| Time |
Event |
| 3:32a |
Protesors killed, 18 in Peru
The new
president of Peru has been officially charged with homicide
_and genocide_
after state thugs guarding an airport killed 18 of the
thousands of protesters who tried to take over that airport.
Whether charges of homicide are justified depends on details I don't
know. If they are, whether the charges legally should fall on the
thugs alone, or higher officials as well, depends on more details
I don't know. I don't know which side is right or wrong in Peru.
But charges of genocide can't possibly be justified. The thugs did
not try to wipe out a demographic group, or even to take actions in
that direction. They did not even try to wipe out the _protesters_
in that one airport.
Weakening the definition of "genocide" will undermine the special
odium that the world has attached to any intentional effort to wipe
out a particular demographic group. That would be a bad thing to do.
|
| 3:46a |
Protestors killed, 18 in Peru
The new
president of Peru has been officially charged with homicide
and genocide
after state thugs guarding an airport killed 18 of the
thousands of protesters who tried to take over that airport.
Whether charges of homicide are justified depends on details I don't
know. If they are, whether the charges legally should fall on the
thugs alone, or higher officials as well, depends on more details
I don't know. I don't know which side is right or wrong in Peru.
But charges of genocide can't possibly be justified. The thugs did
not try to wipe out a demographic group, or even to take actions in
that direction. They did not even try to wipe out the protesters
in that one airport.
Weakening the definition of "genocide" will undermine the special
odium that the world has attached to any intentional effort to wipe
out a particular demographic group. That would be a bad thing to do.
|
| 3:46a |
Gas stoves discredited
The
US Consumer Product Safety Commission advocates banning sale of
new gas stoves,
not only to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions, but because their indoor pollution is a major cause of
asthma for children.
When I tried cooking on old-fashioned electric stoves, I found I
couldn't do it. The lag in response to changes of the heat setting
made it impossible for me to control it. But I've read that new
induction stoves are as easy to use as gas stoves.
|
| 3:46a |
|
| 4:01a |
Worker abuse, Musk
Musk promised laid-off Twitter workers
three months of severance pay.
He waited months, then offered them just one month of pay in exchange
for a nondisclosure agreement.
If they all sue. and he loses, it will be what that jerk deserves.
|
| 4:01a |
|
| 6:02a |
|
| 6:02a |
|
| 6:02a |
|
| 6:16a |
Targeted ads, Facebook
Facebook will protect teenage useds
from some kinds of targeted advertising.
That's a step in a good direction, but everyone deserves privacy.
Everyone on the net deserves to be protected from targeted advertising,
and from being profiled at all.
|
| 6:16a |
Pakistan aid, $10bn
*Banks and countries pledge $10bn to rebuild Pakistan
after catastrophic
floods.*
Is the banks' "contribution" a donation, or is it a loan? A big loan could
crush Pakistan decades or even centuries.
There will surely be more such floods, and even bigger. Rebuilding in
any straightforward way will only lead to another destruction. What method
can avert disaster if the rain repeats?
|
| 6:31a |
|
| 6:31a |
|
| 6:46a |
Public transit, Australia
Watch out, Australia! The system to pay for public transit in
Victoria will be replaced —
the plan is for people to pay using
portable phones,
which would effectively identify them to the system
and track where they go.
The existing payment system, "Myki", permits buying a card with cash;
however, buying another card is expensive enough that people will
hesitate to do that very often. BART in San Francisco has done
something similarly unjust.
All in all, this system is not very good, but you can protect your
privacy with some effort. It is possible to swap cards with a
stranger in a station, if there is a machine that will show how much
money is stored in a card. The one who receives the card with the
greater sum stored can pay cash to compensate the other, so that
neither one loses or gains any money.
Victorians, please campaign now for the new system to be better for
privacy. Demand a way to pay for one ride at a time with cash!
|
| 8:02a |
|
| 8:02a |
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