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Friday, December 13th, 2024

    Time Event
    4:38a
    Carbon emissions from arctic tundra

    *Arctic tundra is now emitting more carbon than it absorbs, US agency says.* This is a consequence of the higher temperature in the Arctic, and consequences such as wildfires.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Defunding at US State Department

    It looks like the part of the US State Department that tries to combat foreign disinformation will be defunded.

    Who in the US government might want to do that? Perhaps those who are in league with Putin, such as the corrupter, and those who spread foreign disinformation, such as Musk.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Monarch butterflies listed as threatened

    Monarch butterflies are now listed as threatened in he US, which puts limits on actions that could further harm the species. The limits, not very strict, are described in the article.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Merger block upheld

    Th FTC's order to block the merger of the Kroger and Albertsons supermarket chains was upheld in court.

    However, it appears that Lina Khan, responsible for several years of militancy by the FTC, will not be reappointed. That means it will become weaker, and additional damaging mergers of large companies will proceed.

    I would like to know more about how this happened. If you can point me at an article about this, please email me the text as well as the URL.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Giving infectious diseases a break

    Robert Kennedy Jr said he will "give infectious diseases a break". That would be a dangerous error, given that the more people they have infected, the more starting points they have to infect others.

    </li>
    4:38a
    More wealth to stockholders at any cost

    The doctrine, that corporation executives are obligated to make "more wealth for stockholders" the highest priority, sounds simple — but it obtains that simplicity by disregarding all factors that weren't trivial to quantify.

    Events have shown that it doesn't lead to clear consequences on any question.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Prohibition on deporting by Boston cops

    Boston City Council reaffirms prohibition on Boston cops' helping to deport anyone who doesn't have an arrest warrant.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Pausing asylum for Syrian refugees

    Some European Countries have decided to pause decision on asylum for Syrian refugees, to wait and see if Syria now becomes a safe country from which people have a need to flee.

    Let us hope that Syria now becomes safe for peaceful civilians, but if that happens for most of them, that does not imply it will be safe for all of them. For instance, will it be safe for secularist people that want an end to religious persecution? Will it be safe for non-Arabs, such as Kurds? Will be safe for freethinkers? Will it be safe for queer people? We cannot assume all that.

    Thus, even if Syria ceases to persecute millions of its civilians, there may still be some Syrians who are entitled to asylum for specific reasons.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Banned chemicals exported from UK

    * Investigation uncovers how chemicals like diquat, banned in the UK but legal to export, are causing [medical] problems in [other countries].*

    The issue is worth posting about, but I reject the term "global south" and I took this opportunity to campaign against it.

    I also took the opportunity to highlight my disagreement with the marketing campaign to replace the word "medical" with "health". I don't know whether that author (or The Guardian) supports that as a marketing campaign—it may be a matter of following a fashion. But I see it as a marketing campaign, and as such I reject it.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Voting for the axe

    This came from A Word A Day. It fits the right-wing servants of dooH niboR who whip up poor fools to vote to cut their income to help the rich.

    A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
    The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them. -Turkish proverb

    4:38a
    Brain rot by recommendation engines

    Brain rot caused by recommendation engines is not just a metaphor. It has been demonstrated by many experiments, both psychological an physiological.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Oil drilling risk for arctic wildlife refuge

    *Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Still at Risk from Oil Drilling.*

    </li>
    4:38a
    Pardoning everyone involved in Jan 6 attack on Capitol

    The corrupter reaffirmed his intention to pardon everyone convicted for participating in the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol that the corrupter launched to overthrow the US government.

    *Liz Cheney calls Trump threat to jail her an "assault on the rule of law".* The supposed grounds for this investigation would be that she participated in investigating the attack on the Capitol.

    *RFK Jr to research unsupported link between vaccines and autism, [the truth-hater] says.*

    In effect, the corrupter has declared war on truth, justice, and honesty. In place of the United States of America, he would have the Utter Subserviece to the Autocrat — a state in which patriots are imprisoned if they obstruct him and criminals freed if they serve him.

    Like Putin, he hopes to leave no visible path to find the truth except to believe whatever he says.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Demilitarized zone on Syrian border

    Israel seized a small demilitarized zone on the Syrian border.

    I think that the importance of that border zone is minimal. Precisely because of that, Israel's seizure of it was a stupid and vicious act, likely to provoke various sorts of conflict just as Syria had encountered possibilities of peace.

    </li>
    4:38a
    UK deporting man to Pakistan

    The UK is deporting a man to Pakistan although he is likely to be murdered if he is there.

    She is likely to be deported some time later, and she too faces the threat of murder.

    </li>
    4:38a
    Arbitrarily punishing accused sex workers

    UK thugs have the power to arbitrarily punish accused sex workers, without any trial.

    </li>

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