Robert Varipapa

We can thank Mr. Trump for this reversal of favorability, comparing the US to China. What an idiot we have for a president. #trump #china #us #politics https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UcQ5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca67cf36-73f8-41e9-abeb-87a465b3b69c_838x1438.png

@jef@mastodon.social The Strait of Warm Ooze has made it to Apple Maps too https://maps.apple/p/Mexuj5t3.ig~SG

Idiocracy at CDC: Autism and Vaccines “The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant #vaccines cause #autism.” https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html #cdc

Code for the People We have traded a free internet for a collection of walled gardens. Today, a handful of digital landlords use #Algorithms to dictate our reality, while closed AI threatens to change the ways we connect. We are at a breaking point: we can either let gatekeepers continue to consolidate their power, or we can reclaim the #OpenSource spirit that built the web in the first place #mastodon #pixelfed #x #Facebook #Instagram #Google #Meta #TikTok #Twitter https://codeforthepeople.com/

3/ As the sun dipped low over the dry Makgadikgadi landscape in Botswana, a lone giraffe stepped to the water’s edge. Towering and graceful, it bent its long legs, lowering its neck for a drink. Then came a moment of magic. Having taken its fill, the giraffe lifted its head - and with a gentle swish, expelled a stream of water in an arc that shimmered in the golden light.

4/ For several decades the extraordinary rise of the hyper-wealthy as opposed to the mere 1 percent flew somewhat under the radar. Many economists who studied and wrote about inequality, me included, pointed to the rise of the 1 percent to counter the widespread tendency to view rising inequality as merely a reflection of a rising premium for college education. In that misguided focus on the education premium, the contrast was between the top 20 percent and the working class

How The New York Times Changed Its Coverage of Trans People “In January 2015, the New York Times’ only trans opinion columnist Jennifer Finney Boylan wrote an op-ed titled “How to Save Your Life”. The piece was written in the aftermath of the suicide of Leelah Alcorn. The piece was a powerful reminder of the difficulties that transgender people face in society and that transgender young people are among the most vulnerable” https://www.thedissident.news/exclusive-how-the-new-york-times-changed-its-coverage-of-trans-people/ #trans #lgbtq

Tesla Launches New Model XP (explosive 😬) “Tesla stocks are surging following Elon Musk's announcement that the fully self-combusting Tesla XP is set to debut later this month.“ https://youtu.be/M7aqrtL7Bas?si=npoFkSmoD2S8n55l

Meet the [billionaire] megadonors pouring more than $1.3 billion into the 2026 election “The top donors in American politics have poured more than $1.3 billion so far this cycle into influencing the country’s politics, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission data. The donors lean #Republican, and cash could prove critical for the #GOP to maintain control of #Congress in November.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2026/06/25/these-are-biggest-individual-donors-2026-election-cycle/ #billionaire

Say goodbye to the cheap smartphone Global smartphones priced below $400 will decline by 22% as memory costs soar Memory costs have become a serious burden for mid-to-low-end #smartphones, contributing to a year-on-year decline of over 22% in the market for smartphones priced below $400. https://omdia.tech.informa.com/blogs/2026/july/global-smartphones-priced-below-400-dollars-will-decline-by-22percent-as-memory-costs-soar #apple #iphone

My theory: His hands are bruising from IV infusions for one of the new dementia medications Trump, 80, Puts Chronic Health Issue on Full Display on Overseas Trip #Trump’s troublesome appendage has become one of the most prominent and longest-running health concerns amid an array of worrying symptoms A neck rash has also been spotted poking out of the top of his collar, and, as was the case in Turkey, he has appeared unsteady on his feet, particularly on stairs https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-80-puts-chronic-health-issue-on-full-display-on-overseas-trip/

USB-A and USB-C specifications and color codes (what a confusing mess!) #usb #usbc #usba #usb_c #usb_a

I guess #vaccines do work after all 😳 There are already more US measles cases this year than in all of 2025 The number of measles cases in the U.S. has surpassed the record-breaking tally for all of 2025, with five more months of 2026 still to come. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logged 2,318 cases of #measles as of Thursday, according to an agency update on Friday. https://apnews.com/article/2026-measles-cases-cdc-outbreak-elimination-371823df32b92169c3d220295f00f054

Taxpayers spend about $2 billion annually on Medicaid for Amazon and Walmart American taxpayers are spending billions providing #Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of employees of #Amazon and #Walmart Amazon and Walmart are two of the largest and most profitable companies in the country — collectively generating $100 billion in profits in 2025 — but many of their employees still qualify for Medicaid because their take-home pay hovers around (or below) the poverty line https://popular.info/p/taxpayers-spend-about-2-billion-annually