Please join me in this!

The illegal actions by federal officers — detaining protestors without any explanation, identification as to who they are or which agency they represent — have little parallel in recent U.S. history.

But unaccountable police forces operating with impunity? That’s a reality that Black and brown communities have been living with for generations.

Eighteen years ago, the Department of Homeland Security was created as a cabinet-level office in the wake of 9/11. Almost immediately, Muslim communities and others found themselves targeted.

Broad authorities granted in the last two decades of the "Global War on Terror" have long allowed overreach and abuse by agencies and programs that have systematically targeted Black and brown communities as threats.

Trump's decision to ramp up the deployment of unaccountable federal officers in an election year is an escalation of these practices — as well as his own authoritarian and unconstitutional acts, from the Muslim Ban to housing undocumented families in cages at the border.

It's time to use every tool in our toolbox to demand a stop to Trump’s drift to authoritarianism.

Please take the first step and sign on to our petition to Congress here: Defund and dismantle Trump’s DHS secret police forces

Thanks!
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From elseweb:

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From the New York Post; originally from news.com.au

Scientists discover evil people share a ‘dark triad’ of traits
Psychopathy, egoism, sadism and narcissism are among the traits considered to be a part of the dark side of humanity — and new research has found people who exhibit these traits all share a common characteristic.

By Ally Foster, News.com.au
September 27, 2018 | 1:05pm

While characteristics like narcissism or spitefulness may not seem as extreme as psychopathic tendencies, scientists have found a behavioral link between people who exhibit these traits, and it’s not as uncommon as you might think.

Research from the University of Copenhagen revealed that people categorized in this “dark core of personalities” tend to put their own interests ahead of anyone else’s.

Another common characteristic researchers observed was the ability to take pleasure from causing other people pain.

The most predominant of these tendencies are known as the “dark triad,” which includes psychopathy (a lack of empathy), narcissism (excessive self-absorption), and Machiavellianism (the belief that the ends justify the means).

Some traits, like egoism or sadism, might appear to be more acceptable than those in the dark triad, but the study claims they are all derived from a common underlying disposition, dubbed the “D-factor.”

This means that if you display one of these traits, then you are more likely to exhibit some of the others as well.

The research defines the D-factor as: “The general tendency to maximize one’s individual utility — disregarding, accepting, or malevolently provoking disutility for others — accompanied by beliefs that serve as justifications.”

Simply put, these people have a tendency to put themselves first, even at a detriment to others, and they often have an accompanying justification that removes any feelings of guilt or shame.

Click headline for story

---

Gee, I wonder why they call it the D-factor.
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(Part of the huge University of Pennsylvania health system. Submitted through their on-line contact form.)

While following the directions on your email "Confirmation of your appointment", I found the directions to the location less than clear. The details of the appointment read
>>>
Date: Wed Dec 02, 2020
Time: 2:15 PM
Ahmara G. Ross, MD, PhD
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
Scheie Eye Institute Perelman
West Pavilion, 3rd Floor
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Reason: RETURN PATIENT VISIT
Contact: 215-614-4100
<<<
I'm used to associating the Scheie Eye Institute with the location at Penn Presbyterian, so I consulted your linked floor plan of the Perelman Center. Since the map itself doesn't include department names, I looked for "Scheie" or "Eye" in the list of Perelman Destinations, but found neither.

I'm a linguistic researcher, retired from Penn, with a Ph.D. from Berkeley, and I had no trouble in finding the information under "Ophthalmology", but I'm not at all confident that all your patients have such an easy time of it. I suggest modifying the appointment details, perhaps somewhat like this:
>>>
Date: Wed Dec 02, 2020
Time: 2:15 PM
Ahmara G. Ross, MD, PhD
OPHTHALMOLOGY: Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
Scheie Eye Institute Perelman
...
<<<

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From the New York Post, by Fox News

Squirrel tests positive for plague in Colorado

A squirrel has tested positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado.

According to health officials, the squirrel is the first case of plague in the Town of Morrison, Jefferson County, which is about 17 miles southwest of Denver.

“Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, and can be contracted by humans and household animals,” public health officials wrote. However, if proper precautions are taken, the risk of getting plague is “extremely low,” they said.

Humans can get infected through bites from infected fleas or animals.

“Cats are highly susceptible to plague and may die if not treated promptly with antibiotics. Cats can contract plague from flea bites, a rodent scratch/bite or ingestion of a rodent. Dogs are not as susceptible to plague; however, they may pick up and carry plague-infected rodent fleas,” officials wrote.

Click headline for full story

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From the Washington Post

In 1,267 days, President Trump has made 20,055 false or misleading claims

The Fact Checker’s ongoing database of the false or misleading claims made by President Trump since assuming office.

Updated July 9, 2020

Most repeated claims

“We built the greatest economy in history, not only for our country, but for the world. We were number one, by far.”

Fact Check:

Before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and sent unemployment soaring, the president could certainly brag about the state of the economy in his first three years as president. But he ran into trouble when he made a play for the history books to say it was the best economy in U.S. history. By just about any important measure, the economy under Trump did not do as well as it did under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson or Bill Clinton. The gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in 2019, slipping from 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2.4 percent in 2017. But in 1997, 1998 and 1999, GDP grew 4.5 percent, 4.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. Yet even that period paled in comparison against the 1950s and 1960s. Growth between 1962 and 1966 ranged from 4.4 percent to 6.6 percent. In postwar 1950 and 1951, it was 8.7 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate reached a low of 3.5 percent under Trump, but it dipped as low as 2.5 percent in 1953. (After the virus tanked the economy, Trump jacked up his claim even more, falsely saying it had been the greatest economy in the history of the world.)


And that's just the beginning. Click headline for article.

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From Daily Kos

NOTE: Pasting it in here,  I lost the paragraphing, and I ain't got the time/energy/spoons to finish fixing it now. Sorry 'bout dat.


Jul 10, 2020 3:32pm Eastern Daylight Time by old 60s radical, Community


Trump is inflicting as much pain as possible. He is causing as much death as possible. He is destroying as much as he possibly can. He is setting as many persons against each other, and creating as much angry division, as he possibly can. He is inciting everyone he can to whatever violence he can and it does not matter against whom it is directed. He does not care (because he is incapable of caring) who gets hurt, who dies, who turns violent, what is destroyed. He’s like an Obscurus (see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), on a breathtakingly blind and destructive rampage.

It’s deliberate, it’s intentional. It’s blind and raging punishment meted out indiscriminately by a wounded and enraged man with multiple deep and serious personality disorders and, unfortunately, a hell of a lot of power. That is the conclusion I have reached after scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out the purpose of his insanely destructive/self-destructive actions. Rallies where people are packed in sans masks? Check. And the new covid-19 cases spike, and the deaths increase. Telling people the virus is fading away when in fact it is raging? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Telling people 99% of covid-19 infections are harmless? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Coercing states, on threat of withheld federal funding, to lift restrictions? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Encouraging bars and restaurants to open and pack them in? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Threaten schools and universities with cut-off funds and loss of tax-exempt status unless the open fully? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Force-open schools, send our kids and our teachers into harm’s way, make attendance mandatory on penalty of fines and imprisonment? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Pull the U.S. out of NATO, out of WHO, out of climate agreements, out of disarmament treaties? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Suggest people inject bleach or isopropyl alcohol as a way of cleaning covid-19 from their body? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase. Badgering states to open their economies too soon resulting in more permanent damage, more unemployment, than if they’d just stayed closed until the “new cases/day” had decreased for two consecutive weeks? Check. And the new cases spike, and the deaths increase, and businesses close. At first I thought this was some kind of cynical shock-doctrine/disaster capitalism (see Naomi Klein). Create so much chaos, drive so many families into poverty, drive so many public institutions and services to the brink and then off the cliff, so that hedge funds, private equity firms, and private corporations can buy up everything, pennies on the dollar. Our homes, public schools, municipal services (like water, fire, police), our highways, health departments, our hospitals — would all become privately-owned and for-profit entities. And there might actually be some validity to this line of thinking. The Milton Friedman/Ayn Rand school of economics has long insisted that the free market would function beautifully and efficiently if all the “distortions” are cleared away — distortions like regulations, taxes, licensing requirements, OSHA labor protections, unions, all restrictions of any kind. What better way to accomplish that goal than to destroy it all, like Katrina did in New Orleans (and where private equity firms bought up everything, or tried to). But the more I ponder, the more I find it impossible to escape the more alarming realization that it’s actually far worse. Trump feels so violated, so injured, so mistreated, so seething angry, so hurt, so cornered, that he has become an Obscurus: raw, devastating, blind, malevolent, rampaging, tortuous Rage Itself. His intention is what’s called a karma-dump: to inflict his intolerable pain on everyone and everything else, to cause so much suffering and death and destruction anywhere and everywhere that at some point we collectively cry out “Enough. You win. Do what you want, take what you want, just make the pain stop.” He will then grin that smirky grin, and the suffering will continue, and he will go golfing. There is no arguing with this kind of narcissistic pain/reckless hate. Capitulating just makes it worse because it consumes everything in its path whether it’s running or has given up. Giving it anything only makes it stronger, more destructive, more angry, more hungry, more self-justified. Whether it’s shock doctrine or raging Obscurus, we’re up against forces that are actually more deadly than the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It will take all of us, using every ounce of skill we have, every resource we have, to rid ourselves of all three plagues. And then will begin the long, careful rebuilding.
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From AARP

FDA Expands Warning on Methanol-Tainted Hand Sanitizers
Deaths, blindness tied to toxic ingredient found in imported sanitizers
by Peter Urban, Updated July 9, 2020

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to stop using 55 hand sanitizer products from 10 manufacturers in Mexico that may contain methanol, which can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested.

The FDA has seen a “sharp increase” in tainted hand sanitizers since first issuing a consumer alert in June for nine products made by Eskibiochem that had tested positive for methanol. Five more products were added to the FDA warning last week.

The FDA says it is aware of adults and children who have recently died, been blinded or hospitalized after ingesting hand sanitizer products contaminated with methanol, also known as wood alcohol.

"Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects. The FDA's investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing,” the FDA said in a statement.

In Arizona, 16 people who were hospitalized in June for toxic alcohol exposure admitted to drinking hand sanitizer. Six others suspected of doing the same also were hospitalized but denied drinking hand sanitizer, according to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center.

"No amount of methanol should be found in hand sanitizers. Methanol can be extremely toxic, which is why we are seeing such an increase in hospitalizations,” said the center's director Steve Dudley, in a statement.

The New Mexico Department of Health also issued a statement last month warning that three people died and one person was blinded from methanol poisoning after drinking hand sanitizer. In all, seven people drank hand sanitizer containing methanol, according to the release, which was based on cases reported to the New Mexico Poison Control and Drug Information Center over several weeks in May.

If you have purchased any of the 55 hand sanitizers listed in the warning, the agency recommends you stop using them immediately and dispose of the hand sanitizer in “appropriate hazardous waste containers.” Do not flush them down the toilet or pour them down the drain, the FDA advises.

( Read more...Collapse )

Symptoms of methanol exposure

Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning, according to the FDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it can take between one hour and three days for adverse health effects from methanol poisoning to become apparent. It also cautions that methanol toxicity worsens over time, and adverse effects can become more severe if left untreated.

"Initial adverse health effects due to methanol poisoning include drowsiness, a reduced level of consciousness (central nervous system depression), confusion, headache, dizziness and the inability to coordinate muscle movement (ataxia). Other adverse health effects may include nausea, vomiting (emesis), and heart and respiratory (cardiopulmonary) failure,” according to the CDC.

In response to COVID-19, the FDA reminds people to wash their hands using soap and water for at least 20 seconds (especially after going to the bathroom, before eating and after coughing, sneezing or blowing one's nose) to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If soap and water is not available, the CDC suggests using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol to kill most disease-causing germs. Anything less than that may not work as well “for many types of germs,” and could “merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright,” the CDC says.

Hand sanitizer works best when used correctly. Be sure to apply enough hand sanitizer to cover the entire surface of both hands. Rub the hand sanitizer into your hands (paying special attention to the fingertips) until your skin is completely dry; it should take about 20 seconds.

55 Hand Sanitizers Subject to FDA Safety Warning
( Listed hazardous brandsCollapse )

*National Drug Code (NDC) is a unique identifier assigned to drug products, including hand sanitizers.

More on Health


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I just counted.* I have about 4150 photos saved in my smartphone.

That's ridiculous. Yet another double shitload of stuff to be SERIOUSLY pared down.

* Not one by one. 15 on a screenful, 277 scrolls. This entry was originally posted at https://thnidu.dreamwidth.org/1817753.html. You can comment here, or there using OpenID or your Dreamwidth ID. comments there so far.

From Kveller

This New Holocaust Education Law Matters Now More Than Ever

By Rhoda Smolow Jun 19, 2020

Good news is always welcome, and despite an onslaught of harrowing headlines, we got a dose of positivity on May 28 when President Trump signed into law a bipartisan bill that was supported by an overwhelming majority of Congress. The Never Again Education Act (NAEA) — passed by the House of Representatives in a 393-5 vote and approved in the Senate by unanimous consent — will fund Holocaust awareness programming in middle schools and high schools.

Holocaust education? You might be wondering: Why now? Why, amid a pandemic, unprecedented protests against racial injustice, crushing economic pressure, a national election, and deep political division?

Because when our gridlocked lawmaking system yields to near unanimity on the need for a law, there’s no better time to act.

Because focusing on coronavirus doesn’t mean we ignore other forms of contagion.

And because the lesson of the Holocaust — and the language of the NAEA — speak directly to the struggle against racism as well.

Studies show Holocaust awareness declining and anti-Jewish hate crimes are rising — not just in societies associated with anti-Semitism, but in the United States, home to what we think of as the safest Diaspora community in history. More hate crimes in America target Jews than any other religious group. And from Pittsburgh to Poway, from Monsey to Jersey City, the attacks are deadlier than ever.

Anti-Semitism is itself a virus. In country after country, century after century, the Jewish people have been subjected to discrimination, forced conversion, expulsion and mass murder. The disease crests and wanes but never disappears. Democracy and education are proven factors in mitigating its spread and virulence but, like ventilators and PPE’s, there is sometimes more demand than supply.

( Read more...Collapse )

Times of great stress threaten diverse immune systems — of body and soul, of polity and economy. For America to maintain itself as a healthy society with informed citizens, Holocaust education is a key prescription. The NAEA has become law at the time when —as virtually all in Washington agree — it is needed most.





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