Up From Facebook

The de facto closing of the Strait of Hormuz resulting from Trump’s little war impacts supply chains besides transportation. “ Farmers in the U.S. and Canada, who were already worried about prospects for another year of low profits or losses, now could have spring planting disrupted as they struggle to find fertilizer, ‌and prices for any available supplies have spiked more than a third since the war in Iran paralyzed global trade. “ The U.S., ‌which in some years imports half of its urea fertilizer, is about 25% short of the usual supplies that farmers buy for spring planting, according to The Fertilizer Institute, ​which represents the U.S. fertilizer supply chain. “Supplies could grow still scarcer if fertilizer destined for the U.S. gets rerouted to other places willing to pay more for it, an analyst said.” And with each passing week, Spring planting season looms closer. That’s not something you can just put off for a few months and then kick into gear. Most fertilizer needs to be ...

Vaccines have proven efficacy and public health value over billions of doses and, in many cases, decades of experience world-wide. And yet, the Secretary of HHS insists on calling into question vaccine safety. Yet under his nose, Americans are experimenting with unproven and potentially dangerous peptide injections. “Here’s a new trend that sounds unwise: buying unregulated substances from dealers in foreign countries and injecting them into your body.   “And yet, grey-market injectable peptides – a category of substances with obscure, alphanumeric names like BPC-157, GHK-Cu, or TB-500 – have developed a devoted following among biohackers and health optimizers.   “Across platforms like Discord and Telegram, users are   claiming   these peptides help with everything from injury recovery, athletic performance, weight loss, mental function, better sleep and younger-looking skin.” Look, semaglutides are peptides and, after considerable testing and experience have been sh...

There were few if any Chinese students in my college classes and none in my graduate program. There was only one Chinese postdoc in the lab where I did postdoctoral training, and no Chinese grad students. But two of the four grad students who started in my department when I started as a faculty in 1987 were Chinese. Ultimately, I trained three Chinese PhD students and two Chinese postdocs in my lab. There was one Chinese faculty at the time I started, although he was from Taiwan. Today, 3 of the 18 faculty are Chinese.  China has been sending some of their best and brightest students for decades, and they represent a major reservoir of US-trained scientific talent. But Trump’s attacks on science, federal research and research universities threatens this investment in human capital. On the other hand, China is expanding its commitment to scientific research. “The Chinese government is ramping up its support for science, announcing plans to boost two key budgets at the country’s bigg...

Much is being made of the probable consequences of Trump’s Iran war for the US economy and the midterm elections. And “it’s the economy, stupid” still describes the dominant consideration in the minds of American voters. But to the extent that foreign policy affects the ballot box, the fact that Trump’s invasion is a proxy war for the Netanyahu regime in Israel could also be a factor in November. Here, the distinction seems less along party lines than the willingness of candidates to apply the standard of national interest to military intervention. Both major parties in America have mostly stood by Israel, even as its policy of violent apartheid against Palestinians has intensified. As Democrats try to figure out how to exploit the disaster that the Trump GOP has become, they’ll need to come clean on the blank-check policy towards Israel. “ PARTY OFFICIALS TOLD ME they think Democratic voters will be motivated in the upcoming elections to back candidates who feel authentic—candidates w...

The justifications for the war on Iran were kind of a dog’s breakfast. Among those mentioned were regime change and unconditional surrender, which promised a long commitment and boots on the ground. Looks like the stock market and oil prices got through to Cadet Bone Spurs. “What this all comes down to is that the White House is running as fast as it can from regime change and even faster from its demand for “unconditional surrender”. Trump wants to be done because the conflict is getting too messy, Gulf allies are certainly privately asking WTAF Trump’s plan is and more than anything else Trump is realizing that he is triggering what has been the most reliable presidency killer in American politics for more than half a century: spiking gas prices.” https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-now-moonwalking-away-from-regime-change-as-fast-as-he-can

  If you don't want to get vaccinated and your don't want your kids to get vaccinated, that's on you. But don't be surprised if the rest of us don't want to suffer from your bad judgement. You have no right to inflict the consequences of your bad decisions on others. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1259384362680113