Justin (koavf) @koavf@mastodon.social

Tentative data show that tress improve mental health: https://www.sciencealert.com/street-trees-not-only-help-mitigate-climate-change-but-might-reduce-depression-too (popular) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79924-5 (academic)

#mentalhealth #depression #trees #ecosocialism #greenpeace

Rolling Stone stopped being a relevant counter-cultural publication before I was even born but I do fondly remember getting issues (with a free subscription) around when Matt Taibbi started his excellent long-form journalism that excoriated the Bush II administration. He has since moved onto Substack and Rolling Stone is now a vanity press: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/23/rolling-stone-magazine-culture-council-publication

#latestagecapitalism #scams #rollingstone #shame

Today marks the 365th day of verified coronavirus infections in the United States. Somehow, this study was still needed. UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Researchers say Mask Mandates Could add $1 Trillion to the U.S. GDP (popular: https://ph.ucla.edu/news/press-release/2021/jan/ucla-fielding-school-public-health-researchers-say-mask-mandates-could, academic: https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/PNAS_Mask_Study_e2014564118.full_.pdf)

Masks save lives *and* they save money. Now are conservatives on board?

#coronavirus #covid #publichealth #economics #commonsense

That magical 42% finally cracked and the acting president (twice impeached!) rounds out his unsuccessful re-election bid with the lowest first-term approval rating ever: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/16/politics/trump-approval-analysis/index.html

#failure #scams #polling #lol

Happy 20th, Wikipedia: https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/01/14/wikipedia-celebrates-20-years/

#wikipedia #freeculture

Way to go on all those love letters to a brutal dictator: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/09/kim-jong-un-calls-us-biggest-enemy-and-says-nuclear-submarine-plans-complete

#northkorea #propaganda #failure

In a turn that is surprising to no one, the acting president is increasingly discussing pardoning himself for leading an insurrectionist mob of Confederates, Nazis, white supremacists, and other miscellaneous fascists: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/politics/trump-self-pardon.html (TOR link: https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion/2021/01/07/us/politics/trump-self-pardon.html)

Is anyone surprised by this lawless self-dealing? Here is hoping Congress impeaches and convicts him, removing him from public office for life.

#fascism #scams

Remember the Seditious Six: Cruz, Hawley, Hyde-Smith, Kennedy, Marshall, Tuberville https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/congress-electoral-college-count-tracker/

#fascism

How refreshing to see a Republican representative explicitly admit to being a criminal on day one of her tenure: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55540155

#republicans #crime #guns

Evidently, the acting president wants to play golf in Scotland instead of attending Joe Biden’s inauguration but he can’t because that’s inessential travel: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/trump-biden-inauguration-scotland-sturgeon-lockdown-b1782602.html

#scotland #donaldtrump #joebiden #golf #coronavirus

Buying time makes you happier than buying stuff: academic source: http://www.pnas.org/content/114/32/8523.full, popular source: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/28/545839192/need-a-happiness-boost-spend-your-money-to-buy-time-not-more-stuff

#simpleliving #anticapitalism #consumerism #latestagecapitalism #capitalism #happiness

There are many, many articles on this topic but this is a nice, quick overview of the recent slow-moving coup attempt in the United States and how it has been abetted by the Republican Senatorial candidates in Georgia: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/georgia-runoff-perdue-loeffler-trump-coup-attempt.html

#georgia #fascism #coup #kellyloefler #davidperdue #conservatism

The gig economy is a pure scam: no matter how much money they make, they never make money. https://newrepublic.com/article/160764/instacart-grubhub-doordash-pandemic-parasites

#scams #latestagecapitalism #capitalism #uber #lyft #instacart #grubhub

The richest 1% own a quarter of British wealth: https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2021/jan/03/richest-1-have-almost-a-quarter-of-uk-wealth-study-claims

Somehow, this was discovered due to an “error” in previous accounting.

#latestagecapitalism #capitalism #unitedkingdom #oligarchy #plutocracy

Hemp is one of the most important industrial materials. I am loathe to post anything that is even approaching an advertisement but this is an exciting development: https://returntonow.net/2019/04/14/americas-first-hemp-wood-factory-is-being-built/

#hemp #wood

I have been boycotting Amazon for several years (minus the occasional Internet Movie Database use in TOR and the fact that many sites are hosted with their Web Services); it is easier than you think: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/style/amazon-abstainers.html (TOR link: https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion/2020/12/29/style/amazon-abstainers.html)

#capitalism #amazon #latestagecapitalism #labor

Megacorps do not care about you: https://drewdevault.com/2021/01/01/Megacorps-are-not-your-dream-job.html (Gemini: gemini://drewdevault.com/2021/01/01/Megacorps-are-not-your-dream-job.gmi) Only be as loyal to your employer as your employer is to you.

#latestagecapitalism #tech #frightfulfive #faang #labor #scams

The KLF are back after almost 30 years. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55507226 #klf

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2021. At the risk of being a bummer, please continue to be safe regarding COVID; it may be with us in intermittent outbreaks for the next decade: https://news.yahoo.com/covid-coronavirus-outbreaks-with-us-10-years-142138691.html

#covid #2021 #publichealth

Each of us has something to give.
All of us must do our part.
Today, tomorrow, and every day forward.

Some of us will falter or fail.
How will we overcome the division in this land?
I pledge to do my part to combat the strife in America.
This is all I ask of you.