@#9 ... Yeah, but it's still foundational to their corporate identity. Those films are as much a part of who Disney are as Mickey Mouse is. ...

Yes, but Disney seems to be moving away from many of those "foundational" stories.

When I first started noticing the record profits being attained by Big Oil (while Americans were suffering from high gasoline prices), I had wondered if the Big Oil executives were trying intentionally to bump up the inflation rate by raising gas prices so much.

The combination of high gasoline prices and high inflation would reduce Pres Biden's chance for re-election, thus increasing the possibility of a "more friendly towards Big Oil" Republican in the Oval Office.

Then I thought, nah, Big Oil wouldn't do something like that.

Or would they?

More from the article...

... But that seasonal chorus has sharply divided suburban residents of Montgomery County as the local government considers formally regulating the short-term amenity rentals " potentially becoming the first in the nation to do so.

The move shifts the front line of debate over the sharing economy's frontier to handsome homes and manicured lawns of enclaves just across the D.C. line, where debate about ownership and rights has at times careened into uncomfortable territory. Neighbors have spied on neighbors, reporting unwanted outsiders flocking to their quiet residential streets.

"Our entire block has been disturbed," Constance Kiggans, a Chevy Chase resident, said in written testimony to the Montgomery County Council. "It is, for all intents and purposes, like having a pool club on the street."

It is only mid-spring, but already dozens of pools in and around Maryland's most populous county have been listed for rent on Swimply, which launched in 2020 as people sought alternatives to public pools that shut down because of the pandemic on the heels of the wild success of apps like Airbnb and Uber. ...

More from the article...

...Police and witnesses said the shooting began as a group of people fought in front of a busy stretch of shops on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk about 7 p.m. Monday.

The sound of gunshots sent witness Alvie Carlton Scott III ducking for cover behind a tree before he fled on foot at the command of a police officer. Another witness, Jamie Ward, said several young men were fighting when one of them pulled a gun and started firing.

The shooting upended busy holiday weekend festivities at the popular beach destination where there was already a heavy police presence to oversee the big crowds.

Police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said four children between the ages of 1 and 17 were hit, along with five adults between 25 and 65. All of the victims were in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

At least one person was in custody, but police were looking for more suspects, Bettineschi said. ...

@#2 ... Pulic? ...

Oops. :)

More from a link in the cited article...

...
RESOLUTION CONCERNING CERTAIN WITCHCRAFT CONVICTIONS IN COLONIAL CONNECTICUT

Resolved by this Assembly:

WHEREAS, the courts in the early British colonies of Connecticut and New Haven indicted at least thirty-four women and men for the alleged crimes of witchcraft and familiarities with the devil and convicted twelve of them, executing eleven, and it is now accepted by the historical profession and society as a whole that all the accused were innocent of such charges, and

WHEREAS, legal procedures differed at the time and many practices of the Colonial courts would not meet modern American standards of proof, so that the miscarriage of justice was facilitated by such procedures, and

WHEREAS, the status of women was radically different than it is today, and misogyny played a large part in the trials and in denying defendants their rights and dignity, and

WHEREAS, community strife and panic combined with overwhelming fear and superstition led to these accusations of alleged witchcraft and the subsequent suffering of those accused.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that all of the formally convicted and executed are absolved of all crimes of witchcraft and familiarities with the devil. The legislature specifically absolves the following people believed to have been convicted and executed for the crimes of witchcraft and familiarities with the devil:
...

@#1 ... It's always the cover up... ...

In this case, from what I've been reading and watching, it seems that the 'obstruction of justice' case against fmr Pres Trump may be quite strong. The larger hurdles to clear in such a case are prior knowledge and intent. Both of which the DoJ seems to have evidence to show.

More from the article...

..."Hates Republicans," the employee had written about one in a memo. "Openly despises Trump and Republicans," they said of another. A third, the employee wrote, "is not on the Trump team." The list went on. (Firing someone over political affiliation is typically a violation of federal civil service law.)

Within two days, Pack was examining ways to remove suspect staffers, a new federal investigation found. The executives he sidelined were later reinstated and exonerated by the inspector general's office of the U.S. State Department. Pack ultimately turned his attention to agency executives, network chiefs, and journalists themselves.

The report, sent to the White House and congressional leaders earlier this month, found that the Trump appointee repeatedly abused the powers of his office, broke laws and regulations, and engaged in gross mismanagement....

Related...

@#23 .. Sure. ...

So, your current alias still has nothing.

Good to know.

@#19 ... You are simply being argumentative like an obstinate child. ...

Yeah, I've seen that deflection before from other aliases that seem to be adverse to answering simple questions.

... I said what I wanted to say. Then... on your insistence... I went above and beyond and engaged my AI Assistant... which expanded on what I had already said. ...

Above and beyond? Hardly.

More like a cop-out.

So, ya got nothing, and it seems your current alias feels the need to pull in an AI chatbot to substantiate what it says.

In a word... lame.

... You used the magic words.."please provide". ...

And I'll ask again (from my #12 comment)...

... You used the magic words.."please provide". ...

Everyone is stagnating?

Please provide numbers to support that assertion.

Why does your current alias seem to be so adverse to answering a simple question?

More from the article...
... Editor's note: we have been made aware that the draft form of the book that was reviewed contains some significant errors. We are looking into the details of the errors further. We are leaving the piece up in the mean time, as it provides some context for the discussion of this review in our comments.

At noon on May 3, the fire chief in the oil town of Fort McMurray was on TV telling everyone that the situation was in hand and they should stay at work and school and go to little league or whatever as usual. He had been watching the fire for a couple of days, but business as usual was what they did in Alberta in the spring; it was wildfire season, after all. At 2:05 evacuation orders started to come through. By 10 that night, much of the city that was not yet incinerated was burning.

The combination of extreme, record-breakingly high temperatures (91 F) with extreme, record-breakingly low humidity (15 percent), wind, and tons of dry fuel made for perfect fire weather. While this explosive combination used to be unattainable, it is occurring with growing frequency around the globe, including in areas that never experienced wildfires before.

After destroying the city and the mines that fueled everything about it, the Fort McMurray Fire went on to burn for 15 months, until August 2, 2017. Fire Weather tells its story, and tries to place it in the context of our warming world. ...[emphasis in the article]

@#18 ... so all the attempts to force Collective blame on every Christian in America was misplaced badly? ...

I'm not yet convinced that I would go that far based upon what I've seen. :)

@#16 ... I just find it hilarious that you would shoot yourself in the foot like that. ...

Yeah, there's that...

@#15 ... Are you drunk or are you having a stroke? ...

So, you're new here.

Good to know.

... Sweden can go to Hell. ...

Why?

... I am not Allah. ...

I did not see anyone saying you were.

What's yer point?

I've been on a train that was not able to move along the tracks because of the uphill nature of the tracks and the lack of traction due to leaves on the tracks.

Basically, we (i.e., all those on the train) just sat there, wheels a spinnin'.

It's a big problem around here...

More from the article...

..."Slippery track" season is ways away, but MTA officials are already thinking about the inevitable issues caused by fall leaves falling on Metro-North tracks and their plans involve more laser beams.

Following a successful pilot program this past fall, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved a contract on Wednesday that will allow the Metro-North Railroad to outfit a second train to use lasers to help fight the impacts of fallen leaves on the tracks and minimize the number of cars taken out of service during the fall season.

Railroads that operate in the Northeast, including Metro-North, experience leaf fall-induced low adhesion, caused by the slick pectin left by crushed leaves on rails, which get even more slippery with rain. Some commuter lines even release a reduced service "slippery track season schedule" in the fall.

When a train tries to speed up or slow down, the pectin can cause the wheels to slip or slide along the rails. According to the MTA, in severe cases, the train will automatically make an emergency stop because the on-board computer system perceives "slip-sliding" as the train not slowing down when it should. This slip-sliding and emergency braking also creates flat spots on the train's wheels, forcing Metro-North to take equipment out of service for repairs.

The MTA says that during the pilot study last fall, Metro-North was able to safely clean over 12,000 miles of track with the laser train, resulting in a 40 percent reduction in slip/slide events and the lowest wheel-true cost season on record. ...

@#10 ... In summary, the Turkish economy has made significant progress in the last 20 years ...

So, the [l]ast 20 years have been good.

But I got to ask, why not cite statistics from the last one or two years?

And, please, stop asking AI to buttress what you post here.

I mean, really. Is your current alias that clueless that it seems to need AI to help it?

That seems to be what your posts state.

@#10 ... This is the age of AI... why bother little old me for answers? ...

I am not bothering "little old" you for answers.

I am asking "little old" you to substantiate what your current alias posts.

See the difference?

@#9 ... It's stagnating now because everyone is stagnating ...

Everyone is stagnating?

Please provide numbers to support that assertion.

thx.

More from the article...

...Why it matters: Memorial Day weekend is considered the official start of swimming season. Experts tell Axios they worry the shortage will mean a higher chance of drownings and pool injuries.

- - - About a third of more than 309,000 public pools are affected by the shortage, per estimates from the American Lifeguard Association.

- - - This doesn't include beaches, water parks and other venues, which also may have to trim hours, stay closed or operate with "no lifeguard on duty signs." ...

@#15 .. Affirmative action hires just because you are black. ...

Really?

Got any evidence of that?

@#28 ... dead on ...

Finland is flexing it's muscles here.

Pres Putin needs to take notice of the ramifications of his unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country.

What has happened is the opposite of what he seemed to have expected.

Europe, specifically, the EU and NATO are now stronger, more united, than ever.

And Pres Putin now has to deal with a NATO border on his country that has doubled in length.

Is this his expected outcome of his "short, two or three week" invasion (takeover attempt) of a sovereign Ukraine?

I doubt it.

Pres Putin blew it.

Bug time.

...