Saturday, July 25, 2020

And another day “Back in Black” comes to a close:

“Cause you’re the Green Manalishi with the two-pronged crown.” -- Peter Green (But I like Judas Priest’s version better.)

Deaths

US: 149,398 (+908)

World: 648,445 (+5757)

Cases

US: 4,315,709 (+67,382)

World: 16,200,891 (+260,512)

Countdown: 101 days.

Hurting People At Scale. Facebook’s Employees Reckon With The Social Network They’ve Built. “All of these steps are leading up to a situation where, come November, a portion of Facebook users will not trust the outcome of the election because they have been bombarded with messages on Facebook preparing them to not trust it.”...“These were very clear examples that didn't just upset me, they upset Facebook’s employees, they upset the entire civil rights community, they upset Facebook’s advertisers. If you still refuse to listen to all those voices, then you're proving that your decision-making is being guided by some other voice.”...What the departing engineer said echoed what civil rights groups such as Color of Change have been saying since at least 2015: Facebook is more concerned with appearing unbiased than making internal adjustments or correcting policies that permit or enable real-world harm.

What if THESE are the good old days? Depressing as that might seem after the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 630,000 lives and cost tens of millions of people their jobs, some say it's possible things will get worse before they get better.

It's been 2 months since George Floyd's death. Here's what has and hasn't changed.

WNBA Players Didn’t Kneel During The National Anthem — They Walked Out. — Beautiful.

WNBA players dedicated the upcoming season to Breonna Taylor before observing a 26-second moment of silence.

Seattle protest declared a riot after demonstrators throw explosives and rocks, police say.

Lincoln Project releases new video targeting Trump's comments on Ghislaine Maxwell. — Watch it. 

This morning: Local TV stations across the country set to air discredited 'Plandemic' researcher's conspiracy theory about Fauci. Local television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group are set to air a conspiracy theory over the weekend that suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases, was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus. The baseless conspiracy theory is set to air on stations across the country in a segment during the program "America This Week" hosted by Eric Bolling. — Tell your friends—tell everyone—not to watch this bullshit.

This afternoon: Sinclair Broadcast Group has now instructed news directors to avoid airing for now the most recent episode of Eric Bolling's show, which was supposed to include the conspiracy theory. 

Two students tested positive for Covid-19, and as many as 200 others may have been exposed, after taking the ACT college admissions test at an Oklahoma high school.

Beijing partly reopens movie theaters as coronavirus declines in China's capital.

Kansas City Chiefs' Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opts out of NFL season due to coronavirus. "I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our own communities simply to play the sport that I love," the guard, who has a medical degree, wrote on Instagram.

Yoho resigns from board of Christian organization following confrontation with Ocasio-Cortez.

More work needs to be done for disability rights after 30 years of ADA, bill author, former senator Tom Harkin says.

CDC investigating salmonella outbreak in 23 states.

Scientists reveal first-ever photo of a solar system like ours. — Yeah, the picture is cool.

AC/DC’s “Back in Black” was released 40 years ago today. “Hells Bells.”

RIP Peter Green. He was 73.

RIP Regis Philbin. He was 88. 

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.