And another day of FB troubles, the debt limit, torture, the Pandora Papers, school board threats, NWSL is not a safe workplace, deadly city heat, high blood pressure and dementia link, brain implants and depression, and Kirk goes where no one his age has ever gone before comes to a close:
“So far, Mark Zuckerberg's net worth has grown by more than $5,136,984 during today's Facebook outage. For context, it would take the median U.S. worker 110 years to make that much.” — Robert Reich
Deaths
US: 722,259 (+2326)
World: 4,822,714 (+6821)
Cases
US: 44,679,380 (+160,943)
World: 236,159,280 (+440,586)
Why this Facebook scandal is different. The fact that the company is disputing the topline findings of its staff’s research shows just how damaging the reporting coming out of the whistleblower’s documents are, and how urgently the company is moving to change the narrative…”For years, we’ve known many of these issues — via journalists and researchers — but Facebook has been able to claim that they have an ax to grind and so we shouldn’t trust what they say. This time, the documents speak for themselves.”
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram go down in major, worldwide outage. Facebook is going through a separate major crisis after whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, provided The Wall Street Journal with internal documents that exposed the company's awareness of harms caused by of its products and decisions. Haugen went public on "60 Minutes" on Sunday.
"Facebook used its monopolistic power to boost and suppress specific publishers’ content—the essence of every Big Brother fear about the platforms."
Instagram promoted pages glorifying eating disorders to teen accounts. "I have to be thin," "Eternally starved," "I want to be perfect." These are the names of accounts Instagram's algorithms promoted to an account registered as belonging to a 13-year-old girl who expressed interest in weight loss and dieting. Proof that Instagram is not only failing to crack down on accounts promoting extreme dieting and eating disorders, but actively promotes those accounts, comes as Instagram and its parent company Facebook (FB) are facing intense scrutiny over the impact they have on young people's mental health.
Signs of encouragement as US sees drop in Covid cases and hospitalizations. The United States has seen a dramatic drop in the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, a trend that epidemiologists see as an encouraging sign that the Delta wave of the virus has peaked nationally.
President Biden he can't guarantee the U.S. won't breach the debt limit next week. President Biden is calling on Republicans to "stop playing Russian roulette" with the U.S. economy and allow a straight up or down vote to raise the debt ceiling. If Republicans continue to block such a vote, Biden said ominously on Monday, he could not guarantee the U.S. would not default on its obligations later this month.
"Why let McConnell and Republicans off the hook? This is their debt. They spent like drunken sailors for 4 years before Biden got into office." -- Jen Psaki
If former President Donald Trump runs and wins back the White House in 2024, his second term in office will be all about "revenge," his former press secretary said Monday.
“Even if You Win, You Stay Locked Up”: How ICE Uses Appeals to Keep Immigrants in Detention. The appeals process can drag on for months or years, and the outcome is unpredictable; the BIA can dismiss or sustain or send the case back to the immigration judge for further consideration. In that event, the case might wind its way to federal courts. Even if the immigrant prevails, the prolonged litigation almost inevitably imposes additional emotional and financial burdens. Win or not, it can be a losing game.
'Some are just psychopaths': Chinese detective in exile reveals extent of torture against Uyghurs. The methods included shackling people to a metal or wooden "tiger chair" -- chairs designed to immobilize suspects -- hanging people from the ceiling, sexual violence, electrocutions, and waterboarding. Inmates were often forced to stay awake for days, and denied food and water, he said. "Everyone uses different methods. Some even use a wrecking bar, or iron chains with locks," Jiang said. "Police would step on the suspect's face and tell him to confess."
A look at world leaders named in the Pandora Papers. A global investigation has revealed how the rich and powerful have hidden their wealth in shell companies and offshore accounts, keeping trillions of dollars out of government treasuries. Here's a look at some of some of those named in the report. -- Fucking wealthy people.
Garland says authorities will target school board threats. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday directed federal authorities to hold strategy sessions in the next 30 days with law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation’s public schools.
National Women's Soccer League cannot be viewed as a safe workplace, some players say. U.S. Soccer tapped former acting Attorney General Sally Yates to lead the investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct against a former coach.
Nearly 25% of world population exposed to deadly city heat. Exposure to deadly urban heat has tripled since the 1980s, and now affects nearly a quarter of the world’s population, a study has found. Scientists put the worrying trend down to the combination of rising temperatures and growing numbers of people living in urban areas, and warned of its potentially fatal impact.
McDonald's planning net zero emissions by 2050. — Seriously? Twenty-eight years?
High blood pressure in young adults is linked to smaller brain sizes and dementia, a study finds. Adults who were diagnosed with hypertension between ages 35 to 44 had smaller brain sizes and were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to adults their age with normal blood pressure.
Brain implant may lift most severe depression. An electrical implant that sits in the skull and is wired to the brain can detect and treat severe depression, US scientists believe after promising results with a first patient.
Natural bacteria could wipe out dengue-carrying mosquitos, Australian research suggests. Populations of mosquitos, which spread dengue fever, zika and other viruses, dropped by 80% after being infected with Wolbachia bacteria.
Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes crews vote to authorize strike. Film and television production in North America is in jeopardy of coming to a standstill after its behind-the-scenes workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike for the first time in its 128-year history.
Star Trek’s Captain Kirk rocketing into space next week. Star Trek's Captain Kirk is set to boldly go where no actor has gone before. William Shatner will blast off on a Blue Origin capsule on Oct. 12, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company announced. At age 90, Shatner will become the oldest person in space.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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