June 4, 2018
The new normal in the Arabian Gulf
Today marks the one year anniversary of nine governments (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and their allies) cutting ties with Qatar. [more inside]
It's tiaras all the way down!
A gallery of royalty (not Hollywood Royalty, actual royal family sorts) gathered for a gala of their own set, Prince Frederik of Denmark's 50th birthday party. Not just women, but men... see how actual royals dress when they go out ot party! [more inside]
Age isn't anything but a number - BMX racing into their 70s
At 70, Paul Mounsey is the UK’s oldest BMX Racer, and got back into biking when he was 63 and he sat at home thinking "what am I going to do now?" Kittie Weston-Knauer is following him, age-wise, as the oldest female BMX bicycle racer in the U.S., but she was introduced to the sport by her son in the 1980s, and she's been riding since then. "I don't like to be the person standing around, watching someone else having fun, if that's something that I, too, can do."
Pictures of Cats on Audio Gear
267 pages of pictures of cats on, in, and around audio gear. Have fun!
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'Star Citizen' Is Offering VIP Players a $27,000 Bundle of Spaceships [Motherboard] “Star Citizen is an unreleased video game that has promised fans the moon. Developer Roberts Space Industries (RSI) has advertised the game as the ultimate space adventure, the kind of simulation you can play for years to come. [...] RSI is only offering the $27,000 Legatus Pack to its concierge members. Concierge players are those who’ve already dropped at least $1,000 on the game. Such backers have access to the Legaus Pack, but also receive a personal concierge at RSI who’ll pick up the phone anytime they call. Included in the Legatus Pack is 117 ships, 163 other items, and lifetime insurance on each of the ships. That’s almost every ship that will exist in the game, save for a few that were reserved as prizes for special events or rewards for early backers.” [more inside]
Some blunt, though peer-reviewed messages
Fuck Neoliberalism. [pdf]
Abstract: Yep, fuck it. Neoliberalism sucks. We don’t need it.
Keywords: fuck neoliberalism; fuck it to hell. [more inside]
The Constitutional Crisis is here. It's been here.
The President's lawyers claimed in a secret memo that he's immune from subpoena and on national TV that he can literally murder anyone. Many people are saying this is already a Constitutional Crisis. Then he claimed the power to pardon himself. Others say Trump is speaking from a position of weakness. It's week 71 of the Trump Presidency. [more inside]
Hell On Wheels
Fatal accidents, off-the-books workers, a union once run by a mobster. The rogue world of one of New York’s major trash haulers. [more inside]
Canada's government bails out controversial Kinder Morgan oil pipeline
A large number of demonstrations are scheduled across Canada today to protest the Trudeau government's purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion. The company was losing interest in the controversial project after fierce opposition from environmentalists, Indigenous groups and the BC government. Economist Robyn Allan details the economic consequences of the government's proposed purchase. [more inside]
Suspiria
Taking Oil To Court
“So far, taxpayers are footing the bill without any help from corporations that have grown rich off of the fossil fuels that cause climate change ....New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration took a stab at answering that question by filing a lawsuit in the U.S. Southern District of New York against five oil companies: BP, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp. “We’re taking this fight straight to the fossil fuel companies that caused this mess, and, with the lawsuit in particular, we need to recoup against the damages that have been caused...” Is Exxon Mobil the next Philip Morris? [more inside]
The Moral Cost of Cats
"Nobody likes the idea of killing cats . . . but sometimes, it is necessary" According to scientists, Trap/Neuter/Return programs don't really work. [more inside]
Kids, pets, and women with attitude.
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit have a new album out. (Some NSFW language). HMHB make intelligent, angry, absurd, punk tinged indie music that is frequently hilarious. The HMHB Lyrics Project will tell you all you need to know, including fans' interpretations of the lyrics. [more inside]
Book Cover Concentration
Below is a grid containing 2 editions of 6 different books. Your challenge : match the pairs of books from the cover art alone. (via the recently resurrected B3ta newsletter)
Mainly a weed, Mainely a fish?
A peculiar conflict in Maine over whether rockweed is more like a plant (and therefore belonging to those who own the foreshore) or more like a fish or oyster (and therefore harvestable as a common public resource).
Ah, so that's why there's free wifi on the subway
"Cities worldwide face the problems and possibilities of “volume”: the stacking and moving of people and things within booming central business districts." "With the introduction of ticketless transport cards it’s now possible to gather more data about people flow through busy transport hubs as we tap on and off.
Tracking commuters’ in-station journeys through their Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as smart phones, can also offer a detailed picture of movement between platforms, congestion and delays." [more inside]
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