September 16, 2021
Beginning of the end for religious exemption of vaccine mandates?
A hospital system in Arkansas wants to make sure anyone claiming religious exemption to vaccines is sincere, by also making them attest, acknowledge, and affirm that they object to the use of fetal cell lines in testing and development of not just vaccines, but some of the most common OTC medicines such as Tylenol, Tums, Preparation H, Prilosec, Zoloft, Claritin, Sudafed, Benadryl, Motrin, Lipitor... all in all about 30 or so, which is hardly a complete list of OTC medicine that used such cell lines.
The president of the Health Group saw an uptick in religious exemptions for the COVID vaccine that was WAY over the typical seasonal request over the flu vaccine. [more inside]
The president of the Health Group saw an uptick in religious exemptions for the COVID vaccine that was WAY over the typical seasonal request over the flu vaccine. [more inside]
Concrete Thinking
"What’s the most underrated material in the modern world? How about CONCRETE?
Often dismissed as boring, ugly & inert. Concrete is actually surprising, dynamic & incredibly complex. With that in mind here are a few reasons why we need to start talking about concrete" (a Twitter thread from Ed Conway; Threadreader version). [more inside]
"you are asked to believe them. But I am an unreliable narrator."
"Impairment phenomenology is different from other kinds of phenomenology in that it does not assume a subject in command of their own faculties." Scholar Jonathan Sterne has written a forthcoming book, Diminished Faculties: A Political Phenomenology of Impairment; the introduction is now available (PDF, 54 pages, 2.5MB). The introduction briefly explains what phenomenology is, and discusses disability simulations, Sterne's own experience of thyroid cancer and an acquired impairment in his voice, the "humanities 'we'", policy implications, the interior voice, and more. It also includes excerpts from Sterne's blog posts about his disability, and a cute illustration called "Things That Are 7.5 Centimeters". [more inside]
RIP Sir Clive Sinclair 1940–2021
[wikipedia] Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021) was an English entrepreneur and inventor, most commonly known for his work in consumer electronics in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He passed away on the morning of 16 September 2021 after a long illness. [more inside]
That's a Lot of Dead People and Crime
Let Me Say This With As Much Sensitivity As I Can: Wow, That’s a Lot of Dead People and Crime. Ben Mathis-Lilley at Slate on the long, strange history of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh's family.
Proise, Grantfulness, Glofe, and most of all, Chart
With so many disasters pumelling the UK simultaneously—Brexit, Covid, GB News—it's nice to see that our most famous sponge monarch has decided to share her innermost thoughts with us as a balm to a broken nation. Queen Elizabeth II is now issuing a digital newsletter, defiantly written in her own hand and controversially available to aristocrats and commoners alike, and it's a true delight. The latest royal retelling? Wondruful I Just foumd Proncess Diano Skleneton Isnade A Suit Or Amror [more inside]
Rolling Stone's New List of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
Let the arguing begin. Rolling Stone first published its 500 Greatest Songs list in 2004, when the iPod was relatively new and Billie Eilish was three years old. Music has changed immeasurably since, so they remade the list from scratch.
What's the smallest amount you can spend for a million of something?
An ongoing twitter thread exploring the lowest it's possible to spend to get a million of something.
"Manufactured products only, must be ordered by specific quantity written on the pack or in singles ('pack of 10'). Must not be ordered by volume ('ml')."
It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile
Enough with the GDP — it's time to measure genuine progress - "Unlike GDP, the Genuine Progress Indicator is designed to measure economic performance from the perspective of ordinary American households, not corporations or Wall Street investors."[1,2] [more inside]
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