Pig's Blood Attack on Chauvin Trial Witness , 70% of Amazon Employees Vote No on Union, Outdoor COVID Masks Not Necessary, McDonald's Pays $50 to Interview (The Five for 04/20/21)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Before we begin…I’m not one of conspiracy theories, but we’ve had a weird month of a handful of theories coming true in a very short period of time:
Common weedkiller causing male frogs to produce female eggs and Australian Wallabies may be producing sterile offspring after exposure to herbicide. (National Geographic)
Scientists have merged human and monkey cells into hybrid embryos to attempt to “grow” replacement organs, which many in the scientific and academic communities have decried as unethical. (NPR)
The Pentagon has developed a “COVID microchip” to diagnose the disease. (New York Post)
Silicon Valley is betting billions on the blood from younger people reversing aging in the older population. (Newsweek) [Side note: Hungarian noble Elizabeth Bathory, who the Guiness Book of Worlds records dubbed “the world’s most prolific female murderer” slaughtered more than 650 peasants between 1590 and 1609, because she believed bathing in the blood of the young would give her eternal youth…so this is hardly a new idea, I suppose. Bathory is credited as a major inspiration for Bam Stoker’s Dracula novel].
Of course, the list of conspiracy theories from 2020/2021 that had no basis in fact whatsoever would fill thousands of pages, so I’m not suggesting any overarching theme here. Just a curious observation.
That being said, it appears that at least four conspiracy theories widely trafficked on Facebook are actually true.
Weird.
Anyway, on to the news.
[one]
Vandals targeted the former home of an expert witness who testified at the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd trial, despite the fact that the witness now lives in a different state and the attack did nothing but terrorize innocent bystanders.
Vandals have struck the former home of an expert witness who testified in Derek Chavin's defense, smearing it in blood and leaving a severed pig's head on the doorstep, days after he took the stand in the George Floyd trial.
The group of vandals struck at around 3am on Saturday, wiping animal blood on the front door and garage of the residence in Santa Rosa, California, where use-of-force expert Barry Brodd once lived.
Police said the hoodlums, dressed entirely in black, tossed the pig's head onto the front porch and fled on foot as the resident called 911.
Soon afterwards, a similar looking group splattered animal blood on a statue of a hand in a nearby shopping mall, leaving a sign with a picture of a pig and the words 'Oink Oink'.'Mr. Brodd has not lived at the residence for a number of years and is no longer a resident of California. Because Mr. Brodd no longer lives in the city of Santa Rosa, it appears the victim was falsely targeted,' police said in a statement.
Brodd, who had a long career in law enforcement including with the Santa Rosa Police department, is now a consultant who serves as an expert witness on police procedures and tactics.
As I’ve stated in previous issues of The Five, I have no idea how the trial is going to play out. But the responsible thing to do is just that…let it play out. Chauvin stands before a jury of his peers. It’s not perfect, but it’s still the best human system we’ve come up with. If the public loses our collective faith in the court system, we’re only going to see domestic terrorism and vigilante violence escalate.
While it’s not accurate or ethical to blame comedian Chelsea Handler for the pig’s blood attack in California, that event does make the statements below more concerning.
Still, I defend Handler’s right to bad “hot takes” with the same passion I defend Chauvin’s right to a trial…not because I personally like either individual, but because each of these rights are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
That being said, I hope you and I can be more careful and thoughtful with our words than the average Hollywood celeb.
To point out the obvious rebuttal to Handler, we have trials because A). a fair and speedy trial is in the Bill of Rights and B). audio and video footage need interpretation. Even in professional sports, the referee is the final call, not the video.
Although the jury are supposed to stay away from news during the proceedings, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the information of the pig’s blood attack got to at least one of the jurors, which could easily result in a hung jury and this whole thing starts over.
Update: I’m going to re-state here that I’m no legal expert…just somebody who’s done a decent bit of legal reporting in the past. The news broke today that the jury hasn’t been sequestered (essentially, locked away in a hotel to avoid outside influences on their decision) and were going home at night. Yesterday, they were told to pack their bags and would be housed in a hotel until they reached a verdict.
The Chauvin trial is the most viewed in American history (and, therefore, likely the most commented upon), so it does seem like there’s a chance that Chauvin’s attorney’s appeal if he is found guilty of any charges. They could argue that the jurors were unable to be impartial after learning of the attempted retaliation against a defense witness.
[two]
A year after the COVID outbreak, the science is in on transmission outdoors, and the good news is that you’re quite safe.
Yahoo reports:
Last October, Chinese researchers published a paper in the journal Indoor Air that compiled information on 7,324 cases and included information about where the virus was caught.
Only one documented outbreak occurred outdoors, in a village in Shangqiu, Henan -- where a 27-year-old man became infected after having a conversation outdoors with a carrier in January 2020.
More recently, the Irish Times sought information from government authorities on 232,164 cases of Covid caught in the country until March 24, 2021.
In total, 262 involved outdoor transmission, representing just 0.1 percent of the total.
It's possible even that estimate is high, since the government agency relied on unverified reports that said outdoor activities were involved -- such as construction or sport -- and these might not have accounted for the individuals involved congregating indoors too.
Donald Milton, a professor at the University of Maryland and one of the pioneers in the field of aerosol science, advises people to avoid crowds outdoors, particularly if shouting is involved and the air is stagnant.
But he doesn't think you need your mask on at all times.
"When I go jogging in my neighborhood, where the houses are separated by 10 meters (32 feet) or more and there are only a few people out walking dogs or kids playing in yards, I carry a mask with me," he said.
"I cannot run very far in warmer weather while wearing it. Then if I stop to chat with other people I can put it on. If I go walking with friends, I wear one."
If you’re looking for a deeper dive, this clip from biologists Brett and Heather Weinstein on the Dark Horse Podcast goes in depth into the academic studies.
[three]
More than 70% of Amazon employees have voted not to unionize.
The loss of the union drive at the United States’ second-largest private employer — the first large-scale attempt at Amazon domestically — has sent reverberations through the world of labor, serving as a reminder of the steep obstacles that activist workers face even in what is shaping up to be the most pro-labor political climate in decades.
Amazon won a decisive 2-to-1 victory during the vote this month after months of organizing efforts by the New York-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, dashing hopes that a union win could help touch off an organizing renaissance amid the newly labor-friendly climate in Washington.
Now a debate is emerging over whether the RWDSU committed tactical blunders that hurt its ability to reach workers in the face of the company’s relentless anti-union campaign.
Amazon held meetings at which attendance was required and peppered workers with anti-union materials that the union contended veered into false information about requirements to pay dues in a right-to-work state. The union was expected to file claims with the National Labor Relations Board to set aside the results last week.The union said its challenge, which was not immediately made public, would claim Amazon used tactics to mislead and intimidate workers.
Update: If this CNBC report is correct, the RWDSU may file a lawsuit against Amazon for “manipulating conditions around the voting process.” I’d expect this thing to drag out for years.
[four]
A law was already on the books that would have prevented the Indianapolis Fedex shooter from legally purchasing the guns he used in the slaughter.
The Associated Press reports:
A former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis never appeared before a judge for a hearing under Indiana’s “red flag” law, even after his mother called police last year to say her son might commit “suicide by cop,” a prosecutor said Monday.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said authorities did not seek such a hearing because they did not have enough time under the law’s restrictions to definitively demonstrate Brandon Scott Hole’s propensity for suicidal thoughts, something they would need to have done to convince a judge that Hole should not be allowed to possess a gun.
The “red flag” legislation, passed in Indiana in 2005 and also in effect in other states, allows police or courts to seize guns from people who show warning signs of violence. It is intended to prevent people from purchasing or possessing a firearm if they are found by a judge to present “an imminent risk” to themselves or others. Police seized a pump-action shotgun from Hole, then 18, in March 2020 after they received the call from his mother. But the law only gave them two weeks to make their case.
“This individual was taken and treated by medical professionals and he was cut loose,” and was not even prescribed any medication, Mears said. “The risk is, if we move forward with that (red flag) process and lose, we have to give that firearm back to that person. That’s not something we were willing to do.”
I don’t want to push too hard on a reactionary opinion here, as I haven’t deeply studied the issue or state law. But my first question after reading this was “why couldn’t the courts and police complete the hearing the the allotted two weeks? I have no idea what it takes to prove someone has “suicidal thoughts.” (In a court, I’m not sure how you prove any thought).
On one hand, it’s possible that the current force was stretched thin and the courts were backed up, or the COVID lockdowns played a role. On the other, it could have been an administrative mistake, as was the case with Charleston shooter Dylan Roof errantly passing the FBI background check and the Dylan Patrick Kelly, the murderer who slaughtered 26 at a Texas church in 2017 after purchasing a gun legally because the Air Force forgot to file the paperwork to prevent him from doing so.
[five]
We’re all used to getting a paycheck for our jobs…the the labor shortage as the U.S. transitions out of the COVID lockdowns is becoming so great one business owner is paying potential candidates to interview.
Business Insider reports:
A McDonald's in Florida is paying people $50 just to show up for a job interview. But it's still not attracting many applicants.
Blake Casper, the franchisee who owns the restaurant, told Insider that a general manager and supervisor came up with the idea for the interview reward after he told them to "do whatever you need to do" to hire workers.
"At this point, if we can't keep our drive-thrus moving, then I'll pay $50 for an interview," said Casper, who owns 60 McDonald's restaurants in the Tampa, Florida area.
The reopening of businesses across the US that are looking to hire, along with enhanced unemployment benefits, has cut into the number of applicants, according to Casper. He said that it hasn't been this difficult to hire workers since the late '90s.
Casper’s labor pain is echoed by Chef Andrew Gruel, a California restauranteur and popular personality on the Food Network. Gruel recently shared about how his restaurants exploded in popularity for takeout after offering free food to healthcare workers and first responders, and all of his college aged workers refused to return to the job, because they were making more on unemployment.
The increased COVID benefits were designed to help struggling individuals and families carry through difficult times, but have put some industries in precarious positions without enough workers to keep the doors open.
This may sound paradoxical, but Gruel is also raising money for out of work restaurant employees, because not all areas of the U.S. have recovered equally and many small businesses have closed their doors forever. You can donate via GoFundMe here. The fund also helps restaurants that are on the verge of closing without some kind of intervention.
[epilogue]
This is an older piece of info (a study from 2011 isn’t “news”), but has made it’s rounds on Twitter recently…so I thought it was worth covering.
Mongolian warlord Ghengis Khan killed as many as 40 million people during his conquest that built an empire from China, through Russia and Europe and into the Middle East. Well, a report from Carnagie Institute declared Khan as a “green” leader because eliminating that many people allegedly scrubbed more than 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere.
Ummm…as a general rule of thumb, I don’t personally praise leaders who went to war and slaughtered millions in the name of…wanting other civilizations’ stuff. That being said, Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is a heck of a good history read, if you want to add that one to your list.
Until the next one,
-sth