Recommended Reading
from Bruce
PAUL KRUGMAN: Why One Quarter's Growth Tells Us Nothing (NY Times Blog)
For the most part, reporting on 2nd quarter growth has been pretty decent. But I haven't seen clear explanations of why one quarter's growth tells us so little about longer-term growth prospects. I'm sure that reporters get it; maybe they assume that readers already know (a very bad assumption), or maybe they're afraid of sounding too technical. But anyway, it seems as if there's a gap worth filling; so here it comes. […] In short, one quarter's growth is a nothingburger. The real news is that we're still waiting for both the investment surge and the wage gains the tax cutters promised; as far as we can tell, they're never coming.
Ted Rall: The Outlook For Democrats In 2020 (Creators Syndicate)
In the general election? This is sad, and bad for America's baby Left, but I think it's true: Trump defeats Sanders. Not because he's a self-declared democratic socialist. Also not because he's too far left: he really would have beaten Trump in 2016. Trump defeats Sanders because of the innate advantages of incumbency, the historical hesitancy to change horses midstream, Sanders' advancing age and the sad fact that the DNC will never push for him as hard as they would have for one of their own: a Wall Street-friendly corporatist.
Dana Milbank: We are a deeply stupid country (Washington Post)
If Trump is right - and he is so smart that he must be - then this could mean Americans wanted exactly what they are getting right now: a president who burns alliances, insults allies, sides with Putin over the American government, ignores Russia's abuses and bashes the free press across Europe. If so, if we Americans really did want this, Trump has proved his point about our intelligence.
Jonathan Jones: What the new photo of the Thai cave boys tells us about their ordeal (The Guardian)
The boys gather around a portrait of Saman Kunan, who died in the rescue attempt. Their expressions show a deep recognition of the overwhelming spirit of altruism that saved them.
Lucy Mangan: "Why I'm done with male fragility and bruised egos" (Stylist)
It's all amazing, and slightly thrilling. Because anything this fragile cannot hold for long. And when this version of male-being finally shatters, do you know what I think the unexpected primary emotion will be? Relief. Equality - which we can use as a synonym for feminism, to avoid giving any other precious penoids the vapours - will bring relief.
Lucy Mangan: Who Is America? review - too frightening to be truly funny (The Guardian)
To interview Bernie Sanders, as "Ruddick" does, and spend that precious time arguing that he should make all Americans part of the 1% elite by "moving the nines", instead of - oh, I don't know, high-fiving and thanking him for draining Hillary's resources - lets both Sanders and far-right conspiracy theorists off too lightly, while preaching to the choir about the imbecility of certain known imbecilic types.
Helaine Olen: Why won't Republicans finally demand Trump release his tax returns? (Washington Post)
Recent developments suggest he may be under increasing financial pressure.
Helaine Olen: Elon Musk and corporate cowardice (Washington Post)
Corporations and those who run them always want to end up on the right side of power.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda (& Janet)!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE GREED HEAD.
EMPTY THE GARBAGE!
"THAT'S THE BALLGAME."
"THE RIGHT TO ROAM."
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hot and humid. Ack.
Impromptu Performance
Neil Diamond
Six months after Neil Diamond retired from touring due to Parkinson's disease, the singer made a surprise return to the stage to perform a private mini-concert for firefighters battling a Colorado wildfire.
On Saturday, Diamond and his wife Katie McNeill visited the Incident Command post in Basalt, Colorado - near where Diamond lives - to thank the firefighters for their efforts in containing the Lake Christine Fire, which began on July 3rd and has already scorched 12,000 acres of land, Fox 31 Denver reports. The fire is now 45 percent contained.
"I want to take you all home, I want to give you a kiss, I want to make dinner for you, and I just want to say thank you from the people of this area for coming down and this town has not been this happy since… I don't know," Diamond told the hundreds of firefighters.
"I've been here for 20 years and you've made everybody happier. The heaviness on our hearts is gone and we know the cavalry is here and we say thank you to each of you for making this trip."
Diamond then led the firefighters in an impromptu sing-along of "Sweet Caroline," with the singer playing acoustic guitar for the performance.
Neil Diamond
Responds
NYT
The New York Times hit back at President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Deranged) tweet Sunday that described his recent meeting with the newspaper's publisher, A.G. Sulzberger.
Trump had tweeted that he had "a very good and interesting" meeting with Sulzberger, the sixth member of his family to serve as publisher since it purchased the Times in 1896.
"Spent much time talking about the vast amount of Fake News being put out by the media," tweeted Trump, who has frequently ? and falsely ? accused the legacy paper of publishing what he calls "fake news."
Soon after, the Times weighed in with additional context about the exchange.
Hours later, Trump slammed the press again in a series of tweets, in which he claimed the media is driven by "Trump Derangement Syndrome," a right-wing phrase meant to suggest liberals will irrationally dislike the president's actions no matter what he does.
NYT
Putin Portrait
Colorado
The group Colorado Citizens for Culture is responsible for collecting donations so that presidential portraits may be commissioned to adorn the halls of the capitol in Denver.
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) is the next to have his displayed, but so far the group has raised ... no money at all for a $10,000 portrait of No. 45, according to NBC affiliate 9NEWS in Denver. (In such a booming economy, Mr. President?)
Colorado Citizens for Culture leader Jay Sellers said that enough money was raised within four months to commission portraits of resident George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
An unknown culprit did add a 45th portrait to the gallery, though. Democratic state Sen. Steve Fenberg tweeted this photo after Russian President Vladimir Putin's picture joined the group.
The Putin portrait was later removed by a tour guide who apparently has a part-time job as a party pooper.
Colorado
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
John Lydon
John Lydon-frontman of Public Image Ltd. and Sex Pistols (as Johnny Rotten)-will be the voice of a character on Nickelodeon's new animated series Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The vocalist will play the role of Meat Sweats, a "power-hungry mutant pig" according to Yahoo!. Lydon announced his involvement at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, where he unveiled a trailer for the new series.
The star-studded series also includes Game Of Thrones' Lena Headey, SpongeBob SquarePants' Tom Kenny, Flight Of The Conchords' Rhys Darby, and Sam Richardson and Tim Simons from Veep. Based on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and the 1980s cartoon, the show is set to premier this September on Channel 5 and Nicktoons.
This post John Lydon to Voice Mutant Pig in New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series first appeared on SPIN.
John Lydon
Defends Banning
Pence
Vice President Mike Pence (R-Mother) stood by the White House's decision to ban a CNN reporter from a press event last week, citing the need to maintain "decorum."
"This administration believes in the freedom of the press," Pence told Fox News' Rupert's Radio Rwanda's Maria Bartiromo in an interview airing Sunday. "But maintaining the decorum that is due at the White House... is an issue that we'll continue to work forward."
The White House was hit with intense backlash from dozens of journalists and media outlets on Wednesday after it disinvited CNN's Kaitlan Collins, representing five television networks as the day's chosen pool reporter, from a press event.
Collins was told by the White House that at a brief gathering earlier in the day, she had asked President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) "inappropriate" questions and had refused to leave the Oval Office, according to CNN. Collins and other reporters present at the time disputed the White House's claim.
Despite Trump's repeated attacks on the press, including falsely accusing outlets of publishing "fake news" and calling journalists the "enemy of the people," Pence told Bartiromo that the administration has provided "extraordinary access to the media."
Pence
Maternal Mortality
U.S.
The U.S. is the most dangerous country in the developed world to give birth in according to a report.
About 50,000 women are "severely injured" during childbirth, and about 700 women die every year. Half of these deaths could have been prevented, as could the injuries, if correct safety procedures had been followed, according to an investigation by USA Today.
While most women give birth with no issue, "The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Maternal Mortality" study published in The Lancet journal and cited in the USA Today's "Deadly Deliveries" report, lays bare the startling disparity between the U.S. and other developed nations.
Maternal mortality was defined as a death occurring because of obstetric complications or when pregnancy exacerbates a pre-existing medical condition.
Between 1990 to 2015, the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 births in most developed nations-including Germany, France, Japan, England and Canada-fell or plateaued to below 10. But in the U.S. the figure spiked to 26.4.
U.S.
Scientists Discover An Entirely New Shape
Scutoid
Scientists have discovered a three-dimensional shape, dubbed a scutoid, that is entirely new to geometry, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
An international team of researchers demonstrated that epithelial cells-the "construction blocks" of organisms that cover the surfaces of many organs, such as the skin-take the form of the previously undescribed shape, which enables them to pack tightly together and form complex, curved structures.
"[The cells] are like pieces of Tente or Lego from which animals are made," Luisma Escudero, a biologist from the Spain's University of Seville and author of the study, said in a statement.
"The epithelia form structures with multiple functions, like forming a barrier against infections or absorbing nutrients," he said. "In this way, during the development of an embryo, it changes from a simple structure formed from only a handful of cells to an animal with very complex organs."
During the growth of the organisms, the epithelial cells start joining and locking together. Previously, scientists represented these cells as being prism-shaped or like truncated pyramids. However, no direct evidence for this has been found due to the difficulty of imaging the tiny structures.
Scutoid
Worms Frozen for 42,000 Years
Siberian Permafrost
Did you ever wake up from a long nap feeling a little disoriented, not quite knowing where you were? Now, imagine getting a wake-up call after being "asleep" for 42,000 years.
In Siberia, melting permafrost is releasing nematodes - microscopic worms that live in soil - that have been suspended in a deep freeze since the Pleistocene. Despite being frozen for tens of thousands of years, two species of these worms were successfully revived, scientists recently reported in a new study.
Their findings, published in the May 2018 issue of the journal Doklady Biological Sciences, represent the first evidence of multicellular organisms returning to life after a long-term slumber in Arctic permafrost, the researchers wrote.
Though nematodes are tiny - typically measuring about 1 millimeter in length - they are known to possess impressive abilities. Some are found living 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) below Earth's surface, deeper than any other multicellular animal. Certain worms that live on an island in the Indian Ocean can develop one of five different mouths, depending on what type of food is available. Others are adapted to thrive inside slug intestines and travel on slimy highways of slug poop.
For the new study, researchers analyzed 300 samples of Arctic permafrost deposits and found two that held several well-preserved nematodes. One sample was collected from a fossil squirrel burrow near the Alazeya River in the northeastern part of Yakutia, Russia, from deposits estimated to be about 32,000 years old. The other permafrost sample came from the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, and the age of nearby deposits was around 42,000 years old, the scientists reported.
Siberian Permafrost
Weekend Box Office
'Mission: Impossible - Fallout'
After six movies, 22 years, countless bruises and a broken ankle, Tom Cruise's death-defying "Mission: Impossible" stunts continue to pay off at the box office.
"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" easily took the No. 1 spot on the domestic charts this weekend. Paramount Pictures estimates that it earned $61.5 million from 4,386 North American theaters.
Second place went to "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," which fell 57 percent in its second weekend in theaters, to earn $15 million. It was a much steeper decline than the first film, which dropped only 36 percent between its first and second weekends.
Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer 2" slid to third with $14 million in weekend two, and "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" took fourth with $12.3 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," $61.5 million ($92 million international).
2. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," $15 million ($26.6 million international).
3. "The Equalizer 2," $14 million ($1.9 million international).
4. "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation," $12.3 million ($31 million international).
5. "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies," $10.5 million ($1 million international).
6. "Ant-Man and The Wasp," $8.4 million ($11.5 million international).
7. "Incredibles 2," $7.2 million ($20 million international).
8. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $6.8 million ($10.9 million international).
9. "Skyscraper," $5.4 million ($17.7 million international).
10. "The First Purge," $2.2 million ($4.5 million international).
'Mission: Impossible - Fallout'
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
