Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalReinventing the airship for the 2020s
Airships could offer a much cleaner and quieter alternative for some aspects of the aviation market. In a former airship factory, a new generation are taking shape.
Sergey Brin turned internet search into one of the world’s most valuable businesses more than two decades ago. Now he intends to improve a technology which had its heyday long before he was born.
Brin and his team of engineers' plan is to do this by reinventing a much older, if improved technology. A new generation of airships – the lighter-than-air craft that don't need conventional airports – will be built in a corner of Ohio which played a unique part in the history of aviation. What's more, if built they will be housed in one of America's most iconic structures, the Goodyear Airdock in Akron.
Airships could help speed up the delivery of aid in disaster zones, carry air cargo much more cheaply than air freighters, and cut aviation emissions. However, similar projects in the past have struggled to overcome the complex engineering challenges involved, and have either run out of money, or left potential customers disillusioned.
"Flying an airship is unlike flying any other aircraft because it’s lighter than air and floats, instead of sinks, when you put the power at idle," says Andrea Deyling, a pilot and director of airship operations of Brin’s airship company, LTA Research. "There’s also a sense of wonder people have when they see a lighter-than-air vehicle flying overhead. LTA Research is building a unique airship and I can't wait to get into the actual aircraft and fly it."
In the first half of the 20th Century, Akron in Ohio, was known as the "rubber capital of the world" because it was home to great American tyre manufacturers such as one time arch-rivals Goodyear and Firestone, and it soon became a centre of airship development thanks to the connections between the two industries.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220621-the-giant-hangar-poised-for-an-aviation-revolution
Mexico mass same-sex wedding defies discrimination
Even after five years of living together in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, something as simple as holding hands or sharing a kiss in public is unthinkable for Dayanny Marcelo and Mayela Villalobos.
There is an ever-present fear of being rejected or attacked in Guerrero, a state where same-sex relationships are not widely accepted and one of five in Mexico where same-sex marriage is still not allowed.
But this week they traveled the 235 miles (380 kilometers) to Mexico’s capital, where the city government hosted a mass wedding for same-sex couples as part of celebrations of LGBT Pride Month.
Under a tent set up in the plaza of the capital’s civil registry, along with about 100 other same-sex couples, Villalobos and Marcelo sealed their union Friday with a kiss while the wedding march played in the background.
Their ability to wed is considered one of the LGBT community’s greatest recent achievements in Mexico. It is now possible in 27 of Mexico’s 32 states and has been twice upheld by the Supreme Court.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mass-sex-wedding-mexico-challenges-discrimination-85704066
Felicidades! Happy Pride Month!
After 'victory for white life' comment, GOP campaign says rep. misread
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said at an Illinois Trump rally Saturday that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a "historic victory for white life."
"President Trump, on behalf of all the MAGA patriots in America, I want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the Supreme Court yesterday," Miller said.
A spokesperson for Miller told The Associated Press the line was a "mix up of words."
"You can clearly see in the video ... she's looking at her papers and looking at her speech," Isaiah Wartman, the spokesperson, told the AP.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gop-rep-miller-speaking-alongside-trump-calls-scotus/story?id=85726659
Sure, honey, sure. Whatever. 
Virginia's first 3D-printed home unveiled in Richmond's southside
Richmond’s first home built with a 3D printer was unveiled on the city’s southside.
The three-bed, two-bath home on Carnation Street was revealed to the community on Thursday.
Instead of lumber, the exterior walls were made of concrete that was printed. The process took about 15 hours but required less labor and few materials.
The hope is to build more of these and make housing more affordable.
https://www.nbc12.com/2022/06/24/virginias-first-3d-printed-home-unveiled-richmonds-southside/
Prominent Atlanta lawyer will rep anyone prosecuted for abortions for free
Steve Sadow knew a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade was coming. He wants to make sure anyone prosecuted because of an abortion gets the best defense possible, free of charge.
“If a doctor believes that it is appropriate to violate the law, at least as written, I want to be there to defend them because they need somebody in their corner and that is what I do,” he said Friday, hours after the Supreme Court released its opinion.
Sadow, who has represented various high profile clients, said he feels strongly about women’s rights to privacy and their reproductive rights. With laws throughout the country going into effect following the Supreme Court decision, Sadow said he is not sure what each state will do but he will be ready to defend anyone prosecuted as a result of the decision.
“I just wanted to put it out there so that if there is a doctor that feels strongly enough about this, they know that there is somebody that has the experience that I have and is willing to come in and fight for them,” Sadow said. “No one will leave them hanging.”
Although based in Atlanta, Sadow said he is willing to defend any doctor throughout the country free of charge. He will only charge travel expenses if he has to travel long distances. Sadow said he was optimistic about the fact district attorneys throughout the state and country have already stated, regardless of the law, they won’t prosecute anyone for violating abortion laws.
https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/prominent-atlanta-lawyer-will-rep-anyone-prosecuted-for-abortions-for-free/F6PVUNI7ZRDWPOAKZDRQLV7U7Y/
The Far-Right Is Fearmongering About Abortion Activists Attacking Churches
Within minutes of Roe v. Wade being overturned on Friday morning, far-right figures were already spreading conspiracies about a planned “night of rage” and urging their supporters to take up arms in response.
The United States Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide, dealt a huge blow to many in the country, but for the far-right it’s a day to celebrate—or fight: Many are busy hyping threats of a violent retaliation to the SCOTUS decision.
Some far-right influencers say they’re expecting a “night of rage” from a large group of organized abortion-rights activists, some are urging their followers to go and protect the churches and streets from the imagined marauders, and others are simply salivating over the possibility of violence.
“It's a good thing the Supreme Court affirmed our right to conceal carry right before this ‘night of rage’ you guys are planning,” wrote right-wing commentator Matt Walsh. White nationalist internet celebrity Nicholas Fuentes simply wrote “DEFEND YOUR CHURCHES TONIGHT!” on his Telegram page. Right-wing and church-affiliated YouTubers have been creating videos for several days in regards to this idea, some even giving step-by-step instructions on “how to protect your church from the pro-abortion 'Night of Rage.”
Kristofer Goldsmith, a senior fellow for the Innovation Lab at Human Rights First, told VICE News that he’s seen extremists messaging about the “night of rage” for weeks and that it’s now being filtered into the mainstream by far-right influencers. Goldsmith said that “outside of vandalism” there is “no evidence of a far-left conspiracy to commit violence.”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pgzg/far-right-believes-night-of-rage-abortion
Transgender footballers in Germany can choose men's or women's team
German football is bucking the recent trend of banning transgender women from women’s competition by allowing transgender, intersex and non-binary players to decide whether to play in men’s or women’s teams.
The German football federation passed a regulation for gender-nonconforming players with the civil status “diverse” or “unspecified” on Thursday.
“It also applies to transgender players who can now switch at a self-determined time or remain initially in the team in which they’d been playing previously,” the DFB said. “As long as the sporting activity does not affect the health of the person while they are taking medication, the person can take part in the game, which is why the new regulation excludes doping relevance.”
The rules take effect in the coming season and will be incorporated into the DFB’s game regulations for youth, futsal and amateur football.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/23/transgender-footballers-in-germany-can-choose-men-or-women-team
SOMEBODY gets it right!
Portly python: heaviest-ever snake captured in Florida tips scales at 215lbs
A team of biologists recently hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, officials said. The discovery was part of the state’s python removal program.
The female python weighed in at 215 pounds (98 kg), was nearly 18ft long (5 metres) and had 122 developing eggs, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said in a news release.
The team used radio transmitters implanted into male “scout” snakes to study python movements, breeding behaviors and habitat use, said Ian Bartoszek, wildlife biologist and environmental science project manager for the conservancy’s program.
“How do you find the needle in the haystack? You could use a magnet, and in a similar way our male scout snakes are attracted to the biggest females around,” Bartoszek said.
The team used a scout snake named Dionysus – or Dion for short – in an area of the western Everglades.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/22/heaviest-ever-burmese-python-captured-florida
She been eatin' good in the neighborhood!
Exhausted US airport workers see hope in minimum wage bill as summer of travel chaos looms
Ana Vazquez has worked for five years at Orlando international airport in Florida as a wheelchair attendant and child escort for unaccompanied minors. She makes $12 an hour, with no paid time off and the only health insurance coverage offered to her is charged out of pocket and unaffordable on her pay.
Vazquez often does the work of two or three workers because of chronic understaffing, which results in travelers waiting long periods for wheelchair service and attendants having to push two wheelchairs at once.
Vazquez lives with her daughter because she can’t afford her own apartment, as and rent has increased significantly throughout the area, while her wages have remained the same.
“We’re receiving our wages like we’re in 1995,” said Vazquez. “I have to live with my daughter, sleeping on the corner of her bed,” said Vazquez. “I’m going to set up the walk-in closet like a bedroom.”
On 16 June, Senator Ed Markey, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Chuy Garcia – all Democrats – introduced the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, which would raise the minimum wage for US airport workers, including those who work for contractors, to $15 an hour, provide paid time off and at least $4.60 an hour toward health insurance.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/23/airport-workers-us-15-dollars-minimum-wage-bill
Airlines get billions in subsidies, and yet.......
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