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.

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.”

“America is a Nation which can be defined in a single word: Mflrzkgmb.”

Very depressing video:
https://rumble.com/v4csu2l-five-minutes-of-bidens-diminished-mental-fitness.html

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”.

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. 

“No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

–Hobbes, 1600s