Andy Lowry @AndyLowry@qoto.org

In 2024, when people suggest that Doug Ducey will make a decent Republican opponent to newly-independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, and whoever the Democrat who runs is (likely Rep. Ruben Gallego):

Remind them that Ducey is spending his last weeks in office building an illegal border wall out of old shipping containers. It won't keep migrants out as people can climb over them, but it runs through the Colorado National Forest land (not Arizona's land), wastes $95 million to build, and will hurt wildlife and block water systems. There are also "unauthorized armed security personnel" which makes the area dangerous for hunters (and migrants, of course).

Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs said she will have the makeshift wall taken down when she takes office in January. Just what a new administration needs, a 10-mile junkyard to tackle.

Arizona doesn't need more Republican stunts, and if he runs for Senate, remind everyone that the USA doesn't need them either.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/arizona-border-wall-shipping-containers/

Life is pretty expensive given how garbagy it is.

Musk’s anti-Fauci tweet is my breaking point; leaving the other app behind so might as well do an #introduction!

I’m an Associate Professor of #Immunology at the #UniversityofWashington in Seattle. My lab studies programmed cell death in the context of cancer, infection and autoimmunity. Check out OberstLab.org for more info.

Outside the lab, I spend as much time as I can outdoors: Biking, rock climbing, hiking and #birding with my wife and our Irish Water Spaniel Rufus. What a good boy!

Breakthroughs in nuclear fusion only happen if you have a government that promotes science—not talking snakes, miracles, and Ivermectin.

@jewwhohasitall There are multiple known versions of "Jingle Bells". The way to tell which is the official version is, it's the only one that doesn't mention Batman.

First post on here. Would love to connect with fellow lefties. A wee welcome boost would be much appreciated.

The mRNA vaccines developed for COVID-19 are as close to a miracle as I may ever experience in my lifetime. Unbelievable that so many people in the US deny this for weird tribal reasons. We don’t have to be sick.

While I value the #BBC's #drama output (which certainly can be world class - #HappyValley for instance), the fact that they cannot 'compete' with #Netflix is not the biggest issue that needs to be resolved.

Rather it is the (now) unbalanced & timid (in its relations with the governing party) news coverage that is the problem... what was a beacon of balanced reporting & incisive analysis, too often now fails to interrogate nonsense & either ignores (or reports late) on crucial politics stories!

"They have also instructed employees to not pay vendors in anticipation of potential litigation, the people said.

To cut costs, Twitter has not paid rent for its San Francisco headquarters or any of its global offices for weeks, three people close to the company said. Twitter has also refused to pay a $197,725 bill for private charter flights made the week of Mr. Musk’s takeover"
~https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/technology/elon-musk-twitter-shakeup.html

#ElonMusk #Twitter

All these newspaper articles on #nuclear #fusion saying we can "finally harness the power of the sun" are just laughable. We already know how to harness the power of the sun, but we choose not to—we just invest in fossil fuels instead. We don't need technological breakthroughs to solve the climate crisis. We just need to deploy the stuff we already know works.

So, a little bit on Nursing pay.
When the Tories came to power in 2010, a band 5 nurses salary on point 23 (7 years experience on that pay scale) was £32,440. In 2021, the same band & point was earning £35,340, a rise of 8.94%. Over that same period, overall inflation has been 31.5%, so if the salary had risen in line with RPI, it would be £42,600, an effective loss in spending power of £7,260.
Over the same period, an MP’s salary has risen from £65,738 to £84,144, a rise of 28%

Tories have been deliberately dismantling & weakening the NHS for years.
They rarely say ‘privatisation’ but by underfunding & creating huge waiting lists, they hope to drive us towards a US style system, creating a nightmare for the poorest.
This article describes the misery that awaits if they succeed.
#nhscrisis #NHSPrivatisation
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/14/hospital-wants-83135-dollars-for-saving-my-wife-worth-it-but-where-did-figure-come-from?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Deregulation for the banks, more regulation for the unions - welcome to Rishi Sunak’s “golden age”

https://www.counterfire.org/articles/opinion/23657-deregulation-for-the-banks-more-regulation-for-the-unions-weekly-briefing

A #Roman wooden #sword found in the civilian settlement of the Saalburg fort. It was probably a child's #toy influenced by the military in the nearby fort - maybe it belonged to a 'military brat' who liked to mimic the exploits of the father.
Dating 2nd/3rd century AD.

Photo: Römerkastell Saalburg

#romanarchaeology #archaeology

The UK is now the ONLY Northern European country not in the Single Market.

Our exports have dropped by 17% since leaving the EU.

Many companies have relocated back into the EU from the UK in order to remain in business.

Pathetically small deals with countries on the other side of the world cannot and will never replace the trade we have thrown away with our closest neighbours.

In addition many products we used to get from fellow European countries are now very difficult to find, including some food products. #Brexit

Mastodon News Sources

General News - US and World

BBC News (World) Bot - @BBCWorld
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CNN Bot - @CNN
CNN Breaking News - @cnnbrk
DW (Deutsche Welle) News Bot - @dwnews_bot
NPR US News Bot - @NPR_USNews
NYTimes Bot - @NYTimes
Reuters Bot - @reuters
Rolling Stone - @RollingStone
The Guardian US Bot - @TheGuardian_us
Wall Street Journal Bot - @wsj
Washington Post Bot - @WashingtonPost

Tech News

Ars Technica - @arstechnica
MacRumors.com - @macrumors

According to this Ukraine media account, Twitter is now blocking Ukrainians from creating new Twitter accounts by not listing Ukraine as a country.

Mr. "free speech absolutist" is such a hideous super villain.

Birdsite wants to confirm my phone number today. First time in 10 years. I locked it yesterday...

sure sex is great for your memory but have you ever had sex? i heard it’s great for your memory.

"In July, Rand Paul was listed as an official Russian propagandist by Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation. Instead of denying this allegation, Paul called on Congress to repeal the Espionage Act. Then, Rand blocked a care package bill to Ukraine