25.6.17
18.6.17
So... where... twins?
DOMENICA PRIMA DELLA partenza per New York City. Una domenica lunga ma piacevole, anche con Doonesbury di Garry B. Trudeau
11.6.17
9.6.17
Semplificare
GLI AMERICANI SI interrogano su molte cose in questo periodo. E scoprono che la semplificazione della realtà non funziona. Ad esempio, in campo sanitario.
Money quote: “More women in this country are prescribed oral contraception for medical reasons than for pregnancy prevention. If the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress succeed in stripping funding from Planned Parenthood and giving employers carte blanche to deny women necessary medication under murky notions of moral disdain, all paths to health and wellness will disappear for a huge swath of Americans.”
Money quote: “More women in this country are prescribed oral contraception for medical reasons than for pregnancy prevention. If the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress succeed in stripping funding from Planned Parenthood and giving employers carte blanche to deny women necessary medication under murky notions of moral disdain, all paths to health and wellness will disappear for a huge swath of Americans.”
8.6.17
Start over
L'OBIETTIVO È RIPENSARE il modello della crescita. E andare oltre la retorica della startup (contrapposta a quella dell'impresa "tradizionale"). Perché, finalmente si comincia a dirlo sempre più spesso, le startup fanno probabilmente bene all'economia, ma non fanno bene a chi le fa.
Money quote:
"The problem is the way most approach entrepreneurship is flawed from the beginning. They try to be disruptors, build the new put-successful-company-name-here and end up with a unicorn. Unfortunately, though, not many of those actually have the chutzpah and genius needed to do that.
Ever wondered why we always hear about the Jobses, Zuckerbergs, Kalanicks and Cheskys, and only about them? That’s because there are not many people who can actually build something so successful and disruptive."
Money quote:
"The problem is the way most approach entrepreneurship is flawed from the beginning. They try to be disruptors, build the new put-successful-company-name-here and end up with a unicorn. Unfortunately, though, not many of those actually have the chutzpah and genius needed to do that.
Ever wondered why we always hear about the Jobses, Zuckerbergs, Kalanicks and Cheskys, and only about them? That’s because there are not many people who can actually build something so successful and disruptive."
7.6.17
Piccolo Buddah
SE ANDATE A Hong Kong, non fatevi mancare il cimitero degli dei minori.
Money quote: "At the bottom of the stairs in Waterfall Bay Park in the southern part of the Wah Fu district of Hong Kong is a hillside where people bring household deities they can no longer keep"
Money quote: "At the bottom of the stairs in Waterfall Bay Park in the southern part of the Wah Fu district of Hong Kong is a hillside where people bring household deities they can no longer keep"
6.6.17
Attributi dialettici
TERRORISMO E RAPPORTI geopolitici. Donald Trump critica il sindaco di Londra dopo gli attacchi, questi fa dire che non ha tempo per rispondere ai tweet presidenziali perché è impegnato in cose serie, mentre la scrittrice inglese J.K.Rowling spara la sua bordata
Money quote: “It's called 'leadership', Donald. The terrorists were dead 8 minutes after police got the call. If we need an alarmist blowhard, we'll call”
Money quote: “It's called 'leadership', Donald. The terrorists were dead 8 minutes after police got the call. If we need an alarmist blowhard, we'll call”
5.6.17
Risparmio informato
MESTIERE CHE FAI, etica (e deontologia) che trovi.
Money quote: "You're not supposed to lie to the public as a lawyer, or mislead your sources as a journalist, etc; none of this is meant to be any sort of ethical advice. But if someone says to you "oh yeah I murdered someone," as a lawyer, your baseline expected response would be not to tell anyone; as a journalist, your baseline expected response would be to tell everyone."
Money quote: "You're not supposed to lie to the public as a lawyer, or mislead your sources as a journalist, etc; none of this is meant to be any sort of ethical advice. But if someone says to you "oh yeah I murdered someone," as a lawyer, your baseline expected response would be not to tell anyone; as a journalist, your baseline expected response would be to tell everyone."
4.6.17
Viva il vinile
CERTO, PER DIRLO uno che ha scritto un libro che si chiama Playlist, come paradosso non è male
Money quote: “Poi probabilmente presto mi stuferò e tornerà a mancarmi quella cosa delle playlist, colonna sonora continua, sorpresa alla fine di ogni pezzo, opportunità di eliminare i pezzi brutti e le discontinuità, eccetera. Ogni cambiamento di solito è una perdita: il bello di questo cambiamento è che è sopravvissuto tutto, dopo un momento di difficoltà. Chissà che succeda anche con l’informazione, ma questa è un’altra storia.”
Money quote: “Poi probabilmente presto mi stuferò e tornerà a mancarmi quella cosa delle playlist, colonna sonora continua, sorpresa alla fine di ogni pezzo, opportunità di eliminare i pezzi brutti e le discontinuità, eccetera. Ogni cambiamento di solito è una perdita: il bello di questo cambiamento è che è sopravvissuto tutto, dopo un momento di difficoltà. Chissà che succeda anche con l’informazione, ma questa è un’altra storia.”
Anteprime esplosive
SI CHIAMAVA "OPERAZIONE giorno del giudizio". Durante la guerra del 1967 Israele era pronto a far esplodere l'atomica nella penisola del Sinai in caso stesse perdendo il conflitto.
Money quote: "On the eve of the Arab-Israeli war, 50 years ago this week, Israeli officials raced to assemble an atomic device and developed a plan to detonate it atop a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula as a warning to Egyptian and other Arab forces, according to an interview with a key organizer of the effort that will be published Monday"
Money quote: "On the eve of the Arab-Israeli war, 50 years ago this week, Israeli officials raced to assemble an atomic device and developed a plan to detonate it atop a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula as a warning to Egyptian and other Arab forces, according to an interview with a key organizer of the effort that will be published Monday"
You've done well, waterpup!
DOMENICA PIOVOSA A Milano ma c'è Doonesbury di Garry B. Trudeau per fortuna
3.6.17
Non ci sono più le azioni positive di una volta
UNA INTERESSANTE SENTENZA della Corte suprema americana rimette in discussione le tecniche di compensazione (in realtà di jerrymandering) per ritagliare distretti a maggioranza nera. È una tecnica che idealmente dovrebbe avere una finalità equilibratrice tramite un’azione positiva, ma che in realtà rafforza l’altra parte, quella conservatrice e a quanto pare razzista (ma non ci sono più repubblicani neri o gay o femministe o comunque “diversi” dallo stereotipo trumpiano?).
L’altra cosa interessante è che la maggioranza dentro la Corte suprema si è ottenuta grazie al voto di uno dei giudici conservatori. Il che lascia immaginare un interessante cambiamento di passo in materia di giudicato prima ritenuto impossibile.
Money quote: “There was some truth to this idea, but also a great deal of naïveté. The majority-black districts that progressives defended were frequently drawn with the help of Republicans, who appreciated the clustering of Democratic voters around a few safe seats. By packing black Democrats into a handful of districts, Republicans made their own seats safer.“
L’altra cosa interessante è che la maggioranza dentro la Corte suprema si è ottenuta grazie al voto di uno dei giudici conservatori. Il che lascia immaginare un interessante cambiamento di passo in materia di giudicato prima ritenuto impossibile.
Money quote: “There was some truth to this idea, but also a great deal of naïveté. The majority-black districts that progressives defended were frequently drawn with the help of Republicans, who appreciated the clustering of Democratic voters around a few safe seats. By packing black Democrats into a handful of districts, Republicans made their own seats safer.“
2.6.17
Frozen Hell?
NON SO QUANTI lo noteranno, ma la stampa americana ha riconosciuto a Donald Trump di aver fatto la mossa giusta in risposta alla strage britannica.
Money quote: ““The bottom line is that the Islamic State is the classic sci-fi underdog battling a seemingly all powerful Evil Empire America against impossible odds—and in the very best sci-fi tradition—they are winning.” In the wake of the Manchester attack, Trump contradicted that narrative. It’s an approach perfectly suited to a man who has spent a lifetime dividing the world into winners and losers. And in this case, it may well be the right one.”
Con una nota di cinismo e realpolitik, l’unico modo per trasformare in qualcosa di diverso una presidenza fallimentare (come poteva essere quella di Bush figlio o come il rischio di impeachment, che secondo me oggi è ancora possibile) è il disastro e poi la guerra.
Money quote: ““The bottom line is that the Islamic State is the classic sci-fi underdog battling a seemingly all powerful Evil Empire America against impossible odds—and in the very best sci-fi tradition—they are winning.” In the wake of the Manchester attack, Trump contradicted that narrative. It’s an approach perfectly suited to a man who has spent a lifetime dividing the world into winners and losers. And in this case, it may well be the right one.”
Con una nota di cinismo e realpolitik, l’unico modo per trasformare in qualcosa di diverso una presidenza fallimentare (come poteva essere quella di Bush figlio o come il rischio di impeachment, che secondo me oggi è ancora possibile) è il disastro e poi la guerra.
Su un ingiustificato senso di superiorità
NON DOVREMMO DIMENTICARE che il concetto di bolla informativa non va a senso unico. Mai. Altrimenti siamo condannati a rivivere la stessa storia.
Money quote: “The U.S. presidential election, as I’ve argued, was something of a similar case. No, the polls didn’t show a toss-up, as they had in Brexit. But the reporting was much more certain of Clinton’s chances than it should have been based on the polls. Much of The New York Times’s coverage, for instance, implied that Clinton’s odds were close to 100 percent. In an article on Oct. 17 — more than three weeks before Election Day — they portrayed the race as being effectively over, the only question being whether Clinton should seek a landslide or instead assist down-ballot Democrats”
Money quote: “The U.S. presidential election, as I’ve argued, was something of a similar case. No, the polls didn’t show a toss-up, as they had in Brexit. But the reporting was much more certain of Clinton’s chances than it should have been based on the polls. Much of The New York Times’s coverage, for instance, implied that Clinton’s odds were close to 100 percent. In an article on Oct. 17 — more than three weeks before Election Day — they portrayed the race as being effectively over, the only question being whether Clinton should seek a landslide or instead assist down-ballot Democrats”
La punta dell'iceberg
AVETE PRESENTE I bei panorami marini con le balene che fanno i tuffi e i pescherecci che tornano con il pieno di gamberi e gamberetti? Beh, pare che il riscaldamento globale stia creando altri problemi, con un traffico di iceberg che vanno verso sud crescente. Belle opportunità di foto sulle coste del Canada (Halifax e posti del genere) ma problemi per la navigazione e la vita della fauna e flora marina, con i ghiaccioli che fanno venire la polmonite ittica alle specie ora a rischio.
Ok, la polmonite ittica me la sono inventata, però il problema è serio.
Money quote: “So far this year the number of icebergs moving into the North Atlantic shipping lanes has spiked, forcing vessels to either slow down or make long detours. Some 616 icebergs have moved into the shipping lanes so far this year, as compared to 687 in all of 2016.”
Ok, la polmonite ittica me la sono inventata, però il problema è serio.
Money quote: “So far this year the number of icebergs moving into the North Atlantic shipping lanes has spiked, forcing vessels to either slow down or make long detours. Some 616 icebergs have moved into the shipping lanes so far this year, as compared to 687 in all of 2016.”
1.6.17
Quelle maledette scie chimiche
LE TEORIE DELLA COSPIRAZIONE non sono infinite e soprattutto non nascono in maniera inconoscibile e ineffabile. C’è chi le studia e le mappa, arrivando a conclusioni piuttosto interessanti, anche se purtroppo americanocentriche: occorrerebbe un approccio simile anche da noi.
Money quote: “Runciman is a director of Conspiracy and Democracy, a five-year, Leverhulme-funded project based at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) that is drawing together researchers across disciplines to assemble a ‘natural history’ of conspiracy theories. He offers a succinct definition. “In the pejorative sense, a conspiracy theory is a view about the world in which the surface story is never the real story. It’s a view without any limits to its scepticism or doubt. It’s a mindset in which nothing that contradicts the theory is taken as anything other than evidence that the theory is true.””
Money quote: “Runciman is a director of Conspiracy and Democracy, a five-year, Leverhulme-funded project based at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) that is drawing together researchers across disciplines to assemble a ‘natural history’ of conspiracy theories. He offers a succinct definition. “In the pejorative sense, a conspiracy theory is a view about the world in which the surface story is never the real story. It’s a view without any limits to its scepticism or doubt. It’s a mindset in which nothing that contradicts the theory is taken as anything other than evidence that the theory is true.””
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