Reading

Created
Wed, 10/04/2024 - 22:00

Allium Cepa

A homeopathic remedy used to treat symptoms of the common cold and allergies. It would also work nicely as the name of a kind, older woman in a YA dystopian novel who is deathly allergic to scientifically backed medicine.

Arnica

A homeopathic remedy used to treat muscle aches. To be fair, this one kind of works. But for the love of God, take some damn Advil.

Scientist #2

A minor character in Divergent. I bet she doesn’t believe in homeopathy.

Agaricus Muscarius

A homeopathic remedy. But if you’re writing a YA dystopian novel, this would work for the name of the protagonist’s harp-prodigy brother, who is killed by the authoritarian government in chapter three. Just spitballing here.

Clove

Both. But the remedy will make your stomach ache worse, and the character was killed in The Hunger Games, so, all around, kind of a dud. Instead, try Pepto Bismol and 27 Dresses.

Created
Wed, 10/04/2024 - 16:35
It’s Wednesday and we have discussion on a few topics today. The first relates to the new agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council that was announced on February 10, 2024, which purports to reform the fiscal rules structure that has crippled the Member States of the EMU since inception. The reality is…
Created
Wed, 10/04/2024 - 16:11
In science, courage is to follow the motto of enlightenment and Kant’s dictum — Sapere Aude!  To use your own understanding, having the ​courage to think for yourself and question ‘received opinion,’ authority or orthodoxy. In our daily lives, courage is a capability to confront fear, as when in front of the powerful and mighty, not […]
Created
Wed, 10/04/2024 - 09:30
He’s right. It’s outright corruption. This long expose of Jared Kushner’s corrupt foreign business dealings (NY Times gift link) will make you reach for the tequila. How are these people getting away with this stuff? Jared Kushner’s investment fund is not especially large by global finance standards. But as he gets it fully up and running, each step is bringing with it ethical issues that would only grow if his father-in-law, Donald J. Trump, should win another term as president. His $3 billion fund is financed almost entirely from overseas investors with whom he worked when he served as a senior adviser in the Trump White House. He has taken money from government wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as from Terry Gou, a founder of Foxconn, the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, whose role in Mr. Kushner’s firm has not been previously disclosed. In total, 99 percent of the money placed with him by investors has come from foreign sources, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late March. Mr.
Created
Wed, 10/04/2024 - 08:00
You’re not going to like it Trump only has one economic idea: tariffs. Oh, he’ll give tax cuts for himself and for other rich people in return for donations and favors, of course. But his only “economic” idea is that tariffs force other countries to stop laughing at us and bring in money for the government which is 100% nonsense. His tariffs cost the government when it is forced to compensate American producers for their losses when countries retaliate and the cost of the tariffs are born by consumers who pay higher prices for goods. Duh. Former President Donald J. Trump is planning an aggressive expansion of his first-term efforts to upend America’s trade policies if he returns to power in 2025 — including imposing a new tax on “most imported goods” that would risk alienating allies and igniting a global trade war. […] Essentially, Mr. Trump’s trade agenda aims at backing the United States away from integration with the global economy and steering the country toward becoming more self-contained: producing a larger share of what it consumes and wielding its might through one-on-one dealings with other countries.