I believe these women. After coming forward how much grief did they suffer from Trump supporters?
#guts #respect
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Category: government
The future of global energy
I’ve always been suspicious of stories predicting the rise of solar and wind and the imminent plunge of coal and oil.
But it’s here. Solar in Dubai is already the least expensive source of electricity in the history of the world — 2.42 cents / kwh.
Click PLAY or watch a TED Talk on YouTube. (38min)
Incumbents will increasingly be asking for government subsidy for coal and oil. Those requests should be denied.
(via tywkiwdbi)
American politics went batshit crazy starting with Newt Gingrich
I ignored American politics until 2004 when — inexplicably — George W. Bush was elected for a second term after being unbelievably bad in his first term.
What the Hell was going on?
Jim VandeHei explains why the USA has such extreme politics in 2017: Newt Gingrich, Fox News (1996), MSNBC, CNN, Facebook and later Twitter, Sarah Palin and finally Trump.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert documented the idiocy.
How American politics went batshit crazy
It’s easy to say Americans deserve the politicians they have.
My fear is that other nations will evolve in the direction of the American way. 😦
you might be killed by a drone
Greg linked to this video. I thought it was real … for the first few minutes.
It’s fiction. Black Mirror scary.
Click PLAY or watch Slaughterbots on YouTube.
The video was created by Autonomousweapons.org and Stuart Russell, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. …
how Google (and myself) avoid taxes
I’m in Bermuda right now … hiding my vast wealth. 😀
According to the latest available figures, 63 percent of all the profits made outside of the United States by American multinationals are now reported in six low- or zero-tax countries: the Netherlands, Bermuda, Luxembourg, Ireland, Singapore and Switzerland. …
The NY Times has a comparatively simple article with graphics explaining how the stupidly rich hide their money … legally.
How Corporations and the Wealthy Avoid Taxes (and How to Stop Them)
How do we know?
Much was revealed from the Swiss Leaks (2015), the Panama Papers (2016) and the Paradise Papers (2017).
Only one entity was sued after the Panama Papers.
Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter should be regulated
Great article.
Al Franken:
Last week’s hearings demonstrated that these companies may not be up to the challenge that they’ve created for themselves. In some instances, it seems that they’ve failed to take commonsense precautions to prevent the spread of propaganda, misinformation, and hate speech. …
… we can’t trust the companies to get it right …
… as has become alarmingly clear in recent months, these companies have unprecedented power to guide Americans’ access to information and potentially shape the future of journalism. It should go without saying that such power comes with great responsibility. …
ProPublica recently revealed that up until two months ago, Facebook allowed advertisers using the company’s self-service ad-buying platform to target more than 2,000 people who expressed interest in the topic of quote “Jew hater” and other antisemitic themes. …
As it stands now, Google and Facebook control 75% of all internet news traffic referrals …
Currently, Amazon controls over 83% of e-book sales, nearly 90% of online print sales, and almost 99% of digital audio sales.
Amazon has since used its unprecedented monopsony power to force publishers to agree to contract terms and conditions that the publishers say have stalled price competition …
… how do we ensure transparency and accountability from them going forward?
We must not let big tech threaten our security, freedoms and democracy
National Archives, Washington DC
The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the original headquarters of the National Archives and Records Administration. …
It holds the original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It also hosts an original version of the 1297 Magna Carta …
Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; “(the) Great Charter”), is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215 …
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. …
Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended 27 times …
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments …
… specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. …
The young, white slaveholders and others who put the American documents together did a surprisingly good job.
On the other hand the Constitution needs additional amendments. In very few ways does the USA lead the world when it comes to human rights.
Jefferson Memorial, Washington DC
Quiet and off the beaten track, I quite enjoyed visiting Jefferson.
The Jefferson Memorial … dedicated to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), one of the most important of the American Founding Fathers as the main drafter and writer of the Declaration of Independence, …
Construction of the building began in 1939 and was completed in 1943. The bronze statue of Jefferson was added in 1947.
Trump revoked Gun Checks for people with mental illness
Since it’s a white guy, Trump dismisses it as a ‘mental health’ issue, instead of calling for extreme vetting of … war vets.
So why did he sign bill H.J. Res 40 in February?
It kept about 75,000 people with mental illnesses or deemed unfit to handle their own financial affairs purchasing firearms without background checks.
War Memorials Washington DC
The World War II Memorial … was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004. …
As of 2009, more than 4.4 million people visit the memorial each year. …
The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, each 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, arranged in a semicircle around a plaza …
It’s well done. A worthy memorial for those who died fighting Hitler and the Japanese. Though I’m anti-war myself I can’t deny WW II was necessary.
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial … consists of three separate parts: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, completed first and the best-known part of the memorial; the Three Servicemen Memorial, and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. …
The Memorial Wall is made up of two 246-foot-9-inch (75.21 m) long gabbro walls, etched with the names of the servicemen being honoured …
As many do, I found is stark, simple and evocative. All the names a sharp rebuke to those in politics and the military who stupidly decided to have the USA fight in Vietnam. Sadly Trump and his military henchmen are not likely to have learned the lessons of Vietnam nor Iraq.
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After those two the Korean War Veterans Memorial is surprising.
Within the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues … each larger than life-size, between 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) and 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 pounds (500 kg). …
- Dead — United States: 54,246,[9] United Nations: 628,833[10]
- Wounded — United States: 103,284, United Nations: 1,064,453.
- Captured — United States: 7,140, United Nations: 92,970.
- Missing — United States: 8,177,[11][12] United Nations: 470,267.
Despite the huge casualty list you don’t hear much about the Korean War any longer.
Rick McCharles 