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107
Spin Zone / Black-clad anarchists or black-clad antifa?
« on: August 28, 2017, 10:13:47 AM »
Headline and story 1:
"Black-clad antifa members attack peaceful right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/28/black-clad-antifa-attack-right-wing-demonstrators-in-berkeley/?utm_term=.5b6402a98b66
Headline and story 2:
"Black-clad anarchists swarm anti-hate rally in California"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/black-clad-anarchists-swarm-anti-hate-rally-california/
Reading the stories it looks like there is this ambiguity about what label the press wants to assign the black-clad attacking folks: "anarchist" and/or "antifa/anti-fascist". Or maybe the attackers are a mixed bunch - though that would seem to require coordination of the two rabbles that I doubt exists.
(Don't all those protesting people have jobs or classes or some nice fishing to do than out protesting?)
"Black-clad antifa members attack peaceful right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/28/black-clad-antifa-attack-right-wing-demonstrators-in-berkeley/?utm_term=.5b6402a98b66
Headline and story 2:
"Black-clad anarchists swarm anti-hate rally in California"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/black-clad-anarchists-swarm-anti-hate-rally-california/
Reading the stories it looks like there is this ambiguity about what label the press wants to assign the black-clad attacking folks: "anarchist" and/or "antifa/anti-fascist". Or maybe the attackers are a mixed bunch - though that would seem to require coordination of the two rabbles that I doubt exists.
(Don't all those protesting people have jobs or classes or some nice fishing to do than out protesting?)
108
Spin Zone / Obama Pardons vs Trump Pardons
« on: August 25, 2017, 08:46:41 PM »
Trump makes his first pardon as president (so far as I can tell) so in the now on-going political fallout, the official list of pardons granted by Obama may come in handy to provide some perspective:
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-pardons
Edited to add this link, which I didn't realize existed:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_by_Barack_Obama
"Obama holds the record for the largest single-day use of the clemency power, granting 330 commutations on January 19, 2017, his last full day in office.[5][6] He also has issued more commutations than the past thirteen presidents combined.[2][7]"
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-pardons
Edited to add this link, which I didn't realize existed:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_by_Barack_Obama
"Obama holds the record for the largest single-day use of the clemency power, granting 330 commutations on January 19, 2017, his last full day in office.[5][6] He also has issued more commutations than the past thirteen presidents combined.[2][7]"
109
Spin Zone / Feds fail to win another case in Bundy saga
« on: August 23, 2017, 12:13:44 AM »
Feds are going to keep at it, though, because that's the nature of the beast.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/08/22/no-guilty-verdicts-bundy-ranch-standoff-trial/592019001/
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/08/22/no-guilty-verdicts-bundy-ranch-standoff-trial/592019001/
110
Spin Zone / Mars needs slave children!
« on: June 30, 2017, 01:11:08 PM »
WTF?
"... there is a colony on a Mars that is populated by children who were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20 year ride so once they get to Mars they have no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony...."
111
Spin Zone / Privatized ATC's affect on general aviation
« on: June 23, 2017, 03:12:36 PM »
The per capita differences of several aviation quantities between privately-run ATC in Canada versus government-run ATC in the United States:
Canada: 984 people per registered aircraft.
USA: 1523 people per registered aircraft.
Result: Canada has significantly more aircraft per capita than the USA.
Canada: 519 people per licensed pilot.
USA: 550 people per licensed pilot.
Result: About the same per-capita rate of licensed pilots. Tiny edge to Canada.
Canada: 24,438 people per listed airport.
USA: 23,785 people per listed airport.
Result: About the same per-capita number of airports. Tiny edge to USA.
My conclusion:
Anyone claiming that aviation in the USA is somehow more robust than anywhere else in the world probably hasn't done any statistical comparisons.
And anyone claiming that privatization is bad for general aviation is probably an unwitting tool of the business jet lobby, which pays for about 1% of ATC costs while using about 15% of its services.[7]
These are the raw stats and the references I used:
Canada
----------
Population: 35,850,000 [1]
Registered Aircraft (2016): 36,448 [2]
Licensed Pilots (2016): 69,012 [2]
Airports (2013): 1467 [3]
USA
-----
Population: 321,400,000 [4]
Registered Aircraft (2014): 211,084 [5]
Licensed Pilots (2016): 584,362 [6]
Airports (2013): 13,513 [3]
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+canada&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[2] https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/transportation-canada-2016.html#air-transportation-sector
[3] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html
[4] https://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+united+states&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[5] https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_11.html
[6] https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/
[7] http://reason.com/blog/2017/06/23/rural-senators-and-private-jet-operators
Canada: 984 people per registered aircraft.
USA: 1523 people per registered aircraft.
Result: Canada has significantly more aircraft per capita than the USA.
Canada: 519 people per licensed pilot.
USA: 550 people per licensed pilot.
Result: About the same per-capita rate of licensed pilots. Tiny edge to Canada.
Canada: 24,438 people per listed airport.
USA: 23,785 people per listed airport.
Result: About the same per-capita number of airports. Tiny edge to USA.
My conclusion:
Anyone claiming that aviation in the USA is somehow more robust than anywhere else in the world probably hasn't done any statistical comparisons.
And anyone claiming that privatization is bad for general aviation is probably an unwitting tool of the business jet lobby, which pays for about 1% of ATC costs while using about 15% of its services.[7]
These are the raw stats and the references I used:
Canada
----------
Population: 35,850,000 [1]
Registered Aircraft (2016): 36,448 [2]
Licensed Pilots (2016): 69,012 [2]
Airports (2013): 1467 [3]
USA
-----
Population: 321,400,000 [4]
Registered Aircraft (2014): 211,084 [5]
Licensed Pilots (2016): 584,362 [6]
Airports (2013): 13,513 [3]
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+canada&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[2] https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/transportation-canada-2016.html#air-transportation-sector
[3] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html
[4] https://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+united+states&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
[5] https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_11.html
[6] https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/
[7] http://reason.com/blog/2017/06/23/rural-senators-and-private-jet-operators
112
Spin Zone / More government meme
« on: June 23, 2017, 10:55:03 AM »
I thought this was amusing enough to share. Concise and to the point.
113
Spin Zone / Nice shooting, soldier!
« on: June 22, 2017, 03:09:51 PM »
"A Canadian special forces sniper has obliterated the record for the longest confirmed kill in military history.
The shot — believed to be taken from the top of an apartment building in northern Iraq — hit its target a staggering 3.45 km away. It blew away the previous record by nearly a kilometre — and the ISIS fighter."
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/06/22/canadian-sniper-blows-away-record-for-farthest-kill
The shot — believed to be taken from the top of an apartment building in northern Iraq — hit its target a staggering 3.45 km away. It blew away the previous record by nearly a kilometre — and the ISIS fighter."
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/06/22/canadian-sniper-blows-away-record-for-farthest-kill
114
Spin Zone / Young coherent black conservative
« on: June 01, 2017, 12:14:34 AM »
Youtube recommended this video to me, and I recommend it to readers here as worthy of consideration:
He has more, but this one also showed up:
He has more, but this one also showed up:
115
Spin Zone / The “I’ve paid in all my life” fallacy
« on: May 23, 2017, 10:53:27 AM »
I didn't think these sorts of articles were allowed - but it is good to see them:
Social benefits are often sold as insurance-based schemes. But they don’t work that way
http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/05/paying-social-benefits
Social benefits are often sold as insurance-based schemes. But they don’t work that way
http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/05/paying-social-benefits
116
Spin Zone / Republican plans to ban online porn
« on: April 11, 2017, 02:41:51 PM »
Republican backed proposals to require internet-enabled devices block online porn - unless you pay $20 to unblock:
http://reason.com/blog/2017/04/11/state-republicans-push-porn-filters
What is it with Republican politicians anyway?
http://reason.com/blog/2017/04/11/state-republicans-push-porn-filters
What is it with Republican politicians anyway?
117
Spin Zone / Pelosi: Right to know what is in health bill before it passes.
« on: March 10, 2017, 10:10:11 PM »
Filed from the Irony Zone (or the Slow Learner Zone.)
Quoting directly from Nancy Pelosi's congressional web page:
https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-sends-letter-to-speaker-ryan-calling-for-release-of-full-impact-of-gop
"The American people and Members have a right to know the full impact of this legislation before any vote in Committee or by the whole House."
Read the bill before voting on it??
Quoting directly from Nancy Pelosi's congressional web page:
https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-sends-letter-to-speaker-ryan-calling-for-release-of-full-impact-of-gop
"The American people and Members have a right to know the full impact of this legislation before any vote in Committee or by the whole House."
Read the bill before voting on it??
118
Spin Zone / A Heinlein book I didn't know about
« on: February 22, 2017, 11:13:16 PM »
I grew up in the 60's and 70's reading a lot of science fiction, and Robert Heinlein was a notable presence - I read everything he wrote, good or bad. Or at least I thought I had. I didn't know he had written a book titled "Take Back Your Government!: A Practical Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work"[1]. Probably because it was written in 1946 but wasn't published until 1992, several years after he died. Since I only just found it, anyone else ever read it? Is it worth the time to read and still relevant? The cost is inconsequential - if it's a quick good read, I'll give it a shot. I always feel perpetually behind in work and personal projects, by way of explanation. In fact I was taking a mental break this evening from work when I was feeling nostalgic for the days of more leisure time when I read SF and Googled what people considered Heinlein's best books and found someone had mentioned this book.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Take-Back-Government-Robert-Heinlein-ebook/dp/B006VOK8NS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1487828873&sr=1-1&keywords=take+back+your+government
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Back_Your_Government
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Take-Back-Government-Robert-Heinlein-ebook/dp/B006VOK8NS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1487828873&sr=1-1&keywords=take+back+your+government
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Back_Your_Government
119
Spin Zone / UAE FM says Trump travel ban not Islamophobic
« on: February 02, 2017, 09:40:05 PM »
"The United Arab Emirates' foreign minister has said that US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries, which has triggered global outrage, is not Islamophobic and does not target any one religion."
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/abdullah-bin-zayed-trump-travel-ban-islamophobic-170201132819745.html
In related news:
And since 2011 Kuwait has had travel bans "on nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, includes suspending all tourism, visit and trade visas as well as visas sponsored by spouses...."
Here's a story on it from 2011:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/173758/kuwait-bans-visa-issuance-to-pakistan-and-four-other-countries/
If you do a news search using keywords kuwait travel ban you'll see very recent news reports claiming the ban is recent, while others say it has been around since 2011.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/abdullah-bin-zayed-trump-travel-ban-islamophobic-170201132819745.html
In related news:
And since 2011 Kuwait has had travel bans "on nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, includes suspending all tourism, visit and trade visas as well as visas sponsored by spouses...."
Here's a story on it from 2011:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/173758/kuwait-bans-visa-issuance-to-pakistan-and-four-other-countries/
If you do a news search using keywords kuwait travel ban you'll see very recent news reports claiming the ban is recent, while others say it has been around since 2011.
120
Spin Zone / Trump won states having 55% of the population.
« on: January 12, 2017, 01:32:48 AM »
I had been intending to do the math for a while now - at the county level - but have been too busy to spend the modest amount needed to get the county-level election results (there is no federal level repository of those county totals - you have to go to each state or buy the info from someone who has taken the time to aggregate and tabulate the numbers.). So instead I did a quick first pass just counting up the population of the states that Trump won vs Hillary. Much is made of Trump losing the popular vote while winning the electoral vote. And conventional wisdom says that electoral vote assignment rules basically favor states with low population densities, thus giving votes to dead real estate.
By my count, the population of the states won by Trump totals 178,015,927. The total population of the 50 states plus D.C. is 323,127,513. That yields a tad over 55% for Trump.
I gave all of Maine to Clinton even though Trump won 1 of the 4 EVs there (too lazy to break the subtotal out - this was just a first pass, and it's just past midnight as I compose this.)
Breaking things down at the state level is too coarse, though the point of this exercise was to first determine whether the "dead real estate vote" would show Trump losing with respect to the proportion of U.S. population in the states he won. It would be more interesting to see the results at the county or district level, but I may never get to that.
Source for my numbers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population
By my count, the population of the states won by Trump totals 178,015,927. The total population of the 50 states plus D.C. is 323,127,513. That yields a tad over 55% for Trump.
I gave all of Maine to Clinton even though Trump won 1 of the 4 EVs there (too lazy to break the subtotal out - this was just a first pass, and it's just past midnight as I compose this.)
Breaking things down at the state level is too coarse, though the point of this exercise was to first determine whether the "dead real estate vote" would show Trump losing with respect to the proportion of U.S. population in the states he won. It would be more interesting to see the results at the county or district level, but I may never get to that.
Source for my numbers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population