Archive of entries posted on February 2024

No Mention on the Front of the Box, Alongside the Little “Heart-Healthy” Symbol

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80% of Americans test positive for chemical found in Cheerios, Quaker Oats that may cause infertility, delayed puberty: study
New York Post | Feb. 15, 2024 | Shannon Thaler

Four out of five Americans are being exposed to a little-known chemical found in popular oat-based foods — including Cheerios and Quaker Oats — that is linked to reduced fertility, altered fetal growth, and delayed puberty.

The Environmental Working Group published a study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology on Thursday that found a staggering 80% of Americans tested positive for a harmful pesticide called chlormequat.

The “highly toxic agricultural chemical” is federally allowed to be used on oats and other grains imported to the US, according to the EWG. When applied to oat and grain crops, chlormequat alters a plant’s growth, preventing it from bending over and thus making it easier to harvest, per the EWG…

Another particularly concerning data point: After testing for the presence of chlormequat in urine collected from 96 people between 2017 and 2023, the EWG’s tests “found higher levels and more frequent detections of chlormequat in the 2023 samples…which suggests consumer exposure to chlormequat could be on the rise.”

However, the EWG noted, that the US Environmental Protection Agency UNDER PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S administration proposed allowing the first-ever use of chlormequat on barley, oat, triticale, and wheat grown in the US.

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Heroes Still Exist

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IDF Spokesman Reveals Details of Dramatic Hostage Rescue
Arutz Sheva | 12/2/24

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari on Monday morning gave a statement on the Sunday night rescue of two hostages, Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), during an IDF operation in Rafah.

In his statement, Hagari said, “This was a complex rescue operation carried out under fire in the heart of Rafah, and based on quality intelligence. The ISA’s operational unit, the police, Southern Command, Shayetet 13, and Brigade 7 of the Armored Corps carried out this professional and precise action. This is an operation which we prepared for over the course of some time – the necessary preparations were made and we waited for conditions which would allow it to be carried out.”

At 1:49a.m. the special forces broke into the building in Rafah. The hostages were on the second floor. From the moment we began the operation, the soldiers embraced Louis and Fernando and began a difficult gunfight. Aerial support allowed the force to cut contact and hit the Hamas terrorists. The soldiers pulled the hostages out of the apartment, and they were rescued under fire until they reached the safe area. It was a very stressful and very moving night.”

“Even after the successful rescue operation, we do not forget that 134 hostages are being held in Gaza. I turn to them with a message: If you hear me, know that we are very determined to bring you home, and we will not miss any opportunity for that. We will continue to make every effort to bring all of the hostages home.”

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And Reading’s Become a Chore, Too, Apparently

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The Loss of Things I Took for Granted — Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively
slate | 2/11/24

…

I have been teaching in small liberal arts colleges for over 15 years now, and in the past five years, it’s as though someone flipped a switch.

For most of my career, I assigned around 30 pages of reading per class meeting as a baseline expectation—sometimes scaling up for purely expository readings or pulling back for more difficult texts.

Now students are intimidated by anything over 10 pages and seem to walk away from readings of as little as 20 pages with no real understanding.

Commenter:

When I was learning to read, my dad taught me something that helped me throughout my life. He would have me read a page or paragraph and then he would take away the book and say “now tell me what you read”. I would start to repeat something and he would say “no, don’t tell me the words you memorized, tell me what it said”.

What’s Walrus Building?

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The Colosseum project is progressing and I am on the last bag of bricks so should be done soon. Well, soonish. I have an order in for the Ferdinand anti-tank vehicle which should be in a day or so.

Current Build

The base.

The village

The Colosseum

This was really tough as the parts had a nasty habit of not staying together. You push to attach something here and something there comes off. Very frustrating and I was forced to glue them together which extended the time on this part, but I got it done. Now I am working on the stands and last part of the build so next week you should be able to see the finished build.

Previous Builds

Sopwith Camel F.1

Sopwith Camel F.1

The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War-era single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the best known fighter aircraft of the Great War.

The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized Vickers machine guns. Though difficult to handle, it was highly manoeuvrable in the hands of an experienced pilot, a vital attribute in the relatively low-speed, low-altitude dogfights of the era. In total, Camel pilots have been credited with downing 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter of the conflict. Towards the end of the First World War, the type also saw use as a ground-attack aircraft, partly because the capabilities of fighter aircraft on both sides had advanced rapidly and left the Camel somewhat outclassed.

The main variant of the Camel was designated as the F.1. Other variants included the 2F.1 Ship’s Camel, which operated from aircraft carriers; the Comic night fighter variant; and the T.F.1, a “trench fighter” armoured for attacks on heavily defended ground targets. A two-seat variant served as a trainer. The last Camels were withdrawn from RAF service in January 1920.

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This Guy’s Right — Watching TV Became a Chore

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How Watching Television Became a Chore
WFB| 2/11/24

…  there are more than 600 scripted television series currently on the constellation of streaming services competing for your credit card number, so if you don’t go on a dedicated search for that specific title, you’ll probably miss it. …

Watching TV has never been so baffling. You don’t just walk in the house and flop down in front of the TV and start flipping around anymore. Watching television in 2024 requires what psychologists and self-help gurus call intentionality. You have to know what you’re looking for and exactly where to find it, which means the entire process usually starts with a Google search. 

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First Car

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Conservatarian shared this:

 

“Not to brag, but my first car was a Chevy Vega. And not just the sedan. The 2-door station wagon baby!”

 

. . . .Which got me thinking.

What was the first car you bought — really bought, and did not inherit?

 

(I only qualify it thus, because I personally went through numerous hand-me-downs, before I bought one with my own cash.)

 

I am not sure. My memory conflates different cars. I think it was a tan, 2-door, hatchback Honda Accord, manual 5-speed. What a glorious thing for a high-school(?) or college (?) guy to have! Independence! But I also had a green Bug around the same era. $500 bucks it cost me. What an un-Biden time it was!

 

What do you credit as being your first car?

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Your Honor, I Must Object

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Damn near had a habeas corpus.

Judge Judas:

Modus Operandi? Pennsylvania Judge Suspected of Shooting Boyfriend…Five Years After Shooting Her Former Husband
Jonathan Turley | February 18, 2024 | Jonathan Turley

Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, is facing a case of modus operandi this week. However, the suspect showing the alleged pattern of criminal conduct is herself. McKnight is accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend in the head while he slept. The shooting took place five years after McKnight was cleared in the shooting of her former husband in the groin.

Michael McCoy, 54, was left blind in one eye and, according to the New York Post, McKnight tried to convince him that he had shot himself while he was sleeping.

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McCoy said that he went to bed around 11:00 p.m. only to wake up later with “massive head pain” and unable to see. He said that McKnight came into the bedroom and asked, “Mike, what did you do to yourself?” …

For an alleged accidental shooting, the shot was remarkably well placed and should have been lethal. The bullet entered McCoy’s right temple and exited his left temple. He is still blinded in his right eye.

Police found a gun registered to McKnight and her hands tested positive for gunshot residue.

McKnight was also accused of lying about her movements. She told police that she did not leave the home but that is contradicted by a neighbor’s security camera. McCoy is reportedly suspicious that the judge may have followed him to the tavern.

McKnight is now suspended from the bench . . .

Oh. Goodie! Some progress is being made in our judicial system! But gunning for Trump is still admissible.

The arrest has brought new attention to the 2019 case.

Her former husband, Enoch McKnight, was shot in the groin after a history of domestic disputes and protective orders. He was helping McKnight move her furniture out of the home when he was shot. She had reportedly asked him to come over to help her. He claimed that she shot him and called him a “cheater.”

It is not clear from accounts of what her defense was in the earlier incident, . . .

. . . because courts don’t keep records of trials . . .

. . . but no charges were filed.

Beware of what this judge chambers.

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