Author Archives: Richard Fernandez

In 1943 the Nazis made a movie version depicting the Titanic disaster. The plot makes it clear why Nazi stood for “national socialism”. A proclamation to the stockholders of the White Star Line declares the value of their stock is falling. The president of the Line, J. Bruce Ismay (E.F. Fürbringer), promises to reveal a secret during the maiden voyage of …

Continue reading “The Nazi version of the “Titanic””

What could go wrong? Technology Review

Laws, like spells, are supposed to do something. But sometimes it is uttered for its own sake, in a self idolatrous fashion. Reason

Countdown to crisis Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to succeed in history. Moving 6 inches in either direction doesn’t get you out of the path of events. Committee men can trim the ship of state but they are incapable of reacting to radical developments. Failure of imagination is related to unknown unknowns …

Continue reading ““I can no longer support our reckless PM and this watered-down Brexit””

No longer ruled out.

Hezbollah among Maduro’s allies

Paul Krugman explains why taxes are good for you.

The rescue and restructuring plan for Venezuela would involve getting dollars into the country, and the United States is working with banks in the region to help, Reuters

A petition started by Alyssa Milano, who’s currently in Atlanta shooting for the Netflix show “Insatiable,” was signed by more than 100 celebrities, including Amy Schumer, Alec Baldwin and Judd Apatow. CBS

What about those pallets of cash? State Department The US has always been wary of potential escalation.  We know now that US pilots fought Russians all through the Korean War, but no one wanted to admit, for example, that one Naval aviator shot down Soviet 4 Mig-15s in his F9F Panther. Williams would remain quiet about …

Continue reading “Iran killed 600 US troops in Iraq”

But did it cross your mind? SCMP

Nicolás Maduro’s constituent assembly removes protection from Guaido, opening the door for arrest of man backed by dozens of countries as interim leader. Guardian As Russia opens military center. The center was inaugurated Thursday, the same day that President Donald Trump warned that “Russia has to get out of” Venezuela and “all options are open” …

Continue reading ““If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.””

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.