Zorro
Zorro's JournalSEEMINGLY DECENT HUMAN BEING’S INVOLVEMENT IN 2016 ELECTION CONFUSES VOTERS
MIAMI (The Borowitz Report)—The involvement of a seemingly decent human being in the 2016 election campaign left American voters stunned and deeply bewildered on Saturday.
In interviews across the country, voters expressed reactions ranging from shock to total incomprehension at the campaign début of a man who, at first blush, exhibits none of the outward characteristics of a sociopath or clinical narcissist.
Furthermore, the man’s evident failure to be the target of fraud lawsuits, sexual-harassment claims, or federal criminal investigations was, in the parlance of many voters, “weird.”
“He seems like a nice guy, the kind of person you might enjoy spending time with and getting to know better,” said Harland Dorrinson, age thirty-two, who watched the man’s unveiling on TV. “I don’t know. The whole thing feels like some kind of prank.”
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/seemingly-decent-human-beings-involvement-in-2016-election-confuses-voters
Brain training may forestall dementia onset for years, new study says
If you’re intent on keeping dementia at bay, new research suggests you’ll need more than crossword puzzles, aerobic exercise and an active social life. In a study released Sunday, researchers found that older adults who did exercises to shore up the speed at which they processed visual information could cut by nearly half their likelihood of cognitive decline or dementia over a 10-year period.
The new clinical trial results, presented Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Assn.’s International Conference in Toronto, establish specialized brain training as a potentially powerful strategy to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and other afflictions, including normal aging, that sap memory and reduce function.
With 76 million baby boomers reaching the age of maximum vulnerability to Alzheimer’s and with no effective treatments available to alter the disease’s progression, researchers are keen to find ways to prevent or delay the onset of the memory-robbing disease. The new research suggests that even years after it is administered, an inexpensive intervention without unwanted side effects might forestall dementia symptoms.
The latest results emerged from a 10-year study that compared the effects of three forms of brain training in a group of 2,802 cognitively healthy seniors. The ACTIVE study — short for Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly — was funded by the National Institute on Aging.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-brain-training-dementia-20160724-snap-story.html
If California's a 'bad state for business,' why is it leading the nation in job and GDP growth?
State and federal statistics released as recently as Friday make it clear: California is smoking hot, economy-wise.
The state gained 40,300 jobs in June and 461,000 over the year. With a gain of 2.9%, that was the best 12-month record of any large state except Florida, which won by a nostril with a gain of 3%, and much better than the nation as a whole (1.7%). According to the congressional Joint Economic Committee, California leads the nation in growth in its gross domestic product, which grew by 4.2% in 2015 — more than twice the national rate.
This record raises numerous questions, the most interesting of which is: So what’s all that guff about California being a “business-unfriendly” state?
We ask because grousing from business lobbies about California’s economic climate continues unabated. CNBC, which ranks all states according to “60 measures of competitiveness,” placed California way down at No. 32 in its 2016 rankings this week. In his “Rich States, Poor States” ranking for the conservative, pro-business American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, conservative economist Arthur Laffer places California at a dismal 46th in economic outlook for 2016.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-california-econ-growth-20160722-snap-story.html
Venezuelan civil servants signed a petition to oust the president. Now they’re losing their jobs.
Source: Washington Post
“You must know what you did,” Eva Belloso’s boss said to her when she was fired without notice this month after 24 years with Venezuela’s tax and customs service.
Belloso, who was coordinator of legal services at Seniat (as the agency is known) in Zulia state, said she told her boss she had no idea, “unless it has something to do with my signature for the recall referendum.”
“That must be it,” her boss said, according to her account.
The same thing happened that week to Juvenal Rosales, a nine-year Seniat employee in Caracas — with one difference: Rosales got an oblique heads-up.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/23/venezuelan-civil-servants-signed-a-petition-to-oust-the-president-now-theyre-losing-their-jobs
Ann Coulter warns California Republicans the nation could turn into California
Conservative author and TV personality Ann Coulter warned California Republicans on Wednesday that the nation could become like California if Donald Trump is not elected president in the fall.
“Trump’s slogan is make America great again. Hillary’s slogan is make America California without the nice beaches, without the good stuff,” Ann Coulter told the state’s delegates at a breakfast meeting.
“You’re always ahead of the curve," Coulter said. "You sent us two of our greatest presidents, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. And now a Republican can’t get elected statewide in California. That is because of immigration. This is why Trump’s campaign is absolutely crucial.”
Coulter, who was applauded by the Californians, contended the influx of immigrants over the past four decades had given Democrats an edge, and that the Republican establishment betrayed its base of supporters on immigration and trade issues.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-republican-convention-2016-live-trump-s-slogan-is-make-america-great-1469032456-htmlstory.html
Turn the rest of the nation into California? And that's a bad thing?
A U.S. consumer panned a Chinese product on Amazon. Then things got crazy
E-commerce is bringing buyers and sellers together across borders like never before — but it’s not all smooth sailing. Just ask Mathew Garrett of Oakland.
Garrett, who works in IT security, bought an Internet-connected power socket last month from a Chinese vendor called AuYou on Amazon. After trying out the $30 gadget, which can turn on and off other electronic devices using one’s cellphone as a remote, he had some security concerns. So he wrote an 800-word review on Amazon and gave the product one star.
He thought that would be the end of the story. But a few hours later, he started to receive emails from an employee of AuYou asking him to take down the negative review.
In the first email, the employee, who called herself Amy Lee, wrote in imperfect English, “Just now my boss has blamed me, and he said if I do not remove this bad review, he will quit me. Please help me, my dear friend. Could you change your bad review into good? Thank you very very much.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-china-review-20160720-snap-story.html
Musk reveals Tesla 'Master Plan': Trucks, buses and ride sharing
Source: LA Times
Elon Musk revealed Part 2 of his “master product plan” for Tesla on Wednesday evening.
In a blog post published on Tesla's website, Musk introduced a multi-year, four-pronged strategy that includes new kinds of Tesla vehicles, expanded solar initiatives, updates on Tesla’s Autopilot technology and a ride-sharing program.
Some surmised that the timing of the announcement was a way for Musk to distract from recent headlines that have raised concerns about Tesla’s Autopilot function and its troubles hitting vehicle-delivery targets.
Commercial trucks, buses, a “future compact SUV” and a “new kind of pickup truck” will be added to Tesla’s fleet of electric cars. A heavy-duty truck called the Tesla Semi and a shrunken bus that Musk called a “high passenger density urban transport” vehicle are in early development stages “and should be ready for unveiling next year,” he said.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-musk-master-plan-20160714-snap-story.html
RNC breaks precedent with explicitly partisan prayer
After telling attendees of the Republican National Convention that “Our enemy is not other Republicans but is Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party,” a South Carolina pastor offered the most explicitly partisan prayer heard at a major party convention in modern times.
Pastor Mark Burns, a prosperity preacher and televangelist from Easley, S.C., was invited by the Trump campaign to deliver the Monday benediction that concluded the contentious daytime proceedings on the first day of the RNC in Cleveland. “We are electing a man in Donald Trump who believes in the name of Jesus Christ,” Burns told delegates, before closing his eyes in prayer.
The benediction itself, which included Burns’ praise to God for “giving [Trump] the words to unite this party, this country, that we together can defeat the liberal Democratic Party,” was immediately denounced on Twitter by liberal and conservative Christians who called it “blasphemous” and “idolatrous.”
Shortly after Burns left the stage in Cleveland, the Interfaith Alliance issued a statement calling his benediction “inappropriate” and declaring that “invoking religion to launch such attacks devalues faith.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pastor-mark-burns-rnc-trump-000000245.html
I really despise these assholes.
Venezuela’s Middle Class Forced to Drain Their Savings to Stockpile Food Amid Crisis
Tebie Gonzalez and Ramiro Ramirez still have their sleek apartment, a fridge covered with souvenir magnets from vacations abroad, and closets full of name brand clothes. But they feel hunger drawing near.
So when the Venezuelan government opened the long-closed border with Colombia this weekend, the couple decided to drain what remained of the savings they put away before the country spun into economic crisis and stock up on food. They left their two young sons with relatives and joined more than 100,000 other Venezuelans trudging across what Colombian officials are calling a “humanitarian corridor” to buy as many basic goods as possible.
“This is money we had been saving for an emergency, and this is an emergency,” Ramirez said. “It’s scary to spend it, but we’re finding less food each day and we need to prepare for what’s coming.”
Gonzalez, 36, earns several times the minimum wage with her job as a sales manager for a chain of furniture stores in the western mountain town of San Cristobal. But lately, her salary is no match for Venezuela’s 700 percent inflation. Ramirez’s auto parts shop went bust after President Nicolas Maduro closed the border with Colombia a year ago, citing uncontrolled smuggling, and cut off the region’s best avenue for imported goods.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-middle-class-forced-drain-061842073.html
Hunter hires law firm amid campaign review
After months of questions about personal use of campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign committee has hired a law firm that specializes in political law, according to financial reports released Friday.
Hunter, R-Alpine, has already reimbursed his campaign account for $12,000 of expenses he identified as personal or mistaken on campaign finance reports, including video games, oral surgery, private school tuition, a garage door and unspecified items at a Coronado surf shop.
Federal law does not allow use of campaign funds for personal expenses, to protect against contributors such as defense contractors from having undue influence on someone like Hunter, who is on the House Armed Services Committee.
The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported on the expenditures in April, when the Federal Election Commission sent the campaign a letter questioning payments to Hunter’s children’s private school and a video game website.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/18/hunter-law-firm/
This slimeball is Trump's House Leadership Committee co-chair.
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