Author Archives: Richard Fernandez

Can any inquiry that shuts itself to scientific possibilities before reaching a conclusion be an inquiry? How do you “fact check” an investigation still in progress?

The story of Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian altar server who was executed for conscientious objection to the Third Reich, was made into a movie by Terrence Malick, director the Thin Red Line.

When you think of energy, especially hydrocarbon energy as bad, you don’t prioritize a stockpile or reserve of it. You don’t want to stockpile immoral substances which it turns out are absolutely vital.

This area of scientific activity, experts told Sinclair, carries a “dual-use”: It supports the development of new vaccines and therapeutics but can also be used in covert biological- and chemical-weapons programs, which China is suspected of maintaining.

The influence of bits on the world of atoms, identifying people worth trusting, the origin of joy, the decoupling of the American Dream from the university, and more. https://sotonye.substack.com/p/the-architecture-of-tomorrow-an-interview?r=d2gko&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy&s=09

Donald Trump is out of the White House — and mostly gone from the public eye — but his grip on the G.O.P. base has probably never been stronger. NYT

The latest meme. Democracy is dying in America (perhaps true) but it’s the populist’s fault. They are forcing the progressives to be fascist. By casting the Other as monstrous racists it is psychologically possible to justify the reprehensible as necessity.

Treasury officials on Wednesday urged Congress to pass either a new borrowing limit or another suspension of the debt before a July 31 deadline. The Treasury will continue to initiate the types of bookkeeping maneuvers it has used in the past to keep the government from breaching a level that would trigger a default on …

Continue reading “Treasury warns of need to deal with national debt limit”

Many active cases in tourism reliant country despite Sinovac vaccination. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56992121

Organized crime unhappy Prinsloo made them look like clowns.

Colonizing Mars with microorganisms https://interestingengineering.com/fungus-growing-on-mars