SoylentNews

• Donald Trump’s Unseemly Condolence-Call Bragging Game
• The Memo: Gold Star controversy consumes White House
• Five reasons Trump's widow story stings
• Trump’s Condolence Call to Soldier’s Widow Ignites an Imbroglio
• Today in Conservative Media: Trump’s Gold Star Comments Might Be the Stupidest Controversy Yet
• How did consoling Gold Star families become political?
• Trump's Unforced Error
• Gold Star father: Trump's words misconstrued
• Making a military widow cry: that is a classic Trump move
• https://twitter.com/AlyssaMastro44/status/919988497976582144

Regional Indicator Symbol

I am adding some flag emoji to the Soylent Upgrade extension. It seems to work although they don't render as anything other than letters or boxes on my main system. I'm sure that 95% of them will work on my Chromebook, however.

I don't want to include every possible flag on the list (sorry Lesotho, New Caledonia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen...). I included the ten that were proposed as part of a draft standard in 2007, flags of the ten most populous countries (Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Indonesia OMG), the EU flag, Puerto Rico, and a number of other territories that are in the news often or are amusing.

Fun fact, separate emoji for England, Scotland, and Wales were added to Unicode in 2017. Good timing! I added England to my list below, but it renders very differently from the other symbols, showing up as one box instead of two boxes, "GBENG", or whatever.

Should the flag of Antarctica be orange?

Here's what I have included so far:

🇦🇫 - \uD83C\uDDE6\uD83C\uDDEB - AF / Afghanistan
🇦🇶 - \uD83C\uDDE6\uD83C\uDDF6 - AQ / Antarctica
🇦🇺 - \uD83C\uDDE6\uD83C\uDDFA - AU / Australia
🇧🇩 - \uD83C\uDDE7\uD83C\uDDE9 - BD / Bangladesh
🇧🇷 - \uD83C\uDDE7\uD83C\uDDF7 - BR / Brazil
🇨🇦 - \uD83C\uDDE8\uD83C\uDDE6 - CA / Canada
🇨🇳 - \uD83C\uDDE8\uD83C\uDDF3 - CN / China
🇨🇺 - \uD83C\uDDE8\uD83C\uDDFA - CU / Cuba
🇩🇪 - \uD83C\uDDE9\uD83C\uDDEA - DE / Germany
🇪🇬 - \uD83C\uDDEA\uD83C\uDDEC - EG / Egypt
🇪🇸 - \uD83C\uDDEA\uD83C\uDDF8 - ES / Spain
🇪🇺 - \uD83C\uDDEA\uD83C\uDDFA - EU / European Union
🇫🇷 - \uD83C\uDDEB\uD83C\uDDF7 - FR / France
🇬🇧 - \uD83C\uDDEC\uD83C\uDDE7 - GB / United Kingdom
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 - \uD83C\uDFF4\uDB40\uDC67\uDB40\uDC62\uDB40\uDC65\uDB40\uDC6E\uDB40\uDC67\uDB40\uDC7F - GB-ENG / England
🇮🇩 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDE9 - ID / Indonesia
🇮🇪 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDEA - IE / Ireland
🇮🇱 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDF1 - IL / Israel
🇮🇳 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDF3 - IN / India
🇮🇶 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDF6 - IQ / Iraq
🇮🇷 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDF7 - IR / Iran
🇮🇹 - \uD83C\uDDEE\uD83C\uDDF9 - IT / Italy
🇯🇵 - \uD83C\uDDEF\uD83C\uDDF5 - JP / Japan
🇰🇵 - \uD83C\uDDF0\uD83C\uDDF5 - KP / North Korea
🇰🇷 - \uD83C\uDDF0\uD83C\uDDF7 - KR / South Korea
🇲🇽 - \uD83C\uDDF2\uD83C\uDDFD - MX / Mexico
🇳🇬 - \uD83C\uDDF3\uD83C\uDDEC - NG / Nigeria
🇵🇰 - \uD83C\uDDF5\uD83C\uDDF0 - PK / Pakistan
🇵🇷 - \uD83C\uDDF5\uD83C\uDDF7 - PR / Puerto Rico
🇵🇸 - \uD83C\uDDF5\uD83C\uDDF8 - PS / Palestinian Territory
🇷🇺 - \uD83C\uDDF7\uD83C\uDDFA - RU / Russia
🇸🇦 - \uD83C\uDDF8\uD83C\uDDE6 - SA / Saudi Arabia
🇸🇪 - \uD83C\uDDF8\uD83C\uDDEA - SE / Sweden
🇹🇷 - \uD83C\uDDF9\uD83C\uDDF7 - TR / Turkey
🇺🇸 - \uD83C\uDDFA\uD83C\uDDF8 - US / United States
🇻🇦 - \uD83C\uDDFB\uD83C\uDDE6 - VA / Vatican City
🇻🇪 - \uD83C\uDDFB\uD83C\uDDEA - VE / Venezuela
🇿🇦 - \uD83C\uDDFF\uD83C\uDDE6 - ZA / South Africa

If you think a country should be included, comment and make your case.

South American representation is looking particularly bad.

Antarctica, England, and Puerto Rico and others should probably be removed if they just don't render anywhere.

One stupid thing is that there is currently no way for me to add a tooltip that identifies the flag your are hovering over. I will think about the best way to add this.

-----

New ordered list buttons will be added. Now the type attribute can be changed (discussed here). Clicking the "1. List" button will output <ol type="1">. "A. List" adds type="A", and "I. List" adds type="I" (Roman numerals). I could make two more buttons for the lowercase versions, but that seems excessive. Having the two new options should be a good enough reminder that you can change the look of your ordered list.

Too bad we can't access the incredible variety added by CSS3 and later's list-style-type.

Also on the agenda:

• Title case fix(es) such as "IPhone" to "iPhone".
• Fix so the title case button appears even after you have previewed a journal.
• Recognize the poll results/comments page so commenting features are added. The URL in question is https://soylentnews.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=110&aid=-1 where QID is the number of the poll.
• Take a look at *New* comment cycling. The button appears on some individual thread pages where there are no actual new comments (but there were new comments on the overall story).

These are just ideas:

Maybe a "Now" button on admin.pl?op=edit so editors can set the story release time to the current time. Not sure about this, would entertain other ideas about the release time field, such as manipulation of the time using [+60m] and [+90m] buttons (including correct handling of the date change). The only thing the extension currently does with this field is add a check to make sure whether or not you want to post a story in the past (typically because you forgot to add a day).

If I missed anything or you have any ideas, let me know.

Jango Raid.

Made by an AC. Explained here.

Jango is a free online music streaming service that allows users to create and share custom radio stations. Users choose artists to stream, and the station plays music from similar artists. Users can further refine their stations by rating songs and artists in their feed to play less or more frequently.

The Fever (Aye Aye)
Blackout City
Hot Head
Green Onions
Eh
BTTF
RR

McDonald's Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce stunt backfires

The Szechuan sauce fiasco proves Rick and Morty fans don’t understand Rick and Morty (I smell an SJW and Szechuan sauce)

McDonald's Rare Szechuan Sauce Coming Back (Again), 'Rick And Morty' Fans

Thanks, Google.

Harvey Weinstein Accused of Rape in New Yorker Exposé

From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories

Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Others Say Weinstein Harassed Them

Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades

Harvey Weinstein gives first interview after shocking sex harassment claims

Harvey Weinstein

Did somebody say Paltrow?

Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock Lived Like a Vampire: ‘I Don’t Do Sun’

Exclusive: Vegas killer described his unusual habits in 2013 testimony

What Did President Trump Mean by ‘Calm Before the Storm’?

President Trump was clearly looking to make some kind of news, but about what, exactly, was not clear. And the mystery, as it often does with a president whose statements baffle even his staff, only deepened the next day.

On Thursday evening, the White House told the presidential press corps that Mr. Trump was done with his public schedule for the day. But around 7 p.m., Mr. Trump summoned reporters who were still at work to the State Dining Room, where he was throwing a dinner for military commanders and their spouses.

Gesturing to his guests, he said, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.”

“What’s the storm?” asked one reporter.

“Could be the calm before the storm,” Mr. Trump repeated, stretching out the phrase, a sly smile playing across his face.

“From Iran?” ventured another reporter. “On ISIS? On what?”

“What storm, Mr. President?” asked a third journalist, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice.

As the generals shifted from foot to foot, Mr. Trump brought the game of 20 Questions to an end. He praised his beribboned guests as the “world’s great military people” and excused the stymied reporters, who returned to their workstations to start another round of: What was the president talking about?

By Friday, the White House was still unable to shed light on the matter; several of Mr. Trump’s aides said they had no idea what the president meant. But the press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, wanted to make one thing clear: Mr. Trump wasn’t just teasing his favorite antagonists. He was sending a message.

“I wouldn’t say that he’s messing with the press,” Ms. Sanders told reporters. “I think we have some serious world issues here. I think that North Korea, Iran both continue to be bad actors, and the president is somebody who’s going to always look for ways to protect Americans, and he’s not going to dictate what those actions may look like.”

Suddenly, Mr. Trump’s preprandial banter took on an ominous tone. Maybe he was foreshadowing war with North Korea, which he has already threatened with “fire and fury” if the reclusive country aimed its missiles at the United States. Or perhaps he was predicting a clash with Iran, a week before he is expected to disavow the nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

“He certainly doesn’t want to lay out his game plan for our enemies,” Ms. Sanders declared.

Anheuser-Busch wants your thoughts on its NFL sponsorship in light of protests

By Kara Berg

kberg@bnd.com

October 02, 2017 9:42 PM

Anheuser-Busch wants to know how you feel about the NFL.

If you call 1-800-342-5283 and press one, you can tell the company how you feel about its sponsorship of the NFL, which has been under fire lately after an unprecedented amount of players kneeled or remained in the locker room during the national anthem.

When you call, you get this message:

“At Anheuser-Busch, we have a long heritage of supporting the nation’s armed forces, veterans and military dependents. The national anthem is a point of pride for our company and for the 1,100 veterans we employ. Please feel free to share your feedback after the tone.”

An Anheuser-Busch representative told Fox2 that the company was receiving a high volume of calls after many on social media asked the company to sever its sponsorship with the NFL.

The company released the following statement about the addition of the phone line.

“At Anheuser-Busch we have a long heritage of supporting the institutions and values that have made America so strong. That includes our armed forces and the national anthem as well as diversity, equality and freedom of speech. We proudly employ over 1,100 military veterans and we work every day to create an inclusive environment for all of our employees. Because only together can we achieve our dream of bringing people together for a better world.

The Anheuser-Busch phone line has always been available for consumer inquiries on a variety of topics, but we are not conducting a survey regarding our NFL sponsorship.

We have many long-term sports partnerships, including our NFL sponsorship, and while we may not agree on everything, we still believe in the power of sport to bring people together and overcome their differences. We have no plans to end our NFL sponsorship.”

Americans are sharply divided on whether NFL players should be allowed to kneel during the national anthem, according to a CNN survey. Overall, 49 percent say kneeling players are doing the wrong thing and 43 percent say it’s the right thing. But these views change sharply with age and race. Older white Republicans were more likely to say the players were doing the wrong thing, CNN found.

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article176690196.html

House passes 20-week abortion ban

The measure passed heavily along party lines, 237-189.

The bill allows exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman and wouldn't penalize women for seeking to get abortions after 20 weeks.

The legislation is likely to face a tough sell in the Senate. A similar bill passed the House in 2015 but was blocked by Senate Democrats.

With only a 52-seat majority it would be unlikely Senate Republicans could gather the 60 votes needed to move the legislation to President Trump's desk.

The House just passed a 20-week abortion ban. Opponents say it's “basically relying on junk science.”

Semen-contaminated flutes might have been given to children, California school officials warn (archive)

Several school districts in Southern California warned parents this weekend that flutes and recorders given to children through a nonprofit music program may have been contaminated with bodily fluids. At least one district specified that those fluids could have been semen.

Local, state and federal agencies were investigating a male music teacher who visited schools in Southern California through a program called Flutes Across the World, according to updates from the Saugus Union School District, which serves the Santa Clarita area.

“The performer distributes a flutelike musical instrument made of PVC pipe or bamboo to students during a music lesson, and the allegation is that he contaminated some of these instruments with semen,” Saugus Union Superintendent Joan Lucid said in an email to parents on Saturday. “These allegations are deeply concerning, and I realize they raise many questions.”

The California Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service were among the agencies investigating the program, the district said. Lucid said children were never alone with the music specialist, who was not a district employee.

School officials allege flutes used in children’s music program may have been contaminated with semen

Flutes "stained with a man's bodily fluids" issued to California schoolchildren

Flutes Across the World: Japan Edition.