Hodgepodge: All things that don't fit on-going threads

[RunningDeer]

Do You Trust or Fear the Future?

• LeeHarrisEnergy
• October 8, 2029
• 882K subscribers

In this clip from the October 2026 Energy Update, Lee invites us to notice how much fear-based messaging we take in every day, and to ask whether our fear is coming from our own knowing or from everything we’re absorbing.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=EgmFFPISa28

AI Summary:

The discussion focuses on developing a more intentional relationship with fear, the future, and the difficult events unfolding around the world. It emphasizes distinguishing personal fear from fear absorbed through media, past trauma, or constant exposure to negative information, while regularly creating moments of calm, relief, connection, and well-being. Global trauma is described as increasingly entering collective awareness, bringing greater recognition of themes such as oppression and inequality while creating opportunities for healing, deeper awareness, and greater unity.

Key Points

• Examine whether fear about the future comes from personal experience, accumulated negative messaging, bodily responses, or unresolved past trauma.

• Regularly give the body and senses moments of calm, relief, balance, and fearlessness.

• Physical movement, meditation, simple intentional actions, and meaningful conversations can help restore a sense of well-being.

• Step away from the internet when exposure to world events becomes highly triggering, and intentionally curate rather than passively consume online content.

• Focus on whether fear has become the dominant expectation for the future or whether repeated exposure to fear has shaped that perception.

• Small actions at home or within a community can help redirect attention toward well-being and centeredness.

• Remaining centered requires ongoing time and focus, even though it cannot be maintained continuously.

• When external systems or leadership do not provide a strong focus on well-being, individuals and communities can uphold, share, and reinforce it for one another.

• Processing global trauma is becoming a more widespread collective experience, with world events affecting emotions, thoughts, awareness, behavior, and participation.

• Greater access to individual reporting and increased recognition of connections between events are contributing to broader awareness of global trauma.

• The destabilization and fracturing of world systems and the visibility of traumatic events are making global trauma a more prominent conversation.

• Global trauma can expose recurring themes such as oppression and inequality across different cultural contexts.

• Processing these realities can involve disillusionment, disempowerment, despair, heartbreak, or depression, making connection with supportive people or groups important.

• Discussing difficult reactions with others can prevent isolation and keep global concerns from becoming part of an individual fear cycle.

[RunningDeer]

Surgeon Reveals Why You Don't Need Health Insurance

• Dr. Elisabeth Potter, MD
• September 22, 2026
• 132K subscribers

When Dr. Elisabeth Potter scrubbed out of surgery to take a call from UnitedHealthcare, she had no idea it would change her life. The patient in question was already under anesthesia, mid-mastectomy, and the insurer wanted her to justify an overnight hospital stay on the spot. They denied it anyway, and the patient was billed $100,000. Potter's video about that moment was watched by more than 26 million people, and it was followed by a cease-and-desist letter from a powerful Washington, D.C. law firm demanding she retract everything.

In this episode, Louisa sits down with the Austin-based reconstructive microsurgeon to unpack what really happens between a diagnosis and the care patients actually receive. She explains why she believes denial is a strategy, how prior authorizations, peer-to-peer calls, and appeals work in practice, and why roughly 1 in 5 in-network recommendations on some Affordable Care Act plans are rejected. She shares why a procedure she has performed for 14 years is still labelled "experimental," the year-long fight to get one young woman a mastectomy, and why a single billing code values a muscle-sacrificing TRAM flap the same as the muscle-sparing DIEP flap she specializes in.

You'll also hear what DIEP flap reconstruction involves and why she prefers it to implants for many patients, the personal cost of standing up to an insurance giant, including draining her savings and risking bankruptcy to keep her practice open, and the advocacy that followed, from a rally in Washington, D.C. to the Speak Free Act and the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act. She reveals how one hospital quoted a patient $240,000 for a surgery she could perform for $17,000, and lays out exactly what patients can do right now: record every appointment, demand an itemized estimate, and appeal everything.

Finally, she delivers the truth she feels morally obligated to tell every American: insurance isn't what you think it is, and you don't actually need it to get good care.

TOPICS DISCUSSED
00:00 Intro: "You Don't Actually Need Insurance"
01:01 The Call From UnitedHealthcare in the Middle of Surgery
04:02 The Three-Minute Phone Call Outside the OR
05:47 Why Denial Is a Strategy
07:34 Justifying an Overnight Stay for a Patient Under Anesthesia
09:37 The Video That Reached 26 Million People
11:39 The Cease-and-Desist Letter
12:22 What the Comments Revealed About America
14:36 Does She Regret Taking On UnitedHealthcare?
15:15 What Happened to the Patient's $100,000 Bill
16:20 Going Into Debt to Keep Her Practice Open
20:09 How the US Two-Tier Healthcare System Works
21:26 Who Else Is in the Room With You and Your Doctor
22:04 Why a 14-Year-Old Procedure Is Still Called "Experimental"
23:44 Peer-to-Peer Calls and Hours Lost on the Phone
24:50 Denial Rates: 1 in 5 Recommendations Rejected
25:46 Why There Are Only a Few Hundred True Reconstruction Specialists
27:14 What DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Is
29:15 Breast Implants vs DIEP Flaps
31:07 When Your Body Has Something to Offer You
32:26 A Year and a Half On: Washington, FIGS, and the Speak Free Act
34:47 How Denials, Prior Authorizations, and Appeals Work
36:47 A Year-Long Fight for One Woman's Mastectomy
38:28 Billing Codes: Why TRAM and DIEP Flaps Are Paid the Same
41:50 What She Would Tell UnitedHealthcare's CEO
43:16 The Biggest Obstacle to Patient Outcomes Is the System
45:03 One Diagnosis Away From Bankruptcy
47:28 Protect Yourself: Record Every Appointment
49:10 Ask for an Itemized Estimate: $240,000 vs $17,000
50:46 Where the Money Goes and the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act
52:27 Appeal Everything: Specialty-Matched and Expedited
53:55 Why Doctors Can No Longer Stay Silent About Money
54:43 Her 60-Second Truth: "You've Been Fooled"
56:19 How to Support the Fight

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mCapjCGw9FE

AI Key Points

• Insurance is not the same as access to healthcare. Insurance coverage does not guarantee that patients will receive the treatments their doctors recommend, and healthcare can be delivered through providers and facilities without insurance determining every decision.

• UnitedHealthcare contacted Potter during surgery. While she was performing a series of operations, an insurance representative called about a patient who was already under anesthesia for a mastectomy and awaiting breast reconstruction.

• The patient had prior authorization. Despite the advance authorization and the patient's breast cancer and lung abscess, the insurer required Potter to justify why the patient needed to stay overnight.

• The overnight stay was denied. The patient received a $100,000 bill, which was erased after the incident attracted public attention.

• Denial can reduce insurance spending. Patients facing serious illnesses may lack the time, energy, resources, or emotional capacity to challenge denied treatments, allowing denials to go uncontested.

• The incident exposed a disconnect between insurers and patients. The representative could not provide basic information about the patient's diagnosis and referred Potter to another department, reinforcing concerns about fragmented decision-making.

• The viral video generated widespread attention. Potter posted a video describing the experience after finishing her surgical cases. It reached approximately 26 million viewers and prompted responses from patients, doctors, and others with similar experiences.

• Potter received a cease-and-desist letter. UnitedHealthcare sent a legal letter demanding that she retract statements, remove the video, and address allegations concerning her conduct and the video's comments.

• Public reactions reflected widespread frustration. Comments revealed anger and cynicism about insurance companies, including reactions to the killing of a former insurance CEO. Potter condemned murder while viewing the responses as evidence of the distress people experience when navigating healthcare.

• Advocacy threatened Potter's financial stability. She used retirement savings, sold possessions, and accumulated substantial debt to keep her practice open, continuing to provide breast reconstruction services despite the risk of bankruptcy.

• The US healthcare system lacks a consistent safety net. Unlike systems that guarantee a baseline level of care, access in the United States can vary according to insurance contracts, coverage rules, and patients' financial circumstances.

• Insurance companies influence treatment decisions through coverage determinations. Prior authorization, billing codes, policy exclusions, and classifications such as “experimental” can prevent recommended treatments even when doctors believe evidence supports them.

• Appeals consume significant time and resources. Potter described a team member spending five hours on the phone to arrange a peer-to-peer discussion about a procedure, while other cases required repeated calls and lengthy appeals.

• Denials can delay essential treatment. Potter cited a young woman with breast cancer, a genetic mutation, and a strong family history who waited nearly a year for approval to remove both breasts. After repeated calls, an insurance-company oncologist approved the surgery, and Potter completed bilateral breast reconstruction.

• Insurance denial rates can be substantial. Potter cited Affordable Care Act plans with in-network denial rates reaching approximately 20%, meaning roughly one in five submitted recommendations may be rejected in some plans.

• DIEP flap reconstruction uses a patient's own tissue. Potter transfers tissue from the abdomen to create a living breast supplied by blood flow. She contrasts this with implants, which can rupture and cause complications, and TRAM flap reconstruction, which removes abdominal muscle and can impair core strength. She generally recommends evaluating implant replacement around the 10- to 12-year mark.

• Reimbursement systems can discourage better surgical techniques. Potter explained that the same CPT code, 19364, covers both TRAM and DIEP flap breast reconstruction despite their differences. She argues that reimbursement should recognize techniques that preserve muscle and improve patient outcomes.

• Healthcare price transparency is a major priority. Potter described a case in which a hospital quoted $240,000 for surgery while her own surgery center estimated $17,000 for the same patient, surgeon, and geographic area. She supports the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act to improve access to itemized estimates and bills.

• Patients can take practical steps to protect themselves. Potter recommends recording medical appointments where legally permitted, requesting clinic notes and copies of orders, obtaining billing codes, asking for complete itemized estimates, comparing providers, and appealing denials. Appeals should request a specialty-matched reviewer and expedited consideration when appropriate; patients can also pursue external appeals.

• Systemic reform requires public participation. Potter supports the proposed Speak Free Act, developed with assistance from FIGS, and urges Americans to contact their members of Congress and senators to support the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act. She advocates a system with government-supported baseline healthcare, greater price transparency, accountability, and competitive care outside insurance, emphasizing that doctors must address the financial structures affecting their patients.

[sdv]

Some days I surrender to the algorithm and sometimes I direct the flow. Today, the algorithm chooses to show me poetry, or what is poetic. Here are some examples:

From a post in memory of a father ...

You were there every single time I reached out for a hand, a sudden light breaking through the dark, a full moon hanging steady in the black sky. I miss you, Baba. I miss your laugh, the easy warmth of your smile, the weight of your hand on my shoulder, and the sound of your voice filling the house. I miss your calls every morning, waking me for school and hurrying me along. I miss the quiet secrets that belonged only to the two of us, sealed away from everyone else. I miss the sweet chocolate you would quietly slip into my hands before an exam, the gentle way you tended to me whenever fever took hold, and the taste of that homemade lemonade no one else could ever replicate.

Two years have passed now, habibi, since an Israeli sniper’s bullet took you, and the moon vanished from our sky.

There is an entire lifetime building up here that I long to share with you. ...

From Noura, this poem is like an endless howl:

When your home is demolished!!

And your memories are lost!!

And your life is shattered!!

And your dreams end

before your eyes, moment by moment!!

When you lose your loved ones!!

Your brothers!!

Your friends!!

Your neighbours!!

And you await your turn here

on the side of the road

in the queue of death,

or on the thresholds of martyrdom!!

When you spit with a full mouth

at those Arab governments!!

The hateful, wretched ones!!

And you exhale the poison of your rage

at the death of that humanity!!

In this world, unjust,

its identity stolen!!

Then you are here!!!!!!!!! You are here in Gaza!!

Masters of the outside world, and owners of beautiful hearts

No longer in the heart is there room for letters and verse!!

Always be well,

always be well!!

This is the heart’s conversation with you,

and this is the soul’s prayer!!

With love, the steadfast Palestinian warrior mother fighting for her children, Noura Al-Akkad

[Rizotto]

Today I'm unable to access the RT (Russia Today) news website (www.rt.com). I can access AlJazeera, but not RT. Is anybody else experiencing this blockage about RT?
How do I resolve this?

I asked the internet what's going on with that, here's the AI answer:

"The rt.com website is down and unreachable globally due to ongoing server or network outages, while access is also blocked or restricted in Canada and other regions due to official government and regulatory actions.

Why You Cannot Load RT

• Global Outage / Unreachable Servers: Automated status checks show that rt.com (Russia Today) has experienced persistent downtime and non-responsiveness.
• Canadian Regulatory Bans: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) officially removed RT and RT France from the list of programming services authorized for distribution in Canada, meaning internet service providers and broadcasters must block access or compliance.
• International Restrictions: Similar blocks, sanctions, or filtering measures have been implemented by various countries and tech platforms (such as Meta's global ban on Russian state media), which can cause connection failures or slow loading speeds depending on your network provider."

[Sue (Ayt)]

It's back up now for me, Rizotto.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Rizotto (here)
Today I'm unable to access the RT (Russia Today) news website (www.rt.com). I can access AlJazeera, but not RT. Is anybody else experiencing this blockage about RT?

Same here, Rizotto. I'm able to access it.

[Rizotto]

I still cannot access RT. Tried several times over the past 24 hours, without success.

The reason has changed however. They're now saying that it is a dangerous unsecure site.

Been accessing RT for years, and now suddenly it has become dangerous? On the other hand, I read somewhere today that Ukraine bombed Russia's AI data centres. I wonder if it has anything to do with that.

[Olaf]

In most if not all cases such behaviour is the result of a censored DNS in your country.

There are a few ways to get round this.

1. If you use Firefox, you can set a certain server for secure (encrypted) DNS in the settings. To do this, you need to choose a DNS server located in a country that does not censor the internet.

2. Install DNScrypt-proxy (there are versions for Windows and, via Homebrew, for Apple too)
This software makes encrypted queries to various DNS resolvers.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Rizotto (here)
I still cannot access RT. Tried several times over the past 24 hours, without success.

The reason has changed however. They're now saying that it is a dangerous unsecure site.

Been accessing RT for years, and now suddenly it has become dangerous? On the other hand, I read somewhere today that Ukraine bombed Russia's AI data centres. I wonder if it has anything to do with that.

Uncover evidence of internet censorship worldwide - ooni.org

Here are a few sub-category links to get in: News, Analysis, RT Features

***********

Which countries are blocked from accessing RT.com? - AI search

The clearest documented case is the European Union, where restrictions on RT have led to website blocks in multiple member states. The exact list depends on whether you mean the RT.com website itself, RT's TV broadcasts, or RT content on social media. Those are different restrictions.

Countries with documented RT.com website blocking

The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), which monitors internet censorship, documented website-blocking evidence in the following European countries. Its 2024 analysis examined measurements from June toSeptember 2024.

• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Poland
• Romania
• Spain


This is a historically documented list, not a verified list of every country blocking RT.com today. Blocking can vary by internet provider and over time.

What about other countries?

• United Kingdom: RT broadcasting is prohibited, and social-media restrictions have also been documented. Website accessibility can depend on the service and network.
• Canada: RT's television distribution is prohibited, but I haven't verified a countrywide block of RT.com itself.
• United States: I haven't verified a nationwide block of the website itself.
• Russia: Russia has blocked numerous foreign news websites, but the evidence reviewed here does not establish thatRT.com is blocked there.


The EU's restrictions were expanded in a significant legal ruling on July 2, 2026, when the EU Court of Justice upheld abroad interpretation of the prohibition on broadcasting RT content.

AGENCE EUROPE

For the most reliable current checks, consult OONI Explorer and search for RT.com Its network measurements help distinguish confirmed blocks from technical failures or suspicious connection anomalies.

OONI

One key caveat: a country banning RT broadcasts does not automatically mean every page on RT.com is inaccessible to every internet user in that country.

[Rizotto]

Thank you all for the information and advice. As of now, I still cannot access RT.

But I can access Sputnik. although a warning message comes up when I open an article on that site. Quoting: "Connection to this website is not secure. Connection to HTTPS://relap.io/ has been blocked because the SSL certificate is not trusted. The Certification Authority has revoked certificate validity. Your connection may be now spied upon or you may be redirected to a fake site.".

That's the same warning message I got last week when connecting to RT, until I couldn't connect with it at all this week.

I don't use Fire Fox, I use Brave. I'll have to look up solutions on the internet, given that I'm slow and reluctant at tinkering with this stuff it will probably take a few weeks. Perhaps I'll just end up getting a VPN.

But thanks all for the information.