FBI Urges Universities To Monitor Some Chinese Students And Scholars In The U.S. : NPR
The story of South Africa’s ‘prosciutt…
It’s winter in South Africa – biltong season.
Give any meat-loving South African a chance and they’ll you about their favourite kind, their first biltong memories and the way they’ve hooked their foreign friends on it. We can get lyrical. And so we should.
One biltong-loving WEG! reader, Buks Barnard, describes beef biltong as “a gift of the gods and a way to world peace”. He’s not wrong. Biltong is synonymous with being South African.
South African children are weaned on biltong; a dry piece makes for a tasty teething stick. Biltong is smuggled across many international borders to SA expats longing for a taste of home. It’s a meaningful “gift” to the local traffic department staff when you’re trying to pass your driver’s licence. It’s the go-to gift for Father’s Day and I’ve yet to hear a dad complain. It’s also big money. According to the South African Institute, Food & Trees for Africa, the biltong trade is worth R2.5-billion.
Wyoming Man Unlawfully Takes 500 Pounds of Antlers for Dog Chew Company
Joshua Anders Rae, formerly of Jackson, Wyoming, recently pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting over 104 pounds of illegally obtained elk antlers, according to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rae, the owner of Great American Antler Co., has made a career out of selling cut-up pieces of elk antlers for dogs to chew on. But a joint investigation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department revealed he'd been entering the National Elk Refuge and the Bridger-Teton National Forest during the elk overwinertering season. ADVERTISING
NPR
Trade war vulnerability – Reuters
Rising tensions between the United States and China have sparked concerns that Beijing could use its dominant position as a supplier of rare earths for leverage in the trade war between the two global economic powers. China supplied 80% of the rare earths imported by the United States from 2014 to 2017. China is home to at least 85% of the world’s capacity to process rare earth ores into material manufacturers can use, according to research firm Adamas Intelligence.
I am not convinced that higher prices would have all that much impact on electronics, mainly because rare earths cost is a relatively small part of the total cost, and their would be substitution of rare earths for other designs. Capitalism is very efficient when it comes to things like that.
June 28, 2019 Morning
Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Next Friday is Dog Days of Summer 🌻. Mostly sunny and 68 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. Calm wind. The dew point is 61 degrees. Not a half bad morning and I was able to make it to the express bus 🚍 on time despite having to run to Stewart’s to get milk this morning. 🐮 Got have the cow juice to have good coffee and a good morning. Not a big thing getting milk, but it adds 10 minutes to my morning, and I’m always running tight because I’m not a real morning point.
Last night was the Save the Pine Bush Hike 🌲 and it was a beautiful evening, with mostly clear skies, mild but not too humid. We hiked the large yellow trail in the Karner Barrens past the landfill and Thruway, the wetlands and restored area, spending about a half hour after dusk ✨ looking up at the stars from overlook dune. It was a three mile hike but we managed to stretch it out for almost three hours, I wasn’t back to my truck until nearly quarter to ten. But it was a beautiful summer night.
Going to be a another warm summer day. It will be sunny 🌞, with a high of 87 degrees at 5pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 61 at 8am. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 81 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1901.
The sun will set at 8:37 pm with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 2 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 80 degrees. The dew point will be 60 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 15 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of 29 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3am. Increasing clouds 🌧, with a low of 67 degrees at 4am. Seven degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 63 at 6am. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2018, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 62 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1981.
On this day in 1896, An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine 🚂 in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners. 💣 Also in 1969, Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement. Lots of explosive things happening on this day in history.🏳️🌈
Tomorrow will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 8am and 3pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 82 degrees at 5pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around July 2nd. Maximum dew point of 67 at 11am. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 89 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1944.
Based on Saturday’s forecast, I am inclined to stay in town this weekend, 🏠 and maybe work on repairing the table on Saturday and testing out the camp stove a bit more. I might also want to shop and start packing for the long Independence Day Weekend — probably heading up to Moose Plains but I could change my mind. I could still go out to Schoharie on Saturday for an overnight if it turns out to be exceptionally nice, but I have my doubts.
I am almost thinking about heading up to Piseco-Powley Road for the long weekend, but the thing is it would be four nights, so I’ll have to move to a different campsite for the second half of the week unless I get a camping permit — which might be to late to do at this point. With Moose, I’d drive up to Mason Lake on Wednesday night then camp in plains Thursday, Friday, Saturday. 🏕 The potholers might be a lot of fun if it’s hot and sunny — there are swimming opportunities at Moose Plains but I’d rather do the potholers then swim in the somewhat marginal Moose River. That said, I can go up to Piseco-Powley Road almost any hot summer weekend, so why spend my Independence Day Weekend somewhere boring?
Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8am. Partly sunny, 🌤 with a high near 74. West wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 63 at 10am. Typical average high for the weekend is 81 degrees.
As previously noted, next Friday is Dog Days of Summer 🌻 when the sun will be setting at 8:36 pm with dusk at 9:10 pm. On that day in 2018, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny, thunderstorm and temperatures between 92 and 75 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1919.
