Saturday, June 14
Friday, June 13
Ponderings
I am not a political person, yet I have a fair amount to say about politics. First of all, it is a necessary EVIL and second once you accept the fact that ALL POLITICIANS LIE, then it is easy to deal with them critters.
My favorite politician of all times was JFK and even he lied mostly because he claimed national security but really because he was just wealthy and perceived himself differently.
Most politicians, except for maybe AOC, who was a bartender, do not understand the working class. Even AOC during her short time in congress has become wealthy and is changing. Politics will do that to you.
The working class use, as their budgets, their monthly wages, making sure through trial and error, they seldom if ever, exceed that monthly income. If that happens that is a trigger to either cut back or work a second job.
The working class does not like being the working class but they accept that they are the working class and try to make to best of what they have. Some want more and try to achieve getting there, while others simply waiting for raises that allows them to buy more.
The working class does not really sit around the kitchen table shooting the shit about politics. They talk about their jobs, their bosses, their spouses, local athletics, college athletics, and professional athletics... and sometimes about the musical group that might be coming to town soon.
The working class that lives in the south and perhaps the Midwest, talk about the upcoming County Fair and what they liked about it last year that they hope will be here again this year.
I'll never forget the fair I went to in Knoxville, TN and watch a Steppenwolf concert for free, except for the fair tickets. I also had fried sausage and cabbage along with a funnel cake and felt like I needed to go the ER later and get my stomach pumped... lol
The working class is exactly what the words say it is, the working class, and they don't really concern themselves with politics... they just concern themselves with living and having a good times with family and friends doing what is not very expensive.
The working class very seldom watches the news because it mostly does not pertain to them unless there is a local shooting or a bank robbery.
Headlines
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Israel strikes Iran nuclear sites, assassinates military leaders and scientists. Israel launched five waves of airstrikes on Iran starting before dawn on Friday local time, killing Iran’s top three military officials and at least two prominent nuclear scientists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military action sought to crush “the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.” More than 200 warplanes struck at least 100 targets across Iran, including the main building of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, residential compounds of prominent individuals, and the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. At least 12 civilians were killed in strikes on Tehran alone, according to Iran’s state news agency. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said Israel “should anticipate a harsh punishment.” Iran deployed at least 100 drones to Israel immediately following the strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US was not involved in the attacks on Iran. Fox News host Bret Baier said President Trump told him he had prior knowledge of Israel’s planned attacks on Iranian leadership, but hoped nuclear negotiations with Iran could continue. Iran announced on state TV that it would not participate in nuclear negotiations with the US until further notice, scrapping talks planned for Sunday.—HVL
India suffered one of its worst plane crashes in decades. A London-bound India Air flight crashed shortly after takeoff into a medical college in Ahmedabad, India, yesterday, killing 241 passengers and crew as well as dozens of people on the ground. A sole surviving passenger walked away without life-threatening injuries, telling a medic that the plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, split in two before exploding. A pedestrian video shows the plane angled upward but descending before it disappears behind buildings into a fireball. The US and UK said they’re sending officials to aid in India’s crash investigation.—ML
Boeing draws fresh scrutiny for the crash. The scandal-ridden planemaker has had fatal problems with the 737 Max for years, but this is the first time that Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has crashed since the model launched in 2011. Last year, a whistleblower working on the 787 raised concerns about the craft (he said he was later fired), while many airlines have reportedly discovered engine problems with the 787, leading them to delay or cancel flights. Meanwhile, yesterday’s crash came less than two weeks after Boeing agreed to pay $1.1 billion to dodge criminal charges for two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.—ML
Robert Reich
Friends,
“No Kings” Day tomorrow rightly connects Trump’s rule with George III’s monarchical rule, against which the patriots of 1775 rebelled.
Trump’s attack on immigrants has metastasized into the start of a monarchical police state.
He has deployed over 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to patrol Los Angeles, although the state’s governor and the city’s mayor have said they don’t want them — and even though protests have been largely peaceful.
Judge Charles Breyer of the United States District Court ruled late yesterday that Trump’s “actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” (Trump is expected to appeal.)
At A Glance
Roman-era "fast food" found in ancient trash.
Signed 13th Amendment could fetch $8M this month.
Your breathing pattern is as unique as a fingerprint.
Rare deep-sea squid filmed alive for first time. (w/video)
Breaking down the global religious landscape.
Humpback whales may be blowing bubbles to talk to us.
TikTok's latest budget hack: dating for dinner.
How clouds get their shapes.
Clickbait: "My sister thinks I'm an idiot."
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Harvey Weinstein convicted in retrial of one charge of sexual assault and acquitted of another as jury continues to deliberate on final charge (More)
> World's most-followed TikToker Khaby Lame departs the US after being detained by immigration officials at Las Vegas airport for allegedly overstaying his visa (More)
> The 125th US Open golf tournament kicks off today from Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania; see full predictions and preview (More) | World Anti-Doping Agency seeks to shut down next year's "Enhanced Games," a competition that will encourage athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs (More)
Science & Technology
> OpenAI releases o3-pro, the most advanced version of its flagship reasoning model; company cuts price of regular o3 by 80% (More) | Cybersecurity researchers discover first known example of a zero-click attack—requiring no interaction by the user—on an AI agent (More)
> Scientists develop stretchable brain implant that allows the study of neurological development in animal embryos at the earliest stages of life (More) | Brain implants, explained (1440 Topics)
> Window-sized device produces safe drinking water from atmospheric humidity without requiring an external power source; engineers estimate an array could produce enough water for a house, even in the desert (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq -0.5%) as investors weigh US-China trade deal and new inflation data (More) | US consumer price index rose 2.4% year over year in May, from 2.3% in April; excluding food and energy, core inflation rose 2.8% year over year for third consecutive month (More)
> US budget deficit hit $316B in May, down 9% from a year ago, as customs receipts rose to a record $23B under new US tariffs, per Treasury Department report (More) | See how much the US is earning from tariffs (More, w/charts)
> Disney and NBCUniversal sue generative AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement; marks first legal action from Hollywood against the generative AI industry (More) | Generative AI explained (1440 Topics)
Politics & World Affairs
> National Guard and Marines can temporarily detain—but not formally arrest—protesters in Los Angeles, commander overseeing the task force says (More) | See updates on immigration protests across the country (More)
> Fulbright board resigns, alleging political interference from the State Department after it canceled nearly 200 US scholarships; Fulbright is the nation's flagship academic exchange program (More) | Read the board's statement (More) | Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appoints eight new members to vaccine advisory board (More)
> The US authorizes voluntary departure for nonessential staff at the US embassy in Baghdad as concerns over Middle East unrest rise (More) | Denmark approves US military bases on Danish soil amid tensions over Greenland (More)
A Life of Changes
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Two years ago, my wife and I downsized our home and yard and went from 4-5 hours of weekly lawn care to 1-2 hours.
Lawncare for me was mowing the yard with the riding lawn mower, then using a push mower cut the grass when the riding mower was not suited, then weed eating the perimeter and around the walkways and driveways.
Our old house was two stories, and this one is all on one level. Changing from 3,000 square feet down to 1,400+ square feet and from 3 garages to two, meaning lots of stuff had to tossed out.
If you have been married to someone for twenty years or more, then you know what accumulation is all about... and if you are like me, I hold onto stuff just in case I might need it one day. Two years ago, those days ended.
We have been together for THIRTY years when we made the move, so you can imagine how much STUFF we had collected.
For instance, I was industrial teacher in the area of quality management and process re-engineering. For Twenty-five years, I collected over twenty file boxes of training manuals and resources to help me in my teachings, and I saved all of them.
It was difficult to take all those boxes to the landfill, but I did. Going through the act of actually throwing my past life away, helped me accept the new life I was headed into.
Life, for me, has been one of constant changes and constant learning. I thought that learning would have stopped after I graduated from college, but that is just when the REAL LEARNING began. Thankfully, college taught me HOW TO TEACH MYSELF which next to learning to type on a typewriter were the two most important skills I acquired.
My mother made me take a typing class in summer school when I was in the eighth grade because she thought my future would be full of some sort of typing. She was CORRECT.
Egypt plans desert city supplied with diverted Nile water
CAIRO, June 1 (Reuters) - Egypt unveiled plans on Sunday to build a desert city that will see about 7% of Egypt's annual Nile River quota rerouted from fertile delta land to pass by upscale glass-fronted housing units and eventually a large agricultural project.
Egypt, facing mounting water shortages, power constraints, and a deepening economic crisis, wants the development to help increase the value of state assets and boost land prices through "non-traditional, innovative ideas," Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement announcing the project.
Thursday, June 12
'Alien spacecraft' found at the bottom of Pacific Ocean
For years people have been looking to the skies for signs of alien life - but maybe, they should have been looking at the bottom of the ocean this whole time.
A Harvard physicist has claimed that parts of an alien 'spacecraft' could have been uncovered under the sea.
Professor Avi Loeb set off on a search along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and found 50 iron pieces which originated from the IM1 meteor.
