A mutated creature is wreaking havoc in a small town in Idaho. A police chief and a government scientist team up to save their rural town from its menace.
Late last year, Propublica published a deep, blockbuster investigation into the use of brutal “discipline” techniques in Illinois’s special ed classes, some of them so extreme as to qualify as torture.
These techniques, including physically restraining children and locking them in small isolation rooms, sometimes for whole days, or even for whole consecutive days, had been strictly limited or eliminated altogether in the rest of the US, but not in Illinois.
Instead, Illinois had passed a rule requiring schools to document the use of force against children with learning disabilities. As a result, Propublica was able to FOIA thick sheaves of handwritten notes documenting children’s pleas for release at mandated 15-min intervals.
It was real Banality of Evil stuff, and it shed light on mysterious broken bones and bruises that parents had been told were self-inflicted. In the ensuing scandal, the state banned the use of these techniques, finally catching up with the rest of the nation, 20 years on.
Thanks to intense lobbying from Illinois private schools, notably Giant Steps and Markland Day School, and the public A.E.R.O Special Education Cooperative, some of the physical restraint tactics were reinstated.
Notably, face-down restraint - a tactic banned in 30+ states due to the high risk of asphyxiation - is once again permitted in special ed programs.
We can thank Rep Jim Durkin [R-82] for this. He sits on Giant Steps’s board along with 5 former colleagues from state government.
His chief of staff was an ardent advocate for reinstating face-down restraint in Illinois schools. He declined to comment to Propublica.
British armed forces are to be given insect repellant to protect them against Covid-19 infection, it has emerged.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed on Friday that it plans to buy stocks of a product containing a lemon eucalyptus oil extract called citriodiol. But questions remain over its effectiveness, with British officials refusing to reveal any evidence it would work.
After the news emerged, Public Health England confirmed the government’s guidance does not include using any such substance to protect against Covid-19 infection.
Similarly, the World Health Organization said there was no evidence the virus can be transmitted by mosquitoes and that an insect repellant would therefore be ineffective. The use of citriodiol to prevent infection does not form part of its advice.
“To protect yourself, clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Also, avoid close contact with anyone who is coughing and sneezing,” it said.
It is understood that officials are in the process of buying stocks and plan to issue them to members of the army’s 20,000-strong Covid support force. …
“Protecting what’s still in the ground and rebuilding the soil carbon in our agricultural systems is pretty much a no-brainer, because of all the multiple benefits that we get. In a lot of our farming systems, soil carbon levels are at a state where, if you improve them, you get benefits in terms of water regulation, water quality, stabilising production and resilience in the systems.”
This is why we need to push for municipal composting as hard as our parents did for municipal recycling (in addition to implementing the things talked about in the article)
But while you’re campaigning, you can also get started yourself. Composting is dead simple, since it really is just letting stuff rot until it turns into dirt. Guides online tend to get really complex talking about ratios, what not to put in, turning it regularly, keeping it moist, etc - and that stuff will make it happen faster, but rotting is rotting. It’s gonna rot. All you really need is a corner of your yard to throw organic waste onto. No meat or dairy because it stinks like high hell, nothing cooked or salted, but egg shells work, as do most any plant products (including paper/cardboard). Put your waste in one pile until it’s decently large, then start putting it in another pile nearby while you wait for the first one to decompose and turn into rich black (carbon-filled!) soil
Or if you don’t have space or a garden to put the soil in, you can use services like ShareWaste and MakeSoil to connect with others in your area who are already composting. But all this is assuming you don’t already have a municipal program - there may be one that you’ve never heard about! Either way, restoring soil is free and easy and something we can all help with! Get composting!
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
If you don't like Left Wing political thought and philosophy, all things related to horror, the supernatural, the grotesque, guns or the strange, then get the fuck out. I just warned you.
