Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalJust a little lesson to ponder in this climate of religious hatred
There is an old tale where the rabbi was asked by one of his students “Why did God create atheists?”
After a long pause, the rabbi finally responded with a soft but sincere voice. “God created atheists” he said, “to teach us the most important lesson of them all – the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his actions are based on his sense of morality. Look at the kindness he bestows on others simply because he feels it to be right.
When someone reaches out to you for help. You should never say ‘I’ll pray that God will help you.’ Instead, for that moment, you should become an atheist – imagine there is no God who could help, and say ‘I will help you’.”
-courtesy of Marginal Mennonite Facebook group
This L.A. neighborhood's 'cool pavements' help it beat the intense heat
A 2021 study of satellite images found that California’s metro areas saw greater temperature disparities between the poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods than any other Southwestern state, with tree canopy unevenly distributed across Los Angeles County. The study also found that Latino-majority neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, like Pacoima, were 6.7 degrees hotter than neighborhoods with few Latino residents.
Pacoima ranks among the hottest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Temperatures in what is known as “The Valley” are notoriously warmer than in other parts of the city, but Pacoima also lacks tree coverage and is home to massive public housing complexes that have been shown to warm the area.
The largely working-class neighborhood of around 75,000 has also been historically impacted by a multitude of polluting industries like manufacturing, freeway construction, the nearby Whiteman Airport and a Metrolink line. Polluters like these only further impact health disparities and create heat-related illnesses.
Over the past few years, a coalition of nonprofits, community organizations and Pacoima Councilmember Monica Rodriguez’s office have come up with a plan to cool the neighborhood: a multiyear and multiphase project that was announced in 2018. It began with resurfacing 18 city blocks with a solar-reflecting coating that disperses heat. In partnership with the roofing manufacturer GAF, Pacoima’s “cool pavement” project not only reduces heat, it also brightens the community with colored pavement and vibrant murals.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/reflective-payments-cooling-heat-latinos-california-rcna141458
Probably cost-effective, too.
Education Department to open investigation into Nex Benedict's Oklahoma school district
The Department of Education is opening an investigation into whether the Oklahoma school district where the late 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict attended high school failed to appropriately respond to sex-based harassment, according to a letter obtained by NBC News on Friday.
The letter was addressed to the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBTQ rights group, which had filed a complaint with the department following Benedict's Feb. 8 death.
Benedict died a day after engaging in a fight with three other students in a school bathroom at Owasso High School, in a case that has drawn intense media attention and condemnation from LGBTQ advocates around the world.
In its complaint, the HRC called on the Department of Education to investigate the district for failing “to address the discrimination and harassment to which Nex was subjected” and to determine whether the district violated Title IX, a landmark civil rights law that protects people from gender-based discrimination in education programs funded by the federal government.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/education-department-opens-investigation-nex-benedicts-oklahoma-school-rcna141469
Why the hell isn't the DOJ there? Garland? Garland? [crickets]
Iranian singer who won Grammy for Mahsa Amini protest anthem is sentenced to prison in Iran
An Iranian singer who won a Grammy presented by U.S. first lady Jill Biden has been sentenced to more than three years in prison over his anthem supporting the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
Shervin Hajipour posted on Instagram on Friday, the same day that Iran held its parliamentary election, what appeared to be part of the judgment against him.
It said Hajipour received a three-year, eight-month sentence on charges of “propaganda against the system” and “encouraging people to protest.” The court issued its sentence in part because it found he hadn’t properly expressed regret over publishing the song.
It also imposed a two-year travel ban and ordered him to create a song about “U.S. crimes,” as well as make posts about those crimes online.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iranian-singer-won-grammy-mahsa-amini-protest-anthem-sentenced-prison-rcna141499
Wanna bet how soon that new song will be coming?
Texans reeling from wildfires assess catastrophic damages, impact on cattle industry
From residents to ranchers, Texans are grappling with the ongoing devastation stemming from some of the biggest wildfires in the state’s history.
On Saturday, fires continued to burn throughout parts of northern Texas, much of which are considered cattle country. The wildfires have destroyed as many as 500 homes and structures, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. At least two people have died.
In a Facebook video on the Texas A&M Forest Service’s Incident Information page, Blue Team Operations Section Chief Mike Brod said his team remained vigilant as red flag warnings from the National Weather Service remained in effect Saturday for the entire Panhandle region.
According to the weather service, an increased risk of fire danger in northern Texas remains Saturday due to warm temperatures, very low humidities and strong winds.
"Given the critical weather that’s predicted for today, we do anticipate additional fire activity and we’re prioritizing our suppression efforts on the areas of the highest concern," Brod said Saturday morning.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texans-reeling-wildfires-assess-catastrophic-damages-impact-cattle-ind-rcna141507
My friend who lives near Pampa reported that they lost almost all their cattle. She said "We can start from here," but this will take them a long time. The pastures are all burnt to hell.
Why a financial regulator is going after health care debt
When President Barack Obama signed legislation in 2010 to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he said the new agency had one priority: "looking out for people, not big banks, not lenders, not investment houses."
Since then, the CFPB has done its share of policing mortgage brokers, student loan companies, and banks. But as the U.S. health care system turns tens of millions of Americans into debtors, this financial watchdog is increasingly working to protect beleaguered patients, adding hospitals, nursing homes, and patient financing companies to the list of institutions that regulators are probing.
In the past two years, the CFPB has penalized medical debt collectors, issued stern warnings to health care providers and lenders that target patients, and published reams of reports on how the health care system is undermining the financial security of Americans.
In its most ambitious move to date, the agency is developing rules to bar medical debt from consumer credit reports, a sweeping change that could make it easier for Americans burdened by medical debt to rent a home, buy a car, even get a job. Those rules are expected to be unveiled later this year.
"Everywhere we travel, we hear about individuals who are just trying to get by when it comes to medical bills," said Rohit Chopra, the director of the CFPB whom President Joe Biden tapped to head the watchdog agency in 2021.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/01/1234998635/why-a-financial-regulator-is-going-after-health-care-debt
And that "debt" might not even be accurate! Case in point--UVA double-billed me for something I'd already paid, then sold my already-paid bill to a collection agency!
Gay, lesbian and intersex whales: our queer sea has much to teach us
Whales are extraordinarily sensuous creatures. Those blubbery bodies are highly sensitive, and sensitised. At social meetings, pods of sperm, humpback and right whales will roll around one another’s bodies for hours at a time. I’ve seen a group of right whales engaged in foreplay and penetration lasting an entire morning.
I have also watched a male-female couple so blissfully conjoined that they appeared unbothered by our little fishing boat as they passed underneath it. And in what may sound like a career of cetacean voyeurism, I have also been caught up in a fast-moving superpod of dusky dolphins continually penetrating each other at speed, regardless of the gender of their partner.
That’s why this week’s report of the first scientifically documented male-to-male sexual interactions between two humpback whales off the coast of Hawaii is not surprising.
The remarkable image of a two-metre whale penis entering another male “leaves little room for discussion that there is a sexual component to such behaviour”, as one whale scientist, Jeroen Hoekendijk at the Wageningen Marine Research institute in the Netherlands, notes drily.
In fact, one of the whales was ailing and there has been speculation that the encounter may not have been consensual or that the healthy whale was actually giving comfort to the other. Whatever the truth, such “flagrant” acts also expose many of our human presumptions about sexuality, gender and identity.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/documented-sex-male-humpback-whales-gay-lesbian-nonbinary-queer-cetaceans-sexuality
If Moms for Liberty hear about this, they will have all have massive strokes.
News from my friend in the Texas panhandle
I have been worried about her since I first heard about the fires. She lives with her husband on a ranch a few miles from Pampa. Her parents also live there in their own house. I messaged her as soon as I heard about it. I finally heard from her today. Here's what she said in part:
"The fires burned about 80% of our place, including everything all around the houses. But our houses are still standing. We lost nearly
all our cattle. But saved all the horses
...We can start from here."
What she doesn't say but I know is that her dad had to pretty much retire from the hard work of ranching during Covid after he had a second heart attack and her mom is battling multiple myeloma. Her husband, who like mine is, or was, a geek for a living, lost his job during the pandemic, so he took over the hard work of the ranch from her dad.
I know we all have negative feelings about Texas, and some have even expressed them here (including "they deserved it"
, but before we go too far, let's remember that there are real people there, and some of us know them, who are badly affected by these fires. If you are so moved, say a prayer to the universe or to God or whatever for them. They're hurting right now.
The Transportation Department proposes new rules for how airlines handle wheelchairs
Travelers who use wheelchairs have long complained that airlines frequently damage or lose them.
Now the Biden administration is trying to change that by proposing new standards for how airlines must accommodate passengers with disabilities.
"Transportation is still inaccessible for far too many people, and that's certainly true for aviation," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters. "This is about making sure that all Americans can travel safely and with dignity."
The proposed rule, announced Thursday, would make mishandling of wheelchairs an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act — making it easier to hold airlines accountable when they damage or delay the return of a wheelchair, Buttigieg said.
The rule would mandate that airlines provide more training for employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers' wheelchairs and other mobility devices. In addition, it would require airlines to provide prompt assistance to passengers with disabilities when boarding and deplaning.
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234708784/airlines-wheelchairs-damaged-disabilities-transportation-department
A start, but not enough. Thanks, though, Secretary Pete!
Exclusive: Musk's Neuralink brain implant company cited by FDA over animal lab issues
U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found problems with record keeping and quality controls for animal experiments at Elon Musk's Neuralink, less than a month after the startup said it was cleared to test its brain implants in humans, according to an agency report reviewed by Reuters.
The inspectors identified quality control lapses at the company's California animal research facility. A similar inspection at Neuralink's Texas facility did not find problems, according to agency records.
Those visits took place last year from June 12-22, and represent the FDA's sole inspections of Neuralink facilities on record. The inspector reports were shared with Reuters by Redica Systems, opens new tab, a data analytics company that obtains FDA compliance reports through open records requests.
"These issues show a lack of attention to detail," said Jerry L. Chapman, a senior quality expert with Redica Systems.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-finds-problems-animal-lab-run-by-musks-brain-implant-company-2024-02-29/
Funny thing, we haven't heard anything from the human patient the implant was placed in either.
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Virginia
Member since: Wed Jun 1, 2011, 07:34 PM
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