August 22, 2016
A puzzle wrapped in an enigma
Texas has highest maternal mortality rate in developed world, study finds. The rate of Texas women who died from complications related to pregnancy doubled from 2010 to 2014, a new study has found, for an estimated maternal mortality rate that is unmatched in any other state and the rest of the developed world.
Cinema isn't dying, it's evolving
The 100 greatest films of the 21st century (so far), as determined by 177 film critics from around the world.
"Military recruiting is a sophisticated psychological pursuit."
High School Students' Test Results Are Being Sent to Military Recruiters Without Consent
Data released by the Department of Defense on August 1st shows the military administered its 3-hour enlistment exam to nearly 700,000 students in 12,000 high schools during the 2013-14 school year, a 2% increase over the prior year. [...] For instance, North Little Rock High School tested 680, almost all of its juniors and seniors. All of the data was shipped to recruiters without mom and dad in the loop, while the Pentagon’s database reports that the students took the test voluntarily
Data released by the Department of Defense on August 1st shows the military administered its 3-hour enlistment exam to nearly 700,000 students in 12,000 high schools during the 2013-14 school year, a 2% increase over the prior year. [...] For instance, North Little Rock High School tested 680, almost all of its juniors and seniors. All of the data was shipped to recruiters without mom and dad in the loop, while the Pentagon’s database reports that the students took the test voluntarily
How Things Implode
Why the lids on beer steins? [1] The real reasons!
Read Us the Book of the Names of the Dead.
Christopher Knowles (author of Our Gods Wear Spandex) has a remembrance of rock producer Sandy Pearlman (Blue Oyster Cult, The Clash), who died July 16, on his Secret Sun blog: Read Us the Book of the Names of the Dead. [more inside]
"There were Americans everywhere." U.S. partiers wash up in Canada.
An estimated 1,500 Americans illegally and unexpectedly washed up in Canada late Sunday after strong winds blew them across the St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ont.
Did the ‘Two-Fingered Salute’ really come from the Hundred Years War?
I found this after giving my 9-year-old daughter the apparently incorrect version of the story. ”However it really came about, we can be pretty sure that it’s bugger all to do with medieval archers.”
It was utter fucking pandemonium.
On June 14th, 1991, Morrissey appeared on The Tonight Show to perform "Sing Your Life," and "There's a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends," as part of his Kill Uncle tour. This is the story of how Morrissey (and his fans) upstaged and perplexed Johnny Carson and now-disgraced celebrity guest Bill Cosby. 25 Years Ago, Morrissey Ruined Bill Cosby’s Appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ [more inside]
“it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement in the initial”
U.N. Admits Role in Cholera Epidemic in Haiti [The New York Times] “For the first time since a cholera epidemic believed to be imported by United Nations peacekeepers began killing thousands of Haitians nearly six years ago, the office of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has acknowledged that the United Nations played a role in the initial outbreak and that a “significant new set of U.N. actions” will be needed to respond to the crisis.” [Previously.] [Previously.] [more inside]
“The world’s first organic universal bitter blocker”
In its Aurora, Colorado production facility, MycoTechnology is fermenting mycelia, later blast-drying them into an odorless, tasteless powder called ClearTaste—what marketing manager Hahn would call “the world’s first organic universal bitter blocker.” Not a black coffee drinker? You could be with just a tiny sprinkle of the stuff. It works on the molecular level, bonding to taste receptors on your tongue and blocking signals to your brain that translate to perceiving bitterness. Such a substance could have big implications for the health of the United States’ sugar-addicted society. But like all food additives, it has its mysteries—and no one is sure exactly what your body does with it once it’s inside. (SLWired)
The autopen is mightier
In April, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order reinstating the voting rights of 200,000 convicted felons who had completed their sentences. [previously] Gov. McAuliffe's plan produced some unintended consequences, and incurred the ire of the General Assembly's top Republicans. The Supreme Court of Virginia overturned the original order in an opinion that rejected the Governor's "blanket use" of his restoration authority. Gov. McAuliffe is now proceeding in accordance with the Court's ruling, signing the first 13,000 individual orders with the assistance of an autopen.
The Homeless in America's National Forests
As Homeless Find Refuge in Forests, ‘Anger Is Palpable’ in Nearby Towns To millions of adventurers and campers, America’s national forests are a boundless backyard for hiking trips, rafting, hunting and mountain biking. But for thousands of homeless people and hard-up wanderers, they have become a retreat of last resort. [more inside]
laughing and not being normal.
The US military industry _is_ 'complex'
U.S. Army fudged its accounts by trillions of dollars, auditor finds - "The Defense Department's Inspector General, in a [July 26 (pdf)] report, said the Army made $2.8 trillion in wrongful adjustments to accounting entries in one quarter alone in 2015, and $6.5 trillion for the year. Yet the Army lacked receipts and invoices to support those numbers or simply made them up... The report affirms a 2013 Reuters series revealing how the Defense Department falsified accounting on a large scale as it scrambled to close its books. As a result, there has been no way to know how the Defense Department – far and away the biggest chunk of Congress' annual budget – spends the public's money."
If you ain't got it, flaunt it.
Henderson informed the man that he had a tyre waiting for collection.
Dr. Donald Ainslie "D.A." Henderson, the Chief Medical Officer of the World Health Organization's fight against smallpox, has died at the age of 87. [more inside]
Girls of the Golden West
The San Francisco Opera, in a coproduction with the Dallas Opera, the Dutch National Opera, and Venice's Teatro La Fenice, will premiere Girls of the Golden West in November 2017. The new opera by composer John Adams and librettist Peter Sellars tells the story of "mining camps in the Sierra Mountains during the California Gold Rush of the early 1850’s. The libretto texts are drawn from first hand accounts by Mark Twain, newspaper articles, letters, journals, original Gold Rush song lyrics and political speeches and slogans."
X.
When he crossed the marathon finish line as a silver medalist, in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 54 seconds, earning a silver medal, Feyisa Lilesa put his hands above his head in an "X." He later explained that the gesture was meant to demonstrate his solidarity with his Oromo people in Ethiopia. "Amnesty International reports that at least 97 Oromo were killed in peaceful anti-government protests earlier this month. This is the latest in a string of protests that Human Rights Watch estimates have resulted in over 400 deaths in all. In addition to the killings, many more have been arrested and detained by the government."
Globalization is ancient
Mapping the Mercantilist World Economy Our current globalized capitalist world economy was built on Mercantilist foundations, put in place in the first phase of global European expansion, the second phase being that of the formal European empires of the industrial age. In the case of the “New World” in the Americas, Europe’s Mercantilists were creating entirely new trade networks and hinterlands. In the Old World of Afro-Eurasia however, Europe was rearranging the existing, much older, world economy it had been part of since the Middle Ages. I wanted to illustrate this first phase of global capitalism with thematic maps.
Peace and Quiet and Open Air / Wait for Us / Somewhere
76 trombones days to go in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and the candidates have a lot on their minds: Clinton makes a $95 million ad buy; Trump and his band of Steves yearn for calmer days when they'll be able to discuss Morning Joe gossip in peace, as Minion "9/11" Rudy spreads Clinton conspiracy theories; Egg McMuffin continues to do his thing.
Only 4400 miles to go
An older man who has been watching the entire time approaches me and tells me that he’s sorry that I lost control of my boat and that he’s sure it’ll wash up on the beach somewhere. I assure him that the boat is on autopilot, going exactly where it’s supposed to be going. “And where is that?” he asks. “Hawaii.” [more inside]
John Locke: Against Freedom
If Locke is viewed ... as an advocate of expropriation and enslavement, what are the implications for classical liberalism and libertarianism? The most important is that there is no justification for treating property rights as fundamental human rights, on par with personal liberty and freedom of speech.In an essay in Jacobin entitled John Locke Against Freedom, Australian economist John Quiggin argues that Locke's "classical liberalism offers no guarantee of freedom to anyone except owners of capitalist private property." [more inside]
Wandering New York
Wandering New York is a blog where amateur photographer Joseph Raskin posts new photos of various New York City neighborhoods every night.
Choose Your Poison... I mean, Sugary Cereal
It's the one election that truly matters: General Mills Monster Cereal Election. A three-way race with Boo Berry, Count Chocula and Franken Berry. So far, the Count is winning with 42% of the total vote and leading in 43 states. (registration required to vote, but there are prizes for participating, unlike other elections... no, you may not write in the Lucky Charms Leprechaun - I tried)
Kakonomics, or the strange preference for low-quality outcomes
‘I think that an important concept to understand why does life suck so often is Kakonomics, or the weird preference for Low-quality payoffs’—Gloria Origgi. [more inside]
The Millennial Whoop
The “Millennial Whoop” is a sequence of notes that alternates between the fifth and third notes of a major scale, typically starting on the fifth. The rhythm is usually straight 8th-notes, but it may start on the downbeat or on the upbeat in different songs. A singer usually belts these notes with an “Oh” phoneme, often in a “Wa-oh-wa-oh” pattern. [more inside]
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