It’s worth noting that in most other rich countries, pedestrian deaths have been falling. And before anyone says something stupid about how America is uniquely big or new, even Canada has 60% fewer traffic fatalities.

Well said. This feels like an existential election for Taiwan.

“Handing out public money”? So if we increase funding of healthcare or education, are politicians not allowed to talk about that either? Is it less icky if you tell people they got a tax cut, as conservatives do? This is just nonsense. You may as well say that progressivism is icky to talk about.

The 16 victims filed the suit in 2016, seeking 200 million won ($155,000) each in compensation.

Wait, so this long simmering international dispute can be settled for just $2.48 million? Sheesh, just pay it.

Maybe you agree with this, but where's the fat? Is a vet not allowed to have pets? It's still a barebones budget.

And the thing to realize about high stress professional jobs is that you have to eat out more and make use of services to save time and energy. It's a tough demanding job, especially for the pay. There's a reason why vets have amongst the highest suicide rates of any profession.

From the perspective of realpolitik, I’m not convinced abandoning support for Israel will win him more votes from pro-Palestine groups than he loses from pro-Israel groups. Lots of moderate Americans support Israel implicitly.

Either way, it’s politically costly with no upside for him. I think Biden’s only hope on this file is for the Gaza war to end quickly before the next election, but I don’t see that happening. Looks like Israel’s plan is an indefinite multi-year occupation of Gaza under an authoritarian police state.

I don’t get why this is so confusing. This is basically a rotating theme restaurant/theme shop. Disneyland, Universal Studios, the new Nintendo park, etc. aren’t really about the rides or food either. Will tourists buy Stranger Things tchotchkes and Bridgerton merch? Sure, we’re a hyper consumeristic society that loves pop culture doodads and experiences. I somehow get the feeling this will fail, Netflix’s brand has lost its luster recently, but I don’t think this idea is totally out there.

I’m NOT saying I disagree with the conclusion, but the judge’s reasoning would negate all sorts of consumer protections as paternalistic. You agreed to join Facebook, so you “voluntarily” allow them to track you, manipulate you, and sell your information without any limits. It’s a kind of deeply libertarian argument, just like how you “voluntarily” agreed to work a job, so why would you get worker protections? If you don’t like it, just quit!

Some “paternalistic” laws function under the reasoning that markets don’t always work. Not all consent is informed. Not all choices have sufficient alternatives that allow consumers to choose otherwise. Busy consumers may not have the information or energy to understand all the ways corporations abuse their power.

I didn’t realize it was so difficult to actually force landlords to pay up, even when they’re in the wrong. I can’t believe this family expects to never see any money when the RTB has already ruled in their favour.

I suspect they just can’t be willfully negligent. Right now Facebook could actively promote a genocide and not see any consequences.

In a normal corrupt system, lobbyists have to bribe lawmakers. In the US, the court is now an unrepresentative unelected legislature with no accountability. It’s another level of corruption.

Yes general intelligence is related to genes. Two important caveats:

1. Don’t forget the environment. See the Flynn effect, according to which measures of general intelligence have risen over time, showing the effect of the environment. This is just like height. The Dutch were once amongst the shortest people in Europe, and now they’re amongst the tallest. It’s true that they are tall now, in part, because of their genes, but, since they used to be short, obviously there’s much more to height than just genes. The best genes won’t help an unwatered seed sprout. Someone with low intelligence now might have the genes of a genius, if only they had received an education.

2. Racists are still wrong. There is an overwhelming consensus that there is no genetic basis for race. There is no gene or set of genes or distribution of genes that all and only members of a race have. In fact, there is more genetic variation within races than between races!