liberal japonicus

by liberal japonicus Former pope Benedict admits making false claim to child sexual abuse inquiry “Tell me, Martin,” he said. “Weren’t some of the popes—of course, not our present man, or his predecessor, but some of the old popes—not exactly … you know … up to the knocker?” There was a silence. Mr Cunningham said: … Read more

by liberal japonicus This just popped up Common Security Approaches to Resolve the Ukraine and European Crises and I thought it would provide an opportunity for folks to discuss this. Of course, it should come as no surprise that the Republicans seek to make hay out of this Dems torpedo Cruz’s bid to sanction Russian … Read more

by liberal japonicus Just to get things started: This be the verse Have at it.

by liberal japonicus Japan’s Shift to the Right: Computational Propaganda, Abe Shinzō’s LDP, and Internet Right-Wingers (Netto Uyo) Abstract: In recent years, academic research and investigative reports have brought to light several cases of computational propaganda (i.e. orchestrated attempts to manipulate public opinion or the outcome of elections via social media), as well as proof … Read more

by liberal japonicus This post has been rattling around in my mind and the recent discussion has me try and put this up, though it is unfinished. First, a name that I knew, sort of a second order relationship (I know several people who knew him) popped up in this headline What Joe Manchin told … Read more

by liberal japonicus My mom, who passed away in 2007 from melanoma, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the 80’s, so I found this article quite interesting https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/01/a-very-common-virus-may-be-the-trigger-for-multiple-sclerosis/ The fact that they screened for over 200 viruses makes the conclusion much stronger. Pity we live in a time when a big chunk of the population … Read more

by liberal japonicus Wow, three posts within 7 days. Truly, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. I earlier posted this, wondering about the current scandal de jour in the UK. If you aren’t up on it, that has “leveled up”, to quote a Conservative catchphrase. If you don’t know, previously, a … Read more

by liberal japonicus https://late-light.com/issues/issue-1/death-drive-nation Haven’t read a lot of Freud, though I may have to. Here’s the final graph, but fair warning, you will look really dumb if you just comment on this paragraph and not read the whole thing. That our headlong rush into a grim future of yet more death has been precipitated … Read more

by liberal japonicus Jan 6th that is, thinking of the joke about the weather: Everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it. Which shouldn’t be taken as a statement of principle, just an observation. Anyway text of Biden’s speech, and the video and this analysis should get us started. Point to other … Read more

by liberal japonicus I just made a comment equating the average pro Brexiteer with the typical MAGAite, which I think is true. However, I’m pretty sure that on the other side of the spectrum, there are pretty massive differences. A few articles from the Guardian. This, by Polly Toynbee, is a relatively cheery assessment of … Read more

by liberal japonicus A bit of Japanese culture for y’all. As you approach the end of the year, when you realize that you will only meet them in January rather than in the days remaining in December, you say ‘Yoi otoshi wo [omukae* kudasai]’ which roughly translates as ‘have a good new year’. And when … Read more

by liberal japonicus As we head into the new year, my feed is filled with the coming omicron wave. Here in Japan, there is trepidation, but there is also a sense of wtf, brought on by things like this: https://fortune.com/2021/12/07/japan-world-oldest-country-covid-19-death-daily/ https://www.npr.org/2021/12/22/1067024865/japans-puzzling-covid-lull https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/japan-omicron-covid-19-cases-numbers-20211222.html All pretty baffling. While my Japanese is ok, engaging in the back and … Read more

by liberal japonicus Just a random topic that seems interesting https://interestingengineering.com/energy-storage-trains-work-power-gravity That or anything else.

by liberal japonicus This twitter thread, via Paul Campos at LGM is especially interesting to me because I have a student doing a graduation thesis comparing Spiderman and Spiderman: India and one of the things that has come up is caste. Unfortunately, there is no regular link and I am not sure how to embed … Read more

by liberal japonicus Alternative title; The War of Jenkin’s Ear revisited The ostensible casus belli began with the maiming of Jenkins following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731, eight years before the war began. Popular response to the incident was tepid until several years later, when opposition politicians and the … Read more

by liberal japonicus I’m sorry folks, this started off as a comment, but ended up too long. I’ve seen some stuff of Scott Atlas’ book https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55141055 Now, I did get him confused with some of the other idiots, like this loser https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/ronny-jackson-white-house-doctor.html and who could forget this guy https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/14/harold-bornstein-trump-ex-doctor-dies-459293 which I would normally feel bad … Read more

by liberal japonicus All the angles are here https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/dec/02/facebook-owner-meta-takes-down-chinese-network-spreading-fake-covid-posts Discuss that or something else!

by liberal japonicus I suppose it is that everyone will learn their Greek alphabet https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/26/the-guardian-view-on-the-b11529-covid-variant-caution-needed Just in case you need a refresher Haven’t had very much discussion here lately, so an open thread for anything about Covid that has caught your eye. I hope I won’t regret putting this up.

by liberal japonicus https://spacexmania.com/1/archives/1091?fbclid=IwAR1J7oI9rXxBr5-rleofoLsqTuHsJoAxfK70Q6JlEpgc9_ubWjT7xpib2SM

by liberal japonicus I had scheduled this earlier, but ended up publishing it with the former Oct date, so maybe folks didn’t see it. Or maybe they did and thought it was so trivial as to pass uncommented on. But anyhoo… I don’t know if you all are up on the Squid Game, but one … Read more

by liberal japonicus At the likely possibility of reducing this dead horse to free-floating horse molecules, consider this https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/05/house-democrats-infrastructure-vote-wait-megabill-519731 Politico is pretty egregious on the whole moderate thing, but that’s not what caught my eye, it was the controposing use of the term of ‘liberal’. I don’t know if it is progress but after a … Read more

by liberal japonicus Missed getting something up last friday. So how about spotted skunks? Or other fun animals? A spray and pray thread. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/spotted-skunk

by liberal japonicus Couple of links for you https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/butterflies-parasitic-wasps-finland https://www.npr.org/2021/10/11/1045084704/an-invasive-plant-is-taking-over-the-kansas-prairie-it-may-be-too-late-to-stop-i But that’s plants you say Scientists Built an AI to Give Ethical Advice, But It Turned Out Super Racist A bit of opining here, Something to consider when people suggest that we can just science our way out of climate change. But open thread, so … Read more

Meet the Toaloans, not to be confused with the Talosians. Discuss.

by liberal japonicus An interesting article about mindreading and its relation to a theory of the mind. In one of those ‘papers I want to write but will probably never get around to’, I wanted to make the argument that teaching students, Japanese student in particular, how to lie was a key component of communicative … Read more

by liberal japonicus In the red corner, all the way from Mother Russia, the killer with Karenina, he knows war and he knows peace, Leeeeeooooooo Tolstoy! And in the blue corner, the champion, the man coming to bury you, not praise you, from that scepter’d isel, Willlllllll Shakespeare!!! Are you ready to rumble??? https://bigthink.com/high-culture/tolstoy-shakespeare/

by liberal japonicus From The Guardian Pinker’s progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars He has twice been a guest at Bohemian Grove, which has been described as an off-the-record summer camp for male members of the American establishment. Discuss.

by liberal japonicus We’ve talked about this a bit here, so a discussion on where things are moving in Minneapolis https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/22/minneapolis-reckoning-defund-the-police-513568 This, from this link is interesting. The amendment went through the city’s Charter Commission, who are appointed by the chief judge in Hennepin County. At the Minneapolis City Council, city staff tried to attach … Read more

by liberal japonicus This article https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/25/california-latino-voters-democrats-gavin-newsom-recall About 30% of California’s registered voters are Latino, and it appears they voted largely Democrat – but some say it was ‘about ensuring this state didn’t move backward’ and this one https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-pushes-racist-great-replacement-theory-yet-again-adl-renews-call-for-fox-to-fire-him The Fox News host has repeatedly fear-mongered about Democrats allegedly bringing in dark-skinned immigrants with the express … Read more

by liberal japonicus I feel like posting this in the open thread would be a bit of a U-turn, and I wanted a ever-so slightly more focussed thread. And I had forgotten all about this. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/09/22/chaos-and-drama-new-report-sheds-light-what-went-wrong-aboard-navys-covid-stricken-carrier.html There was a comment about how, with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US military should be pivoting to a … Read more

by liberal japonicus I love this stuff https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/indigenous-americans-polynesians-dna-800-years-ago https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/22/genetics-reveal-how-humans-island-hopped-to-settle-remote-pacific

by liberal japonicus An interesting piece about the various frames in the decision to shelve the military’s DADT policy. https://inkstickmedia.com/transcending-a-readiness-frame-for-lgbtq-rights-in-the-military/ Driving the repeal forward with a readiness frame was a huge success. The day the repeal was implemented there was an enormous lifting of weight off the shoulders of LGB military personnel. However, downplaying the … Read more

by liberal japonicus Hope I don’t insult everyone by suggesting that there may be a lot of people here who are bibliophiles. So, an article. https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2021/09/why-are-ebooks-so-terrible/620068/ I’ve got some thoughts, but the lamp is lit.

by liberal japonicus The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks Don’t let the title chase you off, really interesting article.