Imagine what the United States would do if Ukraine went as far as arresting Russian embassy workers in Ukrainian territory after the 2014 war when the embassy was still open. The Russian embassy in Kyiv was open until the day before Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This was after about six months …
Yearly Archives: 2024
One way to reduce emissions
Go spend 30 minutes reading abstracts in peer reviewed literature regarding pollution from packaging. If you are trying to reduce carbon emissions from packaging, and you are trying to do it through banning one form of packaging or another, it is a losing battle. The literature is a mess. No study properly accounts for all …
Worst Speaker in history
Mike Johnson may have to choose between Ukraine aid and his job https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/04/11/mike-johnson-may-have-to-choose-between-ukraine-aid-and-his-job from The Economist Mike Johnson, the creepy dude from the bayous of Louisiana who shares with his underage son when he watches porn, is a radical evangelical who uses his faith in hatred as a bludgeon against people who wouldn’t even know …
A world without deterrance
In August of 2008 Russia invaded Georgia. Russia had de facto control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since 1991, but the 2008 war reinforced this already existing reality on the ground. Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent. There was significant deterrence still from the United States since we were involved in two …
Progressive Taxes and MarioKart
This is brilliant. Bullets are the equivalent of food stamps and rent assistance. It allows people to improve quickly, but simply getting a bullet does not mean you will win, especially in the third lap. Blue shells are the equivalent of tax rates of 40-50%, which we used to have. You are thrown back a …
The US military found Hamas
This video from over a month ago shows us exactly where Hamas is. The American and Israeli governments know their precise addresses. They haven’t moved in 12 years; they are a short drive from a major US military base, and everybody knows it. The entire Gaza War has as much to do with “eliminating Hamas” …
Potentially surprising geography distance facts
The northern tip of Brazil is closer to every country in the Americas than the southernmost point of Brazil. The eastern tip of Brazil is closer to Portugal than the Pacific Ocean. Brazil is HUGE. Key West is closer to every other country in the Americas than it is to Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska. Attu …
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Stroads forever!
Stroads and urban highways are great because it means you can have more bus lanes, meaning no need for rail, with fast moving buses all throughout your city connecting your neighborhoods which will never have rail because rail is too expensive while highways are cheap. We should build more of this transit oriented infrastructure because …
Washington State Universal Health Care Resolution
In response to https://captainstack.medium.com/washington-legislature-kills-universal-healthcare-bill-2ae7b804da34 “SJM.8006 is not a long bill. It is not complicated. It costs no money. It has no risk of legal challenge.” In other words, it was not a universal health care bill. So whether it passed or failed, everything would stay the same. They need to try again with a bill …
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The ISIS attack on Moscow
Relationships There are several major players in this convoluted mess, and each of them has a complex relationship with the other: ISIS Hamas Palestinian Authority Russia Israel Ukraine United States the rest of NATO ISIS Russia Israel Ukraine United States NATO Hamas Palestinian Authority Syria (Assad) ISIS hostile hostile hostile hostile hostile complicated At …