Category Archives: Politics

This is for general news.

Links for Today

Posted on by
Reply

The main thing of interest in this story is the use of AI in running a campaign of this type: The China Cables: Leaked Classified Chinese Documents Confirm China Running Massive Concentration Camps to “Re-educate” Uighurs

This is an opinion piece in a respectable journal so you have to expect that it will be filled with lies but that does not change underlying point. The Next Syrian Refugee Crisis Will Break Europe’s Back

One of the big reasons for the failure of US torpedo bomber failures at the Battle of Midway (since we were discussing this on Sunday). Mark 13 torpedo

Links for Today

Posted on by
Reply

The story of American in general: The Long-Forgotten Flight That Sent Boeing Off Course

Proof they don’t actually fear Trump: Why the Hell Did Democrats Just Extend the Patriot Act?

We don’t actually care about military might anymore: Lack of Right to Repair Limits Ability of US Military to Maintain its Own Equipment

Just in case you missed it: Israel carries out ‘wide-scale strikes’ on Iranian forces in Syria

Maybe: China Is Out of Economic Ammo Against the U.S.

Links for Today

Posted on by
Reply

I know there is two sides to this story and only one of them is told. But still…..The Quiet Rooms

I think there are more solutions to this problem then most people allow for. But it is still an interesting issue. Creating buildings to house all those people, along with the roads to knit them together, requires prodigious quantities of sand. In India, the amount of construction sand used annually has more than tripled since 2000, and is still rising fast. China alone has likely used more sand this decade than the United States did in the entire 20th Century. There is so much demand for certain types of construction sand that Dubai, which sits on the edge of an enormous desert, imports sand from Australia. That’s right: exporters in Australia are literally selling sand to Arabs.

When two people drive towards each other at full speed hoping the other person swerves it is called a game of chicken. Iran and Israel renegotiate ‘rules of the game’ in Syria shadow war

New Half Life Game And Other Links

Posted on by
Reply

I will believe it when I see it. Half-Life: Alyx: What we know about Valve’s upcoming full-length VR game

Not in the news. Abandoning Malmö to Its Criminals

I am wondering if this will cause more problems then it will solve. This new magical coating saves water by making toilets so slippery that poop basically flushes itself

For those who missed it in the dead tree edition. Blockbuster WSJ Investigation: How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results

You already know this. Why you’re not hearing more about that mass shooting in Fresno

Links for Today

Posted on by
Reply

So few young people remember because many of their parents believed the same lies that they spout today with even less excuse. The Berlin Wall Is Gone, but Its Lessons Remain

It never does explain why because in a lot of ways we don’t know why. But still interesting to see how great the gap still is. Why explosives detectors still can’t beat a dog’s nose

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh. New Jersey homeowners say aggressive turkeys are terrorizing community

Not to much media focus on this part of the world but a lot of people (far more then in the west) have been killed by terrorism over there. Islamic State Is Alive and Well in South Asia

Links For Today

Posted on by
Reply

Truth: Advocates argue their single-payer Medicare for all health care system will overall cost us all a lot less. They are right that their systems can be a lot less expensive by expanding Medicare to everyone––primarily because government payment rates are so much smaller.But here’s the hitch––paying Medicare rates on behalf of all patients would literally bankrupt the system we have.

A different view: Sunspots are continuing to become few-and-far between of late. And while it’s really anyone’s guess what next year will bring, the likelihood of 2020 surpassing 2019’s spotless days total is very high, as the sun looms inevitably-closer to its next Grand Solar Minimum.

That China is a threat is a pretty standard line. But not many people are paying attention to its problems. Beijing’s newfound assertiveness looks at first glance like the mark of growing power and ambition. But in fact it is nothing of the sort. China’s actions reflect profound unease among the country’s leaders, as they contend with their country’s first sustained economic slowdown in a generation and can discern no end in sight. China’s economic conditions have steadily worsened since the 2008 financial crisis. The country’s growth rate has fallen by half and is likely to plunge further in the years ahead, as debt, foreign protectionism, resource depletion, and rapid aging take their toll.

Links for Today

Posted on by
Reply

Sad world. The Day of the Witch

This is another attempt at increasing the state led oppression of the black male. Calling someone a ‘bitch’ in Massachusetts could lead to jail time under new proposed bill

Kids these days must be dumb. I figured out that math was oppressive without any help. Seattle Public Schools Will Start Teaching That Math Is Oppressive

A lot of times, hypocrisy is the only tribute that humans can make to virtue so I guess we should not talk trash about it. Justin Trudeau—Illegitimate Premier?

The Future Is Now Links

Posted on by
Reply

Best break down on the quantum supremacy dispute between IBM and Google that I have seen yet. Quantum supremacy: the gloves are off

Increased copyright protection is almost always a bad idea. No one yet has shown that it benefits society as a whole and even most proponents don’t even try to make that case. The CASE Act’s goal is to make it simple and fast for copyright holders to get paid for infringement claims. The method it employs is to create a quasi-judicial body in the Copyright Office called the “Copyright Claims Board,” which would be able to award damages as high as $30,000 per proceeding, while also strictly limiting the ability of parties to appeal the decisions. $30,000 judgments issued by people who are not judges but rather officers of the Copyright Office, who see copyright holders—not the general public—as their customers, are not “small claims”. These are judgments that could ruin the lives of regular people; people who are engaging in the things we all do when we’re online: sharing memes, sharing videos, and downloading images.

I would put more focus on the idea that increasingly the State’s only commonly accepted justification for existing rests on ever increasing material befits. It is a short jump from there to think that if I am doing poorly, the state is no longer legitimate. Protesters Are United by Something Other Than Politics

More amusing and sly then the headline suggests. I think it strongly overstates its case though and in general it does not seem like it is written by someone who is deeply familiar with the past: How single men and women are making politics more extreme