The unimportant news thread

[MusicTurner]

Microplast is a problem that is gaining increased attention, and this is likely something that is going to influence future car designs, and probably regulations too, like it has been - and will continue to be - the case with air pollution. One might be able to reduce the pollution effect, use more sustainable materials, design vehicles differently, make public or shared transportation means more attractive, etc.

[North Star]

Alabama House votes to end yoga ban, but don't say "namaste"

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) A decades-old ban on yoga in Alabama public schools could be coming to an end.

The Alabama House of Representatives voted 73-25 to approve a bill that will authorize school systems to decide if they want yoga to be allowed in K-12 schools. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate.
Yoga done in school would be limited to poses and stretches. The bill says the use of chanting, mantras and teaching the greeting "namaste" would be forbidden.
The Alabama Board of Education voted in 1993 to prohibit yoga, hypnosis and meditation in public school classrooms. The ban was pushed by conservative groups.
Democratic Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika sponsored the bill. He said he understood some gym teachers had been teaching yoga in class before they realized it was banned, and others wanted to offer it, particularly during virtual learning.
[...]
Under the bill, the moves and exercises taught to students must have exclusively English names. Gray said students would also have the option to not participate and instead do an alternative activity.
The 1993 Alabama yoga ban got new attention in 2018 when an old document circulated listing yoga along with games like tag among inappropriate activities in gym class.
Twenty-five representatives in the 105-member House voted against the bill. Gray said some House members said they, got a lot emails about it being part of Hinduism.

Though it turns out that Yoga has been allowed, but you had to call it Pilates, which can only contain Yoga technique poses/exercises, but Yoga was still apparently prohibited despite of being allowed under a German name, and now you can teach Yoga but still absolutely cannot teach foreign languages or culture. Attached a screen capture of a video from 2018 about the yoga ban.

[DavidW]

That is absolutely bizarre, what could they have against it?  Is it hurting their inbreeding program?

Yoga is known to greatly help with blood pressure, heart health and mental wellness.  It doesn't hurt anyone.

[Florestan]

Oh that is not that bad.  I know people who make that same distance commute Monday through Friday for work!

Yes, of course, but the idea is that one can't do it fast, comfortable and safe by public transportation.

[MusicTurner]

Incredible. This excavated, but new-looking thing is said to be 10,500 years old:

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/oldest-woven-basket-in-the-world-found-in-israel-dates-back-10000-years-662183

[steve ridgway]

That is absolutely bizarre, what could they have against it?  Is it hurting their inbreeding program?

Yoga is known to greatly help with blood pressure, heart health and mental wellness.  It doesn't hurt anyone.

A lot of Christian church premises in the UK let their school rooms be used for various community activities but yoga got banned from many a few years ago due to deriving from a foreign religion.

[greg]

I Tricked VICE Into Running a Fake Story. It Went VIRAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEM6SHbjY7Y

They were duped by a fake story about a man's dick getting stuck in a chastity belt that was hacked, having to pay $1000 in bitcoin to get it free

Funny, but pathetically enough, so many sites copied the story. From google:

https://www.google.com/search?q=story+of+dick+stuck+in+chastity+belt+hacked&ei=-dxcYMbyGM6O5wLStpKgAQ&oq=story+of+dick+stuck+in+chastity+belt+hacked&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EANQkSJYyiRgliZoAXAAeACAAZYBiAHGApIBAzIuMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwiG07LWj8zvAhVOx1kKHVKbBBQQ4dUDCA0&uact=5


So from search results we've got:
Buzzfeed
Radio.com
The Sun
Pink News
Daily Mail
ABC.net
Daily Star
Gizmodo
India Today


If anyone reads any of these sites, just remember what credibility they have. 

[SimonNZ]

If anyone reads any of these sites, just remember what credibility they have. 

Yes, because up until now we'd been looking to Vice for serious, well researched investigative journalism. Their current headline, btw, is " A Cargo Ship Drew A Giant Dick Pic In The Ocean Then Got Stuck In The Suez Canal"

For an encore he could see if he can get a British tabloid to print something made up about the Royal family.

He's nothing more clever than a troll being a troll.

[greg]

Yes, because up until now we'd been looking to Vice for serious, well researched investigative journalism.

They used to have some pretty cool videos back in the day, but it's a rarity nowadays. The Russian Jesus 2.0 cult thing was one of my favorites, always a fun conversation topic to bring up.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Last I heard (earlier today), there were over 237 boats either stuck in or at the entrances to the Suez canal due to the ship Ever Given.

"Joe Reynolds, chief engineer of the Maersk Ohio, told the BBC the number of vessels waiting at the canal's southern entrance was "growing exponentially"."  The ship is approximately 400 meters long; the canal is 200 meters wide there.  It could take days to weeks to get it unstuck/refloated.

"About 12% of global trade passes through the 193km (120-mile) canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56538653

[André]

Last I heard (earlier today), there were over 237 boats either stuck in or at the entrances to the Suez canal due to the ship Ever Given.

"Joe Reynolds, chief engineer of the Maersk Ohio, told the BBC the number of vessels waiting at the canal's southern entrance was "growing exponentially"."  The ship is approximately 400 meters long; the canal is 200 meters wide there.  It could take days to weeks to get it unstuck/refloated.

"About 12% of global trade passes through the 193km (120-mile) canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56538653

A major impact is to be expected on goods prices, delays to the supplies chains etc.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

A major impact is to be expected on goods prices, delays to the supplies chains etc.

I suspect that it will matter most as to how long of a delay there is?  I know that there's already a chip shortage which is effecting a number of industries (pre-ship getting stuck).

PD

[André]

I suspect that it will matter most as to how long of a delay there is?  I know that there's already a chip shortage which is effecting a number of industries (pre-ship getting stuck).

PD

Days, possibly more (2 weeks has been mentioned).

[SimonNZ]

The Guardian:

Much-feared asteroid Apophis won't hit Earth for at least 100 years, Nasa says
Chunk of space rock was once the 'poster child for hazardous asteroids' but it will be a while before humans need to worry about it again

"Nasa has given Earth the all clear on the chances of an asteroid called Apophis hitting our planet any time in the next century, having worried space scientists for over 15 years.

The 340-metre (1,100ft) chunk of space rock hit the headlines in 2004 after its discovery led to some worrying forecasts about its orbit. It became a "poster child for hazardous asteroids", according to one Nasa expert.

It was supposed to come frighteningly close in 2029 and again in 2036. Nasa ruled out any chance of a strike during those two close approaches a while ago, but a potential 2068 collision still loomed.

But new telescope observations mean that collision has been ruled out and Apophis has been officially taken off the US space agency's asteroid "risk list".

Davide Farnocchia of Nasa's center for near-Earth object studies, said in a statement: "A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility any more, and our calculations don't show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years."

Scientists were able to refine Apophis' orbit around the sun thanks to radar observations earlier this month, when the asteroid passed within 17m km (10.6m miles).

Apophis will come within 32,000km (20,000 miles) of Earth on Friday 13 April 2029, enabling astronomers to get a good look. That is about one-tenth of the distance to the moon and closer than the communication satellites that encircle the Earth at 36,000km."[...]

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Days, possibly more (2 weeks has been mentioned).

Yes, I've heard that too.  Tried for a while to find some live streaming of the operations but no luck.  Would love to see what they're trying!

The Guardian:

Much-feared asteroid Apophis won't hit Earth for at least 100 years, Nasa says
Chunk of space rock was once the 'poster child for hazardous asteroids' but it will be a while before humans need to worry about it again

"Nasa has given Earth the all clear on the chances of an asteroid called Apophis hitting our planet any time in the next century, having worried space scientists for over 15 years.

The 340-metre (1,100ft) chunk of space rock hit the headlines in 2004 after its discovery led to some worrying forecasts about its orbit. It became a "poster child for hazardous asteroids", according to one Nasa expert.

It was supposed to come frighteningly close in 2029 and again in 2036. Nasa ruled out any chance of a strike during those two close approaches a while ago, but a potential 2068 collision still loomed.

But new telescope observations mean that collision has been ruled out and Apophis has been officially taken off the US space agency's asteroid "risk list".

Davide Farnocchia of Nasa's center for near-Earth object studies, said in a statement: "A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility any more, and our calculations don't show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years."

Scientists were able to refine Apophis' orbit around the sun thanks to radar observations earlier this month, when the asteroid passed within 17m km (10.6m miles).

Apophis will come within 32,000km (20,000 miles) of Earth on Friday 13 April 2029, enabling astronomers to get a good look. That is about one-tenth of the distance to the moon and closer than the communication satellites that encircle the Earth at 36,000km."[...]

Cool story!  Thank you so much for sharing that news and info....fascinating! 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Days, possibly more (2 weeks has been mentioned).

Latest update...sounds like some progress though rocks under the bow?!  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56547383  Apparently now about 300 ships stuck or waiting to access the canal (some others decided to take the long way around).  How damaged the ship is/will be.....?

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hey, some good news!  They've managed to finally free the Ever Given!    It's now off to be checked out at Great Bitter Lake.

PD

[LKB]

I picked up a Roland Juno ds61 synthesizer to replace my old XP-50. Haven't done more than scratch the surface, but l suspect it will reveal even more sonic capability than l have been hoping for.

,

LKB

[drogulus]

     I used my stimulus check to buy a stock. Look Ma, I'm an oligarch!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/07/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-fundraising-haul/index.html

(CNN)"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Wednesday that her reelection campaign raised an astonishing $3.2 million in the Georgia Republican's first three months in office, after reports detailed her embrace of conspiracy theories and support for executing prominent Democratic politicians."