2024-08-19
etc
Horseshit
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RIP dream job: How the allure of a dream job is fading for Gen Z
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San Francisco's Millennium Tower owners could face $10k fine for open windows
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Evidence stacks up for poisonous books containing toxic dyes
If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. there was far more lead than chromium in the book covers, which is somewhat mystifying, since lead(II) chromate contains equal amounts of lead and chromium. The researchers speculate that the dyes used to color the books contain other lead-based pigments that lack chromium, such as lead(II) oxide or lead(II) sulfide. The team is working to identify those other compounds in the yellow pigments. Weinstein-Webb and the students also wanted to find out whether the levels of heavy metals in the Lipscomb books could be harmful for librarians who might handle them. For some of the book covers, the researchers discovered metal concentrations above acceptable limits for chronic exposure, according to standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the dissolved sample from the most contaminated cover, the lead concentration was more than twice the CDC limit, and the chromium concentration was almost six times the limit. Chronic exposure to inhaled lead or chromium could lead to health effects such as cancer, lung damage or fertility issues.
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IKEA's stock-counting warehouse drones will fly alongside workers in the US
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the US lays out a road safety plan that will see cars 'talk' to each other
celebrity gossip
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Getting the foundation of the insanity defense down: Kim Dotcom on Zionism
Read some of the alleged Zionist world domination plan below and compare it with reality. Is all of this just a coincidence?
Musk
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Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Musk. See his plans for America
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we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately.
Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share here to expose his actions.
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Chechen warlord gets Cybertruck with mounted machine gun, invites Musk to Russia
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A week in tweets: Elon Musk doesn't stop posting but what is he saying?
Electric / Self Driving cars
Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation
Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts
Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising
TechSuck / Geek Bait
AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World
Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO
Economicon / Business / Finance
Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making
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China, Iran and Russia could manipulate the US election
Since the war in Ukraine, an anti-Western alliance has formed between Russia, China and Iran. The states are increasingly openly opposing their common enemy, the United States. The authoritarian regimes do not shy away from using covert operations to influence elections or at least public opinion. This year, with the rise artificial intelligence, they have an additional tool at hand to simplify these attempts. Robocalls using fake voices are just one of many possible scenarios. The range of possible attacks on democratic elections is very broad. Hostile actors could further conduct cyberattacks on electronic voting machines to falsify results or target electoral authorities to register nonexistent voters, for instance. There may also be attempts to influence the electorate with false information – with or without the help of artificial intelligence. There are already indications of Iranian activities, which could be behind the disclosure of internal Republican documents to the media.
State groups therefore usually take a different approach. Instead of changing the results directly, they only create the impression that elections were rigged. This casts doubt on the legitimacy of the entire election. Such operations are very likely to occur, because they are easier to carry out. Their effect unfolds on a psychological level. The attack is aimed at the population’s trust in the democratic process. If there is any doubt about the integrity of the voting process, the results also lose their credibility. This can lead to violent riots, as the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 shows.
Harris / TBA 2024 / Democrats Demonstrate "Our Democracy"
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Avoiding Interviews, Harris Sits Down With Running Mate To Talk ‘Tacos’
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has avoided interviews since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, sat down with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in a video released Thursday to talk about tacos.
"I have white guy tacos," Walz said to Harris in the campaign video entitled "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on tacos, music, and the future of America." "What does that mean, like mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?" Harris asked. "Pretty much ground beef and cheese," he responded. "That’s okay. Do you put any flavor in it?" she questioned. "Uh, no … black pepper is the top of the spice level in Minnesota, you know," Walz said. In the almost 10-minute video, the pair failed to discuss their administration’s policy visions despite mounting pressure from voters to lay out their platform as the Democratic ticket.
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The speakers, schedule and how to watch the Democratic National Convention
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Harris to Run Ads During NFL, NBA and Golden Bachelorette in $350M Spending Spree
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Opinion | Harris Can Change Biden’s Policy on Israel Just by Upholding the Law - The New York Times
There’s a solution that allows Ms. Harris to go beyond merely calling for a cease-fire and saying that “far too many” civilians in Gaza have died. Without supporting an arms embargo, she can still signal a clear break with Joe Biden’s near-unconditional support for an Israeli war effort that many legal scholars believe has led to genocide. And she can do so in a way befitting a former prosecutor: When it comes to Israel, Ms. Harris should simply say that she’ll enforce the law. The law in question has been on the books for more than a decade. It prohibits the United States from assisting any unit of a foreign security force that commits “gross violations” of human rights. Aid can be reinstated if the foreign country adequately punishes the perpetrators. Passed by Congress in 1997, it bears the name of former Senator Patrick Leahy — and it has been applied hundreds of times — including reportedly against U.S. allies like Colombia and Mexico.
Trump / Right / Jan6
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Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia
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Infiltrating the Far Right | The New Yorker
In 2021, when Brown was twenty-two, he became a regional director of Patriot Front—one of the most active of the white-nationalist, neo-fascist, and anti-government organizations that academic researchers collectively characterize as the modern far right. (Such groups lie beyond even the fringes of the Republican Party.) Patriot Front’s leaders routinely summoned members to travel across the country, on short notice, for demonstrations: hundreds of young white men marched in identical uniforms, with protective helmets disguised as baseball caps, and neck gaiters pulled over their faces. At some rallies, Brown shouldered one of the tall metal shields that Patriot Front members were trained to use in street battles. The members frequently marched through racially diverse neighborhoods, almost baiting residents into fights (while maintaining that marchers would never throw a first punch). The organization placed Brown in charge of a crew of a dozen men. He led them on nocturnal expeditions around Seattle, to plaster public spaces with Patriot Front propaganda. They stole Black Lives Matter and gay-pride signs, and spray-painted white-nationalist slogans and symbols over public art promoting tolerance or racial justice. His crew posed, masked, for photographs while on long hikes together, and they trained for street brawls by sparring with one another in boxing gloves. Sometimes they were invited to participate in “fight club” competitions with other white nationalists.
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Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of the AP3 Militia — ProPublica
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Urged to Focus on the Economy, Trump Leans Into Attacks of Harris - The New York Times
Former President Donald J. Trump in a campaign speech on Saturday bounced among complaints about the economy and immigration, wide-ranging digressions and a number of personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, including jabs at her appearance and her laugh. At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Mr. Trump swung from talking points on inflation and criticisms of Democratic policy as “fascist” and “Marxist” to calling illegal immigrants “savage monsters” and saying that rising sea levels would create more beachfront property.
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Republicans flood TV with misleading ads about immigration, border
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Vance dismisses polls showing Harris lead: "Media uses fake polls"
Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security
External Security / Militaria / Diplomania
World
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Bad Harvests for Swiss Farmers Mean Cheaper Tomatoes for Shoppers
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Extreme misogyny to be treated as terrorism (Archive)
There are several extremism categories ranked by the Home Office as an area of “concern”, including Islamist, extreme Right-wing, animal rights, environmental and Northern Ireland related extremism. There is also a category for “incel” – an abbreviation of the term “involuntary celibate” – which refers to a male subculture that includes violent feelings towards women as a result of feeling rejected. Officials now fear that this category does not capture other forms of extreme misogyny.
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Venezuelans Mourn Loved Ones Killed in Protests, and Last Shreds of Democracy
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'Our prosperity was based on China and Russia': EU foreign policy chief says
Russia Bad / Ukraine War
China
Health / Medicine
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The community where people age more slowly than the rest of the world
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Male autism is linked to brain aromatase disruption by maternal bisphenol A
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How to Protect Your Mail-Order Prescriptions From Extreme Heat - The New York Times
Temperature and humidity levels can affect drugs all year round, but the likelihood of a problem is highest during the summer. Whether you are enrolled in a mail-order pharmacy program or are ordering over-the-counter pills from Amazon, it’s important to consider how compounds could be affected on their way to your doorstep.
Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp
Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda
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Refueling a hydrogen car in California so annoying that drivers are suing Toyota
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Missed seeing the northern lights? Why the biggest storm may be yet to come
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Scientists learning warning signs of The Big One. Should they tell the public?
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Extreme heat at US airshow sickens about 100 people; 10 hospitalized
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Geography: The Surprising Factor Making the United States a Tornado Hot Spot
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Unprecedented atmospheric changes during May's geomagnetic superstorm