January 9, 2025

Today is law enforcement appreciation day

To any member who is currently serving, or formerly served, in law enforcement in a civilian or military capacity, thank you for your service to your community and this nation.

January 8, 2025

Who (or what) is starting the California fires?

Chains drug on the road from a trailer? Careless cigarette discarding? Arson?

I've not seen anything pointing to the sources of the fires over the past few years, these most recent included. Has anyone ever found out?

January 8, 2025

What are your hobbies?

When you're not reading here or working, what do you enjoy doing?

January 7, 2025

Can I post WSJ stories here?

Honest question. I have a story I want to share but I don't want to post a link to a site that is not allowed here. Thanks.

January 4, 2025

Mexico's president will accept millions of deportations from Trump,

including non-Mexicans. WTF.

January 3, 2025

Editorial: Why Canada should join the EU

https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/02/why-canada-should-join-the-eu

As international conflicts go, none did so little to disrupt the global order as the “whisky wars” that pitted Canada against Denmark for four decades. Flaring up in 1984, the unlikely spat involved a one-square-kilometre island in the middle of an icy Arctic channel marking the border between Greenland (now a self-ruling part of Denmark) and the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Both sides assumed the rock was theirs. What might have been considered a casus belli by lesser countries became, for the northern duo, an exercise in diplomatic civility. Canadian officials visiting the island marked their territory by leaving whisky and flags; Danes asserted sovereignty by snaffling the booze and leaving their own schnapps for Canadians to enjoy. In lieu of shots fired, polite letters were occasionally exchanged. When the quarrel grew tiresome a working group spent years agreeing to split the island down the middle, ending all hostilities in 2022.

...

Its a paywall site but I use 12ft.io to get around.

Interesting take.

January 3, 2025

Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $1M to Trump's inauguration fund

Source: 9 to 5 Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined a chorus of Big Tech executives making sizeable donations to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The news comes via a scoop from Axios as we approach Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Cook will “personally” make a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural committee, the report says. Last month, Cook visited Mar-a-Lago in Florida for a meeting with Trump. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also spotted at the dinner table with Trump and Cook.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump at the end of November. Google CEO Sundar Pichai met with Trump in December. Trump has also met with Jeff Bezos and many other high-profile executives in the Big Tech industry and beyond.

The likes of Meta, Amazon, and Uber have donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. OpenAI’s Sam Altman also made a $1 million donation. Outside of Silicon Valley, companies including Ford, Toyota, GM, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Coinbase, and more have donated millions to the Trump inauguration fund.

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Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/03/apple-ceo-tim-cook-donates-1m-to-trumps-inauguration-fund/

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It looks like tech is kissing the ring.

January 3, 2025

Tipping Is Racist and Harms Us All -- It's Past Time to Eliminate It

https://inequality.org/article/tipping-is-racist-and-harms-us-all/

From emancipation, the racist practice of tipping prevailed in low-wage industries — disproportionately composed of Black workers, workers of color, and women — before subminimum wages were enshrined into law, creating a two-tiered system for wages that has been preserved as a means of racial and economic control.



Having family who work or worked in the service industries, I'm not sure I'm on board with this.