[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 73 points 10 months ago

For generations, Native Hawaiians have been displaced from ancestral lands, and on the island of Molokai, where one-third of the island is owned by Hong Kong-headquartered billionaire investment firm Guoco Group...

Same basic problem is on all the islands. Read the fictionalized story The Descendants (or see movie of same name).

... Land mismanagement causes other problems as well. Red dirt sediment from West Molokai’s eroded slopes runs into the ocean after a heavy rain, turning the water red with pollution that can kill coral reefs and clog fishponds.

“If our reef dies, we lose that as a source of food,” Kalipi said.

It sounds like Hawaii should institute a land use law where squatters on lands of absent landlords could claim ownership by working said land. I know they have something like that already because there was another lawsuit where developers purposely built on someone else's land, then sued the property owner for trying to 'steal' the luxury building they built by 'mistake' such that all she could argue was that they tear the whole thing down.

If successful, it would be one of the largest land purchases in Hawaii, behind Larry Ellison’s nearly 90,000-acre acquisition on the island of Lanai. Only this time, the land would be returning to its people.

The Molokai Heritage Trust is moving forward thoughtfully in its endeavor, dedicating years for discussion and research and obtaining its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status last year.

I am heartened by the last line, which is labeled as "Pakui’s Prophecy" (emphasis mine):

The heavens will fall, the high-born will fall, and the dark earth — the common people — will rise like a wave.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 132 points 10 months ago

I'm annoyed that this post doesn't include a link to the SOURCE. Grrr. Here it is.

There. Now it isn't just a questionable possbly faked pic, but a verifiable retraction with the misleading 'leftist' bits still at the top of the page and in the sub-headline.

61
submitted 1 year ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

Archive

President Trump showed off a draft of a letter firing the chair of Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, during a meeting with roughly a dozen House Republicans on Tuesday night, polling them as to whether he should do it and indicating that he likely would, according to two people briefed on the meeting.

The NYT contains several quotes from the CBS story ,but skips much of the name calling Trump uses against Powell.

9
submitted 1 year ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/costco@lemmy.world

I like this soup. I've tried several pre-made soups that were not worth comment (crab & corn, clam chowder, vegetable barley), but the Italian Wedding soup hit all the right notes for my pallet. I found the broth sufficiently chicken-y (rather than watery) and found the meatballs to be delightful.

I do prefer more vegetables in my soup, but adding extra spinach didn't improve it much for me. I did find that tossing in some leftover brussel sprouts that I'd tossed in olive oil and italian seasoning then roasted with and romano cheese -- well, that took the soup from a comforting liquid to a transformed and wondrous almost-stew.

On their own, leftover brussel sprouts get mushy and I don't have much use for them, but mushy works in soup! The sprouts' bitterness became a delightful contrast to the broth and the spices all mixed together well.

Again, the Italian Wedding Soup is very nice by itself. I merely wanted to let the interested know how a random addition improved it for me. Your tastes may not agree with mine.

18
submitted 1 year ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/costco@lemmy.world

I warmed it on the stovetop (not microwave) and found it lacking, but acceptable.

After adding:

  • tamarind paste,
  • onions,
  • bell peppers,
  • a thai hot pepper,

and then topping with:

  • cilantro,
  • fresh lime, and
  • some chopped up roasted peanuts,

... the additions (standard ingredients) made it much better.

Still, it was missing the contrast of bean sprouts. It isn;t the same without them and if I'd had bean sprouts, I would have added, but at that point I might have opted to just make my own pad thai -- which would have tasted better for almost the same amount of cook/prep time.

47
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/costco@lemmy.world

Costco has brought back Margherita pizzas, but now they are rectangular -- not round, and no longer have basil. Basil is a key ingreditent and they've gotten rid of it in favor of their oily, salty, pesto topping. Also, the dough is no longer pizza dough, but this foccia-like flat bread that is far too tough. So we have an oily mess on hard bread with way too much salt and not much else in flavor. It is edible, but not worth the price ($16.99 -- item #1816582).

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 87 points 2 years ago

It's because of the electoral college. Most states give all their electoral college votes to whomever wins the state rather than dividing the votes equitably. This means Pennsylvania -- a swing state -- will go either all-red or all-blue. The state has a lot of fracking, and a lot of people making money off it, so Democrats are trying to appease pro-fracking to get votes.

The people getting harmed by fracking are stuck without anyone on their 'side', but will presumably be more likely to vote blue because that side favors more regulation and pro-environment stuff. Note that all Harris said was she wouldn't ban fracking. She didn't say she wouldn't make it difficult to do. My guess is any attempts to make it cleaner will get crushed by Congress and the Corrupted Supreme Court that has sided against Unions, workers, citizens, and the planet -- all to favor of their sugar daddies. So even if the next President wants to do something about fracking, it would be a hard to actually do anything.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 60 points 2 years ago

I'm going to be repeating this whenever this ad blitz is mentioned because it is MUCH WORSE than you think. America PAC is partially funded by Musk and his old pals at Palantir. They sell data and analyses of it. You might get registered to vote if your state is a solid red or blue, but CNBC reports (archive):

[...] users who enter a ZIP code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.

Rather than be directed to their state’s voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cellphone number and age.


So that person who wanted help registering to vote? In the end, they got no help at all registering. But they did hand over priceless personal data to a political operation.


“What makes America PAC more unique: it is a billionaire-backed super PAC focused on door-to-door canvassing, which it can conduct in coordination with a presidential campaign,” Fischer said. “Thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion, America PAC may legally coordinate its canvassing activities with the Trump campaign — meaning, among other things, that the Trump campaign may provide America PAC with the literature and scripts to make sure their efforts are consistent.”

The America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, according to FEC records. It has received donations from veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, according to FEC records.

They also quote the NYT in saying Lonsdale is one of Musk's political confidants -- which is interesting because he's at Palantir which was you'd think of as his buddy Peter Theil's gig. Again, Palantir sells information, so in all likelihood they are going to take that input to figure out exactly how to target people to 'vote Trump' using the very information the public gave them for free!

105
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

Before you read that, see also: Choreographed celebrations in Venezuela as Maduro claims win

There are some things that are indisputable. Some which I, as an observer on the ground, was witness to.

There were the huge queues at polling stations, but only tiny amounts of people being let in at one time.

This led to accusations of deliberate delays, perhaps in the hope some people would give up and go home.

When our BBC team arrived at one polling station, the organiser of the station took a call saying the international media were there. 150 people were then suddenly allowed to be admitted.

There were some poll stations that didn’t open at all, leading to protests and clashes with the authorities.

There were allegations that some of those who work for the state, including police students, were told how to vote.

The protest coverage says:

The opposition has disputed Mr Maduro's declaration of victory as fraudulent, saying its candidate Edmundo González won convincingly with 73.2% of the vote.

A heavy military and police presence, including water cannons, was on the streets of Caracas with the aim of trying to disperse protesters and prevent them from approaching the presidential palace.

In some areas, posters of President Maduro were ripped down and burned while tyres, cars and rubbish have also been set alight.

Armed police, military and left-wing paramilitaries who are sympathetic to the government clashed with protesters and blocked off many roads around the city centre.

See also similar coverage from Al Jazeera: Protests break out as Maduro declared winner of disputed Venezuela election (archive)

3
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/veganrecipes@lemmy.ml

ghost archive | Article has several recipes from author's new book. Sodah has been writing recipes in "The new vegan" column for about seven years, totaling 348 recipes.

The recipes are heavy on Asian ingredients and include: Simple tomato dal, Turnip cake, and Sesame noodles with spicy fried soya mince.

FYI to U.S. readers: aubergine=eggplant and courgette=zucchini.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 68 points 2 years ago

I had never heard the particular sentence, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus” as a phrase, but seeing the video, there did not seem to be any hostility in her voice nor actions. The article says:

In the church, he said, to rebuke is to cast out a demon, or keep a demon from using a person to do something bad. The phrase can be said casually, though, in response to someone’s misbehavior. When Massey says it, her voice is louder and clearer than it has been before, but she doesn’t sound angry. It’s the tone of voice that you might use while saying: For goodness’ sake, this is really getting ridiculous.

That fits with her actions: totally non-confrontational, but with the mildest of chastisements.

17
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/socialism@lemmy.ml

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/15211295

After adding operatic vocals to Gojira's rendition of "Ah! Ça Ira," a song popular during the French Revolution, she went on to sing a portion of Georges Bizet's Carmen.

From NME:

The heavy metallers performed ‘Ah, Ça Ira!’ (which translates to ‘It’ll be fine’), a song that was popular during the French revolution, during a segment titled ‘Liberté’ (in reference to France’s famed motto ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’) that celebrated one of the most famous events in French history, as well as the nation’s emphasis on freedom.

Gojira appeared on the side of a castle surrounded by fire and bursts of red streamers to represent blood, with Viotti later appearing on a moving prop boat. Their performance followed a portion dedicated to Les Miserables and came just after a beheaded Marie Antoinette was shown singing.

Traditional lyrics translated at wikipedia (linked above) Gojira's lyrics translated via redditors:

"Oh. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay,
Hang the aristocrats from on high!
Oh. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay,
The aristocrats, we'll hang 'em all.
Despotism will breathe its last,
Liberty will take the day,
Oh. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay,
We don't have any more nobles or priests,
Oh. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay,
Equality will reign everywhere,
The Austrian slave will follow him,
To the Devil will they fly.
Oh. It'll be okay, be okay, be okay,
To the Devil will they fly."

205
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

Article details how reporter -- pre-armed with relevant facts and cameras -- confronts neoNazis in Tennessee. | Excerpts:

Members of the Goyim Defense League harassed people in the heart of Nashville's entertainment district, berating a lesbian mom who had just left a restaurant.

Later, the neo-Nazis assaulted a bartender who had confronted the group.


"I'm curious: Why Nashville? Why did you guys choose Nashville?" I asked Minadeo.

A fellow GDL member, Nicholas Bysheim, quickly answered.

"It's the only place that respects freedom of speech," Bysheim said.

Minadeo added, "Yeah, this city respects freedom of speech, but communist Jews like yourself don't."

A Californian who moved to Florida, Minadeo leads the hate group as it goes around the country trying to create scenes that they hope will bring them attention and followers.

One of their favorite tropes: Falsely accusing Jews of being pedophiles.


Over and over, it became clear that these are people who are blind to any facts that don't support their hate.

These are really pathetic human beings.

They are the only ones who seem not to know it.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 100 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Everybody screenshot and archive that amazon page before they edit it!

Edit: I couldn't archive.org to capture it, but this should work: https://archive.ph/pqXje

176
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

For 12 years, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has pushed for a ban on congressional stock trading, calling the practice “corrupt,” “unacceptable” and “wrong.”

Now, Merkley is confident an amended version of the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act has enough bipartisan support that it will come out of a markup meeting with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday with the votes necessary to present the amendment for a vote.

EDIT: It passed out of committee, so now it can go to the floor. https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-new-ban-stock-trading-merkley-ossoff-hawley-2024-7

One key difference between this bill and previous proposals is that it doesn't allow for lawmakers to continue holding stocks via "blind trusts," which some have criticized as insufficient.

There are still certain assets that lawmakers and their families could continue to hold, such as mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and municipal bonds.

Despite the progress represented by Wednesday's committee vote, it's unclear when or if the bill will come up for a vote.

Just a few weeks of session remain for the rest of this year, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has historically been hesitant to bring up bills that don't already have enough votes to pass. It's unclear if that's the case with this bill.

1
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/geology@lemmy.ml

The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety. The eruption damaged a boardwalk that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas.

On occasion they get much bigger: The largest known crater from a hydrothermal explosion on Earth is in Yellowstone and measures 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) across, Poland said. Scientists theorize that a series of hydrothermal explosions created that crater some 13,800 years ago in the Mary Bay area on the northeastern side of Yellowstone Lake.

By comparison, the crater from Tuesday’s explosion will likely be measured in feet, Poland said.

“What we saw today was spectacular and definitely hazardous. But on the scale of what the Yellowstone system has done in the past, it was relatively small,” he said. “It’s a very good reminder of an underappreciated hazard in Yellowstone.”

The hydrothermal explosion did not indicate new activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal levels, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

4
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/free_speech@lemmy.ml

Excerpts from very detailed article:

Look, cybercrime is a real thing, from pig butchering to ransomware, and there's real, global harms that can be attributed to it. Cybercrime is transnational, making it hard for cops in any one jurisdiction to handle it. So there's a reason to think about formal international standards for fighting cybercrime.

But that's not what's in the Cybercrime Treaty.

In authoritarian states like China and Russia (whose delegations are the driving force behind this treaty), "cybercrime" has come to mean "anything the government disfavors, if you do it with a computer." "Cybercrime" can mean online criticism of the government, or professions of religious belief, or material supporting LGBTQ rights.

This is the granddaddy of tech free speech fights.

268
submitted 2 years ago by memfree@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml

Miller appeared on Fox News on Sunday, where he went off on a rant about the Democratic votes were thrown away as the party rallies around Vice President Kamala Harris.

"They held a primary. They had ballots. They filled out circles!" Miller shouted on Fox News. "They went to the voting booths. They spent money on advertisements!"

Still yelling, Miller says that Republicans also spent money running against Biden.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 119 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Hrm. No one has mentioned the decline of middle class wages.

I remember in the ... late 70s/early 80s my mother would drag us to the mall nearly every weekend. She was there to buy clothes. She always wanted something new and she wanted to try on at least a dozen items before buying one or two. I was thrilled when I was old enough to go off to the record store and/or hobby store while she did that. Earlier, I begged to go the the toy store, but was typically refused. Later, I was at the book store getting paperback scifi.

I don't think people have as much disposable income as they did then. I don't know many people who can buy as much frivolous stuff as my folks used to. I guess I could technically buy stuff all the time, but I want to save fore retirement. My folks had pensions. I have to put it away myself.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 193 points 2 years ago

It should be illegal for Utilities to become for-profit. They should either be government run or non-profit, but only in the business to provide a needed service and NOT to make money.

For clarity: By 'Utilities', I mean items for which local residents have little or no choice in the provider (power/electric lines, water/sewer lines, hospitals) AND which either are or are nearly essential for modern living (it'd be hard to get a job without it, OR social services might take your kids if you don't provide the item).

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 57 points 2 years ago

You're telling me not to clean my ears with swabs???? I'm sorry, but I will swear forever that they are intended for the ears. The only issue is that the makers don't want to get sued if anyone hurts themselves. I mean, c'mon, the Japanese use both ends of these in their ears! You want me to start doing that?

mimikaki

more | info

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 51 points 2 years ago

One of -- if not THE -- primary causes for attraction is proximity. If you see someone often, you are much more likely to become attracted to them. Family members and 'unavailable' people such as those already married are typically, but not uniformly, excluded.

After that, we tend to be initially attracted to pretty people with symmetrical features, good health, and of a similar social status (we are also attracted to those of higher social rank, but they will tend to self-select themselves to be less frequently proximate as well as rejecting overtures from potential mates of lower status). That still doesn't matter as much as frequent exposure to someone. Ideally the exposure occurs when you are both in a good mood. Bad moods make for less attraction. We also like people with whom we share common interests, habits, and so on, such that more similar people are more likely to become attracted to one another.

So, yeah, 'friends' are generally going to trigger psychological cues of attraction in any group. Most everyone has to deal with such feelings and quash them when appropriate. Some people have a hard time dealing and either pursue when that makes them creepy or they fail to respond when the feeling is mutual.

[-] memfree@lemmy.ml 113 points 2 years ago

They aren't complaining that he had a black son, but that he's an "undercover Democrat" because he's stated that he learned about racism from the kid, saying things like, “Michael being a Black American, and Jack being white Caucasian. They have different challenges,” he said. “My son Jack has an easier path. He just does.”

Further, there was a question as to if the kid was real since there are no photos. That led to the new clarification:

Speculation about whether Michael was a real person prompted Johnson’s office to clarify. “When Speaker Johnson first ran for Congress in 2016, he and his wife, Kelly, spoke to their son Michael—who they took in as newlyweds when Michael was 14 years old,” said Corinne Day, Johnson’s communications director, in a statement first reported by Newsweek. “At the time of the Speaker’s election to Congress, Michael was an adult with a family of his own. He asked not to be involved in their new public life.” Day added that Johnson “maintains a close relationship with Michael to this day.”

So if we are to believe him, there are no photos because that is the way the now-adult kid wants it.

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memfree

joined 3 years ago