Forum wide moderators
He may get to retire soon.
Veteran working full-time at grocery store goes viral as social media rallies to help him
In a now-viral post, 88-year-old Ed Bambas explained that he retired from General Motors in 1999 but later lost his pension and now works at a Michigan grocery store "to re-establish myself."
The English language has at least half a million words, depending on what dictionary you’re looking at. English consists of letters running from the left side of the page to the right, while other languages run from right to left or vertically. English has 24 consonants (more than you can probably name off-hand), while Hawaiian has just eight, and the Ubykh language has more than 80. Clearly, languages can be very different from one another.
But in a few strange ways, all these very different languages behave exactly the same.
The Number of Ideas Passed Per Minute
The Way We Invent Names of Colors
How Common Words Are
Word Association
“Huh?”
Top-down cardigan for knitters:
The best science and nature books of 2025
From the threat of superintelligent AI to the secrets of a longer life; plus the evolution of language and the restless genius of Francis Crick
Am reading Super Agers and will add the Crick biography to my list. Probably Proto, too.
Topol talks to the author of the Crick book:
Days after issuing him a pardon, Donald Trump criticized US House member Henry Cuellar of Texas for deciding to run for re-election as a Democrat.
Trump pardoned Cuellar and the congressman’s wife on Wednesday as they faced bribery charges. They were alleged to have accepted thousands of dollars from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank in exchange for advancing their interests.
Shortly after the pardon, Cuellar filed for re-election as a Democrat and said he had no intention of changing his party.
Trump suggested on Sunday that Cuellar was targeted by Democrats for being critical of the party’s position on immigration – before the president went on to say that the congressman was not loyal.
The statement constituted another example of how Trump expects loyalty from those who benefit from him.
“I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family that was tormented by very sick and deranged people – They were treated sooo BADLY!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday. “Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like. Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”.
https://theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/07/trump-henry-cuellar-pardon-democrat-reelection-texas
Finally, a Peace Prize.
Trump wins his peace prize from Fifa – any chance of a VAR review?
At a gaudy and gauche World Cup draw, Gianni Infantino went all out to flatter the world’s most precious ego
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/trump-peace-prize-fifa-world-cup
Pearl Harbor survivors. None of them will be at today’s remembrance ceremony.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/us/pearl-harbour-bombing-anniversary-hnk
A 1960s James Bond-style Aston Martin DB5 - which became so dilapidated local children played on it - has been restored and is now worth £1m.
John Williams, 71, from Mold, Flintshire, bought the vehicle second hand in 1973 for £985 - the equivalent of about £15,000 today.
He last drove the car, made famous in films Goldfinger and Thunderball, in his 20s, before leaving it to rust on his driveway.
Mr Williams saved £400,000 for a three-year restoration at Aston Martin's Buckinghamshire works, where experts had to remove a mouse nest before carrying out 2,500 hours of repairs.
The Trump administration released its much-anticipated National Security Strategy this week. CFR convened seven of its experts to discuss the implications of a document that could reorient the United States’ approach toward the world.
Expert Brief by Rebecca Lissner, Will Freeman, David Sacks, Liana Fix, Steven A. Cook, Michelle Gavin, and Paul B. Stares
https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/unpacking-trump-twist-national-security-strategy
