still open — 25 interviews are scheduled for the remainder of October alone — that would not be possible. While he declined to put a date on the investigation’s conclusion, he said that the committee planned to release portions of its findings before the 2018 midterm election primaries.
Links
Man's Jack Daniel's flag mistaken for ISIS flag by 'worried' neighbors
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/10/04/mans-jack-daniels-flag-mistaken-for-isis-flag-by-worried-neighbors.html
Brazil’s Worst Month Ever for Forest Fires Blamed on Human Activity
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/brazils-worst-month-ever-for-forest-fires-blamed-on-human-activity-21739
Too poor to vote: how Alabama’s ‘new poll tax’ bars thousands of people from voting
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/04/alabama-voting-poll-tax
Rep. Tim Murphy, popular with pro-life movement, urged abortion in affair, texts suggest
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2017/10/03/rep-tim-Murphy-pro-life-sought-abortion-affair-shannon-edwards-susan-mosychuk-pennsylvania-chief-of-staff-congress-emails-texts/stories/201710030018
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
Links and comments
Oct. 3, 2017 NPR is interviewing a republican on the tax plan, and of course not pointing out holes in his statements. Like, the stuff about the estate tax taxing someone's earnings more than once. For one thing, the estate tax is not a tax on the person who has died, it's a tax on the unearned wealth that person inherits. For another, all money is taxed multiple times, just like it is used to buy stuff many times, as it passes from one person to another.. There is a fairly constant amount of money. If it were taxed once, taxation would have ended long ago.
The news mentioned the tower shooter. As usual, the left out the fact that he turned out to have a brain tumor. When I heard the age of the Las Vegas shooter, I immediately wondered if he had the beginnings of dementia. It will be interesting to see what investigators find. If he shot himself in the head, I guess that might make it harder to discover something like this.
I wonder if these factors are ignored because it would interfere with our enjoyment of feeling pure hate towards these people
And of course, we are oblivious to the fact that the hate we feel is the same emotion as the hate the killer feels.
Equifax says 2.5 million more may have been swept up in massive data breach
bringing the new total of potentially affected consumers to a staggering 145.5 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/10/02/equifax-says-2-5-million-more-may-have-been-swept-up-in-massive-data-breach/?utm_term=.522980bef156
Breast-cancer death rate drops almost 40 percent, saving 322,000 lives, study says
“We have patients who get diagnosed with cancer and have difficulty making their appointments, like radiation every day for four or five weeks” because they can't take off from work, Schwartzberg said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/10/03/breast-cancer-death-rate-drops-almost-40-percent-saving-32200-lives-study-says/?utm_term=.9a9bbd8f9f1c
High Oil Subsidies Ensure Profit for Nearly Half New U.S. Investments, Study Shows
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03102017/high-oil-subsidies-ensure-profit-undermine-climate-change-goals
Vivienne Westwood on her secret to staying young: bathe once a week
Fashion designer, 76, says not washing too much is the secret to seeming young, while her husband, Andreas Kronthaler, says he washes even less often
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/oct/01/vivienne-westwood-secret-to-staying-young-dont-wash-too-much
Facebook’s Russia-Linked Ads Came in Many Disguises
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/technology/facebook-russia-ads-.html
Code-execution flaws threaten users of routers, Linux, and other OSes
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/10/code-execution-flaws-threaten-users-of-routers-linux-and-other-oses/
She used to think gun control was the answer. My research told me otherwise.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-research-told-me-otherwise/2017/10/03/d33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html?utm_term=.48f29a5bb1d2
Fancy dinners, far-flung speeches: Calendars detail EPA chief’s close ties to industry
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/10/03/steakhouse-dinners-golf-resort-speeches-calendars-detail-epa-chiefs-close-ties-to-industry/?utm_term=.22352c30bdc2
Failure to vaccinate is likely driver of U.S. measles outbreaks, report says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/10/03/failure-to-vaccinate-is-likely-driver-of-u-s-measles-outbreaks-report-says/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-national%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.202f705b39c7
Father saved others from gunfire in Las Vegas before being shot in neck
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-father-saved-others-from-gunfire-in-las-vegas-before-being-shot-in-neck/
Oct. 3, 2017
A 30-year-old man is being credited with saving the lives of multiple people amid a barrage of gunfire in Las Vegas before he was shot in the neck and wounded, reports the Washington Post.
Jonathan Smith, a copy machine repairman from Buena Park, Calif., was reportedly in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival to celebrate his brother's 43rd birthday when the shots rang out Sunday. Police have identified the gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, who they say brought multiple firearms to a suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel, smashed two windows and opened fire, killing 59 and wounding more than 500.
Smith told the Washington Post the nine family members who had all attended the concert held hands and ran. He was focused on the safety of his nieces, 22, 18, and 17, but they became separated.
When he turned back to look for his nieces, he saw others too frightened to know what to do and yelled to them, "Active shooter, active shooter, let's go! We have to run."
He reportedly directed them toward a handicapped parking area away from Las Vegas Boulevard where they crouched down behind one of the last rows of cars.
He's being credited with saving 30 people, Heather Long of the Washington Post reported in a tweet that quickly went viral.
"I got a few people out of there," Smith told the Post. "You could hear the shots. It sounded like it was coming from all over Las Vegas Boulevard."
Smith reportedly saw a few young girls who weren't fully hidden. He stood up and moved them, and that's when a bullet struck his neck.
•••••
He reportedly has a fractured collarbone, a cracked rib and a bruised lung. He said doctors are leaving the bullet in his neck for now because they're concerned removing it might cause more damage.
In a GoFundMe page, family said he saved dozens before he was shot.
"Our family is so blessed to have someone so heroic and selfless putting the lives of others before his own," the page reads.
The page says Smith has three children and requests donations to help with his medical expenses.
The Washington Post reports Smith later re-united with all of his family members who attended the concert. They are safe.
Oct. 3, 2017
A 30-year-old man is being credited with saving the lives of multiple people amid a barrage of gunfire in Las Vegas before he was shot in the neck and wounded, reports the Washington Post.
Jonathan Smith, a copy machine repairman from Buena Park, Calif., was reportedly in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival to celebrate his brother's 43rd birthday when the shots rang out Sunday. Police have identified the gunman as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, who they say brought multiple firearms to a suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel, smashed two windows and opened fire, killing 59 and wounding more than 500.
Smith told the Washington Post the nine family members who had all attended the concert held hands and ran. He was focused on the safety of his nieces, 22, 18, and 17, but they became separated.
When he turned back to look for his nieces, he saw others too frightened to know what to do and yelled to them, "Active shooter, active shooter, let's go! We have to run."
He reportedly directed them toward a handicapped parking area away from Las Vegas Boulevard where they crouched down behind one of the last rows of cars.
He's being credited with saving 30 people, Heather Long of the Washington Post reported in a tweet that quickly went viral.
"I got a few people out of there," Smith told the Post. "You could hear the shots. It sounded like it was coming from all over Las Vegas Boulevard."
Smith reportedly saw a few young girls who weren't fully hidden. He stood up and moved them, and that's when a bullet struck his neck.
•••••
He reportedly has a fractured collarbone, a cracked rib and a bruised lung. He said doctors are leaving the bullet in his neck for now because they're concerned removing it might cause more damage.
In a GoFundMe page, family said he saved dozens before he was shot.
"Our family is so blessed to have someone so heroic and selfless putting the lives of others before his own," the page reads.
The page says Smith has three children and requests donations to help with his medical expenses.
The Washington Post reports Smith later re-united with all of his family members who attended the concert. They are safe.
Monday, October 02, 2017
Links
I saw a news headline on an opinion piece saying "Trump can't accept brown people and women calling him out". I guess they haven't noticed that Trump also cannot accept Caucasian males calling him out. He can't stand anybody calling him out.
Analysis: Tax plan would cost $2.4T, benefit wealthy most
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/353126-analysis-tax-plan-would-cost-24t-benefit-wealthy-most
After first tour of Puerto Rico, top general calls damage ‘the worst he’s ever seen’
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/first-tour-puerto-rico-top-general-calls-damage-worst-hes-ever-seen/#.WdDlWnnu07Y.twitter
Puerto Rico governor: More needed, but feds have answered our calls
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/30/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-recovery/index.html
Ex-Medicare head says Trump ‘purposely’ raising insurance premiums
Andy Slavitt, who was acting CMS administrator from 2015 to 2017, accused Trump on Twitter of "purposely raising" health-care premiums as part of his plan to let ObamaCare "implode."
Doctors address illness linked to chronic marijuana use
http://www.ajc.com/news/national/doctors-address-illness-linked-chronic-marijuana-use/8Hc2Ss8EXT6URWCtcsyTTO/?ecmp=socialflow_ajc
Online thieves may be exploiting the Equifax panic, researchers say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/09/28/online-thieves-may-be-exploiting-the-equifax-panic-researchers-say/?utm_term=.4f526e0011c8
'They still make that?': Six jobs you (wrongly) thought were extinct
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/handmade-bill-weir-the-wonder-list/index.html
Facebook and Google promote politicized fake news about Las Vegas shooter
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/02/las-vegas-shooting-facebook-google-fake-news-shooter
tags: drug abuse
Sixth mass extinction of wildlife also threatens global food supplies
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/26/sixth-mass-extinction-of-wildlife-also-threatens-global-food-supplies
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Sept. 26, 2017
The sixth mass extinction of global wildlife already under way is seriously threatening the world’s food supplies, according to experts.
“Huge proportions of the plant and animal species that form the foundation of our food supply are just as endangered [as wildlife] and are getting almost no attention,” said Ann Tutwiler, director general of Bioversity International, a research group that published a new report on Tuesday.
“If there is one thing we cannot allow to become extinct, it is the species that provide the food that sustains each and every one of the seven billion people on our planet,” she said in an article for the Guardian. “This ‘agrobiodiversity’ is a precious resource that we are losing, and yet it can also help solve or mitigate many challenges the world is facing. It has a critical yet overlooked role in helping us improve global nutrition, reduce our impact on the environment and adapt to climate change.”
•••••
There are tens of thousands of wild or rarely cultivated species that could provide a richly varied range of nutritious foods, resistant to disease and tolerant of the changing environment. But the destruction of wild areas, pollution and overhunting has started a mass extinction of species on Earth. The focus to date has been on wild animals – half of which have been lost in the last 40 years – but the new report reveals that the same pressures are endangering humanity’s food supply, with at least 1,000 cultivated species already endangered.
Tutwiler said saving the world’s agrobiodiversity is also vital in tackling the number one cause of human death and disability in the world – poor diet, which includes both too much and too little food. “We are not winning the battle against obesity and undernutrition,” she said. “Poor diets are in large part because we have very unified diets based on a narrow set of commodities and we are not consuming enough diversity.”
•••••
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Sept. 26, 2017
The sixth mass extinction of global wildlife already under way is seriously threatening the world’s food supplies, according to experts.
“Huge proportions of the plant and animal species that form the foundation of our food supply are just as endangered [as wildlife] and are getting almost no attention,” said Ann Tutwiler, director general of Bioversity International, a research group that published a new report on Tuesday.
“If there is one thing we cannot allow to become extinct, it is the species that provide the food that sustains each and every one of the seven billion people on our planet,” she said in an article for the Guardian. “This ‘agrobiodiversity’ is a precious resource that we are losing, and yet it can also help solve or mitigate many challenges the world is facing. It has a critical yet overlooked role in helping us improve global nutrition, reduce our impact on the environment and adapt to climate change.”
•••••
There are tens of thousands of wild or rarely cultivated species that could provide a richly varied range of nutritious foods, resistant to disease and tolerant of the changing environment. But the destruction of wild areas, pollution and overhunting has started a mass extinction of species on Earth. The focus to date has been on wild animals – half of which have been lost in the last 40 years – but the new report reveals that the same pressures are endangering humanity’s food supply, with at least 1,000 cultivated species already endangered.
Tutwiler said saving the world’s agrobiodiversity is also vital in tackling the number one cause of human death and disability in the world – poor diet, which includes both too much and too little food. “We are not winning the battle against obesity and undernutrition,” she said. “Poor diets are in large part because we have very unified diets based on a narrow set of commodities and we are not consuming enough diversity.”
•••••
Russians took a page from corporate America by using Facebook tool to ID and influence voters
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russians-took-a-page-from-corporate-america-by-using-facebook-tool-to-id-and-influence-voters/2017/10/02/681e40d8-a7c5-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html?utm_term=.2fc10ec8da41
By Elizabeth Dwoskin, Craig Timberg and Adam Entous October 2, 2017 at 8:00 PM
Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, say people familiar with the investigation into foreign meddling in the U.S. election.
The tactic resembles what American businesses and political campaigns have been doing in recent years to deliver messages to potentially interested people online. The Russians exploited this system by creating English-language sites and Facebook pages that closely mimicked those created by U.S. political activists.
The Web sites and Facebook pages displayed ads or other messages focused on such hot-button issues as illegal immigration, African American political activism and the rising prominence of Muslims in the United States. The Russian operatives then used a Facebook “retargeting” tool, called Custom Audiences, to send specific ads and messages to voters who had visited those sites, say people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details from an ongoing investigation.
People caught up in this web of tracking and disinformation would have had no indication that they had been singled out or that the ads came from Russians.
One such ad featured photographs of an armed black woman “dry firing” a rifle — pulling the trigger of the weapon without a bullet in the chamber — the people familiar with the investigation said.
Investigators believe the advertisement may have been designed to encourage African American militancy and, at the same time, to stoke fears within white communities, the people said. But the precise purpose of the ad remains unclear to investigators, the people said.
Another showed an image of Democrat Hillary Clinton behind what appeared to be prison bars.
•••••
In addition to Custom Audiences, Russian operatives used other Facebook tools to target groups by demographics, geography, gender and interests, according to the people familiar with the investigation. The Custom Audiences tool differs because it allows advertisers to feed into Facebook’s systems a specific list of users they want to target.
The conclusions of investigators fit those of several independent researchers, who say that the Russian disinformation campaign exploited the core advertising and tracking technologies that Silicon Valley has honed over a decade to serve corporate America — and that are widely available, with few if any restrictions, to political actors in the United States and abroad.
“These are the same methods and sophisticated tools that the pharmaceutical companies were using, that big oil companies were using,” said Philip N. Howard of Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project. “This was regular ad technology that regular advertisers use.”
The revelation about the use of Facebook’s Custom Audiences tool, which has not been previously reported, adds to an emerging picture of a Russian effort to shape the U.S. election and sow division using tools built by American technology companies.
•••••
Targeted people might also have directed that same disinformation — whether intentionally or not — to people linked to them on social networks, such as their friends on Facebook.
“This means that any American who knowingly or unknowingly clicked on a Russian news site may have been targeted through Facebook’s advertising systems to become an agent of influence — a potentially sympathetic American who could spread Russian propaganda with other Americans,” said Clinton Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Every successful click gives them more data that they can use to retarget. It feeds on itself and it speeds up the influence dramatically.”
•••••
The company said Monday that modeling shows that these ads were seen by roughly 10 million users. An estimated 44 percent were seen before the Nov. 8 election, and the rest were seen afterward.
•••••
Political experts have pointed out that during close elections such as the 2016 presidential contest, a small number of votes by people living in certain states can have a disproportionate influence on the outcome. Without a full accounting of where ads were targeted on the Web and who was targeted — as well as how many times those ads were shared within social networks — it is difficult to assess the impact of the Russian influence campaign.
•••••
By Elizabeth Dwoskin, Craig Timberg and Adam Entous October 2, 2017 at 8:00 PM
Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, say people familiar with the investigation into foreign meddling in the U.S. election.
The tactic resembles what American businesses and political campaigns have been doing in recent years to deliver messages to potentially interested people online. The Russians exploited this system by creating English-language sites and Facebook pages that closely mimicked those created by U.S. political activists.
The Web sites and Facebook pages displayed ads or other messages focused on such hot-button issues as illegal immigration, African American political activism and the rising prominence of Muslims in the United States. The Russian operatives then used a Facebook “retargeting” tool, called Custom Audiences, to send specific ads and messages to voters who had visited those sites, say people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details from an ongoing investigation.
People caught up in this web of tracking and disinformation would have had no indication that they had been singled out or that the ads came from Russians.
One such ad featured photographs of an armed black woman “dry firing” a rifle — pulling the trigger of the weapon without a bullet in the chamber — the people familiar with the investigation said.
Investigators believe the advertisement may have been designed to encourage African American militancy and, at the same time, to stoke fears within white communities, the people said. But the precise purpose of the ad remains unclear to investigators, the people said.
Another showed an image of Democrat Hillary Clinton behind what appeared to be prison bars.
•••••
In addition to Custom Audiences, Russian operatives used other Facebook tools to target groups by demographics, geography, gender and interests, according to the people familiar with the investigation. The Custom Audiences tool differs because it allows advertisers to feed into Facebook’s systems a specific list of users they want to target.
The conclusions of investigators fit those of several independent researchers, who say that the Russian disinformation campaign exploited the core advertising and tracking technologies that Silicon Valley has honed over a decade to serve corporate America — and that are widely available, with few if any restrictions, to political actors in the United States and abroad.
“These are the same methods and sophisticated tools that the pharmaceutical companies were using, that big oil companies were using,” said Philip N. Howard of Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project. “This was regular ad technology that regular advertisers use.”
The revelation about the use of Facebook’s Custom Audiences tool, which has not been previously reported, adds to an emerging picture of a Russian effort to shape the U.S. election and sow division using tools built by American technology companies.
•••••
Targeted people might also have directed that same disinformation — whether intentionally or not — to people linked to them on social networks, such as their friends on Facebook.
“This means that any American who knowingly or unknowingly clicked on a Russian news site may have been targeted through Facebook’s advertising systems to become an agent of influence — a potentially sympathetic American who could spread Russian propaganda with other Americans,” said Clinton Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Every successful click gives them more data that they can use to retarget. It feeds on itself and it speeds up the influence dramatically.”
•••••
The company said Monday that modeling shows that these ads were seen by roughly 10 million users. An estimated 44 percent were seen before the Nov. 8 election, and the rest were seen afterward.
•••••
Political experts have pointed out that during close elections such as the 2016 presidential contest, a small number of votes by people living in certain states can have a disproportionate influence on the outcome. Without a full accounting of where ads were targeted on the Web and who was targeted — as well as how many times those ads were shared within social networks — it is difficult to assess the impact of the Russian influence campaign.
•••••
Sunday, October 01, 2017
links
I saw a news headline on an opinion piece saying "Trump can't accept brown people and women calling him out". I guess they haven't noticed that Trump also cannot accept Caucasian males calling him out. He can't stand anybody calling him out.
Analysis: Tax plan would cost $2.4T, benefit wealthy most
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/353126-analysis-tax-plan-would-cost-24t-benefit-wealthy-most
After first tour of Puerto Rico, top general calls damage ‘the worst he’s ever seen’
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/first-tour-puerto-rico-top-general-calls-damage-worst-hes-ever-seen/#.WdDlWnnu07Y.twitter
Puerto Rico governor: More needed, but feds have answered our calls
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/30/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-recovery/index.html
Ex-Medicare head says Trump ‘purposely’ raising insurance premiums
Andy Slavitt, who was acting CMS administrator from 2015 to 2017, accused Trump on Twitter of "purposely raising" health-care premiums as part of his plan to let ObamaCare "implode."
Doctors address illness linked to chronic marijuana use
http://www.ajc.com/news/national/doctors-address-illness-linked-chronic-marijuana-use/8Hc2Ss8EXT6URWCtcsyTTO/?ecmp=socialflow_ajc
Online thieves may be exploiting the Equifax panic, researchers say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/09/28/online-thieves-may-be-exploiting-the-equifax-panic-researchers-say/?utm_term=.4f526e0011c8
tags: drug abuse
Pentagon is still preparing for global warming even though Trump said to stop
By: Tara Copp September 12, 2017
The Pentagon has continued to take steps to defend its military bases against extreme weather despite direction from President Donald Trump to stop preparing for climate change.
In March, President Donald Trump rescinded all climate-related federal agency actions directed by President Barack Obama. The Obama-era initiatives that were killed included one that directed the Pentagon to plan for a future where storms, like this week’s Hurricane Irma, are a frequent factor in the Pentagon’s operations.
To meet Obama’s order, the Defense Department published a “climate change roadmap” in 2014 and launched a defensewide review of its installations to identify vulnerabilities.
“A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions,” the Defense Department concluded in the 2014 report. “The military could be called upon more often to support civil authorities … in the face of more frequent and more intense natural disasters.”
•••••
The DoD has found space to maneuver by separating the argument of climate change from the threats that more extreme sea states, wind and flooding can generate. Essentially, the DoD is moving forward by leaving the semantics of climate change to others.
“It makes a lot of sense to prepare for a wide variety of natural disasters,” said retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Even if there were no climate change, you would want to be ready for hurricanes, you would want to be ready for floods. I think the department is framing it in that context ―– just preparing for adverse events.”
The Pentagon spokesman said that is what the Pentagon’s doing.
•••••
Grounded NOAA Hurricane Hunter Plane Has No Backup With 2 Months of Hurricane Season Left
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/noaa-hurricane-hunter-aircraft-inoperable-with-two-months-of-hurricane-season
By Eric Chaney
Sep 28 2017
With more than two months of the Atlantic hurricane season left, NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters have grounded the Gulfstream IV aircraft that flies over storms at high altitudes to gather data.
"Unbelievably, there is no backup," Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) told the Palm Beach Post. "I’ve sounded the alarm on this until I’m blue in the face. The administration simply must act."
The plane, nicknamed Gonzo, suffered a series of three malfunctions in a period of eight days, ABC News said. NOAA spokesperson Christopher Vaccaro told weather.com there was a problem with the fuel ignition system in one of the jet’s engines as well as a seal leak in the main cabin door that recurred twice.
As a result, the plane has been grounded for the third time, missing at least two planned missions into Hurricane Maria, the Palm Beach Post reported. Repairs could keep the jet grounded until Oct. 3.
"NOAA has taken no major steps to acquire reliable backup," Nelson wrote in an early September letter to NOAA’s acting head. "It is unacceptable that we again find ourselves in the midst of hurricane season without reliable NOAA aircraft reconnaissance and without backup capability."
That’s despite the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act passed in April, into which Nelson added language that requires a second aircraft be available to "prevent a single point of failure."
•••••
The Gulfstream is the only high-altitude aircraft in NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet, the data from which the agency says has improved hurricane track forecasts by about 20 percent in recent years.
•••••
By Eric Chaney
Sep 28 2017
With more than two months of the Atlantic hurricane season left, NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters have grounded the Gulfstream IV aircraft that flies over storms at high altitudes to gather data.
"Unbelievably, there is no backup," Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) told the Palm Beach Post. "I’ve sounded the alarm on this until I’m blue in the face. The administration simply must act."
The plane, nicknamed Gonzo, suffered a series of three malfunctions in a period of eight days, ABC News said. NOAA spokesperson Christopher Vaccaro told weather.com there was a problem with the fuel ignition system in one of the jet’s engines as well as a seal leak in the main cabin door that recurred twice.
As a result, the plane has been grounded for the third time, missing at least two planned missions into Hurricane Maria, the Palm Beach Post reported. Repairs could keep the jet grounded until Oct. 3.
"NOAA has taken no major steps to acquire reliable backup," Nelson wrote in an early September letter to NOAA’s acting head. "It is unacceptable that we again find ourselves in the midst of hurricane season without reliable NOAA aircraft reconnaissance and without backup capability."
That’s despite the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act passed in April, into which Nelson added language that requires a second aircraft be available to "prevent a single point of failure."
•••••
The Gulfstream is the only high-altitude aircraft in NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet, the data from which the agency says has improved hurricane track forecasts by about 20 percent in recent years.
•••••
Just 8 men own same wealth as half the world
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-own-same-wealth-half-world
Published:
16 January 2017
Eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, according to a new report published by Oxfam today to mark the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos.
Oxfam’s report, ‘An economy for the 99 percent’, shows that the gap between rich and poor is far greater than had been feared. It details how big business and the super-rich are fuelling the inequality crisis by dodging taxes, driving down wages and using their power to influence politics. It calls for a fundamental change in the way we manage our economies so that they work for all people, and not just a fortunate few.
New and better data on the distribution of global wealth – particularly in India and China – indicates that the poorest half of the world has less wealth than had been previously thought. Had this new data been available last year, it would have shown that nine billionaires owned the same wealth as the poorest half of the planet, and not 62, as Oxfam calculated at the time.
•••••
Oxfam interviewed women working in a garment factory in Vietnam who work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and still struggle to get by on the $1 an hour they earn producing clothes for some of the world’s biggest fashion brands. The CEOs of these companies are some of the highest paid people in the world. Corporate tax dodging costs poor countries at least $100 billion every year. This is enough money to provide an education for the 124 million children who aren’t in school and fund healthcare interventions that could prevent the deaths of at least six million children every year.
The report outlines how the super-rich use a network of tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of tax and an army of wealth managers to secure returns on their investments that would not be available to ordinary savers. Contrary to popular belief, many of the super-rich are not ‘self-made’. Oxfam analysis shows over half the world’s billionaires either inherited their wealth or accumulated it through industries which are prone to corruption and cronyism.
It also demonstrates how big business and the super-rich use their money and connections to ensure government policy works for them. For example, billionaires in Brazil have sought to influence elections and successfully lobbied for a reduction in tax bills while oil corporations in Nigeria have managed to secure generous tax breaks.
•••••
The world’s 8 richest people are, in order of net worth:
- Bill Gates: America founder of Microsoft (net worth $75 billion)
- Amancio Ortega: Spanish founder of Inditex which owns the Zara fashion chain (net worth $67 billion)
- Warren Buffett: American CEO and largest shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway (net worth $60.8 billion)
- Carlos Slim Helu: Mexican owner of Grupo Carso (net worth: $50 billion)
- Jeff Bezos: American founder, chairman and chief executive of Amazon (net worth: $45.2 billion)
- Mark Zuckerberg: American chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook (net worth $44.6 billion)
- Larry Ellison: American co-founder and CEO of Oracle (net worth $43.6 billion)
- Michael Bloomberg: American founder, owner and CEO of Bloomberg LP (net worth: $40 billion)
Oxfam’s calculations are based on global wealth distribution data provided by the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Data book 2016
The wealth of the world’s richest people was calculated using Forbes' billionaires list last published in March 2016.
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