NOT PARTICULARLY SURPRISING WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT: John Cleese’s classic “silly walk” burns more calories than a normal gait.
Archive for 2022
December 22, 2022
EUGENE VOLOKH: FIRE’s and My Amicus Brief on Connecticut’s “Racial Ridicule” Law.
If we actually punished “racial ridicule” fairly, most of the defendants would be white people putting down other white people for whiteness.
WE FIND THIS OUT AFTER THE ELECTION: Philly Fed: U.S. Economy Added Over One Million FEWER Jobs Than Government Statistics Claim.
JIM TREACHER: Joe Rogan Was Right About Exercise and COVID-19. “Not too long ago, Joe Rogan went on his hugely popular podcast and said this: ‘If you’re a healthy person and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well… I don’t think you need to worry about this.’ In response, the mainstream media went completely insane… In other words, Joe Rogan was right about exercise and COVID-19. Even WaPo is admitting it. Without acknowledging that they were wrong to attack him, of course. But still.”
A new study found that exercise, in almost any amount, reduced people’s risks of being hospitalized or dying of covid. https://t.co/tKpKyxLPiJ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 21, 2022
“OFF THE MAP:” Sam Bankman-Fried Arrives in US to ‘Face the Music’ of Federal Fraud Charges. “Bankman-Fried has been charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. The 30-year-old could spend the rest of his life in federal prison if found guilty. ‘Because so much money is involved in this case—literally hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions—SBF’s recommended ‘sentencing range’ under the United States Sentencing Guidelines will be extremely high—indeed, probably off the map,’ Miriam Baer, Vice Dean at Brooklyn Law School, told Decrypt at the time of Bankman-Fried’s arrest.”
ONE OF THE GENUINELY GOOD GUYS: Clarence Thomas Caught Humbly Serving at Arlington National Cemetery.
SEEMS A BIT LATE, BUT OKAY: Government adding Tamiflu doses to strategic stockpile.
BREAKING: Former Top FTX Executives Plead Guilty To Federal Charges In Fraud Case.
“I’m announcing that the Southern District of New York has filed charges against Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wong, a co-founder of FTX, in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse,” the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Wednesday night. “Both Miss Ellison and Mr. Wong have pled guilty to those charges, and they are both cooperating with the Southern District of New York.”
Related: FTX Paid for Blockfolio Deal Mostly in FTT Token It Invented. “FTX paid roughly $84 million in 2020 to take a majority stake in Blockfolio, in what was then among the largest crypto acquisitions. About 94% was paid in FTT tokens, a cryptocurrency that FTX created, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Details of the Blockfolio acquisition, which haven’t been previously reported, offer a glimpse of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s appetite for whimsical financial engineering, and an early hunger to amass customers through large-scale deals. Bankman-Fried doubled down on that ethos this year, going on a buyout binge for firms including Voyager and BlockFi, although those deals were thwarted when FTX imploded in November.”
PUTIN’S LATEST BAD BET: STRATEGIC BOMBING: Russia’s missile war on Ukraine – the historical record indicates it will fail.
The essay mentions strategic bombing theories formulated after WW1, discusses WW2 strategic bombing campaigns and also mentions the Iran-Iraq War’s “war of the cities” (air and missile attacks on civilian populations).
I wrote this Tuesday and didn’t have a link up until today. Zelensky’s speech to Congress and the Biden Administration’s latest support package has made a couple of grafs less speculative.
The Ukrainian government warns that Russia still has a very large missile stockpile and bombarding cities demonstrates why NATO and EU nations must provide Ukraine with modern and plentiful air defense weaponry that can intercept missiles and aircraft.
The American-made Patriot PAC-3 is a proven system that can intercept aircraft and both ballistic and cruise missiles. In my opinion, Ukraine should have received Patriot batteries months ago. Several NATO nations deploy it. Zelensky has specifically asked for the Patriot.
Note I wrote “batteries.” We’ll see how many the U.S. provides.
Bottom line:
Putin is employing strategic air attacks on Ukrainian cities because Ukraine’s air defenses are weak and Ukraine cannot retaliate in kind. With threats of nuclear war failing to frighten the world, Putin thinks strategic air attacks are his winning card.
However, as the war grinds on and the Russian military’s death toll mounts, it may be his only card.
Putin bets cold, hungry and bombing terrorized Ukrainians will surrender, even if the British, Germans, Japanese, Ethiopians, et al. did not.
I think that’s a bad bet.
Check it out.
UPDATE: Russian artillery units have big problems. Ammo shortages, old ammo, depleted stockpiles, troubles on the Trans-Siberian railroad. And mercenaries and “penal battalion men” aren’t doing well in a winter war.
MERRY CANCELLATIONS: Johnny Mathis Christmas Song Censored on Radio for Being ‘Racist.’
I’M SORRY DAVE, I’M AFRAID I CAN’T ALLOW YOU TO ORDER THAT BIG MAC: No more ‘attitude at the counter:’ McDonald’s new fully-automated restaurant which is completely run by machines leaves internet divided — but do you think it’s a good idea?
McDonald’s has opened up a fully-automated restaurant in Texas, which is completely run by machines so you don’t have to speak to anyone, and it has left people on the internet divided.
The brand-new eatery, located just outside Fort Worth, uses advanced technology so that customers can order their food and receive their meal without having to interact with any humans, and while some people are excited about the idea, others find it a little creepy.
A TikToker who goes by the username @foodiemunster online recently visited the restaurant and documented the entire thing on the video-sharing app, and it launched a major debate among viewers.
The video featured a McDonald’s with no employees behind the counter. Near the entrance, stood large touch screens for people to place their orders on.
This is the endgame of #fightforfifteen:
(Via Newsalert.)
NEW YEAR SALE: ZWILLING Twin Signature 19-Piece German Knife Set. #CommissionEarned
“EXCEPT IT DOES. ALL THE TIME.”: This Never Happens.
Men, as a class, pose a danger to women, as a class. That is an unequivocal fact. And male offending patterns are not altered by ‘gender identity’.
Whenever women protest the inclusion of trans-identified males in our spaces, we’re shouted down and dismissed as transphobes and hysterics. There is no risk, we’re in no danger, this never happens, we’re constantly told. When we produce evidence to the contrary, we’re accused of bigotry and of demonising trans people. We cannot win.
The point is that men can pose a threat to women and children however they ‘identify’ and women have every reason to fear male violence. Since it’s impossible to tell which males are harmless and which are not, basic safeguarding means we exclude all males from women’s spaces. Even the ones who claim to ‘identify as women’. The list below demonstrates that we are right to do so.
It is far from an exhaustive list – these are just some examples of which I’m aware – but there are a lot of names on it. Look how easily violent, dangerous males can claim a trans identity and be believed, accommodated and enabled. I’d like to ask all those shouting at us to be ‘inclusive’, how many victims do you deem acceptable collateral damage for prioritising male feelings over women’s safety?
Read the whole thing.
ED MORRISSEY: Zelensky’s pitch: “Americans gained this victory” — but we need more help. “Zelensky also wants the US to lead an escalation of sanctions against the ‘terrorist state’ that started this war for no good reason whatsoever, and the other terrorist state that’s supplying them with arms.”
For Ukraine, this is a war of national survival — Russia has been trying to stamp out Ukrainian national identity for centuries.
For the West, this is a war-by-proxy of choice — something Putin is certainly counting on, hoping to wait out our patience.
IT’S ONLY DELAWARE, BUT STILL, IT’S SOMETHING: Delaware Supreme Court Issues Full Opinion Overturning Same-Day Registration and Vote by Mail.
NO MORE NAMING ANY GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS FOR ANYONE LIVING: Speaker privileges: Massive spending bill creates ‘Nancy Pelosi Federal Building.’
HAHA, YEAH THEY’RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT:
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Twitter Files Takeaway—The U.S. Government Is Now Full Soviet. “I am fond of saying that I was never a conspiracy theory kind of guy but after 2020 I now have a walk-in closet full of tin foil hats. What used to be called ‘out there’ thinking is now merely the truth.”
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Expecting Big Democratic Defeats, A Call for Sotomayor and Kagan to Retire Now. “Millhiser has no news of ill health from either Justice (though ‘Sotomayor has diabetes’). His main worry seems to be that the Democrats are going to lose power — and for a long time. But at least they have the Senate and the presidency for these next 2 years. They could slot in 2 reliable liberal Justices — young Justices, 20 years younger than Sotomayor and Kagan. So give them the chance to do it while they can. That’s my paraphrase of Millhiser’s position. Millhiser has a dark view of the Democrats’ chance in 2024.”
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: GOP Can’t Be Successful Until Mitch McConnell Is Gone.