(no subject)

* "The cover-up: Malaysian officials reveal just how much 1MDB probe...:" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-najib-coverup-analy/the-cover-up-malaysian-officials-reveal-just-how-much-1mdb-probe-was-obstructed-idUSKBN1JT2Z9

* "Polish chief justice resists controversial Supreme Court changes:" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/polish-chief-justice-resists-controversial-supreme-court-180703175722558.html

* "This is Australian-style sexism, brought to you by a senator and Sky:" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/03/leyonhjelm-hanson-young-sky-australian-style-sexism

* Who wants to bet his decision to try to bribe Macron to pull France out of the EU was on Putin's orders? I can't see any other reason for us to do it. "Macron on Trump suggestion to leave EU: ‘You can imagine my response’:" https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-on-trump-suggestion-to-leave-eu-you-can-imagine-my-response/

* "Republicans meet with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow ahead of Trump-Putin summit:" https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/03/ahead-of-trump-putin-summit-republicans-meet-with-russian-officials-i.html

* "Republicans on board with Trump in odd deference to Russian goals:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/republicans-on-board-with-trump-in-odd-deference-to-russian-goals-1269863491829?playlist=associated

* "Unusual Republican delegation trip to Moscow marked by meekness:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/unusual-republican-delegation-trip-to-moscow-marked-by-meekness-1269868100000?playlist=associated

* "Senate Intel report confirms Russian intrusion in 2016 election:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/senate-intel-report-confirms-russian-intrusion-in-2016-election-1269862979621?playlist=associated

* "Whistleblower: EPA's Pruitt kept secret calendar to hide meetings:" https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/politics/scott-pruitt-whistleblower-secret-calendar/index.html

* "Pruitt directly asked Trump to replace Sessions with him:" https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/politics/scott-pruitt-jeff-sessions-trump/index.html

* "EPA whistleblower on Pruitt: 'A bigger swamp creature':" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/epa-whistleblower-on-pruitt-a-bigger-swamp-creature-1269784643940

* "Alan Dershowitz laments being ‘shunned’ on Martha’s Vineyard:" https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2018/07/02/alan-dershowitz-laments-being-shunned-martha-vineyard/kX4jw27NAMAXCEbabBSRlN/story.html

* "Top Justice Department Lawyer Resigns, Latest To Step Down:" https://www.npr.org/2018/07/03/625581627/another-top-justice-department-lawyer-steps-down-following-earlier-departures

* "DoJ loses senior leader who handled 'all the hottest potatoes':" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/doj-loses-senior-leader-who-handled-all-the-hottest-potatoes-1269871683553?playlist=associated

* "Judge blocks Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirement:" https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/29/judge-blocks-kentucky-medicaid-work-requirement-688037

* "ICE forcing separated parents to accept deportation to see their kids:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/new-trump-admin-order-separated-parents-leave-u-s-kids-n888631

* "Federal Judge Orders Administration To End Arbitrary Detention Of Asylum-Seekers:" https://www.npr.org/2018/07/02/625504723/federal-judge-orders-administration-to-end-arbitrary-detention-of-asylum-seekers

* "Abolish ICE:" http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/175508358407/abolish-ice

* "Trump administration rolls back racial diversity guidelines for...:" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-education-race/trump-to-rescind-race-guidelines-in-college-admissions-wsj-idUSKBN1JT1HO

* "Chicago PD Settle for $2.5 Million After Police Point Gun at 3-Year-Old:" https://www.theroot.com/chicago-pd-settle-for-2-5-million-after-police-point-g-1827325007

* "GOP Congresswoman's Stimulus Plan: Give Women Money To Buy 'Shoes And Clothes':" https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-congresswoman-stimulus-plan-women-buy-shoes-clothes_us_5b3bb06ee4b05127cced0b7f

* TW: Sexual Assault. "Powerful GOP politician accused of turning blind eye to sexual abuse at Ohio State:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/powerful-gop-rep-jim-jordan-accused-turning-blind-eye-sexual-n888386

* "Cathedrals and Universities: Crash Course History of Science #11:"

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* "The Spanish Golden Age: Crash Course Theater #19:"

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* "The Scientific Revolution: Crash Course History of Science #12:"

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* "It's Official: Astronomers Caught The First-Ever Direct Picture of a Planet Being Born:" https://www.sciencealert.com/first-ever-confirmed-image-exoplanet-forming-protoplanetary-disc-sphere-pds-70

* "growing up autistic / growing up gaslit:" http://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/175476470630/growing-up-autistic-growing-up-gaslit#notes

* Vaccinate your damned kids! "Measles case confirmed in Portland, about 500 people possibly exposed:" http://katu.com/news/local/measles-case-confirmed-in-portland-about-500-people-exposed

* Given my sleep cycle mess, the surprise isn't that I was late to Fix It and had to wait in line, but that I made it all, given the givens. We got the DvD player to work there. Let us hope it has jiggled itself non functional on the trip back. I'll hook it up later and see. The back up one is driving me nuts and Livia hates the sounds it makes. I think we'll both be relieved if it goes properly.

Livia officially hates fireworks going off right outside our window. It's generally pretty bad here since even though things like mortars are banned in town, people buy they on the Reservation and bring them back. It's better than usual this year, since they put heavier restrictions on the mid sized fireworks, so it's the occasional wildly illegal mortar once or twice a night since the weekend instead of a week or two worth of small to heavy caliber fireworks going off all the fucking time. Livia is super sensitive to sound and hates unfamiliar things, so I think the 4th is going to be terrible for her. She's not quite a year old and has never had fireworks around her before.

I'm clearly not able to do all of Tuesday's news AND get reasonable sleep. I'll catch up tomorrow most like.

* "Preacher, Season 3, Episode 2 Sonsabitches:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2018/07/preacher-season-3-episode-2-sonsabitches.html

* "They made him kill his horse.:" https://prorevenge.net/post/160534061552/they-made-him-kill-his-horse

* ToS: Season 2 Rewatch:

- 2.17: A Piece of the Action. They are looking for a missing starship from a hundred years ago. The locals don't understand space and space travel and were an early industrial society at the time. the crash was before Sub-Space communication and the Prime Directive. Apparently the crash survivors thought it would be fun to make a '220's Era Gangster Era society to live in. This made zero sense to me t three and even less if possible to me in late Middle Age. Seriously, Why? I mean, yes, marginally better than the NAZI one that comes later, but why would anyone pick this over a wide variety of less shitty options also open to them. I can only think they thought it was funny to fuck up a perfectly good early industrial civilization out of boredom. So rule by multiple fighting gangs, who have modeled themselves on a Book on Chicago Mabs of the '20's. The local boss wants the Feds to supply modern weapons so they can wipe out all the other gangs. They are now hostages. Kirk tricks them into a fake card game and uses it to distract him until they can disable their guard. He tells Spock and Bones to find radio equipment to get to beamed up, but wants to kidnap the Boss back to the ship. A different Boss' mooks catch Kirk. This boss offers a percentage in exchange for the guns. Kirk counter offers a sit down. Kirk is imprisoned, but uses stuff in the room to make a trip wire and over power his guard. Spock agrees to go meet their first captor with Bones, but the Ship's phasors are set to stun and aimed at the planet. I hate everything about this episode except Spock's sass. Spock and Kirk team up and go to get the second Boss with their phasors. A little kid distracts guards for "a percentage." Kirk pretends to be the child's father and they take out the guards, but are ambushed. Kirk fast talks the Boss into meeting with them with only two guards, and claims the feds are moving in to take over. I take it back. The other thing in this episode I like is Nimoy's acting in the scene where Spock does a Spocklike bad job at acting the heavy. Seriously, I've been enjoying Nimoy's acting so much this season despite the million other things wrong with the show. A good actor pretending to be a bad actor in character is really hard. Everything else though? Awful. Anyway, the Boss caves and kirk calls the enterprise in character as a Fed Gangster and slides in information about the specific location of the booss relative to himself and how he'd like him to "see the ship." He does the same fast talk with the other Boss one only faster, then uses the phone to collect the other Bosses. They doubt the Geds are big and powerful; mid-argument a gang war breaks out outside and the locals use the distraction to take the guns back from the Feds. Kirk gets Scotty to stun the folks fighting. Kirk puts on in charge with the other as second with the others in the organization and the Feds take a 40% cut. Spock voices rational reservations. Kirk says their cut will go to the planetary treasury to help with uplift. So oligarchy ith some minor outside oversight. Yuck. Given the havoc that book the last crew left caused, the Feds didn't bother counting to make sure they had all their devises and ones left his communicator behind, which will likely cause more chaos. Kirk blows it off as a joke. I would like to slap everyone involved except Spock.

* Star Trek, The Animated Series:

- 1.13: The Ambergris Element. A planet has become mostly water due to violent seismic disturbances. The Feds are studying the planet in hopes it will help with an inhabited planet that is going to go through a similar process. They get attacked by a sea monster. It's sort of an amphibious whale equivalent. It breaks and steals the aqua shuttle and for some reason the Enterprise sensors can't find them. They send a second mission that finds the broken shuttle and Kirk and Spock alive but now unable to breath air. They decide they want to go look for the intelligent life that likely changed them. Me: They are given the option to run away to be mermen together and they want to change back? Why? The merfolk tell them to scram, but of course they ignore the locals. Apparently the young saved them, but the adults don't approve. They follow them despite being told they will die if they do. The coral city is lovely. They get captured as spies sneaking in exactly like spies would. Just saying. Their tribunals argue about what to do with them. This bit is well above average quality for Star trek dialog, with a range of opinions voiced instead of the usual two. Breaking the Prime Directive (Is the Prime Directive even a Thing?), they tell the locals they are from another planet and try to talk them into coming to look at the wreckage. They are netted out on the rocks to suffocate instead, but one of the women goes to the Big Island to get help. Scotty goes with her to rescue Kirk and Spock, warning them a massive sea quake is coming. The Aquans didn't evolve, but were made as an adaption to the destruction of most of the land. when things went to hell, the surface dwellers attacked the Aquans, which is why surface dwellers are hated reverse transformation is forbidden. They plan to search the ruins for the cure. Which has been just sitting around under water all this time. <.< >.> For some reason these ruins look ancient Greek with modern touches and they use earth medical symbols as if an alien culture would have those things in their version of Atlantis. I take back what I said about the writing earlier, though really, this is half the animators' fault. they need to capture one of the tentacle whale amphibians to change back, so their ally talks more locals into breaking the law. It fixes them. The Enterprise uses phasors to somehow shift the quake away from civilization. I guess? Now the ruins are dry and the aquan young can choose sea or land.

- 1.14: The Slaver Weapon. This is that cross over with the Kzinti. They are transporting a Slaver stasis box. They discover a second one thanks to the first. They may have tech or bombs about in explode inside them. They are really going all out on the Slavers as part of the star trek Universe backstory. O.o The Kzinti kidnap Spock, Uhura, Sulu, and the boxes. Spock tells Sulu to think of eating vegetables to foil the telepath and tells Uhura not to say or do anything in front of the Kzin because of author Larry Niven's sexism in designig the Kzin. The first box was empty and used to trick Spock into finding the second box. The Kzinti is pretending to be a pirate to get around treaties, but is really working for the government. inside the box is a picture of what Sulu thinks is a slaver, poisoned meat, and a possible weapon. They decide to test the weapon on the humans, but nothing much happens on the first three settings (A sonic thing? A hand telescope? A allow quality lasor?) until they try 4th setting. A weird firey thing comes out and breaches the telepath's suit. Maybe a personal rocket? Uhura nearly gets away, but they stun her. The fifth setting deactivates the police web and the force shield on their cave, but not the force field based space suits for some reason. Spock attacks and grabs the weapon while the others flee. Uhura gets stunned. Spock, a vegetarian from a known pacifist race has kicked the leader's ass and then left him alive: a massive dishonor, so he must seek personal revenge before calling for help. Sulu thinks it's a secret spy weapon. Spock thinks the null setting might be the key to a self destruct setting. The Kzin want to trade Uhura and for the weapon and single combat with the Vulcan. They decline. They find the extra hidden settings, but it's not a self destruct but something like a hand fired nuke. The can't relinquish the weapon, but are captured. It shifts to a new shape that can converse with the Kzin, but refuses to give information without code words. It tells them how to shift yet another position. It self destructs, taking out the Kzin; Spock thinks this is for the best.

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

* Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is doing a fundraiser for legal defense of refugee children in ICE detention. https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/activism/deliver-them-from-the-hands-of-the-wicked/

* Want to contribute directly to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services fund? "Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services:" https://www.raicestexas.org/

* Support Kids at the Border: http://brigdh.tumblr.com/post/175022384240/support-the-kids-at-the-border

This has a call script to help you talk your Republican Senator into voting for the Keep Families Together Act: http://rockinhamburger.tumblr.com/post/175022988673/captacorn-marvelsmostwanted-heres-a-call

* How to help Rohingya refugees: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html?emc=edit_nn_20171012&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=50784086&te=1&_r=0

* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey

* Have something you want to tell your congress Critters? Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

* This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/

* Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/

* This is a cool person and the swimsuits are being made from an ethical source. LGBTQIA+ swimsuits: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NerdyKeppie?ref=l2-shopheader-name§ion_id=24021616

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com