Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests? - The New York Times

Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests? - The New York Times:

In January 1968, Ms. Crane heard a rumor that her bosses were going forward with the home pregnancy test. She learned there was going to be a strategy meeting where men would discuss the design of the new product, and decided to crash it.

She found her boss in a conference room with a group of freelance product designers. On the table, the designers had lined up their proposed models. In an effort to appeal to female customers, the male designers had covered them in flowers and frills. Ms. Crane thought this was insane: What customer would want to analyze her urine in a box with a tassel?

She slid her prototype into line with the others. Its clear plastic walls showed off the minimalistic lab equipment inside. Then, with a glance at her boss, she took her seat at the table, challenging him to throw her out. He didn’t.

'via Blog this'

US constitution is Amazon bestseller after speech criticising Trump | Law | The Guardian

US constitution is Amazon bestseller after speech criticising Trump | Law | The Guardian: "A pocket version of the US constitution has become a bestseller on Amazon.

"



'via Blog this'

How to Listen When You Disagree: A Lesson from the Republican National Convention — Urban Confessional

How to Listen When You Disagree: A Lesson from the Republican National Convention — Urban Confessional:

She was just staring at me. 

She had something to say, and I could tell she was curious about the Free Listening sign, but she didn’t seem to have to courage to speak to me.

Yet.

So, I waited. Nowhere to be, and all day to get there.

It was so hot outside.

Finally, she walked up, and like a young warrior preparing for battle, she said:

'via Blog this'

Mute and Alone, He Was Never Short of Kind Words or Friends - The New York Times

Mute and Alone, He Was Never Short of Kind Words or Friends - The New York Times:

The man who lost his voice was a gentle man who didn’t ask terribly much of life. He lived in a miniature space in a single-room-occupancy residence on the corner of 74th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, above J. G. Melon, the popular restaurant and bar known for succulent hamburgers. And he was a New York story.

He was a New York story because he didn’t have a lot and yet he gave a lot. And in return he got what New York for all its busyness so often offers those who could use a good dose of it — kindness. The city can be cold and aloof and you can live crunched amid its population and remain lonely and overlooked. You can also be someone unremarkable and be made to feel like Mr. Big Shot.

The name of the man who lost his voice was Bernhardt Wichmann III. 

'via Blog this'

Review: ‘Zika’ Tracks the Trajectory of an Epidemic - The New York Times

Review: ‘Zika’ Tracks the Trajectory of an Epidemic - The New York Times: "The United States had no Zika epidemic when Mr. McNeil completed his book; nearly all cases identified in the United States and Puerto Rico before June 1 were related to a traveler who had acquired the virus in another country. That is no longer the case. Zika is spreading so rapidly now in Puerto Rico that United States health officials predict 25 percent of the population will be infected by early August. As Zika surfaces inside the continental United States new puzzles are arising, including how the virus was transmitted from a man in Utah, who died of the disease, to his adult son, who had cared for him; presumably the virus spread via blood, saliva or urine. And authorities are investigating two cases of apparent mosquito transmission of Zika in Miami, the possible onset of North America’s homegrown outbreak.

"



'via Blog this'

BlondieTVJunkie comments on (Spoilers Everything) I believe it was Preston Jacobs who said in his Q&A for the last epiode that "Do the showrunners understand this is supposed to be an anti-violence tale?"

BlondieTVJunkie comments on (Spoilers Everything) I believe it was Preston Jacobs who said in his Q&A for the last epiode that "Do the showrunners understand this is supposed to be an anti-violence tale?": "BoB? I had a buddy tear up. Most of my guys were in the Battle of Fallujah. Grunts. The Jon/battle stuff was incredibly realistic. Even though it's sword fighting, which a totally diff style... the emotion is the same. When Jon was trapped, that emotion speaks through time. When he gasps for air, that embodies every true veteran's experiences. Bc if you have ever fought in any real shit, not just some one-time firefight, but the real deal...months on end...you had that moment, where you were fuc&ed. Dead. And Kit nailed that fear. And at the last minute, took a breath that led to life. So many stories my ex and his guys tell, if u can get them too, a lot don't talk about it. But, when they do, it's accounts of like, they were dead. Dead. But the grenade literally rolled and didn't blow or some like crazy thing. Time and time again. A slither of Reddit, complained that Jon living was like excess "plot armor" -- and I never replied to those people, cause they won't get it...even if I told every detail. But you have this almost bubble, the bullet was an inch off; or you turned right instead of left; stopped to tie your shoe or reload...just missing a landmine in the mud... all of these things save your life, and you go home, with these set of experiences, that you can't comprehend. Jon just constantly missing death... it was so real.
"



'via Blog this'

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative:

I was speaking with a friend the other night, and I made the point that the meta-narrative of the 2016 election is learned helplessness as a political value.  We’re no longer a country that believes in human agency, and as a formerly poor person, I find it incredibly insulting.  To hear Trump or Clinton talk about the poor, one would draw the conclusion that they have no power to affect their own lives.  Things have been done to them, from bad trade deals to Chinese labor competition, and they need help.  And without that help, they’re doomed to lives of misery they didn’t choose.  

Obviously, the idea that there aren’t structural barriers facing both the white and black poor is ridiculous.  Mamaw recognized that our lives were harder than rich white people, but she always tempered her recognition of the barriers with a hard-noses willfulness: “never be like those a–holes who think the deck is stacked against them.”  In hindsight, she was this incredibly perceptive woman.  She recognized the message my environment had for me, and she actively fought against it.

'via Blog this'

IASC: The Hedgehog Review - Volume 18, No. 2 (Summer 2016) - Just Deserts -

IASC: The Hedgehog Review - Volume 18, No. 2 (Summer 2016) - Just Deserts -: "But why do people, particularly many successful people, persistently undervalue the role of opportunity and chance in their success? That question will be my main concern here, and one answer emerges from research in behavioral economics, an exciting new field situated at the intersection of economics, psychology, sociology, and biology.

"



'via Blog this'

The Miseducation of John Muir : Longreads Blog

The Miseducation of John Muir : Longreads Blog: "As we sweat through summer, and laud this American hero anew and even cast him in gold, it is indeed important to remember his nature writing and his nature story. But it is equally important to remember, as we celebrate the creation of the National Park system and all of the beauty contained wherein, that a powerful story has already been written upon this land. It is sometimes the thing hiding in plain sight.

"



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Zen And The Art Of Uber Driving | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

Zen And The Art Of Uber Driving | Co.Exist | ideas + impact:

I think of Uber as a modern-day version of the Works Progress Administration during the Depression. Thanks to Uber, I am not poor. I am just . . . nobody. 

When I first started driving, I talked to every passenger. I engaged in conversation about the city, life and politics. I told them about my work as a reporter, and as a strip club manager. I felt the need to say, "I'm not really an Uber driver. I am someone too. Just like you!"

Nobody cared.

I found that I could become visible or invisible at will. It’s about the voice. Say "please" and "thank you" and shut up and drive. Don’t make eye contact. People come in with their antenna up and on alert. Once they see you are no threat, they turn you off.

'via Blog this'

Buddy, you picked the wrong people to try and strong-arm. : talesfromtechsupport

Buddy, you picked the wrong people to try and strong-arm. : talesfromtechsupport:




LRP: Well, the hot water heater in the head can't keep up with the entire division when we all shower in the morning.
Eng: Does it put out hot water at all?
LRP: Well, yeah, when we all get up it works just fine. But as everyone takes their showers, it gets colder and colder.
Eng: Does it ever go completely cold?
LRP: No, but with a bigger heater, we could all take as long of showers as we wanted without it running out.
Water Control Guy: Showers should be limited to five minutes, you're wasting water.
LRP: Well, yeah, morning showers are pretty short, who wants to wake up early and shower? But when I take my second, longer shower in the evening, to relax after a long day of working-



'via Blog this'

The Neglected Majority: What Americans Without A College Degree Think About Higher Education, Part 1 - Forbes

The Neglected Majority: What Americans Without A College Degree Think About Higher Education, Part 1 - Forbes:

But what about the mass of Americans who are no longer connected to the education system at all: those who entered the labor market after high school or enrolled in some college but failed to finish? These workers have seen their labor market prospects dim considerably over the past 15 years, and some of them would presumably benefit from further education and training. Do they think so? And do they want more education?

On these questions, existing research is surprisingly silent. It sometimes feels as though we stop caring about peoples’ educational aspirations and attitudes once they graduate from high school. To be sure, researchers and wonks haven’t ignored adult students (see theCenter on Law and Social Policy’s work, for instance). But focusing on adult students or prospective students excludes the large group who are neither.

'via Blog this'

The EMV chip credit card transition in the US has been a disaster — Quartz

The EMV chip credit card transition in the US has been a disaster — Quartz: "If anything, the chip card transition in the US proved one thing—making infrastructure changes to the US economy is incredibly complex and takes much longer than even the experts would like to think."



'via Blog this'

For This Republican, Never Trump Means “I’m With Her” — Medium

For This Republican, Never Trump Means “I’m With Her” — Medium:

But that night as he spoke, and he talked about American exceptionalism, and he talked about hope, and he talked about ingenuity and the resilience of the American people, he spoke to me. He reminded me of the choice before me.

He could have pointed blame at the GOP for enabling Trump’s rise. He could have taken party leadership to task for falling in line behind Trump. But he didn’t. He instead presented the election as a choice between democracy and demagogue. He gave Republicans the option to abandon Trump rather than blaming them for his rise.

There are so many things I disagree with President Obama on, but this is a moment I will always respect him for. And maybe this was the moment I needed to fully own the choice I would have to make in November.

'via Blog this'

What do Donald Trump voters really crave? Respect | US news | The Guardian

What do Donald Trump voters really crave? Respect | US news | The Guardian:

Every Trump supporter who spoke to me was gracious and eager to explain why he or she liked Trump, why Trump was not a racist, and why they themselves were not racist.

Joe Kuzema, 41, owns his own security company. “Country is falling apart, from the bottom up. We got these lazy people freeloading off the government. Meanwhile the rich just keep getting richer, and working guys are getting screwed. We just got to break the system.”

When it came to race, he jumps to explain: “My ex-wife is black. I have hired plenty of blacks to work for me. I am not a racist. Trump is not the racist. Hillary is the racist, only standing up for women and blacks.”

'via Blog this'

Why Donald Trump's Supporters Think He'll Win - The Atlantic

Why Donald Trump's Supporters Think He'll Win - The Atlantic: ""That’s another way you don’t understand Donald. When you squawk: 'Oh, it’s so horrible, he’ll waterboard prisoners, he won’t ask our troops to risk their lives so as to avoid shooting a terrorist’s mother-in-law …' when you talk like that, what our people hear is that you are a lot clearer about what you won’t do to protect the American people than what you will do.

"



'via Blog this'

Reddit asked Obama and Trump the same question. You should see their answers side by side. - Vox

Reddit asked Obama and Trump the same question. You should see their answers side by side. - Vox: "In separate Reddit “Ask Me Anything” sessions, Trump (on Wednesday) and Obama (in 2012) were asked about reducing the power of money in politics, but each gave vastly different answers.

"



'via Blog this'

Andrew Sullivan Liveblogs the DNC, Night 4

Andrew Sullivan Liveblogs the DNC, Night 4: "But there were many, many women in this convention who spoke far more memorably than she did, who held the crowd in more rapt attention, who were able to modulate their speeches in ways that helped people understand their message better. This is not, in other words, a woman problem; it’s a Hillary Clinton problem. She simply doesn’t have certain gifts of oratory and connection with people that other more natural politicians do. It’s a weakness in a presidential candidate.



 There will be a gender gap in this election of possibly huge proportions. I suspect Trump will turn off more women than Clinton turns off men. But it will be close."



'via Blog this'

Remarks by the President at Islamic Society of Baltimore | whitehouse.gov

Remarks by the President at Islamic Society of Baltimore | whitehouse.gov: "Which brings me to my next point:  As we protect our country from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the rhetoric of the terrorists themselves.  I often hear it said that we need moral clarity in this fight.  And the suggestion is somehow that if I would simply say, these are all Islamic terrorists, then we would actually have solved the problem by now, apparently.  (Laughter.)  Well, I agree, we actually do need moral clarity.  Let’s have some moral clarity.  (Applause.) 



 Groups like ISIL are desperate for legitimacy.  They try to portray themselves as religious leaders and holy warriors who speak for Islam.  I refuse to give them legitimacy.  We must never give them that legitimacy.  (Applause.)  They’re not defending Islam.  They’re not defending Muslims.  The vast majority of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women and children.  (Applause.) "



'via Blog this'

‘Someday a woman will be president’ T-shirts banned by Walmart in 1995 for offending ‘family values’

‘Someday a woman will be president’ T-shirts banned by Walmart in 1995 for offending ‘family values’:

Hillary Clinton became the first woman nominated for president by a major American political party, but just 21 years ago — when she served as First Lady — Wal-Mart wouldn’t even sell T-shirts promoting the idea.

In August 1995, a Wal-Mart store in Florida sold T-shirts showing Margaret, a character in the comic strip “Dennis the Menace,” proclaiming that “Someday a woman will be president.”

A customer spotted the T-shirts and complained, reported The Associated Press, and the store removed them.

“It was determined the T-shirt was offensive to some people and so the decision was made to pull it from the sales floor,” said Jane Bockholt, a spokeswoman for the company at the time.

The store, which was located in Miramar, had sold about two-thirds of its 204 shirts in about two weeks, and was about to order 100 more when the customer complained.

'via Blog this'

Hollywood Reporter on Twitter: "Watch Andra Day's moving performance of #RiseUp at #DemsInPhilly https://t.co/Jjhjb2bTHA"

Hollywood Reporter on Twitter: "Watch Andra Day's moving performance of #RiseUp at #DemsInPhilly https://t.co/Jjhjb2bTHA": "Watch Andra Day's moving performance of #RiseUp at #DemsInPhilly
"



'via Blog this'

It looks like a mess, but the Democratic Party is more unified than it seems - Vox

It looks like a mess, but the Democratic Party is more unified than it seems - Vox: "The problem: Sanders had little control over his delegates, who seemed unwilling to get behind his endorsement of Clinton. This was in part a matter of sloppiness on the part of Sanders’s team in selecting delegates. But as one operative told me, there was another reason Sanders’s delegation was so unruly: Everyone was so afraid to cross Clinton by serving as a Sanders delegate that he couldn't convince the kind of party loyalists who normally take the job to do it.

"



'via Blog this'

5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win | MICHAEL MOORE

5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win | MICHAEL MOORE: "
But that is not how it works in America. People have to leave the house and get in line to vote. And if they live in poor, Black or Hispanic neighborhoods, they not only have a longer line to wait in, everything is being done to literally stop them from casting a ballot. So in most elections it’s hard to get even 50% to turn out to vote. And therein lies the problem for November – who is going to have the most motivated, most inspired voters show up to vote? You know the answer to this question. Who’s the candidate with the most rabid supporters? Whose crazed fans are going to be up at 5 AM on Election Day, kicking ass all day long, all the way until the last polling place has closed, making sure every Tom, Dick and Harry (and Bob and Joe and Billy Bob and Billy Joe and Billy Bob Joe) has cast his ballot?  That’s right. That’s the high level of danger we’re in. And don’t fool yourself — no amount of compelling Hillary TV ads, or outfacting him in the debates or Libertarians siphoning votes away from Trump is going to stop his mojo.



Here are the 5 reasons Trump is going to win:"



'via Blog this'

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative: "But in a lot of ways, what elites see as blunders people back home see as someone who–finally–conducts themselves in a relatable way.  He shoots from the hip; he’s not constantly afraid of offending someone; he’ll get angry about politics; he’ll call someone a liar or a fraud.  This is how a lot of people in the white working class actually talk about politics, and even many elites recognize how refreshing and entertaining it can be!  So it’s not really a blunder as much as it is a rich, privileged Wharton grad connecting to people back home through style and tone.  Viewed like this, all the talk about “political correctness” isn’t about any specific substantive point, as much as it is a way of expanding the scope of acceptable behavior.  People don’t want to believe they have to speak like Obama or Clinton to participate meaningfully in politics, because most of us don’t speak like Obama or Clinton."



'via Blog this'

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative: "What many don’t understand is how truly desperate these places are, and we’re not talking about small enclaves or a few towns–we’re talking about multiple states where a significant chunk of the white working class struggles to get by.  Heroin addiction is rampant.  In my medium-sized Ohio county last year, deaths from drug addiction outnumbered deaths from natural causes.  The average kid will live in multiple homes over the course of her life, experience a constant cycle of growing close to a “stepdad” only to see him walk out on the family, know multiple drug users personally, maybe live in a foster home for a bit (or at least in the home of an unofficial foster like an aunt or grandparent), watch friends and family get arrested, and on and on.  And on top of that is the economic struggle, from the factories shuttering their doors to the Main Streets with nothing but cash-for-gold stores and pawn shops.

"



'via Blog this'

A Terrifying Journey Through the World's Most Dangerous Jungle | Outside Online

A Terrifying Journey Through the World's Most Dangerous Jungle | Outside Online:

Some ugly myths have taken root in the United States that these same people are predisposed to be criminals, a dormant threat to national security and gathering drag on our economy. In a country built by migrants, currents of nativism and xenophobia are on the rise, with bluster of walls going up and mass deportations. And somehow people of all stripes keep angling for our faraway borders with their dreams intact, risks and distances be damned. 

Inevitably, through sheer force of will and a lot of good luck, some of the ones stranded in Turbo will make it to Panama and on to the United States. Maybe they’ll be spared the onerous jungle crossing; maybe they will get a berth on an airlift; or maybe they are bushwhacking a new route through the Darién Gap at this very moment, their feet and gazes in lockstep forward against the inertia of fear and cynicism, driven by visions of something better. 

'via Blog this'

A final response to the "Tell me why Trump is a fascist". : EnoughTrumpSpam

A final response to the "Tell me why Trump is a fascist". : EnoughTrumpSpam: "Trump openly calls for the U.S to commit war crimes and advocates for the murder of innocent women and children.

"



'via Blog this'

Rio Olympics 2016: Athletes' village 'unliveable', Kitty Chiller reveals 'stress test' failure

Rio Olympics 2016: Athletes' village 'unliveable', Kitty Chiller reveals 'stress test' failure: ""Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean. 

"In operations areas water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling and wiring.""



'via Blog this'

Meet The Workers Who Sewed Donald Trump Clothing For A Few Dollars A Day - BuzzFeed News

Meet The Workers Who Sewed Donald Trump Clothing For A Few Dollars A Day - BuzzFeed News:

From 2004 until last year, Trump contracted with apparel giant Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, or PVH. PVH, in turn, subcontracted some production to Protexsa, a garment manufacturing company owned by one of Honduras’ wealthiest families. Activists said that Protexsa was known for tough working conditions even in a country where workers are frequently abused and silenced.

BuzzFeed News used government shipping records to determine that Trump’s shirts were shipped from the Protexsa factory complex in Choloma, an industrial city on the country’s east coast. The data are collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and were compiled by enigma.io, a company that provides public access to obscure government data troves.

'via Blog this'

Brother of Belgian Terrorist Heading for the Olympics - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Brother of Belgian Terrorist Heading for the Olympics - SPIEGEL ONLINE: "The older brother detonated a bomb at the Brussels airport. The younger one is representing his country at the Olympic Games in Rio. The story of two Belgian siblings who long ago parted ways.

"



'via Blog this'

qw34tgrwef comments on Detroit's 100,000-plus convicted felons need jobs too, ACLU attorney says

qw34tgrwef comments on Detroit's 100,000-plus convicted felons need jobs too, ACLU attorney says: "I was wild when I was younger, caught a number of charges, left it all behind and went on to start a family, have a successful business and all that. Really wanted to hire guys with records but my lawyer basically laid out the enormous risks I was taking by doing that. Even though I wanted nothing more than to hire guys with records, there are literally predatory civil lawyers out there who advertise on TV looking for lawsuits involving a business who hired someone with a criminal record and had a liability-incurring event.
"



'via Blog this'

You Are More Than 7 Times As Likely To Be Killed By A Right-Wing Extremist Than By Muslim Terrorists | ThinkProgress

You Are More Than 7 Times As Likely To Be Killed By A Right-Wing Extremist Than By Muslim Terrorists | ThinkProgress: "Though terrorism perpetrated by Muslims receives a disproportionate amount of attention from politicians and reporters, the reality is that right-wing extremists pose a much greater threat to people in the United States than terrorists connected to ISIS or similar organizations. As UNC Professor Charles Kurzman and Duke Professor David Schanzer explained last June in the New York Times, Islam-inspired terror attacks “accounted for 50 fatalities over the past 13 and a half years.” Meanwhile, “right-wing extremists averaged 337 attacks per year in the decade after 9/11, causing a total of 254 fatalities.”
"



'via Blog this'

A Mother’s Complaint About a ‘Cynical Use’ of Benghazi - NYTimes.com

A Mother’s Complaint About a ‘Cynical Use’ of Benghazi - NYTimes.com: "
As Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens’s mother, I am writing to object to any mention of his name and death in Benghazi, Libya, by Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party.

I know for certain that Chris would not have wanted his name or memory used in that connection. I hope that there will be an immediate and permanent stop to this opportunistic and cynical use by the campaign."



'via Blog this'

Trump Wants War Declared on ISIS and ‘Extreme Vetting’ of Immigrants - The New York Times

Trump Wants War Declared on ISIS and ‘Extreme Vetting’ of Immigrants - The New York Times: "At the Pentagon, interviews with more than a dozen top generals revealed alarm over many of Mr. Trump’s proposals for the use of American power, even among officers who said privately that they lean Republican. While no serving officer interviewed was willing to speak publicly about Mr. Trump — reasons ranged from wanting to maintain a distance between the military and politics to not wanting to criticize a potential commander in chief — a number of top-ranking admirals and generals said the military is governed by laws and rules of engagement that are far stricter than politicians may realize.

"



'via Blog this'

Why Are We Killing Each Other? - YouTube

Why Are We Killing Each Other? - YouTube: "Why Are We Killing Each Other?
"



'via Blog this'

North Miami Officer Was Aiming At Man With Autism, Union Chief Says : The Two-Way : NPR

North Miami Officer Was Aiming At Man With Autism, Union Chief Says : The Two-Way : NPR:

Days after Charles Kinsey was shot by North Miami police as the behavioral health care worker tried to help a patient, we now know more about the officer who fired the shot — and according to the head of the local police union, the officer was trying to shoot Kinsey's patient, a man with autism, not Kinsey.




"Fearing for Mr. Kinsey's life, the officer discharged his firearm, trying to save Mr. Kinsey's life," says John Rivera, president of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association. "And he missed, and accidentally struck Mr. Kinsey."




Rivera also declared that the case is different from other recent incidents of police shootings of black men, stating, "Folks, this is not what the rest of the nation is going through."




In a video filmed on Monday, Charles Kinsey (left) lies next to the autistic patient he was trying to help, holding his hands up in an effort to assure the North Miami police that they aren't a threat. Kinsey was later shot in the leg by the police.
'via Blog this'

Attention on 18F: The Bridge to Modern Government is Built from Both Sides

Attention on 18F: The Bridge to Modern Government is Built from Both Sides: "The attention on the role of 18F obscures the larger issue: Modernizing legacy systems is not isolated to public agencies. CIOs in private and public sectors face this challenge all the time. Despite a commitment to building a 21st-century technology company or agency, complex change can easily feel like choosing between the devil you know versus the devil you don’t. Often, in the name of avoiding short-term risk, the choice is made to double down on outdated legacy IT, incurring the cost of retrofitting and ultimately delivering less-than-stellar service to customers and American citizens.
"



'via Blog this'

The Trusted Grown-Ups Who Steal Millions From Youth Sports - The New York Times

The Trusted Grown-Ups Who Steal Millions From Youth Sports - The New York Times:

The youth sports boom in the United States, fortified by at least 30 million participants, has turned what were once homespun local leagues into quasi-professional enterprises with annual budgets that experts who track nonprofits say regularly reach $250,000 — if not twice that.

Yet with the growth and development has come a long list of embezzlement and other corruption cases unfolding in a void of oversight and regulation and capitalizing on community trust.

Across the country, people who volunteered as treasurers and other officers for Little Leagues and sports clubs have been prosecuted for pilfering gobs of money from the coffers: $220,000 in Washington, $431,000 in Minnesota, $560,000 in New Jersey, and so on, according to law enforcement authorities, league officials, experts on nonprofit organizations and news reports.

'via Blog this'

Republicans Need To Chill: Life In The United States Is Really Good On A Historical Perspective — Medium

Republicans Need To Chill: Life In The United States Is Really Good On A Historical Perspective — Medium: "I wanted to collect some of those indicators and present them here to remind people (and myself) that we’re not failing, but we’re in fact, continuing to reach new heights. I’m sure there are many ways to claim that “America is in decline,” but let’s not fall into the politics of fear and despair. Relative to world history, the United States is already great, but as Americans, we know there are many ways to improve and so we can and should do better.
"



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What We Learned in Trump’s Cleveland - POLITICO Magazine

What We Learned in Trump’s Cleveland - POLITICO Magazine: "For the last eight years, Republicans have behaved less like a conservative party than an anti-Obama party. They waged war against the president from his first week in office—not only over progressive priorities like subsidized health care, Wall Street reform, climate action, and tax hikes on the rich, but also over Common Core educational standards, infrastructure projects, small-business tax cuts, and other federal initiatives that Republicans traditionally supported. So it made sense that the GOP electorate turned to Trump in 2016. There were 16 more conservative candidates in the primary, but he was the ultimate anti-Obama candidate, questioning not only the president’s policies, but his citizenship."



'via Blog this'

Jay Cost on Twitter: "There are a host of non-ideological tasks the president does. We usually take for granted, but Trump can't do them. https://t.co/cikBslUts6"

Jay Cost on Twitter: "There are a host of non-ideological tasks the president does. We usually take for granted, but Trump can't do them."



'via Blog this'

Discord Between China’s Top Two Leaders Spills Into the Open - WSJ

Discord Between China’s Top Two Leaders Spills Into the Open - WSJ: "Mr. Xi has reversed that collective leadership model and centralized decision-making within a number of small committees he heads, including over the economy. His supporters say the party leadership had become weak and corrupt in the previous administration and now needs a strong central figure to maintain public support while overhauling the economy.

"



'via Blog this'

NC GOP chairman to Cruz delegates: Find your own way home | The Charlotte Observer

NC GOP chairman to Cruz delegates: Find your own way home | The Charlotte Observer: "“On the contrary,” he said. “I did them a favor to bring them up here. They embarrassed our delegation and our party so I asked them to get themselves home. … Other views are certainly welcome, but … it’s my right to decide who flies home with me.”

"



'via Blog this'

General Stanley McChrystal Says, ‘You Don’t Have to Wear a Military Uniform to Serve Your Country’ - The Atlantic

General Stanley McChrystal Says, ‘You Don’t Have to Wear a Military Uniform to Serve Your Country’ - The Atlantic: "Service may be at the heart of the answer. A year of service has the power to bring young people together from different races, ethnicities, incomes, faiths, and political backgrounds to work on pressing problems facing U.S. society today. In the process, they can build empathy by getting to know each other around something positive—the shared work of participating in a democracy—as they shape their views of their country and the world.

"



'via Blog this'

I got arrested in Kazakhstan and represented myself in court — Medium

I got arrested in Kazakhstan and represented myself in court — Medium: "This is the story of how I was removed from the train at the border checkpoint of Kairak by Kazakh border guards, arrested, charged with illegal trespass, handed over to the custody of immigration police, taken to court, and redeemed.
"



'via Blog this'

Police: Ex-Marine, 81, held hostage in motel for 4 years

Police: Ex-Marine, 81, held hostage in motel for 4 years:

HIGHLANDS, N.Y. (AP) — A man held an 81-year-old Marine Corps veteran hostage in his squalid motel room for at least four years in order to steal his benefits checks, authorities said Thursday.

Perry Coniglio was arrested Tuesday in his room adjoining the victim's at a motel in Highlands. The motel sits next door to the police station in the Hudson Valley town, about 50 miles north of New York City.

Coniglio, 43, used brute force and intimidation to get the mentally diminished veteran to cooperate with him, police said. The elderly man has advanced dementia, according to police.

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A Cute Internet Star Flirts. All He Wants Is Your Password. - The New York Times

A Cute Internet Star Flirts. All He Wants Is Your Password. - The New York Times: "Last week he told his nearly four million Twitter followers to send him their passwords. And in an hour, tens of thousands of fans complied — all for the slim chance to see a personalized video from Mr. Johnson pop up inside their accounts.

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Jon Stewart Returns to Take Down Trump and the GOP: ‘I See Your Bullshit’ - The Daily Beast

Jon Stewart Returns to Take Down Trump and the GOP: ‘I See Your Bullshit’ - The Daily Beast: "Following his surprise appearance on The Late Show earlier this week to help usher The Colbert Report’s “Stephen Colbert” back into our hearts, Stewart showed up once again Thursday night to deliver an old-school Daily Show-style takedown of the Fox News empire that helped make Donald Trump the Republican presidential nominee."

“Here’s where we are,” Stewart said, setting off on a rant that ranks up there with his greatest hits. “Either Lumpy and friends are lying about being bothered by thin-skinned, authoritarian, less-than-Christian readers-of-prompter being president, or they don’t care, as long as it’s their thin-skinned prompter authoritarian tyrant narcissist. You just want that person to give you your country back, because you feel that you are this country’s rightful owner. The only problem with that: this country isn’t yours. You don’t own it. It never was. There is no ‘real’ America. You don’t own it. You don’t own patriotism. You don’t own Christianity. You sure as hell don’t own respect for the bravery and sacrifice for military, police, and firefighters. Trust me!”

“I saw a lot of people on the convention floor with their ‘Blue Lives Matter’ rhetoric who either remained silent or actively fought against the 9/11 first responders’ bill reauthorization,” he continued. “So I see you, and I see your bullshit,” he added, triggering CBS’s censors.

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Why Men Want to Marry Melanias and Raise Ivankas - NYTimes.com

Why Men Want to Marry Melanias and Raise Ivankas - NYTimes.com: "Men have often given their female offspring more opportunities than their female partners, perhaps seeing their children as extensions of themselves. Even today, many men find themselves newly appalled at sexism after having a girl, a reaction apparently not stoked by being born of a woman, married to a woman or simply seeing women as human. In our reluctantly feminist America, one question this election poses is whether we’ve evolved enough to value women as individuals instead of assessing them relationally, as an attractive wife supporting her husband or as a high-achieving daughter reflecting a flattering light back on her parents.

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Andrew Sullivan Liveblogs the RNC, Night 4

Andrew Sullivan Liveblogs the RNC, Night 4: "On CNN, Paul Manafort just dismissed the crime statistics as an FBI fiction. He returns to the theme that “people don’t feel safe.” The FBI’s crime data, going back decades, is now suspect because of the email investigation. Let that sink in. The FBI’s meticulous investigation of the email scandal, and Comey’s judicious description of why charges were not filed. are being described by the Trump campaign as criminally corrupt.

They smear core institutions integral to liberal democracy. They dismiss empirical reality. And they play more nakedly on rank fear than any candidate in American history."



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Donald Trump Promised the Truth. We Checked the Facts. - The New York Times

Donald Trump Promised the Truth. We Checked the Facts. - The New York Times:

CLEVELAND — Donald J. Trump’s acceptance speech here was filled with Trump-like hyperbole and the kind of vague political rhetoric that is hard to pin down.

But there were also facts.

In describing the problems that he would seek to fix from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump offered a series of grim facts about crime, the economy, and foreign policy. “Here at our convention, there will be no lies,” Mr. Trump said.

Many of Mr. Trump’s facts appear to be true, though the Republican presidential nominee sometimes failed to offer the entire story, or provide all of the context that might help to explain his numbers.

And in some cases, the facts seemed inflated or misleading, part of a broader ideological message that Mr. Trump was hoping to convey.

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It's Official: Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Vladimir Putin - The Atlantic

It's Official: Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Vladimir Putin - The Atlantic:

Unlike Trump, leaders of such countries as Estonia believe that the United States still represents the best hope for freedom. In his interview with Haberman and Sanger, Trump argued, in essence, that there is nothing exceptional about the U.S., and that therefore its leaders have no right to criticize the behavior of other countries: “When the world looks at how bad the United States is, and then we go and talk about civil liberties, I don’t think we’re a very good messenger.”



As someone who has covered President Obama’s foreign policy fairly extensively, I feel confident in stating that he has never expressed such a negative view of the U.S. We are truly in uncharted waters.

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Donald Trump Threatens the Ghostwriter of “The Art of the Deal” - The New Yorker

Donald Trump Threatens the Ghostwriter of “The Art of the Deal” - The New Yorker: "When Tony Schwartz, Donald Trump’s ghostwriter for his 1987 memoir, “The Art of the Deal,” decided to tell the public about his concerns that Trump isn’t fit to serve as President, his main worry was that Trump, who is famously litigious, would threaten to take legal action against him. Schwartz’s premonition has proved correct.

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The Certain Trumpet | Foreign Policy

The Certain Trumpet | Foreign Policy: "Indeed, NATO’s two greatest successes are that no outside nation has ever dared attack a NATO nation and that no NATO nation has ever attacked another NATO nation. For the United States, keeping peace on the European continent is good for our economy, because Europe is our largest trading partner by far.

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Transcript: Donald Trump on NATO, Turkey’s Coup Attempt and the World - The New York Times

Transcript: Donald Trump on NATO, Turkey’s Coup Attempt and the World - The New York Times:

TRUMP: Well, it would be ideal if we could get them all together. And that would be a possibility. But I’m a big fan of the Kurdish forces. At the same time, I think we have a potentially — we could have a potentially very successful relationship with Turkey. And it would be really wonderful if we could put them somehow both together.

SANGER: And what’s your diplomatic plan for doing that?

TRUMP: Meetings. If I ever have the opportunity to do it, meaning if I win, we will have meetings, we will have meetings very early on.

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Ted Cruz exposed the lie at the heart of this Republican convention | Washington Examiner

Ted Cruz exposed the lie at the heart of this Republican convention | Washington Examiner:

Though we're used to defeated rivals appearing on stage to enthusiastically throw their support with the nominee, Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Trump without saying anything positive about him beyond his name not being Hillary Clinton. Sen. Marco Rubio couldn't bring himself to attend, and instead thread the needle with a short video message.

Dozens of prominent Republican elected officials chose to skip the convention altogether.

There is no true functional coalition of Republicans. The party is not uniting around Trump. All Cruz did was expose what is blatantly obvious to every intellectually honest person.

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Does Elon Musk Understand Urban Geometry? — Human Transit

Does Elon Musk Understand Urban Geometry? — Human Transit: "Tech marketing is all about appealing to elite personal tastes.  It runs on the assumption that whatever we sell to the wealthy today we can sell to the masses tomorrow.  But some things stop working when everybody buys them.  Cars in dense cities, for example, are not a problem when only the top 20% are using them; it’s mass adoption of cars that makes them ruinous to a dense city and to the liberty of its citizens.  Ask anyone in a fast-growing developing world city about that.

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Donald Trump’s nomination is the first time American politics has left me truly afraid - Vox

Donald Trump’s nomination is the first time American politics has left me truly afraid - Vox: "It is said that the benefit of America’s long presidential campaigns is they offer the candidates time to show us who they really are. Trump has shown us who he really is. He is a person who should not be president. That he is being brought this close to the presidency — that he is one major mistake by Hillary Clinton away from winning it — should scare us all. It certainly scares me.

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Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and the death of democracy | Technology | The Guardian

Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and the death of democracy | Technology | The Guardian:

In a 2009 essay called The Education of a Libertarian, Thiel declared that capitalism and democracy had become incompatible. Since 1920, he argued,the creation of the welfare state and “the extension of the franchise to women” had made the American political system more responsive to more people – and therefore more hostile to capitalism. Capitalism is not “popular with the crowd”, Thiel observed, and this means that as democracy expands, the masses demand greater concessions from capitalists in the form of redistribution and regulation.

The solution was obvious: less democracy. But in 2009, Thiel despaired of achieving this goal within the realm of politics. How could you possibly build a successful political movement for less democracy?

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Rukmini Callimachi, the New York Times’ ISIS reporter, discusses her beat.

Rukmini Callimachi, the New York Times’ ISIS reporter, discusses her beat.: "He would suddenly confide in me, and he was telling me all of the things that al-Shabaab was doing that were violating sharia, because actually in sharia law you’re not allowed to kill women, children, and the elderly. You’re supposed to do operations in a way that avoids those targets. Obviously when they’re doing an operation on a school, there are a lot of girls. He showed this very human side of himself. I don’t know his age. But I’m guessing he’s was a young man. He spoke English so well and with so many Americanisms that I’m almost positive he’s an American citizen. I saw him waffling and I saw him struggling with it. I had to ... I basically had to do some soul searching and decide what to do in this situation. His name was Bilal. Anyway, I finally came back to him and said, “I can’t put you in touch with these people. But I can point you to people on social media that you can reach out to this if this is what you want to do.”"



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Master Plan, Part Deux | Tesla Motors

Master Plan, Part Deux | Tesla Motors:

The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good. That's what "sustainable" means. It's not some silly, hippy thing -- it matters for everyone.

By definition, we must at some point achieve a sustainable energy economy or we will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilization will collapse. Given that we must get off fossil fuels anyway and that virtually all scientists agree that dramatically increasing atmospheric and oceanic carbon levels is insane, the faster we achieve sustainability, the better.

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Both Sides Now? - The New York Times

Both Sides Now? - The New York Times:

And in the last few days we’ve seen a spectacular demonstration of bothsidesism in action: an op-ed article from the incoming and outgoing heads of the White House Correspondents’ Association, with the headline “Trump, Clinton both threaten free press.” How so? Well, Mr. Trump has selectively banned news organizations he considers hostile; he has also, although the op-ed didn’t mention it, attacked both those organizations and individual reporters, and refused to condemn supporters who, for example, have harassed reporters with anti-Semitic insults.

Meanwhile, while Mrs. Clinton hasn’t done any of these things, and has astaff that readily responds to fact-checking questions, she doesn’t like to hold press conferences. Equivalence!

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Donald Trump Plays Down Role of U.S. in Global Crises - The New York Times

Donald Trump Plays Down Role of U.S. in Global Crises - The New York Times:

Mr. Trump said he was convinced that he could persuade Mr. Erdogan to put more effort into fighting the Islamic State. But the Obama administration has run up, daily, against the reality that the Kurds — among the most effective forces the United States is supporting against the Islamic State — are being attacked by Turkey, which fears they will create a breakaway nation.

Asked how he would solve that problem, Mr. Trump paused, then said: “Meetings.”

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("Furor" was because no one took responsibility for 36 hours)

For Donald Trump’s Big Speech, an Added Pressure: No Echoes - The New York Times: "Borrowing or adapting may not always be tantamount to plagiarism, but several Trump advisers, who also insisted on anonymity, said that after the furor over Ms. Trump’s remarks, the campaign cannot allow a similar blowup.

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Byron York: Will Ted Cruz dash his own presidential hopes tonight? | Washington Examiner

Byron York: Will Ted Cruz dash his own presidential hopes tonight? | Washington Examiner: "But all agree it would be very damaging for Cruz not to support Trump. One said that expressing support for the Republican presidential nominee is a necessary condition for Cruz to have a future in Republican presidential politics. (That's especially true since Cruz promised to support the GOP nominee.)

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Trump Campaign Dismisses Reports of Lobbying for Russia in GOP Platform | The Weekly Standard

Trump Campaign Dismisses Reports of Lobbying for Russia in GOP Platform | The Weekly Standard: "The Washington Post reported Monday that the Trump campaign pushed delegates working on the party platform to decrease the supply of weapons to Ukrainians fighting Russian forces.

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'Ban The Box' Laws,' Do They Help Job Applicants With Criminal Histories? : NPR

'Ban The Box' Laws,' Do They Help Job Applicants With Criminal Histories? : NPR: "VEDANTAM: Well, when companies were not allowed to check on the criminal histories of applicants, what they did is they fell back on their stereotypes and basically said black men are more likely to be associated with crime. So let me just reject black applicants more often or let me call white applicants more often. The net result is that white applicants as a group were advantaged. At companies that used to ask applicants about criminal history and now had to stop because of the new law, the racial gap in callbacks before the law was 7 percent. After the laws, it went up to 45 percent.

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Trump Vets Adviser: Clinton "Should Be Put In The Firing Line And Shot For Treason" - BuzzFeed News

Trump Vets Adviser: Clinton "Should Be Put In The Firing Line And Shot For Treason" - BuzzFeed News:

“I’m a veteran that went to Desert Shield, Desert Storm. I’m also a father who sent a son to war, to Iraq, as a Marine Corps helicopter avionics technician. Hillary Clinton to me is the Jane Fonda of the Vietnam,” he said. “She is a disgrace for the lies that she told those mothers about their children that got killed over there in Benghazi. She dropped the ball on over 400 emails requesting back up security. Something’s wrong there.”

“This whole thing disgusts me, Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason,” he added.

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Etymologists of reddit, what is your favorite story of how a word came to be? : AskReddit

Etymologists of reddit, what is your favorite story of how a word came to be? : AskReddit: "Etymologists of reddit, what is your favorite story of how a word came to be?"



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How Donald Trump Picked His Running Mate - The New York Times

How Donald Trump Picked His Running Mate - The New York Times:

One day this past May, Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., reached out to a senior adviser to Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, who left the presidential race just a few weeks before. As a candidate, Kasich declared in March that Trump was “really not prepared to be president of the United States,” and the following month he took the highly unusual step ofcoordinating with his rival Senator Ted Cruz in an effort to deny Trump the nomination. But according to the Kasich adviser (who spoke only under the condition that he not be named), Donald Jr. wanted to make him an offer nonetheless: Did he have any interest in being the most powerful vice president in history?

When Kasich’s adviser asked how this would be the case, Donald Jr. explained that his father’s vice president would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy.

Then what, the adviser asked, would Trump be in charge of?

“Making America great again” was the casual reply.

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Third Eye Blind Trolls GOP at RNC Show - The Daily Beast

Third Eye Blind Trolls GOP at RNC Show - The Daily Beast: "Frontman Stephen Jenkins discussed his gay cousins, and how the band rejects the party’s anti-LGBT platform—to loud boos from the crowd at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “To love this song is to take into your heart the message, and to actually—actually—have a feeling to arrive and move forward, and not live your life in fear, and imposing that fear on other people,” he said, before launching into their tune “Jumper.” At another point, Jenkins also jokingly asked the crowd, “Raise your hand if you believe in science?” to a chorus of boos."



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A Third of Nice Truck Attack’s Dead Were Muslim, Group Says - The New York Times

A Third of Nice Truck Attack’s Dead Were Muslim, Group Says - The New York Times:

NICE, France — When a Tunisian man drove a truck down a crowded street in Nice last week in an attack claimed by the Islamic State, more than one-third of the people he killed were Muslim, the head of a regional Islamic association said on Tuesday.

Kawthar Ben Salem, a spokeswoman for the Union of Muslims of the Alpes-Maritimes, said that Muslim funerals were being held for at least 30 of those who died during the Bastille Day attack, including men, women and children.

The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism investigations, said on Tuesday that all 84 people killed in the attack had been formally identified, meaning that the number of Muslim fatalities may be even higher. The number of people who were wounded was also raised, to 308 people.

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Pale Fire - The New Yorker

Pale Fire - The New Yorker: "From the perspective of the British, Isenberg notes, the colonies were where the “surplus poor”—convicts, debtors, and the like—could go to make themselves useful. The vast majority of early American colonists lived out bleak existences. Travellers through the colonies were greeted by poor whites “with open sores visible on their bodies,” pallid complexions, malnourished and “missing limbs, noses, palates, and teeth.” For those charged with overseeing this “giant workhouse,” the question became how to extract as much as possible from a congenitally flawed people. More often than not, the solution was to keep the poor busy and laboring, lest the colonies become the “spawning ground of a degenerate breed of Americans.” As Isenberg explains, the subhuman status of slaves was different from that of “white trash,” since they had no choice but to work. In contrast, poor whites had supposedly chosen to be “shiftless,” suggesting the possibility of intraracial tensions that weren’t immediately defined by a proximity to blackness.

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Patrick Knight - I think a lot of my Facebook "friends" frequently...

Patrick Knight - I think a lot of my Facebook "friends" frequently...:

Chill Funny Patrick has had police officers pull their guns on him MULTIPLE TIMES while breaking no laws, even though it "won't happen if you're respectful."

Chill Funny Patrick has been pulled over by police MULTIPLE TIMES for "fitting the description of a gang member," having broken tail lights that magically fixed themselves after the officers left, and just to satisfy an officer's curiosity as to why I was driving in that specific location at that specific time.

Chill Funny Patrick has been called a nigger countless times: by strangers, "friends," and even employers.

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Inside the GOP’s Shadow Convention - POLITICO Magazine

Inside the GOP’s Shadow Convention - POLITICO Magazine:

“There’s a school of thought that Trump, who’s gonna get crushed, will somehow teach the party a lesson and they’ll get it out of their system,” said Stuart Stevens, who was Mitt Romney’s chief strategist in 2012. “I don’t have confidence in that.”

Indeed, many are already at work to rearrange the fractured pieces to their liking—and advantage.

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Whales Mourn Their Dead, Just Like Us

Whales Mourn Their Dead, Just Like Us: "In one case, short-finned pilot whales in the North Atlantic Ocean made a protective circle around an adult and dead calf. In another case, a spinner dolphin in the Red Sea pushed a young animal’s body toward a boat. When the vessel’s occupants lifted the carcass on board, the entire group of dolphins nearby circled the boat and swam off.

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How Capicola Became Gabagool: The Italian New Jersey Accent, Explained | Atlas Obscura

How Capicola Became Gabagool: The Italian New Jersey Accent, Explained | Atlas Obscura: "If you were to go to southern Italy, you wouldn’t find people saying “gabagool.” But some of the old quirks of the old languages survived into the accents of Standard Italian used there. In Sicily or Calabria, you might indeed find someone ordering “mutzadell.” In their own weird way, Jersey (and New York and Rhode Island and Philadelphia) Italians are keeping the flame of their languages alive even better than Italian-Italians. There’s something both a little silly and a little wonderful about someone who doesn’t even speak the language putting on an antiquated accent for a dead sub-language to order some cheese.

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