EARLIER TONIGHT: SpaceX’s Launch of 22 Starlink Satellites.
Archive for 2023
July 23, 2023
WELL, GOOD: Judge strikes down Arizona law limiting filming of police.
Note that the First Circuit has held that taking photos and video in public is a right that is sufficiently “clearly established” that those who violated it can’t claim qualified immunity.
Note that it’s not just free speech. There’s also a due process right to record the police.
OPEN THREAD: Hope you had a nice weekend.
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Many Vital Drugs Are Now Impossible to Find. Here’s Why.
IN TRYING TO MAKE BARBIE A FEMINIST HERO, THEY MADE KEN A CHAD IDOL: The Based and Hilarious Reason Gen Z Bros Are Flocking to the New Barbie Flick. “Ken is the closest thing Barbie has to a villain, unless you count patriarchy itself. Upon returning to Barbieland, he and the other Kens (others Ken?) take control in a bloodless coup, and by the time Barbie makes her way back, she’s been literally displaced. Her dream home is now Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House, and the Barbies who once ruled the world wear frilly maid outfits and serve cocktails.”
>Barbie movie
>tries to subvert expectations by talking about feminism and women's empowerment
>the men have the most memorable moments and best jokes
>Ryan Gosling even has the best song
Yeah, I'm thinking the Patriarchy is back bros pic.twitter.com/UChtAzGFST— Johann (@LookAtMyMeat1) July 21, 2023
Call it the Gordon Gekko effect, where the villain gets the most memorable lines. Or maybe the Colonel Jessup effect.
I IMAGINE THE TROOPS’ MORALE IS RISING: US influencer works as ‘emotional support stripper’ in Ukraine.
The 2015 Miss Taiwanese American Pageant competitor first headed to Ukraine in November 2022 to volunteer and assist refugees, working at women’s shelters and orphanages in Lviv, a city in the western part of the country, far from the front lines.
The work, however, wasn’t all that different from her job experiences back home, which pushed Koung to look into assisting the military directly.
Koung, who also won first prize in the NASA Space Health Challenge in 2014, moved to Ukraine full-time in February. She since assisted volunteered in the volatile eastern Donbas region by bringing water to those still living in bombed-out towns and offering emotional support to English-speaking soldiers while she learns Ukranian.
“It’s a little soft core diplomacy I’m bringing,” Koung told The Post. “Everyone’s sending their strongest and finest, I wandered in and was like, ‘Hey whats up, wanna talk? I’ll give you a massage.’”
Through her volunteer work on the ground, Koung struck up various romantic relationships with the men she’s met and is currently dating a Ukrainian drone operator, a power plant worker and two information technology workers.
“Make love, not war? Hell, in my day we did both.”
LIFTOFF SKED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR FROM NOW: Watch SpaceX launch 22 Starlink satellites to orbit Sunday night.
#JOURNALISM: So That’s Why the Media Has Barely Covered the Fargo Police Ambush. “Officers Jake Wallin, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were shot by Barakat from about 15 to 20 feet away before they could even reach for their guns. Wallin was killed with Dotas and Hawes were wounded. It has since been revealed Barakat is originally from Syria was allowed into the United States via asylum in 2012.”
It would have led the news if they could have claimed it was a “white supremacist” attack.
ROBIN HANSON: Visiting Death. “The difference that stood out to me is that such old folks no longer seek nor expect personal transformations. They are comfortable and secure in their personalities, styles, views, relations, and accomplishments, and rarely seek big changes to such things. I wouldn’t have expected that to make such a big difference but it does.”
NEWS YOU CAN USE: More Thoughts On The Defensive Shotgun.
GET IN SHAPE: Orinar Weight Bench Press. #CommissionEarned
NEO: COVID lab leak coverups, then and now.
And what of the lab leak theory? The first mention of the subject I could find on this blog is from April of 2020, which is pretty early. Here’s what I wrote back then:
You may have noticed that I haven’t written much if at all about COVID-19’s origins, despite having written a ton about the disease. Was it from a wet market? Was it from a lab? My opinion was that it was 50/50 and that we just didn’t know, so I didn’t want to waste much verbiage on it.
But now I’m leaning towards the lab theory.
Then I quoted this piece by Jonathan Turley:
When the coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, many people immediately raised the concern that it might have been the result of a lab release from a controversial Chinese the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The lab was working on coronavirus and had raised concerns over its containment protocols. Then there was the fact that China hid the outbreak, arrested top doctors, and buried research on its origins. However, a narrative quickly emerged in countering President Donald Trump’s references to the “China virus.” People, including members of Congress, who referred to the lab were ridiculed on CNN and other outlets as conspiracy theorists like Politifact declared the theory to be utterly baseless. For some of us, the overwhelming media narrative seemed odd and artificial. It would seem obvious that a lab working on viruses in this area would be an obvious possible source. Now, after weeks of chastising those who mentioned the lab theory, another cache of documents and information shows that there are ample reasons to be suspicious and that concerns were raised two years ago within the State Department.
Turley is not a research biologist, nor am I. But it always was a theory that made sense, and the absolute denial of that theory was always suspicious and seemingly political. One didn’t have to be a scientist to see that – plus, there were other scientists who said that the virus had a structure that made it likely it was the result of bioengineering.
So if reporters were fooled it was because they wanted to be, or were simply stupid, or both. Or perhaps not so many were actually fooled.
When does Tom Cotton get his apology? Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.
—New York Times headline, February 17th, 2020.
WHY SHOULD IT BE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD? Is it growing pains or is ChatGPT just becoming dumber?
TURNING JAPANESE? I REALLY DON’T THINK SO: Here are 10 ideas San Francisco can import from Tokyo to save downtown.
San Francisco is at a pivotal moment.
With foot traffic down 31% from pre-pandemic levels, and over 54,000 residents permanently gone, the need for a compelling new vision to revitalize our urban infrastructure is paramount — especially downtown.
I recently had the privilege of visiting Tokyo for the first time — and the city left me nothing short of starstruck with its urban design. Here are 10 ideas I saw that San Francisco can integrate into its city fabric to reinvigorate our ailing downtown.
Car-free streets
Walking through Tokyo, one of the first things I marveled at was the abundance of car-free streets. This widespread flexibility to walk unencumbered by traffic was inspiring.
Moreover, Tokyo’s walkability creates a thriving environment for small businesses and restaurants, as more foot traffic clearly leads to higher patronage. I didn’t see a single corridor where residents weren’t lining up for their favorite restaurant.
By prioritizing pedestrians, Tokyo also lowers air pollution. While San Francisco has about 460 cars per 1,000 people, Tokyo has 232. With this reduction in cars comes a commensurate reduction in traffic, congestion and pollution.
Double our sidewalk size
In the districts of Tokyo where cars are allowed, the sidewalks are massive; The pedestrian-to-car space ratio is easily 2:1.
The benefits of these larger sidewalks compound. More sidewalk space attracts more pedestrians. More pedestrians mean more foot traffic. And more foot traffic means more patronage for local businesses.
Large sidewalks also allow innovative use of space. Many in Tokyo have metal railings to protect pedestrians from cars. There are designated paths for both incoming and outgoing pedestrian traffic (you always walk on the left side in Tokyo). There’s more room for public toilets. And there are vending machines serving water, ramen or even ice cream.
With more sidewalk, there’s more room for people and the things that they need and enjoy.
That’s nice. But curiously unmentioned in the above San Francisco Chronicle article is Japan’s astonishingly small homelessness problem. Why is it so small?
Drug Addiction
Tom Gill, a Japan-based social anthropologist, reported that Japan has a lower homeless population than the US and other countries because Japan has a much lower drug addiction problem. A 2014 study revealed that about 1.6% of the Japanese population tried drugs other than alcohol in their lifetime. Gill said that drugs other than alcohol are strictly illegal and usually only accessible through gangsters. Around 50% of drug users in Japan have gang connections. However, many of Japan’s homeless suffer from alcoholism.
A 67,500 person survey from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health In America showed that over 50% of the population in the US used some form of illegal drug in their lifetime. Drug addiction is one of the reasons for homelessness in America and can prevent people from finding homes and jobs due to a criminal record.
Karla Thennes, the director of a homeless organization called Porchlight in Madison, Wisconsin, described homeless shelters in Madison. Hundreds of people sleep on mats only inches apart with little sanitation. Madison and other cities across America need shelter reforms that are safer and more spacious.
Thennes explained to The Borgen Project that the homeless could not work past addiction in these shelter environments because of a failure to meet basic needs.“You can’t stay sober sleeping in a shelter,” Thennes said.
Mental Health
According to the Homeless Hub, 30-35% of all people who experience homelessness worldwide have a mental illness. In Japan, someone with a mental illness is typically placed into a mental health facility, sparing them from the streets. There are 269 psychiatric beds per 100,000 people in Japan, whereas, in the United States, the number is 25.
In fact, Japan has one of the most efficient health care systems in the world. However, a significant stigma revolves around mental health in Japan and the country sees one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Public insurance in Japan does not cover prescriptions for mental health medications such as antidepressants, and psychologists don’t always have enough training for their profession.
So while Japan’s mental health system ends up reducing the homeless population, their treatment of mentally ill people and available mental health resources struggle to meet an appropriate standard. “Japan has a conservative approach to the treatment of mentally ill people who are generally institutionalized,” reported Gill when he spoke to the Life Where I’m From Youtube channel.
So by all means San Francisco, crack down on drugs and institutionalize those with mental illness — use those ideas from Tokyo to start revitalizing the city.
UPDATE: Free Parking for the Homeless in CA.
Did you know that homeless people enjoy a constitutional right to free parking? That’s the main takeaway from a California Court of Appeals opinion issued Friday that ruled cities that tow cars with five or more unpaid parking tickets violate the 4th Amendment’s prohibition of search and seizure without a warrant.
The Coalition on Homelessness sued the City and County of San Francisco seeking an injunction against towing scofflaw cars that piled up parking tickets, and the trial court had denied the petition. But the Court of Appeals reversed, because “appellant [Coalition on Homelessness] presented declarations regarding the severe impacts of vehicle tows on unhoused San Francisco residents.”
Wait, I thought we wanted San Fran to be more like Tokyo:
(Updated and bumped.)
WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Spiral brain-computer interface slips into ear canal with no loss of hearing.
THE BASED AND HILARIOUS REASON GEN Z BROS ARE FLOCKING TO THE NEW BARBIE FLICK:
So if [Ryan] Gosling’s Ken is a pro-“patriarchy” (as Leftists imagine it) rube, his fans are going to celebrate every word from his plastic mouth. If that is what Big Woke thinks of them, then by gum, they will live up to that expectation (and have a blast doing it).
Guys aren’t angrily boycotting Barbie (which Big Left would take as a win because it would prove that they can’t handle a strong, feminist Barbie); they’re flocking to the movie specifically to applaud the ludicrous chauvinism espoused by Based Ken. And to demonstrate to Leftists that they are perfectly willing to behave as badly as Leftists claim they do. And to laugh at the Leftists’ fuming and sputtering when they do it.
If there’s one thing totalitarians (like the modern Left) cannot tolerate, it’s fun. They sold their sense of joy along with their souls years ago. Unfortunately for them, their “Barbie” feminist film will generate more laughter, memes, mockery, and joy than they ever intended.
Ron Swanson and Alex P. Keaton could not be reached for comment.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA’s Bill Nelson to discuss bilateral cooperation in South America.
DEMOCRACY DIES IN DILETTANTISM: A Decade Ago, Jeff Bezos Bought a Newspaper. Now He’s Paying Attention to It Again.
The Post is on a pace to lose about $100 million in 2023, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s finances; two other people briefed on the situation said the company was expecting to miss its forecasts for ad revenue this year. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal financial matters. The Post has struggled to increase the number of its paying customers since the 2020 election, when its digital subscriptions peaked at three million. It now has around 2.5 million.
A spokesperson for Mr. Bezos declined to make him available for an interview. Patty Stonesifer, The Post’s interim chief executive, said Mr. Bezos was happy with “every dollar invested” in the company. One person familiar with Mr. Bezos’ plans said The Post had planned for 2023 to be a “year for investment.”
“I’m very enthusiastic about what we can do here at The Washington Post in the decade ahead,” Ms. Stonesifer said in a statement. “Jeff’s second decade of ownership of The Post should be even more exciting.”
I just wanted to tell you good luck; we’re all counting on you, Jeff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhw0eBCVXR4
Related: Clay Travis: The Washington Post Tried To Bring Down Bill Clinton, Now It Ignores Joe Biden’s corruption, how did we get here?
LIGHTNING DEAL: ATERCEL Weight Lifting Gloves. #CommissionEarned
STOP SHARING NEEDLES: Pregnant women show drastic increase in rates for Hepatitis C.
DAVID THOMPSON: Sudden-Onset Womanhood.
From the comments, where a question is asked – and promptly answered:
Regarding which, John D replies,
Hard pass. Here’s an idea – make a good film with a good female character and start your own franchise. Or would that be too much work?
Ah, but then those of a progressive inclination couldn’t piggy-back their Current Year politics onto someone else’s work, established over many decades. Plus, there’s lots of self-congratulatory subverting to be done. All that signalling about how antiquated and tiresome it is to have a white, male hero being daring and heroic. Because hey, nobody wants that.
Tom Cruise could not be reached for comment: Why Mission: Impossible Has Become the Biggest Summer Blockbuster Franchise.
HOW IT STARTED: Next mayor wants NYC to be even more of a ‘sanctuary’ for illegal immigrants.
Every single one of the eight Democrats running for mayor vowed to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, solidifying the Big Apple’s often infamous status as a “sanctuary city.”
* * * * * * * *
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, the son of legal Taiwanese immigrants, said, “I appreciate anyone who comes to this country or New York City for a better life.”
And Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said migrants were his neighbors growing up in Queens.
“My mother worked two jobs to provide for the six of us and we had a group of undocumented residents that lived in our community,” Adams said.
The other candidates — city comptroller Scott Stringer, former Obama housing secretary Shaun Donovan and nonprofit leader Dianne Morales — also voiced their support for the Big Apple as a sanctuary city.
—The New York Post, June 2nd, 2021.
How it’s going: Mayor Adams tells foreign brown people to go somewhere else.
Well, wait, WHUT?!
Don’t tell me that New York City is already rolling up the Sanctuary carpet?
Mayor Eric Adams is telling illegal migrants from the border don’t bother coming, and he’s doing it with rapper flare, baby.
Yo, stay home, homies.
“…capacity was verbalized and now it’s going to be visually actualized…”
—Beege, Welborn, Hot Air, Thursday.
I eagerly await the full Jim Acosta quoting the Statue of Liberty CNN freakout.