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[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[RTH10260]

Two-thirds of Super Bowl bets were illegal as black market thrives, report says
About 228m bets placed on Super Bowl LVIII were on illegal platforms despite legalization, according to a new analysis

by Callum Jones in New York
Fri 23 Feb 2024 12.00 CET

This month’s Super Bowl, in the neon glare of the Las Vegas Strip, capped online betting’s extraordinary rise from pariah to the luxury box of top-flight sports. Tens of millions of Americans had money riding on the Kansas City Chiefs’ clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

In its fight to overturn a federal ban on sports betting, legalization’s supporters argued it would “critically weaken” illegal gambling platforms across the United States. And yet almost two in three wagers placed on Super Bowl LVIII were illegal, according to one estimate shared with the Guardian.

Research by the gambling analysis firm Yield Sec found Americans bet $5.37bn on this year’s championship game, of which just $1.4bn was bet legally. It estimates that 350.5m bets were placed by Americans on this year’s Super Bowl, of which 228.2m were on illegal platforms.

Under this analysis, the black market lost no ground between the Super Bowls of 2023 and 2024.

Legal platforms dispute these findings. The American Gaming Association, or AGA, which represents the legal industry, points to its own research, which found last year that 77% of online sports bets were legal.

But academics are skeptical. While measuring illegal gambling is incredibly difficult, it irrefutably dominated online sports betting before the supreme court ushered in the legal market in 2018.

If regulated platforms have taken a third of that same market in just six years, as Yield Sec’s modeling indicates, “that would be wonderful,” John Holden, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University, who studies sports betting’s legalization. But it would still suggest the illegal market accounts for the other two-thirds.


Whatever its size, legal operators are clear on the black market’s dangers: this is a market that “preys on Americans, undermines problem gambling efforts, and steals tax dollars from states and local governments”, the AGA said.

Unregulated operators offer bets on Little League baseball games, noted Holden, and extend $100,000 lines of credit to people who do not make that much in a year. “It’s much easier for people who are underage to gamble on offshore sites,” said Lia Nower, director of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ack-market?

[RTH10260]

FWIW




more in links in the YT description

[Uninformed]

Re. the above:

From January 2024:
“Pennsylvania ag officials search Miller Organic Farm for the source of Shiga-toxins”:
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/01/ ... ga-toxins/

From February 2024:
“Amos Miller is seen as a victim of ‘government overreach’ but a top fundraiser”:
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/02/ ... undraiser/

[raison de arizona]

I dunno, but if Tucker Carlson is for it, imma have to think long and hard about throwing in with him. Also, I kinda like my food inspected for safety.

[MN-Skeptic]

And there's this -

PA Ag Department wants farmer Amos Miller to succeed, 'frustrated' at failure to follow food safety rules

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture wants farmer Amos Miller to succeed but is frustrated at his unwillingness to comply with food safety rules, the state agriculture secretary said Monday.

The department has “really worked hard to try to bring Mr. Miller along. … (But) when you're contacted by other states' health departments, right, that is not a good look for Pennsylvania. And, unfortunately, in this case, there's illness involved,” Secretary Russell Redding said during an interview with state Rep. David Zimmerman at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

On Thursday, armed with a search warrant, state officials removed edible products from Miller’s Upper Leacock Township farm based on reports linking them to E. coli infections in two other states. What wasn’t removed was placed under a detention order, meaning they can’t be moved.

The department said Miller does not have a state permit to sell raw milk nor has he registered his retail operation with the state. Raw milk does not undergo pasteurization, a process in which milk is heated to kill dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, which are responsible for causing numerous foodborne illnesses, including diarrhea, cramps, kidney failure and, in rare cases, death.

No charges have been filed as of Tuesday, and it was not immediately clear what sanctions are possible for failing to register a retail establishment or selling raw milk without a permit.

Miller came to the attention of federal authorities in 2016 after the Food and Drug Administration said it identified listeria in samples of Miller’s raw milk and found it to be genetically similar to the bacteria in two people who developed listeriosis — one of whom died — after consuming raw milk.

He later tangled with federal food safety officials over failure to comply with federal meat inspection rules.. But the parties resolved the dispute by early 2023, and the federal court docket for Miller's case shows it was closed in August.

Miller paid fines and costs of about $85,000 related to that case. Supporters raised well over $500,000 in that case and a campaign has been created for his latest case.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,500 people had given more than $115,000.

[RTH10260]

UK

When you find a WW2 German 500kg / 1000 pound bomb in your backyard.

Plymouth bomb: Military moves 500kg unexploded WW2 device after thousands evacuated

[Volkonski]

[much ado]

Reminds me of that unexploded WWII bomb that exploded in Poland in 2019...

WW2 bomb explodes underwater in Poland during attempt to defuse it

[Uninformed]

‘Japan to launch world’s first wooden satellite to combat space pollution”:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... -pollution
“Japanese scientists have created one of the world’s most unusual spacecraft – a tiny satellite that is made of timber.
The LignoSat probe has been built of magnolia wood, which, in experiments carried out on the International Space Station (ISS), was found to be particularly stable and resistant to cracking. Now plans are being finalised for it to be launched on a US rocket this summer.
The timber satellite has been built by researchers at Kyoto University and the logging company Sumitomo Forestry in order to test the idea of using biodegradable materials such as wood to see if they can act as environmentally friendly alternatives to the metals from which all satellites are currently constructed.
“All the satellites which re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere burn and create tiny alumina particles, which will float in the upper atmosphere for many years,” Takao Doi, a Japanese astronaut and aerospace engineer with Kyoto University, warned recently. “Eventually, it will affect the environment of the Earth.”’

[keith]

That was a GREAT show!

[RTH10260]

WWII-era bomb safely detonated at sea after one of the largest peacetime evacuations in UK history

Updated 11:53 AM GMT+1, February 24, 2024

LONDON (AP) — A World War II-era bomb whose discovery prompted one of the largest peacetime evacuations in British history has been detonated at sea, the Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

The 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) explosive was discovered Tuesday in the backyard of a home in Plymouth, a port city on the southwestern coast of Britain. More than 10,000 residents were evacuated to ensure their safety as a military convoy transported the unexploded bomb through a densely populated residential area to a ferry slipway, from which it was taken out to sea.

https://apnews.com/article/britain-wwii ... 160089478e

ps. the gazettes are also calling it "the Nazi bomb"

[RTH10260]

and a few years back, a lightweight compared to the current one

Royal Navy explodes World War Two bomb in Plymouth
A Second World War bomb that caused disruption when it was discovered during excavation work in Plymouth city centre last week was dealt with by the Royal Navy's Devonport-based bomb disposal unit.

Ministry of Defence
16 November 2010

The highly successful combined operation used the resources of the emergency services and the assets of the Royal Navy bomb disposal team, Southern Diving Unit 1.

The 70kg German bomb was taken out to Plymouth Sound via Millbay Docks and detonated safely in a controlled explosion.


https://www.gov.uk/government/news/roya ... n-plymouth

[MsDaisy 2]

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[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[AndyinPA]

That's understandable.

[p0rtia]

[Maybenaut]

Holy crap!



We live right on a major highway, but we’re 8 miles from Luray and 5 miles from New Market. It used to be a business, so we have a parking lot. People often pull in, to turn around, to switch drivers, to barf from carsickness on the windy road, to take pictures of the view, etc.

Even though nothing bad has ever happened, I still worry when people pull in at night. I keep all the lights on, inside and out, when I’m home alone.

[MsDaisy 2]

Holy crap!



We live right on a major highway, but we’re 8 miles from Luray and 5 miles from New Market. It used to be a business, so we have a parking lot. People often pull in, to turn around, to switch drivers, to barf from carsickness on the windy road, to take pictures of the view, etc.

Even though nothing bad has ever happened, I still worry when people pull in at night. I keep all the lights on, inside and out, when I’m home alone.

And get a dog if you can or don't already have one. Even bitty little dogs bark and they can hear what you can't.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

I had problems sleeping securely when Hubby was gone until we had granddog Beowolf (The Kid’s spelling) I could borrow. Beo is big and loud, tho a lovable puppy at heart.

Then we got Pancake who not only barks loud, but will not stop even when ordered to. We have done lots of training and she is getting better, but she MUST have the last word - an under her breath “woof”. She scares my brother. Well, HE scared her first! Then we added Biscuit who has a deep, baying voice. He must do whatever Pancake is doing. Sadie chimes in.

Pancake is learning how NOT to bark from the other two tho. They know not to bark at the neighbors. When they don’t bark and I tell them “good shhhh”, Pancake looks at them and then me and stays quiet. I then do lots of bragging on her.

The other day no one barked at the mail truck! Rewards for all. The daily Amazon truck is still on the “Bark like crazy” list.

[Maybenaut]

And get a dog if you can or don't already have one. Even bitty little dogs bark and they can hear what you can't.

After we lost Joey we’ve decided against another dog. But we have a Ring doorbell camera which is linked to all the Alexa devices. When someone approaches our front door, instead of ding-dong, all the Alexa devices bark like dogs, and you can hear it from outside.

[MsDaisy 2]

And get a dog if you can or don't already have one. Even bitty little dogs bark and they can hear what you can't.

After we lost Joey we’ve decided against another dog. But we have a Ring doorbell camera which is linked to all the Alexa devices. When someone approaches our front door, instead of ding-dong, all the Alexa devices bark like dogs, and you can hear it from outside.

LOL! What ever next! We don't have Alexia but my kids and grand brats do. We have Wally the half coonhound half Doberman and Henry half lab and half coonhound who go nuts after something out here on a regular basis. But they are always encouraged to "listen". All I need to do is say the word and they're both outside in no time with ears up.

[keith]

Might I suggest landscaping that parking lot and discourage random trespassers using it as a way station?

[Rolodex]

Interesting study exploring where men v women look when they're walking. They used volunteers and a computer simulation the results for which they put in a heat map.

An eye-catching new BYU study shows just how different the experience of walking home at night is for women versus men.

The study, led by BYU public health professor Robbie Chaney, provides clear visual evidence of the constant environmental scanning women conduct as they walk in the dark, a safety consideration the study shows is unique to their experience.

Chaney and co-authors Alyssa Baer and Ida Tovar showed pictures of campus areas at Utah Valley University, Westminster, BYU and the University of Utah to participants and asked them to click on areas in the photo that caught their attention. Women focused significantly more on potential safety hazards — the periphery of the images — while men looked directly at focal points or their intended destination.

https://news.byu.edu/intellect/study-vi ... -for-women

[AndyinPA]

It wouldn't have taken a study for women to be able to tell you that. It's just confirming.

Interesting side comment. My husband was attacked, many years ago, by two men who robbed him at gunpoint in daylight. I'm not sure that he ever walked the casual, just-get-to-my-destination way again, although I think it wore off over time.