Statue for a Chinese Warrior This 158-foot-tall bronze figure depicts Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general, now majestically towers over Jingzhou, China. Shanghaiist says that over 4,000 strips of bronze have been stuck onto the body of Guan Yu and he stands atop the 86,000 square foot Guan Yu[...]
Archive for October, 2017
State debt and pension liabilities, by state
This chart counts both state debt and future pension obligations. Note that in Washington, the state constitution forbids deficit spending, and the state debt consists of capital investments (roads and bridges, schools, office buildings, etc.) that contribute to the economy and are the types of expe[...]
October 18th, 2017 - 1:37 am § in America
A Boon to Trump’s Churches
The Johnson Amendment is a 1954 federal law (named for sponsor and then-Senator LBJ) prohibiting churches and charities from endorsing political candidates, at the risk of losing their tax exempt status. Donald Trump has vowed to “destroy” the law, which would be a boon to some of the ch[...]
October 17th, 2017 - 12:46 pm § in Misc.
Slur of the Day: An M word for Gypsies
Mustalainen (sing.)/Mustalaiset (pl.) derived from the Finnish word for “Black”, it is a word for the Finnish Kale – a group of the Romani people that lives primarily in Finland and Sweden. It is nowadays sometimes considered an offensive term, and in common and official context romani[...]