What's in the news?

[Lustful Bride]

Sarah Idan (Miss Iraq) forced to leave her country due to Death threats after posting a photo of her standing alongside Miss Isreal.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/miss-iraq-forced-to-flee-country-over-instagram-photo-alongside-miss-israel/ar-BBGLLBi?li=BBnb4R7&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[RedRose]

I'm always surprised at such news, and yet I shouldn't be anymore?

[Arianna]

The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.

Full article here. Just thought I would share, as this is a little further than I had expected this administration to even go...

The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

[Blythe]

The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.

Full article here. Just thought I would share, as this is a little further than I had expected this administration to even go...

The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

...so the CDC isn't supposed to use 'evidence-based' and 'science-based'? It's....it's the CDC. What, exactly, are they supposed to base their findings on if not evidence and science? O_o

What the actual hell. I think this might be one of the weirder things I've read, news-wise. I honestly thought it was satire until I realized it was from the Washington Post, and then I just cringed once I realized it was legitimate.

I guess there might be ways to fiddle around these restrictions (there's reasonable synonyms for some of these words, but for others...not so much)...but really, an organization devoted to public health should not be made to mince words and should not be made to cater to restrictions like this. :/

[Lustful Bride]

...so the CDC isn't supposed to use 'evidence-based' and 'science-based'? It's....it's the CDC. What, exactly, are they supposed to base their findings on if not evidence and science? O_o

What the actual hell. I think this might be one of the weirder things I've read, news-wise. I honestly thought it was satire until I realized it was from the Washington Post, and then I just cringed once I realized it was legitimate.

I guess there might be ways to fiddle around these restrictions (there's reasonable synonyms for some of these words, but for others...not so much)...but really, an organization devoted to public health should not be made to mince words and should not be made to cater to restrictions like this. :/

+1  Gonna have to go and stock up on as much meds as possible. If the CDC cant use science to protect t the public this will lead to an outbreak of something horrible I am sure. :/

The cheeto man proves everyday to be a servant of Nyarlathotep, but now he shows signs of serving Nurgle as well :P

[Oniya]

The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.

Full article here. Just thought I would share, as this is a little further than I had expected this administration to even go...

The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

I would like to introduce Mr. Cheeto to certain vulnerable parts of his person - preferably by drawing attention to them with a diversity of blunt instruments, applied with sufficient force as to make Don Jr. curl into a posture typically ascribed to the fetus.

[Arianna]

...so the CDC isn't supposed to use 'evidence-based' and 'science-based'? It's....it's the CDC. What, exactly, are they supposed to base their findings on if not evidence and science? O_o

What the actual hell. I think this might be one of the weirder things I've read, news-wise. I honestly thought it was satire until I realized it was from the Washington Post, and then I just cringed once I realized it was legitimate.

I guess there might be ways to fiddle around these restrictions (there's reasonable synonyms for some of these words, but for others...not so much)...but really, an organization devoted to public health should not be made to mince words and should not be made to cater to restrictions like this. :/

I felt the same way when a friend sent it to me, I thought it was satire. We are turning science-based departments into "recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes".

I am furious. ...to say the least. But still to no avail.

[Serephino]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-fed-package-thieves-rigs-162322534.html

This was too funny.  I liked the comment; it's only funny until the unsuspecting person taking packages has a heart attack, then it's hilarious.

[Cassandra LeMay]

The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year’s budget.

Full article here. Just thought I would share, as this is a little further than I had expected this administration to even go...

The forbidden words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

I am not surprised. The GOP has tried its very best. for years, to stop the CDC from researching the underlying causes of gun deaths. Just google "republicans cdc gun death data", or see here: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-02/quietly-congress-extends-ban-cdc-research-gun-violence for an example article. The GOP hasn't been against scientific research since Trump got elected. Granted, reproductive health and gender/sex-based questions might affect a larger portion of society, but the tendency to hamper science for political reasons has been there for some time now.

[Orval Wintermute]

"recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes".
That's the scary bit, so the CDC is only allowed to come up with conclusions that "the community" agrees with. So if there's a  sudden increase in Zika virus cases in the US it can't be because climate change makes it easier for mosquitoes to breed and survive and pass on communicable diseases because "the community" doesn't believe in climate change, instead the CDC will end up saying Zika virus is a judgement from God.

[Cassandra LeMay]

"recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes".
That's the scary bit, so the CDC is only allowed to come up with conclusions that "the community" agrees with. So if there's a  sudden increase in Zika virus cases in the US it can't be because climate change makes it easier for mosquitoes to breed and survive and pass on communicable diseases because "the community" doesn't believe in climate change, instead the CDC will end up saying Zika virus is a judgement from God.

I am not sure if your conclusion is completely correct. The full quote from the WaPo is:

In some instances, the analysts were given alternative phrases. Instead of “science-based” or ­“evidence-based,” the suggested phrase is “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes,” the person said. In other cases, no replacement words were immediately offered.

At first glance this looks to me like the phrase you quoted is what the government wants the CDC to say, not necessarily what it wants the CDC to do. One might suspect it is only a small step from one to the other, but we might not be quite there yet.

That said, what I really hope happens (aside from the vain hope that the administration will change its policy here) is that someone will figure out a way to use Freedom Of Information requests to get at the earlier drafts of the documents in question and publish a comparison of what the CDC originally wanted to say and what it ended up saying. No idea if FOI requests can delve that deeply into a document drafting process, but I hope someone with the resources to follow up on this is considering the option.

[Serephino]

https://www.theblackloop.com/city-refuses-to-give-newly-elected-black-mayor-his-office-keys/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=The+Black+Loop&utm_content=City+Refuses+To+Give+Elected+Black+Mayor+His+Office+Keys

Is this some sort of joke?

[Arianna]

https://www.theblackloop.com/city-refuses-to-give-newly-elected-black-mayor-his-office-keys/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=The+Black+Loop&utm_content=City+Refuses+To+Give+Elected+Black+Mayor+His+Office+Keys

Is this some sort of joke?

No, seems surreal, but it's true: https://www.google.com/amp/amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article190152294.html

[Lustful Bride]

Can my country just have a day where we don't shame ourselves to the entire world? I miss those days.

[gaggedLouise]

No, seems surreal, but it's true: https://www.google.com/amp/amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article190152294.html

*recalls the sight of Sydney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night, telling the racist deep southern cops who had him arrested on a whim but who will soon be asking for his help, and speaking in a very gruff voice: "I'm a police!" and "They call me Mr. Tibbs"* :P

[Trieste]

For nearly all of those words, there is a reasonable equivalent. It's also just for budgetary documents - so while the whole thing is ridiculous, it's likely to just result in someone asking for money for embryological study rather than fetal study, or classifying something as "based upon the scientific consensus" rather than science-based.

[ShadowFox89]

 The issue is the censorship by the legislative branch to push a very distinct an d deliberate bias.

[Arianna]

For nearly all of those words, there is a reasonable equivalent. It's also just for budgetary documents - so while the whole thing is ridiculous, it's likely to just result in someone asking for money for embryological study rather than fetal study, or classifying something as "based upon the scientific consensus" rather than science-based.

Hm... good point. That way we avoid bigotry and discrimination coming in the way of approval of research studies. Because... science does have to care about stuff like how people feel about it. Somehow it still does sound wrong, though...

[Lustful Bride]

Body of British Diplomat discovered in Beirut.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/rebecca-dykes-murder-british-diplomats-body-found-in-beirut/ar-BBGStH1?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Arianna]

Body of British Diplomat discovered in Beirut.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/rebecca-dykes-murder-british-diplomats-body-found-in-beirut/ar-BBGStH1?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

I hope she rests in peace, that is awful...

On a different token, Romania has lost its last King, and many crowned headspaid their respects. Some news from my home:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5185873/Prince-Charles-pays-respects-Romanias-late-king.html

[Lustful Bride]

South Korean jets deployed after Chinese bombers and fighters get too close to their airspace.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/chinese-jets-entered-korea-air-defense-zone-seoul-says/ar-BBGWGSa?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[gaggedLouise]

Passenger train hanging overhead a motor highway after partially derailing on a railway bridge in Washington State. Many injuries, no word yet of any dead, but it looks likely. :(

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/18/us/amtrak-derailment-washington/index.html

[Callie Del Noire]

Passenger train hanging overhead a motor highway after partially derailing on a railway bridge in Washington State. Many injuries, no word yet of any dead, but it looks likely. :(

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/18/us/amtrak-derailment-washington/index.html

Accident on first day of use, is anyone else feeling this wasn’t an accident?

[Oniya]

Accident on first day of use, is anyone else feeling this wasn’t an accident?

There was a comment in the article that a safety feature - designed to reduce the speed of or even halt a train that is going too fast for conditions - was not engaged.  I'm not certain if this is something that the engineer has direct control over or not.  If the engineer has direct control of it, the question becomes 'negligence' (forgot to turn it on) or 'intent' (decided to turn/leave it off).  If it's something that is automated, then the question moves to determining the point of failure in the automation.  NTSB (National Transportation Safety Bureau) has sent people to the crash site.  For those outside the US, those are the people that retrieve black-boxes from plane crashes and such to examine the data and find out the 'why' of it, if they can.

[Lustful Bride]

Footage released of US Navy jet pursuing UFO....its actually little creepy.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wonder/moment-ufo-spotted-by-us-navy-jet/vi-BBH16H2?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


We need to start funding Xcom! :P