Reading archive 2021-11-23

What is polysorbate, and why is it in my food?

INVASION OF THE GREEN STINKWORMS: MANAGING AMYNTHAS HUPEIENSIS ON GREENS: An Asian earthworm could become quite a nuisance on golf courses.

Opinion: Our Foghorn Leghorn Republican senator little resembles his former Democratic self, but in Louisiana we know the type - "But what stood out in that 2004 interview was the absence of the homey sayings, abusive zingers and character assassinations that have become Kennedy trademarks. He was nothing like the man you see these days insulting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — 'It must suck to be that dumb' — or vilifying then-Interior secretary nominee Deb Haaland as 'a neo-socialist, left-of-Lenin whack job.'"

The teens who hated Abercrombie are the adults shopping there now — and they can’t believe it either

Climate change fuels a water rights conflict built on over a century of broken promises - "Unrestricted cattle grazing upstream releases phosphorus into the lake, and as water levels fall due to irrigation, the concentration of contaminants kills the fish, Gonyaw said. 

"Development along the shores of the lake has also upset the balance. Without wetlands to filter out the contaminants, toxic algae thrives, ultimately suffocating the juvenile fish.

...

"Any veteran with $2,000, two years of farm experience, and 'habits of honesty, temperance, thrift and industry' could apply for one of the 60-to-141-acre plots. The plots were 'acres of rich bottom land' that were “cultivated into fertile farm lots” by Japanese Americans, who had been forcefully detained at the nearby Tule Lake segregation center during the war."

Reading archive 2021-11-22

These Americans Are Just Going Around in Circles. It Helps the Climate.: An Indiana city has the most roundabouts in the country. They’ve saved lives and reduced injuries from crashes — and lowered carbon emissions. - "Carmel, Ind., has the most roundabouts in the country. The main reason is safety; compared with regular intersections, roundabouts significantly reduce injuries and deaths. 

"And because the city doesn’t have red lights where cars sit and idle, burning gasoline, the cars of Carmel emit many fewer tons of planet-heating carbon emissions a year. 

"The reason that Carmel has so many roundabouts is Jim Brainard, the city’s seven-term Republican mayor. When he studied at the University of Oxford in the 1980s, he became taken with European traffic flow. Brainard built Carmel’s first roundabout in 1997. Now it has 140, with a dozen still to come.

...

"Having greener intersections dovetails with Mr. Brainard’s climate mitigation efforts. He was among the thousands of leaders who pledged to uphold the Paris climate agreement when former President Donald J. Trump announced the American pullout in 2017. Carmel’s city vehicles are either hybrid or run by biofuels, green spaces sown with native plants have exploded in number and size, and solar panels help fuel the city’s water treatment and sewage plants. Under Mr. Brainard’s watch, the city has also added bike paths, taken out traffic lanes, widened sidewalks and increased walkability, all in an effort to get people out of their cars."

Driver suspected of killing 5 at Wisconsin parade was speeding away from a knife fight, official says

Inching Toward De-Extinction: Can CRISPR Resurrect Passenger Pigeons?

Two Fox News pundits quit over concerns about ‘conspiracy-mongering’ Jan. 6 documentary: Conservative writers Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes said ‘the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible’ at Fox

Inside the QAnon Cult That Believes JFK Is About to Return: “Many people make huge sacrifices financially, in their relationships, in their lives, just to be there.”

The QAnon JFK Cult in Dallas Is Tearing Families Apart: “My sister may be too far gone, but it's not too late to bring awareness to others. Do not fall into this trap.”

Michael Flynn Wants to Outlaw All Religions Except Christianity Now: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,” Flynn told a QAnon conference over the weekend.

QAnon Leader Ron Watkins Is Running for Congress and It’s Not Going Great: The QAnon influencer vowed to raise “at least a million dollars” and win a House seat in Arizona. How’s that going?

Reading archive 2021-11-21

Marine Corps compliance with vaccine mandate on course to be military’s worst

In Ukraine, a suspected torturer from the breakaway east was found hiding in plain sight

Reading archive 2021-11-20

Olympics official warns that Peng Shuai case ‘may spin out of control’ as photos of tennis star raise questions

Pete Buttigieg, handed billions of dollars, gains influence with opportunity to shape national infrastructure priorities: His role to oversee infrastructure puts him at the center of a chief White House accomplishment

Ousted from power, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox lose the final word on what’s kosher - "The changes could also ease the burden on entrepreneurs. Last year, for instance, the owner of Jerusalem’s Kalo cafe was told that his Palestinian cook could no longer use an induction cooktop, which heats up automatically when the pot touches the surface, because the inspector ruled that this violated the religious prohibition on non-Jews lighting a stove."

Reading archive 2021-11-19

China's Foreign Ministry 'not aware' of situation surrounding tennis player Peng Shuai

Smithsonian African American museum launches online interactive access The new ‘Searchable Museum’ will bring a trove of artifacts, stories and images to the Internet - "The exhibition is 'searchable within the museum but also searchable expanding across the Smithsonian and further out,' said Mary Elliott, the curator of the museum’s first digital exhibition, called 'Slavery and Freedom.'" [ed. note: it is not]

Antibody protection after mild COVID-19 may not last; an estimated 100 million people have had long COVID

‘Game of Thrones’ was not a perfect show. ‘The Wheel of Time’ makes it look like a masterpiece.

Fauci swamped by angry calls over beagle experiments after campaign that included misleading image: Little known animal-rights group leverages hostility among conservatives toward U.S. covid chief - "In an interview with The Post, one of the researchers, Abhay Satoskar, a professor of pathology and microbiology at Ohio State University, explained how the mistake occurred. Satoskar said an NIAID grant that the same group of scientists had received for a different experiment was mistakenly cited for the trapped-beagles study. 'It had nothing to do with NIAID,' Satoskar said.

...

"The trapped-beagles study does not appear in a database of NIH-funded projects."

Reading archive 2021-11-18

They bought houses in Italy for 1 euro — and are using them to give back to the community: Meet the people turning the crumbling homes into businesses and social projects in aging towns

Trump’s move of Bureau of Land Management HQ dramatically worsened diversity, report says: Government Accountability Office report also finds headquarters move to Colorado led to ‘confusion and inefficiency’ at BLM

In Charlottesville trial, jurors learn to decode the secret slang of white supremacists

Belarus’s Lukashenko tried to use migrants as a weapon. That’s now turned against him.

It’s hailed as the clean energy of the future. But hydrogen produces ‘substantial’ emissions, study shows.: New research casts doubt on the environmental credentials of ‘blue’ hydrogen produced using fossils fuels

Exclusive: Marriott refused to host Uyghur conference, citing "political neutrality"

A hiker stumbled across a stream that reeked of beer. The alcohol content was 1.2%, tests found.

Reading archive 2021-11-17

The second-biggest program in the Democrats’ spending plan gives billions to the rich: Raising the state and local tax deduction cap would primarily benefit the top 10 percent of income earners

A Texas college student allegedly set fire to a synagogue. He now faces a federal arson charge. - "Authorities say Sechriest kept stickers with Nazi propaganda and swastikas, as well as journals suggesting his disdain for Jewish people."

‘QAnon shaman’ sentenced to 41 months for role in Capitol riot

Reading archive 2021-11-16

Why Some Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual Americans Are Loyal To The GOP [ed. note lol these poor broken fucks]

Facebook’s Algorithm Is Broken. We Collected Some Spicy Suggestions On How To Fix It.

His program was built to prep prospects for the NBA draft. It left them adrift instead.

Judge rejects mistrial request in Arbery case, calls defense lawyer’s comments ‘reprehensible’

D.C. will no longer require masks in many public settings, Bowser announces

D.C. moves to remake infamous ‘Dave Thomas Circle’ in busy New York Avenue corridor

Reading archive 2021-11-15

A zoo’s three ‘beloved’ snow leopards die of covid-19 - "Zoetis, a former Pfizer subsidiary based in New Jersey, has provided an animal-specific coronavirus vaccine to zoos across the country. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo did not immediately respond to an interview request."

Opinion: A newly disclosed memo reveals Trump’s plot to turn the military into his personal goon squad

The vaccine tore her family apart. Could a death bring them back together?: Laurel Haught moved out of her own home to escape her unvaccinated daughter. Now they are facing a funeral, the coming holidays and the divide splitting many American families. - "Jake Haught, Joel’s younger brother and next-door neighbor on Lake Chaweva, doubts that his brother died of a massive heart attack. He believes the coronavirus vaccine may have caused his death.

...

"And there was Samuel Scott — taking a break from Brighteon videos that falsely asserted the coronavirus vaccine contained a parasitical and possibly self-aware organism — so that he could attend the service of his lifelong neighbor. Scott had descended from his ridgetop cabin in a white robe and red clerical vestment, and was now singing reggae songs through a PA system." [ed. note: jfc spare me]

Reading archive 2021-11-12

Opinion: Have Democrats reached the limits of White appeasement politics?

Out of uniform. Still in the fight.: Seven veterans, each on a mission to end the often avoidable harms that afflict those who serve

London’s River Thames, now home to sharks, seals and sea horses, is no longer ‘biologically dead’

An Air Force sergeant killed himself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The note he left is heartbreaking.

A veteran helped spread viral 9/11 conspiracy theories. Can he start over?: Nearly 20 years after shipping off to war, a soldier who helped make the ‘Loose Change’ video wrestles with the power stories have to heal and to destroy.

Two more candidates join a crowded at-large D.C. Council race

Bruce V. Spiva, longtime D.C. lawyer, will run for city attorney general

Candidates debate in hot Ward 5 D.C. Council race

Trump defends Jan. 6 rioters' 'hang Mike Pence' chant in new audio: The audio captured part of an interview ABC News’ Jonathan Karl conducted with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in March for Karl’s upcoming book.

Qatar to represent U.S. interests in Afghanistan

Ala. man pleads guilty to bringing molotov cocktails, five loaded firearms to Capitol on Jan. 6

Reading archive 2021-11-10

Newsmax tries to assuage furor of conservative hosts over vaccine mandate: On-air stars went from venting anger at their company’s policy to accusing ‘fake news’ of trying to turn viewers against the channel

How the media missed a New Jersey senate candidate’s racist social media posts — until he’d already won.

Opinion: Zillow sent its algorithm to take on the housing market. The housing market won.

Opinion: Liz Cheney got something right — and some things very wrong - "Heroes without context and adversity are not heroic; America is a lesser country when its penchant for self-examination and self-improvement is forgotten."

N.J. man sentenced to 41 months for assaulting officer, stiffest punishment yet in Jan. 6 cases Scott Fairlamb is the first person sentenced for assaulting a police officer in the Capitol attack.

Serious about climate change? Get serious about peat.

Asian lady beetles are swarming the Mid-Atlantic thanks to warm, fall weather: The beetles smell bad, bite and produce a yellow stain if you squish them. And they want to spend the winter in your home.

Reading archive 2021-11-09

Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Among Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19–Like Illness with Infection-Induced or mRNA Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Immunity — Nine States, January–September 2021

A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA's evolution on school shootings

Teen who hit 6 bicyclists with truck while allegedly harassing them faces felony charges, authorities say

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports wages war on Insider over article about his sexual conduct: It’s a familiar scenario in the Barstool universe, in which fans of the company lob attacks on perceived critics, often at Portnoy’s signal

The false claim that only 11 percent of the infrastructure bill goes to ‘real infrastructure’

Harnessing the energy of the ocean to power homes, planes and whisky distilleries

Where electric cars could help save coal: In states like North Dakota, giving up gasoline might not mean giving up fossil fuels

Reading archive 2021-11-08

Aaron Rodgers said he did the research on covid vaccines. Here’s how he was wrong, according to experts

My hearing isn’t what it used to be. But will I look old wearing an ear device?

Nearing Monday coronavirus vaccine deadline, thousands of federal workers seek religious exemptions to avoid shots

A 16-year-old girl learned a hand gesture on TikTok to signal for help. Law enforcement says it saved her life.

Mold, mice, month of protests put Howard’s housing contract under scrutiny: Students are calling on Howard University leaders to cut ties with the private company that manages 60 percent of campus housing.

Capitol rioter Evan Neumann applies for asylum in Belarus, local media says

A Dog’s Life: Why are so many people so cruel to their dogs? My search to understand a hidden scourge.

Mitch McConnell spent decades chasing power. Now he heeds Trump, who mocks him and wants him gone.: How one of Washington’s longtime Republican power players succumbed to the preeminence of the 45th president

Jordan Love, Trevor Siemian, and The Replacements - "Yet Rodgers is a grievance junkie, perpetually dissatisfied with his coaches, his team, the NFL, the union, his own family, and now, apparently, the scientific community and much of mainstream society. Rodgers believes he's a better general manager, epidemiologist, and (presumably) game show host than the folks who do those things for a living, and he's bitterly disappointed at all of us who are foolish enough to disagree. He's never a very happy camper."

How not to do outside research: Aaron Rodgers offers a master class in what an independent thinker should not do - "Rodgers told a lot more falsehoods, but life is short and you can read about his hubris elsewhere. What is fascinating about this is that Rodgers should know better. Any professional football player must encounter 'independent thinkers' who tell him how he could play his game better all the time. My podcast partner Ana Marie Cox justifiably tweets, '[imagine] how Rodgers responds to the fans who tell him they’ve put a lot of time and energy into researching and met with a lot of different people in the football field and they really think he shouldn’t have gone for it on that last fourth down.' He would probably be pretty annoyed!"

The strategic hole at the center of ‘Dune’: I enjoy almost everything about “Dune.” Except this one thing.

Opinion: Indictment of Steele dossier source is more bad news for multiple media outlets

Scoop: Ex-D.C. Council member Harry Thomas plans run

After embezzling youth funds, a former D.C. lawmaker reenters politics - "Ursula Higgins, a neighborhood commissioner in Ward 5, called Thomas’s return 'fantastic.' 

"'Yes, he has had things he has done in the past, and he has paid the price for his actions,' Higgins said. 'But I also think he has the heart and desire for the city to go in a positive direction.'

...

"Harry Thomas, in contrast, eased his way back into politics. He worked on Dionne Reeder’s unsuccessful 2018 council campaign and has done consulting work for local businesses. He told The Washington Post he has also been advocating for criminal justice reform and against prison labor."

Reading archive 2021-11-07

Opinion: It’s time to abolish college fraternities

Opinion: Newsmax forced to admit vaccines don’t make you glow

Opinion: How Biden’s Afghan blunder is already endangering U.S. security

Reading archive 2021-11-05

These stories are supposed to give you nightmares

The rise and fall of the Jack Daniel’s committee: How D.C.’s police lodge made thousands selling whiskey online - "'If it was ever against the law, we would never have done it,' said Maybo, the former lodge president, in a recent interview. After all, he said, the whole thing was done by police officers, in front of police officers. 'I would imagine that if I’m doing something illegal, if the FOP were doing something illegal, somebody would have said that. And it went on for years.'

"Experts in alcohol law said the Jack Daniel’s committee’s actions appeared to be a clear-cut violation of the law in D.C. and multiple states. 

"'These are cops?' asked Michael Brill Newman, who leads the alcoholic-beverage team at the firm Holland & Knight."

Reading archive 2021-11-04

Aaron Rodgers is entitled to stay unvaccinated. He’s not entitled to lie about it.

‘We are in crisis mode’: Museum workers are turning to unions over conditions they say are untenable

A GOP strategist was charged with sex trafficking minors. Then he tried to ‘threaten’ law enforcement, judge says.

Igor Danchenko arrested, charged with lying to FBI about information in Steele dossier

He predicted the dark side of the Internet 30 years ago. Why did no one listen?: Philip Agre, a computer scientist turned humanities professor, was prescient about many of the ways technology would impact the world - "But Agre isn’t available. In 2009, he simply dropped off the face of the earth, abandoning his position at UCLA. When friends reported Agre missing, police located him and confirmed that he was okay, but Agre never returned to the public debate. His closest friends declined to further discuss details of his disappearance, citing respect for Agre’s privacy."

This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later.: Long marginalized and misrepresented in U.S. history, the Wampanoags are bracing for the 400th anniversary of the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving in 1621

Reading archive 2021-11-03

A novel way to reduce emissions? China tries confiscating coal from households.

Reading archive 2021-11-02

CDC finds immunity from vaccines is more consistent than from infection, but both last at least six months: Naturally acquired immunity is at the center of a political fight over President Biden’s vaccine mandates.

Breitbart has outsize influence over climate change denial on Facebook, report says: A new report suggests 10 publishers, including RT and the Federalist Papers, are responsible for nearly 70 percent of interactions with climate change misinformation on the platform

Boosted by the pandemic, ‘constitutional sheriffs’ are a political force

Reading archive 2021-11-01

Will that college degree pay off? A look at some of the numbers

Opinion: Partisan attacks drove me out of my job as a Texas elections official