work by Yuko Shimizu
Friday, March 29, 2019
All In One
World Economic Forum: These are all the world's major religions in one map
Buddhism is the majority religion in South East Asia and Japan.
China is the country with the world's largest 'atheist/agnostic' population (grey) as well as worshippers of 'other' religions.
Rachel Maddow - Low President Donald Trump Credibility Necessitates Mueller Report's Release
Low credibility = he's a pathological liar
It's In The Genes
NY Times: At 71, She’s Never Felt Pain or Anxiety. Now Scientists Know Why. By Heather Murphy
In a paper published Thursday in The British Journal of Anaesthesia, researchers attributed Ms. Cameron’s virtually pain-free life to a mutation in a previously unidentified gene. The hope, they say, is that the finding could eventually contribute to the development of a novel pain treatment. They believe this mutation may also be connected to why Ms. Cameron has felt little anxiety or fear throughout her life and why her body heals quickly.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +142 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Corporate America loves deregulation. Then why is it pushing for these rules? By Matt Egan
CNN: Corporate America loves deregulation. Then why is it pushing for these rules? By Matt Egan
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Funded
Cutting funding for the Special Olympics should never have been on the chopping block to begin with. Do we applaud Trump for reversing something that should never have been attempted in the first place? No, we do not applaud Trump because Devos is Trump's miserable appointee. The attempted de-funding of the Special Olympics was on Trump's head. This is like saying you were going to burn down your neighbors house and getting applauded for not doing it. What a ridiculous miserable low bar this godawful Trump administration has set.
Politics
Is there any question that Barr is playing politics? Of course he's playing politics, Barr is a cleaner, he's brought in to clean up the mess. Barr thinks he's brilliant because he does this service for the GOP but he's merely hiding under the umbrella of extraordinary powers he clearly does not deserve.
The Daily Beast: Mueller Report’s 300 Pages Could Reveal If Barr Is Playing Politics - The attorney general’s summary raises more questions than it answered, from ‘no collusion’ to the special counsel’s decision not to decide on obstruction. by Barbara McQuade
The Daily Beast: Mueller Report’s 300 Pages Could Reveal If Barr Is Playing Politics - The attorney general’s summary raises more questions than it answered, from ‘no collusion’ to the special counsel’s decision not to decide on obstruction. by Barbara McQuade
Opiods
Guardian UK: Purdue's opioid settlement set to herald barrage of lawsuits against big pharma - Oklahoma chooses to settle for $270m over Purdue’s criminal marketing of OxyContin – but more lawsuits are likely to come
...a barrage of civil lawsuits in the pipeline against not only Purdue but dozens of drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies as cities and states seek billions of dollars from those they blame for the biggest drug epidemic in US history.
Trumpville
NY Times: Bad Times in Trumpville - Our president messes up his own good news. By Gail Collins
The Republicans have no health care plan or even a plan about how to get one. Trying to get rid of Obamacare had been their most humiliating failure in the two years they controlled the White House and Congress. Last thing in the world they want to bring up.
Abortion
NY Times: The Flood of Court Cases That Threaten Abortion - Republican presidents sought judges who could be counted on to oppose abortion. The voices of those judges come through clearly in cases now making their way to the Supreme Court. By Linda Greenhouse
Red states are competing with one another to enact abortion restrictions that, while flagrantly unconstitutional under current law, could provide opportunities for the newly composed Supreme Court to reopen the issue.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +11 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open slightly higher.
CNN: Daimler and Geely team up; Brexit deadlock; Bayer damages By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Daimler and Geely team up; Brexit deadlock; Bayer damages By Ivana Kottasová
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Join The Club Barbara
Market Watch: Barbara Bush was counting down the days until Trump left office - The late first lady kept a countdown clock for the time left in Trump’s first term at her bedside, according to a new book
For example, she no longer considered herself a Republican at the end of her life, and she blamed President Donald Trump for her heart problems...
Chopped
Modern life lessons learned
If I’m ever invited to appear on ‘Chopped’, and I have no idea why that would happen since I’m not a chef, but if it did happen there’s one thing I do know. That would be to never, ever, ever make risotto on ‘Chopped’. Making risotto on ‘Chopped’ is the kiss of death, make risotto and you’re guaranteed to be chopped. It’s like the equivalent of skinny jeans on a 60 year old guy, risotto on ‘Chopped’. When I see some aspiring bright eyed chef going for the risotto, I throw up my hands in disbelief. I'm screaming, haven’t you learned anything about life, do not make risotto on ‘Chopped’. It’s a golden rule.
If I’m ever invited to appear on ‘Chopped’, and I have no idea why that would happen since I’m not a chef, but if it did happen there’s one thing I do know. That would be to never, ever, ever make risotto on ‘Chopped’. Making risotto on ‘Chopped’ is the kiss of death, make risotto and you’re guaranteed to be chopped. It’s like the equivalent of skinny jeans on a 60 year old guy, risotto on ‘Chopped’. When I see some aspiring bright eyed chef going for the risotto, I throw up my hands in disbelief. I'm screaming, haven’t you learned anything about life, do not make risotto on ‘Chopped’. It’s a golden rule.
Maria Butina
Guardian UK: True romance? The intriguing tale of the Russian agent and her Republican lover - Was Maria Butina’s involvement with an eccentric political operative true love – or, as prosecutors allege, a facade to help the Kremlin infiltrate America’s conservative elite?
If anything, the love story between a gun-loving Russian covert agent and a conservative activist cum alleged fraudster, reads like a Coen brothers movie.
Brexit Is Flailing
Guardian UK: EU cannot betray 'increasing majority' who want UK to remain, says Tusk - EC president hails those who marched against Brexit and revoke article 50 petitioners
“Let me be clear: such thinking is unacceptable. You cannot betray the 6 million people who signed the petition to revoke article 50, the 1 million people who marched for a people’s vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union.”
Muddy
NY Times: The Patriot’s Guide to Election Fraud - Dan McCready was a starry-eyed novice. Then his House race in North Carolina was stolen. By Frank Bruni
But when one side behaves despicably, he asked, how do you not call it and them out as passionately as you can? How do you keep the faith? “The way these two things come together — it’s muddy,” he said.
Ending The ACA
NY Times: Why Trump’s New Push to Kill Obamacare Is So Alarming - It’s not just the potential damage to the health care system and the people who depend on it. It’s also the threat, in the administration’s legal logic, to the rule of law. By Nicholas Bagley - Mr. Bagley is a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
In a stunning two-sentence letter to a federal appeals court, the Justice Department announced on Monday that it would now seek the invalidation of the entire Affordable Care Act — every last one of its thousands of provisions.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +15 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open slightly higher.
CNN: Southwest Airlines says Boeing's 737 Max groundings are hurting sales By Chris Isidore
CNN: Southwest Airlines says Boeing's 737 Max groundings are hurting sales By Chris Isidore
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Filter
Imagine a damning report had been written about me. Several years went into this report, thousands of subpoenas and testimony and dozens of people implicated in the report are now facing prison terms. Here's a salient sentence from the report written about me.
"We have found that Jim committed extortion, money laundering, bank fraud, and we have not found that he has committed murder in fact he is innocent of that particular charge."
Now let's run that sentence through the eye of an unnamed powerful attorney who has prepared a brief synopsis of the report. The attorney works for the same people that employ Jim.
Here's the attorney filtered report - "Jim...is innocent..."
See how that works.
"We have found that Jim committed extortion, money laundering, bank fraud, and we have not found that he has committed murder in fact he is innocent of that particular charge."
Now let's run that sentence through the eye of an unnamed powerful attorney who has prepared a brief synopsis of the report. The attorney works for the same people that employ Jim.
Here's the attorney filtered report - "Jim...is innocent..."
See how that works.
Huh?
This headline reads like satire from The Onion except, it's not.
Guardian UK: Nasa cancels all-female spacewalk, citing lack of spacesuit in right size - Space agency blames shortage of outerwear after first-of-its-kind mission falls through
Guardian UK: Nasa cancels all-female spacewalk, citing lack of spacesuit in right size - Space agency blames shortage of outerwear after first-of-its-kind mission falls through
Emergency
NY Times: Our Constitutional Emergency - As the House attempts to override President Trump’s first veto, we the people aren’t holding up our end of the bargain, either. By Greg Weiner Mr. Weiner is a political scientist and was a senior Senate aide to Bob Kerrey, Democrat of Nebraska.
During the June 1788 convention at which Virginia ratified the Constitution, Patrick Henry, a critic of the proposed government, accused James Madison, its foremost defender, of failing to protect against corrupt or lawless politicians. “Is there no virtue among us?” Madison replied. “If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks — no form of government can render us secure.”
Revenge
NY Times: Trump and Republicans Seek to Turn the Tables in Post-Mueller Washington - ‘Release as Much as Possible,’ Graham Says About Mueller Report
President Trump and his Republican allies went on the offensive on Monday, vowing to pursue and even punish those responsible for the Russia investigation now that the special counsel has wrapped up without implicating him or his campaign in a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +132 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Uber buys Careem; Airbus' big win; US housing data By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Uber buys Careem; Airbus' big win; US housing data By Ivana Kottasová
Monday, March 25, 2019
RIP Jeremy Richman
Two young survivors from Parkland and now a dad from Sandy Hook have taken their lives in the past week. Let's remember that FOX world called the survivors who spoke out on gun violence, crisis actors. FOX world should be pleased with itself. Don't hold your breath waiting for an apology or some type or change from FOX world.
CNN: The father of a Sandy Hook victim dies from an apparent suicide By Holly Yan
CNN: The father of a Sandy Hook victim dies from an apparent suicide By Holly Yan
Corrupt
Guardian UK: No collusion, plenty of corruption: Trump is not in the clear by Richard Wolffe
Assume that the Trump administration – which lies so easily and so often on matters big and small – can tell the truth about the Mueller investigation. Forget the cover-up about separating families at the border and jailing children. Pretend it has fully embraced the death toll of more than 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Imagine Trump’s inauguration crowds really were exceptionally large.
War
NY Times: Trump Declares Exoneration, and a War on His Enemies By Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman
Mr. Gidley dismissed questions about why the president claimed to have been exonerated when the report did not say that. “Prosecutors don’t exonerate; they prosecute,” he said. “They don’t prove a negative. That’s just silly.”
Short
NY Times: Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction by Mark Mazzetti and Katie Benner
He cautioned, however, that Mr. Mueller’s report states that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him” on the obstruction of justice issue.
The Market On Monday
Good morning. At 9:15 a.m. ET DOW futures are -29 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open moderately lower.
CNN: Naspers is bringing its $134 billion stake in Tencent to Europe By Charles Riley
CNN: Naspers is bringing its $134 billion stake in Tencent to Europe By Charles Riley
Friday, March 22, 2019
De Minimis
de minimis - adjective
Definition of de minimis: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to merit disregard
Delivered
NY Times: Mueller Delivers Report on Russia Investigation to Attorney General By Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has delivered a report on his inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William P. Barr, according to the Justice Department, bringing to a close an investigation that has consumed the nation and cast a shadow over President Trump for nearly two years.
ThriveNYC
NY Times: $1 Billion for Mental Health: The Reality of de Blasio’s ‘Revolutionary’ Plan By J. David Goodman
On his now-frequent tours of early presidential primary states, Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken to invoking a less-familiar aspect of his tenure: a nearly $1 billion plan to address mental illness in New York City.
Golan Heights
NY Times: In Golan Heights, Trump Bolsters Israel’s Netanyahu but Risks Roiling Middle East By Mark Landler and Edward Wong
President Trump declared on Thursday that the United States should recognize Israel’s authority over the long disputed Golan Heights, delivering a valuable election-eve gift to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but jettisoning decades of American policy in the Middle East.
The Market On Friday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are -161 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: Tiffany's holiday season was even worse than it predicted By Paul R. La Monica
CNN: Tiffany's holiday season was even worse than it predicted By Paul R. La Monica
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Propofol
Scientific American: A Common Anesthetic Could Ease PTSD and Other Stress Disorders - Propofol reduces the intensity of traumatic memories
During the past two decades or so, it has become clear that these memories are not fixed and unshakable. They can be manipulated in ways that might ultimately ease the suffering of patients, not just ones with a PTSD diagnosis but also those afflicted by phobias, depression and other stress-related conditions.
New Zealand Intelliegence
NY Times: New Zealand to Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Guns, Jacinda Ardern Says
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand on Thursday announced a national ban on all military-style semiautomatic weapons, all high-capacity ammunition magazines and all parts that allow weapons to be modified into the kinds of guns used to kill 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch last week.
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. At 9:20 a.m ET DOW futures are -54 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open significantly lower.
CNN: Wall Street's fee wars have entered the 'silly stage' By Julia Horowitz
CNN: Wall Street's fee wars have entered the 'silly stage' By Julia Horowitz
Fiber
Vox: Nearly all Americans fail to eat enough of this actual superfood - While we obsess about carbs and protein, we’ve ignored fiber — at our peril. By Julia Belluz
Fiber doesn’t just help us poop better — it also nourishes our gut microbiome. The science, while still pretty nascent, is fascinating and it points to the fact that the fiber gap may be even more damaging than we’ve realized.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Trumping
The New Yorker: Affect Theory and the New Age of Anxiety - How Lauren Berlant’s cultural criticism predicted the Trumping of politics. By Hua Hsu
from 2012 - "Many of you would say that Donald Trump was excluded from the Republican convention, has no traction as a political candidate, and is generally viewed as a clown whose spewing occasionally hits in the vicinity of an opinion that a reasonable person could defend. But I am here to tell you that he actually won the Republican nomination and is dominating the airwaves during this election season. He is not doing this with “dark money” or Koch-like influence peddling. He has done this the way the fabled butterfly does it, as its wing-flapping sets off revolutions."
Tolstoy
Get Pocket: Leo Tolstoy on Love and Its Paradoxical Demands by Maria Popova
"The demands of love are so many, and they are all so closely interwoven, that the satisfaction of the demands of some deprives man of the possibility of satisfying others. But if I admit that I cannot clothe a child benumbed with cold, on the pretence that my children will one day need the clothes asked of me, I can also resist other demands of love in the name of my future children."
"If a man decides that it is better for him to resist the demands of a present feeble love, in the name of another, of a future manifestation, he deceives either himself or other people, and loves no one but himself."
"Future love does not exist. Love is a present activity only. The man who does not manifest love in the present has not love."
Pesticides In Our Food
Guardian UK: Pesticide residues found in 70% of produce sold in US even after washing - Strawberries, spinach and kale among most pesticide-heavy - Conventionally farmed kale could contain up to 18 pesticides
According to the Environmental Working Group’s annual analysis of US Department of Agriculture data, strawberries, spinach and kale are among the most pesticide-heavy produce, while avocados, sweetcorn and pineapples had the lowest level of residues.
More than 92% of kale tested contained two or more pesticide residues, according to the analysis, and a single sample of conventionally farmed kale could contain up to 18 different pesticides.
Tax Mess
NY Times: Trump’s Tax Cut Won’t Power the Growth He Predicts, Officials Concede By Jim Tankersley
...officials now concede they will not be enough to deliver the 3 percent annual growth the president promised over the long term.
Heartbreaking
NY Times: ‘So Heartbreaking’: Funerals Begin for New Zealand Attack Victims - Mourners leaving the first burial of victims Wednesday at Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. By Damien Cave and Charlotte Graham-McLay
Staring through dark sunglasses at the cemetery’s fringe — fighting back tears for a slain friend, as hundreds of mourners approached a hilltop of dirt cut open with row after row of graves — he said he wanted to be part of someone’s goodbye.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning at 9:20 a.m. ET DOW futures are +4 and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open in the flat area.
CNN: Fed focus; Google and the EU; Trouble in Germany By Ivana Kottasová
CNN: Fed focus; Google and the EU; Trouble in Germany By Ivana Kottasová
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
'The Girl With The Flaxen Hair'
The Sakura Cello Quintet plays the music of Debussy - **** four stars Sande
Third Grader
The Daily Beast: Indicted Oligarch Dmytro Firtash Praises Paul Manafort, Says Trump Has Third-Grade Smarts - The Ukrainian mogul, a background presence in the story of Russian influence in U.S. elections, praised Manafort’s savvy but dismissed Trump in an interview with The Daily Beast. by Betsy Woodruff
“Trump is a businessman, a person who went bankrupt four times,” he said. “That’s not easy; he was worming his way out of trouble all the time. In that sense, he’s pretty crafty, capable enough of making decisions and getting things done. But I can’t say that he’s too smart. That I cannot say.”
Masters
Get Pocket: Masters of Love
Contempt, they have found, is the number one factor that tears couples apart.
Kindness, on the other hand, glues couples together.
'True'
Jim Sande - I was trying to write a poignant song above that period in a relationship where the passion aspect of a new relationship meets up with the concern that the relationship might mean something deeper and more profound. She keeps saying, 'is this true' meaning is this lasting love.
Deep Breathing
This is the most important article I will be posting all week. Easily. Deep breathing can literally improve your life.
Discover: Deep Breathing Might Have Benefits We're Only Beginning to Understand - One researcher's push to understand how an ancient yoga technique can change our cells. By Sara Novak
Discover: Deep Breathing Might Have Benefits We're Only Beginning to Understand - One researcher's push to understand how an ancient yoga technique can change our cells. By Sara Novak
Documents
Guardian UK: Michael Cohen FBI raid documents released – live updates - Partially redacted search warrants materials released - Trump attacks Kellyanne Conway’s husband as ‘loser’
President Donald Trump attacked George Conway, the husband of top White House aide Kellyanne Conway, as a “total loser” on Twitter this morning.
Cyclone Idai
NY Times: Cyclone Idai Leaves Vast Destruction in Mozambique and Other Countries in Southern Africa By Norimitsu Onishi and Jeffrey Moyo
The storm destroyed “90 percent” of Beira, a city of about a half-million people that is Mozambique’s fourth largest and faces the Indian Ocean, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Monday.
Revelations
NY Times: Deutsche Bank and Trump: $2 Billion in Loans and a Wary Board - New details are emerging about the long, symbiotic and at times troubled relationship between the president and his loyal German bank. By David Enrich
Deutsche Bank cut off Mr. Trump twice — and then kept lending to him.
Top bank executives supported the relationship.
Deutsche Bank’s board found problems with its Trump lending.
Mr. Trump had some interesting bankers.
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. At 9:18 a.m. ET DOW futures are +113 and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open significantly higher.
CNN: Elon Musk vs. SEC; Brexit chaos; FedEx earnings By Charles Riley
CNN: Elon Musk vs. SEC; Brexit chaos; FedEx earnings By Charles Riley
Monday, March 18, 2019
Deutsche
NY Times: A Mar-a-Lago Weekend and an Act of God: Trump’s History With Deutsche Bank
Two years after Mr. Trump was sworn in, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. The chamber’s financial services and intelligence committees opened investigations into Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump. Those inquiries, as well as the New York attorney general’s investigation, come at a perilous time for Deutsche Bank, which is negotiating to merge with another large German lender.
Next month, Deutsche Bank is likely to start handing over extensive internal documents and communications about Mr. Trump to the congressional committees, according to people briefed on the process.
March
NY Times: The March of White Supremacy, From Oklahoma City to Christchurch - As we struggle against the forces behind decades of violence, we must remember that we aren’t fighting with strangers. By Jamelle Bouie
Likewise, there’s been little soul-searching among Trump’s Republican allies about their tolerance (or worse) of language that legitimizes anti-Muslim prejudice or places white nationalist ideas into wider circulation. Instead, they are busy denying the weight of their words.
It's Just Us
From July 2018 - Vox: Why haven’t we found aliens yet? A new paper on the Fermi paradox convincingly shows why we will probably never find aliens. By Liv Boeree
We Earthlings are not only likely to be the sole intelligence in the Milky Way, but there is about a 50 percent chance we are alone in the entire observable universe.
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