MicroWave

MicroWave OP , 4 months ago to news in FTC bans TurboTax from advertising ‘free’ services, calls it deceptive

You can file federal income tax returns for free if you make less than $79,000: irs.gov/…/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-fre…

MicroWave OP , 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to news in US government rejects complaint that woman was improperly denied an emergency abortion in Oklahoma

I found a bit more info with this Washington Post article:

“Jaci’s case is the perfect example of how it appears they are actually applying EMTALA in what could be charitably described as the narrowest sense,” said Rabia Muqaddam, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, who worked with Statton on her complaint. “It’s not just frustrating. It’s inexplicable, frankly.”

…

“Then they said, ‘You can go sit in the parking lot and we can be ready to help you,’” Statton said.

That move within the hospital may have been the reason Statton’s complaint was denied, said Muqaddam. EMTALA only covers patients in emergency situations who require “stabilizing care for an emergency medical condition,” she said — so if a patient is transferred out of an emergency department, it’s more difficult to argue that the hospital violated the federal law.

“We do think that might be them trying to evade EMTALA,” Muqaddam said, adding that the federal law does not permit that kind of maneuvering.

Looks like the hospital, being in Oklahoma, took the conservative route in trying to stay within EMTALA.

MicroWave OP , 4 months ago to news in An Idealistic Cop, a Forbidden Ticket and a Police Career on the Brink

Different stops.

By the time he pulled over the Mazda in November 2018, drivers were handing Bianchi these cards six or seven times a day. But this woman’s card was a little older, a little tattered-looking.

…

The stop that ended Bianchi’s career in the traffic division was unremarkable.

It was Aug. 31, 2022. He was parked above Hylan Boulevard, and a woman wearing scrubs passed him in her car. She appeared to be using her phone. Bianchi pulled her over on a side street.

The woman didn’t put up much of a fuss, Bianchi said. She didn’t have a courtesy card and she didn’t drop any names. Bianchi wrote her a ticket and sent her on her way.

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in IRS has collected more than $520M in back taxes from delinquent millionaires so far

I was curious what that funding is used for and found this:

While the Inflation Reduction Act does include $78 billion over 10 years for the IRS, that money is mainly to help the agency backfill thousands of existing positions, such as IT people, taxpayer customer support — and, yes, auditors. But they will primarily be assigned to focus on ultrawealthy Americans and corporate tax cheats.

huffpost.com/…/republicans-87000-irs-agents-biden…

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in Thousands of schools at risk of closing due to enrollment loss

Here’s an example in California:

Because of its size, California has the most schools where enrollment loss hit at least 20% during the pandemic — over 1,400. High-priced areas like Silicon Valley reflect a host of recent demographic trends, including record-low birth rates and a limited housing market. Other families left districts during school closures for private schools and charters. All of these factors add up to fewer school-age children attending traditional public schools.

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in iPhone survives 16,000 foot drop from Alaska Airlines flight where panel ripped off

The guy who found it said it didn’t have a screen lock: twitter.com/SeanSafyre/…/1744203705178845510

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in iPhone survives 16,000 foot drop from Alaska Airlines flight where panel ripped off

Face ID keeps your phone unlocked as long as you’re looking at the screen. Does that not do it for you?

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in iPhone survives 16,000 foot drop from Alaska Airlines flight where panel ripped off

Can we talk about how the phone did not have a screen lock? What?

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago) to world in China’s BYD closer to taking Tesla's electric car top spot

You can buy BYD cars outside of China. For example:

The company says it plans to launch three new models in Europe within the coming year in addition to the five models it is already selling that include sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs. BYD has 230 outlets in 19 European countries, it says.

apnews.com/…/china-byd-hungary-autos-evs-72587976…

No BYD cars in the US (yet), except trucks and buses:

BYD has been making electric buses in the United States for years and supplies cities such as Los Angeles and Long Beach from a factory in Lancaster, California, built a decade ago.

reuters.com/…/chinas-byd-takes-cautious-approach-…

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago) to news in American democracy has overcome big stress tests since the 2020 election. More challenges are ahead

The link provides an example of criteria (recognizing that it’s a difficult question) that even a European organization, like the World Economic Forum based in Switzerland, considers acceptable. This supports the claim made in the article. Of course, if you don’t agree, that’s okay too.

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago) to news in American democracy has overcome big stress tests since the 2020 election. More challenges are ahead

Depends on the criteria:

If you’re looking for the very first instance of democracy, credit is often attributed to Ancient Athens. It’s there the term originated, based on the Greek words demos (“common people”) and kratos (“strength”). In the 6th century BC, the city-state allowed all landowners to speak at the legislative assembly, blazing a path that would be followed by democracies in the future.

However, Ancient Athens wasn’t really a country in the modern sense. It’s also not around anymore, so that certainly disqualifies the oldest continuous democratic country today.

…

Democracies also have to be continuous in order to count. Although France has important democratic origins, the country is currently on its fifth republic since the French Revolution, thanks to Napoleon, Vichy France, and other instances where things went sideways.

…

Using this specific criteria, there is only one country with continuous democracy for more than 200 years (The United States), and fourteen countries with democracies older than a century.

weforum.org/…/countries-are-the-worlds-oldest-dem…

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1

From the American Association of Community Theatre:

Is it legal to videotape a performance of a play or musical protected under copyright? In almost all cases, the answer is no.

…

That’s because the only authority that authors generally give publisher/agents is to license performance rights. (In the case of musicals these are known as “grand rights,” because they include book, music, and lyrics.)

aact.org/sites/default/files/…/Videotaping.pdf

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1

From the article, there’s a difference between copyright and trademark protection, so this is how Steamboat Willie will be available for public use:

Due to the company’s trademark on later iterations of Mickey Mouse, you won’t see Mickey serving as another company’s mascot either, Lee said

“Just like the Nike Swoosh and Tiffany Blue, Disney owns Mickey,” Lee said. “It cannot be used in that recognizable way for advertising.”

Despite the copyright expiration, adopting Disney’s famous mouse may prove “a tricky thing to do,” Lee said. “If they feel that you’re diluting their brand, if they feel like you’re tarnishing their brand, that’s problematic and they’re going to sue you.”

However, some exceptions exist to Disney’s tight grip on its affable mouse. Even the more modern version of Mickey Mouse can be shown for educational purposes, satire or parody, Lee said.

MicroWave OP , 5 months ago to news in Living with pets, others may slow the decline of cognitive skills in older adults: Study

Yeah please teach me how to speak dog.

MicroWave , 5 months ago to world in New Sidebar Rule:

Thanks for the recognition, @flooppoolf 😊