February 14, 2022

Nutty pastor getting criticized from all sides for labeling halftime show "sexual anarchy"

https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/1493240907931570179

February 14, 2022

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tweet "Do not eat soap"

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission asks people to not eat dish soap following Uber Eats commercial

OS ANGELES (KNX) – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has one thing to say after that Uber Eats Super Bowl commercial - do not eat soap.

The tweet comes after Uber Eats aired a commercial during Super Bowl Sunday featuring Jennifer Coolidge, “Succession” star Nicholas Braun, Trevor Noah, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In the commercial, Braun is seen drinking dish soap. Following the commercial, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tweeted, “Do not eat soap.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/u-s-consumer-product-safety-commission-asks-people-to-not-eat-dish-soap-following-uber-eats-commercial/ar-AATOl4c

https://twitter.com/USCPSC/status/1493043342732574720

February 14, 2022

'Let's Go Brandon' Crypto Coin Turns Into Total Dumpster Fire

The MAGA-themed coin with dreams of sponsoring a NASCAR team is now circling the drain.


The MAGA-themed “Let’s Go Brandon” Ethereum cryptocurrency has fallen on tough times.

So much so that the value of all 330 trillion coins totals just a few thousand dollars combined, according to the trading sites CoinMarketCap and Crypto, a far cry from the days of pro-Trump investors believing they could strike it rich in the ever-complex world of crypto.

That represents a 99.5 percent decline over the last 30 days, leaving a singular LGB coin effectively worthless.

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At the LGB coin’s peak in early January 2022, the coin had a liquidity pool worth north of $6.5 million. (One not familiar with crypto might think of a liquidity “pool” as just that, a large pool of liquid cash flow that the exchange can use if investors want out of their positions, even if there isn’t a buyer on the other side of the table.) That pot of money has since dried up, leaving a liquidity pool of less than $10,000.

On Twitter, the organizing group behind LGB pledged to “airdrop” investors a new and improved coin, ostensibly swapping out something worthless for something with an artificially designated value.

David Silver, the crypto lawyer, was skeptical. “The free market has already said this is a coin that has no value,” he said. “Simply rebranding and trying again is merely trying to take a second shot at convincing someone to give you value where no value exists.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lets-go-brandon-crypto-coin-turns-into-total-dumpster-fire

February 14, 2022

Investors in new cohousing community lose life savings

So she was among the early supporters of what was envisioned as Connecticut’s first cohousing community. After more than a decade of planning, the project, called Rocky Corner, finally broke ground in 2018 on a 33-acre plot in Bethany, a suburb of New Haven.

Ruffle and a friend contracted to purchase one of the attached housing units there, and sold their home in New Haven in anticipation of closing in 2019. But their closing date kept getting extended. And then members of the community were told that the project was having a cash flow problem

“We thought, Oh, OK, we will give them all of our money for our unit with the understanding that once we can move in, our unit is paid for,” Ruffle said.

But instead, the entire project went into foreclosure. And Ruffle’s dream — and finances — were dashed.

“That money is now gone and there’s no way for us to retrieve it,” she said. “We lost about $170,000. And we both have very low incomes. Ever since, we’ve been living in not good circumstances at all.”

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/They-Took-a-Chance-on-Collaborative-Living-They-16914114.php

February 13, 2022

Mississippi mayor decides he can determine what everyone else in town can read

Mayor Gene McGee of Ridgeland, a community of about 24,000 residents in Madison County, is holding back $110,000 in funding for the county library system, reported Mississippi Free Press, an online news site.

Tonja Johnson, executive director of the county libraries, told the Free Press she reached out to McGee after she failed to receive a quarterly payment from the city. What he told her was surprising.

“He explained his opposition to what he called ‘homosexual materials’ in the library, that it went against his Christian beliefs, and that he would not release the money as the long as the materials were there,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who seems to have the patience of Job, told the Free Press that she carefully explained to McGee that the library is not a religious institution and that it must serve the entire community – but the mayor was unmoved.


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Friends of the Ridgeland Library set up a fundraising campaign to make up for some of the lost funds. The group had hoped to raise a few thousand dollars but within a matter of days had pulled in $75,000.

https://www.au.org/blogs/Miss-library-ban

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2022/02/04/furry-community-raises-thousands-mississippi-library-ridgeland/6662813001/

Furries raise money for libraries after mayor threatens to withhold funds due to LGBTQ+ books

The furry community has taken charge of leading fundraising efforts for the Madison County Library System and raised thousands of dollars as funding for the libraries hangs in limbo.

The system entered the spotlight after Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee said he would withhold $110,000 in annual funding after books with LGBTQ+ themes and authors were put on display.

February 13, 2022

Every employee who leaves Apple becomes an 'associate'

In widely used databases that companies refer to for verification of job information, Apple changes the job title for every employee, whether they're a PhD in computer science or a product manager, to "associate," the company confirms.

Apple's approach is bizarre if not unique, experts in employment practices say, but until now has gone largely unnoticed by anybody but a handful of job applicants whose résumé conflict with official databases maintained by job verification services run by companies such as Equifax and Lexis-Nexis.

The title "associate" is generally used to connote more junior roles. Entry-level retail workers, for instance, are often called associates. Law firms refer to recent law school hires in the same way, and in universities, associate professors are ranked below those with the title "professor."

The practice recently came to light when Cher Scarlett, a former Apple software engineer who raised concerns about alleged discrimination and misconduct at the company, filed a complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that when Apple changed her job title to "associate," it delayed the hiring process at a prospective employer by nearly a week, during which time the company rescinded the offer. Scarlett said the job verification service hired to vet her résumé was unable to resolve the discrepancy with Apple.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Every-employee-who-leaves-Apple-becomes-an-16847217.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight

February 13, 2022

IBM executives discussed in emails how to force out older workers and derided them as "Dinobabies"

IBM executives discussed in emails how to force out older workers and derided them as “Dinobabies” who should be made an “Extinct species,” according to a court filing in an age discrimination case against the company.

The communications show “highly incriminating animus” against older employees by officials who at the time were in the company’s “highest ranks,” according to the filing Friday.

The partially redacted filing says the emails surfaced in separate arbitration proceedings but it doesn’t reveal the identities of the company officials or indicate when they were speaking. A judge has ordered the release of versions of the underlying documents.

In one email chain, an International Business Machines Corp. official described a plan to “accelerate change by inviting the ‘dinobabies’ (new species) to leave” and turn them into an “Extinct species,” according to the filing. Company officials also complained about IBM’s “dated maternal workforce” that “must change,” and discussed frustration that IBM had a much lower share of millennials in its workforce than a competitor, but said its share would increase following layoffs, according to the filing.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-02-12/ibm-age-discrimination-millennial-dinobabies

February 13, 2022

Payout offer for Surfside collapse: Average of $610,294. Some angry about 'low ball' deal.

Owners of the condominiums that were destroyed in the Champlain Towers South collapse have been offered a compromise agreement to settle their property loss claims for a total of $83 million, their lawyers said during a court hearing Friday. Each surviving owner or the heirs of those who died in the 136-unit building would receive an average of $610,294 that would vary according to the size of the condo.

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Some surviving owners were angered by the settlement and said their share of the $83 million is far less than what they need to rebuild their lives. “We are being penalized for surviving,” said Steve Rosenthal, who was rescued from a unit that remained standing and was later demolished. “They are going to ruin our lives twice.”

Raysa Rodriguez said she and many of her neighbors are disappointed they will not receive anything close to the full value of their units and belongings. She estimates she would receive $443,000 in the settlement and that her unit could have sold for $700,000. “The process was a farce,” she said. “We are getting screwed and it is not right.”

Rosenthal’s unit in the oceanfront building was appraised at $735,000 in 2018 and he believes he could have sold it last year for $850,000. He would receive $591,000 in the settlement. Since he moved into an apartment and bought furniture, clothes, “even salt and pepper shakers,” home and rental prices in South Florida have soared. “We could never afford to return to Surfside,” he said. “I have to hope they build affordable housing in the Everglades.”



Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article258307968.html#storylink=cpy

February 13, 2022

A repentant anti-vax activist is reportedly urging people to get vaccinated after a 'fan' died

A repentant anti-vax activist is reportedly urging people to get vaccinated after a 'fan' of his died of COVID-19



Bacco described anti-vax leaders, including himself, as "bastards" who should be held accountable.

Pasquale Ba cco spoke at around 300 anti-vaccine protests in Italy, Newsweek reported, and had thousands of followers opposed to getting shots.

But after one died of COVID-19, he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Messogiorno that he became racked with guilt.

Now, a repentant Bacco is vaccinated and is urging his followers to do the same.

Bacco told Corriere della Messogiorno that the death of a 29-year-old follower deeply impacted him.

"The family told me that he was a fan of mine," Bacco said. "They didn't tell me with anger, on the contrary, and this hurt me even more."

https://www.businessinsider.com/italy-prominent-anti-vaxxer-repents-after-fans-covid-19-death-say-reports-2022-2

Bacco said he was, in part, motivated by the financial incentive of building a brand as a prominent anti-vaxxer.

The doctor told Corriere della Messogiorno that his private business increased a "thousandfold," and he could charge patients whatever he liked.

February 13, 2022

Trumpster Florida couple steals $1.5 million from Humane Society to pay for extravagant life

Arneson and O’Berry are believed to have used some of the allegedly embezzled money to buy a fishing gear store called Precision Tackle, occupying two-thirds of a building in Spring Hill, Florida, and to start an upscale boutique called Vibes by SQ in the remaining third of the building.

Married on August 28, 2021, the newly renamed Susana O’Berry and Douglas Paul O’Berry––styling himself Captain O’Berry––on August 30, 2021 introduced themselves as “the new owners of Precision Tackle!”

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Except for posting to social media fiery messages of support for former U.S. president Donald Trump and denunciations of previous president Barack Obama, O’Berry appears to have led a quiet life.

https://www.animals24-7.org/2022/02/11/1-6-million-allegedly-embezzled-from-humane-society-of-the-nature-coast/



Sheriff Nienhuis identified expenditures of allegedly stolen funds including the cash purchases of a $22,000 boat, a 2020 Jeep Wrangler valued at $43,000, and a $220,000 house.

Nienhuis also mentioned international travel, “which may or may not have been related to Arneson’s change in appearance,” Nienhuis suggested.

“The sheriff added that the public could draw its own conclusions about her dramatic change in looks,” Morris continued, referencing an evident recent facelift and tummy-tuck.