Links 9/25/19

Scott’s Supreme Quantum Supremacy FAQ! Scott Aaronson (David L)

Quantum observers may be entitled to their own facts PhysOrg (Robert M)

U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM,CLIMATE SCIENCE SPECIAL REPORT (CSSR) WikiLeaks. From Sunday, apologies for not having linked to it. Chuck L: “A 100MB+ PDF document, apparently posted today by WikiLeaks, that’s been suppressed by Trumpstan.”

Nuclear Energy Too Slow, Too Expensive To Save Climate, Says Report Reuters. I think this misses the point. Many if not most people who want nuclear in the mix want it take care of base load, which solar and wind are poorly suited to do. It may still take too long to build out nuclear even for that use but that is not what this report addressed, so it comes off as a bit of a straw man. We posted an analysis that described at length when you factor in the costs of load shifting or overbuilding to cover for load-shifting (which can still fail with solar if you have cloudy days), solar prices are higher than naive comparisons suggest. You really need to drill down to “Power when and where do we get it?”

These tree-planting drones are firing ‘seed missiles’ into the ground. Less than a year later, they’re already 20 inches tall. Megaphone (David L)

Ancient mummy hearts may be the secret to understanding a 21st-century killer Inverse (Kevin W)

Researchers find lead in turmeric PhysOrg (Robert M) 🙁

China?

Saudi oil disruption could hit China hardest Asia Times. Kevin W: “Fecal matter? Meet oscillatory rotation device!”

US universities see decline in students from China Associated Press

German Prosecutors Indict Top VW Bosses Over Diesel Emissions Scandal Reuters

Brexit

How the U.K. Supreme Court’s Rebuke to Boris Johnson Remakes British Law New York Times (Kevin W)

The Supreme Court, Proroguing & Dangerous Precedents OffGuardian (JTM)

Boris Johnson forced to fly home to face anger of parliament Financial Times

After Thomas Cook collapse, UK PM asks why bosses got paid millions Reuters

New Cold War

Is Europe Eyeing a ‘Reset’ With Russia? American Conservative (resilc)

Syraqistan

U.S. exit from Syria could bolster ISIS threat, strengthen Iran, bipartisan report says NBC

Yes Trump, Please End the American Era in the Middle East American Conservative (resilc)

Three US troops wounded in apparent insider attack in Afghanistan Stripes (resilc)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Amazon’s Ring Wanted To Use 911 Calls To Activate Its Video Doorbells CNET. Help me. Cop will use burner phone to make 911 call to turn on recording of home where he thinks his wife is having an affair.

Imperial Collapse Watch

US Navy Corruption Levels Put the Third World to Shame – Checkpoint Asia (Kevin W)

America’s Startling Short Range Air Defense Gap And How To Close It Fast The Drive (resilc)

Revealed: how the FBI targeted environmental activists in domestic terror investigations | US news Guardian

Trump Transition

Speaker Pelosi Announcement on Impeachment C-SPAN (Kevin C)

Senate GOP vows to quash impeachment articles The Hill

The Trump-Ukraine scandal is a taste of how dirty the US elections will get The Trump-Ukraine scandal is a taste of how dirty the US elections will get Guardian

John Bolton’s revenge of having Trump impeached over Trump’s abuse of power regarding the Biden family’s soft influence peddling is a turducken of corruption.

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) September 25, 2019

Trump ordered aid frozen; more Democrats want impeachment Associated Press. Resilc: “We’re down from Vermont for a few days for medical issues. I sat in the UNC orthopedic center yesterday with a cast of dozens of all ages, races and economic levels. I am betting most could care less about Trump and impeachment, but a whole lot about their medical insurance or lack of….”

Trump sets out to undercut Pelosi’s impeachment gamble CNN

‘Ukraine-Gate’ Will Endanger Biden, Not Trump American Conservative (resilc). We’ll see in due course if this call proves correct.

‘No, you’re corrupt!’: why there’s method in Trump’s playground taunts Guardian

Saker rant: reaction to the Dems attempt to impeach Trump The Saker (Kevin W)

They’d never dream of impeaching based on illegal wars, illegal mass surveillance, or a thousand other genuine abuses of state power. So when the entire liberal mainstream coalesces around the conclusion that impeachment is suddenly mandatory — yeah, I’m skeptical

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 25, 2019

Trump’s Economic Program Has Left Most Americans Worse Off Washington Monthly

How Popular Is Donald Trump? FiveThirtyEight (resilc). Funny, the headline on the article proper is “How unpopular is Donald Trump”. Reslic snagged his link from some service….RSS reader (I don’t inquire but I can tell from the formatting). So wonder how that happened? It’s not due to the URL, which is often the culprit.

Detained: America’s immigration detention center Guardian

Court Says FCC Ignored Hard Data In Rush To Help Media Companies Motherboard.

2020

Biden Already Dominated Cable News Coverage. Then The Ukraine Story Broke. FiveThirtyEight (resilc)

The Prospect of an Elizabeth Warren Nomination Should Be Very Worrying Current Affairs (UserFriendly)

Sanders has had wealth tax legislation since 2014.

They know this, and printed it anyway. https://t.co/268mrkQS9W

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) September 24, 2019

Not gonna lie, it kinda messes me up watching these old clips of young Sen. Obama campaigning for Bernie in 2006. pic.twitter.com/f3baRHuZBA

— Woobie🌹Tuesday (@WoobieTuesday) September 25, 2019