May 27, 2019

and this happened less than ten miles from me

https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-releases/2019/Pages/Gov.-Justice-orders-state-resources-to-fight-storage-tank-fire-in-Tyler-County.aspx

Gov. Justice orders state resources to fight storage tank fire in Tyler County

5/25/2019
CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice announces this evening that he has ordered all state resources necessary to fight an ongoing natural gas storage tank fire in Tyler County.

On Saturday afternoon, lightning struck a 1 million gallon natural gas condensate storage tank owned by Dominion Resources near Friendly, WV in Tyler County. The tank is on fire, but no product has been released at this time.

Within minutes of being notified, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton advised Gov. Justice of the situation. The governor immediately ordered all assistance be made available to the crews on the ground in Tyler County.

The governor has ordered the West Virginia National Guard and West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to assist with equipment and personnel at the scene. Multiple WVDEP response teams have been dispatched and are en route to assist with the cleanup.

Local fire departments are working to suppress the fire. No injuries have been reported.

May 21, 2019

Despite national security concerns, GOP leader McCarthy blocked bipartisan bid to limit China's role

Source: Washington Post

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) blocked a bipartisan attempt to limit Chinese companies from contracting with U.S. transit systems, a move that benefited a Chinese government-backed manufacturer with a plant in his district, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

His behind-the-scenes intervention came as Congress was trying this year to craft a spending compromise to avert another government shutdown. McCarthy pressed lawmakers to strip out language that could have prevented the company in his district, BYD Motors, from winning federal contracts, and they relented because they feared imperiling the bill.

BYD Motors is a division of BYD Co., a giant Chinese manufacturer. Among other things, it makes electric buses that are often used by local governments. Stella Li, BYD Motors president, is a campaign contributor to McCarthy, and the lawmaker spoke at a ribbon cutting for BYD’s California plant in 2017.

Lawmakers frequently take a stance on legislation that could affect campaign contributors or hometown companies. But McCarthy’s intervention was striking because the close ally of President Trump sought to protect Chinese interests at a time when Trump and many lawmakers on Capitol Hill are attempting to curb Beijing’s access to U.S. markets, particularly in industries deemed vital to national security. Just last week, Trump put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a trade “blacklist” that severely restricts its access to U.S. technology.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/despite-national-security-concerns-gop-leader-mccarthy-blocked-bipartisan-bid-to-limit-chinas-role-in-us-transit/2019/05/21/24bb0f72-7813-11e9-b7ae-390de4259661_story.html?utm_term=.0f9e18ffe689

May 18, 2019

Austrian government collapses over Russia scandal

Source: Politico

Turns out Russian collusion isn’t a "witch hunt hoax" after all. At least not in Austria.

The country’s government collapsed on Saturday after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he was pulling the plug on his ruling coalition after just 17 months in office.

The move came barely 24 hours after the release of a bombshell video showing Heinz-Christian Strache, the far-right leader of his junior coalition partner, trying to trade public contracts for party donations from a woman he believed to be the wealthy niece of a Russian oligarch.

“Enough is enough,” Kurz said in a brief statement to the press from his baroque office in Vienna, describing the many challenges he faced in recent months in dealing with Strache’s Freedom Party, which despite its alignment with the chancellor’s center-right People’s Party on policy issues remained a lightning rod for criticism with its racist comments and other controversies.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/sebastian-kurz-triggers-austrian-election-after-far-right-scandal/

May 18, 2019

KISS frontman Gene Simmons delivers briefing at Pentagon that has not seen a spokesperson in year

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/media/gene-simmons-pentagon-briefing/index.html

As the frontman of KISS, Gene Simmons occupies rarefied air — a rock star who entertains arenas filled with adoring fans. On Thursday, Simmons joined another exclusive club, conducting only the second on-camera press briefing at the Department of Defense in the last year.
The only other person to stand at the Pentagon Briefing Room podium over the past year? The movie star Gerard Butler, who was there last October to promote a new movie.

It's just the latest sign of the Trump administration's ongoing marginalization of the press briefing, long a conduit through which the president and the cabinet have communicated policies and priorities to the news media and the public.

Simmons was on hand Thursday to address Department of Defense personnel and meet with outreach officials as part of a Pentagon initiative to engage the broader public with regards to military activities. He also paid a visit to the White House later in the day.

what's the term-bread and circus days

May 13, 2019

Roman numerals, anyone? Poll suggests bias against Arabic numerals

https://triblive.com/news/roman-numerals-anyone-poll-suggests-bias-against-arabic-numerals/

Who knows exactly what a new poll says about mathematics in America, but the reactions to a recent poll on the topic are a little alarming.

When CivicScience, a Pittsburgh-based market research firm, polled more than 3,200 Americans on the issue of mathematics instruction last week, 56% of the respondents said Arabic numerals should not be taught in American schools; 29% said it should be part of the curriculum, while 16% offered no opinion.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The saddest and funniest testament to American bigotry we've ever seen in our data. pic.twitter.com/Bh3FBsl8sR

— John Dick (@jdcivicscience) May 11, 2019

Did they realize we’ve been using Arabic numerals for just about everything under the sun since the founding fathers gave us 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights?

I can't anymore