Justin (koavf) @koavf@mastodon.social

Solomon Islands PM rules out China military base and says Australia is ‘security partner of choice’: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/14/solomon-islands-pm-rules-out-chinese-military-base-china-australia-security-partner-manasseh-sogavare

#solomonislands #china #peoplesrepublicofchina #defense #guardian #australia #pacificislandsforum

Compare Hubble and James Webb photographs: https://johnedchristensen.github.io/WebbCompare/

#github #jameswebb #jameswebbtelescope #hubble #hubbletelescope #space #photography #nasa

Pulse oximeters fail dark-skinned patients:
(popular) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/11/1110370384/when-it-comes-to-darker-skin-pulse-oximeters-fall-short (academic) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2794196

#npr #pulseoximeters #medicaltechnology #medicine #jama #journaloftheamericanmedicalassociation

The world population should reach 8 billion in November and India will overtake Mainland China shortly thereafter: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62126413

I have read some demography writing that implies that the world population will level off much faster and that we will only top out around 9 billion. If anyone has further analysis, I am down.

#population #demography #demographics #india #china #mainlandchina #peoplesrepublicofchina #bbc

This is likely preaching to the choir, but black Americans are twice as likely as whites to be denied a mortgage: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61845304

I used to believe that a color-blind meritocracy would just fix all of these problems or that race-based oppression was mostly attributable to class, but stories like these convinced me that naked, crude, vicious racism is still alive and well.

#racism #unitedstates #usa #us #unitedstatesofamerica #housing #discrimination #opperssion

Recent populist grifters in the United Kingdom and the United States have tested those systems by ignoring not only laws and rules but norms and values: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/10/the-uks-unwritten-constitution-is-put-to-the-test-by-johnsons-unprincipled-acts

While I agree with the implicit argument of the author, a constitution cannot solve all of these problems alone (cf. America).

#guardian #borisjohnson #democracy #unitedkingdom #uk #unitedkingdomofgreatbritainandnorthernireland #constitutionalism #ruleoflaw #populism #grifters #rogues

As someone who has read The Economist for 15 years, it is pretty shocking to see how wrong they have been: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/11/liberalism-according-to-the-economist

#newyorker #theeconomist #liberalism #neoliberalism

Insights from a death doula: https://www.wellandgood.com/climate-pledge-friendly-amazon/

This is probably not revelatory, but I hope that posting it here encourages at least one of you to appreciate your loved ones a little bit more and take time for what matters.

#death #wellandgood #doula

Phages may prove effective treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/08/health/phage-superbug-killer-life-itself-wellness/index.html

#phages #antibiotics #superbugs #medicine #cnn

American cities are experimenting with cryptocurrency (MiamiCoin has lost over 90% of its value): https://slate.com/technology/2022/07/cryptocurrency-taxes-reno-fort-worth-miami-portsmouth-bitcoin.html

#cryptocurrency #unitedstates #unitedstatesofamerica #usa #us #slate #scams

U.N. says 2.3 billion people severely or moderately hungry in 2021: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-n-says-2-3-billion-people-severely-or-moderately-hungry-in-2021

Please give if you can to programs like the WFP or Oxfam.

#pbs #hunger #unitednations #un #famine #agrifood

In a global first, the British Supreme Court rules that diplomatic immunity does not apply in cases of slavery: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62062318

#unitedkingdom #uk #supremecourt #law #britain #unitedkingdomofgreatbritainandnorthernireland #slaver #bbc #saudiarabia #diplomacy #internationallaw

Support for democracy in the Arab world is waning: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62001426

#bbc #middleeast #northafrica #sudan #egypt #iraq #lebanon #polling #tunisia #mauritania #corruption #democracy #palestine #jordan #morocco

This take-down of budget culture (as a financial equivalent of diet culture) is useful to me as someone who has been interested in personal finance over the past few years: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/budget-culture-and-the-dave-ramseyfication

The distinction between personal and systemic problems/solutions is important. Compare with, e.g. environmentalism: yes, we all need to recycle, but we are not _individually_ responsible for fixing the _systemic_ problems of climate change.

#personalfinance #finance #budgeting #substack #annehelen

If you are like me and are too sedentary: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/29/move-yourself-happy-how-to-exercise-boost-mood-fitness-level

#guardian #happiness #joy #movement #exercise #health #wellness

I like this artistic interpretation of the tensions in American culture and politics between Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/07/uncle-sam-lady-liberty-history-of-national-symbols.html

#unitedstates #unitedstatesofamerica #usa #liberty #ladyliberty #unclesam #america #fourthofjuly #independenceday #slate

Trying to grocery shop, plastic-free: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/02/1109498551/she-tried-to-avoid-plastic-while-grocery-shopping-for-a-week-heres-how-it-went

Groceries seem like a perfect industry for biodegradable plastics.

#plastic #waste #environmentalism #npr #shopping #commerce

The Untied States lags behind in approving the best sunscreen products: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/07/us-sunscreen-ingredients-outdated-technology-better-eu-asia/661433/

#suncare #atlantic #theatlantic #sunscreen #fda #usa #unitedstates #unitedstatesofamerica

A useful book on things you need to do when a loved one dies: https://ms-demeanor.tumblr.com/post/187765090397/saffronhare-ms-demeanor-hey-you-know-how-i

I could have used this recently. Please read up on this sometime and please have a will: not having one just screws over your loved ones.

#death #tumblr

The majority of South Sudanese face a hunger crisis: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62014750

Please help if you can by donating to the World Food Program locally.

#southsudan #hunger #poverty #worldfoodprogram #worldfoodprogramme #un #unitednations #bbc