Trump sure does have the minors' interests at heart
A federal study examining the potential health risks of living near surface coal mining sites in Appalachia has been put on hold by the White House as it reviews its grant and agreements.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced Monday that it had halted the study — which aimed to review the public health risks associated with living near mountaintop removal coal-mining sites — after the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement sent a letter to the organization asking it to “cease all work” on the project.
The letter states that the organization should halt the study as the Department has begun an agency-wide review of its grants and cooperative agreements in excess of $100,000. The agency had earmarked more than $1 million for the coal mining study.
Mountaintop-removal coal mining is a technique used to extract underlying coal from mountains. While digging for the coal, companies have long been found to dump the resulting rubble and debris onto surrounding land or into nearby streams.
The Research
Officials with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the state Bureau for Public Health, and several citizen groups in the area had pushed OSM to join the study about coal removal health risks last year, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.
In Aug. 2016, OSM announced it had committed more than $1 million to fund the study intended to better understanding previous research that had found an increased risk of birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses among resident living near such removal sites in Kentucky and West Virginia.
OSM cited growing research that had pointed to possible correlations between mountaintop-removal coal mining and public health risks when it announced the funding for the study last year. The Gazette-Mail notes that the agency said at that time there was a need to examine existing studies, find research gaps, and explore new approaches to protect the health of residents living near the sites.
As a result, the Academies commenced the two-year study, which included interviewing residents of Appalachia and the creation of an expert panel to examine residents’ health.
In fact, the Academies announced the study’s halt just hours before it was set to meet with residents in Kentucky for open meetings to discuss the coal-mining removal sites on Monday. The organization noted that those meetings, set to take place through Wednesday, would continue as scheduled.
“The National Academies believes this is an important study and we stand ready to resume it as soon as the Department of the Interior review is completed,” the organization said in a statement.
Is It Needed?
Still, some in the coal industry don’t believe the research is needed.
Officials with the National Mining Association tell the Gazette-Mail that the study might be “unnecessary” as mountaintop-removal is small industry and that a recent report from the National Toxicology Program “didn’t see any evidence justifying a health hazard.”
However, a scientist with knowledge of that report tells the Gazette-Mail that researchers cautioned that there was not enough evidence to say if there were health risks associated with the mountaintop-removal process, noting that officials with the National Toxicology Program found more research was needed.
On Monday, August 21, 2017, millions of people were staring at the same thing through doofy glasses, as they tried to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse. Not only that, they also immortalized the awe-inspiring moment in photos, and Bored Panda has collected the best of them in case you missed the phenomenon or can’t get enough of it.
A total solar eclipse covered a narrow portion of the United States from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. And a partial one was visible across the entire continent of North America, as well as in parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. This was the first time since 1918 when North America experienced the path of totality from coast to coast.
Today I got to witness, surrounded by some of my best friends on earth and enveloped in their love, something truly magical. Something that defined “awe-inspiring.” I will never forget it. We are so very small…•I also can’t believe I get to live in an era where I can take a photo like this on my PHONE. What the what?! Amazing
Totality!!! What a cool experience to be right in the path of totality in Corvallis, Oregon. It was way cooler than expected. I wish pictures could do it justice
When Miranda was teaching a classmate to say “posoh” and “ketapanen” on January 19, her teacher scolded her. Native News Network reported her saying “You are not to speak like that! How do I know you’re not saying something bad? How would you like it if I spoke in Polish and you didn’t understand?”
The words Miranda was chastised for translate to “hello” and “I love you” in Menominee.
And THIS shows you why most Native American languages are either extinct or endangered.
A fun thing to do when people accuse you of “thinking people should just have stuff HANDED TO THEM! ! !” Is to just cold be like yes. I absolutely do believe that. I think every single person should have their needs met unconditionally without ever having to prove that they “deserve” it based on arbitrary criteria of usefulness. You got me. Busted.
I really try to challenge Canadian stereotypes at every opportunity but today I was walking down Young St. in Toronto and a firetruck honked very loudly and I clutched my chest and said “MY WORD” and as it drove past, a fireman leaned out of the window and apologized to me so I just don’t know
CNN has unearthed an interview in which Sam Clovis, the potato sack Trump nominated to head science research within the Department of Agriculture, is sharing his thoughts on homosexuality. Surprise: they are very, very bad.
Not a single person was killed or permanently injured by Occupy Wall Street, and that lasted weeks. Not a single person was killed or permenently injured at Standing Rock, except for those injured by the violent police, and that gathering lasted for months. The right-wing throw one big rally - where the ideology itself, never forget, is extremely and dangerously violent - and 19 people end up in the hospital, 1 person is dead. Never once more should you equate the right and left. Never once fucking more. We are all antifa, now.
ah yes, the solar eclipse, that glorious event every few years when apollo does something so incredibly stupid that artemis has to yell at him in broad daylight in front of half of the world
Every day I’m still getting notes on an old post where I said that eating healthier costs more money and of course every so often is another health zealot swearing I’m wrong.
EXCEPT:
one dollar at dollar tree
one dollar at mcdonald’s
A fucking quarter almost everywhere
And what these bozos aren’t factoring in is that these foods, loaded with salts and fats and carbs and sugars, are FILLING for a shitload longer than whatever colon cleansing non-GMO avocado unicorn poop some thinspo blog is bragging about. The box of oatmeal creme cookies even lasts more than a day, just two of those things and I have no appetite again for hours.
Personally we are eating better and making more money currently but when I was a kid it was all the above shit and potatoes. Lots and fucking lots of potatoes.
STOP FUCKING TELLING POOR PEOPLE THEY’RE STUPID FOR NOT EATING LIKE YOUR HIPSTER ORGANIC CRAP
Another thing they’re forgetting is food waste. Fresh produce only lasts so long. So to regularly eat fresh you have to 1) go grocery shopping more often and 2) have your meals planned out ahead of time to use everything.
When you only have $50 or less for food for the month, it’s devastating to see $10 worth of fresh produce rot. Especially if it’s because you just don’t have time to cook it. (Poor people usually juggle multiple jobs, work overtime, or work jobs with inconsistent schedules like retail or food services.) They don’t have time to run to the grocery store 3+ times a week, especially if they have to hit up multiple stores to get the cheap prices. They don’t have time to spend 1+ hour every week doing a meal plan. And they probably don’t have that much time or energy to cook.
When I was severely poor (like, we determined which bill to pay each month by how close they were to being shut off. “We paid water last month, so they won’t turn it off until next month. It’s been two months of electricity though, so we should probably pay that before we get a cutoff.) we did not buy fresh. All our veggies were canned, because they don’t spoil. We had lots of ramen, just in case we ran out of money and couldn’t buy groceries for a while. We didn’t buy meat unless we knew we would cook it that day because we didn’t want to see it spoil. We ate a lot of boxed meals. And when I was working 60+ hours a week, you can bet your ass I ate a lot of cheap packaged shit like little debbie. Because I didn’t have time to cook before my 12 hour work day, I only got 4 hours of sleep and I wasn’t sacrificing 30 minutes for a hot breakfast, and I couldn’t afford to eat out.
Anyone who says shit like this has never been poor. When you’re poor it’s not just money you’re lacking, but time, and resources, and mother fucking energy. It’s rough. And I wouldn’t be so quick to judge them if I were you, because the poor have been through more than you could ever understand.
remember when i said veganism was clasist & not an option 4 most of society n they were all in my inbox actin like typical vegans…. well there u go
This goes doubly for chronically ill or disabled poor people. There really isn’t time and energy to make each meal especially if you’re working. It’s damn near impossible.
It’s great if eating vegan or all fresh products or what not works for you but keep in mind it won’t work for everyone.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating, when you're a complete ass who makes everyone hate you, TRY to keep the folks tasked with keeping you alive well-paid.
Providing protection for Donald Trump’s frequent trips, his New York home, and an unprecedented number of people in his extended family, has been a huge drain on the Secret Service. Agents have hit overtime limits, and annual budgets have been burned through in only seven months, leaving no funds to pay agents following Trump on his extended vacation. As reported by USA Today ...
Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex'' Alles, in an interview with USA TODAY, said more than 1,000 agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were meant to last the entire year. …
Under Trump, 42 people have protection, a number that includes 18 members of his family.
The agency is covering not just every golf outing for Trump, but the travels of Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Ivanka, Tiffany, and … obviously quite a few more. Following the Trump family around is soaking up the Secret Service budget at a breakneck pace. But the biggest cost is the one that’s used the most often.
The president's jaunts to Mar-a-Lago are estimated to cost at least $3 million each, based on a General Accounting Office estimate for similar travel by former President Obama. The Secret Service has spent some $60,000 on golf cart rentals alone this year to protect Trump at both Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster.
Now, Congress has to act to expand the agency, up the budget, and authorize additional pay for agents who are now working overtime for free.
Not gonna lie, I'm all for taking down the big boy statues. Those things have been creeping me out since I moved out here.
I understand that there are multiple Trump crises in any given week, but I thought that “Crisis of the Week” was punchier than “Crisis of the Last Day and a Half,” or maybe “Crisis of the Last Twelve Hours.”
* * *
If you missed out on the big Kickstarter compilation last year, IDW has just published an expanded second edition of 25 Years of Tomorrow, featuring every TMW cartoon from the strip’s earliest days through the election of Donald Trump.
When your talking in a big group and you can’t process the language fast enough to keep up but when you ask anyone to repeat themselves they just say never mind and it makes you feel left out
This is the future and the present I want to live in.
“
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.
Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?
The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.
She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,
Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.
She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.
Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.
Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.
She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.
To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.
And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.
And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,
With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.
Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.
They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.
Not everything is lost.
”
-
Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.” I think this poem may be making the rounds, this week, but that’s as it should be. (via oliviacirce)
When I lose hope in the world, I remember this poem.
some quick handy advice from someone who has been on the Front Lines when a peaceful protest has turned violent:
milk is really good for soothing pepper spray. water is more convenient but if possible rinse with milk to ease the stinging. keep your eyes closed though, as it’s not quite water, and be sure to rinse it all off properly because no one wants spoiled milk on their face
there are always “easy” targets in groups that police/aggressors will go for. close ranks around them and make sure they’re in the middle of the group. if you’re white, keep a barrier between the police/aggressors and poc, for example.
lining up and linking arms is actually an incredibly strong barrier. if everyone is doing it it’s very difficult to break through. double for multiple layers of people doing this.
know your exit routes. if you need to get out fast (and you might) know where you’re going and have multiple routes if you can. never run alone; it’s always best to have at least two other people running the same route.
change of clothes in your bag man. new t-shirt, a hoodie, a different jacket, anything to alter your appearance. even changing the colour you’re wearing could throw police off, especially if they’re looking for dozens of people.
always know the number of people in your group and have a safe place to fall back on after you’ve escaped. headcount. raise the alarm if someone isn’t there or can’t be contacted.
even minor head injuries from thrown projectiles can be serious. if you can, get it checked out.
and saving the most important til last:
water cannons/fire hoses are not a ‘soft’ option.it’s high pressure water that can blast off skin, break bones, throw you clean across a road, and even kill. I have seen someone get hit by a water cannon and die. the force of the water threw him down so hard his neck was snapped. if they bring out the water, get out of its range.
