shekinahcancook

shekinahcancook, 9 days ago to sustainability

"The Key to a Strong Downtown Is Smart Policy Changes, Not Big Projects" || by Tiffany Owens Reed June 4, 2024

"...But relying on the master-planned, “Big Project'' approach to revitalization is a risky way forward. Rather than growing the city’s wealth, these big projects often require significant public investment and incentives, which put cities in the risky financial position of making large, expensive bets in the present and hoping to recoup that money down the line.

Not only that, but these plans also lock cities into committing to a future they can’t possibly evaluate for profitability, relevance or resilience. It’s simply impossible to know if these plans will achieve their intended goals, and their large, centralized nature makes it hard to adapt to shifting market conditions or changes in regulation and funding.

The good news is that cities have alternatives..."

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/6/4/the-key-to-a-strong-downtown-is-smart-policy-changes-not-big-projects

#Urbanism #UrbanRenewal #CityCenter #Development #Resilience #Sustainability

shekinahcancook, 9 days ago to sustainability

Private automobiles are not the future of anything, and it is a gross mis-allocation of funds to waste money on expanding roads.

The communities that were crushed and divided by highways can be repaired, though they will never have the same vibrancy as before, nor will the original displaced inhabitants benefit in any way.

But it's a start.

"...Decades ago, people decided to create the freeways. Now, we must decide if we will continue this path or reverse the damage to repair our communities..."

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7igXGuuqWI/

#Transportation #Highway #Roads #UrbanPlanning #Urbanism #SustainableDevelopment #Sustainability

kjr, 9 days ago to random

Jewish writers are getting blacklisted and worry about their publishing futures

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-804434

shekinahcancook, 9 days ago to random

It's a sad truth that the GOP wants to relegate women to second class status like fundamentalist Islamic countries do.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/05/362903/moroccans-divided-over-lifted-ban-on-marriage-certificate-requirement-in-hotels

#ChristianNationaism #ChristoFascism #ChristianTaliban #WomensRights #CivilRights

shekinahcancook, 9 days ago to random

A crisis is hitting your local drugstore...

"...But the main problem...is simple: They’re no longer getting paid enough to stay in business. In the multifront battle to cut costs in America’s expensive health care system, pharmacies say they are shouldering a disproportionate...burden.

“That traditional model of that corner drugstore that is just dispensing prescriptions is very difficult, if not impossible, to make work these days,” says Oftebro, adding that at his pharmacies, “reimbursement on the majority of prescriptions is now at or below the acquisition cost of the drugs.”

For this, many blame the middlemen: the pharmacy benefit managers. The three largest PBMs are owned by or affiliated with insurance companies—CVS’s Caremark (which shares a corporate parent with Aetna), UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx, and Cigna’s Express Scripts—and together they control how 80% of all U.S. prescriptions are processed..."

https://fortune.com/2024/06/03/rite-aid-pharmacy-bartells-health-care-retail/

#Healthcare #PredatoryCapitalism #MurderForProfit

dalfen, 9 days ago to random

The kid should get an award.

Congress person John Rose (R, TN), who seems to not understand how the U.S. Justice System works, and his kid.

U.S. Congressman John Rose speaking on the U.S. House of Representatives floor with his child making faces behind him

shekinahcancook, 10 days ago to climate

Massive melon-sized hail could be a Texas record - The brick-sized chunks of ice surpass the DVD-sized hail that fell last week, By Matthew Cappucci
June 3, 2024

"...How is such large hail created?

The production of giant hail requires exceptional thunderstorm updrafts that can suspend a large hailstone as more layers of ice accrete on it. Once a stone grows too heavy for an updraft to keep in midair, it plummets to Earth at speeds often topping 100 mph.

In the case of Sunday’s hail, copious instability, or storm fuel, lead to explosive thunderstorm development. Warm, moist air probably ascended at speeds in excess of 110 mph for a time, lofting stones that weighed between one-half and three-quarters of a pound..."

At some point homeowners insurance is going to stop paying for this stuff crashing through your roof at 100mps, class.

Thank an oil company.

https://archive.ph/QXQSR#selection-535.0-579.12

#ClimateCrisis #Tornado #Hail #Storms #Destruction #Wind #BigOil

wardrup, 10 days ago to random

Are MAGAs a lost cause? I don’t know, but it sure feels like it. This was made by a small shop in my hometown, which I fled as soon as I could.

These are the type of people we’re dealing with, folks.

FluentInFinance, 10 days ago to random

Where Taxes are the Highest (Income + Property + Sales Tax):

1. New York: 15.9%
2. Connecticut: 15.4%
3. Hawaii: 14.9%
4. Massachusetts: 12.2%
5. New Jersey: 9.76%
6. California: 8.66%
7. Minnesota: 9.41%
8. Vermont: 10.28%
9. Maryland: 9.44%
10. Illinois: 9.38%

Would you live in any of these States?

GottaLaff, 10 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to Colorado

#Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill into law mandating that election officials bring voting services to county detention centers and jails for statewide general elections.

The statewide program is the first of its kind.

In total, 61 jails and detention centers will have in-person voting in November. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/colorado-jail-voting-in-person-november-election-rcna150951

rbreich, 10 days ago to random

The Roberts Supreme Court is the worst since the shameful days of Roger Taney’s Supreme Court.

Alito, Thomas, Roberts, and the three Trump appointees are Republican partisan hacks.

We need radical reform — and we need it the moment Dems regain control of Congress.

shekinahcancook, 10 days ago to spiders

Well, at least these probably didn't float around and land on you.

This Arachnid in Illinois Had Armored Spikes on Its 8 Legs - The new species is too strange to be assigned a category, by Olivia Young May 30, 2024

"...“This is the big question,” says Jason Dunlop, co-author of the study. “The new fossil resembles some (but not all) living harvestmen”—aka daddy longlegs—“with spiny legs, and has some vague similarities to mites,” although he says its body is much bigger. The segmentation pattern and slight constriction between the head area and abdomen suggest that it may belong in a group with whip spiders and whip scorpions, “but unfortunately we can’t see the mouthparts, which would help us to confirm this hypothesis.”

So, maybe giant biting mites, possibly poisonous (ala daddy longlegs). Sounds fun [not].

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/illinois-arachnid-fossil

#Spiders #Arachnids #Archaeology #fossil #Science #Biology #Etymology

shekinahcancook, 10 days ago to Geology

Plate Tectonics Has a Surprise Silver Lining - Without this restless geologic process, which triggers destructive earthquakes, Earth would not be habitable, by Robin George Andrews May 29, 2024

"...on geologic timescales, plate tectonics ensures that Earth won’t grow so catastrophically hot that its surface becomes unlivable. Without plate tectonics, Earth would turn into Venus. And no planet aspires to be more like Venus.

...And, had it not been for—among other things—our world’s endlessly shifting tectonic plates, Earth could have shared the same grim fate as Venus.

Yes, those tectonic plates buckle and stretch, slip and slide, creating faults that jolt and snap, which generate earthquakes—sometimes devastatingly so. But these tremors are the vital sign of a planet with a beating geologic heart, an orb with a transmogrifying face..."

[I immediately thought of Calvin and Hobbes here, lol.]

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/plate-tectonics-make-earth-habitable

#Geology #PlateTechtonics #Climate #Science #Subduction

hebrewbyinbal, 10 days ago to linguistics

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7wm1uzOhyb/?igsh=MXc5eGp4ZDQ4azh0eQ== 🎯 Frustrated with language apps? You're not alone.

I've spoken with hundreds of learners over the past few years, and over 80% start learning Hebrew with Duolingo. Every single person reports that despite months of effort, they are unable to form even a basic Hebrew sentence! Sound familiar?

I understand the appeal—Duolingo is accessible, budget-friendly, and feels like a game. But let's talk about the real cost when you expect these apps to teach you Hebrew: You're investing your most precious resources! Your time, motivation, and hope in a learning tool that - in all my discussions -

Not one student has said, “Thanks to Duolingo, I'm now speaking Hebrew”, or “I understand Hebrew because of Duolingo”. Not a single person, and I've talked to so many...

🌟 Ready to speak and understand Hebrew? Comment “SPEAK” and start this journey that will transform your Hebrew forever.

#language #hebrew #aliyah #israel #jewish

rbreich, 10 days ago to random

The more Trump can tear down democracy, the safer the oligarchy becomes.

This is why the billionaires who once disavowed him are quietly crawling back.

The ultra-rich will do anything to protect their wealth and power.

That includes destroying democracy itself.

shekinahcancook, 10 days ago to conservative

The world made by hand, By Brian Kaller, originally published by Restoring Mayberry June 1, 2024

"...All the crafts disappeared in a generation or two – the coopers, wrights, milliners, cord-wainers and thousands more. All the stories handed down through generations disappeared in a few generations, until we all know only the same few pop-culture stories. Almost all the apprenticeships, lodges, clubs, co-ops and guilds disappeared... We are the survivors wandering the ruins of a post-apocalyptic society, but it has been a cultural apocalypse, a mass forgetting, and it’s still going on...

...I realize that we could not build some of these [buildings] now; the crafts to create them are forgotten, along with...[all] these [handcrafted] trades and … everything. The entire human infrastructure.

And I think: None of this world could have been built by the people now living in it."

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-06-01/the-world-made-by-hand/

#Handmade #Craftsmanship #Culture #SkilledTrades

shekinahcancook, 10 days ago to VegetableGardening

The concentrated ills of concentrated agribusiness, By Bart Hawkins Kreps, originally published by An Outside Chance May 31, 2024

"...Now that American consumers have learned to buy fresh – albeit nearly tasteless – fruit twelve months of the year, it’s essential for Driscoll’s to have suppliers in countries with different seasons. ...Frerick writes: “the Driscoll’s model is based on shifting farming out of the country to companies that don’t...worry about US minimum wage laws or environmental regulations.”

"...It matters not whether these products are truly nutritious. What matters is whether the products are cheap and, in line with WalMart’s directives to suppliers, cheaper year after year. Still, French explains, not cheap enough for WalMart’s own employees to afford – WalMart employees in many states require govt assistance just to feed their families..."

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-05-31/the-concentrated-ills-of-concentrated-agribusiness/

#Agriculture #Farming #Sustainability #Health #Environment #Economy #FoodSecurity #PredatoryCapitalism

futurebird, 10 days ago to random

Have you ever stopped listening to or trusting a person who posts information in media, or online because of a "red flag" ?

That is are there certain topics, habits, actions etc. that instantly decrease your trust in a person you might have otherwise listened to on a podcast, article, or video?

Are there any "green flags" that build trust?

feedback, 10 days ago to Jewish

Shalom, I'm Feedback! I'm a #Jewish musician, photographer, and techie currently working in cybersecurity. Like a lot of online Jews, I've been feeling a much stronger pull towards Jewish community spaces in the wake of current events, and was extremely excited to learn about the existence of #mazeldon ! Looking forward to getting to know people here! #introduction

Silvermoon, 12 days ago to art

This is one of my favorite drawings that I made (if I may humbly say so). I love autumn and I love pumpkins. And what is better than pumpkins? Magical pumpkins! 😁
#art #fantasy #drawing #pumpkin

thomholwerda, 2 months ago to random

Two pieces of personal news: first, after 14 years, I've effectively quite my job as a translator. The industry is in the process of collapsing - you know why - and I've been feeling the squeeze for a while now, and I like going out on my own terms. I've known this day would come, and I'm not sad about it. My motto: it is what it is.

Second: I have decided to focus all my work attention on @osnews from here on out. This is risky, scary, and I'm absolutely terrified of what this will mean. Right now, my OSNews income does not even come close to what I earned as a translator, so I've got work ahead of me to increase readership, give y'all more reasons to sign up for our Patreon, and hopefully find sponsors for the site to generate more income. End goal: rely entirely on reader and sponsor support, to remove ads altogether.

If all this fails, I'll have to find another line of work, which would mean the end of OSNews. Not trying to scare you - just being honest.

Anyway, this is a big deal for me - I've only ever been a translator (aside for the one 8-year teenage job I had), and I do not like taking risks.

Anyway, want to become a Patreon? Or a sponsor? Pretty please? 😰