Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017
SARAH K. BURRIS, - The Raw Story
Stephan: This isn't the kind of story I would usually pick, but I have done so in this case because Gavin Newsom, the Lieutenant Governor of California makes points I rarely see in print, but with which I completely agree. Getting rid of Donald Trump would leave us with Mike Pence, whom I think would be as bad as Trump just different. And if we got rid of both Trump and Pence we would end up with Paul Ryan, who would be just as bad as the first two, but again, different. Collectively all this tells us about the calibre of men the Republican Party puts into office. Not a pretty story.
California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
Comedian Bill Maher refused to believe that Vice President Mike Pence is as bad as Donald Trump. During a conversation about the Democratic Party, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) maintained that the Russia investigation might kick Trump out of the White House but we’d be left with Pence, who is just as bad or worse.
Newsom called Russia a “loser” of an issue, which Maher took issue with. He explained that there are pieces of Russia like the safety of our elections, cyber security and the general understanding that it’s critical to defend the homeland against foreign adversaries. However, Newsom wants to see Democrats walk and chew gum at the same time.
“Absolutely, unequivocally we need to get to the bottom of this,” Newsom explained. “What I was saying is an important point is if you game this thing out and you get rid of Trump you’re left with a problem and that’s Mike Pence … even if this thing goes nowhere–”
Maher cut him off to maintain that […]
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Monday, August 21st, 2017
Jeff Goodell, - Rollingstone
Stephan: The real damage being done by Trump and Pence -- please let's not forget Pence who is in many ways as bad or worse than Trump -- is happening below the the toxic fog the surrounds the White House, and consumes the media's attention. And perhaps nothing is worse than what is being done to the EPA by Scott Pruitt, just at the time when we should be preparing for climate change. This report will give you a sense of what I mean.
Scott Pruitt
Illustration by Sean McCabe
Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, wants you to know that he was responsible for persuading President Trump to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. Pruitt has never said that explicitly, of course – he understands that if he wants to keep his job, he needs to pretend that the decision was Trump’s alone. But Pruitt did everything he could to telegraph to the world that he thought Paris was a bad deal for America, and urged Big Coal executives to make their views known to the president as well. Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, was lobbied equally hard by major business leaders and some of his own advisers, including his daughter Ivanka and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to stay in the agreement. But Pruitt, aligned with White House chief strategist and populist provocateur Steve Bannon, won the fight. And when Trump announced the decision to withdraw from Paris in the White House Rose […]
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Monday, August 21st, 2017
Stephan: Pruitt is just one of the Trumpian zombies. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, a position for which she is completely unqualified, is doing her own damage. Here's one of her stories, one of many. Please remember that all of these people, known to be unqualified ideologues, were confirmed by Mitch McConnell and the Republican dominated senate. Men and women who, in the majority, place personal position and party above country. We should be talking much more about this.
Betsy DeVos
Credit: npr
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says she supports “great public schools,” but her actions continue to show her hypocrisy on that subject.
Her recent trip to Michigan, her home state, offers yet more proof of the real focus of her leadership — and it isn’t about supporting public schools.
Whose STEM?
During her visit to a Michigan community college, reporters questioned DeVos on her support for public school teacher training and professional development programs.
The school, Grand Rapids Community College, offers an extensive array of education courses to prepare new teachers and help veteran faculty grow their instructional skills. Reporters couldn’t help but point out that President Trump’s budget has proposed massive cuts to teacher training programs, including eliminating $2.4 billion in funding for Title II, the third-largest federal K-12 program in the country.
Nevertheless, DeVos told reporters, “President Trump and I are very big proponents of continuing to support teachers and develop teachers.”
DeVos also pivoted reporters’ questions to talking about her support for the Van Andel […]
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Monday, August 21st, 2017
STANLEY REED, - The New York Times
Stephan: There are so many interesting things going on in Europe as those nations explore new energy models and technologies. Here's the latest from the the Netherlands.
A wind farm close to Almere, the Netherlands. Eneco has invested heavily in wind power, in part so that it can assure environmentally minded customers that their power comes from cleaner sources.
Credit: Ilvy Njiokiktjien/The New York Times
AMSTERDAM — When Eneco, a major Dutch utility, tested a promising energy monitor in several dozen homes, things could not have gone much worse. The company making the devices failed to deliver enough of them, and some of those provided did not work.
But when Eneco sent workers to recover the monitors, something strange happened — a tenth of customers refused to open their doors. “They wanted to keep it,” said Tako in ’t Veld, a former Eneco executive who now leads the “smart energy” unit at Quby, the company that makes the energy meter. “They were so happy with the energy insight.”
The test in 2010 was part of Eneco’s efforts to adapt to upheaval in […]
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Monday, August 21st, 2017
Rachel Ellis, - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: You may remember that extraordinary story I did a few weeks ago about the medical breakthrough that stimulated healing and regrowth of tissue with a single treatment. Well, here is another one. Also research from another country.
There is so much interesting and good news going on in other nations, positive trends that I am always torn about what to cover. Since I only do four stories I have to prioritize, and I have been focusing on what is happening to American democracy because it affects not only everyone in the United States, but the whole world in countless ways. When a country as dominant as the U.S. changes status the effects ripple out. Historically a messy period follows.
Versius’s unique design allows it to multi-task. Credit: Cambridge Medical Robotics
British scientists have developed the world’s smallest surgical robot which could transform everyday operations for tens of thousands of patients.
From a converted pig shed in the Cambridgeshire countryside, a team of 100 scientists and engineers have used low-cost technology originally developed for mobile phones and space industries to create the first robotic arm specifically designed to carry out keyhole surgery.
The robot, called Versius, mimics the human arm and can be used to carry out a wide range of laparoscopic procedures – including hernia repairs, colorectal operations, and prostate and ear, nose and throat surgery – in which a series of small incisions are made to circumvent the need for traditional open surgery. This reduces complications and pain after surgery and speeds up recovery times for patients.
The robot is controlled by a surgeon at a console guided by a 3D screen in the operating theatre.
Although surgical robots already exist, the new creation is much easier to use, takes […]
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