Criminalization of abortions as a business tactic

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

Nasal spray that crushes depression

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

Depression nasal spray

Iranian threats ‘put on hold’ says US defense chief

Tuesday, May 21st, 2019 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

The potential of attacks by Iran has been "put on hold" by US counter-measures, acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan has said.
The US has warned of a threat from Iran in recent weeks and Mr Shanahan briefed lawmakers at a closed-doors meeting.
Tension has risen sharply, with the US deploying military assets to the Gulf to tackle the unspecified threats.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran."
He has maintained a strong anti-Iran policy since taking office and last year unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear deal with Iran and five world powers.
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President Trump's National Security Adviser, John Bolton, is a long-standing advocate for regime change in Iran and has previously called for the US to bomb the nation.
What did Mr Shanahan say?
Speaking to reporters, he said the US "posture is for deterrence" rather than war.
Mr Shanahan, who addressed lawmakers alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Joseph Dunford, said: "I think our steps were very prudent and we've put on hold the potential for attacks on Americans and that's what's extremely important.
"I'd say we're in a period where the threat remains high and our job is to make sure that there is no miscalculation by the Iranians."
He did not publicly share details of the "credible information" related to the issue, but added: "I just hope Iran is listening. We're in the region to address many things, but it's not to go to war with Iran."
Reports suggested the briefing was heated at times and, after the meeting, some Democrats accused government officials of twisting intelligence information.
"In my opinion, there wasn't any information there that pointed to any reason why we should be engaging in talk of war with Iran," said Representative Ruben Gallego.
Iran agreed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 to limit the scope of its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, and has called on other parties to uphold the deal despite the US withdrawal.
But the JCPOA looks to be increasingly under threat. Iranian officials said on Monday that they had increased by fourfold the production of low-enriched uranium - although the increase remains for the moment within the restrictions of the deal.
What is behind the escalation?
Tensions began rising this month when the US ended exemptions from sanctions for countries still buying from Iran. The decision was intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the government its main source of revenue.
Mr Trump reinstated the sanctions last year after abandoning the nuclear deal.
Days after the US withdrawal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would suspend several commitments under the deal.
The White House then announced the US was sending an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and a Patriot missile defence battery to the region because of "troubling and escalatory indications" related to Iran.
Last week, four oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman were damaged in what the United Arab Emirates said were sabotage attacks while drone attacks on two oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi rebels - who are supported by Iran - forced the temporary closure of a pipeline.
Iran has denied that it was behind the incidents.
But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said lawmakers at the briefing were told that both cases had been "co-ordinated and directed by the Iranian government, the ayatollah".
There were also unconfirmed reports, citing US and regional security officials, that Iran had loaded missiles on to boats in Iranian ports and that Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary fighters had positioned rockets near facilities in Iraq used by US troops.
What are other countries saying?
"I would say to the Iranians: do not underestimate the resolve on the US side," UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told reporters in Geneva on Monday. "They don't want a war with Iran. But if American interests are attacked, they will retaliate."
"We want the situation to de-escalate, because this is a part of the world where things can get triggered accidentally," he added.
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, said the kingdom "does not want a war, is not looking for it and will do everything to prevent it".
"But at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will respond with strength and determination to defend itself and its interests."
The foreign minister of Oman, which has brokered secret talks between the US and Iran in the past, visited Tehran to discuss regional issues with Mr Zarif on Monday.

Pakistani children worst affected in Hiv outbreak

Tuesday, May 21st, 2019 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

The first sign that something was wrong in the small southern Pakistani town of Ratto Dero appeared in February.
A handful of worried parents had taken their children to the doctor, complaining that their little ones could not shake off a fever.
Within weeks, more children came forward suffering from a similar illness.
Bemused, Dr Imran Aarbani sent the children's blood away for testing. What came back confirmed his worst fears. The children were infected with HIV - and no-one knows why.
"By 24 April, 15 children had tested positive, though none of their parents were found to be carrying the virus," the hospital doctor told the BBC.
It was only the tip of the iceberg.
In the past month, more than 607 people - 75% of them children - have been diagnosed with the virus after rumours of an outbreak sent families rushing to a special camp set up at the town's government hospital by the health department of Sindh province.
Perhaps more surprising, however, is the fact that this is not the first outbreak to hit the region in recent years.
Rumours of a possible outbreak in Sindh province's Larkana, of which Ratto Dero is a sub-division, prompted thousands of people to get tested back in 2016.
On that occasion, 1,521 people were found to be HIV positive, according to figures available with Sindh Aids Control Programme (SACP).
The vast majority of those infected were men and, at the time, the cause was linked to the area's sex workers, who were mainly transgender and 32 of whom were found to be carrying the Aids virus.
The discovery of the outbreak led to a crackdown on Larkana's travellers' inns, where sex workers had been able to ply their trade relatively freely, despite a ban on prostitution in Pakistan.
But could that outbreak be linked to health officials' recent discovery?
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Dr Asad Memon, who heads the SACP operations in Larkana, believes so - although not directly.
"I think the (Aids) virus was being carried by members of the high-risk group (transgender and female sex workers) and then lax practices by local quacks caused it to infect other patients," he told the BBC.
By "quack" he is referring to under-qualified people practising medicine, ranging from paramedics running a private clinic posing as doctors, to medical graduates who have been unable to find work in hospitals and have no exposure to standard medical practices.
In Pakistan, especially in rural areas, people often go to "quacks" instead of qualified doctors because they are cheaper, easily available, and have more time to give to their patients.
Dr Fatima Mir, who works for the Aga Khan University Hospital and specialises in Aids among children, is currently doing volunteer work in Ratto Dero. She agrees that negligent medical practices are the most likely link between the children and the 2016 outbreak.
"There are three ways a child may be infected," she explained. "It's either through a lactating mother who carries the virus, through blood transfusion, or through an infected surgical instrument or a syringe."
In most cases she has handled, the mothers tested negative for HIV and few children had undergone blood transfusions. So the only remaining explanation was the practice of using one syringe for several patients at local clinics.
Officials also appear to agree. About 500 unregulated clinics have been ordered closed across the province, the health authorities reported.
What's more, a local child specialist, Dr Muzaffar Ghangro, has been arrested on charges of spreading Aids through syringes.
He has denied the charge, saying all the infected people were not his patients.
Meanwhile, officials in Sindh - which has one of the highest HIV infection rates in Pakistan - have set up an inquiry to identify causes of the outbreak.
But that will not help those who have already found themselves with a diagnosis that will impact on their whole lives.
Doctors at the hospital camp in Ratto Dero have now tested more than 18,418 people since 25 April.
At least 607 of them have tested positive so far, three-quarters of them children between the ages of one month and 15 years.
That means there are hundreds of parents left counting the cost - both to their children's health, and their everyday existence.
"Medicines for grown-ups are usually available [with health authorities] in Larkana, but for the child's medicines we have to go to Karachi, which means we spend several thousand rupees on each trip," one mother, whose three-year-old daughter had been diagnosed as HIV-positive, told the BBC.
"My husband is only a day-labourer, so we won't be able to afford this for long."

The House considers contempt for Barr

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-barr-senate-mueller-report-20190501-p3xcjaa65zdcnolt4ua3mkphm4-story.html

A financial disclosure from Donald Trump's sister led to The New York Times report on his taxes

Thursday, October 4th, 2018 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

(CNN)President Donald Trump's older sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, has kept a very low profile since he ran for office. But it appears as though she inadvertently had a central role in The New York Times blockbuster report on her brother's alleged tax schemes.

According to the Times, one of their key findings was a financial disclosure form from Barry's Senate confirmation proceedings in 1999 to be a federal appellate judge. This financial form was not redacted, and Times reporter Susanne Craig, one of the three reporters who broke the story, noticed an oddity in the filing -- a $1 million contribution from a Trump family-owned company called All County Building Supply & Maintenance.
The creation myth of the billionaire businessman Donald Trump just imploded
 
The creation myth of the billionaire businessman Donald Trump just imploded
Craig, along with reporters David Barstow and Russ Buettner, began to investigate the company. People familiar with family patriarch Fred Trump told them that All County was a "middleman entity created by President Trump and his siblings essentially to move cash from Fred Trump's companies to his children," the Times said.
After the company purchased items for Trump buildings such as cleaning supplies, the Times notes that a secretary would bill these "items to Fred Trump's buildings with a 20% to 50% markup," and the siblings would "pocket the difference." The siblings received millions in untaxed gifts from their father, skirting a 55% tax on gifts over a certain value that would have cut the total significantly, the Times reported.
 
 
According to Tuesday's report by the Times, the President helped "his parents dodge taxes" in the 1990s, including "instances of outright fraud" that allowed him to amass a fortune from them. The President and his siblings helped his parents build their wealth by hiding millions of dollars in gifts in a "sham corporation," according to the Times.
Barry, along with President Trump and their younger brother, Robert, were the executors of their father's estate, and in that capacity filed his tax returns 15 months after his death in 1999, the Times notes.
The judge's involvement in the practices outlined in the Times story is unclear. However, as one of the executors of her late father's estate, she and her brothers were responsible for verifying the accuracy of his estate tax return, which the Times notes "vividly illustrates the effectiveness of the tax strategies devised by the Trumps in the early 1990s."
 
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/politics/donald-trump-older-sister-family-finances/index.html

Indonesia tsunami

Monday, October 1st, 2018 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

By Hannah Beech and Muktita Suhartono

BANGKOK — Soaring over eastern Indonesia on Friday, Petra Mandagi exulted at the perfect conditions for a paragliding addict: azure skies, a sweet breeze and a picture postcard bay rippling below.

Even when a series of earthquakes began shaking the city of Palu on Friday afternoon after his paragliding competition had finished, Mr. Mandagi texted his wife in their hometown, Manado, and assured her that all was fine.

Less than an hour later, twin natural disasters — a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that unleashed an 18-foot wave — turned parts of Palu and the surrounding strip of coastline into a graveyard. As of Sunday evening, national disaster mitigation officials said that at least 832 people had been confirmed killed.

The death toll, which had more than doubled from Sunday morning, was expected to climb much higher still, with heavily populated areas outside the city still cut off from any assistance, and desperate search-and-rescue efforts continuing in the rubble of Palu, often with only rudimentary tools.

Image
A search-and-rescue team recovering a body in Palu.CreditAntara Foto/Reuters

Bodies covered in tarps lined the streets of Palu, and officials said they were digging a mass grave for at least 300 of the dead.

With the prospect that thousands may have been killed, questions began mounting as to why residents were not adequately warned of the tsunami, given the area’s long and deadly history of facing killer waves.

Among the problems: None of the 22 buoys spread over Indonesia’s open water to help monitor for tsunamis had been operational for the past six years, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for the country’s national disaster agency.

The eight-story Roa Roa hotel where Mr. Mandagi, 35, had been staying was one of the thousands of buildings in Palu that collapsed, burying him and around other 50 guests, including six more paragliders there to compete.

Image
People siphoning fuel from a tanker truck in Palu on Sunday.CreditAntara Foto/Reuters

On Sunday, with no heavy equipment available, search-and-rescue workers used their hands to frantically claw through the rubble, with the voices of trapped victims calling out from the debris spurring on the brute manual effort.

A single body was pulled out of the hotel wreckage. But by Sunday evening, the site was eerily quiet, said Indonesian search-and-rescue staff.

“Petra went to Palu to do what he loved most, which is paragliding,” said Nixon Ray, Mr. Mandagi’s business partner in a paragliding business and a fellow adventure-sport enthusiast.

Mr. Ray, 51, decided at the last minute to skip the Palu competition but had urged Mr. Mandagi and two other friends to go without him.

Obama Administration

Sunday, June 25th, 2017 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

Trump on Russian election meddling: Focus on Obama administration

By Rebecca Morin | Jun 24, 2017

"Obama Administration official said they 'choked' when it came to acting on Russian meddling of election. They didn't want to hurt Hillary," Trump wrote on Twitter.

 

 

White House
President Donald Trump on Saturday again questioned why former President Barack Obama's administration did not do more to stop reported Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
"Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action? Focus on them, not T," the president wrote on Twitter. "Obama Administration official said they 'choked' when it came to acting on Russian meddling of election. They didn't want to hurt Hillary?"
The Washington Post reported this week that Obama and his aides wrestled with when to publicly disclose evidence that Russian officials tried to interfere with the 2016 election because they feared being accused of trying to influence the election themselves.
Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton's former communications director who has also served as Obama's White House communications director, on Friday came to the former president's defense saying: "I think they did it in the best interest of the country."
Trump initially tweeted Thursday wondering why the Obama administration did not stop Russia from interfering in the election, writing: “By the way, if Russia was working so hard on the 2016 Election, it all took place during the Obama Admin. Why didn't they stop them?”
The president, who has repeatedly downplayed the impact of the Kremlin's interference attempts on the general election, seemingly acknowledged the existence of an influence campaign by Russia on Twitter Friday, tweeting: "Just out: The Obama Administration knew far in advance of November 8th about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY?"
A special counsel is currently overseeing a probe on Russia's influence in the 2016 election.
Follow us on Apple News for the latest from the White House, Congress and K Street. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get top news and scoops, every morning — in your inbox.

White officer shoots black officer

Sunday, June 25th, 2017 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-st-louis-police-officer-shoots-off-duty-black-officer/

Veterans

Monday, December 12th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

VA hospital left deceased veteran in shower room for 9 hours, report finds - Fox News
https://apple.news/AbfHQ4NtdSYC8rIq9Q_kWtA

Tesla's new upgraded battery

Wednesday, August 24th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-product-idUSKCN10Y1R2

Suspend Your Disbelief: These Drinks Defy Gravity

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff
Here's something to lift your spirits: a cup that can hover.
Credit: Joel Paglione

What could be better than a drink in your hand? How about a drink that can levitate?

It's not magic — it's electromagnetic suspension. A wireless block and special cups with magnetic bases create the magical illusion of a drink that hovers like a hummingbird.

Dubbed "Levitating CUP," the gravity-defying effect is purely aesthetic — and that's exactly the point, according to creator Joel Paglione. He told Live Science that while many restaurants explore novel ways of displaying food more attractively to enhance the dining experience, far less attention is paid to the way drinks are delivered — and he decided to change that. [Gifts for Geeks: Fun Gift Ideas for Him or Her]

"I wanted something that could wow everyone," Paglione said. "So much focus is on plating, on unique presentation in terms of food. I wanted to create something that would complement what restaurants are doing, and create a spectacle with the drink itself."

"Gravity defying" cups can deliver whatever beverage floats your boat.
"Gravity defying" cups can deliver whatever beverage floats your boat.
Credit: Joel Paglione

 

In recent years, so-called liquid nitrogen cocktails — drinks served in glasses chilled with liquid nitrogen to create clouds of vapor — have risen in popularity, and are featured in many celebrated watering holes, Paglione said. So there would seem to be an eager audience ready for a little more "wow" with their whiskey.

"And no one's done something visual like levitating it," he added.

An uplifting experience

What keeps Levitating CUP aloft are magnetic forces at play between the cup and a small, electrically powered base. Magnets in the cup's bottom and in the base repel each other, while electricity in the base interacts with the magnetic field, creating a state where the cup is stabilized and suspended in the air.

It might take a little practice to perfect how to set your drink down on an invisible surface, but once the cup is in place, it balances well, even while being carried, Paglione said. To help users get started, a "Levitating Assist" attachment for the base provides extra stability until people get the hang of suspending a cup in midair.

Paglione said he initially created a wired base for the floating cup but quickly realized that a wireless design would be more practical. This is the first electromagnetic suspension system to offer a wireless option, he told Live Science. The base lasts up to 8 hours on a full charge, allowing users to transport their suspended drinks across a bar or from room to room, he said.

Paglione is raising money for the project through a Kickstarter campaignthat will run through Aug. 19. If it's fully funded, wired and wireless versions of the "Levitating CUP" are expected to ship by October. It's an idea that might prompt you to raise your glass — if they hadn't already done it for you.

Original article on Live Science.

This is the new “Nearby” tracker in Pokemon Go

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

The “Nearby” tracking system in Pokemon Go — the one that’s supposed to let you actually figure out where Pokemon are hiding without walking aimlessly — has been broken since day two or three after launch.

It went from kinda working with a functional-if-confusing “footprint” system (three footprints = far, one footprint = close) to not working at all (all Pokemon showing three footprints regardless of distance) to just being totally removed.

An update rolled out for Pokemon Go users tonight, and the change log mentioned that a new nearby tracking system was being tested with “a subset of users”.

Here’s what that beta nearby system looks like in action, as demonstrated in a video grabbed by Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer:

 

 

Not quite sure what you’re looking at?

The “Nearby” drawer now has two sections: Nearby, and Sightings.

“Nearby” Pokemon are those which happen to be close to nearby Pokestops. Tap one of those and the map zooms out to an overhead view, showing you which Pokestop you should head towards. It’s like they looked at the now-banned Pokevision and said “Well, if you can’t beat’em…” The Pokemon you’re looking for should be near that Pokestop; according to most reports, they’re usually within about a block. Pokestops now have circles around them similar in sizing to the one around the player’s — if a Pokemon is within that circle, it counts as “Nearby” that Pokestop.

Pokemon in the “Sightings” section have grass behind them rather than a Pokestop image — this means they’re in the wild and not immediately near a Pokestop, and you’ll have to hunt for them without any built-in guidance. Tapping a “Sightings” Pokemon doesn’t seem to do anything at the moment, and they don’t necessarily seem to be sorted by distance (hopefully this changes)… so you’ll still be walking a bit aimlessly, albeit with the knowledge that it’s not near a Pokestop.

nearby

“But wait, Greg! I updated the app, and I don’t see any ‘Nearby’ section!”

Yeah — that’s the catch: it’s only been rolled out to that aforementioned “subset” of users. For now that seems to largely mean people in San Francisco — though some players in other major cities also report seeing it. Most people outside of a few major cities just see the “Sightings” section, even if they’ve got Pokestops nearby.

(Note: Niantic specifically notes that this system is a test. It could very well change drastically before most people get it. Hopefully they figure out some system that also helps rural players who don’t have many Pokestops to begin with.)

A few other things worth noting:
– If a Pokemon despawns before you find it, it finally actually disappears from the Nearby/Sightings drawer. A bug that has plagued the game since launch kept despawned Pokemon in that drawer until something else replaced it or you force-quit the game, leading players to hunt for things that were LONG gone.
– Similarly, if you’re no longer within a reasonable distance of a Pokemon, it disappears from the tracking drawer automatically.
– If you’ve tapped on a Nearby Pokemon to start tracking it and it despawns, a pop-up appears to let you know it’s gone.

Play With Tesla Model 3 Colors & Rims

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

Originally published on EV Obsession.

Want to see what the Tesla Model 3 would look like with a bright pink paint job? With a purple one? A sky-blue on?

If so, here’s the website for you — allowing for the customization of color, shade, wheels, and perspective. Here are a few sample colors we picked out:

Tesla Model 3 blue

(Hat tip to Chris Niemczewski from the Tesla Obsessed Facebook group.) 
Drive an electric car? Complete one of our short surveys for our next electric car report.
 
Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.
 

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About the Author

's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

Beats Audio Launches Beats Studio 2.0 & Beats Solo 2

Tuesday, August 9th, 2016 Published by IDGAFabout Staff

Beats by Dre continue to rule the headphone industry. This is despite all the claims that the brand emphasizes style over actual quality. Once you make the decision to buy a pair of Beats Headphones, you will find your options restricted to two primary contenders, namely: Beats Studio 2.0 OverEar Headphone and Beats Solo 2 On-Ear Headphone.

While many a Beats Studio 2.0 VS Beats Solo 2 review might fail to emphasize any major differences between them, these two Beats headphone are by no means the same, with your personal preferences most likely impacting your choice between them. Are you planning to buy a Beats by Dre headphone? You has trouble to choosing suitable products as well as find the best deals, you should see more info below. We’ve collected and offering new Beats Studio 2.0 Coupon & Beats Solo 2 Promo Code to help customers save as much as possible in current time. See more details below

Beats Studio 2.0 Coupon & Beats Solo 2 Promotion Code in August

Last updated Beats Studio 2.0 Promo and Beats Solo 2 Coupon Codes on August 09, 2016. Click to check deals and get more benefits. All deals from Amazon.com are included free two days shipping. It also available for 2 version of headphones: Wired and Wireless Headphone.

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