Notices by Shannon Skinner (she/her) (shansterable@c.im)

News Release 6-Nov-2024
Washington coast avian flu outbreak devastated Caspian terns, jumped to seals

56% of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state.

Since then, no birds have successfully bred on the island, raising concerns that the outbreak may have had a significant impact on an already declining Pacific-coast population.

Researchers also documented that the avian flu virus H5N1was transmitted to harbor seals for the first time in the northeastern Pacific.

The seal respiratory samples were initially negative for H5N1. That seemed odd because there was a relatively high mortality in the seals.

Testing in other organs revealed that avian flu had a different pathology in the harbor seals causing an inflammatory response in their brains.

#H5N1 #BirdFlu #Pandemic #Healthcare #PublicHealth #AvianFlu

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063778

Whoever created the technology that moves a video from the top of the page to the bottom corner as you scroll should be publicly shamed, locked in stocks in the public square, and forced to watch videos of my choosing 24/7 for at least five years.

You see, the reason I scrolled past that video is that I didn't want to see it. I need you to respect that.

#BanAutoplay #Consent #Technology #Programming #IT #Website #Video

Jeff Bezos has caved in to fascism by forbidding his Washington Post editorial staff from endorsing Kamala Harris in a likely quid pro quo with Mango Mussolini.

Jeff Bezos engaged in illegal union-busting tactics, spending over $14 million in 2022 alone to undercut his employees' rights.

Jeff Bezos spent $500 million to build his personal floating mansion Koru, the tallest sailing yacht in the world that is so big, it has its own 250-foot support yacht.

Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, extorts 50% of revenue from sellers on the monopolistic retail website Amazon.com.

Jeff Bezos this year bought his *fourth* private jet for $80 million, a Gulfstream G700 luxury business jet that travels near the speed of sound. Bezos’ plane made 28 flights in 39 days — leaving a carbon footprint of 264 tons, or 17 times what the average American emits in a year.

Jeff Bezos, as reported by ProPublica, filed a tax return in 2011 showing he lost money and received a $4,000 child tax credit from the US government during a year in which his wealth held steady at $18 billion.

I can go on and on, but how many reasons do you need to boycott anything he touches?

Cancel your Washington Post subscription. Cancel your Amazon Prime membership. Boycott Amazon.

You have alternatives. Don't feed the beast.

#USPol #USPolitics #Amazon #Bezos #WaPo #BillionairesShouldNotExist #TaxTheRich #UnionBustingIsDisgusting #UnionStrong

Both Trump and Harris have indicated they intend to exempt tips from federal tax. Most of the media coverage focuses on tips received by low-wage earners, such as delivery drivers and restaurant servers.

Nobody is mentioning the really large tips given for the really big jobs well done, such as

* $267,000 RV loan forgiveness
* A house for your mom
* Private school tuition for your nephew
* An Alaska fishing trip by private jet
* VIP passes to sporting events
* Luxury resort stays

#USPol #USPolitics #ClarenceThomas #Alito #TaxTheRich

"The National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school players had died within the past month, four of them from heart issues and two from being hit"

Has anyone thought to autopsy these 6 high school football players to determine whether previous COVID infections could be an underlying factor in their sudden, unexpected deaths?

Seems like a lot of deaths of otherwise healthy young athletes.

#COVID #COVID19 #COVIDIsNotOver #Football

https://apnews.com/article/florida-high-school-football-death-61bea844716d21b0c1614ee1987d9893

@workingclasshistory
On the day Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted, November 19, 2021, I wrote a poem:

Decency on Trial

Many mourn the outcome of the Rittenhouse trial 
Say he should be sentenced 
For murder or manslaughter
Or SOMETHING 
For sure, some men were slaughtered
By a boy

Our country took the stand along with boy Kyle 
We sat slumped and soiled
A putrid pile
Of steaming failures
Malodorous culture 
Vigilante fashion

Despair and inequity from a system so vile 
Justice served from a pit toilet
Is still justice
Neck deep in status quo
A toxic breakdown
The death of our decency

#USPol #USPolitics #KyleRittenhouse #Fascism #AmericanFascism #Justice

@AnnemarieBridy
As a hobby, I paste Ronald Reagan's head, along with an arrow pointing to the date of his inauguration, on graphs that show how his policies led to the obscene level of income inequality we have today.

#RonaldReagan #RonaldReaganWasAPieceOfShit #USPol #USPolitics #IncomeInequality #TrickleDownMyAss

US COVID rates are high nationally right now. Yet...

I just returned from a trip to Florida (not by choice, for a family reunion to spread my mom's ashes). My trip involved moving through 4 airports each direction: Bellingham Washington, Seattle Washington, Austin Texas, and Sarasota Florida.

All of the airports and planes were packed to the gills. The congestion rivaled the busiest days of Thanksgiving or Christmas travel.

I counted mask wearers both on the way there and back. I don't think I saw more than 10-20 people (out of hundreds of thousands) wearing masks.

I didn't see anyone wearing masks at restaurants or in the shops.

My niece caught COVID and had to cancel her trip just before leaving. My brother-in-law didn't wear a mask on his return and now has COVID.

#COVIDIsNotOver #MaskUp #Healthcare #PublicHealth #COVID #COVID19

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance

Out with the sticks. In with the carrots! Let's do this!
#USPol #USPolitics #Election2024 #Kamala2024 #Kamala

@shoq
I like what The New Republic is saying in the screen shot you posted, so I went to The New Republic's website. Why did I find on their home page the same headlines as all the other Trump-enabling legacy media outlets?

#USPol #USPolitics

I hope the New York Times, CNN, etc. think it's fun when they get shut down by Dictator Mango Mussolini on day one.

#USPol #USPolitics #Oligarchy #Fascism #FreedomOfThePress #Dictator #Tyranny #Election2024

@PurpleJillybeans
Thank you for this statement. I fear I will be in the needy category soon.

Realistically, how steep is the learning curve and how daunting are the roadblocks for someone who has relatively little patience for computer tinkering?

I'm willing to put a reasonable amount of time towards set-up, but how time consuming will the maintenance be?

Also, I worry about compatibility with common software, such as Quicken.

Can someone recommend a comprehensive set of tutorials that aren't spattered with jargon, acronyms, and initialisms (my pet peeve)? I don't even know what a "distro" is.

I detest the trajectory #Spycrosoft is following, and I worry that others, such as myself, will be stuck using their products due to the high hurdle of switching to Linux.

Then again, everybody said "Mastodon is too complicated," and I didn't find that to be the case at all.

@georgetakei
You best believe I still carry paper maps in my vehicle.

My husband and I camp in some remote spots where cell phones don't work and roads aren't paved.

I will never trust my cell phone provider nor US tech infrastructure enough to rely 100% on my phone for maps and navigation.

Following the roads less traveled often necessitates going low tech.

@randahl
With all the fraud, money laundering, finger pointing, and insider trading, the entire enterprise that is Trump Media will implode spectacularly.

I assume he is pressuring his cronies on the board of directors to void his share lockup period. He will sell his shares before the 6 months are up, while the price remains artificially inflated, and use the proceeds to enrich himself and campaign for dictator in chief.

@randahl
I've been following this shitshow for quite a while now. I never believed the merger would actually happen until it did, and I still think the SEC never should have given the green light for it.

I wrote about the link between TMTG and Paxum Bank back in October 2023:

"In 2022, the Southern District of New York investigated TMTG for money laundering, after finding it received a $8 million in loans: $2 million from Paxum Bank, based in Dominica and chartered under the Offshore Banking Act No. 8 of 1996. Paxum is partially owned by a former Russian government official who now runs a maritime agency under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. The other $6 million came from “ES Family Trust” which shared a director with Paxum."

https://c.im/@shansterable/111236098156917920

#Trump #TrumpSPAC #DJT #Finance #Investing #Fraud #USPol #USPolitics

Dollar Tree and its subsidiary Family Dollar are closing 1,000 stores.

According to Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling, who makes 951 times the $14,702 median pay of his employees, “Persistent inflation and reduced government benefits continue to pressure the lower-income consumers that comprise a sizable portion of Family Dollar’s customer base."

Corporate profits account for about 53% of greedflation.

Dollar Tree employees are among the top recipients of government safety net programs, such as Medicaid and food stamps (SNAP) benefits.

Maybe, just maybe, if predatory corporate chain stores like Dollar Tree would pay their employees a living wage, they could generate profit the good old fashioned way, by selling retail goods to customers that need or want them and who are paid enough to afford them.

Corporate welfare is not a legitimate business model. Businesses shouldn't be allowed to rely on government subsidies to make up for starvation wages. Just a thought.

#Greedflation #Medicaid #SNAP #FoodStamps #USPol #USPolitics #DollarStores #FamilyDollar #DollarTree

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/13/investing/family-dollar-dollar-tree-closing-stores/index.html

@KayJanes
I had laser eye surgery but still wear glasses for reading.

Folks who have laser surgery before they need reading glasses will still need reading glasses as they age.

Laser eye surgery only corrects for both distance and near sight if you have one eye surgically altered for distance and the other eye surgically altered for near sight.

1/
A US survey of 1,012 full-time employees and 137 self-employed individuals depicts a capitalist dystopia in which Americans feel trapped in dead-end, unfulfilling jobs out fear of losing their employer-provided health insurance coverage.

> Nearly 1 in 6 Americans dislike their job but stay for the health insurance benefits
> Over half of Gen Zers (55% of respondents under 26) are concerned about their future health coverage
> Women were 40% more likely than men to endure high stress at work to keep their health coverage

#Healthcare #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #UniversalHealthcareNow #ImprovedMedicareForAll #SinglePayerNow #USPol #USPolitics #Health #SocialJustice #Pharmacy #WorkersRights #EmployeeBenefits
https://www.buzzrx.com/blog/american-health-insurance-concerns

2/
The lack of guaranteed, universal healthcare in the US is restricting Americans’ job mobility and opportunities for advancement. The American system of employer-provided healthcare is designed to benefit employers, not employees. Want to negotiate with your employer for better pay or working conditions? Employers need only dangle the threat of losing health insurance benefits.

Does your health rely on an obscenely priced medication? Do you or your child have a chronic medical condition that requires regular medical attention? Do you expect to need maternity care? Do you live paycheck to paycheck and lose sleep due to the constant threat of medical bankruptcy? You probably won’t quit your crappy job if your employer provides health insurance.

#Healthcare #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #UniversalHealthcareNow #ImprovedMedicareForAll #SinglePayerNow #USPol #USPolitics #Health #SocialJustice #Pharmacy #WorkersRights #EmployeeBenefits
BuzzRx survey Health Concerns of Working Americans: https://www.buzzrx.com/blog/american-health-insurance-concerns

3/
The lack of guaranteed, universal healthcare in the US is stifling innovation and restricting American creativity.

Nearly half of full-time employees say the threat of losing employer-provided health coverage has deterred them from pursuing self-employment.

Do you have a marketable creative skill and want to open your own business? Do you need the flexibility to set your own schedule that self-employment allows? Do you want to pursue development of a breakthrough product idea? Do you want to take a 3-6 month sabbatical to explore an area of interest? If you are American and not wealthy, too bad for you. You will lose your health care coverage, so you will probably keep your unfulfilling, dead-end job.

#Healthcare #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #UniversalHealthcareNow #ImprovedMedicareForAll #SinglePayerNow #USPol #USPolitics #Health #SocialJustice #Pharmacy #WorkersRights #EmployeeBenefits
BuzzRx survey Health Concerns of Working Americans: https://www.buzzrx.com/blog/american-health-insurance-concerns