🌞 Red Moon Rising – May 13 2022

The Lead: Not So Fast

credit: guardian

The $40 billion in weapons and aid that the U.S. wants to send to Ukraine has been held up by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. 

Paul’s vote was needed to pass this bill but he refused to vote in favor of it until the bill adds an inspector general to scrutinize spending. Lawmakers told him that they could add it later through an amendment but he was not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and withheld his vote. 

Paul is a libertarian and opposes intervention in Ukraine. He’s one of very few lawmakers that do.

“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy,” he said. 

The bill is a whopper. It evokes the Defense Production Act, which allows weapon makers to jump in front of other companies in supply chain requests. It also gives President Biden a lot more power to send weapons for both defensive and offensive purposes without Congress signing off on it. It still seems like it will pass if Rand gets his edits but not until next week. 

The Next Pandemic is Coming

credit: ap

A new study warns that climate change could bring us the next pandemic. Please don’t delete this newsletter because we’ve said “next pandemic.” Don’t shoot the messenger! 

Researchers say that wild animals will be forced to look for new habitats and move into human areas. When that happens, they will bring with them viruses and…well, you know what happens. 

To prove this, scientists modeled the “mammalian virome” and predicted how it would shift. Don’t blame the animals though! They aren’t destroying their own habitats. We are. Scientists say that the 1.5C temperature increase will come faster than they originally expected and the planet is showing us unequivocally that it cannot handle it.

Thoughtful Bedrooms for Modern Living

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Create that feeling of checking in to your favorite boutique hotel suite, but at home, with The Bed, by Thuma. Go to Thuma.co/invest/ and use the code INVEST to receive a twenty-five dollar credit towards your purchase of The Bed plus free shipping in the continental U.S.

Who Turned Out The Lights?

credit: brittanica

Solar panel projects in the U.S. have come to a halt while the U.S. looks into potential trade violations. 

When President Trump was in office, he pledged to bring solar projects into the U.S. The problem is, that the U.S. doesn’t really make solar panels. Most of them are assembled in countries where they can make them cheaper, namely China. 

But the U.S. has duty rules on Chinese imports and has recently become aware that the Chinese are funneling these products through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before shipping them into the U.S. They say that 80% of solar panel imports are coming through those countries, possibly in violation of the duty rules. So while the government figures this out, solar projects will be paused. 

That may be good news for the U.S. Treasury and its ability to tax things but it isn’t good news for the environment and the U.S.’ goal to reduce carbon emissions.

Heels Hot or Not?

credit: giphy

A new study suggests that women are perceived as more attractive when they wear high heels. I am skeptical about this study given the growing trend of wearing sneakers with dresses so let’s break it down. 

Researchers asked 448 people to make judgments about women’s silhouettes, one with heels and one without. They were asked to judge the women based on all sorts of characteristics including trustworthiness, enthusiasm, masculinity, femininity, mate potential… Already I have a problem with this methodology but go on. 

The study showed that women rated other women as having higher status regardless of what shoes they had on. Men also rated women fairly equal regardless of the shoe but they did rate them as more attractive if the silhouette had heels. Researchers said that this could be due to the change of posture when wearing heels. 

The researchers claim their conclusions show that women’s clothing and accessories do not objectify women after all. Maybe not but the study does. 

News By The Numbers

1,508. That is how many pieces the new Lego Optimus Prime G1 figure is made out of. What’s more, the Transformer Lego set can actually transform into a semi-truck but not automatically. You have to help him. 

50. That is how many more fines were issued by police in London over parties at Downing Street during Covid lockdowns. This batch doesn’t involve Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He skipped these parties.. 

23%. That is how much the price of eggs is up because of the deadly bird flu that has killed 10% of American chickens. 

What's Trending?

credit: eso

Milky Way is trending because of this image of a humongous black hole at the center of our galaxy. Maybe this is how it all ends? 

#stockmarketcrash is trending because that is happening. 

Friday the 13th is trending because this is an auspicious day. 

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