https://thehill.com/policy/finance/464764-federal-deficit-estimated-at-984b-highest-in-seven-years
By Niv Elis - 10/07/19 07:37 PM EDT
The federal budget deficit for 2019 is estimated at $984 billion, a hefty 4.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the highest since 2012, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Monday.
The difference between federal spending and revenue has only ever exceeded $1 trillion four times, in the period immediately following the global financial crisis.
The deficit, which has grown every year since 2015, is $205 billion higher than it was in 2018, a jump of 26 percent.
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Tuesday, October 08, 2019
Monday, October 07, 2019
The Cure for Toxic Positivity
https://forge.medium.com/the-cure-for-toxic-positivity-155278b7daaa
Rebecca Renner
Oct. 4, 2019
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But that relentless focus on positivity — what Kate Bowler, a Duke Divinity School professor and former cancer patient, described in her memoir Everything Happens for a Reason as “the tyranny of prescriptive joy” — isn’t just ineffective. Research has shown that it’s actually harmful.
One 2012 study found that encouraging people to push away their negative emotions often has the opposite effect, making them feel bad about feeling bad, in addition to whatever else they were already going through. A 2005 study found that relentlessly focusing on the positive during times of stress — what the authors call “avoidance coping” — increased the risk of depressive symptoms later on. And there are plenty of other examples out there pointing to the same conclusion: Forced positivity often leaves us worse off.
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“Offering up toxic positivity like ‘look on the bright side’ or ‘it could be worse!’ often just makes the other person feel invalidated, creating a wedge between the two of you.”
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When you’re watching someone suffer, though, how do you know when your well-intended support has become something more insidious?
The answer can be surprisingly simple.
Be conscious of how your friends react to your encouragement
If what you’re saying makes them smile or perk up, you probably aren’t forcing positivity on them. If, on the other hand, words of encouragement shut down conversations or seem to make them withdraw, that’s a sign that your sunny attitude is misplaced.
Think, too, about what they seem to need in the moment
Are they asking for a pep talk? Or are they looking for a place to vent or cry? It can be uncomfortable to simply sit with someone else’s emotions, rather than reaching for a solution. But often, that’s what’s necessary. Shift your focus: Listen to understand instead of listening to respond.
Ask questions that help your friend or loved one develop the story they’re telling
Something as simple as, “How did you feel?” can be validating. It lets them acknowledge and share their experience with the problem they’re facing. And then, instead of offering a positive cliche, say something that clearly communicates that you see what they’re going through. They can’t shut their eyes and pretend the problem doesn’t exist; show them that you won’t, either.
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Rebecca Renner
Oct. 4, 2019
•••••
But that relentless focus on positivity — what Kate Bowler, a Duke Divinity School professor and former cancer patient, described in her memoir Everything Happens for a Reason as “the tyranny of prescriptive joy” — isn’t just ineffective. Research has shown that it’s actually harmful.
One 2012 study found that encouraging people to push away their negative emotions often has the opposite effect, making them feel bad about feeling bad, in addition to whatever else they were already going through. A 2005 study found that relentlessly focusing on the positive during times of stress — what the authors call “avoidance coping” — increased the risk of depressive symptoms later on. And there are plenty of other examples out there pointing to the same conclusion: Forced positivity often leaves us worse off.
•••••
“Offering up toxic positivity like ‘look on the bright side’ or ‘it could be worse!’ often just makes the other person feel invalidated, creating a wedge between the two of you.”
•••••
When you’re watching someone suffer, though, how do you know when your well-intended support has become something more insidious?
The answer can be surprisingly simple.
Be conscious of how your friends react to your encouragement
If what you’re saying makes them smile or perk up, you probably aren’t forcing positivity on them. If, on the other hand, words of encouragement shut down conversations or seem to make them withdraw, that’s a sign that your sunny attitude is misplaced.
Think, too, about what they seem to need in the moment
Are they asking for a pep talk? Or are they looking for a place to vent or cry? It can be uncomfortable to simply sit with someone else’s emotions, rather than reaching for a solution. But often, that’s what’s necessary. Shift your focus: Listen to understand instead of listening to respond.
Ask questions that help your friend or loved one develop the story they’re telling
Something as simple as, “How did you feel?” can be validating. It lets them acknowledge and share their experience with the problem they’re facing. And then, instead of offering a positive cliche, say something that clearly communicates that you see what they’re going through. They can’t shut their eyes and pretend the problem doesn’t exist; show them that you won’t, either.
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Earth just experienced its hottest September ever recorded
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-just-experienced-its-hottest-september-ever-recorded-2019-10-04/
By Sophie Lewis
Updated on: October 5, 2019 / 11:13 AM
Following the hottest summer on record, 2019 continues to head for the history books. Last month was officially the hottest September on record, just slightly hotter (.04 degrees Fahrenheit) than the previous record-holder, September 2016.
Last month was 1.02 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average September from 1981-2010 and about 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial level, according to data released Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an organization that tracks global temperatures.
According to AFP, the organization is treating the two months as joint record-holders because the difference is negligible.
September follows a record-setting summer, which recorded the hottest June and July, and the second hottest August. This July was the hottest month on record since record-keeping began 140 years ago.
Most of Europe, parts of the U.S., Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, northern China and parts of the Arctic all experienced significantly hotter than average Septembers, the organization said. Temperatures in Norway, Sweden, southwestern parts of Russia and parts of Antarctica were lower than average.
Scientists continue to warn that human activity is heating the planet at a dangerous rate, and high temperatures pose a more lethal threat to humans than any other type of extreme weather event. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies recently warned the threat posed by extreme heat "will only become more serious and more widespread as the climate crisis continues."
According to CBS News climate and weather contributor Jeff Berardelli, heat waves are more directly linked to climate change than any other weather phenomenon, because of hot air masses "pool" extra warming, exacerbating the expansion and intensity of heatwaves. "There is no doubt in the scientific community that heatwaves will continue to get worse in the future due to human-caused climate change," Berardelli said.
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By Sophie Lewis
Updated on: October 5, 2019 / 11:13 AM
Following the hottest summer on record, 2019 continues to head for the history books. Last month was officially the hottest September on record, just slightly hotter (.04 degrees Fahrenheit) than the previous record-holder, September 2016.
Last month was 1.02 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average September from 1981-2010 and about 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial level, according to data released Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an organization that tracks global temperatures.
According to AFP, the organization is treating the two months as joint record-holders because the difference is negligible.
September follows a record-setting summer, which recorded the hottest June and July, and the second hottest August. This July was the hottest month on record since record-keeping began 140 years ago.
Most of Europe, parts of the U.S., Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, northern China and parts of the Arctic all experienced significantly hotter than average Septembers, the organization said. Temperatures in Norway, Sweden, southwestern parts of Russia and parts of Antarctica were lower than average.
Scientists continue to warn that human activity is heating the planet at a dangerous rate, and high temperatures pose a more lethal threat to humans than any other type of extreme weather event. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies recently warned the threat posed by extreme heat "will only become more serious and more widespread as the climate crisis continues."
According to CBS News climate and weather contributor Jeff Berardelli, heat waves are more directly linked to climate change than any other weather phenomenon, because of hot air masses "pool" extra warming, exacerbating the expansion and intensity of heatwaves. "There is no doubt in the scientific community that heatwaves will continue to get worse in the future due to human-caused climate change," Berardelli said.
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No, You Can’t Feel Sorry for Everyone
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/no-you-can-t-feel-sorry-for-everyone?utm_source=pocket-newtab
I suggest reading the whole article at the following link.
Nautilus |
Adam Waytz
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The great modern humanitarian project of expanding the scope of our empathy to include the entire human race seems to be working. Our in-group (those we choose to include in our inner circle and to spend our energies on) is growing, and our out-group (everybody else) shrinking. But there’s a wrinkle in this perfect picture: Our instinctive tendency to categorize the world into “us” and “them” is difficult to overcome. It is in our nature to favor helping in-group members like friends, family, or fellow citizens, and to neglect or even punish out-group members. Even as some moral circles expand, others remain stubbornly fixed, or even contract: Just think of Democrats and Republicans, Sunnis and Shiites, Duke and North Carolina basketball fans.
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The endpoint of the liberal humanitarian project, which is universal empathy, would mean no boundary between in-group and out-group. In aiming for this goal, we must fight our instincts. That is possible, to a degree. Research confirms that people can strengthen their moral muscles and blur the divide between in-group and out-group. Practicing meditation, for example, can increase empathy, improving people’s ability to decode emotions from people’s facial expressions1 and making them more likely to offer a chair2 to someone with crutches.
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But these exercises can take us only so far. In fact, there is a terrible irony in the assumption that we can ever transcend our parochial tendencies entirely. Social scientists have found that in-group love and out-group hate originate from the same neurobiological basis, are mutually reinforcing, and co-evolved—because loyalty to the in-group provided a survival advantage by helping our ancestors to combat a threatening out-group. That means that, in principle, if we eliminate out-group hate completely, we may also undermine in-group love. Empathy is a zero-sum game.
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We can and do override our moral instincts using our more logical and deliberative mode of thinking, so the in-group vs. out-group opposition is not absolute. But we have limited cognitive resources, which rapidly become depleted.
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Sunday, October 06, 2019
IRS audits the poor more than the affluent because republicans slashed their funding
https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-sorry-but-its-just-easier-and-cheaper-to-audit-the-poor?utm_source=pocket-newtab
This was no accident. It was the results republicans were aiming for when they slashed IRS funding.
by Paul Kiel Oct. 2, 2:47 p.m. EDT
The IRS audits the working poor at about the same rate as the wealthiest 1%. Now, in response to questions from a U.S. senator, the IRS has acknowledged that’s true but professes it can’t change anything unless it is given more money.
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Last month, Rettig replied with a report, but it said the IRS has no plan and won’t have one until Congress agrees to restore the funding it slashed from the agency over the past nine years — something lawmakers have shown little inclination to do.
On the one hand, the IRS said, auditing poor taxpayers is a lot easier: The agency uses relatively low-level employees to audit returns for low-income taxpayers who claim the earned income tax credit. The audits — of which there were about 380,000 last year, accounting for 39% of the total the IRS conducted — are done by mail and don’t take too much staff time, either. They are “the most efficient use of available IRS examination resources,” Rettig’s report says.
On the other hand, auditing the rich is hard. It takes senior auditors hours upon hours to complete an exam. What’s more, the letter says, “the rate of attrition is significantly higher among these more experienced examiners.” As a result, the budget cuts have hit this part of the IRS particularly hard.
For now, the IRS says, while it agrees auditing more wealthy taxpayers would be a good idea, without adequate funding there’s nothing it can do. “Congress must fund and the IRS must hire and train appropriate numbers of [auditors] to have appropriately balanced coverage across all income levels,” the report said.
Since 2011, Republicans in Congress have driven cuts to the IRS enforcement budget; it’s more than a quarter lower than its 2010 level, adjusting for inflation.
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Pesticides likely caused 'Havana syndrome' that affected Cuba-based diplomats
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/aabu-plc100319.php
News Release 3-Oct-2019
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
A new interdisciplinary study on the "Havana Syndrome" led by Dr. Alon Friedman M.D. of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Dalhousie University Brain Repair Center in Nova Scotia, Canada, points to overexposure to pesticides as a likely cause for neurological symptoms among Canadian diplomats residing in Havana, Cuba in 2016. This is the first study of its kind focused on Canadian diplomats.
The "Havana Syndrome" was the name given to the symptoms initially believed to be acoustic attacks on U.S. and Canadian embassy staff, first reported in Cuba. Beginning in August 2017, reports surfaced that American and Canadian diplomatic personnel in Cuba had suffered a variety of health problems including headaches and loss of balance, as well as sleep, concentration, and memory difficulties.
•••••
"We were also able to test several of the subjects before and after they returned from Cuba," Dr. Friedman says. "Our team saw changes in the brain that definitely occurred during the time they were in Havana."
•••••
News Release 3-Oct-2019
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
A new interdisciplinary study on the "Havana Syndrome" led by Dr. Alon Friedman M.D. of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Dalhousie University Brain Repair Center in Nova Scotia, Canada, points to overexposure to pesticides as a likely cause for neurological symptoms among Canadian diplomats residing in Havana, Cuba in 2016. This is the first study of its kind focused on Canadian diplomats.
The "Havana Syndrome" was the name given to the symptoms initially believed to be acoustic attacks on U.S. and Canadian embassy staff, first reported in Cuba. Beginning in August 2017, reports surfaced that American and Canadian diplomatic personnel in Cuba had suffered a variety of health problems including headaches and loss of balance, as well as sleep, concentration, and memory difficulties.
•••••
"We were also able to test several of the subjects before and after they returned from Cuba," Dr. Friedman says. "Our team saw changes in the brain that definitely occurred during the time they were in Havana."
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Volker's opening statement to Congress in Ukraine investigation
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/464425-read-volkers-opening-statement-to-congress-in-ukraine-investigation?fbclid=IwAR198t0JauuIfuqzvVh1dDgizGh0eOkTD2rA_2OufpDgJUn4Ai_I9FZsnd0
Oct. 4, 2019
President Trump's former envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, said he was unaware of efforts by the president or his officials to press Ukraine to investigate allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden.
ADVERTISEMENT
In his opening statement to congressional committees behind closed doors on Thursday, Volker also detailed conversations with Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, and defended Biden from allegations of wrongdoing.
He testified that he attempted to persuade the president and Giuliani against having a negative view on Ukraine, and defended Biden as "a man of integrity."
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Oct. 4, 2019
President Trump's former envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, said he was unaware of efforts by the president or his officials to press Ukraine to investigate allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden.
ADVERTISEMENT
In his opening statement to congressional committees behind closed doors on Thursday, Volker also detailed conversations with Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, and defended Biden from allegations of wrongdoing.
He testified that he attempted to persuade the president and Giuliani against having a negative view on Ukraine, and defended Biden as "a man of integrity."
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Put my money where my mouth is
Oct. 6, 2019
When I bought a hot plate at Fry's the other day, I spent a few more dollars and got the one made in Taiwan instead of the one made in China. Wish there were always a choice.
Meet the Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement
By Colin Schultz
smithsonian.com
December 23, 2013
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According to Brulle's research, the 91 think tanks and advocacy organizations and trade associations that make up the American climate denial industry pull down just shy of a billion dollars each year, money used to lobby or sway public opinion on climate change and other issues.
“The anti-climate effort has been largely underwritten by conservative billionaires,” says the Guardian, “often working through secretive funding networks. They have displaced corporations as the prime supporters of 91 think tanks, advocacy groups and industry associations which have worked to block action on climate change.”
“This is how wealthy individuals or corporations translate their economic power into political and cultural power,” he said. “They have their profits and they hire people to write books that say climate change is not real. They hire people to go on TV and say climate change is not real. It ends up that people without economic power don't have the same size voice as the people who have economic power, and so it ends up distorting democracy.
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what they did was they borrowed a great deal of the strategy and tactics that came out of the tobacco industry’s efforts to prevent action on the health impacts of smoking.
What you see is the tactics that this movement uses were developed and tested in the tobacco industry first, and now they’re being applied to the climate change movement, and in fact, some of the same people and some of the same organizations that were involved in the tobacco issue are also involved in climate change.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-money-behind-the-climate-denial-movement-180948204/#YF4JfmKod6xTKbFv.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
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Why You Can’t Trust Yourself
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-you-can-t-trust-yourself?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Mark Manson
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Over the years, I’ve hammered on the importance of becoming comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity, in questioning all of your most cherished beliefs and dreams, on practicing skepticism, and doubting everything, most importantly yourself. Throughout these posts, I’ve hinted at the fact that our brains are fundamentally unreliable, that we really have no clue what we’re talking about, even when we think we do, and so on.
But I’ve never given concrete examples or explanations. Well, here they are. Eight reasons you can’t trust yourself, as demonstrated by psychology.
1. You Are Biased and Selfish Without Realizing It
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2. You Don’t Have A Clue about What Makes You Happy (or Miserable)
In his book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert shows us that we suck at remembering how something made us feel in the past and guessing how something will make us feel in the future.
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3. You Are Easily Manipulated Into Making Bad Decisions
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4. You Generally Only Use Logic and Reason To Support Your Preexisting Beliefs
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5. Your Emotions Change Your Perceptions Way More Than You Realize
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6. Your Memory Sucks
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7. ‘You’ Aren’t Who You think You Are
Consider the following for a moment: The way you express and portray yourself on, say, Facebook probably isn’t exactly the same as the way you express and portray yourself when you’re “offline.” The way you act around your grandma is probably pretty different from the way you act around your friends. You have a “work self” and a “home self” and a “family self” and an “I’m all alone self” and many other “selves” that you use to navigate and survive a complex social world.
But which one of these is the “true” you?
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8. Your Physical Experience of the World Isn’t Even That Real
•••••
Mark Manson
•••••
Over the years, I’ve hammered on the importance of becoming comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity, in questioning all of your most cherished beliefs and dreams, on practicing skepticism, and doubting everything, most importantly yourself. Throughout these posts, I’ve hinted at the fact that our brains are fundamentally unreliable, that we really have no clue what we’re talking about, even when we think we do, and so on.
But I’ve never given concrete examples or explanations. Well, here they are. Eight reasons you can’t trust yourself, as demonstrated by psychology.
1. You Are Biased and Selfish Without Realizing It
•••••
2. You Don’t Have A Clue about What Makes You Happy (or Miserable)
In his book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert shows us that we suck at remembering how something made us feel in the past and guessing how something will make us feel in the future.
•••••
3. You Are Easily Manipulated Into Making Bad Decisions
•••••
4. You Generally Only Use Logic and Reason To Support Your Preexisting Beliefs
•••••
5. Your Emotions Change Your Perceptions Way More Than You Realize
•••••
6. Your Memory Sucks
•••••
7. ‘You’ Aren’t Who You think You Are
Consider the following for a moment: The way you express and portray yourself on, say, Facebook probably isn’t exactly the same as the way you express and portray yourself when you’re “offline.” The way you act around your grandma is probably pretty different from the way you act around your friends. You have a “work self” and a “home self” and a “family self” and an “I’m all alone self” and many other “selves” that you use to navigate and survive a complex social world.
But which one of these is the “true” you?
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8. Your Physical Experience of the World Isn’t Even That Real
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Raking leaves again this fall? Stop right now
https://news.yahoo.com/raking-leaves-again-fall-stop-110008336.html
Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY
,USA TODAY•October 5, 2019
•••••
Environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is bad not only for your lawn but for the planet as a whole.
Although people often rake fallen leaves and send them to a landfill to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you're fine not moving them.
•••••
Here are a few reasons why you shouldn't rake your leaves and other tips to care for your lawn this fall:
Leaves and yard waste take up space in landfills ...
Leaving your leaves could make your lawn healthier – and save you money ...
•••••
The environment around you depends on your leaves
Butterflies and songbirds alike depend on leaf litter, according to Mizejewski.
•••••
While in most cases, your lawn will benefit if you keep the leaves where they fall, some raking may be necessary, the experts agree.
Sandor said leaves and lawns are different shapes and sizes, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. If it looks like your mower won't be able to handle all the leaves or like your lawn is being smothered, that's when you may need to rake them to thin it out, he says.
If you do remove your leaves, the best thing to do is cut them up and drop them in a plant or flower bed or another part of your lawn that doesn't get leaf cover, Mizejewski said.
•••••
Some municipalities also have compost programs, which allow you to send your leaves off and get mulch back, Mizejewski said, but composting at your house is better so you don't have the added pollution of trucks and off-site machines taking and processing the leaves.
•••••
Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY
,USA TODAY•October 5, 2019
•••••
Environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is bad not only for your lawn but for the planet as a whole.
Although people often rake fallen leaves and send them to a landfill to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you're fine not moving them.
•••••
Here are a few reasons why you shouldn't rake your leaves and other tips to care for your lawn this fall:
Leaves and yard waste take up space in landfills ...
Leaving your leaves could make your lawn healthier – and save you money ...
•••••
The environment around you depends on your leaves
Butterflies and songbirds alike depend on leaf litter, according to Mizejewski.
•••••
While in most cases, your lawn will benefit if you keep the leaves where they fall, some raking may be necessary, the experts agree.
Sandor said leaves and lawns are different shapes and sizes, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. If it looks like your mower won't be able to handle all the leaves or like your lawn is being smothered, that's when you may need to rake them to thin it out, he says.
If you do remove your leaves, the best thing to do is cut them up and drop them in a plant or flower bed or another part of your lawn that doesn't get leaf cover, Mizejewski said.
•••••
Some municipalities also have compost programs, which allow you to send your leaves off and get mulch back, Mizejewski said, but composting at your house is better so you don't have the added pollution of trucks and off-site machines taking and processing the leaves.
•••••
Friday, October 04, 2019
What Makes People So Gullible?
Jen Kim
Sept. 30, 2019
•••••
Why some people are more vulnerable to scams may be connected to their personal histories. According to a 2006 University of Leicester study, those who suffered more tragedy and hardship while they were growing up are more likely to be gullible later in life. For example, they may succumb to peer pressure more, be more easily misled by others or more influenced by the media.
Adverse experiences include major illnesses or injuries, parental divorce or death of loved ones, difficulties at work, bullying at school or being a crime victim.
These findings are in stark contrast to the stereotype that adversity “toughens” you up—in fact, researchers say “the majority become less trusting of their own judgment.”
This is because people who constantly face difficulty start to associate these negative consequences with their own actions.
Imagine a series of terrible things happen to you—at some point, you’re going to start to believe that the common denominator in all of these experiences is you. It’s no surprise that you start feeling like it’s your fault. Or that you are probably craving ways to feel validated or good about yourself.
So when you get that DM that starts out by saying that you look like someone who would be great for this new, exciting opportunity or your astrologer promises you that next month’s new moon will unlock a financial windfall for you or you see a Facebook image that claims that all of your problems are actually the fault of the rival political party—wouldn’t you want to pay attention, wouldn’t you want it all to be true?
•••••
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060523072353.htm
Life's Harsh Lessons 'Make You More Gullible'
Date: May 23, 2006
Source: University of Leicester
Summary:
People who have suffered life's hard knocks while growing up tend to be more gullible than those who have been more sheltered, startling new findings from the University of Leicester reveal.
•••••
70% of the variation across people in suggestibility can be explained by the different levels of negative life events that they have experienced, the study found.
"We also found that the way people cope with adversity had an impact on their psychological profile," said Kim.
•••••
In contrast, the findings also suggest that early positive life events may have a protective influence over the effects of subsequent adversity: "If positive life events predate the negative life events then individuals may be more resilient in terms of, not being so badly affected, psychologically, by the subsequent adverse events. However, issues may arise if the reverse is the case; if the adverse life events precede the positive, those individuals may become, as a result, more susceptible to suggestion and misleading information.
•••••
The study found that the parental role is an important one, so education- showing parents functional ways of dealing with their children, meaning that the children will see positive role models, and learn "healthy" skills or ways of dealing with stress/negative life events- may help cultivate a positive mind-set within the child or adolescent which will stay with them throughout life.
Kim said: "Parents are role-models for their children, and show the children how to cope with stress- if the parents are matter-of-fact about negative occurrences and are "happy-go-lucky" then the kids may emulate that. On the reverse, parents who cope with stress/negative events in a more stressed manner (raging, acting out, drinking, expressing a pessimistic view of the world) this may in turn transfer that way of behaving onto their children."
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Doctor gets 40 years in prison for prescribing over 500,000 opioid doses
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/03/doctor-joel-smithers-gets-40-years-in-prison-for-prescribing-over-500000-opioid-doses
But the pushers who run the companies that made and pushed these drugs haven't personally been punished so far.
Oct. 3, 2019
A doctor who prosecutors said ran a medical practice in Virginia like an interstate drug distribution ring was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids.
Dr Joel Smithers was sentenced in US district court in Abingdon. Judge James Jones sentenced Smithers to 40 years. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life.
Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 counts of illegally distributing opioids, including oxycodone and oxymorphone that caused the death of a West Virginia woman.
Authorities say Smithers prescribed more than 500,000 doses of opioids to patients from Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee while based in the small western Virginia town of Martinsville from 2015 to 2017. Martinsville has a population of roughly 13,000.
•••••
US attorney Thomas Cullen said the sentence, while severe, “serves as just punishment” for Smithers’ actions.
•••••
Boeing 737 Max Safety System Was Vetoed, Engineer Says
https://news.yahoo.com/boeing-737-max-safety-system-185649043.html
Natalie Kitroeff, David Gelles and Jack Nicas
,The New York Times •October 2, 2019
A senior Boeing engineer filed an internal ethics complaint this year saying that during the development of the 737 Max jet the company had rejected a safety system to minimize costs, equipment that he felt could have reduced risks that contributed to two fatal crashes.
•••••
The complaint, filed after the two crashes, builds on concerns about Boeing’s corporate culture, as the company tries to repair its reputation and get the planes flying again.
Many current and former Boeing employees have privately discussed problems with the design and decision-making process on the 737 Max, outlining episodes when managers dismissed engineers’ recommendations or prioritized profits. The engineer who filed the ethics concerns this year, Curtis Ewbank, went a step further, lodging a formal complaint and calling out the chief executive for publicly misrepresenting the safety of the plane.
•••••
Throughout the development of the Max, Boeing tried to avoid adding components that could force airlines to train pilots in flight simulators, costing tens of millions of dollars over the life of an aircraft. Significant changes to the Max could also have required the more onerous approval for a new plane, rather than the streamlined certification process for a derivative model.
According to Ewbank’s complaint, Ray Craig, a chief test pilot of the 737, and other engineers wanted to study the possibility of adding the synthetic airspeed system to the Max. But a Boeing executive decided not to look into the matter because of its potential cost and effect on training requirements for pilots.
•••••
Natalie Kitroeff, David Gelles and Jack Nicas
,The New York Times •October 2, 2019
A senior Boeing engineer filed an internal ethics complaint this year saying that during the development of the 737 Max jet the company had rejected a safety system to minimize costs, equipment that he felt could have reduced risks that contributed to two fatal crashes.
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The complaint, filed after the two crashes, builds on concerns about Boeing’s corporate culture, as the company tries to repair its reputation and get the planes flying again.
Many current and former Boeing employees have privately discussed problems with the design and decision-making process on the 737 Max, outlining episodes when managers dismissed engineers’ recommendations or prioritized profits. The engineer who filed the ethics concerns this year, Curtis Ewbank, went a step further, lodging a formal complaint and calling out the chief executive for publicly misrepresenting the safety of the plane.
•••••
Throughout the development of the Max, Boeing tried to avoid adding components that could force airlines to train pilots in flight simulators, costing tens of millions of dollars over the life of an aircraft. Significant changes to the Max could also have required the more onerous approval for a new plane, rather than the streamlined certification process for a derivative model.
According to Ewbank’s complaint, Ray Craig, a chief test pilot of the 737, and other engineers wanted to study the possibility of adding the synthetic airspeed system to the Max. But a Boeing executive decided not to look into the matter because of its potential cost and effect on training requirements for pilots.
•••••
Thursday, October 03, 2019
Princess Latifa asked guards to shoot her rather than return her to Dubai during her doomed attempt to flee the royal family
https://news.yahoo.com/princess-latifa-asked-guards-shoot-090152402.html
Rosie Perper
,INSIDER•October 2, 2019
Princess Latifa of Dubai, the daughter of Dubai emir Sheikh Mohammed, said that she "preferred to be shot than go back home" during her doomed attempt to flee the royal family, according to the friend who fled with her.
Latifa tried to escape Dubai in March 2018 with her friend Tiina Jauhiainen, a Finn living in Dubai, but was caught by armed Emirati officers and was forcibly returned home. She has not been seen in public from since.
•••••
Jauhiainen said that Latifa had previously tried to escape Dubai unsuccessfully and as a result spent three and a half years in prison where she was "tortured."
Latifa's cousin, Marcus Essabri, previously spoke about the incident in July with CBS News' "60 Minutes." He told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire that he isn't sure how she's being treated now.
"We've been trying to reach out, nobody is responding to us," he said.
•••••
Rosie Perper
,INSIDER•October 2, 2019
Princess Latifa of Dubai, the daughter of Dubai emir Sheikh Mohammed, said that she "preferred to be shot than go back home" during her doomed attempt to flee the royal family, according to the friend who fled with her.
Latifa tried to escape Dubai in March 2018 with her friend Tiina Jauhiainen, a Finn living in Dubai, but was caught by armed Emirati officers and was forcibly returned home. She has not been seen in public from since.
•••••
Jauhiainen said that Latifa had previously tried to escape Dubai unsuccessfully and as a result spent three and a half years in prison where she was "tortured."
Latifa's cousin, Marcus Essabri, previously spoke about the incident in July with CBS News' "60 Minutes." He told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire that he isn't sure how she's being treated now.
"We've been trying to reach out, nobody is responding to us," he said.
•••••
More store closings coming: An estimated 12,000 shops could close by the end of 2019
Kelly Tyko
USA TODAY
Updated Oct. 2, 2019
The retail apocalypse isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
About 10 months into 2019, there have already been 47% more store closings announced than in all of 2018, according to a new report from global marketing research firm Coresight Research.
Based on Coresight Research's figures, retailers' earnings reports, bankruptcy filings and other records, nearly 8,600 stores are slated to shutter this year and thousands of locations already gone.
Bankrupt footwear company Payless ShoeSource, which closed its remaining U.S. stores in late June, accounts for about 37% of the closings.
The "going-out-of-business" sales and liquidation of other brands is expected to continue. Coresight estimates closures could reach 12,000 by the end of the year, the report said.
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The pain is expected to continue into future years, according to an April report from UBS Securities. UBS analysts said 75,000 more stores would need to be shuttered by 2026 if e-commerce penetration rises to 25% from its current level of 16%.
•••••
Bed Bath & Beyond store closings: Retailer increases projected closures to 60
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/10/02/bed-bath-beyond-closing-60-stores-coming-months/3847126002/
Too bad. Only place I know of around here where you can get some things like ice cream scoops that heat up from your hand warmth and make it easy to scoop hard ice cream.
Kelly Tyko
USA TODAY
Oct. 2, 2019
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is increasing the number of stores it expects to shutter in the fiscal year.
The New Jersey-based home goods retailer, which also operates buybuy Baby, Harmon Face Values and World Market, says it will close 60 stores in the fiscal year across the company, up 20 from the April estimate of 40 stores.
Most of the closings are expected after the holiday shopping season in early 2020, company officials said during a quarterly earnings call Wednesday. The company's fiscal year typically ends in early March.
•••••
Wednesday, October 02, 2019
Democrats asked Betsy DeVos to cancel defrauded ITT Tech students' loans. She did — 'with extreme displeasure.'
Kathryn Krawczyk
,The Week•September 30, 2019
Democrats are actually happy with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for once.
In a Monday tweet, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered the result of an earlier letter she and fellow senators had written to DeVos asking her to cancel loans for defrauded ITT Technical Institute students. DeVos did grant the Democrats' request — but "with extreme displeasure," she added in the comments section.
The for-profit ITT Educational Services shuttered all of its 136 nationwide campuses in 2016, prompting the Department of Education to offer loan discharges for those who attended an ITT Tech school when it closed or shortly beforehand. But when students still had not seen those loans forgiven years later, Warren and three other Democratic senators wrote a letter to DeVos to follow up. They got their terse yet desired answer a few weeks later.
•••••
Poll: Only 4 in 10 Republicans think Trump mentioned Biden on Ukraine call even though he acknowledged doing so
I have seen comments from republicans on Facebook saying they ignore the news.
Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY
,USA TODAY•October 1, 2019
A new poll shows that only four in 10 Republicans believe President Donald Trump talked to the Ukrainian president about investigating political rival Joe Biden, even though Trump has acknowledged doing so.
That compares with 85% of Democrats and 61% of independents surveyed by Monmouth University Poll who said Trump "probably did" mention the possibility of an investigation into the Biden family during a July phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky.
•••••
Trump directly acknowledged on Sept. 22 that he spoke with Zelensky about Biden, four days before the White House released a summary of the call. According to that reconstruction of the conversation, Trump told Zelensky there was "a lot of talk" about Biden's son's activities in Ukraine and that he was directing his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to assist in the inquiry “to get to the bottom of it.”
"A lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great,” Trump said.
•••••
Mom sentenced in deaths of 2 girls banished by doomsday cult
https://news.yahoo.com/mom-sentenced-deaths-2-girls-175433365.html
Associated Press•October 1, 2019
A Colorado woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars for killing her two daughters after she and other members of a doomsday religious group banished them to a car without food or water because the girls were thought to have been impure.
Nashika Bramble was sentenced to life in prison without parole Tuesday in the deaths of Makayla Roberts, 10, and Hannah Marshall, 8. She was convicted in July of two counts of first-degree murder.
The sisters' bodies were found in September 2017 in a car parked on a farm near Norwood, a town of about 500 people 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of the Telluride ski resort. Heat, dehydration and starvation killed the girls, and they had been dead for several weeks before their bodies were found, authorities said.
Bramble was a member of a religious group that moved to the property earlier that year, court documents say.
Investigators say they believe the group's spiritual leader, Madani Ceus of Haiti, declared that the two girls were possessed by unclean spirits during a past life and ordered them kept in a car without food or water for days as the others waited for the apocalypse before the 2017 solar eclipse.
•••••
tags: child abuse
Associated Press•October 1, 2019
A Colorado woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars for killing her two daughters after she and other members of a doomsday religious group banished them to a car without food or water because the girls were thought to have been impure.
Nashika Bramble was sentenced to life in prison without parole Tuesday in the deaths of Makayla Roberts, 10, and Hannah Marshall, 8. She was convicted in July of two counts of first-degree murder.
The sisters' bodies were found in September 2017 in a car parked on a farm near Norwood, a town of about 500 people 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of the Telluride ski resort. Heat, dehydration and starvation killed the girls, and they had been dead for several weeks before their bodies were found, authorities said.
Bramble was a member of a religious group that moved to the property earlier that year, court documents say.
Investigators say they believe the group's spiritual leader, Madani Ceus of Haiti, declared that the two girls were possessed by unclean spirits during a past life and ordered them kept in a car without food or water for days as the others waited for the apocalypse before the 2017 solar eclipse.
•••••
tags: child abuse
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