So much has changed in the last two weeks, most of it quite positive.  Linked here is what Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles looked like earlier today.  We have cops protesting along side (and dancing with) protesters.  There are millions of people around the globe supporting us, flowing us positive energy, in the hopes that, by the time the acute phase of this is over, the U.S. will have made a quantum leap forward in race relations, at least as far as policing is concerned.

But it’s hard to look at this picture and not think: Damn.  This isn’t going to be easy.

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I have two questions about the case here:

Given that he said, “I’m going to choke you out,” and then proceeded immediately to asphyxiate his victim as he promised, why isn’t this murder 1?  He’s charged with an accidental homicide after announcing he was going to kill the guy?

Unrelated to that, why are these police murderers so effing stupid as to commit crimes like these in broad public view when everyone and his dog has cell phones?  Regardless of how he’s charged, we won’t be seeing this smug little ass**** for at least 15 years.  I would think that even the dullest, angriest, most violence-prone cop would be thinking that 15 years in a cage doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience.

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In my quest to learn Spanish, I try to read articles on renewable energy in that language. Here we have:

La empresa líder mundial en energía mareomotriz, Nova Innovation, ha completado con éxito su proyecto de fabricar su turbina mareomotriz de accionamiento directo de última generación, lista para el mercado. (more…)

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Note the comments here from Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Chris: I love you like a brother, but if this is as bad as it’s going to get over the next five months, I’ll be amazed.

 

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Six or eight years ago, a client paid me a small fee to provide my opinion of a concept called “advanced rail energy storage,” or “ARES.”

It’s essentially pumped hydro without the hydro.  In other words, it replaces water with extremely heavy train cars that are pushed up a hill powered by a motor driven with off-peak electrical power, the energy from which is later released as needed by allowing the train to come down the hill, slowed by the motion of an electrical generator. (more…)

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Yes, 40 points is huge, and this may be fake.  But it does makes sense. Being an Independent means “I think for myself,” and that’s bad news indeed for Trump. Generally, voters choose to be Independents because they “vote for the person and not the party.”  They may not like Biden, but someone  who “votes for the person” is extremely unlikely to pick Trump.

Also, consider that 40% means 70:30, which is only a little over 2:1.

Independents constitute 19% of Michigan’s electorate, so 40% of that is significant.

Good news.

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The concentration of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas in our Earth’s atmosphere, averaged 417.1 parts per million, up 2.4 ppm from last year at this time.

One might hope that the lower emissions associated with the pandemic might help, but keep in mind that CO2 stays in the atmosphere for decades or centuries, and thus this had very little effect.

CO2 levels are now nearly 100 ppm higher than when measurements began in 1958; that’s a 31% increase in 62 years. representing a 0.4% average annual increase.  However, this rate of change is accelerating; last year’s 2.4 ppm increase was 0.6%.

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“The White House has no regrets about tear-gassing peaceful protesters to get Trump’s Bible photo.”

Of course, I want Trump to lose (then be charged, convicted and imprisoned). (more…)

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This is one of the “would be funny if it weren’t so tragic” memes.

I signed the petition, but give me a break.  EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, career lobbyist for the coal industry, couldn’t give a damn what the American people want.  He’s on a mission to gut or repeal as many environmental regulations as he possibly can.

Is this part of Trump’s vendetta against Obama, or is it just garden-variety corruption, i.e., favors to corporate donors?  Actually, I have no evidence that speaks to the motive; I surmise it’s a combination of the two.  In either case, he’s a disgusting human being.

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In this video, we see the commission of battery, a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact.

Someone noted, “This video makes me angry, but I’m open enough to know that no matter how flat you make a pancake, there are two sides.”

(more…)

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