In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Politico has the full transcript of Mitt Romney's jeremiad against Donald Trump, if you're interested. Donald Trump will no doubt be responding at his campaign event scheduled this afternoon. Shitshow-a-go-go!

[Content Note: War; video may autoplay at link] Fucking hell: "The Syrian government reported a nationwide power outage on Thursday—just the latest electricity problem in a country that has seen frequent outages during a five-year war between the regime, rebels and terror groups. Electrical workers determined the cause and had begun restoring power to some places by late afternoon, the country's ministry of electricity said without detailing what had gone wrong. It wasn't clear how many people were affected by Thursday's outage, as many cities outside of the government's control already weren't being served by the government-run power grid. The ISIS terror group and other militants groups control large parts of the country, and many cities in these areas use fuel-powered generators for electricity."

[CN: Misogynoir] Good grief the Republican Party is fucking terrible: "Naming post office buildings is a job that sometimes falls to the US Congress, and the often stalled body is surprisingly efficient at doing so. But yesterday (Mar. 1) was a surprising exception to their frequently unanimous vote: Nine congressmen, all Republican, voted against naming a new post office building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina after poet Maya Angelou. ...The measure still passed, with 371 'yes' votes." Good.

[CN: Assassination; misogyny; terrorism] My god: "Berta Cáceres, the Honduran indigenous and environmental rights campaigner, has been murdered, barely a week after she was threatened for opposing a hydroelectric project. Her death prompted international outrage at the murderous treatment of campaigners in Honduras, as well as a flood of tributes to a prominent and courageous defender of the natural world. The co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras (Copinh) was shot dead by gunmen who entered her home in La Esperanza at around 1am on Thursday. Some reports say there were two killers; others suggest 11. They escaped without being identified, after also wounding her brother. Police told local media the killings occurred during an attempted robbery, but the family said they had no doubt it was an assassination prompted by Cáceres's high-profile campaigns against dams, illegal loggers, and plantation owners." I tend to believe her family. My condolences to them, and everyone who knew and admired Cáceres. What a chilling message to Honduran activists who survive her.

[CN: Guns; murder] "South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction for murdering [Reeva Steenkamp, who was dating Pistorius at the time he killed her]. The Constitutional Court has made the ruling, meaning Pistorius will now be sentenced in April. ...Prosecutors are believed to be targeting a sentence of at least 15 years in jail for Pistorius."

[CN: Colorism; appropriation] Nina Simone's family continues to be deeply unhappy with the unauthorized biopic of the singer starring Zoe Saldana.

Actress Kaley Cuoco, who previously made some stupid comments about feminism that I'm too disinterested to look up, now says she's definitely a feminist: "Of course I'm a fucking feminist. Look at me. I bleed feminism. I get equal pay to my male costars on a big show, I have my own home, I'm as independent as you could possibly be." Okay then!

[CN: Image of insect at link] I love this: "Found all over the world, the wandering glider (Pantala flavescens) is aptly named. The dragonfly has truly global reach, and it is found on every continent except Antarctica. To get to all those far-flung corners of the planet, the winged insect (also sometimes called the 'globe skimmer') makes epic migratory flights: They have been seen, for example, traversing the Indian Ocean in the hundreds of thousands on their way from Asia to Africa. But just how far they go has shocked researchers. New research suggests that these dragonflies make transcontinental voyages on a regular basis, which is quite a feat for an insect less than 2 inches in length."

[CN: Video autoplays at link] And finally! This video is a few months old, but I only saw it for the first time today: A kitten tries to copycat (see what I did there?!) her mama's grooming routine. TOO ADORABLE!!!