The strength of democracy is also its weakness?
In Amerika:
How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?
And, slower but catching up, in the (f)UK:
Category: Uncategorized
Space
The exploration and development of cosmic space should be for the good of, and under the control of, all humanity:
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-space-exploration-democratic-equitable-potential.html
[The case is obvious: sectional national interests are destroying the value of cosmic space as an opportunity for all humankind – just as Musk et al way they want … but of course they don’t really …]
Colonial Charity
Keir Starmer’s moral corruption
Keir Starmer’s nauseating Trump love:
“I think I do understand what anchors the president, what he really cares about. For both of us, we really care about family and there’s a point of connection there.”
… but not Palestinian families …
Keir Starmer’s family values in action:
Air Raids 21st Century Style
Kyiv’s sleepless nights under fire:
https://www.ft.com/content/d819835f-4be2-4db5-91d3-90316bcd068d
United Soviets of America
Totalitarian democracy …
Counter-Intuitive
I think it is counter inituitive that a smooth, polished surface such as that found on an airplane is best for reducing frciton, drag etc. But it turns out that a rough, but structured surface, like shark skin, is much more efficient:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/airlines-save-billions-shark-skin-b2742953.html
Word for the times (of social media) …
Chronophagia
(seen in Richard Powers, Overstory)
Genocide in plain sight
“It’s not hidden, it’s just spun. Disguised by the propaganda of the mass media who frame this holocaust as a war of defense in response to a terrorist attack while constantly diverting our attention to other far less significant issues.” Caitlin Johstone, 26/4/25
A spittingly angry newsletter about a process that Chomsky called the manufacture of consent (and although Caitlin does note refer to that work directly, it fits …)
LLMs regurgitate mindlessly
An interesting example of the problem of ‘intelligent’ systems built on the coorpus on online content (mostly drivle):
This WP article reports on the stupid health statistics that stupid RF Kennedy likes to put about: e.g. “When my uncle was president, 2 percent of American kids had chronic disease. Today, 66 percent have chronic disease.”
Quote from Article: “This is a favorite line of Kennedy’s — which he repeated while pitching his plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. In the interview with Watters, he spoke broadly, about all Americans. During his confirmation hearings in January, he used a similar talking point about children: “When my uncle was president, 2 percent of American kids had chronic disease. Today, 66 percent have chronic disease.
“He’s said it enough that the figures have started to creep into search results of AI models on chronic diseases in the 1960s. Presumably that’s because Kennedy is now a Cabinet secretary and apparently is considered a voice of authority.”
The article goes on to locate relevant stats from the 1960s – the period that RFK is referring to – and shows that his proposition is rubbish (in more ways than one).