The Trump administration plans to send to Kenya U.S. citizens exposed to the Ebola virus rather than bring them home for observation and treatment, according to three people with knowledge of the plans. The approach is a stark contrast to the way previous administrations responded to outbreaks, during which health care workers and other U.S. citizens exposed to the virus were brought home to be treated at specialized medical units. The administration this month flew an American doctor who developed symptoms to a hospital in Germany, and transported six other Americans for monitoring in Germany and the Czech Republic.
Pope Leo has denounced the "culture of power" driving the rapid rise of artificial intelligence ... read more
In an October episode of his podcast, Rogan interviewed two octogenarian fringe climate contrarians, Richard Lindzen and William Happer, who together have been spreading climate misinformation since at least 2012. For over two hours, the trio discussed climate myths and conspiracy theories, many of them identical to the misinformation Lindzen and Happer were peddling well over a decade ago. As Yale Climate Connections reported earlier this year, about one in five U.S. adults and 37% of adults under 30 say they regularly get news from social media influencers -- which means they're likely consuming a lot of myths about climate change. read more
Authorities braced for the possibility that a damaged chemical tank in Southern California could leak or explode as an evacuation order continued into the Memorial Day weekend for 50,000 residents with no timeline on when they can return. Firefighters have been spraying the outside of the tank with water hoses in an effort to cool the chemicals heating up inside and prevent an explosion. Lee Zeldin, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Sunday the "most likely scenario" is a "low-volume release," where officials will be able to "monitor, neutralize, and contain the threat." "The Orange County Fire Authority is working to keep the temperature of the tank down. That is very important," he said on CNN.
In the year since President Donald Trump signed an executive order promising to create a deep-sea mining industry from scratch, businesses have raised millions of dollars from investors ... read more
1. Real life is weirder than any fiction imaginable, particularly since none of us can agree on what real life, truth, or existence entails -- nor do we know how many things happen to or for us the way it does.
If there are aliens among us, or marrying with us, or controlling us, how would that change anything but our assumptions and perceptions? And what "useful" could be done with that information?
At this point no one could agree that there's anything to be done about it, not that there would be any point in doing whatever that is.
Aliens among us, much less their classification (which isn't news, BillJ) seemed much weirder and threatening when more of the human race was tolerable and tolerant. But with freedoms falling away around the world, especially in the US, we now have more important interests.
It only makes sense there are other life forms in the universe. Why are earth inhabitants so damn self-important that they thing life as they recognize it is the only type of life?
We are surrounded every day by things we cannot see. If we could see radio waves, we'd be going through life in a wild array of colors.
As Doc says, ultimately it's folklore, even if it's real. And again, these days, proof means nothing if you don't want to believe it. Headlines and people's responses to them prove it every day.
A short read: Philip Wylie, The Answer, www.amazon.com
Read "alien" for "angel."
In this ingenious and unforgettable twentieth-century parable, a world on the brink of war is thrown into chaos when angels fall from heaven
Major General Marcus Scott is a seasoned veteran of combat, a loyal American, and a skeptic in a volatile world. But amid the aftermath of a nuclear weapons test in the South Pacific, everything Scott believes--and refuses to believe--will be turned upside down.
In a pool of clear water lies a single casualty of the blast, a beautiful winged being certainly not of this earth. And when a second celestial creature is discovered following a Russian H-bomb test, the military establishments of two major powers are thrown into chaos. Sworn enemies, each pledged to the other's destruction, they must now deal with the unthinkable and the impossible: that the Cold War has transcended the boundaries of the world, reaching into heaven to bring down angels.
A provocative tale as beguiling as it is disturbing, Philip Wylie's The Answer is a captivating fantasy of the nuclear age. Set at the height of the United States-Soviet arms race, it is a page-turning thriller that taps into the anxieties and paranoia of a bygone era, offering a heartfelt plea for peaceful coexistence while decrying the suicidal insanity of war.
NYT, but not paywalled for me. Don't know why.