The News: Friday, July 14, 2023

CRANKY OLD FART
WITH THE NEWS
#342   [archive]

• Johnson & Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer
    Suing scientists over their research is a bad look, J&J.

• Google lays off contractors who unionized last month
    "It really stinks of retaliation."

• Boston Mayor announces residential conversion program for downtown offices
    Smart — remake the dumb and empty office buildings into apartment buildings.

• Windows 95, 98, and other decrepit versions can grab online updates again
    At last I can update my TRS-80, maybe get the latest version of Netscape Navigator.

• Things got ugly at RFK Jr's fart dinner 

• Reddit removes years of chat and message archives from users' accounts, without advance notice
    Yeah, I'm still enjoying the shit-show, as Reddit's management shoots itself in the foot, aims carefully, shoots itself in the foot again, reloads, takes aim....

• Reddit ends awards, replaces them with... well, nothing yet, but just you wait and see

• One of Reddit’s biggest communities is suggesting users move to Discord 

• /r/AccidentalRenaissance moderators have resigned, closed the subReddit, and moved to Lemmy and Kbin 

• Reddit is a dead site running
    The article is more pessimistic about Reddit's future than I am, but there's no denying that the author has lots more expertise than little ol' big fat me.

• When Twitter wouldn't let anyone see tweets unless they were logged in, the reach of Dutch safety announcements was limited. Upshoot: Netherlands becomes first government to launch its own Mastodon server 

• John Hinckley Jr, would-be assassin of Ronald Reagan, signs record deal for debut vinyl album
    Do you believe in rehabilitation? I do.

• MLB All-Star Corbin Carroll meets with little League players at childhood field 

• Climate change is pushing oxygen out of the world's oceans 

• Weather extremes are thrashing the world, and it's just a taste of what's to come 

• It's official, say NOAA and NASA: June 2023 was the hottest ever recorded on Earth 

• John Kerry — Mr Climate Change — says the US will not "under any circumstances" pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate change-fuelled disasters
    Climate change is largely America's fault, so Kerry's statement seems asinine to me, and quickly erases the already low levels of respect I've had for him.

• Minneapolis police chief says he was unaware of new hire's past excessive force allegations
    Background checks? They haven't invented background checks?

• Deputy arrested after inquiry finds he raped a woman while on duty 

• Deputy arrested for multiple off-duty rapes 

• Trump cheered his killing by cops as "retribution;" now his family is suing 

• Chicago PD is sued over mass traffic stops of minorities that do almost nothing to stop crime 

• Video shows Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy punching mom in face while she holds 3-week-old baby 

• An Indiana Police Department has been using facial-recognition tech for a year, much to the surprise of its oversight 

• Detroit Police commissioner caught in car with a prostitute
    "This is all a big misunderstanding." (actual quote)

• Close to 100,000 voter registrations were challenged in Georgia — almost all by just six right-wing activists 

• January 6 rioter seeks Supreme Court intervention, fears prosecution could "chill political speech and expression" 

• Texas A&M recruited a UT professor to revive its journalism program, then backtracked after Republicans' hysteria 

• House votes to limit abortion access in the military, bowing to the right 

• Lawyer says he doublevoted for Trump, twice, in two states, accidentally 

• Republican Congressman says trans people in the military could launch ICBM missiles on everyone 

• 70 House Republicans voted to cut off all US military aid to Ukraine 

• Republican Congressional candidate calls for "defunding of government schools" and "gutting" of government agencies 

• McCarthy-backed candidate has appeared on anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist's podcast six times 

• Kansas town is threatening again to kick out the public library unless it removes LGBTQ+ books 

• Republican Congressman would rather have Russia than Ukraine in NATO 

• Ex-FBI official says GOP is telling agents: 'If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price' 

• Republicans try to stop military’s electrification with mind-bogglingly dumb proposals 

• Arizona Republican refers to Black Americans as 'colored people' in House floor debate 

🖯  MY BROWSER HISTORY  🖯

• A Federal Judge asks: Does the Supreme Court realize how bad it smells?
    "The recent descriptions of the behavior of some of our justices and particularly their attempts to defend their conduct have not just raised my eyebrows; they’ve raised the whole top of my head."

• How the police became untouchable 

• Smartphones and electric cars rely on toxic mineral mined in Congo by children 

• Maybe separating newspapers from capitalism is a good idea after all 

• Orange Is the New Black — huge hit, but screwed its actors 

♫♬  AUDIO  ♫

• Drift Away — Dobie Gray 

• God and the FBI — Janis Ian 

• In My Room — The Beach Boys 

• Muffin Man — Frank Zappa 

• Sister Golden Hair — America 

👁  VIDEO  👁

• How to get from Helmstedt to West Berlin, across East Germany 

• Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications 

• Dick York is shy

❔  MYSTERY LINKS  ❔

                    • Click 

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⚰️   THE DEAD  ⚰️  

• Daniel Goldberg 

• Milan Kundera 

• James Lewis 

• John Nettleton 

• André Watts 

• Jimmy Weldon

7/14/2023   

Cranky Old Fart is annoyed and complains and very occasionally offers a kindness, along with anything off the internet that's made me smile or snarl. All opinions fresh from my ass. Top illustration by Jeff Meyer. Click any image to enlarge. Comments & conversations invited. 

Tip 'o the hat to ye olde AVA, BoingBoing, Breakfast at Ralf's, CaptCreate's Log, Kottke,org, Looking for My Perfect Sandwich, One Finger Medical, Two Finger Magical, Miss Miriam's Mirror, Nebulously Burnished, RanPrieur.com, Spock Variety Hour, Voenix Rising, and anywhere else I've stolen links, illustrations, or inspiration.

Special thanks to Linden Arden, Becky Jo, Wynn Bruce, Joey Jo Jo, John the Basket, Dave S, Name Withheld, and always extra special thanks to my lovely late Stephanie, who gave me 21 years and proved that the world isn't always shitty.

Cranky Old Fart
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