#drinking water warning issued nationwide

[healthsocial]

Marilyn Mosby: A Controversial Figure in Baltimore's Legal Landscape

Marilyn Mosby served as the State's Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland, from 2015 to 2023. Her tenure was marked by both ambitious reforms and a series of legal controversies that culminated in her federal indictment and conviction. This article explores Mosby's career, her policy initiatives, and the legal challenges that ultimately led to her downfall.

Early Career and Rise to Power

Mosby, a Democrat, rose to prominence in Baltimore's legal scene after graduating from Boston College Law School. She entered the Baltimore City State's Attorney race in 2014 on a platform of criminal justice reform, pledging to address issues of mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system. Her progressive stance resonated with Baltimore voters, and she won the election in a landslide victory.

Bold Initiatives and Reform Efforts

As State's Attorney, Mosby wasted no time implementing her reform agenda. She directed her office to stop prosecuting certain low-level offenses, including marijuana possession for personal use. She also established a unit focused on wrongful convictions and advocated for policies aimed at reducing recidivism rates. These initiatives garnered national attention and positioned Mosby as a leading voice in the national conversation on criminal justice reform.

The Freddie Gray Case and Aftermath

In 2015, the death of Freddie Gray, a young Black man, in police custody sparked widespread protests and calls for police accountability in Baltimore. Mosby's decision to file charges against six police officers involved in Gray's arrest was a bold move. However, the trials resulted in acquittals or dropped charges, fueling frustration within the community and raising questions about the strength of the prosecution's case.

Legal Troubles and Controversies

Mosby's tenure was not without its share of legal challenges. In 2022, she was indicted on federal charges of perjury and making false statements on a mortgage application. These charges stemmed from her failure to disclose her husband's financial contributions on loan documents. Mosby maintained her innocence, but a jury found her guilty on two counts each of perjury and false statement on a mortgage application. She was ultimately sentenced to home confinement and probation.

Legacy and Lingering Questions

Marilyn Mosby's story is a complex one. She entered office with a vision for reform but became entangled in legal troubles that overshadowed her policy initiatives. While her supporters credit her with taking a stand against police brutality and advocating for a fairer justice system, her critics point to the dropped charges in the Freddie Gray case and her own legal issues as evidence of mismanagement and poor judgment. Mosby's legacy in Baltimore remains a topic of debate, serving as a cautionary tale about the challenges of enacting progressive reforms within a complex legal system.

[tuulikki]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an enforcement alert Monday urging water utility systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation's drinking water from cyberattacks.

According to the EPA, recent federal inspections revealed that 70 percent of U.S. water systems inspected do not fully comply with requirements in the Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency added that some systems have "critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities, such as default passwords that have not been updated and single logins that can easily be compromised."

…

The warning said China, Russia and Iran have "disrupted some water systems with cyberattacks and may have embedded the capability to disable them in the future."

Late last year, an Iranian-linked group, "Cyber Av3ngers," targeted multiple organizations, including a small Pennsylvania town's water provider. Earlier this year, a Russian-linked "hactivist" group attempted to disrupt operations at several Texas utilities. In addition, a cyber group linked to China, "Volt Typhoon," has compromised information technology of multiple infrastructure systems, including drinking water, in the U.S. and its territories, the alert stated.

[jasonmask22site]

Water Under Attack?

https://www.newsweek.com/drinking-water-warning-issued-nationwide-cyberattacks-epa-1902756

[deblala]

Drinking Water Warning Issued Nationwide

https://www.newsweek.com/drinking-water-warning-issued-nationwide-cyberattacks-epa-1902756

[mongowheelie]

I found this on NewsBreak: Drinking Water Warning Issued Nationwide

I found this on NewsBreak: Drinking Water Warning Issued Nationwide

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240327_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Factory food fugees, the power’s out and mystery illness affecting dairy cows in New Mexico + this day in history w/disaffected 80s youth of Saginaw and our song of the day by Jesse Dayton on your #MorningMonarchy for March 27, 2024. Notes/Links: Stock in Trump’s Truth Social halted for ‘volatility’ – after jumping 50% on stock market debut then dropping; The company would be valued at as much as $8.71 billion based on the premarket trading price; But he cannot sell the shares for six months under lock-up restrictions https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/banking/article-13240417/Stock-Trump-Truth-Social.html NASA sends “message in a bottle” onboard spacecraft https://www.zmescience.com/space/nasa-clipper-europa-mission-message-plate/ Kamala Harris unknowingly claps to song in Spanish protesting her during Puerto Rico visit https://nypost.com/2024/03/24/us-news/kamala-harris-cluelessly-claps-and-nods-along-to-spanish-song-protesting-her-during-visit-to-puerto-rico/ Video: Kamala brutally TROLLED by protesters in Puerto Rico singing protest song against her as she mindlessly claps like a seal and dances along; Watch carefully for the awkward moment when her aid has to reality check her and she suddenly stops clapping 🤣 “We want to know, Kamala, what did you come here for? We want to know what you think of the colony.” (Audio) https://vxtwitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1771982254467612890 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_collapse Train derails near Socorro Monday night https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/train-derails-near-socorro/ Warning about drinking water issued nationwide https://www.newsweek.com/warning-drinkin-water-issued-nationwide-iran-cyberattack-1881427 McDonald’s apologises after IT outage shuts restaurants worldwide but rules out cybersecurity attack https://news.sky.com/story/mcdonalds-customers-in-uk-say-restaurants-are-closed-after-it-outage-reported-in-countries-across-the-world-13094645 Another In-N-Out franchise shuts down weeks after previous closure https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197517/amp/in-n-franchise-shuts-closure-california.html Oregon governor’s wife says she is a mentally-ill alcoholic, days after nepotism scandal exploded over her being given official job and police detail while facing bullying accusations https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13244295/oregon-governor-wife-nepotism-scandal-accusations-bullying.html Magnum-owner to cut jobs and split off ice cream; Unilever is to shed 7,500 jobs worldwide and spin off its unit which makes Ben & Jerry’s and Viennetta https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68595206 Tyson hiring migrants while laying off US workers https://www.foxnews.com/media/tyson-hiring-migrants-laying-off-us-workers-decimation-american-dream-top-republican Tyson Foods Hiring 42,000 Migrants? Actually, It’s Worse Than That https://archive.is/SdbWo Video: Tyson Foods to hire 52,000 migrants after massive layoffs in Iowa (Audio) https://youtu.be/DpaRIKX06XQ Miller case inspires a constitutional amendment for food freedom for all https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/03/miller-case-inspires-a-constitutional-amendment-for-food-freedom-for-all/ #MounseyMinute: Poll Of The Month – The power’s off. Grocery stores are empty. Gas stations dry. What will you do? https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/poll-of-the-month-the-what-will-you #MounseyMinute: The power’s off. Grocery stores are empty. Gas stations dry. What will you do? (Audio) https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20240327_MounseyMinute_3_PowersOff.mp3 Preparing For The 100 Year Storms; An exploration of what impact large scale solar events could have on our technological infrastructure (including telecommunications systems, power grids, modern vehicles and digital money systems). https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/preparing-for-the-100-year-storms Image: @Hybrid’s Cover Art – Gavin Mounsey?...

[eugene114]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Cold Stress

Cold Stress Can be Prevented

https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/winterweather_scene_0.png

It is important for employers to know the wind chill temperature so that they can gauge workers’ exposure risk better and plan how to safely do the work. It is also important to monitor workers’ physical condition during tasks, especially new workers who may not be used to working in the cold, or workers returning after spending some time away from work.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information from the nearest NWS office. It will give information when wind chill conditions reach critical thresholds. A Wind Chill Warning is issued when wind chill temperatures are life threatening. A Wind Chill Advisory is issued when wind chill temperatures are potentially hazardous.

Who is affected by environmental cold?

What is cold stress?

How can cold stress be prevented?

Types of cold stress

Who is affected by environmental cold?

Environmental cold can affect any worker exposed to cold air temperatures and puts workers at risk of cold stress. As wind speed increases, it causes the cold air temperature to feel even colder, increasing the risk of cold stress to exposed workers, especially those working outdoors, such as recreational workers, snow cleanup crews, construction workers, police officers and firefighters. Other workers who may be affected by exposure to environmental cold conditions include those in transit, baggage handlers, water transportation, landscaping services, and support activities for oil and gas operations.

Risk factors for cold stress include:

Wetness/dampness, dressing improperly, and exhaustion

Predisposing health conditions such as hypertension, hypothyroidism, and diabetes

Poor physical conditioning

What is cold stress?

What constitutes cold stress and its effects can vary across different areas of the country. In regions that are not used to winter weather, near freezing temperatures are considered factors for "cold stress." Increased wind speed also causes heat to leave the body more rapidly (wind chill effect). Wetness or dampness, even from body sweat, also facilitates heat loss from the body. Cold stress occurs by driving down the skin temperature, and eventually the internal body temperature. When the body is unable to warm itself, serious cold-related illnesses and injuries may occur, and permanent tissue damage and death may result. Types of cold stress include: trench foot, frostbite, hypothermia, and chilblains.

For more information, see OSHA's Cold Stress Safety and Health Guide.

How can cold stress be prevented?

Although OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in cold environments, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970, employers have a duty to protect workers from recognized hazards, including cold stress hazards, that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm in the workplace.

Employers should train workers. Training should include:

How to recognize the environmental and workplace conditions that can lead to cold stress.

The symptoms of cold stress, how to prevent cold stress, and what to do to help those who are affected.

How to select proper clothing for cold, wet, and windy conditions.

Employers should:

Monitor workers physical condition.

Schedule frequent short breaks in warm dry areas, to allow the body to warm up.

Schedule work during the warmest part of the day.

Use the buddy system (work in pairs).

Provide warm, sweet beverages. Avoid drinks with alcohol.

Stay well nourished by snacking on high carbohydrate foods.

Avoid touching cold metal or wet surfaces with bare skin.

Provide engineering controls such as radiant heaters.

Types of Cold Stress

Immersion/Trench Foot

Trench foot is a non-freezing injury of the feet caused by prolonged exposure to wet and cold conditions. It can occur in temperatures as high as 60°F if feet are constantly wet. Injury occurs because wet feet lose heat 25-times faster than dry feet. [CDC/NIOSH]

What are the symptoms of trench foot?

Redness of the skin, numbness, tingling, pain, swelling, leg cramps, blisters, bleeding under the skin, and Gangrene.

First Aid

Call 911 immediately in an emergency; otherwise seek medical assistance as soon as possible.

Remove wet shoes/boots and wet socks.

Dry the feet and avoid working on them.

Keep affected feet elevated and avoid walking on feet as this may cause tissue damage and seek medical attention.

Frostbite

Frostbite is caused by the freezing of the skin and tissues. Frostbite can cause permanent damage to the body, and in severe cases can lead to amputation. The risk of frostbite is increased in people with reduced blood circulation and among people who are not dressed properly for extremely cold temperatures.

What are the symptoms of frostbite?

Reddened skin develops gray/white patches in the fingers, toes, nose, or ear lobes; tingling, aching, a loss of feeling, firm/hard, and blisters may occur in the affected areas.

First Aid

Get into a warm room as soon as possible.

Unless necessary, do not walk on frostbitten feet or toes.

Follow the recommendations described above for hypothermia.

Protect the frostbitten area, e.g., by wrapping loosely in a dry cloth and protect the area from contact until medical help arrives.

DO NOT rub or massage the affected area, because rubbing causes damage to the skin and tissue.

DO NOT try to re-warm the frostbitten area before getting medical help, for example, do not use heating pads or place in warm water. If a frostbitten area is rewarmed and gets frozen again, more tissue damage will occur. It is safer for the frostbitten area to be rewarmed by medical professionals.

Give warm sweetened drinks if alert (no alcohol).

Hypothermia

Hypothermia occurs when the normal body temperature (98.6°F) drops to less than 95°F. Exposure to cold temperatures causes the body to lose heat faster than it can be produced. Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up the body’s stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. Hypothermia is most likely at very cold temperatures, but it can occur even at cool temperatures (above 40°F) if a person becomes chilled from rain, sweat, or immersion in cold water.

What are the symptoms of hypothermia?

An important mild symptom of hypothermia is uncontrollable shivering, which should not be ignored. Although shivering indicates that the body is losing heat, it also helps the body to rewarm itself. Moderate to severe symptoms of hypothermia are loss of coordination, confusion, slurred speech, heart rate/breathing slow, unconsciousness and possibly death. Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know what is happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.

First Aid

Call 911 immediately in an emergency:

Move the worker to a warm room or vehicle.

Remove any wet clothing and replace with dry clothing. Wrap the entire body (including the head and neck) in layers of blankets; and with a vapor barrier (e.g. tarp, garbage bag) Do not cover the face.

Give warm sweetened drinks if alert (no alcohol), to help increase the body temperature. Never try to give a drink to an unconscious person.

Place warm bottles or hot packs in armpits, sides of chest, and groin. Call 911 for additional rewarming instructions.

If the worker has no pulse, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should be provided and continued until the person responds or medical aid becomes available.

Chilblains

Chilblains are painful inflammation of small blood vessels in the skin, caused by the repeated exposure of skin to temperatures just above freezing to as high as 60°F.

What are the symptoms of Chilblains?

Redness, itching, possible blistering, inflammation, and possible ulceration in severe cases.

First Aid

Avoid scratching.

Slowly warm the skin.

Use corticosteroid cream to relieve itching and swelling.

Keep blisters and ulcers clean and covered.

Wind Chill Temperature: A Guide for Employers

Outdoor workers exposed to cold and windy conditions are at risk of cold stress, both air temperature and wind speed affect how cold they feel. Wind Chill is the term used to describe the rate of heat loss from the human body, resulting from the combined effect of low air temperature, and wind speed. The Wind Chill Temperature is a single value that takes both air temperature, and wind speed into account. For example, when the air temperature is 40°F, and the wind speed is 35mph, the wind chill temperature is 28°F; this measurement is the actual effect of the environmental cold on the exposed skin.

National Weather Service (NWS) Wind Chill Calculator: With this tool, one may input the air temperature and wind speed, and it will calculate the wind chill temperature.

Know Your Winter Weather Terms

Blizzard Warning: Issued for sustained or gusty winds of 35 mph or more, and falling or blowing snow creating visibilities at or below 1/4 mile; these conditions should persist for at least 3 hours.

Wind Chill Advisory: Issued when wind chill temperatures are expected to be a significant inconvenience to life with prolonged exposure, and, if caution is not exercised, could lead to hazardous exposure.

Wind Chill Warning: Issued when wind chill temperatures are expected to be hazardous to life within several minutes of exposure.

Winter Storm Warning: Issued when hazardous winter weather in the form of heavy snow, blizzard conditions, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet is imminent or occurring. Winter Storm Warnings are usually issued 12 to 24 hours before the event is expected to begin.

Winter Storm Watch: Alerts the public to the possibility of a blizzard, heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet. Winter Storm watches are usually issued 12 to 48 hours before the beginning of a Winter Storm.

Winter Weather Advisories: Issued for accumulations of snow, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and sleet which will cause significant inconveniences and, if caution is not exercised, could lead to life threatening situations.

(From: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA))OSHA is a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador committed to working with NOAA and other Ambassadors to strengthen national preparedness for and resilience against extreme weather.

Page last reviewed date: February 17, 2023

[systemtek]

Enduring and significant threat to UK's critical infrastructure

The UK's cyber chief has today signalled that the threat to the nation’s most critical infrastructure is ‘enduring and significant’, amid a rise of state-aligned groups, an increase in aggressive cyber activity, and ongoing geopolitical challenges.In its latest Annual Review, published today, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – which is a part of GCHQ – warned that the UK needs to accelerate work to keep pace with the changing threat, particularly in relation to enhancing cyber resilience in the nation’s most critical sectors.These sectors include those that provide the country with safe drinking water, electricity, communications, its transport and financial networks, and internet connectivity.Over the past 12 months, the NCSC has observed the emergence of a new class of cyber adversary in the form of state-aligned actors, who are often sympathetic to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and are ideologically, rather than financially, motivated. In May this year, the NCSC issued a joint advisory revealing details of ‘Snake’ malware, which has been a core component in Russian espionage operations carried out by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for nearly two decades.Today, the NCSC is reiterating its warning of an enduring and significant threat posed by states and state-aligned groups to the national assets that the UK relies on for the everyday functioning of society.More broadly, the UK government remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding democratic processes. Recent milestones include the implementation of digital imprint rules under the Elections Act to foster transparency in digital campaigning, fortifying defences against foreign interference through the National Security Act, and advancing online safety measures through the implementation of the Online Safety Act. NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron said: “The last year has seen a significant evolution in the cyber threat to the UK – not least because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine but also from the availability and capability of emerging tech.“As our Annual Review shows, the NCSC and our partners have supported government, the public and private sector, citizens, and organisations of all sizes across the UK to raise awareness of the cyber threats and improve our collective resilience.“Beyond the present challenges, we are very aware of the threats on the horizon, including rapid advancements in tech and the growing market for cyber capabilities. We are committed to facing those head on and keeping the UK at the forefront of cyber security.” Defending Democracy The Annual Review highlights a new trend of malicious actors targeting the personal email accounts of high-profile and influential individuals involved in politics. Rather than a mass campaign against the public, the NCSC warns that there is a “persistent effort” by attackers to specifically target people who they think hold information of interest.The NCSC assesses that personal as opposed to corporate accounts are being targeted as security is less likely to be managed in depth by a dedicated team. In response, earlier this year the NCSC launched a new opt-in service for high-risk individuals to be alerted if malicious activity on personal devices or accounts is detected and to swiftly advise them on steps to take to protect themselves.The Annual Review also highlights how the next general election will be the first to take place against the backdrop of significant advances in artificial Intelligence (AI), which will enable and enhance existing challenges.More specifically, the NCSC assesses that large language models (LLMs) will almost certainly be used to generate fabricated content; that hyper-realistic bots will make the spread of disinformation easier; and that deepfake campaigns are likely to become more advanced in the run up to the next nationwide vote, scheduled to take place by January 2025.The NCSC also assesses that democratic event, such as elections, almost certainly represent attractive targets for malicious actors and so organisations and individuals need to be prepared for threats, old and new.  In response, the Annual Review highlights the work of the NCSC and wider government in weaving resilience into the fabric of the UK’s democratic processes ahead of the next election, which includes the establishment of the Joint Election Security Preparedness (JESP) unit.  China As part of broader risks to the UK’s cyber security, the Annual Review highlights that the NCSC continues to see evidence of China state-affiliated cyber actors deploying sophisticated capability to pursue strategic objectives which threaten the security and stability of UK interests.In May, the NCSC and international partner agencies issued a joint advisory highlighting how recent China state-sponsored activity had targeted critical infrastructure networks in the US and could be applied worldwide.In response to the ongoing challenge from China, the NCSC has called for continued collaboration with allies and industry to further develop its understanding of the cyber capabilities threatening the UK. Russia The Annual Review highlights how Russia continues to be one of the most prolific actors in cyberspace, dedicating substantial resources towards conducting operations around the globe and continuing to pose a significant threat to the UK.The NCSC has continued to observe cyber activity targeting Ukraine by Russia and Russia aligned actors, though these appear to by opportunistic rather than strategic. Overall, the impact on Ukraine has been less than many expected, in part due to well-developed Ukrainian cyber security and support from industry and international partners, which includes the UK’s own cyber programme.Elsewhere, Russian language criminals operating ransomware and ‘ransomware as a service’ models continue to be responsible for the most high-profile cyber attacks against the UK.The ransomware model continues to evolve, with a sophisticated business model, facilitating the proliferation of capabilities through the ‘ransomware as a service’ model. This is lowering the barriers to entry and smaller criminal groups are adopting ransomware and extortion tactics which are making a huge impact.  Iran While less sophisticated than Russia and China, Iran continues to use digital intrusions to achieve their objectives, including through theft and sabotage.In September 2022, the NCSC and international partners issued a cyber advisory highlighting that actors affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRFC) targeted known vulnerabilities to launch ransomware operations against multiple sectors, including critical national infrastructure organisations.In January 2023, the NCSC warned of the threat from targeted spear-phishing campaigns and against UK organisations and individuals carried out by cyber actors based in Iran. Spear-phishing involves an attacker sending malicious links, for example via email, to specific targets to try to induce them to share sensitive information.The attacks were not aimed at the public but targets in specified sectors, including academia, defence, government organisations, NGOs, think-tanks, as well as politicians, journalists, and activists. Read the full article

[nbmsports]

Your Friday Briefing: Thailand in Turmoil

Thailand’s Pita fails to win vote for prime minister

After the military-backed Senate rejected Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister, Thailand was staring down what could be another intense period of political unrest and nationwide protests.Pita, a former technology executive who had positioned himself as a champion of reform, was unable to muster enough support from senators. His party won elections in May, and the victory had challenged not only the generals but also the nation’s powerful monarchy.As Parliament prepared to hold a second vote on Wednesday, the political fate of Pita, and his coalition, hangs in the balance. He received only 324 combined votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate — short of the 376 he needed to win the premiership.“This is déjà vu,” a political science professor said, referring to the cycles of elections, protests, coups and crackdowns that have occurred in Thailand since 2007. Supporters of Pita’s coalition gathered outside the Parliament building in Bangkok where the vote was held, and some had vowed to hit the streets in protest if he did not win enough votes to become prime minister.What’s next: A likely scenario is that Pheu Thai — another party in the coalition that backed Pita in the elections — would field Srettha Thavisin, a property tycoon who is considered a more palatable candidate among Thailand’s military establishment. The tumultuous week ahead may or may not end with a new prime minister in charge.Another core issue is how artificial intelligence could be used to replicate actors’ performances using their previous work without compensation or permission.The dual strikes pit the workers against old-line studios like Disney, Universal, Sony and Paramount as well newer juggernauts like Netflix, Amazon and Apple. The studios maintain that they’re in crisis, too. They say streaming has cut into share prices and profit margins.“I don’t think Hollywood is ready for this,” my colleague Nicole Sperling, who covers entertainment, said. Studio executives were caught off guard by the resolve of the actors, who, unlike the writers, have not staged a major strike in four decades, she added.“Hollywood was already about 80 percent shut down, but any production that was hobbling along will now close, and upcoming projects will be severely hampered,” she explained.

A view from India’s flood zone

Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Delhi, India’s capital city, after the authorities warned of widespread flooding. Days of torrential rains have battered large swaths of northern India, killing dozens of people.The Yamuna River, which flows through the capital, breached the so-called danger mark by three meters (about 10 feet), the authorities said. Migrant workers living on the banks lost their makeshift homes. Officials closed schools and converted them into disaster relief camps. Three water treatment plants were shuttered after they were flooded, threatening access to drinking water.Context: So far this monsoon season, at least 91 people have died in six states near Delhi. The country’s annual monsoon season has become erratic and more extreme in recent years as the world warms.THE LATEST NEWS

The War in Ukraine

Spain’s comic shows at bullfights, some of which star people with dwarfism, have become the front line in a war over tradition. Critics say they are banned by a new law, but performers say the show must go on. “This is the right to work, they can’t take it away from us,” a performer said.ARTS AND IDEAS

Netflix’s K-drama game plan

“Squid Game” showed Netflix that a laser focus on local taste can deliver a global audience. It was the most-watched show ever on the streaming service, and it sparked interest in Korean content.Netflix wants to dominate the entertainment world, but it is pursuing that ambition one country at a time. Instead of creating shows and movies that appeal to all 190 countries where the service is available, it is betting that a compelling story somewhere is compelling everywhere, no matter the language.Netflix already has shows in more than 30 Asian languages. That strategy seems to be working: Last year, 60 percent of subscribers worldwide watched a Korean-language show or movie.PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

What to Read

In the novel “The Militia House,” an abandoned building in Afghanistan captivates and terrifies the Marines stationed nearby.

What to Listen to

These seven new, under-the-radar songs are worth your time.

Now Time to Play

Play the Mini Crossword. Here’s a clue: Smile wide (four letters).Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.That’s it for today’s briefing. I hope you have a lovely weekend! — AmeliaP.S. Our series on slavery and racism in the U.S., “The 1619 Project,” was nominated for the Emmy for best documentary or nonfiction series.“The Daily” is on affirmative action.If you have thoughts or suggestions, you can always reach us at briefing@nytimes.com. Source link Read the full article

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

FBI Data Show An Unprecedented Spike In Murders Nationwide In 2020 (NPR) The number of murders in the United States jumped by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to the previous year in the largest single-year increase ever recorded in the country, according to official FBI statistics released Monday. The data show 21,570 homicides in the U.S. in 2020, which is a staggering 4,901 more than in 2019. The tally makes clear—in concrete terms—just how violent last year was. The overall violent crime rate, which includes murder, assault, robbery and rape, inched up around 5%, while property crimes continued their long-running decline and dropped 8% from 2019. But the spike in murders jumps out in the FBI report because of the sheer scale of the change. Jeff Asher, a data consultant who studies crime rates, said the increase is the largest since national records began being kept in 1960s. The homicide rate thus far in 2021 is up 10% from last year.

Haitians returning to a homeland that’s far from welcoming (AP) Deported from the United States, Pierre Charles landed a week ago in Port-au-Prince, a capital more dangerous and dystopian than the one he’d left four years before. Unable to reach his family, he left the airport alone, on foot. At least 2,853 Haitians deported from Texas have landed here in the last week with $15-$100 in cash handouts and a “good luck out there” from migration officials—many setting foot in the country for the first time in years, even decades. More than a city, Port-au-Prince it is an archipelago of gang-controlled islands in a sea of despair. Some neighborhoods are abandoned. Others are barricaded behind fires, destroyed cars and piles of garbage, occupied by heavily armed men. On Saturday, a local newspaper reported 10 kidnappings in the previous 24 hours including a journalist, a singer’s mother and a couple driving with their toddler, who was left behind in the car. Even before the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse a in July, the government was weak—the Palace of Justice inactive, congress disbanded by Moïse and the legislative building pocked by bullets. Now, although there is a prime minister, it is absent. Most of the population of Port-au-Prince has no access to basic public services, no drinking water, electricity or garbage collection. The deportees join thousands of fellow Haitians who have been displaced from their homes, pushed out by violence to take up residence in crowded schools, churches, sports centers and makeshift camps among ruins. Many of these people are out of reach even for humanitarian organizations.

Some Bolsonaro supporters have called for a military takeover of Brazil. Why do they wave the American flag? (Washington Post) On the day when Brazilians celebrated the nation’s independence, when thousands of protesters this month called on President Jair Bolsonaro to lead a military takeover of the country, a middle-aged man set out onto the streets of Brazil’s largest city, cloaked in the flag. The American flag. Wilson Gomes, 56, strutted down streets thronged by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, the Stars and Stripes draped across his right shoulder, demanding radical change in Latin America’s largest nation. The time had come to do away with the Brazilian supreme court, which he said had been corrupted by a kleptocratic left and was unfairly targeting Bolsonaro and his supporters. The only way to save the constitution, he said, was to suspend it. At far-right rallies all over the country, where many have called for supreme court judges and opposition lawmakers to be removed, the American flag is now a staple. Supporters wear cowboy hats and belt buckles emblazoned with Texas longhorns. In a country that has more traditionally viewed the United States and its intentions with suspicion, the sudden appropriation of American symbols has exposed a political paradox at the heart of the Bolsonarista movement. A group that many here believe wants to subvert, if not overthrow, Brazilian democracy has chosen as one of its banners the flag of the world’s oldest democracy. “The Brazilian right and American have an agenda in common,” said Sèrgio Sant’Ana, president of the right-wing Conservative Liberal Institute.

Macron says Europeans need to stop being naive and assert independence from the United States (Washington Post) French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europeans to "come out of their naivete" on the world stage and assert their independence from the United States, sending one of the strongest signals to date that the diplomatic crisis prompted by a disrupted submarine deal could have long-lasting repercussions on transatlantic relations. Speaking alongside the Greek prime minister Tuesday at a news conference to unveil a major Franco-Greek defense deal, Macron said the Europeans should make themselves “respected.” “For a bit over 10 years now, the United States has been very focused on itself and has strategic interests that are being reoriented towards China and the Pacific,” he said. “It’s in their right to do so,” he continued, but “we would be naive, or rather we would make a terrible mistake, to not want to draw the consequences.” Macron’s latest remarks come as he appears to position himself as the next leader of Europe, an unofficial role so far largely attributed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

China energy crunch triggers shutdowns, pleas for more coal (Reuters) China faces mounting pressure to ramp up coal imports and ensure supplies to keep lights on, factories open and water flowing as a severe power crunch roils the northeastern industrial heartland. With electricity shortages sparked by coal shortages crippling large sections of industry, the governor of Jilin province, one of the hardest hit in the world's no.2 economy, called for a surge in coal imports, while a power company association said supply was being expanded "at any cost". News organisations and social media carried reports and posts saying the lack of power in the northeast had shut down traffic lights, residential elevators and 3G mobile phone coverage as well as triggering factory shutdowns. A utility in Jilin even warned power shortages could disrupt water supplies at any time, before apologising for causing alarm. The power crunch has taken hold as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening greenhouse gas emissions standards and strong demand from industry have pushed coal prices to peaks. Goldman Sachs estimated that as much as 44% of China's industrial activity has been hit by power shortages.

American siblings trapped in China under three-year ‘exit ban’ finally return home (Washington Post) China allowed two U.S. citizens, siblings Victor and Cynthia Liu, who were prevented from leaving the country for more than three years, to return to the United States on Sunday. Cynthia and Victor Liu are the daughter and son of Liu Changming, a businessman wanted on fraud charges in China. The siblings went to China in June 2018 to visit relatives but were barred from leaving, while their mother, Sandra Han, who made the trip with them, was detained. Their lawyers and the U.S. authorities described the move as an attempt to pressure Liu Changming into returning to China to faces charges—despite the siblings saying they had not had contact with their father in years. Victor and Cynthia Liu’s lawyer Marc Ginsberg told the New York Times that he believed a Sept. 9 phone call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had “helped to break a logjam” and contributed to the siblings’ release. He added that the siblings would have no comment for the news media.

Japan to lift all coronavirus emergency steps nationwide (AP) Japan’s government says the coronavirus state of emergency will end Thursday so the economy can be reactivated as infections slow. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Tuesday that virus restrictions will be eased gradually. With the lifting, Japan will be entirely free of emergency requirements for the first time in more than six months.

Taliban issue no-shave order to barbers in Afghan province (AP) The Taliban on Monday banned barbershops in a southern Afghanistan province from shaving or trimming beards, claiming their edict is in line with Shariah, or Islamic, law. The order in Helmand province was issued by the provincial Taliban government’s vice and virtue department to barbers in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. During their previous rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban adhered to a harsh interpretation of Islam. Since overrunning Kabul on Aug. 15 and again taking control of the country, the world has been watching to see whether they will re-create their strict governance of the late 1990s. During the Taliban’s previous rule, the conservative Islamists demanded that men grow beards. Since being ousted from power following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, shaved or cleanly trimmed beards have become popular in the country.

Violence in Nigeria (Foreign Policy) At least 34 people were killed in northern Nigeria following an attack on the village of Madamai in northern Kaduna state, state security commissioner Samuel Aruwan said on Monday, blaming unidentified assailants for the attack. The assault, which Aruwan said took place on Sunday, came the same day that 22 Nigerian security personnel were killed in an attack on an army base in Sokota state, also in the country’s north. In recent weeks, Nigerian states have introduced restrictions on residents in an attempt to stem the violence, attributed to so-called bandits as well as the Islamic State’s West African offshoot.

A Crypto-Trading Hamster Performs Better Than Warren Buffett And The S&P 500 (NPR) What if we told you there was a hamster who has been trading cryptocurrencies since June—and recently was doing better than Warren Buffett and the S&P 500? Meet Mr. Goxx, a hamster who works out of what is possibly the most high-tech hamster cage in existence. It’s designed so that when Mr. Goxx runs on the hamster wheel, he can select among dozens of cryptocurrencies. Then, deciding between two tunnels, he chooses whether to buy or sell. According to the Twitch account for the hamster, his decision is sent over to a real trading platform—and yes, real money is involved. Look, we’re not telling you to follow in this hamster’s financial decisions or that this process is scientific in any way. But what we can tell you is his portfolio is up nearly 20% since he started trading in June, according to his Twitter account. And as of Sept. 12, Mr. Goxx was performing better than Bitcoin, the Nasdaq 100, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the S&P 500.

[pmeofficial]

The Sixteen Deadliest Tik Tok challenges Ever (DailyDot)

So, it’s not everyday a social media platform run by Chinese people and designed to basically duplicate snap chat, except video only, becomes popular, in fact tik tok is so popular, that it has millions of users, well,  TikTok has 689 million monthly active users, whereas its twin Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) has 600 million daily active users. Combined, the TikTok/Douyin apps have over 1.29 billion monthly active users in 141 countries. Still, dumb, clout chasing teenagers have claimed this beloved social media sensation for themselves, however, clout is deadly, literally, people die from TikTok challenges, but hey, don’t take our word for it, check out the 16 dealiest tikrok challenges, with a 101% chance of decimating the insurance you wasted on your kids

The choking challenge Anything that involves choking a friend—or yourself—into near-unconsciousness is, unsurprisingly, ill-advised. Considering this is the very idea behind the choking challenge, it’s safe to say that anyone and everyone should steer clear of this particular trend.

This challenge, in one form or another, has been around for a long time. Teens have been partially strangling themselves for decades, just to feel the brief euphoria that follows that first, desperate gasp of air. The game ebbs and flows in terms of popularity but reached its viral zenith in 2017. Since then, the dangerous challenge has cropped up on various social media platforms, including TikTok. Risks of participating in the choking challenge are pretty much what you’d expect. Do it too long, and participants risk loss of brain cells, permanent brain damage and even death.

The condom challenge Another challenge that can lead to asphyxiation, the condom challenge hasn’t been around nearly as long as the choking game. This dangerous TikTok challenge requires a condom, some water, and at least two willing participants.

Performing the challenge is simple: One person fills the condom with water and drops it over the second person’s head. Thanks to the durability of most condoms, the dropped water “balloon” rarely pops. This means that many people participating in this challenge end up with an airtight seal over their noses and mouths. Bad idea.

The fire challenge You might be wondering why anyone would ever participate in something called the fire challenge. Clearly, you don’t remember being a teenager. Most common among younger users, the fire challenge is exactly as dangerous as it sounds—which has in no way stopped people from attempting it.

Performing the challenge is as simple and foolish as you might assume. Participants douse a portion of their body—usually the chest or hands—with a flammable liquid. Then they light it up and record the effects, which often lead to first- or second-degree burns. Videos of badly burned teenagers are all over the web thanks to this particular viral challenge.

The skullbreaker challenge The skullbreaker challenge is another fresh viral craze that, to most, seems completely ridiculous. The challenge has already proven itself immensely dangerous after a Venezuelan teen reportedly ended up in the ICU. Authorities have issued warnings about this particular trend, but that won’t stop some from attempting it.

You need at least three people to perform the skullbreaker challenge. All three stand in a row—in front of the camera, of course—and jump. The two on either side jump first, simultaneously, followed by the person in the center. When the center person’s feet leave the ground, however, their companions knock their feet out from under them. This typically leads to the middle person crashing backward to the ground, often striking their head in the process. It’s in the name, people: You can literally break your skull doing this. So don’t.

The outlet challenge One of social media’s newest trends, the outlet challenge is also one of the more dangerous TikTok challenges we’ve seen. This viral sensation can easily result in electrical system damage, fires, and electric shock.

To perform the—extremely inadvisable—outlet challenge, people use a phone charger partially plugged into the wall. Then they touch a penny to the exposed prongs, creating a large spark. The challenge has already caused property damage at a high school in Massachusetts. Thankfully, the teens weren’t injured, but if this challenge keeps up for much longer, someone will doubtless get hurt.

The hot water challenge Another dangerous challenge that can lead to severe burns and injury, the hot water challenge has been around for a while. Back in 2017, in fact, an 8-year-old girl died after attempting a version of this trend. The new version, which is just as dangerous, has been cropping up online.

The old version of the challenge involved drinking boiling water through a straw. The revamped challenge more often features participants pouring boiling water on themselves or their friends. Unsurprisingly, it has led to some serious injuries. One teen, whose friend poured boiling water on him while he slept, told Fox 59 that his skin “just fell off my chest.”

The snorting challenge Some of these challenges are supremely dangerous. Others are upsettingly disgusting. The snorting challenge has the unfortunate privilege of being both. It involves snorting a foreign object—usually a condom—up your nose and pulling it out of your mouth. *shudder*

This dangerous TikTok challenge, like many others on this list, is nothing new. It has cropped up multiple times over the last few decades, but in the age of doing dumb shit for followers, it has reemerged. When this challenge goes wrong, it can result in infection or damage to the lining of the nasal passage, CBS News reported. In really bad cases, it has the potential for choking, which could cause far more severe issues. Even when nothing goes wrong, it looks painful and extremely uncomfortable, so… why?

Ghost pepper challenge If you’re a big fan of hot food, the ghost pepper challenge—also called the hot pepper challenge—might be right up your alley. Blessedly less dangerous than many of its fellows, the ghost pepper challenge has nonetheless resulted in some major side effects among its participants.

Participation in this challenge merely requires that you locate and consume a hot pepper that lands high on the Scoville scale and upload your reaction online. Usually, people select between ghost, cayenne, and habanero peppers. The majority of people manage to walk away from this challenge unscathed, thankfully, but ghost peppers are nothing to mess with. Medical Daily reported in 2016 that a 47-year-old California man was hospitalized after he ate a ghost pepper–pureed hamburger during a local eating contest and ended up continuously vomiting and experiencing an esophageal rupture.

Pass out challenge Anytime a person passes out, it has the potential for negative side effects. Teens, however, are all over the trend of forcing themselves to pass out. Rather than partially asphyxiate themselves—like in the choking challenge—this dangerous TikTok challenge just involves swaying your head repeatedly from side to side.

Based on the TikTok attempts at the challenge, it seems to work. Unfortunately, a number of risks go along with successfully knocking yourself out—including simply falling and injuring yourself.

Concussion challenge Doesn’t this just sound like a great idea? The concussion challenge, also referred to as the “how to get a concussion” challenge, has been making the rounds on TikTok for several months now.

This utterly idiotic TikTok challenge requires a group. All the participants stand in a circle around the camera, which faces upward. Facing down, foolish teens then throw an object—which has ranged from a basketball to tricycles and ladders—into the air above their heads. The “challenge” is to stay put, risking a concussion when the object comes hurtling back to Earth. Why? Just… why?

The honorable mentions of dangerous challenges: These challenges came around before TikTok made its global launch, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous or worthy of a spot on this list. Absolutely idiotic, sometimes deadly and always painful, the internet is clogged with far too many of these viral challenges.

The Tide Pod challenge We’ve likely all heard of the Tide Pod challenge. It swept the nation in early 2018, making headlines across the country. In case you were wondering, consuming soap in any form, no matter how colorful, is not a good idea. Complications from ingesting Tide Pods has led to serious health issues.

The Tide Pod challenge, as far as anyone can tell, started with a joke. Memes and jests about Tide Pods’ pretty colors and candy-like appeal were around long before people were downing the product itself. Then, people started doing just that. Younger YouTube users, in particular, fell victim to this ill-advised trend. Videos of teens and pre-teens eating laundry detergent packets briefly drenched the web before the pressing dangers of this challenge became common knowledge.

The blue whale challenge Despite the clear danger, a few of the challenges on this list might seem tempting to try out. The blue whale challenge, which has allegedly been linked to deaths on far too many occasions, is not one of them. The actual number of deaths that can be attributed to this viral trend is questionable—some speculate it’s simply an internet hoax—but its brief time in the spotlight terrified parents nationwide.

The blue whale challenge is, to put it simply, a suicide challenge. Participants are given 50 tasks to complete over 50 days. The tasks, which begin as rather benign, gradually increase in danger. To complete the challenge, anyone taking part must ultimately kill themselves. Similar challenges have cropped up over the years, but few garnered as much attention as the blue whale challenge.

The Kylie lip challenge Loads of online tutorials outline methods to mimic Kylie Jenner’s enviable look. Usually, this involves contouring and the careful application of makeup. Back in 2015, however, a very different method arose to try to imitate the young model’s full lips.

The Kylie lip challenge skyrocketed to popularity, mostly thanks to how easy it was to pull off. All participants needed was a small jar, cup, or shot glass. Placing the cup over their lips, they then created a vacuum by sucking all of the air out of the space. The intended result was puffy, pouty lips similar to Jenner’s. More commonly, people ended up with bruises and torn skin and risked permanent scarring.

The cinnamon challenge Remember planking? Ah what an innocent, mostly safe internet trend. Since the days of planking, viral challenges have gone from dumb to painful to dangerous and worse. The cinnamon challenge may seem rather tame on the outside, but don’t be fooled.

Cinnamon challenge TheButtingHeads/YouTube This challenge first cropped up as early as 2001, but it didn’t reach viral status until 2012. The necessary steps are quite simple. Just eat a spoonful of cinnamon without drinking water. In 60 seconds. All while the camera is running. This challenge lasted a remarkably long time, considering the massive health risks it posed. Participants in the cinnamon challenge were at risk of choking and gagging on the cinnamon in mild cases, and in worse cases inhaling cinnamon could lead to vomiting and scarring of the lungs.

The salt and ice challenge Thankfully, the salt and ice challenge hasn’t been overly popular since 2012. Still, fresh videos of people trying it out are always cropping up, despite multiple reports condemning the practice.

This challenge involves pouring salt onto moist, bare skin and then pressing an ice cube onto the area. Whoever endures the longest emerges victorious, but rarely unscathed. The resulting chemical reaction can lead to frostbite, first- or second-degree burns, and painful blisters. Warnings against participating in this painful challenge have, unsurprisingly, not made much of a difference.

[51cheapjerseys-blog]

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[thedreadvampy]

The idea of this experiment isn’t to boycott films which don’t meet the criteria, or to imply that only films which do are good or valid, but only to create a list of films which exist outside the usual hegemonic narrative.

Foreign films are allowable but only if they represent similarly marginalised voices in their own countries - for example a Japanese film would not be admissible purely on the basis of being directed by and starring Japanese people, but could be admissible if it was made by and about women, queer people, disabled characters, or starring/about people of colour oppressed in Japan (eg the Ainu, Black people in Japan etc).

Films by/about only straight cis white women or white cis gay men don’t count, although I’ve listed some as honorable mentions, because while they're still underrepresented in film production they're certainly not as unheard as other more marginalised voices.

Reblog with your suggestions and tag them #FilmsForUs!

My initial suggestions:

Comedy

Nina’s Heavenly Delights: Lesbian romcom about a Scots-Indian woman trying to win a curry competition in memory of her recently-passed father (1: almost all Scots-Asian cast with the exception of the love interest, 2&3: dir. Pratibha Parmar, a Desi lesbian, 4: check, 5: side plots about her brother and mother’s relationships, 6: check)

Hunt For The Wilderpeople: A Maori kid from the inner city is adopted out to the country, but when he and his adoptive father disappear into the bush it sparks a nationwide manhunt  (1: Maori protagonist and some core cast, 2&3: dir. Taika Waititi, written by Taika Waititi and Te Arapa Kahi, 4: check, 5: very little romantic content, 6: check (although some jokes referencing CSA))

But I’m A Cheerleader: A naive teenager is sent to a conversion camp when her parents suspect she may be a lesbian, opening her eyes to a whole new world.  (1: Almost exclusively queer characters, 2&3: dir. and written by Jamie Babbit, a lesbian, 4: check, 5: no heterosexual romance, 6: check)

Saving Face: A young closeted Chinese-American surgeon has her life thrown into disarray when her widowed mother becomes pregnant outside wedlock and is thrown out by her parents. (1: I think the whole cast are Asian or Black?, 2&3: dir. and written by Alice Wu, a Chinese-American lesbian, 4: check, 5: mother’s subplot involves, but doesn’t centre around, her relationships, 6: check)

Dear White People: The lives of five very different Black students at an Ivy League college intersect when a campus society organises a blackface party (1: Core cast is two Black women and three Black men, one of whom is gay, 2&3: dir. and written by Justin Simien, a gay black man, 4: check, 5: one of the four storylines is somewhat focused on Sam’s relationships with men but it’s not the primary focus but only an element of her story, 6: check)

Action

Black Panther: The new king of a highly-advanced and secretive African nation is challenged and overthrown by a vengeful rival, who forces him to confront his country’s responsibility to the world (1: Core cast is all Black bar two, 2&3: dir. Ryan Coogler and written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole (two Black men), 4: check, 5: There is a romance plot between Nakia and T’Challa but it isn’t foregrounded, 6: check)

Pacific Rim: 

Wonder Woman

Thor: Ragnarok

Drama

Angels in America: Six-hour epic exploring death, religion and sexuality in the AIDS epidemic (1: Main cast mostly gay men and straight women, one Black protagonist and several Jewish ones, several HIV+, 2&3: written by Tony Kushner, a gay Jewish man, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

Hidden Figures: The true story of three Black female mathematicians integral to the success of the US Space Program (1: core cast three Black women, 2&3: based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, a Black woman, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

Moonlight: A gay Black boy grows up in a rough neighbourhood, struggling with his isolation and fear. (1: Core cast all Black, gay protag and bisexual love interest, 2&3: all Black creators, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

The Shape of Water: A mute Latina woman working in a Cold War research institute falls in love with an ancient river god held for experimentation, and helped by a Russian spy conspires to save him. (1: Core cast are a disabled latina woman, a gay man, a black woman, a Russian spy and an amphibian monster, 2: dir. and written by Guillermo del Toro (Mexican) and co-written by a woman, 3: Uses the allegory of monsterhood to sensitively explore how each of these people is othered and oppressed, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

Boy: In 1984, young Maori boy living in profound poverty is finally able to reconnect with his absentee criminal father, only to find the reality of his dad is very different to what he’s dreamed about. (1: Cast is almost entirely Maori, 2&3: dir., written by, and starring Taika Waititi (as the protag’s shitty dad), 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

Angry Indian Goddesses: As old friends arrive in Goa to celebrate a friend’s wedding to her mystery partner, they hang out, laugh, drink, dance and unpick the many ways Indian culture ignores and oppresses women. WARNING: This one has very explicit description of rape and abuse. It also has a VERY sudden tonal shift in the final act which...the first 3/4 of the film seems like it’s going towards something fun and uplifting. It’s not. Don’t watch this one when you’re looking for something to cheer you up. (1: Cast includes two queer characters and one mixed-race character, as well as multiple survivors, 2: co-written by Arsala Qureshi, an Indian woman, 3: Handles issues of caste, gender and sexuality thoughtfully and sensitively (although I’m not Indian so feel free to correct me on that), 4: check, 5: check, 6: Rape is a big theme, but it’s there to discuss its devastating impact and to explore how different women react to different manifestations)

Kids

Moana: The daughter of a Polynesian chief, chosen by the sea, sets out on a quest to repair the damage done by the demigod Maui (1: Polynesian cast played by Polynesian VAs, 2&3: Co-written by Hawai’ian brothers Jordan and Aaron Kandell, and initial draft by Taika Waititi, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check)

Honorable mentions (films which I think are in the spirit of #FilmsForUs but may not meet all the requirements as written)

Pride: Comedy The true story of the formation of Gays And Lesbians Support The Miners, an unlikely solidarity organisation in the 80s between the London queer scene and the striking miners’ unions in North Wales (1: All white cast of primarily queer characters, 2&3: written by Stephen Beresford, a gay man, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check - honorable mention because it’s primarily about cis white men - there are lesbian characters but they are not the focus) 

Bend It Like Beckham: Comedy The daughter of an orthodox Sikh family pursues her love of football against her family’s wishes (1: Largely British Asian cast, 2&3: dir. Gurinder Chadha, written by Gurinder Chadha and Guljit Bindra, both British-Indian women, 4: check, 5: unfortunately there is a major romantic subplot and I hate it and this film should have been about the protagonist getting off with Kiera Knightley, 6: check - honorable mention because the protagonist’s straight relationship somewhat dominates the narrative)

Attack The Block: Action/Comedy A gang of teenagers defend their South London council estate from aliens, which the film uses to explore police brutality against Black kids. (1: Most of the cast are Black, 2&3: All white creative staff, although I believe they’re largely from a similar socioeconomic background, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check - honorable mention because despite having a sensitively-written, diverse cast it was written, directed and produced exclusively by white men)

Mad Max: Fury Road: Action 

Battle Of The Sexes: Drama The true story of Billy Jean King, world tennis championship, and her fight for equal pay and respect for female athletes, as well as her struggle as a closeted lesbian (1: Gay female protagonist, 2&3: dir. by a straight man and straight woman, written by a straight man, all white, 4: check, 5: check, 6: check - honorable mention because of a straight white creative team)

Lilo and Stitch: Kids A fugitive alien lands in the middle of two Hawai’ian sisters struggling to keep their family together after the loss of their parents, tackling poverty, colonialism and the threat of CPS (1: Native Hawai’ian cast played by Hawai’ian VAs, 2: All white production staff, 3: Handles Hawai’ian issues thoughtfully and carefully, 4: check, 5: Nani has a romance subplot with David but it isn’t foregrounded, 6: check - honorable mention because no Hawai’ian creators were involved)

[mongowheelie]

I found this on NewsBreak: Warning About Drinking Water Issued Nationwide

I found this on NewsBreak: Warning About Drinking Water Issued Nationwide

[rjzimmerman]

WTF? Is this the worst yet? Why is this not criminal? As in “somebody committed a felony” by withholding critical health information from the public?

Excerpt:

Scott Pruitt’s EPA and the White House sought to block publication of a federal health study on a nationwide water-contamination crisis, after one Trump administration aide warned it would cause a "public relations nightmare," newly disclosed emails reveal.

The intervention early this year — not previously disclosed — came as HHS' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was preparing to publish its assessment of a class of toxic chemicals that has contaminated water supplies near military bases, chemical plants and other sites from New York to Michigan to West Virginia.

The study would show that the chemicals endanger human health at a far lower level than EPA has previously called safe, according to the emails.

“The public, media, and Congressional reaction to these numbers is going to be huge,” one unidentified White House aide said in an email forwarded on Jan. 30 by James Herz, a political appointee who oversees environmental issues at the OMB. The email added: “The impact to EPA and [the Defense Department] is going to be extremely painful. We (DoD and EPA) cannot seem to get ATSDR to realize the potential public relations nightmare this is going to be.”

More than three months later, the draft study remains unpublished, and the HHS unit says it has no scheduled date to release it for public comment. Critics say the delay shows the Trump administration is placing politics ahead of an urgent public health concern — something they had feared would happen after agency leaders like Pruitt started placing industry advocates in charge of issues like chemical safety.

The chemicals at issue in the HHS study have long been used in products like Teflon and firefighting foam, and are contaminating water systems around the country. Known as PFOA and PFOS, they have been linked with thyroid defects, problems in pregnancy and certain cancers, even at low levels of exposure.

The problem has already proven to be enormously costly for chemicals manufacturers. The 3M Co., which used them to make Scotchguard, paid more than $1.5 billion to settle lawsuits related to water contamination and personal injury claims.

But some of the biggest liabilities reside with the Defense Department, which used foam containing the chemicals in exercises at bases across the country. In a March report to Congress, the Defense Department listed 126 facilities where tests of nearby water supplies showed the substances exceeded the current safety guidelines.

A government study concluding that the chemicals are more dangerous than previously thought could dramatically increase the cost of cleanups at sites like military bases and chemical manufacturing plants, and force neighboring communities to pour money into treating their drinking water supplies

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Delta Variant Surges in Colorado as the Bands Play On

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Dr. Rachel LaCount grasped a metal hoop at a playground and spun in circles with her 7-year-old son, turning the distant mesas of the Colorado National Monument into a red-tinged blur.

LaCount has lived in this western Colorado city of 64,000 nearly her whole life. As a hospital pathologist, she knows better than most that her hometown has become one of the nation’s top breeding grounds for the delta variant of covid-19.

“The delta variant’s super scary,” LaCount said.

That highly transmissible variant, first detected in India, is now the dominant covid strain in the United States. Colorado is among the states with the highest proportion of the delta variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mesa County has the most delta variant cases of any county in Colorado, state health officials report, making the area a hot spot within a hot spot. A CDC team and the state’s epidemiologist traveled to Grand Junction to investigate how and why cases of the variant were moving so quickly in Mesa County.

At her hospital, LaCount has put in orders for more rapid covid tests as the caseload has grown. She’s seen the intensive care unit start filling up with covid patients, so that hospital officials are placing two in a room against normal practices.

Despite these alarming signs, many in Mesa County have let down their guard. The rate of eligible residents fully vaccinated has stalled at about 42%. LaCount has noticed that few people wear masks anymore at the grocery store. Thousands of people recently flocked to Mack, 20 miles from Grand Junction, to attend the Country Jam music festival, which could accelerate the variant’s spread to the concertgoers’ hometowns.

“We’re making national news for our covid variant and the CDC is here investigating, but we have a huge festival where people aren’t masking,” said LaCount. “Are we going to get herd immunity over here just because everyone’s going to get it? I mean, that’s probably going to happen at some point, but at what cost?”

LaCount’s worries aren’t necessarily for herself or her spouse — they are both vaccinated — but for their son, who can’t be vaccinated because he is under 12. She is uneasy about sending him to school in the fall for fear of exposure to the variant. She is reluctant to take him to birthday parties this summer knowing there’s a good likelihood he’ll be teased for wearing a mask.

A few yards away from LaCount and her son on the playground, a man fished in a still pond with his 10-month-old daughter in a backpack. Garrett Whiting, who works in construction, said he believes covid is still being “blown out of proportion,” especially by the news media.

“They got everybody scared really, really fast,” said Whiting, slowly reeling in a sparkly blue lure from the water. “There’s no reason to stop living your life just because you’re scared of something.”

Whiting tested positive for covid about three months earlier. He said he doesn’t plan to get vaccinated, nor does his wife. As for the baby on his back, he said he’s not sure whether they’ll have her vaccinated when regulators approve the shot for young children.

The delta variant is one of six “variants of concern” circulating in the U.S., according to the CDC, because the delta strain spreads more easily, might be more resistant to treatment and might be better at infecting vaccinated people than other variants.

The delta variant has raised alarms around the world. Parts of Australia have locked down again after the variant leapfrogged its way from an American aircrew to a birthday party where it infected all unvaccinated guests, health officials said, and after it also jumped between shoppers in a “scarily fleeting” moment in which two people walked past each other in a mall. Israel reissued an indoor mask requirement after a spate of new cases linked to schoolchildren. A leading health official there said about a third of the 125 people who were infected were vaccinated, and most of the new infections were delta variant.

A rise in delta variant cases delayed the United Kingdom’s planned reopening in June. But public health officials have concluded after studying about 14,000 cases of the delta variant in that country that full vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization. Studies around the world have made similar findings. There is also evidence the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are effective against the variant.

Los Angeles County recently recommended that residents resume wearing masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, over concern about the delta variant. The World Health Organization is also urging vaccinated people to wear masks, though the CDC hasn’t changed its guidelines allowing vaccinated people to gather indoors without masks.

The variant arrived in Mesa County this spring, when it accounted for just 1% of all cases nationwide, said Jeff Kuhr, executive director of Mesa County Public Health.

“We were winding down just like everyone else. We were down to less than five cases a day. I think we had about two people hospitalized at one point,” Kuhr said. “We felt as if we were out of the woods.”

He even signed off on Country Jam, which bills itself as the state’s “biggest country music party.”

But in early May, the delta variant appeared in a burst, with five cases among adults working for the school district.

“It started to hit the children, those that were not of the age to be vaccinated,” Kuhr said. “That was telling me that, you know, wearing masks in school was not providing the protection with this new variant that it had previously.”

The county then started to see breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated elderly residents in long-term care facilities. The hospitals began to fill once more. Nine vaccinated people died, seven of them since the delta variant’s arrival, though it’s still unclear whether the variant is to blame. All were at least 75 years old, and seven lived in long-term care facilities. Now, Kuhr estimates, “above 90%” of cases in the county are delta variant.

The county is seeing the same trend as the state: The vast majority of people testing positive for covid, and people being hospitalized with it, are unvaccinated. “It’s a superspreader strain if there ever was one,” Eric Topol with the Scripps Research Institution told Scientific American. But he said people fully vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna shots “should not worry at all.” There is less information about the protection offered by Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

Mesa County health officials considered canceling the music festival, but “it was really too late,” Kuhr said. After the announcement that the festival was on, about 23,000 people bought tickets.

Officials weighed banning alcohol or trying to get attendees a Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine in the weeks leading up to the festival. In the end, they settled on messaging: signs warning people online and at the venue that the area was a covid hot spot.

According to CDC guidance, outdoor events were low risk. A sporting event at the end of May in Grand Junction that filled a baseball stadium had resulted in only one known case, which made Kuhr optimistic.

“We put messaging on Country Jam’s website, and then in their social media pages, saying, you know, ‘Mesa County’s a hot spot. Be prepared,’” Kuhr said.

A stormy Friday dampened concert attendance at Country Jam. But on the last day of the festival, the sun was out and throngs of cowboy boot-clad concertgoers stepped around prairie dog burrows and kicked up gray-yellow dust on the path to the venue entrance.

Many reveled in being able to attend a summertime event like an outdoor festival, taking it as another sign that the pandemic was waning.

“Covid is over in Colorado,” said Ryan Barkley, a college student from Durango who was playing beer pong in an inflatable pool at his campsite outside the gates.

That day, 39 people in the county were hospitalized with covid, and a CDC investigative team had arrived just four days earlier.

Inside the gates, an open field was filled with stages, concession stands, and vendors selling cowboy hats, coffee mugs and hunting clothes — and crowds of people. Chelsea Sondgeroth and her 5-year-old daughter took in the scene.

“It’s just nice to see people’s faces again,” said Sondgeroth, who lives in Grand Junction and previously had covid. She described it as one of the mildest illnesses she’s ever had, though her senses of taste and smell have not returned to normal. Watermelon tastes rotten to her, beer tasted like Windex for a while, and her daughter said Sondgeroth can’t smell certain flowers anymore.

Sondgeroth said she’s holding off on getting vaccinated until more research comes out.

Waiting in line at the daiquiri stand, Alicia Nix was one of the few people in sight wearing a mask. “I’ve gotten people that say, you know, ‘That stuff is over. Get over yourself and take that off,’” said Nix, who is vaccinated. “It isn’t over.”

Amid the music, beer and dancing, a bus turned into a mobile vaccine clinic was empty. A nurse on duty played Jenga with an Army National Guard soldier. Just six people of the thousands attending were vaccinated on the bus.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” Nix said from behind her blue surgical mask.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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