— Will Durant, born in 1885
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
DOZENS of venomous sea snakes are mysteriously washing ashore causing potentially deadly...
Who Stole My Face? The Risks Of Law Enforcement Use Of Facial Recognition Software – Lawyer and Legal Technology Evangelist Nicole L. Black discusses the “reckless social experiment” that facial surveillance represents across all aspects of life in America. It is the norm on social media, in air travel, as a mechanism for state, local and federal government to identify location and means of travel (car, train, bus), in banking and financial transactions (smile next time you use your ATM), and as a security feature to unlock your phone, to name but some of its applications. You cannot opt-out of the use of your data nor the multifaceted ways that it impacts your diminishing privacy and civil liberties
So, you know, it intrigues me – if I can give another example – this Hua Wang Bank case. It was a Wickenby case. It involved one promoter with over $350 million we’ve collected. They formed this Samoan bank and did all these transactions to hide profits. And you have the principal of that scheme appearing before the House of Reps Committee on tax disputes, giving evidence and being cited, saying how difficult and awful, and the Tax Office (sic). You had his barrister appearing on one of the major radio stations in Sydney saying they’re like the Gestapo, the whole lot should be sacked and sent out, and the Federal Court says, it was the most disgraceful behaviour they’d ever seen, they referred the matter for money-laundering, insider trading and tax evasion of the worst kind, confirmed by the Full Federal Court, confirmed by the High Court. So here’s one – so, they are actually going to have the gall to appear before an inquiry to say how bad we are in terms of the way we handle disputes. The other side is the Court found it was the most disgraceful behaviour they’ve ever seen involving money‑laundering, tax fraud and insider trading of Australian shares. So, you know, sometimes there’s two sides to a story, and I can’t always tell the other side.
Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation v Second Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 1602 (27 September 2019)
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: The World Is Falling Apart: It Always Is. “I keep an old map on my office wall, bought for nearly nothing at a used bookstore and then lovingly framed. It’s a National Geographic print from 1942, covering ‘Asia and Adjacent Areas.’ The legend informs you: ‘International Boundaries as of Sept. 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland.’ A map of the same super-region published just three years later would look much different. One published just 20 years after that would be far different still. The changes have kept coming and keep coming even as I write this. I keep that old map over my desk because I love old maps, and I love old maps because they remind us that Bob Dylan got it wrong: The times are always a-changin’.”
Government too timid to tax Baby Boomers - opinion piece arguing that the cost of supporting an ageing population is a ticking "time bomb" for taxpayers.
— from The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, by Elif Batuman
Pain in Japanese cinema
Anecdotal Evidence: 'I Learned Your World Order Then'.
Those who willingly, enthusiastically join mobs are already predisposed to their madness. They feed on the collective energy, become something that is not themselves, something stronger and more dangerous.
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
GREAT, SO NOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS, TOO? Why the world is running out of sand.
The problem lies in the type of sand we are using. Desert sand is largely useless to us. The overwhelming bulk of the sand we harvest goes to make concrete, and for that purpose, desert sand grains are the wrong shape. Eroded by wind rather than water, they are too smooth and rounded to lock together to form stable concrete.The sand we need is the more angular stuff found in the beds, banks, and floodplains of rivers, as well as in lakes and on the seashore. The demand for that material is so intense that around the world, riverbeds and beaches are being stripped bare, and farmlands and forests torn up to get at the precious grains. And in a growing number of countries, criminal gangs have moved in to the trade, spawning an often lethal black market in sand.
Almost all arrivals to Fraser island will land at Kingfisher Bay, the main starting point for a huge variety...
Always look on the bright side
Something endearing about the British is their capacity to make light of a ghastly situation
Who Stole My Face? The Risks Of Law Enforcement Use Of Facial Recognition Software – Lawyer and Legal Technology Evangelist Nicole L. Black discusses the “reckless social experiment” that facial surveillance represents across all aspects of life in America. It is the norm on social media, in air travel, as a mechanism for state, local and federal government to identify location and means of travel (car, train, bus), in banking and financial transactions (smile next time you use your ATM), and as a security feature to unlock your phone, to name but some of its applications. You cannot opt-out of the use of your data nor the multifaceted ways that it impacts your diminishing privacy and civil liberties
The dark art of political manipulation
“In every age there have been political hucksters, using aggression, lies and outrage to drown out reasoned argument” writes George Monbiot on his website. “But not since the 1930s have so many succeeded. Trump, Johnson, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, Rodrigo Duterte, Nicolas Maduro, Viktor Orban and many others have discovered that the digital age offers rich pickings.”
He describes the psychology of political manipulation used by these populist demagogues. It involves raising people’s anxieties, because when we feel threatened we cannot hear the considered voices of reason. No matter how carefully-considered and well-argued are the messages of opposition parties, they won’t be heard.
Morrison’s art of political manipulation
While George Monbiot simply includes Morrison as one in his list of hard-right populist manipulators (see above entry), political scientist Rodney Tiffen, writing in Inside Story – The Morrison Playbook – identifies his outstanding capacity for distraction and deception. Morrison refuses to acknowledge the existence of policy options or contingencies:
He prefers to talk as if no reasonable person could contemplate anything but the course he has embarked on — as if his side is all pro and the alternative is all con, and the choice is between common sense and absurdity. This absolutist rhetoric projects certainty and decisiveness, and aims to close down debate.
Too many slogans, not enough explanation from government
Last week’s leak of “talking points” demonstrates not only the shallowness of the government’s policy agenda, but also its patronising attitude to the people it claims has given it a mandate.
Speaking at an awards ceremony in Parliament House, former High Court judge Kenneth Hayne spoke out against politicians’ use of dumbed-down communication. “It will take honesty to recognise that slogans may sell, they do not persuade. It will take courage to recognise that slogans sell by appealing to emotion not thought or reason”.
(Parliament House has not made available the full text of his comments: perhaps they are too close to a description of the behaviour of Morrison and his ministers. Some non-metropolitan papers have given them reasonable coverage, such as this report in theNorthern Daily Leader.)
So, you know, it intrigues me – if I can give another example – this Hua Wang Bank case. It was a Wickenby case. It involved one promoter with over $350 million we’ve collected. They formed this Samoan bank and did all these transactions to hide profits. And you have the principal of that scheme appearing before the House of Reps Committee on tax disputes, giving evidence and being cited, saying how difficult and awful, and the Tax Office (sic). You had his barrister appearing on one of the major radio stations in Sydney saying they’re like the Gestapo, the whole lot should be sacked and sent out, and the Federal Court says, it was the most disgraceful behaviour they’d ever seen, they referred the matter for money-laundering, insider trading and tax evasion of the worst kind, confirmed by the Full Federal Court, confirmed by the High Court. So here’s one – so, they are actually going to have the gall to appear before an inquiry to say how bad we are in terms of the way we handle disputes. The other side is the Court found it was the most disgraceful behaviour they’ve ever seen involving money‑laundering, tax fraud and insider trading of Australian shares. So, you know, sometimes there’s two sides to a story, and I can’t always tell the other side.
Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation v Second Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 1602 (27 September 2019)
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: The World Is Falling Apart: It Always Is. “I keep an old map on my office wall, bought for nearly nothing at a used bookstore and then lovingly framed. It’s a National Geographic print from 1942, covering ‘Asia and Adjacent Areas.’ The legend informs you: ‘International Boundaries as of Sept. 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland.’ A map of the same super-region published just three years later would look much different. One published just 20 years after that would be far different still. The changes have kept coming and keep coming even as I write this. I keep that old map over my desk because I love old maps, and I love old maps because they remind us that Bob Dylan got it wrong: The times are always a-changin’.”
Government too timid to tax Baby Boomers - opinion piece arguing that the cost of supporting an ageing population is a ticking "time bomb" for taxpayers.
DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS: University employee was involved in disappearance of campus newspapers, school says
— from The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, by Elif Batuman
HE’S RIGHT: AG Bill Barr Speaks About The Damage to Our Nation From The “Resistance.”Transcript at the link.
Related: Attorney General Barr defends Trump, assails ‘Resistance’ in fiery speech to conservative lawyers. “‘In waging a scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war of Resistance against this administration, it is the Left that is engaged in a systematic shredding of norms and undermining the rule of law,’ Barr said in a speech to conservative lawyers at the Federalist Society’s convention in Washington.”
UPDATE: Attorney General Barr Shreds The Political Left During Federalist Society Speech.. “In any age, the so-called progressives treat politics as their religion. Their holy mission is to use the coercive power of the state to remake man and society in their own image, according to an abstract ideal of perfection. Whatever means they use are therefore justified because, by definition, they are a virtuous people pursing a deific end. They are willing to use any means necessary to gain momentary advantage in achieving their end, regardless of collateral consequences and the systemic implications. They never ask whether the actions they take could be justified as a general rule of conduct, equally applicable to all sides.
A person is a composite of the times they live through
A person is a composite of the times they live through — a combination of the events they have witnessed or taken part in, whether willingly or not; a collection of dreams and thoughts, whether their own or strangers'; a concoction of deeds done by themselves and others, whether friends or enemies; a compilation of stories remembered or forgotten, from distant parts or the next room — and every time an event or idea touches them, affects their existence, rocks their little world and the wider one too, a stone is added to the structure that they are destined to become [...] They will only be complete when there is nothing left of them but ruins.
The author is Ross Douthat and the subtitle is How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success. Excellent book! It has a real dose of Peter Thiel (and some Tyler Cowen), and most of it comes as fresh material even if you have read all of Ross’s other columns and books. Imagine the idea of technological stagnation tied together with a conservative Catholic critique of decadence, and in a convincing manner with a dose of pro-natalism tossed in for good measure. There is commentary on Star Wars, Back to the Future, Jordan Peterson, and much more.
America’s problems are not what you think they are!
Definitely recommended, due out February, and you can pre-order here
Pain in Japanese cinema
Converting dog years into human years kind of like a price index problem Eric Weinstein would say use gauge theory. Yet “The new formula says a canine’s human age = 16 ln(dog age) + 31.”
The worst economic policies of any candidate in my lifetime: “Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has unveiled sweeping tax proposals that would push federal tax rates on some billionaires and multimillionaires above 100%.” (WSJ)London Review Of Books – A Clique To Be Part Of
“It’s not gossipy, cosy or cliquey,” observes long-time contributorAlan Bennett. But, in a mostly productive way, it is cliquey. It has always had favourites and has nurtured them. With pages catching the work of writers including Lorna Sage and Jenny Diski, this celebratory volume looks like a justification of that habit. – The Guardian
Preorder Your Books From Indie Bookstores
Here’s why you should do that: “Your interest in a title will indicate to booksellers that it’s worth checking out! Maybe they’ll read it. Maybe they’ll love it and give it table space up front and hand-sell it to everyone who walks in the door.” – Literary Hub
Those who willingly, enthusiastically join mobs are already predisposed to their madness. They feed on the collective energy, become something that is not themselves, something stronger and more dangerous.
See Kierkegaard’s The Crowd is Untruth:
A crowd - not this or that, one now living or long dead, a crowd of the lowly or of nobles, of rich or poor, etc., but in its very concept 4 - is untruth, since a crowd either renders the single individual wholly unrepentant and irresponsible, or weakens his responsibility by making it a fraction of his decision. Observe, there was not a single soldier who dared lay a hand on Caius Marius; this was the truth. But given three or four women with the consciousness or idea of being a crowd, with a certain hope in the possibility that no one could definitely say who it was or who started it: then they had the courage for it; what untruth! The untruth is first that it is "the crowd," which does either what only the single individual in the crowd does, or in every case what each single individual does. For a crowd is an abstraction, which does not have hands; each single individual, on the other hand, normally has two hands, and when he, as a single individual, lays his two hands on Caius Marius, then it is the two hands of this single individual, not after all his neighbor's, even less - the crowd's, which has no hands. In the next place, the untruth is that the crowd had "the courage" for it, since never at any time was even the most cowardly of all single individuals so cowardly, as the crowd always is. For every single individual who escapes into the crowd, and thus flees in cowardice from being a single individual (who either had the courage to lay his hand on Caius Marius, or the courage to admit that he did not have it), contributes his share of cowardice to "the cowardice," which is: the crowd. Take the highest, think of Christ - and the whole human race, all human beings, which were ever born and ever will be born; the situation is the single individual, as an individual, in solitary surroundings alone with him; as a single individual he walks up to him and spits on him: the human being has never been born and never will be, who would have the courage or the impudence for it; this is the truth. But since they remain in a crowd, they have the courage for it - what frightening untruth.
Some Schmuck In Idaho Keeps Hiding Library Books
The person doing it takes nonfiction books about Trump or guns – specifically the ones that aren’t favorable to the 45th president or gun enthusiasts – and hiding them. “‘I am going to continue hiding these books in the most obscure places I can find to keep this propaganda out of the hands of young minds,’ the mystery book relocator wrote in a note left for Ms. Ammon, the library director, in the facility’s comment box. ‘Your liberal angst gives me great pleasure.'” –The New York Times
No One’s Buying Mark Halperin’s Book. His Publisher Says Its “Cancel Culture”
“In this guilty-until-proven-innocent cancel culture, where everyone is condemned to death or to a lifetime of unemployment based on an accusation that’s 12 years old, is criminal,” Judith Regan says. – Washington Post
Like It Or Not (Probably You Do Not), Kim Kardashian Represents America
She’s at the intersection of race, gender, and social media. “Kim’s particular fame derives from a cherished place in the American racial imagination that, combined with wealth, prevents contact with the deathly effects (and melancholic affects) of brownness in this country while reaping the exoticism of not-quite whiteness.” – Slate
The Cold War Ended 30 Years Ago. Why Are Things With Russia So Bad? Defense One. NATO expansion a “historic blunder.” The Blunderers have been on full display in the impeachment hearings.
Meet Ukraine: America’s Newest “Strategic Ally” Counterpunch
25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish On Russia Caitlin Johnstone (JZ).
EFF: “…An academic publisher should widely disseminate the knowledge produced by scholars, not hold it for ransom. But ransoming scientific research back to the academic community is essentially the business model of the world’s largest publisher of scientific journals: Elsevier. In February of this year, after drawn-out negotiations broke down, the University of California terminated its subscription with Elsevier. A central sticking point in these negotiations was around open access: specifically Elsevier’s refusal to provide universal open access to UC research, a problem exacerbated by skyrocketing subscription fees. This has been an ongoing fight, not just in California. Many academics (and EFF) believe that scholarly research most effectively advances scientific progress when it is widely available to the public, and not subject to the paywalls erected by publishers. Scientific research is a driving force behind technological innovations, medical breakthroughs, and policy decisions, and the bulk of it in the U.S. is publicly funded. When libraries, universities, individuals, and even researchers themselves have to pay to access academic work, we all suffer.
