Snapzu Politics: August 2020

Monday 31 August 2020

How Neanderthals adjusted to climate change

Climate change occurring shortly before their disappearance triggered a complex change in the behavior of late Neanderthals in Europe: they developed more complex tools. This is the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Università degli Studi die Ferrara (UNIFE) on the basis of finds in the Sesselfelsgrotte cave in Lower Bavaria.
Read more: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-neanderthals-adjusted-climate.html?source=Snapzu

Video shows forceful arrest of Black man stopped while jogging in San Antonio

A Black man in San Antonio was stopped and detained by police Tuesday while he was jogging, witnesses said, as officers searched for a suspect in a nearby domestic violence call. Video of the incident posted to social media shows officers forcefully shoving the man into a police vehicle as he screams.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/us/san-antonio-black-man-arrested-trnd/index.html?source=Snapzu

Jim Gaffigan Doesn't Regret 'Harsh' Twitter Rant About Trump

Jim Gaffigan has learned just how "scary" "bots & trolls" can be, but, nevertheless, he has no regrets for his tweetstorm about the RNC
Read more: https://www.thewrap.com/jim-gaffigan-trump-regret/?source=Snapzu

Drug Cartel Now Assassinates Its Enemies With Bomb-Toting Drones

The tactic has become widespread on battlefields overseas and now appears to be proliferating to organized crime.
Read more: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36013/mexican-drug-cartel-now-assassinating-its-enemies-with-improvised-explosive-toting-drones?source=Snapzu

Marred by trauma after George Floyd’s death, Minneapolis hit with second wave of looting

Abe Demaag drove through downtown, watching people break windows and loot businesses, and he felt the sear of anguish all over again. His own furniture business had been burned down during the unrest that exploded after George Floyd died in police custody. Floyd’s death on May 25 sparked protests around the country and a national reckoning on racial inequality and police brutality...
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/marred-trauma-after-george-floyd-s-death-minneapolis-hit-second-n1238796?source=Snapzu

Horrifying Moment Kite-Flying Girl Is Swept Into The Sky By Wind Caught On Video

It’s the thing nightmares are made of, and for one mother in Taiwan the nightmare became reality at the 2020 International Kite Festival. A three-year-old girl surnamed Lin became wrapped up in the tail of a giant kite. As soon as the adults released the kite into the sky, the girl was immediately pulled into the sky where her body was violently swung around like a rag doll.
Read more: https://unitedsquid.com/horrifying-moment-kite-flying-girl-is-swept-into-the-sky-by-wind-caught-on-video/?source=Snapzu

54% of adults want to work remotely most of the time after the pandemic, according to a new study from IBM

The coronavirus pandemic has created global shifts in the way people work, shop, and socialize. While not every change created during the quarantined lifestyle of the pandemic will stick, many employees hope that working from home will. A survey conducted by IBM found that 54% of employees would prefer to primarily work remotely.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/54-percent-adults-want-mainly-work-remote-after-pandemic-study-2020-5?IR=T?source=Snapzu

Lukashenko gets birthday call from Putin as Belarus protests rumble

Russian President Vladimir Putin used a birthday phone call on Sunday to invite Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to visit Moscow, a Kremlin show of support as thousands of protesters streamed into central Minsk demanding Lukashenko step down.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/lukashenko-gets-birthday-call-from-putin-as-belarus-protests-rumble-idUSKBN25Q0GK?il=0?source=Snapzu

Delta Air Lines has put 240 people on ‘no fly list’ for not wearing masks, CEO says

Delta Air Lines Inc. has placed about 240 people on a “no fly list’ for failing to comply with the airline’s face-mask policy, chief executive officer Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees on Thursday. There is no U.S. federal mandate on masks in airports or on airplanes, leaving U.S. airlines to enforce their own rules that passengers must wear face coverings while traveling.
Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/international-business/us-business/article-delta-air-lines-has-put-240-people-on-no-fly-list-for-not-wearing/?source=Snapzu

Climate change is threatening to create a new housing crisis in America

As climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of storms, and as sea level rise and coastal erosion push storm damage further inland, millions of additional American properties are at risk for catastrophic damage each year. A major report released in June shows that federal flood maps underestimate the number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding by a stunning 67%
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/coastal-flooding-climate-change-cause-new-american-housing-crisis-2020-8?source=Snapzu

Mail-in voting fraud: It's nearly impossible

Election officials and the FBI say it's almost impossible to pull off fraud via mail-in ballots. Spreading disinformation about voting-by-mail is much easier.
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-commit-mail-in-voting-fraud-its-nearly-impossible/?source=Snapzu

Sunday 30 August 2020

U.S. economy plunged an annualized 31.7% in second quarter

The U.S. economy shrank at an alarming annual rate of 31.7% during the April-June quarter as it struggled under the weight of the viral pandemic, the government estimated Thursday. It was the sharpest quarterly drop on record.
Read more: https://apnews.com/a9ef11294c55f6fc8d130194dd507d0a?source=Snapzu

Beachgoers form human chain to rescue man in sea by Durdle Door

Witnesses have described the moment beachgoers formed a human chain to rescue a man in danger in the sea by the Durdle Door. The incident happened on Thursday, as large waves crashed in around the popular tourist attraction on the Jurassic coast.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/23/beachgoers-form-human-chain-to-rescue-man-in-sea-by-durdle-door?source=Snapzu

Almost 200 Uber employees are suing the company over its disappointing IPO last year

190 Uber employees have filed a lawsuit against the ride-hailing giant accusing it of indirectly raising their tax bills when it accelerated the issue date of their stock options ahead of its lackluster IPO last year.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lawsuit-employees-sue-over-ipo-stutter-accelerated-stock-payments-2020-8?source=Snapzu

N.Y.C. Tenants Say They Were Tricked Into Appearing in R.N.C. Video

“I am not a Trump supporter,” one of the tenants said, adding that she was furious that her interview with a government official was used for the convention.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/nyregion/nyc-tenants-rnc-video-trump.html?source=Snapzu

The Broken Algorithm That Poisoned American Transportation

For the last 70 years, American transportation planners have been using the same model to decide what to build. There’s just one problem: it’s often wrong. In November 2011, the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project published a 595-page document that was supposed to finally end a decades-long battle over a highway. The project was a controversial one, to say the least.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gxy9/the-broken-algorithm-that-poisoned-american-transportation-v27n3?source=Snapzu

California Rolls Out Tough Emissions Regulations on Ships, Big Rigs

Calling for a crackdown of two major contributors to California’s notoriously hazy air, the state is moving forward with stringent new anti-smog laws for the shipping and transportation industries. Aimed at cargo ships and heavy-duty diesel trucks, the California Air Resources Board estimates the new rules will drastically reduce air pollution and prevent over $35 billion in medical costs over the next three decades. The board cast the decision as a win for environmental justice and passed it despite the billions it will cost the industries to implement various new technologies.
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/california-rolls-out-tough-emissions-regulations-on-ships-big-rigs/?source=Snapzu

“Nectar Of The Dogs”—Busch Has Launched A Beer For Dogs

The new bone broth-based Dog Brew by Busch lets owners and pooches crack a cold one.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katedingwall/2020/08/27/busch-has-launched-a-beer-for-dogs/?source=Snapzu

Zuckerberg Admits That Facebook Screwed Up by Ignoring Militia Group Complaints Before Kenosha Shooting

Facebook made “an operational mistake” in ignoring reports about a page encouraging an armed militia to “defend” Kenosha, Wisconsin, against Black Lives Matter protestors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in a video post Friday.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/zuckerberg-admits-that-facebook-screwed-up-by-ignoring-1844888444?source=Snapzu

Sixty years ago, the Boston Celtics staged their own walkout over racial injustice

Decades before the Milwaukee Bucks' walkout brought the playoffs to a halt, a few NBA pioneers took a similarly brave stand against racial injustice.
Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/sixty-years-ago-the-boston-celtics-staged-their-own-walkout-over-racial-injustice-223600387.html?source=Snapzu

Saturday 29 August 2020

Washington University develops COVID-19 saliva test

Test is faster, simpler than nasal, oral swab tests and enables screening on a massive scale
Read more: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/washington-university-develops-covid-19-saliva-test/?source=Snapzu

Japan's 'flying car' gets off ground, with a person aboard

The decades-old dream of zipping around in the sky as simply as driving on highways may be becoming less illusory. Japan’s SkyDrive Inc., among the myriads of “flying car” projects around the world, has carried out a successful though modest test flight with one person aboard.
Read more: https://apnews.com/951c5f396b4277967e3e94f24c71ef68?source=Snapzu

Cold War Politics Shaped the International Space Station

A global surge of nationalism and the commercialization of space means the ISS may be the first — and last — of its kind.
Read more: https://www.supercluster.com/editorial/how-cold-war-politics-shaped-the-international-space-station?source=Snapzu

Japan's 'flying car' gets off ground, with a person aboard

TOKYO (AP) — The decades-old dream of zipping around in the sky as simply as driving on highways may be becoming less illusory.
Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200828/japans-flying-car-gets-off-ground-with-person-aboard?source=Snapzu

86% of US states increased internet speeds during COVID-19 lockdown

Logic may have you believe that with the dramatic increase of use and reliance on the internet during the coronavirus crisis that internet speeds slowed. However, the average internet speed in the US increased from 84.9Mbps to 94.6Mbps. This may surprise some, given the surge in bandwidth demand from Zoom-use, streaming, gaming and more reliance on the internet speed.
Read more: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/86-of-us-states-increased-internet-speeds-during-covid-19-lockdown/#ftag=RSS56d97e7?source=Snapzu

Biden campaign turns 'Keep America Great' domain into list of broken Trump promises

The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has purchased the web domain for President Trump’s reelection slogan "Keep America Great," using it to list
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/514140-biden-campaign-turns-keep-america-great-domain-into-list-of-broken-trump?source=Snapzu

JK Rowling returns award amid trans row criticism

JK Rowling has said she is giving back an award associated with the US Kennedy family, after being criticised for her views on gender and trans issues. The author was given the Ripple of Hope honour by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation last year. But earlier this month, its president Kerry Kennedy said views expressed by Rowling recently "diminished the identity" of trans people.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53944773?source=Snapzu

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer

The US actor, 43, dies of cancer at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53955912?source=Snapzu

Friday 28 August 2020

Drug cocktail touted by Trump increases chance of death by 27%, claims new study

‘No need for further studies’ into unproven Covid-19 treatment supported by US president, researchers say
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin-trump-bolsonaro-deaths-study-a9690521.html?source=Snapzu

Omission of climate crisis at RNC risks losing voters, some conservatives warn

The Republican national convention, dominated by veneration of Donald Trump and bleak warnings of the dangers of socialism, has completely ignored the climate crisis, an omission that has disturbed some conservatives who warn the party risks being left behind by voters.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/26/rnc-climate-crisis-omission-risks-losing-voters?source=Snapzu

35 rare images of the infamous Japanese experiment unit 731 in China [NSFW]

At least 12,000 men, women, and children were killed during the experimentation conducted by Unit 731 at the camp based in Pingfang alone.
Read more: https://china-underground.com/2012/10/17/35-rare-images-of-the-infamous-japanese-experiment-unit-731-in-china/?source=Snapzu

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Longest-Serving Leader, to Resign Because of Illness

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan will resign because of ill health, the country’s national broadcaster, NHK, reported on Friday, just four days after he exceeded the record for the longest consecutive run as leader in Japanese history.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/shinzo-abe-japans-longest-serving-leader-to-resign-because-of-illness/ar-BB18rYOF?OCID=ansmsnnews11?source=Snapzu

TikTok CEO quits as company reportedly plans sale to Microsoft, Walmart

Can’t do global work if the White House is forcing sale of US business, Mayer said.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/tiktok-ceo-quits-after-only-three-months-citing-political-environment/?source=Snapzu

Thousands expected at Historic March on Washington

Families of black Americans who were injured or killed by police will speak at the historic march.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53949460#?source=Snapzu

Why Europe’s wars of religion put 40,000 ‘witches’ to a terrible death

The persecution of witches came down to a battle for the ‘market share’ of post-Reformation Christians, according to a paper by two economists
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/07/witchcraft-economics-reformation-catholic-protestant-market-share?source=Snapzu

Gospel-singing Brazilian politician may be expelled from congress to face murder charges

A gospel-singing Brazilian lawmaker accused of masterminding the assassination of the husband who was once her adopted son is facing calls for her expulsion from congress so she can face murder charges. Flordelis dos Santos de Souza – a favela-born celebrity congresswoman whose rise to stardom was celebrated in a film featuring some of Brazil’s top actors – is fighting to avoid jail after police claimed she had orchestrated her partner’s 2019 murder.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/26/brazil-flordelis-dos-santos-de-souza-calls-congress-husband-murder-charges?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other?source=Snapzu

TikTok's CEO Kevin Mayer quits as app battles with Trump administration

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer has abruptly stepped down as the ByteDance-owned video app faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Mayer sent a memo to employees informing them of his decision, and he cited "structural changes" resulting from Trump's push for the company to sell off its U.S. business.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/08/27/tiktok-ceo-kevin-mayer-quit-trump-seeks-ban-app/5642169002/?ocid=uxbndlbing?source=Snapzu

Trump Looted $44 Billion From FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund in the Middle of a Record-Setting Hurricane Season

Laura, the strongest August hurricane observed in the Gulf of Mexico since Katrina, is steamrolling toward Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas and expected to make landfall by Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center has warned the storm could bring with it an “unsurvivable” surge — waves up to 20 feet high that may cause “catastrophic” damage up to 30 miles inland — along with hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and widespread flash flooding.
Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-44-billion-fema-hurricane-laura-1047210/?source=Snapzu

Financially Vulnerable, Independent Music Venues Worry Of Having To Sell

Six months ago, Scott Hammontree's job consisted of long nights spent at his music venue, The Intersection, where, as operating partner, he's been helping to break artists like Eric Church for nearly two decades. But, almost every day since Apr. 24, Hammontree has woken up, picked up the phone or logged on to a video conference app and started calling Washington, advocating for federal relief that could save homegrown businesses like his.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/27/906292770/financially-vulnerable-independent-music-venues-worry-of-having-to-sell?fbclid=IwAR112250u6xwFY6-VmqpLYhIh7d92gAnRqgggc3_x5tsrg_5-7FTgoFyJSM?source=Snapzu

Medicare for All Support Surges to 9-Month High in New Poll After Coronavirus Exposes Horrors of Private Insurance

"How can it be that we spend 18% of our GDP on healthcare but still lack the beds, masks, ventilators, gowns, gloves, and test kits we need to adequately respond to this crisis?" asked Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Read more: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/01/medicare-all-support-surges-9-month-high-new-poll-after-coronavirus-exposes-horrors?source=Snapzu

How Trump could pull off another upset

There are several signs that should give the Trump-is-toast self-assured pause.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/trump-upset-biden-2020-election-da37cdd6-1b96-4377-9584-9df9f2554055.html?source=Snapzu

If Trump Had Followed Vietnam's Lead on COVID, US Would Have Fewer Than 100 Dead

The U.S. has much to learn from Vietnam, which has recorded just 22 COVID-related deaths, says economist Robert Pollin.
Read more: https://truthout.org/articles/if-trump-had-followed-vietnams-lead-on-covid-us-would-have-fewer-than-100-dead/?source=Snapzu

On Climate Change, We’ve Run Out of Presidential Terms to Waste

The working definition of the ongoing brain seizure that is 2020 is either that Coloradans are being told by state authorities to install smoke-resistant “safe rooms” in their houses, or that Californians now must weigh what kind of mask to wear. An N95 mask helps to filter out harmful particulates from the wildfire smoke that is overwhelming the Golden State, but many come with an exhalation valve to keep the wearer from overheating—and that valve can spread the coronavirus.
Read more: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/on-climate-change-weve-run-out-of-presidential-terms-to-waste?source=Snapzu

Thursday 27 August 2020

Jobless claims: Another 1.006 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week

Another 1 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance benefits last week, as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic continue to reverberate across the economy. The Labor Department released its report on weekly unemployment insurance claims Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the report...
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobless-claims-coronavirus-unemployment-week-ended-august-22-2020-181644541.html?source=Snapzu