News Factoids for First Quarter 2015

Oxford University Press sent a letter to all of their authors in January 2015 telling them not to have pigs or pork products in their manuscripts so as to not to offend 'other cultures'. Stupid, scared people.

The Koch Brothers's invitation-only 'primary' conference in Palm Springs in January 2015 featured Marc Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz & straw poll winner Scott Walker; their announced (nefarious) plan is to spend $889M in the 2016 election cycle.

"Deep injection of wastewater [from fracking] is the primary cause of the dramatic rise in detected earthquakes and the corresponding increase in seismic hazard in the central U.S." — per February news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey that corroborates a recent study published in Science Magazine

"Between 2007 and 2012, 200 of America’s most politically active corporations spent a combined $5.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. A year-long analysis by the Sunlight Foundation [est. 2006] suggests, however, that what they gave pales compared to what those same corporations got: $4.4 trillion in federal business and support."

"Target said [in mid-March] that it would increase the pay of its workers to at least $9 an hour, joining retailers like Wal-Mart and T.J.X. in raising its hourly wage in a more competitive job market and facing pressure from labor groups." — per New York Times

"“[T]he fast-food movement’s next big wave of protests . . . is now scheduled for April 15 . . . the organizers hope [to] turn the fast-food workers’ fight for a $15 hourly wage into a broad national movement of all low-wage workers that combines the spirit of Depression-era labor organizing with the uplifting power of Dr. King’s civil rights campaign." — per New York Times

The Totten Glacier in Antarctica is melting extremely fast, partly due to warm sea water sinking into recently-discovered sea-floor trenches directly beneath it; the completed melt will raise the world's oceans by eleven feet.

I have discovered a nice food treat. A little package of sliced Baby Bella mushrooms costs $2.29 in the produce section where I shop and scarfing half the 'shrooms works nicely as a meal. The taste is nutty, no dressing required, and best of all: no dishes!
Copyright 2015 by G.E. Nordell, all rights reserved