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FlowVoid

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FlowVoid ,

All those satellites fall back to earth after five years

FlowVoid ,

That doesn’t really explain why obesity has increased. If anything, it is often easier to get by without a car today than 20 years ago. For example, my own city is full of bike paths that did not exist then.

FlowVoid ,

Sure, it’s still not good. But that can’t explain why people are more obese now than a couple of decades ago, since bike infrastructure was even worse then.

FlowVoid , (edited )

This NGO has been in Afghanistan for >50 years and provided medical care and education to underserved communities, including women. In 2010, ten of their doctors were murdered.

While it’s possible that all 18 employees in Ghor suddenly went rogue and started trying to convert people to Christianity, I think it’s more likely that the Taliban took the opportunity to crack down on education of women.

FlowVoid ,

That’s almost certainly what his lawyers are going to do. But I think that it will be the appeals court that pisses off the MAGA idiots, and that the SCOTUS will not take the case.

FlowVoid ,

The system may be failing, but “infinite growth” is the natural result of inflation which is intentionally targeted to a positive number.

If you think your salary should keep up with inflation, then you too need infinite growth.

FlowVoid ,

Venezuela has been selling oil in euro and yuan since 2018.

Judge who signed off on raid of Kansas newspaper is facing a complaint about the decision (www.cnn.com)

The judge who signed off on a search warrant authorizing the raid of a newspaper office in Marion, Kansas, is facing a complaint about her decision and has been asked by a judicial body to respond, records shared with CNN by the complainant show.

FlowVoid ,

The justice system generally allows everyone a chance to defend themselves. People aren’t removed immediately for the same reason they aren’t executed immediately.

FlowVoid ,

Her contract almost certainly requires due process before she is terminated under these circumstances.

And while not all workers in the US get that protection, it would be better if they did.

FlowVoid , (edited )

At will is simply the default, so it only applies to workers without an employment contract.

She is a government official, and most certainly has a contract that specifies termination procedures.

Keep in mind that at will cuts both ways, it allows workers to quit at any time without notice. The government really, really doesn’t want judges to peace out in the middle of a trial. So the contract provides penalties for both sides if termination procedures aren’t followed.

FlowVoid ,

Whatever her contract specifies has to be consistent with the constitution, but her contract covers a lot more than that. It’s not like she can look through the constitution to find her PTO policy.

FlowVoid ,

The constitution and state law must be in keeping with any employment contract. That doesn’t mean there is no employment contract.

Without an employment contract, there is no penalty if an employee suddenly decides to quit. If you are at will (no contract), giving notice to your employer is merely a courtesy.

The government does not want judges to suddenly quit in the middle of a trial, for the same reason that hospitals don’t want doctors to quit in the middle of a patient appointment. Those kinds of employees need contracts.

Among other things, the contract specifies termination procedures. This may include a requirement to give notice and also limit the opportunity for summary firing.

An example of an employment contract for a judge can be found here.

FlowVoid ,

If some people are treated unjustly, the solution is not to treat everyone unjustly.

FlowVoid ,

This judge is not an elected official.

FlowVoid ,

Lifting 1 kg by 1 m would take 9.8 joules.

FlowVoid ,

One pint of water or milk without extra dish-washing? Easy you just put it on the scale and pour one pound.

FlowVoid ,

That’s an approximation. Celsius is no longer defined in terms of water boiling and freezing, and they are no longer exactly 0 and 100.

The modern definition of Celsius is based on absolute zero and the triple point of water. And those are also the basis for the modern definition of Fahrenheit.

FlowVoid ,

Kelvin is clearly superior to Celsius for scientific purposes.

I’m always amused when those who urge Americans to switch to Celsius because it’s “more scientific” are simultaneously unwilling to switch to kelvin because it’s not worth the effort.

FlowVoid ,

Fahrenheit and Celsius both have the exact same issues. Which is why there isn’t much reason to switch.

FlowVoid ,

The SI unit of temperature is kelvin, not Celsius.

If people don’t want to use kelvin, does that mean they are stupid?

FlowVoid ,

Water boils at 99.9839 Celsius, not 100. What so confusing about that?

FlowVoid ,

C stands for Celsius, which is a deprecated measurement system that was replaced by kelvin in the SI (metric) system.

Water boils at 99.9839 Celsius. Water does not freeze at zero, but actually slightly below zero. It was once considered clever, but scientists recognized the problem with negative numbers in a temperature scale and have since moved on.

Celsius is still in use among those who are not quite as scientific as they think they are.

FlowVoid ,

Actually, Fahrenheit uses a 180 degree gap between water boiling (32) and freezing (212).

Anyone familiar with geometry knows that 180 degrees is much easier to divide than 100 degrees. That’s why we rarely measure angles in gradians.

FlowVoid ,

The American pint is 473 mL.

The Imperial pint used to be that much too, hence the old saying “A pint is a pound the world around”. Then the Imperial pint was increased by 25%, but Americans kept the old amount.

FlowVoid ,

Celsius is only practical if you measure the temperature of water more often than the temperature of air.

But most people never measure the temperature of water, and frequently measure the temperature of air. For them, Celsius offers no advantage.

FlowVoid ,

A scale that typically goes from -20 to 40 is less practical than a scale that typically goes from 0 to 100.

Humidity is irrelevant. Celsius is useful only when measuring the liquid phase of water.

FlowVoid ,

You don’t need to know anything about American units. But rest assured that those who do use them still haven’t found a good reason to switch to French units.

FlowVoid , (edited )

No.

Destroying rocket launchers is a military objective. Killing civilians while trying to achieve a military objective is not a war crime. There is even a term for those civilians: “collateral damage”.

However, killing civilians for its own sake, without a military objective, may be a war crime.

FlowVoid , (edited )

A military truck doesn’t cost anywhere near 10M. Humvees cost $70-100K, a bigger military truck costs about twice that. Considering off-road capability, crew protection, and ease of repair, it’s a far better investment than a dump truck (which costs $100-200K).

Of course those prices don’t include the weapon systems, but dump trucks don’t come standard with rocket launchers either.

FlowVoid ,

Every country that has gone to war has killed civilians.

FlowVoid ,

It’s not piracy when the ship literally sailed to Texas and delivered the oil as part of a plea bargain deal.

The US Navy was not involved.

FlowVoid ,

It’s an American ship. It’s bound by American laws.

FlowVoid ,

If you tried to transport a kilo of Mexican cocaine through another country and were caught, do you really think Mexico would get its cocaine back?

FlowVoid , (edited )

While underway, everything that happens aboard that ship is governed by American laws.

If the captain murders one of the crew, they can be tried in the US.

If the crew sell passengers cocaine, they can be tried in the US.

Likewise if the captain and crew transport contraband oil.

FlowVoid ,

No, but they control what happens aboard ships that fly American flags.

Do you think the ocean is some sort of lawless no man’s land, where captains do as they please with crew and passengers?

Well, it isn’t. The ship has a flag, and while aboard you follow the laws of that flag.

FlowVoid ,

They are not illegal. All sovereign countries can refuse to trade with any other country or restrict the use of their own currency.

Which is all that these sanctions amount to.

FlowVoid , (edited )

Trade embargoes do not violate international law. Otherwise, we would condemn Iran for its embargo against Israel. But Iran is free to pursue whatever trade policy it wants.

And don’t confuse a statement by a UN employee for a statement by the UN.

Iran sanctions are meant to slow their nuclear program and thus de-escalate the region. It’s possible they are now counterproductive. But it’s also possible that without them, a paranoid right wing Israeli government would have openly attacked Iran by now. So it may well be the lesser evil.

FlowVoid , (edited )

International laws do not exist.

Alena Douhan, the Special Rapporteur you cited.

States have an obligation under international human rights law

Make up your mind. If they don’t exist, then what she said is meaningless.

And on the subject of Ms Douhan…

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. … Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Looks like she was speaking for herself, not for the UN.

FlowVoid ,

It’s an American ship. They can’t transport Iranian oil for the same reason they can’t transport cocaine. It’s illegal.

The DoJ told the company they were breaking the law. The company admitted wrongdoing and told the captain to turn around and bring the oil to the US. By handing over the oil, the company hopes their fines will be reduced.

No naval forces were involved. No piracy, no interception at sea. Just a company trying to get out of hot water after it was busted

FlowVoid ,

The thumbnail is not the content.

Do you also judge books by their covers?

FlowVoid ,

Except the author generally does not design the book cover, and often does not design the thumbnail.

FlowVoid ,

They are exercising their right to sail through international waters.

FlowVoid ,

Manchin, Sinema, Boebert, McCain, Lieberman, and many others all serve to demonstrate that you shouldn’t expect party members to vote together all of the time. Even if everyone in that list voted with their party >90% of the time.

It’s not a “switcharoo”, it’s baked into a system in which representatives are ultimately chosen by constituents, not by party leaders. If anything, Congress was originally intended not to have longstanding parties or factions. It was originally intended for everyone to be like Manchin and Sinema. So like it or not, lack of party discipline is a feature not a bug.

FlowVoid , (edited )

Are you kidding?

McCarthy is constantly trying to keep Gaetz, Boebert et al from forcing him out as Speaker. He wishes his caucus was as unified as the Democrats. As their leader, Pelosi watched Republicans turn against Hastert, then Boehner, then Ryan.

Reid kept his caucus of 60 together to pass the ACA, McConnell couldn’t keep 50 together to repeal it.

Trump was constantly squabbling and calling out the Republican Congressional leadership. By comparison, Biden is best friends with the Democratic leadership.

The only thing the Congressional GOP is good at is obstruction, because that doesn’t require any coordination. That’s why they rely on the SCOTUS to actually advance their agenda.

FlowVoid ,

But they aren’t getting the legislation they want.

They failed to privatize Social Security, failed to repeal the ACA, failed to build a southern wall, etc.

In contrast, Democrats passed the ACA, passed Dodd-Frank, passed ARPA, passed the IRA, passed CHIP, etc.

Republicans only look successful because they had to drastically lower their bar for success. They don’t want to pass laws any more, so it’s easy to get what they want.

FlowVoid ,

Politics always involves compromise. ACA and Dodd-Frank were improvements on the status quo, which is usually the best you can hope for. They do not need to be perfect to be good.

CHIPS was a typo. I meant to cite CHIP, which provides health care to children, not CHIPS.

FlowVoid ,

Politics is the art of the possible. It is impossible for legislation to solve every problem. The ACA and Dodd-Frank didn’t solve every problem, but they did solve some. We are better off with them than without them. Even if they don’t stop the next catastrophe.

Democrats do compromise more than Republicans, which is exactly why they get more legislation passed than Republicans.

FlowVoid ,

Name two pieces of GOP legislation passed by Congress in the past 20 years that did more than the ACA and the IRA.

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