I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Monday, February 3, 2020

Linkee-poo Monday

"The US has begun implementing new rules around travel from China as the coronavirus death toll creeps higher -- rules that include re-routing Americans flying into the country to specific airports for screening." I'll again just note the total worldwide deaths from the novel Coronavirus is still factors lower than the current number of deaths from the flu in just the US.

If you're engineering medical devices that people rely on, and it involves any electronics, if you don't have inbuilt security measures from the start you are, IMHO, not doing your job. "Two years ago, researchers Billy Rios and Jonathan Butts discovered disturbing vulnerabilities in Medtronic's popular MiniMed and MiniMed Paradigm insulin pump lines. An attacker could remotely target these pumps to withhold insulin from patients, or to trigger a potentially lethal overdose. And yet months of negotiations with Medtronic and regulators to implement a fix proved fruitless. So the researchers resorted to drastic measures. They built an Android app that could use the flaws to kill people." And now there's a "voluntary" recall, and the company states most people in the US no longer use the device (unless you're a "looper" which is another hack which makes the device "better" for the patients). And sure, I'll just bet it was because of all the regulatory hurdles that kept Medtronic from doing this before the researchers created the app, and it just so happens that all the paperwork cleared just a few weeks after they demonstrated the app. I'm sure. (Grokked from John)

"Because only one out of the dozen or so most commonly cited facts about the fashion industry’s huge footprint is based on any sort of science, data collection, or peer-reviewed research. The rest are based on gut feelings, broken links, marketing, and something someone said in 2003." Look, fashion screws up our world enough that we don't have to make shit up about it. And the same is true for a lot of climate change reporting.

How goes Brexit? "Boris Johnson has set out his vision for a trade deal with the EU, saying there is 'no need' for the UK to follow Brussels' rules… The PM called for a Canada-style free trade deal, saying the UK would return to the Withdrawal Agreement if such a deal was not reached… Under the EU-Canada deal, import tariffs on most goods have been eliminated between the two countries, though there are still customs and VAT checks… The flow of services, such as banking - which is much more important for the UK - between Canada and the EU are much more restricted." Three years on and they still have no idea what they're doing. And here's a little secret, if you want to trade with the EU, you need to be compliant with the EU rules.

"Sanders and his team have made clear their intention to tout the results of the first round of caucus voting Monday, even though the Iowa Democratic Party stresses that the only number that matters is the final delegate count." Hey, remember last time where Sanders claimed he was out gamed in the primaries and caucuses? Guess who is "flipping the script" (note, he wasn't out gamed in 2016).

"The Senate impeachment trial may be over after this week, but its legacy will have lasting consequences for American generations to come. And Donald Trump, only the third president to be impeached in US history, isn't expected to apologize for any of it -- as President Bill Clinton had after his own impeachment."

"Iowa Senator Joni Ernst warned Sunday that Republicans could immediately push to impeach Joe Biden over his work in Ukraine as vice president if he wins the White House." You mean like they constantly did to Obama? Shocked, shocked I am… As for "The grounds for impeachment, the first-term Republican said, would be 'for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year.'" There's just a little problem here, Hunter Biden joined the board after Burisma "cleaned-up" as a part of it's rebranding in the political sphere. Also I'll just point out that Republicans, but saying this, are admitting that they totally suck on government oversight. They had 6 years to do this while Biden was VP, but nary a peep emerged (why? because the global political consensus at the time was Biden was doing the right thing in having a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor fired). And finally, if Sen. Joni Ernst (or any other senator or congressperson) truly believes that Joe Biden abused his office, you can investigate him right the fuck now. Don't wait until the election, you're sworn to protect the Constitution. If you believe this is the case you are (again) abdicating your oath of office by not pursing it.

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