Home » Open thread 3/14/22

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Open thread 3/14/22 — 36 Comments

  1. (via @Doranimated) March 13, 2022 — Gadi Taub interviews B. Netanyahu at length (in Hebrew, now with English subtitles). Gadi’s appended description:

    “We took a step back from current events to get Netanyahu’s historical perspective on Zionism – historical opportunities, taken or lost; leadership and its most essential role; Theodore Herzl’s vision, and the all but lost memory of Aaron Aaronsohn’s role in paving the way to statehood. And finally: Israeli US relations and the looming Iran deal.”

    https://youtu.be/5WCRI_uHIco

  2. Probably a decade ago I was asked to repair an old gate that had a crumbling brick column on either side. As I partially disassembled the columns to reconstruct them – this was an economy repair, not a complete rebuild- I found algae like growth between the bricks and their mortar, almost as if the algae has eaten away at the mortar.

  3. sdferr,

    Netanyahu isn’t saying anything that most of us here don’t already know and understand. The real question is can he actually be heard by the “Biden” administration, the spineless GOP, and all my friends who voted to get rid of “mean tweets”? I have my doubts.

  4. GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN!!
    France has now classified the US as a “Green Country” for entry. That means you do not have to have COVID test prior to entry, you do not need a QR “passport” to enter restaurants, etc. The US still requires a negative COVID test to enter the US, even for US citizens.

    I am leaving on March 31 for a 2 wk trip in France. This is absolutely great news.

  5. In my view, physicsguy, the rhetorical question you raise is already answered as regards those to whom you would direct it, as I do not doubt that these people cannot hear.

    I suppose rather another question, one they may not consider or have not considered (because unstated, or merely left stated between the lines Netanyahu speaks aloud) as a more pertinent one. It’s a question rendering the role of their inability to hear — or to listen to what is next, so to speak — an afterthought or a mere triviality. They moot themselves, on my view.

  6. On a light note, Happy Pi Day, everybody.

    I will be celebrating by turning my kids loose in the pie aisle at the grocery store and seeing what they come up with.

  7. One thing about PM Netanyahu I haven’t seen discussed.
    After the 2020 election, he eagerly acknowledged Biden*’s victory in what I consider an unseemly hurry. Even anti-Trump countries like Mexico were willing to wait a day or two for the dust to settle but PM Netanyahu elbowed his way to the front of the queue in support of Biden.
    It was puzzling at the time and a bit disappointing, considering how hard that Trump worked on policies that benefited Israel.

    I would not say that Israel derived any benefit

  8. “the dry land was rocky and barren, with no shrubs or trees or grasses. But, clinging to the rocks and thin ancient soil was life – just a paper thin-film of microbes”

    Those words highlight perhaps the greatest scientific mystery of all.

    Any idea of what led inorganic elements to create organic life? No inorganic elements then not present today. Yet, is it not true that we lack the ability to create life from those inorganic elements?

    Wouldn’t it be nice if ‘science’ admitted up front that they have no evidence of how organic life arose out of inorganic elements… rather than just ignoring it in a presentation such as this…

  9. Random observation; I haven’t owned a stick shift vehicle for 30 plus years. Before that, I probably threw a million shifts while living in L.A. I’m now in my early 70s. I sometimes miss shifting gears.

  10. GeoffB, author Nick Lane has some “origin of life” books that talk about that question. I’d sum it up to say that
    1) origin of life from inorganic materials, considered as a puzzle not from religious perspective, is perhaps imaginable though still hand-wavy
    2) once life starts, new life from inorganic materials is tough because the existing living things will so easily out-compete it
    3) the origin of complex multi-cellular life is actually a harder puzzle and science still has a long way to go

  11. Any idea of what led inorganic elements to create organic life? No inorganic elements then not present today. Yet, is it not true that we lack the ability to create life from those inorganic elements?

    The technical term for that topic (how life arose from “non living matter”) is abiogenesis. It’s a big topic, as you might imagine, and that wiki article barely scratches the surface.

  12. I see that India is willing to buy the cheap oil offered by Russia. Wonder if that would have happened under Trump?
    With all the embargos, will there be any action taken on Russian tankers. Oil tankers that is.

  13. Let the guillotines for treason be assembled: Zerohedge cites Reuters that Xi-Den wants Maduro’s Venezuelan oil, and a Chevron team is being assembled to facilitate this result to go in, plan “improvements” for that socialist s***hole to produce more and then feed US oil needs.

    Could anything be more criminal?

    EXCERPT: “According to Reuters, which cites ‘three people familiar with the situation’, Chevron is preparing to take operating control of its joint ventures in Venezuela if Washington relaxes sanctions on Caracas to boost crude supplies after banning Russia’s oil imports.

    “The US oil major has begun assembling a trading team to market oil from Venezuela as a first step, and if U.S. approvals are received, Chevron aims to expand its role in the four joint ventures it shares with state-run company PDVSA.

    “The Biden admin – which is desperate to procure oil from any source, even Venezuela, if it means lower gas prices – has said that any new authorization will depend on whether Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro takes further political steps, such as releasing more jailed Americans and setting a firm date for resuming negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition.

    “While a date has not been set for issuing the authorization, Chevron has begun preparations for employees to get Venezuelan visas in Aruba, ready to head to Caracas if the U.S. Treasury eases restrictions.”

    Neo’s prescient post on US foreign policy flip flops needs a Rolodex. (For those too young to appreciate my pre-digital era humor, a Rolodex was an essential office organization tool. It was a desktop set of cards that spun an alphabetised list of names with addresses and phone numbers, manually entered and updated. You could spin it, but few did.)

  14. The US still requires a negative COVID test to enter the US, even for US citizens.

    And that will remain in effect until at least April 22nd. Add $60pp to your travel costs to obtain test kit.

  15. Reminder;

    Maduro of Venezuela announced his support FOR Putin’s invasion of Ukraine; along with Castro and Iran.

    And joke bidet and the cackling moron, Ka-moron Harris, are all OK with this.

    Explain to me please how the president (i.e., Obama) is not dead set on destroying the US.

  16. a Rolodex was an essential office

    Several employees in my office shared a massive motorized version of that called a Cardineer. Ours wasn’t for contact information, but to track arrivals in the mail. I miss those days.

  17. “…[Netanyahu] eagerly acknowledged Biden*’s victory in what I consider an unseemly hurry…”

    Um, that’s not accurate.
    He waited and waited until he believed he could wait no longer.
    For which foot-dragging he was chastised and ridiculed by Jewish bigwigs who supported the Democrats—no doubt members in good standing of that superb org., “Jews for Stolen Elections”…or maybe it’s just the “Jewish Chapter” of the “Big-Tent” umbrella org., “Liberals for Stolen Elections”….)

    …Deftly using the “WHAT-KIND-OF-U.S.-ALLY-ARE-YOU-ANYWAY-BIBI?” argument (AKA guilt-trip)…in a variety of newspaper and on-line articles…

    I would imagine—I would hope—that those big-wigs and the whole wretched gang are groggily spinning around, not knowing what hit them. The new Israeli Govt., tpp.

    You’re right about Mexico, though. That guy was amazing! Held out till the bitter end. And a radical Socialist to boot (though maybe it’s precisely the knee-jerk contrarianism that motivated him—still, pretty darn impressive).

  18. The solar/wind energy scam / fraud.

    Where I live it is very easy to switch electric (and gas) suppliers; all done online in about 5 minutes. I switch electric and gas suppliers very frequently to obtain the lowest price.
    Anyway, some months ago I retained a “wind energy” firm to supply electricity for a 3 month period at $.08 / kwh.
    Note that wind is wind; it is independent of the price of oil or natural gas or Ukraine or Venezuela or Saudi Arabia or fracking.
    So, when the 3 month period expires in a few weeks, what do they intend to
    charge me?
    $.1279 / kwh
    That is about a 50% INCREASE !!
    Geez, I thought wind energy was the way to go to save the planet and to encourage us climate denier neanderthals to opt for wind energy to save the planet.
    Well, it’s total bullshit folks. (check out Germany; they citizens there pay the highest energy rates in all of Europe – wind / solar).

    As I normally do, I will check out my state’s PUC website and search for the best electric prices.
    It will NOT be wind or solar.

  19. ‘“The Biden admin…has said that any new authorization will depend on whether Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro takes further political steps, such as releasing more jailed Americans…”‘

    Might one feverishly, or rather fervently, dream, perchance, that Maduro will show some spine here and use his current leverage over the rogue Yanqui corpo-state to tell “Biden” that HE’S WILLING to release jailed American political prisoners BUT ONLY IF “Biden” will likewise pledge to release jailed American political prisoners….?

    …Otherwise, NO DEAL, YOU DEGENERATE GRINGO….?

    (…whereupon I woke up…with a splitting headache. I really have got to stop with the Tequila…)

  20. Art Deco misses “The Cardineer”?
    Hmmm. I guess I’m a small timer.
    I never saw such a thing!

  21. SenecaGriggs,

    I am a big fan of manual cars. To me, driving a car with an automatic transmission is simply not driving. It’s not just that I find driving a stick much more enjoyable, it helps me stay alert. I pay much more attention to what is happening around me when I have to operate the transmission and clutch.

    I assume you know they are now jokingly called “anti-theft” devices by insurance companies because so few people under the age of 50 can drive one. I have a cousin who valet parked for a few years and was in huge demand because he could drive a manual.

  22. A “must-read” (that must be read with Orwell’s warnings about language firmly resonating):
    “The Revenge of History;
    “The war in Ukraine shows that we are never done with the past.”—
    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/03/13/the-revenge-of-history/
    H/T Powerline blog.
    Key graf (but RTWT):
    “…In the past, the ideals of loyalty, duty and patriotism infused the British state. Today they have given way to values associated with identity politics….”
    “…As Russia invaded Ukraine, sections of the MoD [i.e., British Ministry of Defense] appeared to be more interested in exploring their sexuality and gender identity than in devising a strategy for containing military aggression. Indeed, at the very moment Russian tanks began rolling across the Ukrainian border, the MoD’s blue-tick verified ‘LGBT+ Network’ Twitter account proceeded to explain the meaning of the terms ‘lesbian’, ‘gay’, ‘bisexual’, ‘transgender’, ‘queer’ and ‘questioning’ – which, according to the MoD, is ‘the process of exploring your own sexual orientation and / or gender identity’. In the days that followed, British soldiers were busily calling for the introduction of vegan uniforms. Seeing such infantile behaviour, one was reminded of Roman philosopher Cicero’s warning that ‘to remain ignorant of history is to remain forever a child’….”

  23. On pleasant sunday drives on winding roads, I much prefer a manual transmission.

    Far too many years, on job related driving in LA stop and go traffic, convinced me that an automatic transmission can be a blessing.

  24. Grunt, the thing about pies for today is that they need to be perfectly circular, or nearly so. It would be unfortunate to get a pie whose dimensions are just a bit off, so that the circumference-to-diameter ratio makes it so that you need to hold onto it until St. Patrick’s Day or something.

    (I’m referring to slipshod baking – elliptically.)

  25. I drove a manual up until about two years ago on a 94 Chevy. One hang up for them is you need two good hands and two good legs to drive them. Break an arm or a leg, or break and dislocate a shoulder, as I did a few years ago, and they become difficult to drive.

  26. Interesting video. Previous explanation of the Ordovician extinction event was a GRB. The more we pretend to know, the less we actually do. Happily, the hunt for knowledge continues (however poorly). Cheers –

  27. Abiogenesis (I prefer autobiogenesis, since the leading “a” can mean “not” in some situations, which is confusing in this case): converting from inorganic chemistry to organic chemistry to biochemistry, while also supplying a mode of molecular scale replication and source of energy. That wiki link says way more than I know about it, but something that needs further emphasis is the role of catalytic substrates in reducing the chemical free energy barrier for particular reactions that might not otherwise occur in a free water/ocean environment. Clays, diamond, and FeS have been mentioned, plus the microscopic (cell sized) holes in undersea rocks at/ near the thermal vents. And RNA is also self catalyzing, allowing creation of a variety of other RNA molecules.

    There are a number of YouTube videos on the the RNA world issue and other aspects of early life theories/hypotheses that do a great job helping to visualize what is thought to be going on. The ones showing the generation of bio-energy via ATP or other chemical cascades across a cell barrier are really fascinating.

    I gather the real not-yet-solved issue (aka “gap”) is the detailed understanding of the transition from organic molecules to biomolecules, even if it occurs inside a spherical vesicle made of hydrophile/phobic hydrocarbon molecules to increase concentration of the active participating molecules. Still, not a subject that can be mastered without years of study, so what we learn from layman oriented books (such as the good ones from Nick Lane and other authors) provide only a top level summary understanding. Not enough to overcome the questions from a determined skeptic.

  28. Abiogenesis or autobiogenesis – it’s time for an old joke.

    An atheist scientist came to God and said, “We’ve figured out how to make a man without you.” God said, “OK, let me see you do it.” So the atheist bent down to the ground and scooped up a handful. But God stopped him and said, “No, no, no! Get your own dirt!”

    http://www.charlesspecht.com/a-funny-christian-joke-or-two/

    “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, you’ve been a wonderful audience. I’ll be here all week. Try the veal. And don’t forget to tip your servers”

    https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/ill_be_here_all_week_stand_up_comedian_joke

  29. I love Nick Lane and read all his books eagerly, but he does not really address abiogenesis, though he brilliantly addresses all kinds of other basic principles of life. Once there is a mechanism that replicates with occasional variations, natural selection kicks in and it’s not too hard to theorize about development in response to competitive pressure. The problem is what kind of pressure we can posit to result in the process of replication to begin with, starting only with inorganic molecules.

    Of special difficulty is the question how an abstract code could have developed in the earliest life, in which a sequence of bases came to be associated with a particular amino acid, thus allowing the construction of a protein made up of a particular sequence of amino acids. All life on Earth, from bacteria to Sequoias to human beings, uses essentially the same abstract 3-letter code, suggesting that this innovation happened exactly once, billions of years ago. No one yet has proposed a theory for how these first steps occurred. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but it’s a yawning gap in our theory to date.

  30. Wendy, I believe Lane (or someone else?) covers some of the steps observed and/or created going from inorganic chemistry to organic chemistry (formaldehyde, fatty acids, hydrocarbons, possibly polysaccharide chains??, and amino acids, alcohols, sugars, etc.). The above wiki link also covers some of the ideas / observations of organic molecules being made in the stars/space, and then delivered to Earth.

    So the real knowledge gap you rightly mention is between organic chemistry to biochemistry – forming proteins, RNA, DNA, etc. And having versions that do in fact also replicate themselves – i.e., evolution via natural selection at the molecular level prior to evolution at the cellular level. Thankyou for the reminder as to just how wide that knowledge gap really is.

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