#CBS Evening News Independent

[gurutrends]

Independent drugstore closures threaten to turn communities into "pharmacy deserts"

Kempson Rexall drugstore has been a staple in the small community of Inman, South Carolina, since 1905. The nearest hospital is about a half-hour drive away, so in a family medical moment, many of the town’s 3,200 residents often call here first. “This store means the world to this community,” said owner and pharmacist Marianne McElveen. “Our customers are extremely loyal. They love us. They love…

[deposedefenddeny]

Debunking the myth of Luigi Mangione's prison haircut signaling protection by fellow incarcerated people

Social media attention has been laid on the difference in Luigi Mangione's grooming from his initial appearances in Pennsylvanian court after being captured on Dec. 10 and 11, versus on Dec. 19 during his extradition to New York and appearance in federal court, pictured above.

Newsweek reported that according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Mangione received a haircut at a barbershop inside SCI Huntingdon, the facility he was being held in, on the day prior to his court appearance in Pennsylvania, during which he agreed to and was subsequently extradited to New York. In addition, it was also reported by CBS throughout his 10-day confinement in SCI Huntingdon that he was being held "in a cell by himself, and does not get to interact with other inmates," according to prison officials. Therefore, it is likely that he was brought intentionally to the prison barbershop by prison staff ahead of his court appearance the next day, possibly by request of his lawyers, as is a common practice.

Speculation that Mangione's haircut was a "signal towards correction officers" that fellow incarcerated people at SCI Huntingdon were caring for and protecting him is therefore probably unfounded. This rumor appears to have originated on social media, likely TikTok, and has not even been mentioned in any of the even less-savory tabloids that have been covering Mangione's case, such as the Daily Mail or The Independent.

[tethrarisms]

*sigh*

Let's do this again.

The most harmful and irreparable damage the MCU has ever done is definitely Wanda's characterization and how the "fandom" perceives her even when non-cb readers migrate to the 616 side.

(This is screenshot depicting a fan reacting to Russell Dauterman's redesign of Lore, an evil Wanda variant who first debuted in 1993 in Scarlet Witch #1. She will return in the new Scarlet Witch series this year)

In addition to all the "she's always been white" constant, toxic and racist comments, which only reinforces their lack of ability to recognize issues such as colorism, Rromani representation (when they actually know the difference between Rromani and Romanian, that is) and straight-up whitewashing, they also fail to identify a most essential trait of her entire characterization: her desire to do good and become a symbol of heroism.

Wanda despises doing harm to others. Her first iteration is legitimately a depiction in which she and Pietro are being forced by Magneto to work for him and his brotherhood of evil mutants, all thanks to emotional manipulation. She never means to hurt the original X-Men except when Pietro is hurt and/or in danger. It's her protective side, not her "evil" side.

(Uncanny X-Men v1 #4; #11)

It's also fundamental to be aware that Wanda and Pietro come from a place where there's trauma for being abused by Magneto when it comes to their powers. This is why they are hesitant to join the Avengers, and yet their sense of responsibility is stronger.

(Avengers v1 #16)

Now, when it comes to Chthon, it's another rabbit hole of struggling with independence, power and agency. Being controlled by an evil force is as an old trope as any other in comic books. Still, I can't help but notice that her relationship with Chthon is never truly solved as other magic characters' issues, so why does it stick to Wanda the hardest?

Allow me illustrate with other examples:

1. Magik and the Darkchylde.

For those who don't know, the Darkchylde is "an evil side" of Illyana Rasputin, result of her captor and abuser's tampering with her soul.

The Darkchylde has several interpretations, from abuse to struggling with self-worth, and it has been established for decades as a side of Illyana that she despises, fears and suppresses.

(New Mutants v1 #71)

Illyana took years to make peace with her inner self and even had an arc to leave her reigning place of power in Limbo to Madelyne, another character who was villanized by the narrative for the very same reasons. Which begs the question.... why would a fan root for the Darkchylde to be her standard self when this is precisely what she hates the most? When it's precisely what causes her pain and leads her to a process of isolation and unhealthy behavior?

2. Doctor Strange and dark magic

Throughout sixty years of stories, there are a few moments in which the Sorcerer Supreme is faced with the old dilemma if he should use dark magic or not. And yet, from everything he went through, even in his darkest moments, he still chooses to do good. This is an intrinsic part of him. Yes, we've seen alternate evil iterations, but the main version is still a recognized, praised character for all the good deeds he performs on a daily basis.

(New Avengers v3 Annual #1)

3. Loki against fate

(Immortal Thor #2)

Loki's most recent and important journey throughout the years is precisely changing their fate, from the god of mischief and lies to the god of stories. They know they also have antagonistic roles to play as such, and yet they look forward to building a better relationship with Thor and the Asgardians. They're as complex as they come, but never back to their first and oldest iteration.

--

There are others, of course, like Nico Minoru and the Staff of One, Daimon Hellstrom and his will to deny his father's desires etc etc. I can even point a famous non-magical one: THE HULK. Yep, the guy who has spent his entire existence struggling with said dichotomy.

So you see, this is not a situation where "women can't be villains, god forbid women do anything" like some of them love to claim. You have Amora, Morgan Le Fey, Umar, even Lore now. The fact is, the MCU pushed the main version of its Wanda to be an irremediable character. Fans may or not defend her actions, but the truth is, they went too far for a role of opposition/antagonism justified by mental issues, which is yet another problematic, hellish rabbit role that we discussed so many times, over and over and over.

House of M is by itself such a harmful event in Wanda's entire characterization that, even now in the 616 universe, she still struggles to be (re)accepted by the hero community. She's still demonized by mutants, she's still depicted as mentally unstable.

(X-Men #7 - 2019)

Meanwhile, few writers are doing their hardest to give her some independence and agency (praised be Orlando and McKay). She has finally showcased her resolve to deal with Chthon by absorbing the Darkhold. She finally built a place to help people in a small community. She's an avenger yet again.

(Darkhold: Omega #1)

However, despite all that, she's still being patronized and lectured on (for instance, Agatha trying to take the Darkhold from her).

(Scarlet Witch v3 Annual #1)

The fact that she hasn't given up on the role of super hero only showcases how fundamental, intrinsic, unshakeable is her desire to do good. The fact that she's a nexus being and that the Scarlet Witch is a role passed down through generations are enough reasons to reiterate how important she is as a defender of the universe, same importance we often see in the role of the Sorcerer Supreme.

No fan has ever advocated for readers to be feared by a Sorcerer Supreme. Those are roles of heroes.

So yeah, "evil mother" and "serving cunt" will not do it for me. Because being evil means embracing everything Wanda hates the most and fights the hardest. So you come here and tell me that Wanda was supposed to be evil incarnate, to the point of comparing her to Voldemort, is plainly offensive and shows how little you understand her. You have other mothers to kneel to if you so desperately need one. Wanda is not one of them. Leave her alone.

TL;DR: Saying Wanda should be evil is stupid and harmful.

[starhoppin]

pick a picture; your christmas gift from the universe

pile 1 -> pile 2 -> pile 3

disclaimer; this is a general reading! these messages may not fit everyone. please take what resonates and leave the rest.

「 pile one」

ten of cups (cb: page of swords, two of cups), nine of cups (cb: knight of cups, four of swords rv), two of swords (cb: three of pentacles, the moon)

your christmas gift from the universe is a love offer! this person may have been watching you from a distance for a while, but they see long-term potential with you. you could be feeling good on your own, embracing your individuality and now someone wishes to extend an offer. your independence may have caused some hesitation with this person since they might've been under the impression that you weren't interested in a relationship. nevertheless, they still wish to express their feelings to you. this person is contemplating when to confess their feelings. they're waiting for the right moment to tell you.

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

「 pile two」

the hierophant (cb: page of swords, six of pentacles), knight of swords (cb: seven of wands rv, ten of pentacles), nine of pentacles (cb: wheel of fortune, the star rv)

your gift is a new opportunity within your career! someone who has significant power has been watching you from a distance and has finally made the decision to extend this offer to you. i keep hearing the song "take a chance on me" by abba. this may be something unexpected/something you feel unqualified for, but someone is going to take a chance on you regardless. you may be feeling disorganized and overwhelmed, like you're stuck in the same cycle. however, financial stability and material success is right around the corner. you will be incredibly fulfilled by this offer. you will be rewarded for your hard work. i know it's difficult, but don't lose faith. you're almost there.

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

「 pile three」

page of swords rv (cb: the hierophant, knight of cups rv), ace of cups (cb: ten of pentacles rv, wheel of fortune), seven of pentacles (cb: the star, three of pentacles)

you could've dealt with a past partner/situationship who didn't wish to pursue a traditional relationship with you; your gift from the universe is that you'll finally be able to lose this emotional baggage and start fresh. this will be an end to past instability and feeling trapped in cycles where success only comes in short, fleeting bursts. the work that you've done on yourself will pay off and you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. additionally, there is a romantic connection - perhaps even something that you've manifested - that will be entering your life in the future. this person will be emotionally fulfilling for you, and they are willing to collaborate and build a strong relationship with you.

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

tarot deck used in this reading: cirque du tarot

[homeofhousechickens]

Yesterday, I went exploring abandoned fort ruins by this radioactive creek on a trail that is pretty popular.

This creek is infamous because of Mallinckrodt nuclear waste contamination. Mallinckrodt basically made a deal with the federal government to have exclusive rights to produce weapons-grade uranium. When the nuclear waste from the project was less profitable, then they thought it would be they dumped and transported the waste out on uncovered trucks to local landfill sites and left barrels along the creekside. The factory producing the uranium ended up contaminating the creek and the groundwater due to their actions.

There were no animals around when i was there, and the water smelled strongly like metal. It was weird because even in winter places like this usually have quite a few birds like at least some squirrels or sparrows, but there were none. I'm sure it's different during the other seasons but for an uncomfortably warm day it was very eerie.

Anyway the government has been cleaning the creek for decades but refuses to share how radioactive it is.

There are a few schools that are close to this creek and kids and residents who live near it have higher cancer rates.

Still, despite the evidence that this creek is dangerously radioactive from multiple different testing companies and the cancer statistics, our officials still deem this creek "safe." The company was never really punished for the dumping and mishandling of radioactive materials either in fact they company denies ever handling uranium despite the proof.

In my opinion, it's wild to me that people still swim in this creek during the summer, especially after I have gotten close enough to smell it.

Sources

Kite, A. (2024, February 21). Records reveal 75 years of government downplaying, ignoring risks of St. Louis radioactive waste. Missouri Independent. https://missouriindependent.com/2023/07/12/st-louis-radioactive-waste-records/

‘This is a moral failure.’ A Missouri community says leftover radioactive waste is making them sick. (2024, December 20). PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/after-decades-of-nuclear-waste-exposure-this-missouri-community-wants-action

“I was heartbroken”: Radioactive waste found at Jana Elementary School outside St. Louis. (2022, October 19). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/radioactive-waste-found-jana-elementary-school-outside-st-louis/

[justinspoliticalcorner]

kos at Daily Kos:

Conservatives' big bet on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to backfire on them.

Last year, Steven Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, encouraged Kennedy to challenge President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, according to CBS News’ Robert Costa. Bannon reportedly thought Kennedy would create chaos and stoke anti-vaccine sentiment. After his Democratic bid fizzled, Kennedy kicked off an independent run. And the whole time, he was bankrolled by conservative millionaires, who no doubt hoped Kennedy’s family name would cost Biden enough votes in battleground states to hand the 2024 election to Trump. Democratic voters mostly didn’t fall for it, though. Even worse, Kennedy’s QAnon-adjacent conspiracy-theorizing began attracting support on the right, imperiling Trump’s electoral chances. So Trump got Kennedy to drop out and endorse him in late August, promising Kennedy who-knows-what.  But now a slew of womanizing revelations are swirling around Kennedy, causing chaos for Trump. And it’s freakin’ hilarious. 

On Wednesday, Mediaite reported that three women claim to have had romantic relationships with Kennedy within the past year. Those three women do not include New York magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi, whose own alleged affair with the brain-worm-afflicted conspiracist seemingly destroyed her impending marriage and career. Kennedy, it should be said, is himself married to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines.

RFK Jr. and Donald Trump do have one thing in common: womanizing.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Anne Applebaum :: @anneapplebaum

This was the moment that mattered. Trump's political movement relies on total impunity for liars, and mostly gets it. The lies bind them together, cement their feeling of power.

* * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 1, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 02, 2024

More than 45,000 U.S. dock workers went on strike today for the first time since 1977, nearly 50 years ago. The International Longshoremen's Association union, which represents 45,000 port workers, is negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group over a new contract. The strike will shut down 36 ports from Maine to Texas, affecting about half the country’s shipping. Analysts from J.P. Morgan estimate that the strike could cost the U.S. economy about $5 billion a day. The strikers have said they will continue to unload military cargo.

Dockworkers want a 77% increase in pay over six years and better benefits, while USMX has said it has offered to increase wages by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to retirement plans, and improve health care options. In the Washington Post, economics columnist Heather Long pointed out that the big issue at stake is the automation that threatens union jobs.

Although the strike threatens to slow the economy depending on how long it lasts, President Joe Biden has refused requests to force the strikers back to work, reiterating his support for collective bargaining. He noted that ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic—sometimes in excess of 800% over prepandemic levels—and that executive compensation and shareholder profits have reflected those profits. “It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well,” Biden said in a statement.  

In the presidential contest, the Trump-Vance campaign is trying to preserve its false narrative. In Wisconsin today, Trump accused Vice President Harris of murder—although he appeared to get confused about the victim—and claimed that she has a phone app on which the heads of cartels can get information about where to drop undocumented immigrants. He also said that Kim Jong Un of North Korea is trying to kill him.

When asked if he should have been tougher on Iran after it launched ballistic missiles in 2020 on U.S. forces in Iraq, leaving more than 100 U.S. soldiers injured, Trump rejected the idea that soldiers with traumatic brain injuries were actually hurt. He said “they had a headache” and said he thought the attack “was a very nice thing because they didn’t want us to retaliate.”

Trump also backed out of a scheduled interview with 60 Minutes that correspondent Scott Pelley was slated to conduct on Thursday. 60 Minutes noted that for more than 50 years, the show has invited both campaigns to appear on the broadcast before the election and this year, both campaigns agreed to an interview. Trump’s spokesperson complained that 60 Minutes “insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.” Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in her interview as planned. 

The campaign’s resistance to independent fact checking of their false narrative came up in tonight’s vice presidential debate on CBS between Minnesota governor Tim Walz, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s running mate, and Ohio senator J.D. Vance, running mate for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell and Face the Nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan moderated the debate.

Walz’s goal in the debate was to do no harm to Vice President Harris’s campaign, and he achieved that. Vance’s goal was harder: to give people a reason to vote for Donald Trump. It is doubtful he moved any needles there. 

The moments that did stand out in the debate put a spotlight on Vance’s tenuous relationship with the truth. When Vance lied again about the migrants in Springfield, Ohio, who are in the United States legally, Brennan added: "Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status."

Vance responded: "The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check.”

There were two other big moments of the evening, both based in lies. First, Vance claimed that Trump, who tried repeatedly to repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act, “saved” it. Then, Walz asked Vance directly if Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. Vance refused to answer, saying he is “focused on the future,” and warned that “the threat of censorship” is the real problem in the U.S. 

Walz said: “That’s a damning non-answer.” 

Former chair of the Republican Party Michael Steele said after the debate: “I don't care where you are on policy…. If you cannot in 2024 answer that question, you are unfit for office.”

It was significant that Vance tried to avoid saying either that Trump won in 2020—a litmus test for MAGA Republicans—or that he lost, a reflection of reality. While this debate probably didn’t move a lot of voters for the 2024 election, what it did do was make Vance look like a far more viable candidate than his running mate. Waffling on the Big Lie seemed designed to preserve his candidacy for future elections.

It seems likely that the message behind Vance’s smooth performance wasn’t lost on Trump. As the debate was going on, Trump posted: “The GREAT Pete Rose just died. He was one of the most magnificent baseball players ever to play the game. He paid the price! Major League Baseball should have allowed him into the Hall of Fame many years ago. Do it now, before his funeral!” 

Former Cincinnati Reds baseball player Rose died yesterday at 83. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[lol-jackles]

I have no clue how the industry works. Could this hurt Jared’s future in the industry, because he was negative about his former network?

https://t.co/Gy6dDjsnZi

No, for a few reasons. First, bonafide lead actors with high-rated shows are easily forgiven i.e. David Boreanaz sued Fox over profit participation dispute for 5 years (X) and get a lead role of Seal Team on CBS during that time. Second, published interviews by Nexstar/CW late last year and early this year contradicts their actions during the negotiation breakdown with CBS. Third, everybody is kind of mad at Nexstar. Larry Teng publicly blasted them over Independence's cancellation and he went on to direct a CBS Tracker episode, which I believe Jensen guest star in, and he's producing a new CBS show, Watson. A month earlier the trade media publicly mourned the demise of the old CW, meaning gone is the gateway for countless writers and showrunners and knowing that there isn’t anything to take its place.

Even though the old CW wasn't technically a network, out of the "big 5 network", I've never seen as much loyalty to one network as I've seen for the old CW/WB/UPN because of their wide variety of genre shows outside the formulaic shows of ABC, NBC, and CBS.

With that said, the old CW had also contributed to getting a few sub-par writers into positions they have no business being in. SPN’s own Megan Friztmartin being one of them and she went on to ruin Batman’s Tim Drake with her bisexual-fetish fixation. Fanboys complained that she made Tim all about his sexuality instead of a detective/student/hero. During this period the steaming wars caused a glut of contents and it became a golden age for bad actors and writers.

[eugenedebs1920]

Trust me! There’s so very little I’d want to share similarities with when it comes to maga. I also have faith in the institutions that serve as the bedrock of our democracy. What I do not have faith in is Donald Trump’s integrity, honesty, or willingness to play by the rules. This is the 3rd article I’ve ran across that seemed credible. I checked the site, small independent journalism, no red flags when checking on its credibility. I’m not saying the election was rigged! While at the same time I’m not saying it wasn’t.

The thing is… We all saw that train wreck of a campaign. We all saw the apparent cognitive decline. We saw Trump ostracize, alienate, and discriminate against SO MANY different voting blocks. Saying, “They’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the pets!”. He was called out on, and we saw and heard, him echo words of that German dictator from WWII, Mussolini and Stalin. We heard the promises to be a dictator on day one. His heavy lean towards authoritarianism. Him calling for the licenses of CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The NY Times, pretty much everyone except OAN, Newsmax and Fox News. His calls for across the board tariffs were labeled as detrimental, and recession bound, by nearly every major economic think tank. He got DESTROYED during the debate. We saw hundreds of prominent Republican figures come out in opposition to Trump. Whole movements to ensure his defeat. Almost every single person in his previous administration say they wouldn’t support him, including, for good reasons, his own vice president.

The man’s an American traitor! We all saw the lead up to Jan 6th, then what occurred. I made it my life’s goal, as well as many others, on many platforms to remind everyone of it, and the fake electors scheme, and the theft and retention of classified documents, long after he knew he had last the election. The phone calls with Putin. The sending of vital pandemic relief supplies to Putin in the hype of the epidemic. All the f*ckin Russian ties. I know a lot of Americans ain’t that bright but. Really!? No one else put that together!?

Put on top of that his pressuring of Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” and all the conspiring behind that. Not to mention the rape and definition charges. Not to mention his company being convicted of fraud. Not to mention HIM being convicted of fraud and a convicted felon because of it.

Add to that the strange bromance with Elon Musk the owner of Tesla. Trump HATES renewable anything!! He would go off about batteries and sharks habitually! Windmills!! Hates em! Talking all kinds of sh*t on electric cars, saying they would just run out of power, that there wasn’t any charging stations, then if there was you’d be there for hours, that the army wanted electric tanks, typical Trump fabrications. Just ALL the sudden him and the richest man in the world, who just happens to be in constant contact with Putin, who just happened to call for Ukraine to surrender, who just happened to buy a major social media platform, again or whatever. Musk who just happens to own Starlink, who just happens to offer free internet service in nearly every swing state.

On top of all that the numbers just don’t add up. You’re saying that 400,000 people, went in the voting booth, ONLY voted Trump and just walked out? Didn’t vote for the Republican senator, didn’t vote for the Republican representative, didn’t vote on any of the referendums or bills? Just “bullet” voted trump? Even dumbass Tommy Tuberville said in an interview, trying to accuse the left of fuckery, “It’s just weird how, the Democratic candidate, in a state Trump won, would be elected to congress”. Yea! Sure is “weird”, Tommy!

Then, the cocky statements from Trump and the right. I was watching this sh*t like, ‘these MFers are up to something’. Then, Him saying numerous times, he doesn’t need the votes. His “little secret” with Mike Johnson. The straight arrogance from Kevin Roberts, not only in publishing project 2025 but in his statements like, “there’s a second American revolution coming” leading to “and it will be bloodless, if the left allows it to be”. Then, there’s Joe Rogan, who lets it slip on his pod that Elon had an app on his phone where he knew the election results 4 hours before anyone else. Then why did he tell Tucker Carlson he would end up in jail?

You’re telling me, that guy, running that “prestigious” a campaign, with all the shinanigans after and during his first administration, a felon, hated by his own party, that fuckin guy won all 7 swing states, which hasn’t been done by anyone in 40 fuckin years, that guy, who literally said at a town hall, “no more questions, who wants to hear anymore damn questions” then proceeded to sway on stage for 40 mins to tunes, that guy won the popular vote too!? The popular vote that a Republican has only one once since Reagan!? That fuckin guy won all 7 swing states and the popular!? I don’t know if I can buy that.

I guess what I’m getting at is, forensic audits and hand recounts in the swing states would put all that unease to rest. It should be done, and soon! Trump has cheated at everything he’s done in the past, why would that change now?

[ffxiv-langs]

The Rhythmic Languages: Classical Lalafellin Explained

One of the most interesting grammatical systems in Etheirys is that of the Lalafellin languages. It is preserved most purely in Classical Lalafellin, the language from which Ul'dahn and Plainsfolk naming conventions are derived. The Lalafellin languages are ruled by rhythm and repetition, and this applies to more than just the names. First off, let's start with stress. Lalafellin words and even entire sentences have movable stress that aligns itself to a rhythm. For example, let's assign stress to the phrase "tara-go-mezu ta-ta-riki la-mana-na ga-ga-iti-ruku-na". You don't need to worry about what the actual grammar is here, just the sounds. You can see that each word here is broken up into segments. The main rule is that a) stress is usually every other mora or every third mora b) the second or later mora of a segment cannot have primary stress c) if these two rules come into conflict, syllables may be lengthened to maintain the stress pattern

For example, the stress on this phrase would be something like: Ta ra go ME zu ta TA ri ki LA ma na NA ga ga I ti i RU ku na Note that "iti" is lengthened to fit with the "every third syllable" stress pattern. (Note that Ul'dahn and Plainsfolk names have a broader syllable structure with some syllables loaned from the Ul'dahn language and Vylbrandic substrate itself, but still follow rhythmic patterns.) Now we can get to actual grammar: Each word is made up of at least 2 segments, and the arrangement and reduplication pattern of those segments can do anything from inflection to derivation. For example, for a noun ABC, where A, B, and C are segments (i.e. tara-go-mezu),

the plural reduplicates the first segment (i.e. tara-tara-go-mezu)

if you turn it into a verb meaning "to be similar to...", (verbs and adjectives are the same part of speech) you rearrange it to BCA (i.e. go-mezu-tara)

and so on. Other things: - Adjectives echo their final segment onto the noun they're describing, and the adjective itself can be omitted if it's clear enough what is being said, i.e. "tara-go-mezu" (in the genitive) + "la-mana" = "tara-go-mezu la-mana-mezu", which can be shortened to "la-mana-mezu". - To form the antonym of a word, you reverse the segment order and add -da. If the A segment is one syllable, this -da appends itself to the A segment. If not, it becomes a new segment. For example, the opposite of la-mana would be mana-lada. Naming conventions: Names in Lalafellin differ from other languages in that they do not have an inherent meaning to them; they relate to each other through sound and pattern alone. The patterns for names (AB-CB, AAB-CCB, AAB-AB, and ABB-AB) are not grammatical, and may instead be thought of as derivations; cases and further derivations are applied to the two parts of the name independently (in all cases, both names share the same final segment for the genitive). i.e. the dative of Yayamaru Sisimaru is Yamaruya Simarusi. Lalafellin does the Japanese thing where "pronouns" are essentially titles; the conventional way to refer to oneself is in the third person, by one's name (and then subsequently using demonstratives, as in Sylphic). (The conventional equivalent of phrases of possessive pronouns is just doing the genitive adjective abbreviation thing I mentioned earlier, with the person's name or whatever pronoun-title you are referring to them with. So for example, something belonging to Yayamaru Sisimaru would be suffixed with -maru.) In this context it's usually shortened to the first part of the name, except Plainsfolk males. Another characteristic Lalafellin inherits from Japanese is a pitch accent system (though I haven't quite figured out how it works yet).

[comeonamericawakeup]

The collapse of local journalism has been “terrible for democracy,” said Zeeshan Aleem, and it’s even worse now that the void is being filled by partisan propaganda labeled as news. The 1,213 local daily newspapers left in the U.S. are now outnumbered by the estimated 1,260 sites that are partisan mouthpieces deceptively presented as independent news outlets. Most of these sites are published by conservative entrepreneur Brian Timpone’s company, Metric Media, under such “generic-sounding” names such as the Illinois Valley Times and North Pocono News.

They’re designed to look like conventional news outlets, but combine a bit of “quasi-journalistic newsgathering” with agenda-driven stories from political operatives and public relations firms lauding Republican public officials or local corporations. Some are even produced in Russia. Progressive organizations have gotten into the same game, though they are far outnumbered. Journalism, of course, is never 100 percent free of ideological influence. But most Americans do not have the digital media literacy to differentiate between faux news and news sites that strive for accuracy and fairness. The replacement of local news by propaganda is happening “at the worst possible moment for democracy.”

THE WEEK JUNE 28, 2024

Equally concerning is Sinclair Broadcasting.  Another source of politically conservative ideology inserted into local news network affiliates. Very insidious propaganda.  Look for it on your CBS channels.

[beardedmrbean]

At least a dozen employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed medical files for JD Vance and Tim Walz, and now officials have launched a medical investigation.

A breach involving records of the Republican and Democratic vice presidential candidates, both military veterans, could amount to violations of federal medical privacy laws.

VA employees had accessed Vance’s records roughly two months ago, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the incident. The office of VA inspector general contacted both campaigns to alert them of the breach.

Terrence Hayes, a spokesman for the VA, said in a statement to The Independent that the agency has “reported to law enforcement allegations that VA personnel may have improperly accessed Veteran records.”

“We take the privacy of the Veterans we serve very seriously and have strict policies in place to protect their records,” Hayes added. “Any attempt to improperly access Veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

The agency referred The Independent to the Department of Justice for further comment.

Vance spent four years in the Marines and served a tour in Iraq in 2005 as a combat correspondent. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard and retired in 2005 before a run for Congress.

Officials at the VA had notified both campaigns about discovering that employees within the agency’s Veterans Health Administration healthcare arm did not have authorization to review their records, according to The Post, citing people familiar with the investigation speaking anonymously.

The office of VA Inspector General Michael Missal has reportedly shared evidence with federal prosecutors about the employees, which include a physician and a contractor who “spent extended time” reviewing medical files, according to law enforcement officials speaking to The Post.

Investigators are now trying to determine motivation, and whether any of those records were shared as a result of the breach.

It’s unclear what medical information was reviewed.

An August 30 memo from VA Secretary Denis McDonough to VA staff on the importance of medical privacy states that veteran information “should only be accessed when necessary to accomplish officially authorized and assigned duties as an employee, contractor, volunteer, or other personnel.”

“Viewing a Veteran’s records out of curiosity or concern — or for any purpose that is not directly related to officially authorized and assigned duties — is strictly prohibited,” according to the memo shared with The Independent.

Failure to comply with those requirements “may result in disciplinary action, including removal, as well as referral to law enforcement for civil penalties and criminal prosecution,” the memo says.

News of the breach arrived hours before Vance and Walz are set to participate in what is likely to be their only debate ahead of the presidential election.

The Ohio senator and Minnesota governor will spar inside the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on October 1. Moderators include CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Vivek Ramaswamy Expected to Step Down from Trump's Government Efficiency Task Force DOGE Co-Led by Elon Musk: 'Vivek Has Worn Out His Welcome' | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hᴏft

By Jim Hᴏft Jan. 19, 2025 5:26 pm

Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk, is anticipated to step down from his role in the task force.

In November, President Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would head the Department of Government Efficiency.

“I am pleased to announced that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the “Save America” Movement,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump added, “I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. They will work together to liberate our Economy, and make the US Government accountable to “WE THE PEOPLE.” Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!”

According to Politico, his departure comes amid discussions about Ramaswamy potentially filling the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance.

However, multiple sources have confirmed to CBS News that friction within DOGE may have expedited Ramaswamy’s departure.

Sources familiar with the internal workings of the task force claim that Musk’s inner circle has grown increasingly frustrated with Ramaswamy’s alleged lack of hands-on involvement.

“Vivek has worn out his welcome,” a source close to Trump revealed.

CBS reported:

People close to Musk have privately undercut Ramaswamy for weeks, frustrated with his lack of participation in the heavy lifting, according to sources familiar with the internal dynamics. There has been friction between the incoming rank and file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy, the sources said, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit.

Ramaswamy recently met with the Ohio’s sitting governor, Mike DeWine, about the state’s Senate seat left vacant by Vice President-elect JD Vance. But on Friday, DeWine announced he is appointing his lieutenant governor to the post.

Ramaswamy, who sought the GOP nomination in 2024, was at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s West Palm Beach, Florida, estate during the transition. Sources said he was spotted at the bar with Musk one day, scratching out plans for DOGE on a napkin. But the pair haven’t worked closely for a while, sources said.

Politico first reported that Ramaswamy could depart DOGE.

Ramaswamy has made culture issues central to his political brand, railing against what he views as “woke” policies being imposed on corporate, academic and government institutions. Even as Trump’s primary opponent, Ramaswamy was reluctant to cross him and quick to offer praise.

Despite its name, the Department of Government Efficiency is not expected to be a full-fledged federal agency. Trump has said it “will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” and partner with the White House and Office of Management and Budget."

[landrysg]

A situation like what happened at CBS has become something very close to a new normal in institutional America. Some perspective, even a very radical one, gets favored. Any opposition to that favored perspective goes beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and is suggestive of “perceived bias.” Corporate management, in its attempt to smooth things over, placates whatever the loudest voices are at the moment and punishes whomever espouses the less-favored perspective. At CBS News—which is a company full of journalists dedicated, at least in theory, to independence of thought—there’s some pushback, but in most companies, employees would simply know where the guardrails are and steer well clear of causing any offense.

It’s not placards or encampments or Twitter mobs but it’s no less insidious. “Peak woke” has profoundly changed the way that American institutions operate. If it’s impossible to have honest, challenging conversations at CBS News—a place whose whole reason for existence is to pursue journalistic truth—then it’s likely impossible to do so anywhere else in the American institutional structure. “Wokeism” may have peaked around 2020, but that doesn’t mean that it just disappeared afterwards. What happened was that there was a culture war and “wokeism” won.

[ruthfeiertag]

The White House just announced that President Biden has contacted COVID. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery. Because the President has been fully vaccinated (and because he has access to levels of health care few of the rest of us enjoy), he is likely to be well again soon. But even a mild or asymptomatic case can lead to Long-COVID, and we should be protecting ourselves and each other from catching this corona virus and possibly developing a permanent, debilitating condition.

Apoorva Mandavilli, writing for the _New YorkTimes_, reminds us that “for some people with certain risk factors — age, pregnancy, chronic conditions or a compromised immune system — an infection may bring serious illness.”1

If you want to know what it’s like to live with a post-viral chronic illness, read the Tumblrs of people enduring them (see the tags below), particularly those of us living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (me/cfs), the condition closely aligned with Long-COVID. (“The illness [Long COVID] is similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome [ME/CFS] as well as to persisting illnesses that can follow a wide variety of other infectious agents and following major traumatic injury.”2) And while some of us are more susceptible than others, ANYONE, no matter how young and healthy, can develop Long-haul COVID:

“Long COVID occurs more often in people who had severe COVID-19 illness, but anyone who gets COVID-19 can experience it, including children.”3

The CDC article also highlights the way that “Living with Long COVID can be difficult and isolating, especially when there are no immediate answers or solutions.” It does not describe the devastating possible “side effects” of losing the ability to work, to enjoy activities, to be independent, nor of the experiences of having doctors refuse to believe one’s condition is real, of the near-impossibility of getting to a doctor who specializes in post-viral diseases (and who won’t accept insurance)4, nor of the feeling of being an inconvenience or burden to those who care for us.

“In every age group, even a mild illness may trigger a lasting set of problems. Nearly 14 million Americans, or about 5.3 percent of adults, may now be living with long Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”1

Wearing an N95 might not be the most comfortable fashion accessory, but putting one on when we will be among others can save lives and the meaningful existence of the people with whom we come in contact. The inconvenience is far less than the loss of income, health, and happiness Long-COVID can bring.

************************

1. Apoorva Mandavilli. “Long Covid and Vaccination: What You Need to Know,” _New York Times_, July 17, 2024, 6:03 p.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/article/long-covid-vaccine.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

2. Anthony L. Komaroff and W. Ian Lipkin. “ME/CFS and Long COVID share similar symptoms and biological abnormalities: road map to the literature,” Front Med (Lausanne). 2023; 10: 1187163. Published online 2023 Jun 2. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1187163

PMCID: PMC10278546PMID: 37342500

3. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/long-term-effects/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html

4. “There are only a handful of specialists and clinical centers that specialize in ME/CFS around the country. Many of them do not take insurance and most have waiting lists that can be years long.” https://solvecfs.org/me-cfs-long-covid/patient-and-caregiver-resources/

[mariacallous]

Pilger went on to engage in reckless and extravagant fakery in the case of Kosovo, a province (and since 2008 an independent country) that he showed no sign of having visited. Nato forces engaged in a military campaign, beginning in March 1999, to stop the Milosevic regime in Belgrade from assaulting the Albanian population of Kosovo. It was a desperate last resort when diplomacy had failed. Though Pilger later depicted it as the forerunner of the Iraq war, the cases were nothing like each other.

The campaign against Milosevic was fought not for regime change or even for the independence of Kosovo but for the single and specific reason of protecting a Muslim population from genocide. It was the right thing to do. Milosevic’s forces had already expelled some 300,000 Kosovans from their homes, killed almost 2,000 and destroyed dozens of villages. And they threatened to do much worse. After 78 days, and nearly 40,000 combat sorties, Nato forced Milosevic to back down.

This limited, just and necessary campaign was described by Pilger in apocalyptic terms (‘the truth is that the US and Britain are engaged in a form of nuclear warfare in the Balkans,’ he wrote in The Guardian on 4 May 1999) that had absolutely no purchase on reality. But the reason I cite it in this context is that it elicited a series of demonstrable falsehoods by Pilger, all crafted to convey the message that western governments were lying about the threat to Kosovo and the numbers of Milosevic’s victims. He later wrote: ‘There was no genocide. The Nato attack was both a fraud and a war crime.’

In the wake of the war itself, Pilger wrote in the New Statesman in November 1999: ‘The numbers of dead so far confirmed suggest that the Nato bombing provoked a wave of random brutality, murders and expulsions, a far cry from systematic extermination: genocide.’ He was rubbishing the entirely accurate charge that Serb forces had engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing. And to make his point, he alleged that western politicians had wildly exaggerated the numbers of Serb victims. Hence, wrote Pilger: ‘Figures were supplied. The US defence secretary, William Cohen, said: “We’ve now seen about 100,000 military-aged men missing . . . They may have been murdered.”’

But Pilger deliberately elided the context from this remark. This was an interview that Cohen gave on CBS television, and he was not suggesting that the Serbs might have murdered 100,000 military-age men. As Michael Ignatieff correctly pointed out in The New York Times in November 1999: ‘In Mr. Cohen’s appearance on Face the Nation, his statements were actually much more complicated. While he said that 100,000 were missing, he also clearly stated that his reports showed that 4,600 Kosovars had been executed, a claim that has been confirmed by the forensic trail of evidence uncovered by war crimes investigators since June.’

Ever after, Pilger claimed that the Nato allies had deliberately and vastly exaggerated the number of victims in Kosovo at the hands of Milosevic’s forces. It was completely untrue. He amplified his fakery by claiming that, during the Kosovo campaign, ‘David Scheffer, US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, announced that as many as ‘225,000 ethnic Albanian men aged between 14 and 59’ may have been murdered’. Again, Pilger was lying. What Scheffer actually said, and Pilger trusted that his readers wouldn’t check, was that these men were unaccounted for – a very different thing.

Then and thereafter, Pilger always referred to a final body count of 2,788 victims of the Kosovo war, to reinforce his message that Nato had maligned the Serbs with false claims of mass violence. Again, he was lying by misdirection. The accepted number of those who were killed or went missing during the war is a little over 13,500. These included just under 1,800 Serb civilians, as well as more than 8,600 Kosovan Albanians.

Thousands, and perhaps tens of thousands, more would have perished under Milosevic’s orders had Nato not intervened. Pilger adopted the bizarrely literalistic view that someone could only be counted as dead if their body had physically been found. That is not the reality of war. In particular – as my family, friends and colleagues who reported Milosevic’s depravities observed directly – it was the aim of Serb forces to bury and hide their victims’ body parts far from any theatre of war, trusting these would never be found.

And here is the final weirdness of Pilger’s coverage of the Kosovo war. He not only lied about the statements of Nato governments and denied the atrocities of Milosevic’s regime, but also sought to spread flagrant disinformation about the war itself. Writing in The Guardian on 18 May 1999, some three weeks before Milosevic capitulated, Pilger dramatically claimed: ‘Nato is suffering significant losses. Reliable alternative sources in Washington have counted up to 38 aircraft crashed or shot down, and an undisclosed number of American and British special forces killed. This is suppressed, of course.’

Pilger gave no indication of who these ‘reliable sources’ were, but they were anything but reliable. The aircraft that Nato lost in the entire campaign amounted to exactly two, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft and an F-16 fighter jet, and there were no allied fatalities.

This was before the digital age, and I did not take up the trade of journalism myself till several years later, but I did try to identify where Pilger was getting this stuff from. I never managed to track it down. I’m familiar with the small circles of pro-Serb lobbyists but every inquiry came up a blank. I wrote to Pilger, via The Guardian, asking for his sources but I neither expected nor got any reply. It’s conceivable that someone, knowing Pilger’s record of swallowing tall stories and never checking them, fed him these whopping falsehoods in order to see if he’d put them in the public domain. But I have no direct evidence that any such third party existed.

The dispiriting but economical explanation is hence that Pilger himself invented the tale of extensive Nato losses which were being suppressed by the state and the news media, because he wished to stimulate popular opposition to government policy. He was spectacularly lying for the cause, which in this case was to assist a genocidal regime in its campaign of brutal repression.

John Pilger was a charlatan and a fraudster