Stand-up comedy in the 15th century.
Isn't it interesting that despite all the news about Orcas attacking boats off Iberia, nobody has tried to kill them? Or even, so far as I can tell, called for killing them? How far back in time would we have to go for that to be the default response?
The fascinating life and appalling murder of David Breaux, the homeless Stanford grad known as "the compassion guy." (NY Times, The Guardian)
Video tour of the Domus of Tito Marco, a very large Roman house in northern Italy, including both the actual ruins and a 3-D reconstruction. In Italian with English subtitles.
Roman artisan district with glass maker, cobbler and metal smith found in France. (English article, French original at INRAP with many more pictures.)
A report that copywriters are already being laid off and replaced by ChatGPT.
New Nazca geoglyphs discovered by AI "deep learning."
Nicholas Kristoff on the enormous improvements in prenatal care, maternal mortality, and child mortality across Africa. In Sierra Leone, more than 90% of women now receive prenatal care and the maternal death rate has falled 74% since 2000. "We are privileged to live in an age of miracles." (NY Times)
Nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible sells for $38 million. The purchaser is donating it to the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. More at Sotheby's.
Sherman Alexie says that hardly any American Indians call themselves "Indigenous," a word used only by left-wing activists: "I’d argue that leftist political activists are only a small percentage of the Native demographic. I would posit that the basic Native political identity is ethnocentric, mainstream Democrat, capitalist, socially moderate, remarkably magnanimous, and only intermittently passionate. In other words, the Native American world is very…American." He notes that there are four American Indians in Congress, two of whom are conservative Republicans from Oklahoma.
And more Sherman Alexie, "Introduction to Native American Studies." Reading work by Indian authors is a deep immersion in irony.
Some wonderful recycled plastic chairs.
The women who preached in their sleep, a condition known as "Devotional somnium."
Roman perfume identified as patchouli. My wife used patchouli when I first met her, until I told her it smelled like cat piss on a pine tree. Somehow our relationship survived.
Lots of praise from drama-averse moderates for Biden's performance in the debt ceiling showdown: Matt Yglesias, "It's great to have a President who knows when to shut up" (NY Times); NY Times group podcast, "What Biden Understands about Negotiating that Obama Never Did."
Why was the age of democratic revolutions also the age of Neoclassicism?
Jennifer Anniston makes the news by posting pictures of her gray hair. Bold blow struck against ageism? Desperate play for attention? Illuminati conspiracy? You decide.
Young American men are getting more conservative.
June in Ben Pentreath's garden.
Many people around the world believe their society is in moral decline, but this is an illusion.
Forecast about AI in 2030.
Tyler Cowen, The High Return Activity of Raising Others' Aspirations
Scott Siskind on the tricky business of putting statistics in context.
Ukraine Links
Lots of chatter that a major Ukrainian offensive began on the night of June 7 to 8, driving south toward the Azov Sea as expected. (here, here, here, here, here, here, NY Times, substantial report from ISR). On June 7 one Ukrainian officer tweeted "Tonight is the night of nights," a reference to D-Day in 1944. Several reports of advances of 5-7 km, first and second Russian lines overrun; on the other hand reports of "greater than expected" resistance. Also many reports that "the main force has not been committed," so we will see what happens as this unfolds.
Didn't take long for the first Leopard 2 tank to be knocked out.
Several different military types on Twitter have said, "You don't blow up dams when you think you are winning."
Two Americans who have been training Ukrainian soldiers for months explain some important shortcomings with Ukrainian training and doctrine.
Ukraine's military wants 200,000 more drones by the end of the year. This war is using up drones like mortar rounds.
Igor Girkin's assessment as of June 1.
Here's another Russian soldier complaining that his side is constantly shelled with no answering Russian fire. Ukrainian soldiers say the opposite.
Russians who didn't support the war at first but now say that Russia must win; peace would have been better but defeat is unthinkable.
Rajan Menon summarizes the political and military situation as of June 6: "There’s no end in sight for this war. The two sides’ minimal conditions are a Grand Canyon apart."
Prigozhin explains that the Bakhmut offensive was essential to bleeding Ukraine and delaying their offensive; without it, the chances of winning shift to Ukraine. From a long and interesting video interview; Part 1, Part 2. Among other things he calls for the army leadership to face the firing squad, as justice for the soldiers' lives they threw away. I think it's important that many people with a strong emotional investment in Russian victory (Murz, Prigozhin, Girkin) sound like they have little hope.
And here is Part 3 of the Prigozhin interview. (Each segment is about 12 minutes) In this part he says he is getting letters from the people of Belgorod, begging him and Wagner to come rescue them from the Free Russia invaders.
And an interview with the Russian army colonel that Wagner kidnapped, roughed up, and forced to record this video; he says Wagner stole tanks and other systems from his unit.
Report from a pro-Ukraine German reporter that Ukraine "probing attack" toward Novodarivka on June 4 was a disastrous failure.
Russian propagandists on Telegram make Joe Biden look like a moviestar military commander.
Didn't take long for the first Leopard 2 tank to be knocked out.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, so much longer than the time it took for Russia to claim they knocked one out, a dozen times over.
The desperation the Russians have to stop the Leopard is actually incredible. They put out a video purporting to show the destruction of a Leopard 2 via missile, but the vehicle actually being in the video is clearly not a Leopard, not even a tank - it was a combine harvester.