Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

Meet Dr. Sammy, the University of Colorado researcher trying to fend off the next honeybee pandemic
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/08/sammy-ramsey-honeybee-varroa-tropilaelaps-mites-university-of-colorado/

Let’s rephrase this JFK Jr brain worm story:

Known liar and conspiracy theorist claimed “a doctor” said he had a brain worm in an attempt to hold on to his fortune during a divorce proceeding even though he was born rich.

Less funny, more accurate.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-jr-brain-worm-1235017026/

This is totally fine.

"Shell sold millions of carbon credits tied to CO₂ removal that never took place to Canada’s largest oil sands companies, raising new doubts about a technology seen as crucial to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions."

https://www.ft.com/content/93938a1b-dc36-4ea6-9308-170189be0cb0

Watching the bear vs man in forest stories & I remember when our 9-year-old son said some boys at recess offered to play with him if 'he hugged & kissed a girl.'

He replied, "No, that's inappropriate," & told us he didn't mind not being able to play with those boys after all. Later his teacher shared she was happy he stood up to peer pressure.

Y'all—it's never too early to teach boys about consent & boundaries. Have the convo. Then again. And again. Boys will be the boys we teach them to be.

In coalition with 19 other organizations, we told Meta to #StopSilencingPalestine. Read the company’s response and our statement here: https://stopsilencingpalestine.com/our-letter-and-meta-s-response/ 

On the bros trying to build cities in Solano and elsewhere:

“What seems to be happening is people really want to ‘stay in San Francisco,’ but they want to exit society. … They don’t want to have to deal with the complexity, the differences, the poverty, the needs, the caring for others that was always part of urban culture. They want to escape. They want their own currency, their own culture, their own people. And they wanted it to look like Disneyland.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/justinphillips/article/city-campus-san-francisco-tech-diversity-19435406.php

#SanFrancisco

8/ Thomas wasn't alone in failing to disclose luxury getaways with ultrawealthy friends. This story revealed that Justice Samuel Alito had not disclosed an Alaskan fishing trip with a hedge fund manager who later had multiple cases heard by SCOTUS:

https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

🇺🇸 U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed the Pentagon to address Russian troops’ illicit use of #Starlink internet terminals in #Ukraine, calling the issue a “serious national security threat” to the U.S. and its allies.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-needs-to-open-up-about-russias-use-of-starlink-senator-says-fca6ee02

#usa #russia #elonmusk #russiaukrainewar

I really like how this news story explains how periodical cicadas have effects through the entire ecosystem that can last for years :) https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/24148209/cicadas-2024-periodical-brood-eat-ecosystem-impact

The newsroom I work for just won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service journalism. Neat! https://werd.io/2024/my-employer-won-a-pulitzer

A #Doctor at Cigna Said Her Bosses Pressured Her to Review Patients’ Cases Too Quickly.

#Cigna Threatened to Fire Her.
==

Cigna tracks every minute that its staff #doctors spend deciding whether to pay for #HealthCare.

Dr. Debby Day said her bosses cared more about being fast than being right: “Deny, deny, deny. That’s how you hit your numbers,” Day said.

#Health #Insurance #News #Business

https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-medical-director-doctor-patient-preapproval-denials-insurance?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

For women who report rape, there is supposed to be safety & credibility in numbers. The NY judges found the # of Weinstein's accusers unfair to him. When just one woman speaks up about a man's sexual violence, it's not enough. More than one=too many. @moiradonegan https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/27/harvey-weinstein-conviction-overturned-me-too

Wow, reading all these letters by NYU faculty to the office of the president is quite something. Do read them all. Highlighting one by History Professor Steven Hahn, as it encapsulates everything (in one screenshot).
#Gaza #campusprotests

https://facultyforpalestine.education/statements/faculty-letters-to-the-office-of-the-president-and-the-office-of-the-provost/

I’m glad Kristi Noem is getting hate for killing a dog, as she should be, and I want to make sure folks know she’s terrible for lots of other reasons too

-Cutting lunch programs for low income kids
-Making SD hostile to trans people
-Banning abortion
-Racism

And much more. She’s vile.

Isn't it interesting that every killing by every cop is just a single bad apple that should never be thought to spoil the bunch, while every protest by and on behalf of marginalized people must be flawlessly perfect, or all participants deserve the brutality the police exist to deliver to them?

Bad Faith,
a new documentary on the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States,
opens with an obvious, ominous scene
– the storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021
– though trained on details drowned out by the deluge of horror and easily recognizable images of chaos.

That Paula White, Donald Trump’s faith adviser, led the Save America rally in
a prayer to overturn the results for “a free and fair election”.

That mixed among Trump flags, American flags and militia symbols were numerous banners with Christian crosses;
on the steps of the Capitol, a “JESUS SAVES” sign blares mere feet from “Lock Them UP!”

The movement to overturn the 2020 election for Donald Trump was, as the documentary underscores,
inextricable from a certain strain of belief in America as a fundamentally Christian nation,
separation of church and state be damned.

In fact, as Bad Faith argues, Christian nationalism
– a political movement to shape the United States according a certain interpretation of evangelical Christianity, by vote or, more recently, by coercion
– was the “galvanizing force” behind the attempted hijacking of the democratic process three years ago.

Bad Faith traces the origins of the movement as a savvy, disproportionately powerful political force,
from churches to Republican political operatives to donors,
either from conviction or convenience.

“I think a lot of Americans have a very difficult time accepting and understanding the fact that such treason, such anti-democratic activity,
could be carried out by people who basically look like Sunday school teachers,” Stephen Ujlaki, the film’s director, told the Guardian.

By looking back on the half-century of Christian nationalist belief, organizing and action, the events of January 6 no longer seemed shocking,
but the logical endpoint of anti-democratic ideals.
“It was unmistakable, once you looked in the right place and you listened to what people were saying,
and you understood how to decode what they were saying,” said Ujlaki.

“Little would you know that when they talk about recreating the kingdom of God on earth, they weren’t talking about something spiritual.
They were talking about demolishing democracy so that God, ie themselves, could rule.
And for that reason, I call it a conspiracy carried out in broad daylight.”
#BadFaith
How much danger does #ChristianNationalism pose?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/apr/27/bad-faith-documentary-christian-nationalism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

@mekkaokereke
"Adolescent mothers face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis and systemic infections than women aged 20–24 years, and babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm birth and severe neonatal condition."
Plus, a smaller pelvic opening has obvious risks.