NullTuples
NullTuples's JournalStartup Aurora Innovation will launch its self-driving semi truck business next year.
Does this make anyone else nervous?
I can't help but wonder if a decade from now people will talk of this era as a time when tech companies striving to "disrupt" existing industries were wildly irresponsible, and everyone - even regulators - just let them do it, over and over again.
Utah is trying to very quietly roll back the state's 2020 conversion therapy ban
They've introduced a bill called, 'H.B. 228 Unprofessional Conduct Amendments'.
It doesn't repeal the ban outright; instead it modifies the existing code to redefine conversion therapy.
Here's what they're adding:
(line number)
231 (a) (i) "Conversion therapy" means a practice or treatment intended to influence or
232 change sexual orientation or gender identity that:
233 (A) subjects a patient or client to physical discomfort through aversive treatment that
234 causes nausea, vomiting, or other unpleasant physical sensation;
235 (B) provides electric shock or other electrical therapy, including electroconvulsive
236 therapy or transcranial magnet stimulation;
237 (C) subjects a patient to touching themself or another individual as part of the therapy;
238 or
239 (D) causes the patient to engage in physical self-harm or physical self-inflicted pain.
And to clarify that talk therapy is allowed:
240 (ii) "Conversion therapy" does not include verbal or written communication by itself.
So, as long as they don't directly cause physical discomfort or pain - or force the client to touch themselves or someone else - it's no longer going to be "conversion therapy".
Talk therapy alone, using emotional manipulation, inducing self doubt or guilt &/or causing trauma using spoken words or written material? No problem!
https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/HB0228.html
Gov. Cox [Utah] signs high-profile bill on transgender surgeries
Source: KSL.com (KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City, Utah)
Cox gave his approval to SB16, a bill banning transgender surgeries for Utah children and teens. SB216 also places an indefinite moratorium on treatments including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, a practicing family physician, and passed by the Utah Legislature on a final 20-8 vote by the Senate.
"Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation," Cox said in a statement about SB216. "While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. Kennedy's more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue. More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.
"We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community. While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures."
Read more: https://www.ksl.com/article/50567331/gov-cox-signs-high-profile-bills-on-transgender-surgeries-school-choice-vouchers
Gov. Spencer Cox last year, when he vetoed a Republican bill barring transgender students from girls' sports in Utah:
In an emotional letter about his veto, Cox cited research about the high risk of suicide among trans youths and additional research that has found that acceptance reduces the risk of suicide.
"I don't understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live," he wrote. "And all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly."
https://www.aol.com/news/utah-poised-first-state-pass-143333616.html
Gov. Spencer Cox in 2023:
The governor's approval of the bill was anticipated after he said last week that the bill banning trans teen health care was a "very reasonable approach." (from today's KSL.com article)
It should be noted that puberty blockers (which only pause puberty while administered) have been prescribed for trans teens since 1982 and continually studied since. The treatment normally involves a team consisting of the teen, their parents if they are a minor, their pediatrician, a pediatric endocrinologist and a psychologist/therapist. Along with regular check-ins, blood work and bone density tests, they are part of a medically managed puberty, not something that is done on a whim. There are hundreds of studies showing that for teens who need them, blockers and later, hormone replacement therapy, are safe and effective and greatly reduce suicides and increase quality of life for the rest of their life.
"What the Science on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids Really Shows
Laws that ban gender-affirming treatment ignore the wealth of research demonstrating its benefits for trans people's health"
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-the-science-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-kids-really-shows/
The latest study results, as of this week:
"Mental health benefits of gender-affirming hormones for teens persist for two years in new study" (the study lasted two years)
https://www.statnews.com/2023/01/18/mental-health-benefits-of-gender-affirming-hormones-for-teens-persist-two-years/
Medical association statements supporting trans health care, including blockers & hrt when applicable, for teens:
https://transhealthproject.org/resources/medical-organization-statements/
Israel seems to moving hard right in real time...
Israel not so long ago was more LGBTQ accepting than most of their Arab / Islamic neighbors.
So I was disappointed to see this latest headline:
"Transgender boy to be removed from [state run] religious school against parents’ wishes"
"Parents of an 8-year-old transgender student said Tuesday that they had been informed by the Education Ministry that the boy would be forced to move from a religious school in central Israel midway through the academic year, and that they planned to appeal the decision.
[...]
In recent weeks, the parents of some 15 children had set up an alternative class for their children to protest the boy remaining at the school, stepping up pressure on the ministry. LGBTQ rights group Hoshen said in a statement that “the ministry decided that political and social considerations are more important than the safety and wellbeing of an 8-year-old boy.”
That led me to start following other Israel news links and this caught my eye:
"Netanyahu's Plan to Kill Israel's Media Enters Its Next Phase"
"The new communications minister plans to shut Israel's public broadcaster among other media authorities and supervisory bodies. The new government also aims to block publication of 'sensitive information'"
(paywall: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-01-24/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-next-phase-of-netanyahus-plan-to-kill-israeli-media/00000185-e344-d093-ada5-eb57536d0000 )
And then this one:
"Netanyahu Adds Supreme Court to His Thuggish Hit List"
"Just like the police, the AG's office, the prosecution, legal advisers, the left and the media - the court that disqualified Arye Dery is subversive and treacherous, Netanyahu believes"
(again, paywall: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-01-24/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-adds-supreme-court-to-his-thuggish-hit-list/00000185-e076-de01-a99d-fb7eb3c00000 )
That these are paywalled and don't seem to be reported elsewhere makes me question the sources, or at the very least, realize their headlines may be clickbait.
So what really *is* going on in Israel?
Another George Santos, this time in North Dakota.
This is starting to feel like a trend, or almost connected somehow...
"A residential address Prichard used while sponsoring a ballot measure last year wasn't in his legislative district. He instead used the address of a home owned by his girlfriend's parents. Prichard told The Bismarck Tribune that he was a student at the University of Minnesota's law school "on a part-time and virtual basis," but law school spokesman Marc Cohen told me, "We do not have that.""
https://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/columns/port-state-rep-brandon-prichard-still-refuses-to-provide-specifics-about-his-academic-claims
So then he tried to bargain with the reporter. At best it looks like he is a high school graduate with no job history. From the same source:
"My column was published in April . Months later, in August, Prichard sent me a text message expressing consternation about an article I'd written about bigoted and offensive messages posted in a group chat used by the North Dakota Young Republicans, an organization loosely affiliated with the North Dakota Republican Party and closely aligned with disgraced former President Donald Trump's political movement.
Since this was the first time Prichard, whose candidacy was endorsed by the Young Republicans , had ever communicated with me, I used the occasion to circle back to the questions surrounding his biography. I asked him if he'd provide documentation proving his claims about his academic career, or sign a release allowing the University of Minnesota to provide it.
Prichard tried to bargain with me, saying he'd provide it if I removed the names of his friends from my article about the Young Republicans. "I'd consider showing documentation if you remove the names of all the elected YRs in the chat as well as candidates running for office from your most recent article," he wrote. "It is greatly unfair to pursue a guilt-by-association tactic and expect me to give you evidence of my attendance.""
Trump federal judge could decide as soon as Feb 10th to yank abortion pill *nationwide*
Relatively long article/column, but well worth the read.
https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/01/23/federal-judge-could-decide-as-soon-as-february-to-yank-abortion-pill-nationwide/
[...]
"A Texas judge could decide as soon as next month whether to force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pull its two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill, which accounts for more than half of pregnancy terminations in the United States. A nationwide injunction in the case, as requested by anti-abortion groups, would deny abortion medication even in states where abortion is legal and affect millions of individuals’ reproductive rights decisions. The legal fight is viewed as likely to eventually make its way to the Supreme Court, which in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion rights."
[...]
"Kirsten Moore, director of the Expanding Medication Abortion Access Project, said “the idea that a drug approval infrastructure could be up to a single judge or that states would be able to recreate their own drug approval process is rash and downright dangerous.”
Jennifer Dalven, director of the Reproductive Freedom Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the case “would be laughed out of court if it were filed somewhere else” due to several procedural defects. But because of the federal district court and the judge, Dalven said, she is taking the case “quite seriously.”
“Mifepristone was approved over 20 years ago. It’s been used safely and effectively by millions of people for early abortion care and to treat miscarriages,” Dalven said. “But unfortunately, in the world we are living in today, we have to take this case seriously.”
Bil did it again...
(I have a love-hate relationship with some of Browning's editorial decisions & some of his stated opinions, and have since the Pam's House Blend days. It's mostly been love for the last 6 years or so, but then weird stuff like this pops up.)
LGBTQNation:
"Not too big and not too small: 5 mid-sized cities to retire in (plus one far-flung surprise)"
"These geographically diverse towns offer the best of all worlds: big city amenities with a small-town vibe, including price."
And where might these cities be?
- Texas
- Ohio
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
- Arizona
- Idaho
Not a mention of politics or religious based threats to Liberty, only weather and buying power for retirees.
I have to ask: Would YOU feel save risking your retirement years in any of those states given the lock Republicans have on them and their promises to try to erase LGBTQ people from public life & revert reproductive liberty to the 1950's?
New W. Virginia bill equates trans people to "obscene", bans within 2500 ft of public schools
"The bills, introduced this week by state Sen. Michael Azinger, a Republican, would prohibit obscene and sexually explicit materials in or within 2,500 feet of the state’s schools and would bar children from being present for obscene performances or displays. The bills’ four-point definition of “obscene matter” is, for the most part, general, and includes material that appeals to the “prurient interest” or that is “patently offensive.”
But the fourth part of the definition specifically defines “indecent displays of a sexually explicit nature,” in part, as “any transvestite [sic] and/or transgender exposure, performances or display to any minor". No other group of people or specific type of performance is included.
https://news.yahoo.com/under-west-virginia-bills-exposing-013153206.html
We're getting dangerously close here in America to Republicans simply outlawing LGBTQ people from public life, starting with trans people because we can sometimes be more easily identified.
Microsoft lays off 10k due to biz being soft, holds expensive private Sting concert for top execs
According to The Wall Street Journal, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting, was paid by Microsoft to entertain an "intimate gathering of 50 or so people, including the company's top executives" at the Swiss resort during the annual World Economic Forum. Attendees must have been Walking On The Moon.
Artists with the clout of 71-year-old Sting, who once led '80s rock band the Police, can fetch a fee of six to seven figures for an evening's work, and yet the next morning Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent an SOS to the world saying that the company couldn't afford to pay 10,000 of its employees anymore.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/20/microsoft_sting_davos/
Parler's Parent Company Laid Off Nearly All of Its Employees, Only Has 20 Left
"Parlement Technologies, the parent company of the far-right social media site Parler, is working with a skeleton crew after laying off most of its employees, according to a new report by the Verge."
"Parler, a brief bastion of conservative social media, has been whittled away for months now, and it may not have much of a future. As reported by the Verge, Parlement began laying off people in November into the end December, when it let go of 75% of its total staff. The layoffs affected c-suite executives in charge of technology, operations, marketing, and more, leaving only 20 workers at Parlement and Parler as of today."
"Meanwhile, over on Parler itself, the company seemed to be living in a grandiose alternate reality. In an #OnThisDay post on Tuesday, the company celebrated its supposed return to glory after being kicked off the internet for its role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in 2021."
“#OnThisDay two years ago, Parler was de-platformed by Amazon Web Services. After being #1 in the IOS store the day before, Google and Apple followed and removed the Parler app from their app stores,” the company wrote from @Parler. “Two years later, on our own cloud servers and back on the Apple and Google Play stores, #Parler has been rebuilt and better than ever.”
https://gizmodo.com/parler-layoffs-employee-20-left-kanye-west-donald-trump-1849975547
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