Yearly Archives: 2017

Flynn will testify that Trump directed him to contact Russians

Politics, , , ,

When I suggested several months ago that a document produced by a source that I knew independently to be good strongly suggested that Donald Trump colluded with the Russians to alter the outcome of an American election, Scienceblogs shut me down, unposted the post, and made it impossible for me to access my account. I complained and they backed off, and I think the individual who did it was literally on drugs at the time, but still, it was the only time anything like that ever happened at Scienceblogs. And it was about Trump being guilty of collusion with Russia. I have not mentioned that before because I believed the individual who carried out this act was vindictive and I didn’t know if there was a link to the Republicans or some other entity, so I kept my mouth shut about it until the very last day that there could be any retribution. Scienceblogs stopped the redirect from the old site to my new blog yesterday.

And, almost to the day, the suggestion that Trump colluded with the Russians is again supported indirectly by things we suddenly know. Continue reading Flynn will testify that Trump directed him to contact Russians →

Flynn Lied to the FBI; Here is the charging document

Politics, , , , ,

If you lie to a US Federal agent, they can bust you, and my understanding is that judges like to sentence those convicted of this by juries to jail for long periods of time. But, if you are charged with this crime and plea guilty, so there is no jury trial, then there is room to negotiate.

“If I did a tenth of what she did, I’d be in jail today.”
LOL
Note that FBI agents know how to make sure prosecution will get a conviction. They write everything down carefully, have witnesses, etc. So, if they ask you a question and you lie, you are now in the process. It is just a matter of time until you are signing a plea agreement.

Michael Flynn, perhaps owing to hubris, perhaps owing to fear, perhaps owing to sub-average intelligence, perhaps to a combination, managed to lie, apparently multiple times, to FBI agents.

Unlike most of the other characters in the Trump-Russia scandal, Flynn has been more involved in Turkish shenanigans than Russian, but the charges going down today do relate to Russia.

He is charged with lying about his interactions with the Russian ambassador to the US about sanctions, and about a pending UN Security Council resolution related to Russia.

Here is the charging document: Continue reading Flynn Lied to the FBI; Here is the charging document →

Give The Gift of Nostalgia and Angst

Books, , ,

For a holiday gift this year, consider giving a book about politics, since politics this year is so very special.

There are two kinds of books out this year of special interest. There is a plethora of books that expose the evil underpinnings of the white supremacist meritocratic oligarchic patriarchy. And, there is a growing collection of books about the last time America was going under for the third time, and the people of those times. Here is a selection for you to ponder. Continue reading Give The Gift of Nostalgia and Angst →

Vonegut, Salmon, Genetics, Magic: Cheap Books

Other, ,

For just a day or two, you should be able to get each of these books in Kindle for for two or three books:

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonegut.

The Color of Magic: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Prachett

A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer Doudna and Sam Sternberg.

Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table by Langdon Cook.

Almost Like Praying: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Maria

Climate Change, Severe Weather and Other Disasters, , , , ,

The phrase “It is almost like praying” is from the song Maria, from the musical West Side Story. The phrase refers to the name itself, if I understand the somg correctly, which makes sense from a Catholic point of view because the name Maria and variants of it thoroughly indurate the prayer-text.
Continue reading Almost Like Praying: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Maria →

WaPo Opinion Piece: Extinction is fine, Climate Change is no big deal

Climate Change, War on Science, , , ,

R. Alexander Pyron, a professor of Biology at George Washington University, wrote an OpEd in the Washington Post urging us humans to care much less than we do about species extinction. In the essay he says: Continue reading WaPo Opinion Piece: Extinction is fine, Climate Change is no big deal →

Did a foreign power hack the TIME Person of the Year reader poll?

Politics, , ,

Did you know that there is a reader poll that you can visit to give the thumbs up or down for each prospect on a fairly long mid-list of possible persons of they year? Click here to participate (will open in a new tab or window). I have no idea how much influence, if any, this poll has on the final decision. But this year, the poll was clearly hacked and I assume that will be taken into consideration.

Have a look at the results so far, as of this writing: Continue reading Did a foreign power hack the TIME Person of the Year reader poll? →

Roger Pielke Junior Is Telling People To Shut Up Again

Climate Change, War on Science, , , , , , ,

I usually ignore Junior’s yammering whines, but in this case there is an interesting and helpful response providing the bigger picture, a thing to learn from.

For context, I provide below links to selected posts of my own about Junior.

This most recent event involves an Op Ed published by the largely anti-science-even-if-it-is-bad-for-the-economy The Wall Street Journal, by Pielke Jr. In it he attacks Michael Mann, and does so in a ham-handed and factually incorrect way. In other words, just another day in the life of Junior.

Since I let my subscription to the Wall Street Journal expire in 1971, and they hold their cards close to their golden chest, I provide the response, by defender of science Peter Fontaine, as graphic: Continue reading Roger Pielke Junior Is Telling People To Shut Up Again →

A Thanksgiving Day Story: Fear, Loathing, Feasting, Family

Anthropology, Palaeoanthropology, , , , , ,

What is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a feast. But what is a feast? Anthropology is all about examining ourselves through the lens of other cultures. Or, at least, that’s what we used to do back in the good old days. Let’s have a look at this great American holiday from this perspective and see what we see. Continue reading A Thanksgiving Day Story: Fear, Loathing, Feasting, Family →