Loren King
@lorenking.org
"Ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross" Dad, professor, marathon swimmer. Not nearly as smart as @kimdej.bsky.social @lorenking@mstdn.ca @lorenking.gander.social www.lorenking.org www.greatlakestrust.org
I wrote about the Trojan horse, and what we can learn from her mouth about different cultural attitudes towards deception and violence. As someone comments below, the phrase GIFT ARTICLE is pretty scary in this context.
Chris Suellentrop@suellentrop.bsky.social · yesterdayTurns out @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social knows a lot about ancient epics www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at the hospital when a tablet was brought to her bedside. On the screen was a Zoom call with a judge and several lawyers and doctors. She was in court, a nurse told her. The reason? For failing to agree to a C-section. (Published March)
She Was in Labor at a Florida Hospital. Then She Was in Zoom Court for Refusing a C-Section.
A virtual court hearing from a pregnant mother’s hospital bed shows what forced medical treatment can look like.
propublica.org
"violent crime increases by 7% in the 12 months following the law's adoption, with increases beginning shortly after passage ... . I find no evidence of offsetting deterrence in property crime. The rise in violence is driven by a 12% increase in aggravated assaults involving firearms"
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management@jpam-dc.bsky.social · 2d agoRecently published in JPAM: "Jumping the Gun: The Effects of Permitless Concealed Carry Laws on Crime" by Susan Parker. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
When our car was stolen out of our driveway in the pandemic summer of 2020, the sum total police response was for a cop to enter our house unmasked, shrug that the car would likely turn up somewhere (it was not) and, upon examining my spouse’s expired license, telling him he could arrest him for it.
Em, midly@lefttheprairie.bsky.social · 4d agoIt’s so funny when people are like “sure you’re an abolitionist now but wait until you’re the victim of a property crime.” Buddy, the most useful thing the police have ever done for property crime is put the form you need to submit to your insurance online.
Attention academics: It is now August 1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqmS...
Star Trek: Red Alert!
YouTube video by John DiMarco
youtube.com
People potentially subject to the nyc pied-à-terre tax are being treated with 1% of the administrative hostility of SNAP and Medicaid applicants, and they’re throwing 100x the fit
Ten years ago, I set off on my first marathon swim: the traditional Marilyn Bell route across Lake Ontario, from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto. The core lesson of that first swim is the same lesson of every swim I've done since: these crossings never happen without an extraordinary team. 🙏🤙
The Trump administration has granted more than 180 polluting facilities nationwide a two-year pause on compliance with Clean Air Act rules. All they had to do was send an email. (Published May)
Trump Exempted Some of the Nation’s Biggest Polluters From Air Quality Rules. All It Took Was an Email.
In an unprecedented move, the administration has granted industrial facilities in 38 states and Puerto Rico a two-year reprieve from federal rules under the Clean Air Act. The president is considering...
propublica.org
Turn failing water firms into not-for-profit cooperatives, MPs and mayors tell PM
Turn failing water firms into not-for-profit cooperatives, MPs and mayors tell PM
Labour politicians say mutualised model puts public in control without adding debt to government’s balance sheet MPs and mayors close to Andy Burnham have told the prime minister there is a “third way” tlauo gain more control of failing companies, as the row over whether or not to nationalise Thames Water rumbles on. Burnham is said to be concerned about the increase in government debt that Treasury projections show could be a result of nationalising water companies. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
If we aren't going to tax vehicles by weight can we at least ban people artificially lifting their trucks? There's no reason Chip from down the street on your suburban cul-de-sac needs to drive a truck taller than a raised bungalow to his office park job.
David Zipper@davidzipper.bsky.social · 5d agoWhich vehicles most endanger the drivers of other cars? Giant pickup trucks — and the Dodge Charger Source: www.iihs.org/news/detail/...
As I've said before: What high-paying long-term jobs do they pretend exist here? A data center isn't a place where execs come and do Big Deals. Go to the server room at your workplace; are there lots of rich people in there spending money?
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d agoHassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."
The headlne says "academies" but the text says this proposed immediate elimination of tenure and "line by line" reivew of all course content applies to staff & war colleges too www.cbsnews.com/news/dod-pen...
Pentagon weighs eliminating civilian tenure at military academies and reviewing all curriculum, draft memo says
The Pentagon is considering a sweeping remake of military higher education, including an end to civilian tenure and a "line-by-line" review of courses, according to a draft memo obtained by CBS News.
cbsnews.com
As someone who liked the movie well enough and very much appreciated Wilson’s review, THIS. A widely viewed ambitious but flawed movie, a widely-read, deeply informed critical response—it’s almost like a glorious time before social media reduced everything to fandom & takes.
EMILY WILSON@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · last wk.The oddest thing about the response to this essay is people who say it’s “personal”. You can disagree about some or all of it! I may well be wrong! But it’s not “personal” to analyze a film or other work of art, even negatively. Criticism is more than “Hurray!” or “Hiss!”
oh for crying out loud [you'll never guess what technology generated the map! Oh, no, wait, you will.] www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil
theguardian.com
My late neighbour, who was in his 90s, used to walk to a retirement home to visit a friend. Had to cross a 4 lane road at an intersection to get there. He walked slowly so it took 2 light cycles to cross. About 40 seconds. City couldn’t be arsed to extend it. Cities designed for cars, not people.
Terri@terriclarke.bsky.social · 6d agoNext time someone tries to blame pedestrians for headphones or cellphones 60% of peds getting hit are seniors even though they make up only 14% of the population. “Drivers should be driving on the assumption the person in the road is not looking or seeing them, because they might not be able to”
People still think of Sweden as this sexually liberated place, but the reality is you're not even allowed to fuck inside the giant taxidermied Blue Whale anymore. Place has really changed.
jordan@jordantyranny.bsky.social · last wk.The only taxidermied blue whale in the world, 1865 CE, now housed at the Natural History Museum in Sweden. The public was allowed to enter the whale up until a couple was found having sex inside it. Now the whale’s jaws are opened only for special occasions, such as Swedish election days.
“According to the finance ministry’s calculations, the cost to society of trips by car is close to one euro/km. On the other hand, every km travelled by bike yields societal gains of 60 euro cents thanks to the health benefits of cycling, transport efficiency gains, & lower infrastructure spending.”
Copenhagen Cycling Revolution: Lessons for Cities
Close to two-thirds of the city’s residents commute by bike to school or work every day.
theprogressplaybook.com
The willingness to lie in American politics is astonishing
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Ron Johnson claims the the "injection injured" are committing mass suicide
So about 3,300,000 Americans dead, depending on the breaks. Insane.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Rep. Ogles: "Look, I don't want to play down the effects of the virus, but at the end of the day it had a roughly 1 percent mortality rate. We coulda gotten through this."
Well that sucks. www.engadget.com/2225849/goog... Least bummer interpretation: AlphaFold served its purpose, DeepMind already spun off a drug lab, so it was time to reassign the time.
Google shuts down its Nobel-prize winning AlphaFold project as it focuses on Gemini - Engadget
DeepMind's award-winning AlphaFold team is no more.
engadget.com
This is worse than destructive; it's embarrassing. Carney is subordinating every single Canadian policy, not even to US aggression, but to the mere threat of economic pain.
My latest piece was originally written for Democracy Docket members. They decided to share this one with everyone because of the stakes for this election. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-...
The GOP has a plan to undermine free and fair elections. We must stop them
The GOP is not acting like a party trying to persuade voters to support its candidates — because it isn’t.
democracydocket.com
Jodrell Bank? JODRELL FUCKING BANK??? Fuck off and tax the super rich you absolute bellends.
SpaceX and Tesla are basically copying Enron at this point. Economists realize that, right?
Seems like a textbook exercise of one's fourth and fifth amendment rights to me bsky.app/profile/phil...
Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · last wk.“This is thought to be the first known case in the United States where federal prosecutors have charged someone for the alleged destruction of data using a ‘duress’ password built into a phone’s software”
The extruding-plagiarism machine is based on the premise that the talentless can buy talent, because that’s the entire philosophy of VC tech bros - talentless, resentful sociopaths. Pro tip: You are not a writer. You are a thief, a fraud, a talentless hack.
Damon Young@damonyoung.com.au · 2w agoNope. No, you haven’t.
The “task force is urging Health Canada to rely more on the review work of foreign regulators” (including the U.S.’s FDA). Oh? “The task force, whose more than two dozen members are made up mainly of the Canadian heads of patented drug companies.” Ah. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco...
Pharma task force urges Health Canada to streamline regulatory reviews as part of suite of recommendations
Group was formed to advise Ottawa on how to support the industry and ensure access to medication in the midst of developments such as USMCA talks
theglobeandmail.com