Maskaholics
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Comparing areas with and without mask mandates, this article clearly shows that masks were ineffective and reducing Covid infection and deaths. The report goes on to say that it was known that mask policy was ineffective, but that they were promoted as a way of doing something.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
After the invasion of Ukraine, the world is still adjusting to the new normal, and Russians are too. For example, this Russian just moved to Georgia and in this video explains his radical but realistic view of the new Russia:
Post a CommentFriday, April 1, 2022
This 18-minute video about critical race theory clearly explains how "equity" (equality of outcome) is in conflict with the U.S. constitutional guarantees of equal opportunity and protection. I assume this will fade like previous movements.
Post a CommentFriday, April 1, 2022
With the invasion of Ukraine, there is renewed soul-searching about how the world got into this mess. This article from the Atlantic has some great analysis of why western democratic values are not always embraced:
There was an assumption that western democratic values would be adopted if the population was only exposed to them — that has not worked out very well.
Post a CommentSaturday, March 12, 2022
This article has the most susinct summary of Putin's miscalculations regarding the Ukraine invasion:
The CIA director said Putin premised his war on four false assumptions:
Update: Some have suggested that Putin expected these problems. 2022-04-01
Post a CommentMonday, February 21, 2022
As someone who travels often, I am well aware of the risks. Perhaps surprisingly, a major risk is not flying, but simple things like crossing the street and being out late at night.
One thing I was never able to quantify until recently is the risk of being incarcerated in a foreign country. It could happen because:
Probably the most recent high-profile case of unwarranted incarceration was Andrew Brunson, who was released from a Turkish jail after the United States imposed punishing sanctions on the Turkish economy. But Brunson was just one of many, and this article says there currently are about sixty Americans either held hostage or wrongfully detained.
Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed have been in Russian jails since 2018 on charges the U.S. says are fabricated. I have been to Russia many times since 2018 and never had any problems. For some reason, in 2018 the Russian government decided they wanted someone to trade for two Russians jailed in the us, and I guess Whelan and Reed, both former U.S. military, were chosen. The U.S. State Department now mentions this risk in its Russian travel advisory:
How do you reduce this kind of risk? It seems so random, but the impact is so serious. You can avoid countries where this has happened in the past, but how do you know which countries will do it in the future?
Update: This might be a case of #2. 2022-03-06
Update: New warnings 2022-04-02
Update: Trevor Reed freed 2022-04-27
Post a CommentSaturday, January 29, 2022
It is well known that religious involvement generally decreases as per-capita income increases. The United States is unique as a country with high per-capita income and a high level of religious involvement.
However, in the past two decades, religious involvement in the United States has declined, and this article questions its impact on maintaining unity and fostering common goals. This paragraph captures its sentiment:
Post a CommentFriday, January 28, 2022
This interesting article is about an Israeli firm that makes mobile phone hacking software that is sold to foreign governments, and how those sales advance Israeli national security interests.
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