October 3, 2022

Dem Senator Targets Gun Group Over Its Secret Gun Registry

Daily Beast
Jose Pagliery, Political Investigations Reporter
Published Oct. 03, 2022

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is taking aim at a gun industry association for the way it engaged in a tax-dodging “voter education” scheme that also violated a core tenet of Second Amendment enthusiasts: compiling a detailed database of gun buyers.

The Daily Beast has obtained a letter, which Blumenthal sent to the National Shooting Sports Foundation on Friday, calling out the association for allegedly amassing a list of gun owners and what types of guns they own—all to further its voter influence campaigns.

NSSF is made up of the nation’s largest gun makers and once had a running political campaign deal with Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct British data analytics company caught meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Blumenthal’s letter cites damning details that were exposed when Cambridge Analytica emails were leaked two years ago but received little attention at the time.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dem-senator-richard-blumenthal-targets-gun-group-national-shooting-sports-foundation-over-secret-gun-registry?ref=home

IOW, They can have a (secret) gun owner registry, but we, the people, can't demand registration of firearms.

September 22, 2022

Yum. Nyquil fried chicken

Serve with a side of buttered Tide Pods

September 21, 2022

Washington Monument Vandalized With Red Paint, Profanity

By NBC Washington Staff • Published September 21, 2022

A man was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly dumping a bucket of paint and writing profanities on the Washington Monument.

U.S. Park Police officers arrested the man, whose name has not been released, at around 7:30 p.m. Video showed red paint on the Monument and profanities on one of the walls.

The motive of the vandalism was not immediately clear.

The base was expected to remain closed for a few overnight hours as an investigation continues, and National Park Service said crews were preparing to begin work "first thing in the morning" Wednesday.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/washington-monument-vandalized-with-red-paint-profanities/3162201/

September 15, 2022

Team Putin Threatens Maniacal Response to Bitter War Losses

This is precisely why I'm worried about Russia telling Russians to leave Crimea. Why are they telling their people to get out? Are they planning to do something awful there?

Daily Beast
Julia Davis
Published Sep. 15, 2022 4:47AM

The humiliating defeats of Russia’s Armed Forces in Ukraine are prompting the Kremlin’s mouthpieces to propose increasingly violent tactics. Lobbying for a “scorched earth” policy on state television, Russian pundits and expert guests have been openly comparing the Ukrainian battleground to Chechnya, Syria, and even the infamous Beslan school massacre, where Russian special forces killed many hostages along with their terrorist captors.

Appearing on Wednesday’s broadcast of the state TV show 60 Minutes, military expert Igor Korotchenko said: “This is a new reality, which is why we should be acting quickly, harshly and uncompromisingly. First of all, we need to scale up our strikes against critical infrastructure in such a way that one region after the next, one district after another, Ukraine is plunged into darkness... By December, 20 million residents of Ukraine should flee to the West, to the European Union. This is our goal and the task we should accomplish.”

Korotchenko proposed: “Perhaps we should openly declare: ‘Leave. Zelensky is turning this territory into a real hell. No one knows what will happen here next. Twenty million, go to Europe.’ After that, we sink region after region into darkness. This is our enemy nation, the modern Third Reich, and we should act accordingly.”

Similar proposals permeated Russian airwaves, with experts arguing that the rules of the civilized world prohibiting war crimes are merely recommendations, compliance with which is optional. On Monday, appearing on The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Andrey Sidorov, deputy dean of world politics at the Moscow State University, explained why those international conventions are irrelevant: “The rules of war, according to international conventions, are of an advisory nature: not to strike [certain objects], if possible. But it’s no longer possible.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-state-media-threatens-scorched-earth-response-to-bitter-losses-in-ukraine?ref=home

September 14, 2022

'We Have Nowhere to Run,' Says Russian Soldier in Kharkiv

Allison Quinn
News Editor
Daily Beast

As Russian defense officials on Tuesday stayed mum on new defeats in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, a Russian soldier was caught calling home to tell his family the Russians are “losing” and have no way out.

That’s according to audio released by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, which said it had intercepted a phone call between the soldier based in Kharkiv and his father.

“What’s up, how are things?” the father asks, prompting the blunt response: “Everything’s bad, pop.”

“We’re losing, definitely, on top of that,” his son explains.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/we-have-nowhere-to-run-says-russian-soldier-in-ukraines-kharkiv?ref=home

September 8, 2022

The future queen volunteered in the Auxiliary Transport Service in WW2

Excerpt from the Evening-Standard, May 2020:

Newspapers at the time dubbed her “Princess Auto Mechanic” and reported that the King had ordered that she ‘is to be treated exactly the same as any other student officer, with no special privileges because of personal rank.’

Pictures and videos show her dressed in a boiler suit working on a car engine, pulling out spark plugs and in her smart ATS uniform as she drove a truck.

Princess Elizabeth learned to tear apart, repair and build engines and additionally learned to drive a number of different military vehicles, including trucks and ambulances.
https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/royals/queen-elizabeth-world-war-two-mechanic-ve-day-a4432841.html

I think this is one of the coolest things about the late Queen.

August 20, 2022

Florida Man Shot Dead After Climbing Into Stranger's Bed With Machete, Whispering 'I Love You'

Daily Beast
Dan Ladden-Hall
News Correspondent
Updated Aug. 19, 2022 10:08AM ET
Published Aug. 19, 2022 9:56AM ET

A Florida man was shot dead Thursday after breaking into a stranger’s house, getting into bed with the homeowner, and saying “I love you” while wielding a machete, authorities said.

The victim was asleep in an apartment attached to his home in Fruitville, Florida, when the bizarre ordeal began. The unnamed homeowner woke up to find the intruder lying next to him with a machete belonging to the victim. The armed man—who authorities have not identified—was whispering his sweet nothings to the victim when he woke him up.

“I have an intruder that broke into my home,” the victim told 911 dispatchers, Fox 35 reports. “He’s got a damn machete and he’s a little whacked.”

The victim added: “I woke up on a mattress and there’s a guy lying next to me saying, ‘I love you.’ I’m weirded out. He’s got my machete in his hand.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/fruitville-florida-man-shot-dead-after-creeping-into-strangers-bed-with-machete-sarasota-officials-say?ref=home

I just want, to slay, I love you

August 19, 2022

PFAS: Possible breakthrough to destroy harmful 'forever chemicals'

Chemists have identified how to destroy "forever chemicals" in a low-cost way for the first time, new research says.

By Esme Stallard
BBC News Climate and Science

Scientists have linked exposure to the substances, known as PFAS, at certain levels to serious health risks, including cancer and birth defects.

Their resistance to water, oil and stains make them highly useful. PFAS are used in hundreds of everyday objects from frying pans to make-up.

But it is these properties that make them so difficult to destroy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62561756

Sodium hydroxide, aka lye, isn't completely harmless, but if it can be used to decompose PFAs I'm all for it.

August 9, 2022

NJ pizza trends

We're visiting in NJ this week and found some unusual new types of pizza. These were on the menu at a place in North Brunswick. (We got the margherita pizza and it was wonderful).

Grandma pizzas - 16 inch square thin crusts

Bruschetta pizza: red sauce, tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella

Chicken, Bacon and Ranch pizza

Chicken Fingers and Fries pizza

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, which actually includes romaine lettuce.


There was an article about these trends in the Star-Ledger recently:

https://www.nj.com/food/2022/08/the-10-new-jersey-pizza-trends-currently-driving-me-insane.html

July 21, 2022

Pesticide made us sterile, banana workers say

Horrifying

BBC News

Tens of thousands of former banana workers say they were made sterile by a pesticide used by US companies on plantations in Latin America in the 1970s.

The United States restricted and then banned its use on the US mainland because of the health risks, but workers in Central America and South America continued to be exposed to it. Grace Livingstone reports from Panama on the workers' decades-long battle for justice.

....

Across Panama, there are more than 1,100 former banana workers who say that a pesticide used by United Fruit on the plantations made them sterile.

The pesticide, called Di-bromochloropropane or DBCP, targets microscopic worms that damaged banana plants. But it can also affect men's fertility.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62120058