June 4, 2021

Sen. Shirkey secretly profits from China while posing as a hawk and fighting transparency

(Detroit Metro Times) After Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey recovered from COVID-19 in January, he blamed the pandemic on China.

“The Chinese flu army sent in one of their best soldiers,” the Clarklake Republican said on “The Bart Hawley Show” on JTV. “His name was Rona. I’m not as young as I used to be, so he and I wrestled for nine days, but I finally pinned him.”

The tasteless quip drew strong criticism from Democrats and Chinese Americans, who admonished Shrikey for fanning the flames of racism and xenophobia. Over the past year, anti-Asian hate crimes have increased by nearly 150%, according to an analysis by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.

....(snip)....

But as Shirkey poses as a China hawk, he’s quietly profiting from the country, Metro Times has learned.

Shirkey is the founder and owner of Orbitform, an engineering company that builds assembly machines for manufacturers.

The machines are sold in China by OCS Automation Technologies Co., which registered as a limited liability company with the Chinese government in 2018. According to the company’s website, OCS stands for Orbitform’s China Sales. The company exclusively sells Orbitform machines and equipment to Chinese manufacturers. The equipment is used for auto parts, medical supplies, and industrial automation, according to a translated version of the company’s website. ..........(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2021/06/03/sen-shirkey-secretly-profits-from-china-while-posing-as-a-hawk-and-fighting-transparency#.YLo93tKCL5Y.link

June 4, 2021

Fertilizer Runoff Creates Connecticut-Sized 'Dead Zone' in Gulf

(Bloomberg) -- A so-called dead zone for marine life in the Gulf of Mexico caused in part by fertilizer runoff will be about the size of Connecticut this summer.

That’s according to a forecast by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists released Thursday. At 4,880 square miles, it’s down from a record large one in 2017, but close to the five-year average.



In the dead zone, excess nutrients from fertilizer wash out of farm fields and flow down the Mississippi River into the Gulf, promoting blooms of algae that can kill fish and marine life unable to swim out of the area. .............(more)

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/fertilizer-runoff-creates-connecticut-sized-dead-zone-in-gulf

June 3, 2021

Why a U-M professor signed a 'Statement of Concern' warning about the death of U.S. democracy

(Detroit Metro Times) To some, the events of Jan. 6 — when thousands of Pro-Trump, “stop the steal” protestors stormed the United States Capitol building as Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 elections — might have felt like a kind of last hoorah of Trumpism; the bursting of an illiberal bubble that began inflating during Trump’s meteoric rise in the 2016 election, his eventual victory, and subsequent four-year term in office.

Many questions as to what exactly transpired on Jan. 6, remain unanswered. It has since come out that there was a fair share of participants representing Michigan that day, some of whom came away with political aspirations of their own. Efforts to establish an independent commission to investigate the events of Jan. 6 were recently defeated in the U.S. Senate, after Senate Republicans, wielding the filibuster, withheld the votes needed to bring the bill up for debate. And though Democrats say they’re still interested in finding a way to proceed with an investigation, they still have not presented a clear path as to how they plan to move forward.

....(snip)....

The continuation of these threats to American democracy was the subject of a “Statement of Concern” signed by more than 100 academics Tuesday, published by New America, an organization of academics, policy experts, and public intellectuals whose goal is to provide a “civic platform that connects a research institute, technology lab, solutions network, media hub, and public forum.”

....(snip)....

Among the academics who signed Tuesday’s letter was University of Michigan Professor of Political Science Dan Slater, who says he cosigned the statement because he believes American democracy has entered “uncharted territory.”

“Since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, there's been this series of efforts at the state level especially, to roll back voting rights and to put more restrictions on street protests,” Slater tells Metro Times. “Every day you watch the ticker tape and see if there are, you know, steps in the right direction or steps in the wrong direction, and certainly, there have been a lot of moves made to take the content out of American democracy, especially in recent months, so it's really hitting what I would consider a political emergency at this point.” ............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2021/06/02/why-a-u-m-professor-signed-a-statement-of-concern-warning-about-the-death-of-us-democracy#.YLj3fex37ww.link

June 3, 2021

Missouri Amtrak service to go twice-daily again starting July 19

Jun. 2—JEFFERSON CITY — Twice-daily service on Amtrak's Missouri River Runner train between St. Louis and Kansas City will be restored on July 19.

In a joint announcement issued Wednesday, the nation's passenger rail provider and the Missouri Department of Transportation said funding from the state and the federal American Rescue Plan Act will keep the two round-trip trains running through the end of December.

Service was pared back to one train in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We appreciate the General Assembly and Gov. (Mike) Parson providing necessary resources for the Amtrak Missouri River Runner service in the state's budget as well as the additional COVID relief funds enabling us to restore this important transportation service to Missourians," MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said. "The two daily round-trip trains will be available through December covering the busiest time of the year including summer vacations, fall festivals and year-end holiday travel." ...................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21225276/mo-missouri-amtrak-service-to-go-twicedaily-again-starting-july-19

June 3, 2021

Humans are causing mass extinction at a rate not seen since the last major extinction event

(Salon) Roughly 66 million years ago, an asteroid or comet struck the planet and wiped out three-quarters of every animal and plant species alive. Known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (K–Pg), it has been immortalized in popular culture because of its association with the end of the dinosaurs' reign on Earth.

That is why scientists are hopeful that a new study regarding the rate of extinction nowadays may hammer home the urgency of our pollution problems. In an international study led by the Justus Liebig University Giessen that included geologists, paleontologists, evolutionary biologists and many others, researchers found that in some cases, man-made factors are causing an extinction rate that surpasses that of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

The study, which was published last month in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, closely analyzed past extinction rates for freshwater animals and plants, then used that information to extrapolate likely future extinction rates. They discovered that the average predicated rate for freshwater animals and plants today is three orders of magnitude higher than it was during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. If current trends continue unabated, one-third of all freshwater species alive today may be forever gone by 2120.

If that happens, we can expect that the damage to our freshwater ecosystem — which, inevitably, has an impact on ecosystems everywhere else on the planet — will be effectively permanent.

"Our results indicate that, unless substantial conservation effort is directed to freshwater ecosystems, the present extinction crisis will have a severe impact to freshwater biota for millions of years to come," the authors write. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/01/humans-destroying-life-on-earth-faster-than-the-extinction-event-that-killed-off-dinosaurs/

June 3, 2021

Locally known white deer killed in Michigan's Lake County -- and people are outraged

(Detroit Free Press) State conservation officials are trying to track down who killed an albino deer that was found Sunday in Irons in Lake County.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials said this week in a Facebook post that the deer was shot with a crossbow out of season, likely from a road, between 5 p,m. and 7 p.m. and was found at the edge of a resident's yard.

The post sparked outrage.

Hundreds of angry and bewildered commenters said they felt the poacher was "complete evil" and "a disgrace" for killing such a rare animal that was known by local residents and should be shamed, caught, prosecuted, put behind bars — and worse. ............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/02/rare-white-deer-albino-shot-michigan/7508371002/

June 3, 2021

UK: 'Pandemic burnout' on rise as latest Covid lockdowns take toll

(Guardian UK) Psychologists are reporting a rise in “pandemic burnout” as many people find the current phase of lockdowns harder, with an increasing number feeling worn out and unable to cope.

They warn that many are finding the latest lockdown more difficult because of a realisation that coronavirus will be around longer than expected, dashed hopes about an easing of restrictions, and a period of sustained stress similar to overwork, which has prompted symptoms such as fatigue.

Data also indicates people are finding it harder to stay positive, with 60% of people in the UK saying they are finding it harder to stay positive daily compared with before the pandemic – an 8-point increase from November, an Ipsos Mori survey found.

Emma Kavanagh, a psychologist and author, said she had noticed more people reaching out over social media. “We are tired and have been doing this for a long time and we had this initial array of coping capacity and it’s simply burnt out. When you look at burnout by definition you’re talking about being too stressed for too long. There is this experience where your brain reaches capacity and goes: ‘I cannot give the same mental attention to this any more.” .................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/05/pandemic-burnout-rise-uk-latest-covid-lockdowns-take-toll

June 2, 2021

When the bison come back, will the ecosystem follow?

When the bison come back, will the ecosystem follow?
An effort to bring wild bison to the Great Plains aims to restore one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems

By LOUISE JOHNS
PUBLISHED JUNE 2, 2021 6:00PM


On a blustery October afternoon at the Wolfcrow Bison Ranch in southern Alberta, Canada, Dan Fox and his ranch hand, Man Blackplume, tried to wrestle fence panels into place despite a 60 mph wind. The next day was weaning day — and the fence needed to be rock solid so the bison calves could be separated from their mothers.

The two members of the Kainai First Nation, also known as the Blood Tribe, braced their bodies against the 12-foot-high fence panels so they could nail them to the posts, but the panels flapped in the wind like giant wooden flags. Across the pasture, 30 bison stood huddled together in the corner, unfazed by the commotion. They were part of the first bison herd to grace the Blood Reserve in 150 years, Fox says. The Kainai First Nation is one of four tribal groups within the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana.

Fox, 63, believes the animals may have helped extend his life. He experienced a cancer scare more than 20 years ago, and at the suggestion of a Blackfoot healer and naturopath, he changed his diet, replacing processed food with bison meat and other ancestral foods. His health improved, and today he says he feels better than ever. He is convinced that his family and his community will benefit, as he did, by having the buffalo back on the land and in their lives. (Bison bison is the scientific name for the animal, but buffalo is the word that most Indigenous people use.)

More importantly, he said, the bison began to teach him about his culture and what it means to be a Blackfoot. "The elders from back in the day predicted that the only way the Native people are going to start gaining ground again, their ways of life, is when the bison come back," said Fox.

...(snip)...



The bison from Elk Island that today live on a former cattle ranch on the Blackfeet Reservation are part of a wider effort led in large part by the Blackfeet Tribe and Kainai Nation to restore a free-ranging herd to tribal land on the east side of Glacier National Park. This herd would be able to roam free on both tribal and public land, and cross back and forth between the U.S. and Canada. That, anyway, is the goal. For now, they live on tribal land and are managed by the Blackfeet Nation Buffalo Program, a branch of the tribe's agriculture department that manages the herds owned by the tribe on the Blackfeet Reservation land. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/02/when-the-bison-come-back-will-the-ecosystem-follow_partner/

June 2, 2021

San Diego's high-speed rail plan hinges on urban density as population growth wanes

Two hundred miles of high-speed rail carrying electric trains moving twice as fast as the region's trolley system. A dozen new stations, including massive hubs near the downtown airport and the Tijuana border.

That's the backbone of a recently released $160-billion blueprint aimed at making public transit as fast as driving a car — which elected officials from across the San Diego region are preparing to discuss Friday.

Experts largely agree the plan's long-term success would hinge on whether cities can usher in dense urban development around transit stations, at a time when birth rates in San Diego and throughout California are declining as overall population growth has all but come to a halt.

"If new residents can live in apartments near rail, with easy walking, biking and transit access, that will be the key determinant as to whether or not this plan becomes a success," said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. .............(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21224713/ca-san-diegos-highspeed-rail-plan-hinges-on-urban-density-as-population-growth-wanes

June 2, 2021

There's a neurological reason you say "um" when you think of a word

There’s a neurological reason you say "um" when you think of a word
Disfluencies can shed light about what’s going on in the brain as we speak

By ADRIEL JOHN ORENA
PUBLISHED JUNE 2, 2021 8:30AM


Eishi Asano's latest work sheds light on those seemingly pesky words that litter our speech: uhs and ums.

As a neurologist at Wayne State University, Asano works on mapping human abilities to brain regions. One such important ability is the ability to use language. Neuroscientists have discovered that, like many little cogs in a wheel, a wide network of brain regions all work together to produce language. Certainly, the ability to communicate with others affects all aspects of life. Thus, protecting these brain regions during brain surgery is of high priority.

Asano has an opportunity few have: to study the brain in action. During a pre-surgical procedure called an electrocorticography (ECoG), an incision is made in a research participant's skull, and electrodes are placed directly on the exposed surface of their brain. He then presents them with photographs of complex scenes and asks them to describe it.

....(snip)....

Referred to as a "disfluencies" by linguists, uhs and ums are often viewed as disruptions to the flow of speech. They are littered across our speech in all contexts, whether in presentations to a large audience, or in conversations with your closest pal. Estimates vary, but one research group found that such disfluencies pop up every 4.6 seconds, on average. They are equally short and overrepresented in all languages: French speakers say euh, Mandarin speakers say 那个, and ASL signers sometimes wiggle their fingers.

But while uhs and ums may seem like accidental nonsense words, disfluencies can actually provide us a rare window onto what's going on in the brain as we speak. For example, psycholinguists (scientists who study the psychology of language) argue that disfluencies can actually convey meaning. When researchers scoured through a corpus of transcribed speech, they found that a large proportion of disfluencies arose in specific locations: before difficult-to-pronounce and difficult-to-name words, or before words that haven't been recently discussed. In short, when we need some time to think of the next word, we make use of uhs and ums. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/02/theres-a-neurological-reason-you-say-um-when-you-think-of-a-word_partner/