A Sense of Doubt blog post #1929 - Black people are being killed and there's still COVID-19 - Weekly Hodge Podge for 2005.30

https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/05/29/week-in-the-news-100000-coronavirus-minneapolis-george-floyd

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1929 - Black people are being killed and there's still COVID-19 - Weekly Hodge Podge for 2005.30

Jamar Clark

Eric Garner

Philando Castile

Trayvon Martin

Tamir Rice

Ahmaud Arbery

George Floyd

Breonna Taylor

Michael Brown - Ferguson Unrest

Dontre Hamilton, Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Laquan McDonald, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Antonio Martin, and Jerame Reid, among others...

Charley Leundeu Keunang, Tony Robinson, Anthony Hill, Meagan Hockaday, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, William Chapman, Jonathan Sanders, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose, Jeremy McDole, Corey Jones, and Jamar Clark as well Dylan Roof's murder of The Charleston Nine.

Bruce Kelley Jr., Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Joseph Mann, Abdirahman Abdi, Paul O'Neal, Korryn Gaines, Sylville Smith, Terence Crutcher, Keith Lamont Scott, Alfred Olango, and Deborah Danner, among others.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter

https://www.instagram.com/blklivesmatter/

View this post on Instagram

Enough is enough. We call for an END to the systemic racism that allows this culture of corruption to go unchecked and our lives to be taken. We call for radical, sustainable solutions that affirms the prosperity of Black lives throughout America. See the demands. Sign the petition. #linkinbio #DefundThePolice #blacklivesmatter 1. We demand acknowledgement and accountability for our pain and injustice 2. We demand divestment in the police force 3. We demand investment in the health and prosperity of our communities

A post shared by Black Lives Matter (@blklivesmatter) on May 30, 2020 at 5:55pm PDT

You might not agree with what I am about to write.

Too bad.

I think the violence needs to happen. The time has come.

I know that you might think it's wrong that the violence is targeting innocent people and destroying their livelihoods, their businesses, their hopes and dreams.

George Floyd was innocent.

Breonna Taylor was innocent.

Tamir Rice and Michael Brown lost their hopes and dreams along with their lives.

Are any of us really innocent?

Emotionally, I find the violence cathartic. It's not enough. It doesn't fix anything, but it's getting the nation's attention, isn't it?

Emotionally, I share the anger of the people burning police precincts, police cruisers, and other establishments of the ruling hegemony that caused this problem with an oppressive system that kills young men and perpetuates an unequal and unjust wealth system that has stoked this anger high and hot.

I did not consent to have a president like the one in "power" in this country, someone no better than petulant brat, a schoolyard bully, a vicious narcissist who lacks empathy for people, idolizes money with religious fervor, and harbors deep and ugly racist, homophobic, and xenophobic hatreds.

I did not consent to live in a country that has a health system ruled by the wealthy and that cares more about money than the human rights of people for wellness and economic liberty.

I did not consent to capitalistic slavery overseen by greed and gross discrimination.

And I am not even done with the list before I am so overwhelmed by irrational anger and rage that I would also throw rocks at the line of armored police and hurl Molotov cocktails into the streets where police execute unarmed, innocent, non-threatening black men who are crying for their mothers until they pass out and die.

That one incendiary incident foments my wrath and makes me join -- at least in spirit -- with these protesters.

But there is another voice inside me, a rational voice. I know that violence does not really solve problems regardless of how good it feels for the fed up and righteous, angry rebels burning American cities.

Rationally, I know there are reports of people trying to escalate the violence and use the protests to sow chaos, destruction, violence, and anarchy. White supremacists, Russians, Antifah, terrorists? Is it true? Or are these reports a distraction? Are these reports a ploy by the armed forces to provide additional justification to suppress the protests? Does it matter?

And yet, isn't violent revolution at the germinating roots of this country's origin?

Isn't the very need to possibly resort to violence the reason we have the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

Emotional reactions, rational perspectives, and the last straw mix together with so much more and so many people and so many fires, bullets, rocks, and tears. The complexity of our problem should inspire complex feelings and thoughts in us. And yet, really, the life we should be living, the thing we can really do is quite simple. Don't just be against racism, be actively anti-racist. Root it out. Crush it.
And that sounds like violence is the answer.

I truly do not want to see anyone hurt or killed. And yet, 50 years of peaceful protests and activist organizations like Black Lives Matter (that inspires backlash with reactionary bullshit like all lives matter and blue lives matter) have not brought the change that we need to see in this country. Peaceful demonstrations have changed nothing. Still, people are killed, and let's be honest, it's mostly African American men. Even when a police officer is killed or a white person is killed, the death does not happen by having a law enforcement "officer" crushing a man's neck for almost ten minutes.

I am a peaceful person.

I close many messages to people with "peace" as my sign off.

I want peace.

But I also want change. I want black people to be able to walk through a white neighborhood without some racist calling the cops. I want black people to be able to feel unafraid when seeing a police car behind them on the street let alone when pulled over by a police officer.

And I know that I am incredibly privileged.

I am privileged because I am white. I am privileged because I am male. I am privileged to have a home, a family, friends, a job, a bank account, food, clothing, and excess money to buy things I do not need to survive, like comic books.

And I am privileged to watch the destructive riots sweeping the nation from the comfort of my TV from the comfort of my living room while I snuggle with my dogs and write my "think" piece for all two of my blog readers with photos and content I "share" from other sources.

Yeah, I care, but I am not at risk. NOT like the risk that others face every day of their lives because in this country being born black is a crime.

I know I am fortunate. My car is in my driveway. It is not at risk. And no police officer would dare to murder me in broad daylight by crushing my trachea and carotid arteries.

I have fought for change my whole adult life. I have tried to educate people that we need change in the world, this country especially. I have taught Between the World and Me. I have taught about the invisibility of white privilege. I have preached and exhorted in front of hundreds of college students. I have stood out in the cold holding signs; I have tried to do my part. None of it has been enough.

It's not enough just like the Minneapolis judicial system's arresting of only one (so far) of four murdering, white police officers responsible for the execution of George Floyd is not fucking enough.

And that all of this violence that feels so good and righteous and true and yet is rationally wrong and criminal and sad and for all of those things IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

Change is gonna come. A hard rain is gonna fall.

This week's HODGE PODGE is mostly about the injustices in our country, mostly due to racism, but there's a few other items and the usual weekly pandemic reports as we are still in the midst of the worst outbreak of a lethal disease in one hundred years (almost exactly).

Because that's the nature of the HODGE PODGE. This post is supposed to be conglomeration of things that I felt worth featuring from the last week. Sometimes I make it a THROWBACK THURSDAY, also. Not this week.

Here we go. Thank you for tuning in to what I am doing, my small part.

It's not enough.

https://theundefeated.com/features/why-do-so-many-white-people-deny-the-existence-of-white-privilege/

Kirsten Gillibrand Is Right: Racism Is About White People

Democrats should answer questions about race the way she did.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/opinion/2020-candidates-race.html

Get a grip, white people. We’re not the victims.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/06/get-grip-white-people-were-not-victims/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/minneapolis-floyd-protests.html

Here’s what you need to know:

• As protests simmer across the country, officials are bracing for a fifth night of unrest.

• Minnesota’s governor activated all National Guard troops, but declined the Army’s offer to deploy military police.

• Tension rose at protests in Los Angeles, where memories of Rodney King are still raw.

• An anguished nation watched the unrest with a mix of hope and horror.

• Trump blamed ‘left-wing groups’ for the violence, and Barr threatened rioters with prosecution.

• In Atlanta, protesters and curiosity-seekers visited CNN headquarters to see the damage.

• For those on the right, concern both about George Floyd’s death and the destructive protests that followed.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/29/george-floyd-protests-okay-amid-coronavirus-gathering-ban-de-blasio/

De Blasio backs George Floyd protests despite coronavirus gathering ban

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-minnesota-authorities-probe-death-of-black-man-in-minneapolis-police-custody-11590506499

Gov Walz says cities across the country can expect an escalation in violence as we have seen. He clearly expects tonight to be even worse in MN.

— Julie Nelson (@JulieNelsonKARE) May 30, 2020

My statement on the death of George Floyd: pic.twitter.com/Hg1k9JHT6R

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 29, 2020

"We're waiting for some leadership [from the President] rather than division. So far, silence."
- Don Lemon, CNN, Saturday, May 30, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-updates-05-28-20/h_e04cb48586e847146dddc94fd58ff62d

The death of George Floyd has ignited protests in Minneapolis and at least six other cities across the US. Some of the protests have been peaceful, while others have been destructive.

Minneapolis has been the epicenter of the protests, where state police in body armor and riot gear lined up overnight near the city's police precinct that was set ablaze by protesters.

Here is a snapshot of where protests have occurred so far: 

• Minnesota: Minneapolis and St. Paul
• Arizona: Phoenix
• Colorado: Denver
• Kentucky: Louisville
• Tennessee: Memphis
• Ohio: Columbus

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/29/21274426/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis-louisville-denver-photos

GEORGE FLOYD SITUATION

“Please, please, I can’t breathe, officer,” a man pleads, his wrists handcuffed behind his back, his face ground into the pavement. The police officer continues to press his knee into the man’s neck. The man, 46-year-old George Floyd, died later that day. Floyd was black; the cop, white.

The scene, which was captured on video, violently snapped America out of the inertia of the coronavirus pandemic. Floyd died on Monday, May 25. By Thursday, American cities were burning.

Protests have racked Minneapolis — where Floyd was killed — for three straight days. On Thursday, mourners held a vigil for Floyd. They marched, demanded justice, had a moment of silence.

But demonstrations later turned tense and sometimes violent. Police fired tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and rubber bullets at demonstrators. Rioters vandalized and looted local businesses. People scaled the walls of a police precinct and set it aflame. The station was evacuated before protesters entered and started the fire.

How to Help Demand Justice for George Floyd

By Claire Lampen@claire_lampen

https://www.thecut.com/2020/05/george-floyd-protests-how-to-help-where-to-donate.html

Demand police accountability from your legislators.

Make ending police brutality a litmus test for your political support. Campaign Zero — which is also accepting donations — has a comprehensive guide to policies that aim to correct broken windows policing, excessive force, racial profiling, for-profit policing, and much more. Familiarize yourself with laws in your area, and contact your representatives — at the local, state, and national level — to press them for their plans on ending discrimination in law enforcement.

If you’d like to support accountability in the Minneapolis Police Department specifically, Reclaim the Block — a Minneapolis organization devoted to reallocating the city’s money away from the police department and toward “community-led safety initiatives,” to which you can also donate — has a petition that asks the city council to defund the police force, freeing up resources to promote the safety and health of the city’s marginalized communities.

TONY MCDADE

a Black person named Tony Mcdade was murdered by police in Tallahassee yesterday & nobody is talking about this. Tony is being referred to using the pronouns “she/her” by family & ppl in the neighborhood, however, Tony’s FB profile uses the pronoun “HE”.

— ki (@AkieaG) May 28, 2020

When we say all Black lives matter, we mean ALL. Our hearts go out to Tony’s family and the Black people of Tallahassee. #TonyMcDade https://t.co/pRA5MrvNph

— Black Visions Collective (@BlackVisionsMN) May 29, 2020

#TonyMcDade, we say your name. https://t.co/pfgzkfbJaI

— Out Magazine (@outmagazine) May 29, 2020

Wednesday evening around 20 to 30 people gathered lighting candles and holding flowers and posters to honor the life of Tony McDade. Social media has also been inundated with posts about McDade calling for justice after the 38-year-old-was shot and killed by Tallahassee Police. Organizations like the National Black Justice Coalition, Black Visions Collective, Equality Florida, and Basic Rights Oregon have all spoken out in what has increasingly become a complex story.

On Wednesday morning, McDade was one of two people left dead in Tallahassee at the Leon Arms Apartments according to WTXL. An unidentified man was stabbed in an altercation between himself and someone else who police suspected to be McDade, and later died from those injuries. Police then found McDade and alleged that he had a gun.

"The suspect then made a move consistent with using the firearm against the officer, who fired their issued handgun, fatally striking [McDade,]" the department wrote in a release. Some reports dispute whether McDade had a weapon while others say he had only a knife. The police, and some media, have misgendered McDade in their coverage of the incident.

“Adequate words do not exist to describe the weight of the pain that accompanies drafting statements to honor Black people who have been murdered as a result of who they are and how they show up in the world," the National Black Justice Coalition wrote in a release following the death. "It especially pains me to acknowledge when police officers who do not have a license to kill — are implicated in the murder." The letter went on referencing other recent incidents of systemic racism that have resulted in the pain, trauma and/or death for Black folks. Most notably this involved the police killing of George Floyd who died from suffocation after a white police officer pinned him to the ground and ignored his pleas of not being able to breathe.

“It pains me to have learned about Tony McDade, who we understand was killed by a member of the Tallahassee Police Department yesterday morning," NBJC continued. "Tony, a Black trans man, is our brother."

Reports have revealed that prior to the fatal incident, McDade had uploaded a long video to his Facebook page. In it, he recounted being attacked by five men in what he called a racist and transphobic attack. He promised retribution for the attack.

“It’s just Tony the Tiger all alone coming for your blood,” McDade said in the post, “And after I get through killing you, I’m going to go back on live if I have the opportunity, because I will not be going back to prison.” McDade was released from prison in January 2020 after a decade-long sentence on weapons charges.

In the video he said that he would have a "stand off" with police officers because he refused to be incarcerated again.

 “I am killing and going to be killed because I will not go back into federal prison," McDade said.

The video may indicate that McDade intended for his death to be police-assisted suicide.

The case is reportedly the third officer-involved fatal shooting in Tallahassee in two months, and the 11th reported trans and/or GNC death of 2020. Equality Florida calls the state the "epicenter of anti-trans violence with seven Black transgender women having been murdered over the last two years."

"This tragic incident should be a reminder that hate crimes against Black LGBTQ/SGL people happen too frequently—often without the national public outcry that our cis and/or heteronormative brothers and sisters receive" NBJC wrote in its release. "In 2018 alone, over 1,500 hate crimes based on bias against someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity were reported. And the violence is escalating. There was more than an 18 percent increase in these hate crimes from 2016 to 2018, and the FBI reports an 11 percent increase in anti-Black hate crimes during the same period."

Tags: NEWS, TRANSGENDER, CRIME

White supremacists and drug cartels are playing off the George Floyd killing to create more havoc on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota’s governor said Saturday.

Gov. Tim Walz confirmed he had received reports of hordes of white supremacists who joined in the looting of businesses, NBC News reported.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/30/white-supremacists-cartels-add-to-george-floyd-chaos-governor/

Another video of Seattle PD body slamming a protesting then giving them a ground and pound. This is major abuse. Do not let mainstream media lie to you. The cops aren’t being peaceful and inciting violence. This is America. #seattleprotest #JusticeForGeorge #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/Awj5RL7ocj

— DÆ (@daeshikjr) May 30, 2020

SEATTLE PD ORDERED OFFICERS TO TURN OFF THEIR BODY CAMERAS PLEASE BE DOCUMENTING ALL YOUR ENCOUNTERS WITH THEM THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP EVIDENCE RISING AGAINST THEM BE SAFE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE IF IT GETS TOO DANGEROUS

— ً (@caneIitas) May 30, 2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER - MINNEAPOLIS CITY HALL - 2015

Black Lives Matter supporters and allies gather inside the Minneapolis City Hall rotunda on December 3, 2015, after an early morning raid and eviction of demonstrators occupying the space outside the Minneapolis Police Department's 4th Precinct, following the police shooting death of Jamar Clark.

I have been trying to be fair and reasonable and hold my tongue. But this person who swindled his way into the presidency is SUCH A FUCKING ASSHOLE! #TrumpisaRacistThug #TrumpIsANationalDisgrace https://t.co/Phh60qFwdg

— gmrstudios (@gmrstudios) May 31, 2020

Anyone still planning on sitting out this election?#VoteBidenToSaveAmerica

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) May 31, 2020

We need a real leader to be president of the country not a vicious and petulant brat.

Biden may not be perfect, but he knows more about leading than Trump could have someone put on a tele-prompter for him to read at a press briefing.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2020/05/30/fourth-day-of-protests-over-george-floyds-death-overwhelm-authorities/

https://www.ksat.com/news/national/2020/05/29/minneapolis-protests-spread-to-other-cities-across-the-us/

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/5/30/21275575/chicago-protest-george-floyd-federal-plaza-loop-police-arrests

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/minneapolis-floyd-protests.html

https://deadline.com/2020/05/warnermedia-ceo-jason-kilar-responds-to-george-floyd-protests-urging-empathy-cnn-killer-mike-1202947435/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/george-floyd-protesters-justice-cops-charged-200530011327659.html

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2020/05/30/not-just-black-thing-anymore-wilmington-protesters-say-demanding-justice-george-floyd/5286392002/

https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/los-angeles-curfew-protests-george-floyd-1234621146/

Police officers walk enveloped by tear gas in Portland, Ore., on Friday.(Dave Killen/The Oregonian/AP)

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/05/protest-escalates-at-downtown-portland-justice-center.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/29/protests-over-george-floyds-death-spread-across-the-nation.html

https://www.foxnews.com/us/george-floyd-protests-nyc-turn-violent-several-arrested

https://www.foxnews.com/us/george-floyd-protests-nyc-turn-violent-several-arrested

https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/5/30/21275674/salt-lake-city-curfew-protest-streets-george-floyd-killing-police-car-gary-herbert-national-guard

A police car is engulfed in flames as people protest police brutality in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Protesters joined others across the nation to decry the death of George Floyd, a black man, who died while being taken into custody by police in Minneapolis earlier this week. Video showed an officer kneeling on his neck while he implored, “I can’t breathe.” Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/5/30/21275674/salt-lake-city-curfew-protest-streets-george-floyd-killing-police-car-gary-herbert-national-guard

21-year-old shot and killed during Detroit protest over death of George Floyd

https://www.wthr.com/article/21-year-old-shot-and-killed-during-detroit-protest-over-death-george-floyd

DETROIT (AP) – One person was killed in downtown Detroit after someone fired shots into a vehicle during a protest over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes, a Detroit police spokeswoman said Saturday.

The shooting occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday near Detroit's Greektown entertainment district as officers were confronted with dozens of protesters, said Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood, a police spokeswoman. She said an officer wasn't involved in the shooting.

A police report released Saturday said the shooting victim, a 21-year-old man, was sitting in the driver's seat of a silver Dodge Caliber in a parking lot with two other male occupants when an unknown person fired shots into the vehicle and then fled on foot.

Police earlier said that based on preliminary information, the shooting suspect had pulled up in a Dodge Durango and fired shots into a crowd.

Kirkwood said the victim was pronounced dead at a hospital and that police were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Of the 60 people who were arrested in Detroit's overnight protest, 37 don't live in the city, police Chief James Craig said Saturday. Although Detroit is about 80 percent black, many of those arrested were white.

https://www.newsbreak.com/michigan/detroit/news/0PCFsdOO/george-floyd-protests-national-guard-mobilized-in-atlanta-fatal-shooting-in-detroit

Protests have erupted in at least 30 US cities over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-05-30-20/index.html

We now have more than 4,100 — quickly moving toward 10,800 — Minnesota Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen supporting our friends and neighbors in the Twin Cities. This is a significant increase over the 700 on-duty Friday. We live here. We work here. We serve here. We’re all in. pic.twitter.com/WorKOI9ZCa

— MN National Guard (@MNNationalGuard) May 31, 2020

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/30/21275507/minneapolis-george-floyd-protests-police-violence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

https://www.insider.com/protest-photos-justice-for-george-floyd-police-killing-2020-5

https://abcnews.go.com/US/minnesota-protest-live-updates-prudent-army-units-ready/story?id=70966284

https://abcnews.go.com/US/minnesota-protest-live-updates-prudent-army-units-ready/story?id=70966284

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/05/29/george-floyd-protests-how-did-we-get-here/5283225002/

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-updates-05-28-20/index.html

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-05-30/la-na-pol-trump-tweets-george-floyd-protesters-20200530

AND YET THERE'S STILL A PANDEMIC....




buy pandemic products from DEVO

https://www.impactmerch.com/retail/product-category/webstores/devo/

main site: http://www.clubdevo.com/


May 15, 2020

“FREEDOM OF CHOICE IS WHAT YOU GOT. FREEDOM FROM CHOICE IS WHAT YOU WANT”

DEVO, ever canaries in a coalmine, issued that strident warning 40 years ago this month of May 1980 on the title track to our FREEDOM OF CHOICE LP. We were pro-information, anti stupid conformity and knew that the struggle for freedom against tyranny is never-ending.

Here we are 40 years later, living in the alternate reality nightmare spawned by Covid 19 and the botched response of our world “leaders” to do the right thing quickly. We are not exaggerating when we say that 2020 could be the last time you might be able to exercise your freedom of choice. If you don’t use it, you can certainly lose it.

DEVO also introduced the ENERGY DOME in tandem with our 1980 LP. Graphically bold design in aggressive, primary red it became the most iconic symbol of the band’s multi-media mission to spread the idea of Devolution. We explained that once the dome was placed on your head it recycled the electrical energy that regularly escapes from your brain. People of course laughed. Now the dome is no longer a source of controversy or derision. Its popularity is a sort of proof that De-evolution is real!

As you know the Coronavirus pandemic squashed any DEVO 2020 concert plans for the time being. We shall see what happens. In the meantime we know that as the lockdown is eased human interactions at concerts, sporting events, etc. mean that masks are part of our foreseeable future. To that end DEVO will be offering two classic designs for your PPE mask needs. Check our re-launched DEVO store for details.

What? The DEVO store is back? That’s right! Against all odds after unfortunate experiences with some bad actors & pandemic related delays, we are now able to offer cool DEVO stuff to any spud who might want it. In addition to the masks and classic T’s we have a spiffy, clear plastic, DEVO PPS Shield that is designed to attach easily to the DEVO Energy Dome to protect you from invisible microbes and unwanted bodily fluids. Stay safe in devolved style!

Duty Now For The Future,

Gerald Casale of DEVO

https://news.slashdot.org/story/20/05/26/2143247/supercomputer-simulates-the-impact-of-the-asteroid-that-wiped-out-dinosaurs

Supercomputer Simulates the Impact of the Asteroid That Wiped Out Dinosaurs (zdnet.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @11:30PM from the simulated-events dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet:Some 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth on the eastern coast of modern Mexico, resulting in up to three quarters of plant and animal species living on the planet going extinct -- including the dinosaurs. Now, a team of researchers equipped with a supercomputer have managed to simulate the entire event, shedding light on the reasons that the impact led to a mass extinction of life. The simulations were carried out by scientists at Imperial College in London, using high performance computing (HPC) facilities provided by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The research focused on establishing as precise an impact angle and trajectory as possible, which in turn can help determine precisely how the asteroid's hit affected the surrounding environment.

Various impact angles and speeds were considered, and 3D simulations for each were fed into the supercomputer. These simulations were then compared with the geophysical features that have been observed in the 110-mile wide Chicxulub crater, located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where the impact happened. The simulations that turned out to be the most consistent with the structure of the Chicxulub crater showed an impact angle of about 60 degrees. Such a strike had the strength of about ten billion Hiroshima bombs, and this particular angle meant that rocks and sediments were ejected almost symmetrically. This, in turn, caused a greater amount of climate-changing gases to be released, including billions of tonnes of sulphur that blocked the sun. The rest is history: firestorms, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes rocked the planet, and most species disappeared from the surface of the Earth.The 60-degree angle constituted "the worse-case scenario for the lethality of the impact" because it maximized the ejection of rock and therefore, the production of gases, the scientists wrote.

"The researchers carried out almost 300 3D simulations before they were able to reach their conclusions, which was processed by the HPE Apollo 6000 Gen10 supercomputer located at the University of Leicester," adds ZDNet. "The 14,000-cores system, powered by Intel's Skylake chips, is supported by a 6TB server to accommodate large, in-memory calculations."

I want y’all to realize that when they called Black protestors “thugs” in Ferguson, we were armed with cardboard signs and cell phones.

If any of us had DARED to be on the street, let alone a gov’t building, fully armed, this video wouldn’t exist.

Because we’d all be dead. https://t.co/qNh4WK7FvN

— brittany packnett cunningham does not do remixes. (@MsPackyetti) April 30, 2020

Hi! 👋🏼 I also have a name, it’s Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy

— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020

BAKERY: We refuse to serve gay people.
CONSERVATIVES: That is their right!
BAKERY: We refuse to serve anyone not wearing a mask.
CONSERVATIVES: You’re violating our rights!

— Just Mary (@BlueHenArt) May 20, 2020

Fascinating 🐺https://t.co/mlVZNlWf9i

— Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) May 23, 2020

Lockdown-Ignoring Sweden Now Has Europe's Highest Per-Capita Death Rate

Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Staying Closed For Too Long Could Cause 'Irreparable Damage'

Study of 96,000 Covid-19 Patients Finds Hydroxychloroquine Increased Their Risk of Dying

New Imperial College Research Estimates Coronavirus Still Spreading Uncontrolled in 24 US States

America Makes a Big Investment In Next-Gen Nuclear Power

Pandemic Brings Huge Spike In Demand For Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

America's CDC and 11 States Erroneously Conflated Two Kinds of Coronavirus Tests

Trump Administration Mulls First US Nuclear Test in Decades

As Demand Plummets This Weekend, UK Renewable Energy Projects May Be Asked To Turn Off

After 37 Years Microsoft Open Sources GW-BASIC

https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/05/22/2048247/alma-discovers-massive-rotating-disk-in-early-universe

ALMA Discovers Massive Rotating Disk In Early Universe (phys.org)

Posted by BeauHD on Saturday May 23, 2020 @03:00AM from the lost-and-found dept.

Iwastheone shares a report from Phys.Org:In our 13.8 billion-year-old universe, most galaxies like our Milky Way form gradually, reaching their large mass relatively late. But a new discovery made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of a massive rotating disk galaxy, seen when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, challenges the traditional models of galaxy formation. Galaxy DLA0817g, nicknamed the Wolfe Disk after the late astronomer Arthur M. Wolfe, is the most distant rotating disk galaxy ever observed. The unparalleled power of ALMA made it possible to see this galaxy spinning at 170 miles (272 kilometers) per second, similar to our Milky Way.

The discovery of the Wolfe Disk provides a challenge for many galaxy formation simulations, which predict that massive galaxies at this point in the evolution of the cosmos grew through many mergers of smaller galaxies and hot clumps of gas. In most galaxy formation scenarios, galaxies only start to show a well-formed disk around 6 billion years after the Big Bang. The fact that the astronomers found such a disk galaxy when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, indicates that other growth processes must have dominated. "We think the Wolfe Disk has grown primarily through the steady accretion of cold gas," said J. Xavier Prochaska, of the University of California, Santa Cruz and coauthor of the paper. "Still, one of the questions that remains is how to assemble such a large gas mass while maintaining a relatively stable, rotating disk.""The star formation rate in the Wolfe Disk is at least ten times higher than in our own galaxy," adds Prochaska. "It must be one of the most productive disk galaxies in the early universe."

The findings have been published in the journal Nature.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/05/22/2041238/scientists-find-brain-center-that-profoundly-shuts-down-pain

Scientists Find Brain Center That 'Profoundly' Shuts Down Pain (sciencedaily.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Friday May 22, 2020 @10:02PM from the cease-and-desist dept.

A research team from Duke University has found a small area of the brain in mice that can profoundly shut down pain. "It's located in an area where few people would have thought to look for an anti-pain center, the amygdala, which is often considered the home of negative emotions and responses, like the fight or flight response and general anxiety," reports ScienceDaily. From the report:The researchers found that general anesthesia also activates a specific subset of inhibitory neurons in the central amygdala, which they have called the CeAga neurons (CeA stands for central amygdala; ga indicates activation by general anesthesia). Mice have a relatively larger central amygdala than humans, but [senior author Fan Wang, the Morris N. Broad Distinguished Professor of neurobiology in the School of Medicine] said she had no reason to think we have a different system for controlling pain. Using technologies that Wang's lab has pioneered to track the paths of activated neurons in mice, the team found the CeAga was connected to many different areas of the brain, "which was a surprise," Wang said.

By giving mice a mild pain stimulus, the researchers could map all of the pain-activated brain regions. They discovered that at least 16 brain centers known to process the sensory or emotional aspects of pain were receiving inhibitory input from the CeAga. Using a technology called optogenetics, which uses light to activate a small population of cells in the brain, the researchers found they could turn off the self-caring behaviors a mouse exhibits when it feels uncomfortable by activating the CeAga neurons. Paw-licking or face-wiping behaviors were "completely abolished" the moment the light was switched on to activate the anti-pain center.

When the scientists dampened the activity of these CeAga neurons, the mice responded as if a temporary insult had become intense or painful again. They also found that low-dose ketamine, an anesthetic drug that allows sensation but blocks pain, activated the CeAga center and wouldn't work without it. Now the researchers are going to look for drugs that can activate only these cells to suppress pain as potential future pain killers, Wang said.The study has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

As Russia Stalks US Satellites, a Space Arms Race May Be Heating Up (thebulletin.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on Sunday May 24, 2020 @07:34AM from the star-wars dept.

Russia "is now challenging the United States' long-standing supremacy in space and working to exploit the U.S. military's dependence on space systems for communications, navigation, intelligence, and targeting."

That's the argument made in The Bulletin by a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who writes about technology and military strategy, Cold War history, and European security affairs (in an article shared by Lasrick).Moscow is developing counter-space weapons as a part of its overall information warfare strategy. For example, Russia just tested an anti-satellite missile system designed to destroy satellites in low earth orbit. Moreover, military leaders in Russia view U.S. satellites as the key enablers of America's ability to execute rapid, agile, and global military operations; they are intent on echoing this success and modernizing their own military satellites to more effectively support Russian forces.

Since the end of the Cold War, the number of countries with space programs has markedly increased. Many of them are actively developing space weapons. China, for example, has an operational ground-launched anti-satellite system, according to the U.S. intelligence community. India successfully tested its own space weapon in 2019. France announced that it will launch a series of armed satellites. Even Iran is believed to be able to develop a rudimentary anti-satellite weapon in the near term... Space systems are essential for warfighting on Earth and the large growth in the number of countries fielding space weapons means the likelihood that outer space will be transformed into a battlefield has increased... Russia is the only country, however, that is reportedly approaching U.S. satellites in an aggressive manner...

Moscow's destabilizing behavior could prompt the United States to take a more aggressive posture in space in the future... Russia has been taking advantage of the lack of international consensus on what constitutes acceptable behavior in space... It seems clear that Russia is likely testing how the United States and its allies might react to aggressive space behaviors and is gaining important insights into American national security space capabilities...

In 2019, former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said that at some point, the United States needs the ability to "hit back." Russia's destabilizing actions in space could, therefore, fuel a dangerous arms race in space.

https://slashdot.org/story/20/05/23/0046201/after-37-years-microsoft-open-sources-gw-basic

After 37 Years Microsoft Open Sources GW-BASIC (microsoft.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on Saturday May 23, 2020 @02:34PM from the sharing-the-software dept.

"Having re-open-sourced MS-DOS on GitHub in 2018, Microsoft has now released the source code for GW-BASIC, Microsoft's 1983 BASIC interpreter," reports ZDNet, adding that GW-BASIC "can trace its roots back to Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's implementation of Microsoft's first product, the BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 computer."

"Interested to look at thousands of lines of glorious 8088 assembly code for the original 1983 GW-BASIC...?" writes Slashdot reader sonofusion82, adding "there are not Makefiles or build scripts, just a bunch of 8088 ASM files."

Or as Hackaday jokes, "Microsoft releases the source code you wanted almost 30 years ago."In the late 1970s and early 1980s, if you had a personal computer there was a fair chance it either booted into some version of Microsoft Basic or you could load and run Basic... Now you can get the once-coveted Microsoft Basic source code...

They put up a read only GW-BASIC repository, presumably to stop a flood of feature requests for GPU acceleration...

From what we understand, GW-Basic was identical to IBM's BASICA, but didn't require certain IBM PC ROMs to operate. Of course, BASICA, itself, came from MBASIC, Microsoft's CP/M language that originated with Altair Basic... We did enjoy the 1975 copyright message, though:

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON THE PDP-10 FROM FEBRUARY 9 TO APRIL 9 1975

BILL GATES WROTE A LOT OF STUFF.
PAUL ALLEN WROTE A LOT OF OTHER STUFF AND FAST CODE.
MONTE DAVIDOFF WROTE THE MATH PACKAGE (F4I.MAC).
Bill Gates was 19 years old, Paul Allen was 22.

https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/05/27/0317209/the-cdc-says-its-new-best-estimate-is-that-04-percent-of-people-with-symptoms-and-covid-19-will-die

The CDC Says Its New 'Best Estimate' Is That 0.4 Percent of People With Symptoms and COVID-19 Will Die (cnn.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:00AM from the revised-estimates dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN:In new guidance for mathematical modelers and public health officials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that about a third of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic. The CDC also says its "best estimate" is that 0.4% of people who show symptoms and have Covid-19 will die, and the agency estimates that 40% of coronavirus transmission is occurring before people feel sick.

The numbers are part of five planning scenarios that "are being used by mathematical modelers throughout the federal government," according to the CDC. Four of those scenarios represent "the lower and upper bounds of disease severity and viral transmissibility." The fifth scenario is the CDC's "current best estimate about viral transmission and disease severity in the United States." In that scenario, the agency described its estimate that 0.4% of people who feel sick with Covid-19 will die. For people age 65 and older, the CDC puts that number at 1.3%. For people 49 and under, the agency estimated that 0.05% of symptomatic people will die.The CDC cautions that these numbers are based on real data collected by the agency before April 29 and are subject to change. Still, the "current best estimate" number of 0.4% is significantly lower than the 3.4% mortality rate the World Health Organization warned in early March.

"As I see it, the 'best estimate' is extremely optimistic, and the 'worst case' scenario is fairly optimistic even as a best estimate. One certainly wants to consider worse scenarios," biologist Carl Bergstrom of the University of Washington told CNN. "By introducing these as the official parameter sets for modeling efforts, CDC is influencing the models produced by federal agencies, but also the broader scientific discourse because there will be some pressure to use the CDC standard parameter sets in modeling papers going forward," he said. "Given that these parameter sets underestimate fatality by a substantial margin compared to current scientific consensus, this is deeply problematic."

WEEKLY PANDEMIC REPORT

I am a day late. But this week I am going to post both graphics. The estimates of 147,000 deaths by August seem low the way the death rate is climbing and with re-opening and relaxing of precautions.

Anyway, as usual, here's the weekly links to the data about cases (lower than reality) and deaths (lower than reality, also) due to COVID-19.

Data can be found here, as always:

COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

This is also a good data site:

Worldometer - Coronavirus info

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/ny-governor-andrew-cuomo-may-28-press-conference-transcript-chris-rock-rosie-perez

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (00:00)
I’m here and it’s a pleasure to be back and you’ll understand why we’re in Brooklyn in a moment. Let’s talk about where we are today. Fact by fact, across the morass, we’re all trying to find our way through this and following the facts or the way we’ve chosen to do it in the great state of New York.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (00:21)
Facts today are good. The total number of hospitalizations are down. The rolling total is down. The change in intubations, people who are put on ventilators is down. So that’s very good news and the number of new COVID cases per day is also down, 163, which is the lowest that has been. So that is all very, very good news from our point of view. The relatively positive news is the number of deaths continues to decline, 74. This is always painful and we’re going to be watching this number to see how far down it actually goes.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (01:07)
We have a large state and the COVID virus tends to attack those who were seniors in those who have underlying illnesses and will remain a cause of death for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid to say. But we want to get this number down as low as possible and we’re doing everything that we can to do that. We have the best hospitals, the best doctors, the best nurses. They’re all working day and night. So we can take a little solace in the fact that we know we have done everything we can to help save those 74 lives. You can’t always be successful, but you can always do the most that you can do and that’s what we’re doing.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (01:57)
You see again, the number of lives lost and how that number is coming down, so that is all good news. Yesterday. I was in Washington, DC, spoke to a lot of people and met with the president, spoke to congressional members, spoke to Senate members to try to find out what was going on.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (02:15)
This is my opinion. So it’s worth what you pay for it, since you’re not paying anything. I understand what states must do to work their way through this pandemic. The states are taking the lead in the responsibility. I understand that. I understand what governors must do. I am vice chairman of what’s called the National Governors Association, so I work with governors all across the nation and we talk about our responsibilities and I feel good about what the states and what the governors are doing.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (02:46)
My question is, what is Washington going to do? The federal government? Because they have a role also in this. Yes, the states are in charge. And yes, the states are implementing their plans, but we need support from the federal government and that’s the role of the federal government.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (03:05)
Washington has passed numerous pieces of legislation and they’ve successfully bailed out big corporations. They passed pieces of legislation that have a lot of benefits for the rich and the powerful. Now, the question is, what is Washington going to do in terms of passing legislation that helps working Americans, right? Police officers, firefighters, school teachers, hospitals, unemployed people, businesses that are struggling. How do we help them? How do we bring them up? And that’s what states do and local governments do in that state and local government funding and they have to provide that.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (03:47)
Also my opinion is Washington should just for this once and their proclivity to make every piece of legislation, pork barrel legislation. I understand they have to get senators to vote for it and they have to get house members to vote for it, but that doesn’t mean they have to make it a gravy train of pork just to pass it. Maybe you can just pass a bill on the merits of a bill. How about that? Novel, but possible. This is supposed to be a specifically targeted piece of legislation to help restore the economy and repair the damage of the COVID virus. Well then make the legislation about funding to repair the COVID virus. And you know, where the COVID virus has been in this country. You know where it’s wreaking havoc. You can count the number of deaths and where they are. You can count the number of positive cases in where they are.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (04:45)
You look at the past legislation that came out of Washington and how they disperse the money and you look at how they wound up making it a gravy train and every state got a lot of money. Local governments got a lot of money and in many cases disconnected from the COVID virus and the COVID situation.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (05:11)
If you take the total funding and you actually look at how much states got per positive COVID case, it’s not even close. Some states got millions of dollars per COVID case. New York state, we got about $23,000 per case. New Jersey, we got about $27,000 per case. I understand they have to “buy votes” on a piece of legislation. I also understand it’s taxpayer’s money and theoretically, a legislator is there to do what’s right and not because that legislator was seduced with large amounts of taxpayer dollars even though that state wasn’t affected.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (06:02)
I also think Washington has an opportunity to actually step up and to be smart for a change. They should be talking about revitalizing the economy, not just reopening the economy. I don’t believe you just reopen the economy and it bounces back for everyone. I think it bounces back for the big corporations. I think it bounces back for the rich. I think it bounces back for the powerful. That’s what happened after the 2008 financial crisis, the mortgage fraud crisis. The big banks that caused the crisis, they were fine just months afterwards. They took all of that federal bailout money. They gave themselves bonuses. I remember I was the Attorney General of New York. I chased those corporations to put the bonuses back.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (06:52)
But how about the small businesses that closed? How about the corporations that are going to lay off workers now? What’s going to happen to them? How about all those blue collar jobs that are not going to come back right away? All those little retail stores that are not going to come back right away? So it’s not just about reopening, it’s about revitalizing. And it’s about having a plan and a vision for the future. We went through this. What’s the plan going forward. We went through the Depression, but there was a plan afterwards. We went through World War II, but there was a plan to restore the economy. Where’s the plan? Where’s the vision? Where’s the plan to say, “Yes, we went through hell, but heaven is on the other side and we’re going to rally and we’re going to be better for this.” BBB, build it back better.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (07:51)
We’re not just going to return to where we were. We’re going to be better than ever before and to make sure that any of those corporations that took taxpayer money, rehire the same number of workers. You hear these corporations now talking about, “Well, we’re going to take this opportunity to restructure. We’re going to get lean.” You know what that means? That means they’re going to lay off workers. That means they’re going to boost their profits and their stock price by laying off workers and not rehiring people after the pandemic. Now that’s a corporations right, but you don’t have to subsidize that with government money, right? You shouldn’t be giving them government cash and then they lay off workers and then the tax payer has to pay unemployment for the workers they laid off. That would be a scandal, right? Well, if they don’t stop it, it’s going to happen here. And if they were smart, they’d finally rebuild the infrastructure in this nation, which they’ve been talking about for 30, 40 years and never done.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (08:55)
You want to put people to work? Build airports, build bridges, put technology in education, put technology in healthcare. Do the things you have talked about for 40 years but the government was never competent enough to do.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: (09:10)
Also to Washington after my conversations, so much of it is, well, here’s our politics. Here’s our politics. Forget your politics. Just put it all aside. There’s a greater interest than your politics and that’s doing the right thing for this country and for your constituents and stop the hyper partisan attitude and the gridlock. Forget the red and the blue. We are red, white, and blue. We’re all Americans. That’s my opinion.



This is an old story, but it's still a good story...... PERSPECTIVE.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-25/coronavirus-death-or-the-economy

Fox’s Brit Hume (76 and a grandparent) called Patrick’s suggestion that seniors effectively sacrifice themselves for the good of their offspring an “entirely reasonable viewpoint.” He noted that thousands of Americans die every year from the flu, yet “we don’t shut down the economy to save every single life that’s threatened by disease; we just don’t.”

“There is a demonic side to the sentimentalism of saving lives at any cost,” wrote R.R. Reno, editor of First Things, a right-wing Christian website. “Satan rules a kingdom in which the ultimate power of death is announced morning, noon, and night.... The mass shutdown of society to fight the spread of COVID-19 creates a perverse, even demonic atmosphere. Governor Cuomo and other officials insist that death’s power must rule our actions.”

STAR TREK PODCAST

https://twitter.com/OmegaParticle_

https://link.chtbl.com/N1UQkPNH

Those early morning vibes 😴 @TheKateMulgrew #startrek #trekkie #nerd #startrekpodcast #boldlygo #makeitso #tng #ds9 #voyager #picard #Discovery #omegaparticlepodcast pic.twitter.com/nB995518MG

— The Omega Particle Podcast (@OmegaParticle_) May 19, 2020

The crew is (virtually) back together for the 25th and there will surely be hilarity and shenanigans! Beam in on Tuesday, May 26 & join us in support of a great cause. https://t.co/LQYKCsFaZK

— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) May 21, 2020

Jung as mystic, Gnostic and prophet for our time

For a long time, I hesitated to review Catafalque because I knew I could not respond in my accustomed academic way.  Beginning with his impeccably researched Ancient Philosophy, Mystery and Magic, Peter Kingsley has explored the experiential core of the great pre-Socratic philosopher-magicians, Parmenides, Empedocles, and Pythagoras in books that are both scholarly and existentially compelling.  But they are not simply books “about” these magicians; he does not give us information. He recovers their magic and casts their spells on you; spells that get under your skin, inside your head, and radically rearrange your world. 

Sometimes it is frightening, exhilarating, and I always feel stimulated by the brilliance of his thinking, the dark humor of his writing, and by insights I hadn’t had before.  Catafalque is Kingsley’s best book. It is a prophetic masterpiece that rearranges everything you may have thought about your life, your culture, and your identity. To engage a voice that is primal, archetypal, and as deep as Kingsley’s, one must respond with corresponding primacy and depth. It won’t do to give a rational critique, outlining this or that point of view, and assess Kingsley’s arguments. This could be done, but it would be wholly inadequate because this book is not essentially an argument. It is a howl, a disturbing and painful cry. And if we cannot find its corresponding cry within us, we miss everything...

-    Dr Shane Eynon 


Read the full book review here


Join the Jungian Book Club
 

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2005.30 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1793 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.