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Since 1994, this is the 1605th issue of Randy Cassingham’s...
| 16 March 2025: Brain Drain | Copyright ©2025 https://thisistrue.com |
Opportunity, Knocking: The Trump Administration is waging an “assault on science,” says the British science journal, Nature, dumping top scientists in government-funded jobs from NASA to NOAA to the CDC. And that’s an opportunity for Europe. “We can suddenly recruit talent that we would not have been able to attract under normal circumstances,” says Patrick Cramer, President of Germany’s Max Planck Society. The scientific “brain drain” is, he says, “a great opportunity forEurope as a research location,” even though “for research as a whole, it is a clear step backwards.” The E.U. is working to create “a special passport” for scientists, and France’s Aix-Marseille University is actively recruiting American researchers after Philippe Baptiste, France’s Minister for Higher Education and Research, wrote to institutions urging them to recruit the fired American scientists, saying the government is “committed, and will rise to the occasion.” China, too, is hoping toattract talent to better compete against the U.S., and South Korea is easing visa restrictions to attract American scientists. (RC/Deutsche Welle, AFP) ...MEGA: Making Europe Great Again.
International Conflict: Wildlife photographer Mervyn Segueira, 74, took some photos in Burlington,Ont., Canada, that have gone viral: a bald eagle attacking a Canada goose. The attack was just a demonstration of “how nature works,” Segueira said. “But we’re living in a slightly polarized world just now, so some people looked at it differently.” In light of recent events, a symbol of the United States attacking a Canadian bird is timely. “The bald eagle made several assaults at the goose, attacking at least four times to try and take it out,” Sequeira said. “But the goose fought back everytime.” He said the goose “desperately defended” itself for about 20 minutes until the eagle apparently just gave up and flew away. (MS/Toronto Sun) ...May the parallels continue.
Your New Favorite Running, Fitness, and Everyday Shoe.
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Yes, Back to Ads: Pushing harder got some upgrades, yes. But it’s really difficult to get just 5 of you to upgrade because it needs to happen every week. Mostly it was folks who had upgrades before and got too busy, or had a cash crunch, and came back — they knew what they were missing. But it’s not enough to pay the bills: the first 3 weeks of this month there were 8 upgrades. Thanks all! But that’s way below 5/week. Upgrade here to get more stories (usually triple the stories in the free edition) and help me pay the bills. Thanks!
Do as We Say: Belém, Brazil, is getting a new highway, four lanes wide, with walls around it. The road will prevent animals from moving through their ecosystems. The walls will also stop rural dwellers such as Claudio Verequete from using the road to access central Belém; he’s already lost the trees he lived on by harvesting their açaí berries. The trees were among thousands felled — in the Amazon rainforest — to make way for the road. But the road is veryimportant: it is intended to reduce traffic as Belém gets ready for an international conference that is expected to bring 50,000 people to the city. The conference, COP30, is more formally known as the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference. (AC/BBC) ...Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And always respect your betters.
Florida Man for a Day: When a man arrived at a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando, Fla., claiming to be a “representative” of a player withthe Orlando Magic basketball team, the store staff escorted him right into the VIP Room. The man’s true intentions were quickly revealed when he allegedly grabbed two pairs of earrings, which were priced at $160,000 and $609,500, and a $587,000 ring. A scuffle ensued with an employee, and the man escaped with the earrings. Tiffany reported the robbery, and detectives were able to identify the vehicle the man escaped in. Troopers pulled the Mitsubishi Outlander over two days later, and the drivermatched the description of the suspect. Jaythan Gilder, 32, of Houston, Texas, allegedly admitted that he had “swallowed several items,” which showed up on a body scan at the jail. He is being held without bond in isolation until the “items” can be recovered. He is charged with grand theft, robbery with a mask, and resisting arrest. Investigators found he was charged in a “near-identical” robbery in Texas in 2022, and has 48 outstanding arrest warrants in Colorado. (RC/WKMG Orlando) ...So, 50strikes and he’s out?
Lipitor — the New Fuel Additive
Excessive Levels of Meat Tallow in Diesel Is Causing Irish Trucks to Break Down
Irish Independent headline
Did You Find an Error? Check the Errata Page for updates.
This Week’s Contributors: MS-Mike Straw, AC-Alexander Cohen, RC-Randy Cassingham.
Stories This Week were Written/Edited in Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil.
“The Worst Issue Ever,” complained (Premium) reader Richard in South Carolina. “Get over your TDS.” Sure, that’s an intelligent argument. Still, the first story triggered some more commentary from me, not just sputtering from that reader. It’s in my blog, with the story: Brain Drain. In the comments on that page: my reply to Richard.
That is also the Story of the Week, which makes it easy to share on social media, from Telegram, Mastodon, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and/or Facebook, or grab from any of those to post elsewhere.
My Credit Card Processor is requiring some updates on shopping carts which tighten security. Which is cool: I like that they are proactive, since it benefits all of us (companies and customers alike). So while I was doing the updates this weekend, I also looked at what else they had updated. I was able to turn on several new options, including Apple and Google Pay (not yet tested), as well as ACH transfers, which allow direct transfers from(American) bank accounts, which has been tested (thanks Jim in Mo.!), which costs much less in fees. Like with cards, I don’t see the account numbers, and neither are stored on my server — it’s all kept by Stripe, which has state of the art security.
Behind Schedule: Every year since 2016 I’ve been publishing a PDF document for the Weirdest Story of the Year. Why a PDF? So you can share it. 2024’s is a little late thanks to my massive life change over the past six months, but it is now available on the Weirdest Page.
Paul in Pennsylvania, a Premium subscriber since January 2003, recently posted the “Story of the Week” (I try to create one each week to post, as linked in these issues). He commented with it, “Subscriber for 20+ years and it's still a must read every week.” Thanks for your support, Paul! I need more readers to help pay the bills. With a Premium upgrade, you get more stories, discounts on True books, and help keep this newsletter going. Upgrade here, where you get to decide how much to pay.
Ten Years Ago in True: Blowing Smoke.
This Week’s Sunday Reading: Sunday Reading - Hard to believe this was 10 years ago: what it’s like to be in a cop’s funeral motorcade. “What Happened”? That public display of respect by so many people choked me up.
Last Week’s Honorary Unsubscribe goes to Thomas Moser. With his his Ph.D. and as a professor on the tenure track, Moser’s calling was elsewhere: he really just wanted to make things out of wood. His interesting story in just 3 minutes.
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