Author Archives: Richard Fernandez

What does proof have to do with it? https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3003742/canada-gets-tough-china-over-canola-ban-defies

It may not be long until societies are componentized into well defined groupings separated by interfaces roughly defined by the Fourth, First and Second Amendments. But first they have to realize componentization is the thing to do.  Just as developers can only build larger systems by shielding components behind standard protocols so that they can interact with …

Continue reading “New at the Belmont Club: “zones of order” under siege by entropy”

I’ll try again somewhere. New York too expensive for millionaires increasingly going elsewhere. “The governor and mayor don’t want to talk much about highly paid people like bankers leaving New York,” said Alan Johnson, CEO of New York-based compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. “There are many relocating — and if you see financial service firms expanding …

Continue reading “If I can’t make it there …”

Blocks Turkish F35 after S400 purchase

Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, brought in Russian mercenaries in January to help shore up his rule against nationwide protests. And last spring, five sub-Saharan African countries — Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania — appealed to Moscow to help their overtaxed militaries and security services combat the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. … …

Continue reading “Russia is acquiring an empire of chaos”

“Another day, another blackout. Power went out across Venezuela on Sunday, just as it did on Saturday, and the day before that.” Candles are now the norm. Maduro announces plans to put country in sleep mode. “Nicolas Maduro announced 30 days of electricity rationing on Sunday, after his government said it was reducing the length …

Continue reading “Venezuela de-electrified”

Erdogan also said his party would appeal results wherever needed, and added that he would take the necessary measures at ministries and institutions to make the system of governance more dynamic. He said there would not be other elections for four and a half years. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election-istanbul-idUSKCN1RC0X6

Someone suggested Donald Trump could identify as female and become the first woman president. This is of course absurd but under prevailing theories on what grounds could one actually object? What if Beto did it? Open thread.

Ireland is where Brussels now begins. “The Irish border issue has become an almost intractable problem. The EU’s proposed “backstop” arrangement, contained in the Brexit deal rejected three times by the British Parliament, is aimed at preventing the need for infrastructure and visible checks on the frontier by keeping the U.K. in a customs union …

Continue reading “Merkel to protect its Irish frontier”

Misery drives Venezuelan protests as privation overcomes fear of the regime. Bloomberg The colectivos are no longer dominant. The chant is “ni un dia mas”.

A survey argues that atheism aka “no religion” is rising. That’s only because they didn’t offer categories of belief systems that are effectively religions. When these are accounted for the number of believers may have increased. The behavioral clues are everywhere. Celibacy is on the rise. Not for traditionally Christian reasons, but for reasons of …

Continue reading “The age of belief”

The Kurds are transitioning from conventional war to nternal security to keep ISIS down. Their biggest internal challenges are containing Turkey, Russia. https://thedefensepost.com/2019/03/29/syria-sdf-kurds-face-bigger-battles-isis/amp/

Are biologicals the future of naval war?  Questions as the USN learns to command the fishes https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/us-military-fish-underwater-spies-marine-life-darpa-a8847706.html

Were the Portland Hate crimes hoaxes?  When there’s an advantage to being a victim, should we expect more of what is incentivized? https://nypost.com/2019/03/30/inside-the-suspicious-rise-of-gay-hate-crimes-in-portland/amp/

Do 100 Russian advisers signify a limited response? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-defends-troops-in-venezuela-says-u-s-nervous/ar-BBVqTQk?ocid=ob-tw-enus-677

The Twitter account for the anti-abortion movie Unplanned was briefly suspended on Saturday, but has been restored to Twitter. After several users screenshotted notices of the suspension on the service and tagged Twitter and its co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, the account returned. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/news/unplanned-movie-twitter-account-briefly-suspended-1198343?__twitter_impression=true

“As a decision-making aid in the construction of dykes and drainage channels the climate models are unsuitable. “Our computers do not even predict with certainty whether the glaciers in the Alps will increase or decrease,” explains Stevens. The difficulties he and his fellow researchers face can be summed up in one word: clouds. The mountains …

Continue reading “What climate scientists dont know”

Countries, unlike companies, are defined by the International system as “too big to fail”. What foreign assistance tries to accomplish would be called a bailout. Unfortunately some countries fail anyway. Venezuela is a dramatic example. It failed largely because of mismanagement. No amount of foreign aid will fix it. Not even intervention may work. Nobody …

Continue reading “The problem of failing states”

Does the state spell technology ‘control ‘? “It seems that politicians believe driver training or road maintenance won’t improve anytime soon, so instead they want to limit your car’s engine power to make sure you don’t break the speed limit while robots determine whether you’re fit to drive in the first place. At least that’s …

Continue reading “Europe Wants Cars To Have Speed Limiters and More by 2022”

As economy suffers multiple organ failure. It turned out that Venezuela wasn’t rich enough to afford socialism.