The unimportant news thread

[drogulus]

     

[Todd]

Originally from the WSJ: Europeans Are Becoming Poorer. 'Yes, We're All Worse Off.'



Tee-hee.

[Karl Henning]

What's the Difference Between Tequila and Mezcal?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Germany has pledged to support Poland in defending its eastern flank in case of a potential attack from Wagner fighters in neighboring Belarus.


https://news.az/news/germany-pledges-to-stand-by-poland-if-its-attacked-along-eastern-flank

[Todd]

From ICN: A Shipping Rule Backfires, Diverting Sulfur Emissions From the Air to the Ocean

When large ships use scrubbers to meet international air pollution limits, the treated fuel exhaust gets dumped into the sea along with other contaminants. Researchers say the discharges are packed with metals and organic compounds that threaten marine environments.

[AnotherSpin]

There are pictures in the news today of the aftermath of a night-time Russian missile raid on my city, Odessa. Several buildings were destroyed, including the main cathedral of orthodox Christianity. Many buildings in historical part of the town, protected by UNESCO, have been damaged. This includes the building of the famous Stolyarsky School, where David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Elisabeth Gilels, Boris Goldstein, Mikhail Fikhtengoltz and many other magnificent and unique musicians studied.

[Karl Henning]

How a Record-Setting Giant Fish Could Help Save Its Home River
A 661-pound stingray caught in the Mekong was tagged and tracked. The data is giving scientists new insight into a fragile ecosystem.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

There are pictures in the news today of the aftermath of a night-time Russian missile raid on my city, Odessa. Several buildings were destroyed, including the main cathedral of orthodox Christianity. Many buildings in historical part of the town, protected by UNESCO, have been damaged. This includes the building of the famous Stolyarsky School, where David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Elisabeth Gilels, Boris Goldstein, Mikhail Fikhtengoltz and many other magnificent and unique musicians studied.

So very sad to see.

PD

p.s.  I also saw a photo on the BBC website this morning of a cathedral (I believe it was) that had major damage to it too.

[Karl Henning]

There are pictures in the news today of the aftermath of a night-time Russian missile raid on my city, Odessa. Several buildings were destroyed, including the main cathedral of orthodox Christianity. Many buildings in historical part of the town, protected by UNESCO, have been damaged. This includes the building of the famous Stolyarsky School, where David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Elisabeth Gilels, Boris Goldstein, Mikhail Fikhtengoltz and many other magnificent and unique musicians studied.

Awful.

[T. D.]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66314075

DeSantis campaign fires aide who shared clip with Nazi symbol

Why would the GQP fire anybody for that? I'd expect 'em to give the guy a medal (or Iron Cross).    

[Added] Aha, as I suspected, there was no causal link between the firing and the video. That's a relief.

...Mr Hochman was one of 38 staffers fired in recent weeks in a bid to "streamline operations", the campaign confirmed on Tuesday...

Pity the dude didn't post it sooner. Might have kept his job.

[T. D.]

Yet another research fraud, but a big and spectacular one:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02401-2

There's also a NYT story, which could be paywalled.

[Mapman]

Yet another research fraud, but a big and spectacular one:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02401-2

There's also a NYT story, which could be paywalled.

Which, interestingly, comes at the same time as another announcement of room-temperature superconductors: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yet another research fraud, but a big and spectacular one:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02401-2

There's also a NYT story, which could be paywalled.

Which, interestingly, comes at the same time as another announcement of room-temperature superconductors: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008.

Quite interesting!  I see that the ones that Mapman referred to were submitted to APL Materials on the 23rd for review (according to Wiki).

PD

[LKB]

Quite interesting!  I see that the ones that Mapman referred to were submitted to APL Materials on the 23rd for review (according to Wiki).

PD

Makes me wonder if some folks weren't trying to beat the Koreans to a big payday...

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan has been disqualified for refusing to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova at the World Fencing Championships.


https://www.bbc.com/sport/fencing/66322668

[T. D.]

Makes me wonder if some folks weren't trying to beat the Koreans to a big payday...

Not just "the Koreans", they're from Cornell University. And the big fraud mentioned just above was from U. of Rochester, which is quite respectable.

This stuff astounds me. Why would one present a sensational discovery based on fake data? Doesn't it stand to reason that hordes of researchers would instantly seek to replicate the results?

Yes, I know Gregor Mendel smoothed and doctored his data to fit his hypothesis. But I doubt the experimental evidence in these cases is anywhere near as clear.

Meanwhile,

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66321392

Three members of a Colorado family died while attempting to live "off the grid" in the Rocky Mountains, family members and investigators say.

The emaciated remains of sisters Christine and Rebecca Vance and the latter's 14-year old son, were found in a remote campsite this month.

On Tuesday a coroner ruled that they probably died from starvation or exposure during the cold winter.

It appears that the group began camping last summer and died over the winter.

Rebecca Vance's stepsister Trevala Jara, told the Washington Post on Wednesday: "She didn't like the way the world was going, and she thought it would be better if her and her son and Christine were alone, away from everybody."

The group - including the sisters who were in their 40s - had no outdoor survival experience and had watched online videos to learn about how to survive in Colorado's rugged backcountry, Mrs Jara told US media.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan has been disqualified for refusing to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova at the World Fencing Championships.


https://www.bbc.com/sport/fencing/66322668

Sorry to read that. Tennis players have come to their own agreements/arrangements (alas, some folks in the crowd don't seem to understand that and have booed some of the players).  I don't believe that it's part of any official rules; however, it's customary to shake ones opponent's hands after a match and also to shake the hand of the chair umpire too. By not shaking your opponent's hand (at the minimum), it's certainly showing that there's some frostiness going on (from at least one side).  Also, not shaking the umpire's hand is considered rude too (sometimes done as a sign of protest against the chair umpire showing that the player was unhappy with how they [think anyway] were treated/bad call, etc.).

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Not just "the Koreans", they're from Cornell University. And the big fraud mentioned just above was from U. of Rochester, which is quite respectable.

This stuff astounds me. Why would one present a sensational discovery based on fake data? Doesn't it stand to reason that hordes of researchers would instantly seek to replicate the results?

Yes, I know Gregor Mendel smoothed and doctored his data to fit his hypothesis. But I doubt the experimental evidence in these cases is anywhere near as clear.

Meanwhile,

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66321392

Three members of a Colorado family died while attempting to live "off the grid" in the Rocky Mountains, family members and investigators say.

The emaciated remains of sisters Christine and Rebecca Vance and the latter's 14-year old son, were found in a remote campsite this month.

On Tuesday a coroner ruled that they probably died from starvation or exposure during the cold winter.

It appears that the group began camping last summer and died over the winter.

Rebecca Vance's stepsister Trevala Jara, told the Washington Post on Wednesday: "She didn't like the way the world was going, and she thought it would be better if her and her son and Christine were alone, away from everybody."

The group - including the sisters who were in their 40s - had no outdoor survival experience and had watched online videos to learn about how to survive in Colorado's rugged backcountry, Mrs Jara told US media.

Re Colorado campers:  That's crazy!  And very sad too.

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

When trying to find out a bit more about the two sisters and the son who had passed away in Colorado, I stumbled across this sweet story:

'The genesis of this year's Cat Fest is a typo.

Former co-founder and co-owner of the Denver County Fair Dana Cain was doing an interview in 2015 in which she mentioned the "kitchen pavilion" as a fair event. The reporter accidentally printed "kitten pavilion," and Cain had no choice but to locate some cats.

"They printed we had a kitten pavilion," Cain said. "So I said 'OK well, we have to do it!'"

More here:

https://gazette.com/arts-entertainment/cat-fest-shangri-la-for-all-things-feline/article_9df8e3ca-2672-11ee-81fa-ebd9484db2ef.html

PD

[DavidW]

When trying to find out a bit more about the two sisters and the son who had passed away in Colorado, I stumbled across this sweet story:

'The genesis of this year's Cat Fest is a typo.

Former co-founder and co-owner of the Denver County Fair Dana Cain was doing an interview in 2015 in which she mentioned the "kitchen pavilion" as a fair event. The reporter accidentally printed "kitten pavilion," and Cain had no choice but to locate some cats.

"They printed we had a kitten pavilion," Cain said. "So I said 'OK well, we have to do it!'"

More here:

https://gazette.com/arts-entertainment/cat-fest-shangri-la-for-all-things-feline/article_9df8e3ca-2672-11ee-81fa-ebd9484db2ef.html

PD

I kind of feel like that should be cross-posted on Cato's thread!