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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:03:23 GMT -8
I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn't get pasta.
Visit the J. Paul Spaghettie Museum and take a journey through the pasta.
Immigrants, They Get the Job Done
Canada's population grew by over a million people for the first time ever last year, the government has said.
The country's population increased from 38,516,138 to 39,566,248 people, Statistics Canada said.
It also marked Canada's highest annual population growth rate - 2.7% - since 1957.
The increase was in part fuelled by government efforts to recruit migrants to the country to ease labour shortages, Statistics Canada said.
The country also depends on migration to support an ageing population.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:05:21 GMT -8
I Saw This Movie When I Was a Kid. And People Kept Going Into the Cave Where the Giant Spider Lived.Australian researchers have discovered a super-sized species of trapdoor spiders found only in Queensland. The females of this rare species can live for over 20 years in the wild and grow up to 5cm long - large in trapdoor spider terms. The males grow up to 3cm. Unfortunately, much of its habitat has been lost due to land clearing, making it likely to be an endangered species, scientists said. So-called trapdoor spiders build "trap doors" out of leaves to prey on insects. They typically measure about 1.5cm to 3cm. The newfound species, Euoplos dignitas, is a type of golden trapdoor spider discovered in the semi-arid woodlands of the Brigalow Belt, a region in central Queensland. It is not dangerous to humans.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:07:23 GMT -8
Preious Guy Had Better Not Visit India. He Defames People Every Day.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case.
The Congress MP was convicted by the court in Gujarat state for 2019 comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname at an election rally.
Mr Gandhi, who was present in court for sentencing, remains out of jail on bail for 30 days and will appeal.
His party accused Mr Modi's government of targeting him. General elections are due next year.
A Congress spokesman said the ruling was full of "legally unsustainable conclusions" - and vowed its politicians would not be silenced.
"Make no mistake. All your attempts to create a chilling effect, a throttling effect, a strangulating effect on open fearless speech relating to public influence will not stop either Rahul Gandhi or the Congress Party," Abhishek Manu Singhvi told a news conference.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says due judicial process has been followed in the case, which dates back to the campaign ahead of the last election.
Speaking at a rally in Karnataka state in April 2019, Mr Gandhi had said: "Why do all these thieves have Modi as their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi."
Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is a former chief of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country's cricket board. Mr Gandhi argues that he made the comment to highlight corruption and it was not directed against any community.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:09:14 GMT -8
Red State Want to Make the US More Like India
North Carolina’s Republican-controlled House passed a previously vetoed proposal Wednesday to restrict how teachers can discuss certain racial topics that some lawmakers have equated to “critical race theory.”
The House voted 68-49 along party lines for legislation banning public school teachers from compelling students to believe they should feel guilty or responsible for past actions committed by people of the same race or sex.
United in their opposition, House Democrats challenged Republican claims that the bill would reduce discrimination and argued that a comprehensive history education should make students uncomfortable.
Republican seat gains in the midterm elections give them greater leverage this year to override any veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who successfully blocked a similar proposal in 2021 and urged legislators this month in his State of the State address, “Don’t make teachers re-write history.” But Republicans, who are one seat short in the House of a veto-proof supermajority, will likely need some Democratic support for the measure to become law.
North Carolina is among 10 states currently considering such proposals, according to an Education Week analysis. Eighteen others have already limited how teachers can discuss racism and sexism in the classroom.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:12:05 GMT -8
Those "Pro-Life" Red States Are Going to Have More Dead Babies and Mothers
A hospital in northern Idaho is ending labor and delivery services, citing staffing issues and the state’s “legal and political climate.”
According to the news release, the “emotional and difficult decision” was made due to the loss of pediatric coverage “to manage neonatal resuscitations and perinatal care,” a decrease in the number of babies born at the hospital and “Idaho’s legal and political climate.”
Currently, Idaho has three separate near-total abortion bans: One that prohibits abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy, one that bans all abortions with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person and one that allows family members to sue doctors who they believe provided abortion care.
“Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving,” the news release said. “Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult. In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care. Consequences for Idaho Physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”
This is Just the Beginning
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:18:44 GMT -8
Gov. DeathSentence Backpedals Faster Than an NBA Defender.
In a recorded interview with Piers Morgan set to air Thursday, DeSantis recast his views on Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as far more pro-Ukrainian and critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
His evolution was likely helped by the fact that last week the International Criminal Court accused Putin of committing war crimes and issued an arrest warrant for him.
Asked if Putin should be held accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine, DeSantis responded, "I think he is a war criminal ... I do think that that he should be held accountable."
DeSantis further called Putin "hostile to the United States" and characterized the ongoing conflict as "a loss for them."
DeSantis said his comments about the war being a mere "territorial dispute" had been "mischaracterized."
“Obviously, Russia invaded," he acknowledged. “That was wrong. They invaded Crimea and took that in 2014 — that was wrong.”
But He Doubles Down On Attacking LBGQT Kids
A proposed Florida Board of Education rule could expand restrictions on classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
"For grades 4 through 12, instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards … or is part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student's parent has the option to have his or her student not attend," according to the proposed rule.
This rule would build up on the Parental Rights in Education law Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March 2022. The law bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
It states that any instruction on those topics cannot occur "in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards," according to the legislation.
A spokesperson for the governor told ABC News' Rachel Scott in a statement, "There is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education. Full stop."
And He Wants to Make Florida More Like India
Florida Republicans are working to make it a lot easier to sue journalists for defamation, outraging many First Amendment advocates and publishers around the state. If they reach the governor’s desk, a pair of bills currently making their way through the Legislature could fundamentally change how media outlets report on public figures.
Among other things, the bills lower the bar for defamation cases, restrict protections for journalists’ use of anonymous sources in those cases, and limit the circumstances in which media outlets can win attorneys fees if they countersue for legal attacks.
The proposed changes go right to the heart of the U.S. Supreme Court case that defined modern libel law with the “actual malice” standard in 1964, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan — and provoking the court’s conservative majority to radically reconsider American libel law may be part of the goal.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:20:12 GMT -8
Disney vs. DeathSentence, Round 3
The happiest place on earth just announced a large LGBT conference at its park in Orlando.
The booked summit is a clear pushback to Desantis by the company that will occur not only in September 2023 but also in September 2024. Good luck telling American families to hate Disney in a craven attempt for votes when every kid is transfixed by the animated films they enjoy.
Disney hosts conventions all the time and hosts Gay Pride and Gay Day events at its international parks. They have been around the block a few times.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:25:31 GMT -8
Who Would Have Thought Range Finders Were a Big Deal?
Russia is resorting to pull T55s out of storage to fill Russia’s tank deficiencies on the front lines. The first prototypes for the T55 were completed in late 1945, essentially making it a WW2 design—it is an old, old tank.
Obviously, advances in armor, engines, communications, armament will make any tank first designed in WW2 archaic. But one aspect of the T55’s archaic design will stand out to anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves engaged in combat in one of these vehicles: range finding.
Every tank has a “gunner’s sight’ that contains a range finder, that will tell the gunner how far away the target is, so they can obtain a fire solution. That is, the gunner needs to know how high to elevate the gun to hit his target.
Modern tanks like the Leopard 2’s ENES or the T90M’s SOSNA-U have laser range finders that can almost instantly provide fire solutions on any target at vast ranges.
Late era cold war tanks like modernized T72s and older model T80s have optical range finders like the 1PN96MT-02—it is both less accurate and a slower way to obtain a fire solution, and the maximum range is considerably less.
Optics also experience advancements from 1945 — 1980, so newer model optical range finders were considerably better than older ones.
Leopard 2: EMES Laser Range Finder 10,000m T90/T80: SOSNA-U Laser range finder 6500m T80/T72: 1PN96MT-02 Optical range finder 3000m T64/T62: TSh-2B-41 Optical Range Finder 2500m T55/T54: TPKU-2B Optical range finder 1000m
So basically, if a Leopard 2 is on a hill with extensive LOS (line of sight) extending 10km, it could theoretically hit a column of approaching tanks from 10km (6 miles). A T90 could shoot back once it’s within 6.5km (4 miles).
if you’re unfortunately enough to be on a T55 charging at a platoon of Leopard 2s, you’d have to travel 9 kms through enemy fire to get within 1km before you could even shoot back with a prayer of hitting anything.
So to put it mildly, if you’re in a tank battle in 2023 in a T55, you better make sure your will has been updated.
Ironically, the whole reason that Russia is being forced to send T55s into battle is very likely BECAUSE of range finders. Or more precisely, a lack of them.
Forbes reported on how a lack of range finders is causing huge problems for the Russian army. Due to a lack of modern range finders, Russia is outfitting T72s and T80s with inferior 1970s era range finders like the 1PN96MT-02. Some T72s are rolling out with even older TSh-2B-41s.
US intelligence believes that Russia will run out of range finders before they run out of tanks. Russian arms industry took a huge step backwards in the early 00’s when Putin instituted reforms to try to keep the crumbling Russian military starved for cash together.
Many Russian military arms producers who were kept in business with government support were cut off and went out of business. Russia began importing western goods to replace these, as it was less expensive than producing them domestically.
Among industries that were impacted include specialized steel alloy production (used in tank armor and gun barrels), electronic parts and microchips (used in everything), and specialized optics—like those used in optical range finders or binoculars.
Specialized military lenses require incredible precision and care in production, and years of development. Most companies in Russia that could produce ones needed in optical range finders went out of business in the early 00’s, and only a handful of Russian domestic manufacturers can still produce laser range finders, and production is lagging desparately behind demand.
Expansion of production is dififcult, because many of these manufacturers rely on western equipment to produce these goods—and with sanctions, obtaining spare parts to keep factories running is a challenge, let alone ramping up production.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:27:57 GMT -8
The Abuser in Chief Targeted Hispanics and Asians
Donald Trump has spent the last seven years emotionally, physically, mentally, financially, and politically abusing the American people. The groups targeted as enemies by Trump and his movement have felt the abuse even more severely, where their literal safety is imperiled. For the LGBTQ community, these fears are especially acute because the forces on the right are publicly targeting them for eliminationism and other forms of mass violence. Abuse victims often share how the worst part of their experience is the feeling that one's sense of being grounded and certain in the world has been taken away. Normalcy is gone because life is shaped by the moods and whims of the abuser and what he or she may do next. Of all of the many horrible things that Donald Trump has done to the American people, that may be the worst of his crimes.
Now Trump may finally be facing some consequences for his political crime spree and years of abusing the American people. It is widely anticipated that a grand jury in Manhattan is going to indict Donald Trump for crimes connected to hush money payments that he made to his former mistress Stormy Daniels. It is the least serious of the many other charges that Trump may soon face for election fraud, concealing top secret documents, financial fraud, and other crimes connected to the Jan. 6 coup attempt and beyond.
This is a very dangerous moment in Donald Trump's abusive relationship with the American people.
When abusers are held accountable for their wrongdoing they often react with great violence. It is not uncommon for the victim to be killed when they tell finally tell their abusers "no!" and then try to leave the relationship.
Donald Trump is no different.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:31:47 GMT -8
Before the Nazis QOP Did That They Came for Women's Health Care, For Minority Voting Rights, For the School Teahers ...
The chair of the Michigan Republican Party refused to apologize for several social media posts that linked Democratic-backed gun reform bills to the Holocaust on Wednesday, saying the GOP wouldn’t “run away” from its position or apologize.
The maelstrom began early Wednesday after the official accounts for the Michigan GOP posted a photograph of wedding rings collected by the Germans from Holocaust victims during World War II. The image includes a line of text reading: “Before they collected all these wedding rings ... they collected all the guns,” an apparent dig at Democrats currently advancing several gun reform bills in the Michigan Legislature. One would expand background checks for gun purchases and another that would require gun owners to safely store firearms at home when children are present.
Lawmakers are also trying to enact a “red flag” law that would allow a judge to temporarily limit access to guns for those who are deemed to be at an increased risk of harming themselves or others.
The Nazis Burned Books. Who in the US in Doing That?
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:35:03 GMT -8
"I Don't Know All the Specific Facts, But ..." "What Did Joan Rivers Say?"
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:39:41 GMT -8
Kimes? Kunis? What's the Difference?
The owners of a Boston sports radio station offered a bizarre defense after one of their on-air personalities made a racist joke about ESPN analyst Mina Kimes.
Chris Curtis of WEEI-FM made the joke on “The Greg Hill Show” while discussing a proposal in Boston to ban miniature bottles of alcohol, also known as nips. The term is also a racial slur against people of Japanese descent.
When a co-host asked the show’s personalities to rank their favorite nips, Curtis said, “I’d probably go Mina Kimes.” He then turned to producer Chris Scheim and both men laughed. The other co-hosts brushed past it.
Kimes, a star ESPN personality, is of Korean descent on her mother’s side.
A spokesperson for Audacy, WEEI-FM’s parent company, told The Boston Globe it had no comment on the matter. But the spokesperson also suggested that Curtis had meant to name actor Mila Kunis instead of Kimes.
That would ostensibly make Curtis’ offensive remark a sexist quip about Kunis rather than a racist one about Kimes.
Boston? Shithole? What's the Difference?
Boston has a reputation for incidents like these, particularly in its sports community. A number of athletes have complained about the way the city’s fans treat them. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, for example, said last year that fans in Boston are “racist as fuck.”
Other athletes have also spoken out about experiencing racism in Boston. Five-time Major League Baseball All-Star Torii Hunter said in 2020 he had a no-trade clause for Boston due to the racist abuse he’d endured there. And in 2017, retired Yankees ace CC Sabathia said Black ballplayers had come to expect racism in Boston. After Hunter spoke out in 2020, the Red Sox called out racist behavior at Fenway Park and pledged to do more to prevent it.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:44:19 GMT -8
Did TucKGBer Tell the Truth?
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:46:19 GMT -8
Was This a Huge Swiss Miss?
Too big for Switzerland? Credit Suisse rescue creates bank twice the size of the economy
The last-minute rescue of Credit Suisse may have prevented the current banking crisis from exploding, but it’s a raw deal for Switzerland.
Worries that Credit Suisse’s downfall would spark a broader banking meltdown left Swiss regulators with few good options. A tie-up with its larger rival, UBS (UBS), offered the best chance of restoring stability in the banking sector globally and in Switzerland, and protecting the Swiss economy in the near term.
But it leaves Switzerland exposed to a single massive financial institution, even as there is still huge uncertainty over how successful the mega merger will prove to be.
“One of the most established facts in academic research is that bank mergers hardly ever work,” said Arturo Bris, a professor of finance at Swiss business school IMD.
There are also concerns that the deal will lead to huge job losses in Switzerland and weaken competition in the country’s vital financial sector, which overall employs more than 5% of the national workforce, or nearly 212,000 people.
Taxpayers, meanwhile, are now on the hook for up to 9 billions Swiss francs ($9.8 billion) of future potential losses at UBS arising from certain Credit Suisse assets, provided those losses exceed 5 billion francs ($5.4 billion). The state has also explicitly guaranteed a 100 billion Swiss franc ($109 billion) lifeline to UBS, should it need it, although that would be repayable.
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Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2023 8:47:56 GMT -8
Cancel Culture May Get Easier
New rules from the US government could soon let Americans more easily cancel free trials and subscriptions they no longer want, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The proposed rule change announced Thursday would apply to vast swaths of the US economy, covering both digital and physical subscriptions. Products subject to the new rule would include gym memberships, digital streaming and e-commerce, cable TV service, traditional print media and more.
The FTC regulation could hit some of America’s biggest retailers and online platforms and a huge range of smaller businesses. It would affect millions of consumers in virtually every aspect of their lives, as subscription-based goods and services have become commonplace in industries as varied as music distribution, video gaming and pet care.
Americans should not have to jump through hoops or be hounded by unwanted retention offers just to cancel their subscriptions, FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.
“The idea here is pretty simple,” Khan said. “Companies should not be able to manipulate consumers into paying for subscriptions that they don’t want.”
Broadly speaking, the rule change would prohibit companies from trying to retain customers through deceptive or burdensome tactics intended to stymie or delay them from quitting a subscription, such as by making customers mail in paperwork to cancel a subscription they initially signed up for online. For each violation of the rule, companies would be on the hook for potentially tens of thousands of dollars a day in fines — not to mention the consumer refunds the FTC could seek under the rule. While the FTC can currently pursue those types of remedies in specific sectors where cancellation rules exist, such as telemarketing, there is no such rule covering the economy as a whole, Khan said.
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