A noble lawyer, taking on a pro Bono case to rescue a young adult, long oppressed by a tyrannical father and now by LA Fitness' abusive cancellation policy
The inevitable movie will rival Erin Brockovich
The inevitable movie will rival Erin Brockovich
August 24, 2025 at 1:22 AM
A noble lawyer, taking on a pro Bono case to rescue a young adult, long oppressed by a tyrannical father and now by LA Fitness' abusive cancellation policy
The inevitable movie will rival Erin Brockovich
The inevitable movie will rival Erin Brockovich
I did one 21k-step (~105k bananas) day in LA, but agreed that NYC is more encouraging of walking. You can get to so many places on foot
July 2, 2025 at 12:06 PM
I did one 21k-step (~105k bananas) day in LA, but agreed that NYC is more encouraging of walking. You can get to so many places on foot
You are traveling back to Australia the long way!
July 2, 2025 at 11:57 AM
You are traveling back to Australia the long way!
Those were all military conflicts between groupings that had actual armies
June 8, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Those were all military conflicts between groupings that had actual armies
Might it not be that the decision to remove school mask mandates was made according to community Covid levels (school masking could be relatively irrelevant to community Covid levels and the graph might still look similar)?
June 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Might it not be that the decision to remove school mask mandates was made according to community Covid levels (school masking could be relatively irrelevant to community Covid levels and the graph might still look similar)?
I think Tapper and Thompson got pretty good access after the fact, from people who wouldn't have spoken to anyone at the time
May 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I think Tapper and Thompson got pretty good access after the fact, from people who wouldn't have spoken to anyone at the time
The anti-immigrant part of British politics, which has been around basically my whole life but has varied in form and in its main targets, is unfortunate. Those of us who support immigration didn't do a great job, though; if we always dismiss concerns as racism, no minds are changed in our favour
May 22, 2025 at 10:50 AM
The anti-immigrant part of British politics, which has been around basically my whole life but has varied in form and in its main targets, is unfortunate. Those of us who support immigration didn't do a great job, though; if we always dismiss concerns as racism, no minds are changed in our favour
I never understood it, although in addition to not being bothered by it, I also favour immigration from outside the EU so am not remotely typical of British sentiment (and I also left the UK, for the US, although primarily because I like the US).
May 22, 2025 at 10:46 AM
I never understood it, although in addition to not being bothered by it, I also favour immigration from outside the EU so am not remotely typical of British sentiment (and I also left the UK, for the US, although primarily because I like the US).
I am not a political-book junky--I mostly read political reporting in shorter forms--but I think the subject matter is important, in this case
May 22, 2025 at 10:39 AM
I am not a political-book junky--I mostly read political reporting in shorter forms--but I think the subject matter is important, in this case
Yeah, got Woodward's book about Trump, too, years ago. People to whom insiders will talk seem important in putting together the history and I think there's interesting and important things to learn about the consequential decision-making of both Presidents (including about campaigning/running again)
May 22, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Yeah, got Woodward's book about Trump, too, years ago. People to whom insiders will talk seem important in putting together the history and I think there's interesting and important things to learn about the consequential decision-making of both Presidents (including about campaigning/running again)
I don't think it's impossible the UK rejoins, but immigration from EU countries was unpopular, the Euro is unpopular, EU governance organizations are unpopular, etc. Major EU economies mostly suck, too. If EU economies really improve and UK continues to stagnate, that would create a lot of pressure
May 22, 2025 at 10:20 AM
I don't think it's impossible the UK rejoins, but immigration from EU countries was unpopular, the Euro is unpopular, EU governance organizations are unpopular, etc. Major EU economies mostly suck, too. If EU economies really improve and UK continues to stagnate, that would create a lot of pressure
I don't think there is an enforcement mechanism, but the fact it's a required commitment will dissuade some people and campaigning as "we have to say we will join the Euro, but we're lying!" won't be a great spectacle
May 22, 2025 at 10:20 AM
I don't think there is an enforcement mechanism, but the fact it's a required commitment will dissuade some people and campaigning as "we have to say we will join the Euro, but we're lying!" won't be a great spectacle
I think it's _possible_ but I genuinely don't think it's inevitable. If EU economies continue to stagnate, even as the UK's does, too, I don't think _joining_ looks like a great bet even though leaving was painful, for example
May 22, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I think it's _possible_ but I genuinely don't think it's inevitable. If EU economies continue to stagnate, even as the UK's does, too, I don't think _joining_ looks like a great bet even though leaving was painful, for example
But other than the regularly-underachieving Lib Dems, none of the national parties are going to favour rejoining (the SNP probably would, but they only run in Scotland, albeit doninantly)
May 20, 2025 at 9:49 PM
But other than the regularly-underachieving Lib Dems, none of the national parties are going to favour rejoining (the SNP probably would, but they only run in Scotland, albeit doninantly)
53% to rejoin without an actual campaign for and against is maybe lower than I have expected, and maybe it would be a losing vote after campaigning, as the UK opt-out would probably be gone if we re-entered, and in principle we would have to commit to join the Euro, stuff people don't talk about now
May 20, 2025 at 9:47 PM
53% to rejoin without an actual campaign for and against is maybe lower than I have expected, and maybe it would be a losing vote after campaigning, as the UK opt-out would probably be gone if we re-entered, and in principle we would have to commit to join the Euro, stuff people don't talk about now
For what it's worth, the 60 pages of Original Sin I have read so far (so, can't speak for the rest, yet, it may go bad from now on) is reporting on what Democrats and White House folks have said. For that, journalists who have the connections are probably going to get more information
May 20, 2025 at 9:41 PM
For what it's worth, the 60 pages of Original Sin I have read so far (so, can't speak for the rest, yet, it may go bad from now on) is reporting on what Democrats and White House folks have said. For that, journalists who have the connections are probably going to get more information
On the immigration side, I think public social media posts have long been monitored, but hearing that people are asked to share their phone's contents seems new? Or maybe just not previously reported?
April 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
On the immigration side, I think public social media posts have long been monitored, but hearing that people are asked to share their phone's contents seems new? Or maybe just not previously reported?
This is obviously aside from whether one wants to boycott due to unease at visiting a country, due to objecting to the actions of its leadership, anyhow. That is orthogonal, one could have assured visiting rights and still not want to go
April 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
This is obviously aside from whether one wants to boycott due to unease at visiting a country, due to objecting to the actions of its leadership, anyhow. That is orthogonal, one could have assured visiting rights and still not want to go
It's certainly being _reported_ more now (people from countries long considered an overstay risk have always had a tough time of the sort we now see reported about European and Canadian visitors)
April 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
It's certainly being _reported_ more now (people from countries long considered an overstay risk have always had a tough time of the sort we now see reported about European and Canadian visitors)
I have family and friends who have had a tough time at UD immigration more than 20-30 years ago, including one refused entry and another subject to an uncomfortable search of their person, but I don't know how much incidence has increased (I can certainly believe it has)
April 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I have family and friends who have had a tough time at UD immigration more than 20-30 years ago, including one refused entry and another subject to an uncomfortable search of their person, but I don't know how much incidence has increased (I can certainly believe it has)
I think it's always been the case that you need to state your first night's location--I remember filling it out on visa waiver forms back in ye olde days and being told I could get refused entry otherwise--but maybe they have got stricter?
April 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I think it's always been the case that you need to state your first night's location--I remember filling it out on visa waiver forms back in ye olde days and being told I could get refused entry otherwise--but maybe they have got stricter?
One small silver lining would be way less crowding at Disney World! But, alas, I am here and it's pretty rammed
More relevant to our scientific fields, it's all going to seriously impact international conference attendance if the venue is in the US. Seeing signs of that already
More relevant to our scientific fields, it's all going to seriously impact international conference attendance if the venue is in the US. Seeing signs of that already
April 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
One small silver lining would be way less crowding at Disney World! But, alas, I am here and it's pretty rammed
More relevant to our scientific fields, it's all going to seriously impact international conference attendance if the venue is in the US. Seeing signs of that already
More relevant to our scientific fields, it's all going to seriously impact international conference attendance if the venue is in the US. Seeing signs of that already
What the administration is doing is really destructive but they really do have us over a barrel if they can make it stick; this isn't "one simple trick with the endowment" territory
April 19, 2025 at 12:11 PM
What the administration is doing is really destructive but they really do have us over a barrel if they can make it stick; this isn't "one simple trick with the endowment" territory
They would probably blow all the flexibly-spendable parts of the endowment in a year or so and the stuff the income from that would have been spent on--including stuff like student financial aid--will not only be lost but won't come back because the capital that supports it will be gone
April 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
They would probably blow all the flexibly-spendable parts of the endowment in a year or so and the stuff the income from that would have been spent on--including stuff like student financial aid--will not only be lost but won't come back because the capital that supports it will be gone