Dems to Use App for Caucus Results Despite Hacking Fears
Disabled Immigrants in Custody Denied Protections ; Scientists Fly Drones Into Clouds of Whale Snot ; and More Picks
Disabled Immigrants in Custody Denied Protections ; Scientists Fly Drones Into Clouds of Whale Snot ; and More Picks 1/21
ICE, Judges Deny Protections for Disabled Immigrants in Custody (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Lawyers representing undocumented immigrants detained by ICE allege that courts and government authorities under the Trump administration are not complying with a federal court order that protects mentally disabled immigrants in California, Arizona and Washington.”
Secretary of the Navy Nominee May Have Had Undisclosed Contract With Cambridge Analytica (Reader Pat)
From CBS News: “[Kenneth] Braithwaite, who President Trump has said will be his nominee for Secretary of the Navy, made no mention of an agreement in his required government disclosure form, and says he never entered one. Braithwaite was required to disclose every paid and unpaid position he held outside government within the two prior calendar years before the Senate confirmed him to be ambassador [to Norway in 2017]. A willful failure to include a job or consulting position on the Office of Government Ethics Form 278e can be a violation of federal law. Braithwaite denies any relationship with Cambridge Analytica that would require this disclosure.”
Study: YouTube Ads of Top 100 Brands Fund Climate Misinformation (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “[According to the activist group Avaaz] more than 100 brands had adverts running on YouTube videos on the site that were actively promoting climate misinformation. The brands, including Samsung, L’Oreal and Decathlon, were unaware that their adverts were being played before and during the videos.”
Banned Ozone Destroying Substances Caused Half of Arctic Warming Between 1955 and 2005 (Mili)
The author writes, “Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) also appear to account for around a third of total warming worldwide. Researchers say ODS have high warming efficacy, which means they cause more warming per unit that a number of other common greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide and methane.”
Why Scientists Are Flying Drones Into Clouds of Whale Snot (Mili)
From Wired: “Whale experts like [Iain] Kerr want tissue samples to determine the health of the beasts, the problem being that it’s somewhat difficult to do a biopsy on an enormous creature that only periodically comes to the surface to breathe. So Kerr uses a crossbow that fires a special arrow to extract a bit of flesh the size of your pinky fingertip. On one fateful day, Kerr was chasing whales but finding them particularly uncooperative. When the whale finally surfaced, it did so right next to the boat, exhaling a cloud of snot that enveloped the conservationist…”
