March 3, 2019

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this, lapfog_1.

Looks like a really good read. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside

March 3, 2019

Carpocalypse now: Lyft's founders are right -- we're in the endgame for cars

Carpocalypse now: Lyft's founders are right — we're in the endgame for cars
Jim Edwards Mar 3, 2019, 4:44 AM

The founders of the ride-sharing app Lyft filed their IPO papers last week, and their vision for the company is dramatic. Lyft (which works a bit like Uber) is not just about getting you from A to B, they say. Rather, founders Logan Green and John Zimmer believe that car ownership is in permanent decline and they want to help it die, they write in their S-1 filing.

"We believe that the world is at the beginning of a shift away from car ownership to Transportation-as-a-Service, or TaaS. Lyft is at the forefront of this massive societal change," they told investors. "Car ownership has ... economically burdened consumers. US households spend more on transportation than on any expenditure other than housing. ... On a per household basis, the average annual spend on transportation is over $9,500, with the substantial majority spent on car ownership and operation."

Cars create "inequality," they argue. "The average cost of a new vehicle in the United States has increased to over $33,000, which most American households cannot afford," the IPO says. "We estimate over 300,000 Lyft riders have given up their personal cars because of Lyft."

They may be right.

Snip.

Much more at the link.

http://www.businessinsider.com/carpocalypse-cars-automobile-sales-data-us-europe-2019-3

March 2, 2019

I watched the televised bombs and cried my paleontology, archaeology,

ancient sociology loving eyes out that night. As far as I'm concerned, civilization died that day.

March 2, 2019

You are not correct.

Essure is my best example. Medical devices including hips and knees are not regulated. I have more than five years of research on Essure. It has been a long struggle but as of this year it will be pulled from the market after 10's of thousands of complaints of harm, including still births and deaths. Lawsuits are pending.

https://essureproblems.webs.com/

There is no law protecting you from a toxic implant. None.

Esisters are working on that project for you, too.

http://www.medicaldeviceproblems.com/

You're welcome.

March 2, 2019

Build a Border Wall? Here's What Border Communities Say They Want Instead

Build a Border Wall? Here’s What Border Communities Say They Want Instead
For many of us who actually live along the U.S.-Mexico border, the “Mesquite Manifesto” addresses economic and climate problems by building up industry around the native tree.
/image
A man on the Mexican side chops trees beside the U.S.-Mexico border wall near the Morley Gate Border Station in Nogales, Arizona on October 13, 2016.

Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Gary Paul Nabhan posted Feb 25, 2019
OPINION

President Trump has declared a national emergency to fund a wall along our nation’s southern border. The border wall issue has bitterly divided people across the United States, becoming a vivid symbol of political deadlock.

But for many of us who actually live along the U.S.-Mexico border, the wall is simply beside the point. We know that a wall can’t fix the problems that straddle the boundary between our nations; nor will it build on our shared strengths. So a group of us—ranchers, farmers, conservationists, chefs, carpenters, small business owners, and public-health professionals from both sides of the border—have come up with a better idea. We call it the Mesquite Manifesto.

Our plan would tackle the root causes of problems that affect border communities on both sides. While the media have fixated on the difficult conditions in Mexico (and other Central American nations) that propel immigrants northward, real problems are on the U.S. side, too. The poverty rate in this region is twice as high as for the nation as a whole, and joblessness drives many into the lucrative drug trade. Poor diets and inadequate health care contribute to high rates of disease: Nearly one-third of those who live along the border suffer from diabetes. And a rapidly growing population, along with rising demand from industry and agriculture, is stressing the region’s limited water supply—a problem made worse by the changing climate.

To address these problems and build a sustainable future for the region as a whole, we look to mesquite, the iconic native tree that grows in every county and municipio along the border. Its gnarly branches have provided food, fuel, medicine, shade, and shelter to indigenous communities in the borderlands for more than eight millennia.
...snip...

More at the link.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/build-a-border-wall-heres-what-border-communities-say-they-want-instead-20190225

March 2, 2019

Thanks for sharing this, mahatmakanejeeves.

We're lucky, the farm is literally on one of the two highest points in the county. The Army Corps of Engineers came out and buried a granite marker noting the elevation. We still had a lousy bean crop this year because of the rain from the storms, even on higher ground. We do no till rotation and it's been a losing game the last few years due to storms. We just broke a yearly precipitation record.

I feel for those who have less fortunate circumstances. We are seriously considering container farming, even with our traditionally fertile soil. Others may not have the flexibility. Years of subsidies have hurt us in some ways, making us dependent on the seasonal dole. Suicides are up worldwide, in the farming community.

I recommend folks start learning how to grow their own food. Just in case. I recommend indoor tabletop gardens. The sprouts or shoots of most foods are just as nutritionally rich as the fruit. For example, squash sprouts instead of the actual squash.

Looking at the map one sees Engelhard is in the tidal creek basin right on the coast, literally.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelhard,_North_Carolina

A statement from a climate science lecture on farming, I went to, sticks in my head to this day. As the scientist giving the lecture, getting seemingly frustrated with the various questions we were asking, said "All you need to know is that the dry places will get drier and the wet places, wetter. That's all you need to know."

Envision that worldwide and that's what's coming.

Thanks again for your post. ❤

March 1, 2019

The New Art of Making Friends and Finding Community Even as researchers find loneliness is epidemic

The New Art of Making Friends and Finding Community
Even as researchers find loneliness is epidemic, people young and old are relearning how to hang out.

Julia Hotz posted Feb 25, 2019
As I wait for my first guest, I wonder what sort of characters would sign up for this.

“This” is LokPal—a local cooking workshop, premised on strangers “sharing a meal and sharing a bond.”

Then Abby arrives, wearing cherry-red lipstick as bright as her smile. As I hand over her name tag and prepare to ask the usual barrage of small-talk questions, Abby makes the first move, deftly breaking the ice with tales of her kindergarten classroom.

Next is Tania, a marketing specialist with the down-to-earth manner characteristic of England’s “North.” She’s followed by Sana, an Indian woman with unending enthusiasm and a penchant for vegetarian cooking. Stanley arrives, and then Doris, two salt-and-pepper-haired strangers radiating a gentleness that makes you feel you’ve known them for years. Last is Alex, whose serious face stands in stark contrast to his neon-yellow jacket and quirky sense of humor.

...snip...

More at the link. https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/dirt/the-new-art-of-making-friends-and-finding-community-20190225

March 1, 2019

Which Democrats Are Running In 2020 -- And Which Still Might

Which Democrats Are Running In 2020 — And Which Still Might

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/689980506/which-democrats-are-running-in-2020-and-which-still-might

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/689980506/which-democrats-are-running-in-2020-and-which-still-might


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Each candidate has an overview. Great article, imo.

February 28, 2019

Transatlantic Working Group Seeks to Address Harmful Content Online

Transatlantic Working Group Seeks to Address Harmful Content Online

The dissemination of misinformation and disinformation in politics has been around for as long as democracy. But the weaponizing of it, its viral proliferation, and the manipulation of the voting climate during the U.S. and European election seasons are compelling a more urgent focus on the issue on both sides of the Atlantic.

Similarly, as incidents of terrorism and hate crimes spread across the United States and Europe, digital platforms, governments, and civil society are all grappling with how to address abuse of the internet from hate speech and violent extremism without chilling freedom of expression.

Recognizing this as a transatlantic problem, today leaders on both sides of the Atlantic announced formation of the Transatlantic High Level Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression. The group brings together more than two dozen leaders in politics, academia, business, technology and civil society to examine existing and proposed policies and identify best practices in reducing hate speech, violent extremism, and viral deception online while protecting free speech and a vibrant global internet.

The Transatlantic Working Group, or TWG, is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and the Institute for Information Law (IViR), which is affiliated with the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. In addition, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington, D.C., has approved a grant in support of the research and public outreach of the TWG, as part of the Dutch government’s commitment to advancing freedom of expression, a fundamental human right that is essential to democracy.

More at the link.

https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/transatlantic-working-group-address-harmful-content-online-protect-freedom-speech/

February 27, 2019

Jessy Matador

Décalé Gwada" is the first single by Jessy Matador, from his debut album Afrikan New Style.

Released June 2008

Lyrics
El matador de la selesla kimpala kimpala
décalé gwada vou alé ou pa vou alé dansé
O lo cotomo colo colo colo colo cotomo colo
a si komo kaché komo kaché komo kaché a zigidin
Chélébouka, chélébouka chéléboukatou, kdzéguédéee
Tda, toumé, tda toumé, tsa, mtsa ka zéguedé taktak dzégué taktak
On est là pour faire le show
Est-ce que vous voulez chauffer
On est pour metre l'ambience
Est-ce que vous voulez danser
Alez décalé-gwada sou, sou
Ka décalé-gwada, décalé-gwada
Décalé-gwada sou, sou, ka décalé-gwada sou, sou, mé
On va, décalé-gwada sou, sou ka décalé-gwada, décalé-gwada
Décalé-gwada sou, sou
Ka décalé-gwada sousoou, méé
Haa é saka maché doudou
Hein, koba peti calin partou
É saka maché doudou
Koba peti doudou
Alez décalé-gwada sou, sou
Ka décalé-gwada décalé-gwada
Décalé-gwada sou,
Sou
Alez sur le coté, sur le coté
A sur le coté, a sur le coté
Alé konami, tsonami, konami
Tsonami, konamie, tsonami, ko
Ha caméra, caméra filmé
Ha caméra, caméra zoumé
Ha caméra, camera filmé
Caméra tourné, caméra zoumé
Alez tourné bébé
A tourné bébé, a tourné bébé
A daléla daléla
Daléla daléla, daléla henn
A chokanawa, choké
A chokanawa, kodiwiii
Ko chokanawa choké
Chokanawa choké
Alé konawa choo, kanawa choo
Kanawa choo, kodiwiii
Ko cho, kanawa cho kanawa cho
Tout le monde
On va laissé passé
Ka na fatigué
Kalikoté
Faut pa te facher
Toi la, toi la, toi la, toi la
Tu a koa
Toi la, toi la, toi la, toi la
Tu a koa
Alé piton, alé piton, alé piton
Alé montre moi ta tete de piton
Alé montre moi ta tete de piton
Alé moi ta tete de piton
Faut pas fuire
Ya pa serpent
Alé montre ta tete de piton
Alé piton, alé piton
On va r'gardé
Gauche, droite
Centre, pied
Alé dansé le dindon
Dansé le dindon
Dansé le dindon
Kabata zouuu
Mamahéé safé mal
Mamahé esala pasi
Mamahé safé mal
Mamahé
Kéyo ko sokanilé
Yéba yéba yéba hé
Kitoko lamou sapa hié
Yéba, yabé, yabé hé
On va démaré
C'est gagné
Yéba, yéba, yaba, héé
Songwriters: Jessy Kimbangi
Decale Gwada lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Can anyone translate this?