Monday, May 9, 2022

And another day of what actually happens when a country bans abortion, sex-selective abortion, Wall Street tumbles, IL college closes after ransomware attack, capping internet cost, a 50-50 chance on temperature, and over half of US in drought comes to a close:

“This is not a war of two armies. This is a war of two worldviews.” — President Zelensky

“When pro-life people talk about "full-term abortions" they are lying. This is not happening. The closest thing, would be forcing a life into the world and waiting until after it becomes fully sentient to disregard it—which is Republicanism.” — John Pavlovitz

Deaths

US: 1,024,752 (+206)

World: 6,278,010 (+1545)

Cases

US: 83,688,188 (+106,473)

World: 517,739,822 (+479,581)

What Actually Happens When a Country Bans Abortion. Romania under Ceausescu created a dystopian horror of overcrowded, filthy orphanages, and thousands died from back-alley abortions. — History will repeat. And right now there are 500,000 kids in foster care in the US.

After Roe v Wade, next U.S. abortion battle: state v state. With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to strike down the right to an abortion, lawmakers from anti-abortion states explore ways to take the radical step of extending bans to states where the procedure remains legal. — It’s not even about state’s rights. It’s about forcing conservative views down everyone’s throats. This is a fascist move by a party that has fully embraced fascism.

Texas Republicans say if Roe falls, they’ll focus on adoptions and preventing women from seeking abortions elsewhere. State leaders say expanding a social safety net for children and prosecuting abortion funders are among their priorities. “We’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,” said state Rep. Briscoe Cain.

Canada and Mexico prepare to accept Americans seeking abortions. If the US supreme court does vote to overthrow Roe v Wade, many Americans in need of surgical abortions could be forced to travel to Canada or Mexico.

Asian tropes in sex-selective abortion bans have advocates worried about what's to come. Experts say that sex-selective abortion bans, or restrictions perceived to be sought based on the predicted sex of a fetus, have repeatedly been passed and proposed across several states in recent years. Critics say that legislators have justified it by invoking tropes about Asian families’ preference for sons. -- WTAF?

Wall Street’s losses worsen as markets tumble worldwide. The sell-off came as renewed worries about China’s economy piled on top of global financial markets already battered by rising interest rates.

Illinois college, hit by ransomware attack, to shut down. Lincoln College is scheduled to close its doors Friday, becoming the first U.S. institution of higher learning to shut down in part due to a ransomware attack. A goodbye note posted to the school’s website notes that it survived both World Wars, the Spanish flu and the Great Depression, but was unable to handle the combination of the Covid pandemic and a severe ransomware attack in December that took months to remedy…The Illinois school, which is named after President Abraham Lincoln and broke ground on his birthday in 1865, is one of only a handful of rural American colleges that qualify as predominantly Black institutions by the Department of Education.

The Biden administration is capping the cost of internet for low-income Americans. The Affordable Connectivity Program will provide plans of at least 100 Megabits per second of speed for no more than $30. An estimated 48 million Americans will qualify…Twenty internet providers, including national companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, as well as regional companies, such as Hawaiian Telecom and Jackson Energy Authority in Tennessee have committed to the program.

Climate change: 'Fifty-fifty chance' of breaching 1.5C warming limit. Such a rise would be temporary, but researchers are concerned about the overall direction of temperatures. It's almost certain that 2022-2026 will see a record warmest year, they say.

Over half of U.S. in drought as wildfires burn, tornado activity surges. But so far this year, more land in the continental U.S. has received less rainfall than expected than in any other year since 2012.

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

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