Some perspectives on being an expat.
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Today, I make available a video session that I recorded in Japan while I was working there in the latter part of this year. It sets out a range of interesting topics that form, in part, the research program that…
Our 8th most-read article of the 2022.
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Originally published March 28, 2022.
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“The Academy Awards briefly came to a stunning halt Sunday night when Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, after which Will Smith went to the stage and hit him in the face.” — Washington Post, 3/27/22
Why are we doing this? I know why Trump put in place all the draconian policies that have now forced Cubans to try to emigrate to the US in massive numbers. But why are they still in place? This article doesn’t adequately provide an answer, particularly since many of the refugees now assembling at the southern border are Cubans. Living conditions in Cuba under Communist rule have long been precarious, but today, deepening poverty and hopelessness have set off the largest exodus from the Caribbean island nation since Fidel Castro rose to power over half a century ago. The country has been hit by a one-two-punch of tighter U.S. sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic, which eviscerated one of Cuba’s lifelines — the tourism industry. Food has become even more scarce and more expensive, lines at pharmacies with scant supplies begin before dawn and millions of people endure daily hourslong blackouts. Over the last year, nearly 250,000 Cubans, more than 2 percent of the island’s 11 million population, have migrated to the United States, most of them arriving at the southern border by land, according to U.S. government data.
Stock buy-backs and dividends instead of fixing infrastructure This is stunning: As travelers and airline workers reel from mass flight cancellations, a corporate watchdog noted Wednesday that Southwest Airlines spent nearly $6 billion on stock buybacks in the years ahead of the coronavirus pandemic instead of spending that money on technological improvements that unions have been demanding for years.
Sison dedicated his life to fighting colonialism and imperialism. But his devotion to a version of Stalinist politics means that, ultimately, his was a deeply flawed revolutionary project that has left a deep scar on Filipino politics.
The post Jose Maria Sison: a flawed revolutionary appeared first on Solidarity Online.
Why are we so sensitive to residential noise?
The post Yes, Your Loud Neighbors Are Driving You Bonkers appeared first on Nautilus.
The best things we learned at Nautilus in 2022.
The post The Most Beautiful Science of the Year appeared first on Nautilus.
No history this time, folks; just a story. A story of a time when entertainment wasn’t on tap, when anyone wanting to watch a movie either had to go to the cinema (ew), wait for it to be shown on tv (double ew) or head down to that ghost of the recent past, the video […]
Aaron Rupar caught Santos’ appearance on Fox last night with none other than Tulsi Gabbard who was a surprisingly effective interviewer. Oh boy: "I am not a fraud. I am not a fake. I didn't materialize from thin air" — George Santos to Tulsi Gabaard George Santos goes full whataboutism after Tulsi Gabbard asks him, "Have you no shame?" George Santos: "Everyone wants to nitpick at me" "These are blatant lies and it draws into question how your constituents and the American people can believe anything you may say on the floor of the House — Tulsi Gabbard actually did an impressive job grilling George Santos, who was clearly flustered George Santos's Fox News interview was a complete disaster. Check out how it ended. Here is the entire Tulsi Gabbard-George Santos interview in one video Originally tweeted by Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) on December 28, 2022. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Pathological lying is perfectly respectable in the new GOP. Just look at their Dear Leader. Why should this guy be held to a different standard?
from Asad Zaman and the WEA Pedagogy Blog Why does “Sovereign Default” become a hot topic with annoying regularity in Pakistan? The fundamental problem is the huge imbalance between our exports and imports. In 2021, our exports were USD 30 Billion, while our imports were around USD 62 Billion. In general, since 1960 onwards, our […]
It’s so hard to choose! It’s fair to say that the Republican Party of 2022 is a much broader coalition than it used to be. Once upon a time it was defined as the party of Main Street and the country club: white middle-class and upper-middle-class guys in gray flannel suits. But in recent years they’ve opened the doors and invited in a whole bunch of other Americans who don’t fit that mold. Starting in the 1960s they willingly veered into overt racism mantle and with their embrace of the Christian right in the ’80s, all the anti-gay, anti abortion flock began to move their way as well. The new Trump majority within the party captured a chunk of the previously nonvoting public that believes in fringe conspiracy theories and far-right ideologies and worships at the altar of vapid TV celebrity. That said, the Republican coalition still isn’t very diverse. It’s nearly all white, of course, with only a tiny fraction of racial and ethnic minorities. It’s almost all Christian and most are non-college-educated and rural.
For various reasons I'm a bit of a skeptic on the whole "electric car" thing. Skeptical that replacing the country's fleet of gas vehicles in under 15 years (or so) is realistic. The battery fireballs are one reason. The problem with urban charging stations - difficult to have enough in places where significant numbers of people don't have off street parking - is another. The reality of cobalt mining is yet another.
The charging station problem especially seems to be one where the answer is, "oh, we'll figure it out," and I'm not sure they will!!! Tesla Superchargers optimistically get your battery to 80% in 15 minutes, which makes the "gas station" model for charging not yet realistic.
The self-driving "it will go charge itself" model obviously isn't happening.
Maybe there are solutions, but they are not problems that will simply solve themselves.
The charging station problem especially seems to be one where the answer is, "oh, we'll figure it out," and I'm not sure they will!!! Tesla Superchargers optimistically get your battery to 80% in 15 minutes, which makes the "gas station" model for charging not yet realistic.
The self-driving "it will go charge itself" model obviously isn't happening.
Maybe there are solutions, but they are not problems that will simply solve themselves.
During natural disasters, "looting" is quite often "people getting what they need to survive from closed stores."
Do we save people from dying or do we stop people from taking some diapers from a closed CVS? Not a tough choice, apparently!Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said the department has had to divert resources away from recovery missions because the crime that is occurring cannot be ignored. https://t.co/NYb2wI2TJT
— 7 News WKBW (@WKBW) December 27, 2022