2024-05-31
etc
Horseshit
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Billionaire plans to dive to the Titanic in a newly designed submersible
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Opinion | Less Marriage, Less Sex, Less Agreement - The New York Times
Many women readers in particular dismissed heterosexual marriage as an outdated institution that pampers men while turning women into unpaid servants. The deluge of annoyance among some women readers intrigued me because while it’s anecdotal, it aligns with considerable survey evidence of a growing political, cultural and social divide between men and women throughout the industrialized world.
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Stuck at sea for years, a sailor's plight highlights a surge in ship abandonment
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Buried Fortune of Old Copper Wire Is Worth Billions to Telcos (Archive)
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Fecal microbiota transplant: Inside the black market for human poop
Without a diagnosis of C. diff, there was no way for Alexandra to access FMT through aboveboard channels. Her doctors informed her that the treatment couldn’t be prescribed off-label, either. Her only remaining option was to go underground. That’s when she found HumanMicrobes, the black market for poop.
Harrop started HumanMicrobes in 2020 in order to match fecal “super-donors” with buyers willing to spend a premium price to ingest it. Harrop refers to the website as a business and his primary commercial enterprise. The poop he sells costs around $1,000 per “dose,” and is distributed in either capsule form (for the “upper route”) or split into pieces packed in dry ice (for the “lower route”). The resulting revenue is split evenly between Harrop and whoever the stool previously belonged to. Unlike the FMT treatments you might receive at the Mayo Clinic, there is not a specialist prepping the poop for you. Harrop never handles the feces directly. This is an ad hoc, online-only operation, delivered peer-to-peer, with Harrop functioning as something like an international middleman for poop. (
- Why just human? Perhaps microbiomes are more mix and match. Maybe we can adapt some of the cellulose breakers to our systems, and make veganism more viable. "a horse apple a day keeps the doctor away"
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Americans Are Thinking About Immigration All Wrong - The Atlantic
Scolding Americans for their alarm is pointless. The state of U.S. immigration policy is objectively chaotic. When Joe Biden became president, he rolled back some Trump-era restrictions, at the same time that migrants began to take greater advantage of loopholes in asylum law to stay in the country longer. Meanwhile, a sharp rise in crime in parts of Central and South America, combined with the strong U.S. economy, created the conditions for migration to surge. In 2022, illegal crossings hit a record high of 2.2 million. As asylum seekers made their way north, cities struggled to house them. In New York City, so many hotel rooms are taken up by migrants that it has created a historic shortage of tourist lodging.
If American politicians are ever going to think about immigration policy through the lens of long-term opportunity planning rather than immediate crisis response, they first need to convince the American people that those long-term opportunities exist. This case is actually easy to make. Cheaper and more plentiful houses, higher average wages, more jobs, more innovation, more scientific breakthroughs in medicine, and more state government revenue without higher taxes—all while sticking it to our geopolitical adversary, China—require more immigration. Across economics, national security, fiscal sustainability, and geopolitical power, immigration is the opposite of America’s worst problem. It holds clear solutions to America’s most pressing issues.
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'Genuinely a con': Lego enthusiasts bemoan half-empty room at Birmingham NEC
Electric / Self Driving cars
Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering
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SCOTUS sides with NRA in free speech ruling that curbs gov pressure campaigns
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously backed the National Rifle Association in a First Amendment ruling that could make it harder for state regulators to pressure advocacy groups. The decision means the NRA may continue to pursue its lawsuit against a New York official who urged banks and insurance companies to cut ties with the gun rights group following the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school that left 17 people dead.
“Ultimately, the critical takeaway is that the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech, directly or (as alleged here) through private intermediaries,” the opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor said. The NRA claimed that Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, not only leaned on insurance companies to part ways with the gun lobby but threatened enforcement actions against those firms if they failed to comply.
At the center of the dispute was a meeting Vullo had with insurance market Lloyd’s of London in 2018 in which the NRA claims she offered to not prosecute other violations as long as the company helped with the campaign against gun groups. Vullo tried to wave off the significance of the meeting, arguing in part that the NRA’s allegations of what took place were not specific.
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National network of local news sites publishing AI articles under fake bylines
experts warn that relying too heavily on AI could wreck the credibility of news organizations and potentially supercharge the spread of misinformation if not kept in close check. Media companies integrating AI in news publishing have also seen it backfire, resulting in public embarrassments. Tech outlet CNET’s AI-generated articles made embarrassing factual errors. The nation’s largest newspaper chain owner, Gannett, pulled back on an AI experiment reporting on high school sports games after public mockery. Sports Illustrated deleted several articles from its website after they were found to have been published under fake author names. Hoodline, founded in 2014 as a San Francisco-based hyper-local news outlet with a mission “to cover the news deserts that no one else is covering,” once employed a newsroom full of human journalists. The outlet has since expanded into a national network of local websites, covering news and events in major cities across the country and drawing millions of readers each month, the company said.
Trump / War against the Right / Jan6
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San Francisco Flew ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Flag Until Saturday
A flag that had caused zero controversy for much of its time in a San Francisco city-owned collection of historic flags, which have flown outside City Hall since the 1960s, has been quietly removed by Rec & Park staff after it has come to take on new meaning.
A flag that was one of several historic flags coopted by the Stop the Steal movement following the 2020 election — and specifically associated with a far-right segment of the Christian right — has made headlines in the last week since it was revealed that it had been flying outside the vacation home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. For many years, it has been one of a collection of 18 flags representing different moments in American history that have flown on flagpoles in what's known as the Pavilion of American Flags in Civic Center Plaza. Known as the Pine Tree Flag, it was created in 1775 at the request of George Washington, with the phrase "An Appeal to Heaven" on it, to be flown on colonial fighters' ships so that they could recognize one another.
The Gadsen Flag and the Pine Tree Flag were both among those flown by January 6th rioters, and as we learned via the Alito incident, the Pine Tree Flag has taken on new meaning since it was coopted by a particular Christian right preacher and ardent fan of Donald Trump, Dutch Sheets. Sheets has been giving the flag to various figures on the right, including Sarah Palin and House Speaker Mike Johnson, and it's being used to symbolize a call for the re-Christianization of the country.
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Trump found guilty on all felony counts
Jurors in the New York criminal trial against former President Donald Trump have convicted him of 34 felony counts of falsified business records. This is the first time a former or sitting U.S. president has been convicted of criminal charges. The jurors said they unanimously agreed that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
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Jury finds Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts at hush money trial
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Donald Trump Found Guilty on All Counts in NY Hush Money Case
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Trump found guilty of falsifying business records in hush money scheme
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Manhattan Jury Finds Former President Guilty in Bookkeeping Case.
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Trump guilty in Manhattan hush money case - Washington Examiner
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The Most Dangerous Day in the History of Our Country in Our Lifetimes.
The Democrats have made the rules, and their opponents will have little choice but to play the game. This is not a game that can or will be played by one side only. The rules are now set. When Republicans have the chance, they will play the game. Many, perhaps most, will think that a response is mandatory and that “taking the high road” is no longer an option. Instead, it would be regarded by the “progressive” left — that is to say those now in charge of the Democratic party — as weakness if they roll over and fail to respond. This is an existential threat to the stability of our political system and nation. That risk makes this the most dangerous day in the history of the Country, at least in our lifetimes.
Henceforth, weaponization of the justice system against a political opponent will be the norm. Political grudges will be resolved by political opponents in cherry-picked courtrooms where conviction is most likely. All this confirms that when controlled by scoundrels, our judicial system is becoming more like what we expect in places like China, Cuba or Venezuela, where political opponents are routinely imprisoned or worse.
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9 Damning Pieces Of Evidence Proving Trump Is Guilty | Babylon Bee
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Donald Trump found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records
Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp
Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation
Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising
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World of Warcraft’s Phantom Blade is a sword I’ll never give up - Polygon
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Kerbal Space Program 2 team to be laid off in June, says senior manager
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YouTube stops working for millions as war against ad blockers intensifies
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New research: Old gamers (55) account for A THIRD of all gamers
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11 years after launch, 49M people still use their PS4s, matching the PS5
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Sony Will Use AI to Cut Film Costs, Says CEO Tony Vinciquerra
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How ‘Vice’ Went from a $6 Billion Media Empire to Bankruptcy.
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Washing machine chime scandal shows how absurd YouTube copyright abuse can get
TechSuck / Geek Bait
AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World
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OpenAI Says Russia and China Used Its A.I. In Covert Campaigns
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The ugly truth behind ChatGPT: AI is guzzling resources at planet-eating rates
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Disturbing and misleading efforts to defame Helen Toner through misdirection
Let it not be said that Sam Altman doesn’t have his admirers. At least two proxies have gone after Helen Toner, one (by a pair of prominent authors, both on OpenAI’s board) in The Economist , highbrow, one low (a post on X that got around 200,000 views). Both read to me as deeply misleading, verging on defamatory. The lowbrow attack comes from an anonymous poster; in my view it is wrong on every point but not worth wasting a lot of time on.
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Paul Graham claims Sam Altman wasn't fired from Y Combinator
Crypto con games
Economicon / Business / Finance
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Amazon Prime now includes a Grubhub food-delivery subscription
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Record Stock Market Is Riding on Questionable AI Assumptions
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High-tech sector urged to raise wages to attract skilled workers
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Why Are People So Down About the Economy? Theories Abound. - The New York Times
The U.S. economy has been an enigma over the past few years. The job market is booming, and consumers are still spending, which is usually a sign of optimism. But if you ask Americans, many will tell you that they feel bad about the economy and are unhappy about President Biden’s economic record. Call it the vibecession. Call it a mystery. Blame TikTok, media headlines or the long shadow of the pandemic. The gloom prevails. The University of Michigan consumer confidence index, which looked a little bit sunnier this year after a substantial slowdown in inflation over 2023, has again soured. And while a measure of sentiment produced by the Conference Board improved in May, the survey showed that expectations remained shaky.
The negativity could end up mattering in the 2024 presidential election. More than half of registered voters in six battleground states rated the economy as “poor” in a recent poll by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College. And 14 percent said the political and economic system needed to be torn down entirely.
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Indexes like Dow, S&P 500 frozen on some websites; trading continues normally
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Amazon drones can fly farther and deliver to more customers after FAA approval
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Why Nvidia stock isn't in a bubble
All I am saying is that an asset bubble has a few simple characteristics. One: The asset appreciating in value usually doesn't have the fundamentals to justify said appreciation. Two: People are blindly buying the asset without understanding the asset — mainly because everyone else is going in. I don't see either of these things for Nvidia. Investors appear very knowledgeable on Nvidia's business and are buying for the correct reasons.
Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making
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To Save Time, Biden To Drop Next $320 Million Cash Directly Into Ocean | Babylon Bee
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Convention? What Convention? Dems Kill Biden Escape Hatch.
the net result of this new strategy all but eliminates any convention switcheroo for a failing Biden. Before this plan, the possibility existed (unlikely as it was) that the DNC could change the rules to release all delegates on the first ballot and have a real open convention for the nomination. This "virtual vote" of delegates necessitated by Ohio's ballot-access deadline makes the convention entirely irrelevant, even more so than usual. It's now just a huge anti-climax signifying nothing at all, not even the pro-forma elevation of the nominee. They will have done that in a smoke-filled back room, or maybe more accurately, a vape-filled back Zoom.
Democratic Party leaders said Tuesday that they would nominate President Biden for a second term in office via a virtual roll call of delegates to the party’s national convention, bypassing a glitch in Ohio law that had threatened to keep Mr. Biden off the November ballot in the state. Ohio law requires all candidates to be legally certified by Aug. 7, but Mr. Biden was not scheduled to be officially nominated until after the Democratic National Convention begins on Aug. 19. The virtual roll call will be completed before the Ohio deadline.
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How K Street Runs America - The Atlantic
As Trump dreams about governing a second time, he and his inner circle have declared their intention to purge what they call the “deep state”: the civil service that they regard as one of the greatest obstacles to the realization of Trump’s agenda. What they don’t say is that the definition of the deep state—an entrenched force that wields power regardless of the administration in the White House—now fits the business of lobbying better than it does the faceless bureaucracy. This is the deep state, should Trump emerge the victor in the fall, that stands to achieve near-total domination of public power.
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Sentiment analysis: Decoding the White House Briefing Room Dynamics
Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security
External Security / Militaria / Diplomania
World
Israel
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Israeli Airstrike Kills Two Bazillion Starving Children (Or Maybe Zero) – PJ Media
Here's the TL;DR: The IAF used small-diameter bombs to successfully take out two Hamas leaders who were not in the refugee camp. The bombs were too small to cause the explosions seen on video. They were, in fact, secondary explosions created by a Hamas weapons cache placed right next to the camp. Hamas stores weapons and embeds themselves with civilians — and not to create human shields. What it wants is dead civilians (even when it has to make them up) that it can use for propaganda purposes. Death is Hamas' business, and business is good.
Health / Medicine
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Big Pharma admits it lied over MMR vaccine.
From 2000, increasing mumps outbreaks amongst the fully vaccinated and boosted prompted the FDA to instruct Merck to prove the 95 per cent protection claim, otherwise they would lose their licence. Merck re-ran the numbers and fell way short. They designed a test to measure effectiveness – Protocol 7 – that included rabbit’s blood in the hope it would falsely enhance the sensitivity of it. They also swapped the wild measles virus for the weakened vaccine strain in the test. Nothing improved the figures enough and they stood to lose millions in revenue. Investigating the alleged fraud, Dr Andy Wakefield said: ‘At that stage they simply decided to cross out the numbers and change them for numbers that gave them the result they wanted.’
Despite overwhelming evidence, first highlighted in 2010 by Merck whistleblowers, virologists Stephen Krahling and Joan Wlochowski, last July Judge Chad F Kenney ruled in favour of the drugs giant who claimed that doctoring the data did not matter because the US government knew and continued to buy their MMR jab anyway. The government’s defence was that they had no choice as they had to protect children against measles. Merck hold the US monopoly for MMR, and measles was targeted for global eradication using the vaccine. An appeal is expected to be heard next month.
The MMR was introduced in the US in 1971 (1988 in the UK) but most infectious disease had declined by 98 per cent before any vaccinations were introduced. Mumps cases rose again in 2006, most of them in vaccinated children or adults. The CDC admitted that as many as 94 per cent of those who contracted the illness had been vaccinated. They failed to recall the jab, patients were not warned, and Merck failed to mention that although they claimed their product had a 24-month shelf life, the mumps component only lasted only 12 months.
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You Can Thank Private Equity for That Enormous Doctor's Bill
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Periods arriving earlier for younger generations
The average age at menarche—the first menstrual period—has been decreasing among younger generations in the U.S., especially those belonging to racial minorities and lower socioeconomic statuses, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It also found that the average time it takes for the menstrual cycle to become regular is increasing.
The findings showed that BMI at age of menarche could explain part of the trend toward periods starting earlier—in other words, that childhood obesity, a risk factor for early puberty and a growing epidemic in the U.S., could be a contributing factor to earlier menarche. Other possible factors that might explain the trend include dietary patterns, psychological stress and adverse childhood experiences, and environmental factors such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and air pollution.
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N=71k, except they conclude one cause is from N=9k data subset... Feels like data being massaged to support conclusions, as is regrettably common. And of course, lets say nothing about the "endocrine disrupting chemicals" sold as "COVID vaccines".
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Child Ozempic use soars 600% in three years – but is it safe
Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda
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Corporations invested in carbon offsets that were 'likely junk', analysis says
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Top brands buy Amazon carbon credits from suspected timber laundering scam
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New Joint Bicameral Staff Report Reveals Big Oil's Campaign of Climate Denial
“For decades, the fossil fuel industry has known about the economic and climate harms of its products but has deceived the American public to keep collecting more than $600 billion each year in subsidies while raking in record-breaking profits. As this joint report makes clear, the industry’s outright denial of climate change has evolved into a green-seeming cover for its ongoing covert operation—a campaign of deception, disinformation, and doublespeak waged using dark money, phony front groups, false economics, and relentless exertion of political influence—to block climate progress.”
“The evidence uncovered by Oversight Committee Democrats shows that Big Oil has run campaigns to confuse and mislead the public while working unceasingly to lock down a fossil fuel future,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “The climate crisis is now a civilizational emergency. Today’s joint report demonstrates that Big Oil continues to conceal the facts about their business model and obscure the actual dangers of fossil fuels, including natural gas, in order to block the climate action we need. Despite knowing about the devastating effects of their oil and gas products on the planet for decades, the industry has always prioritized its bottom line and chosen low-road PR tactics over a high-road commitment to addressing the crisis.”
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Fracking wastewater has "shocking" amount of clean-energy mineral lithium
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US slows plans to retire coal plants as power demand from AI surges
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East Coast has a giant offshore freshwater aquifer–how did it get there?