Author Archives: Andrea

“Trump has evinced little respect for the rule of law”

The Atlantic: Impeach Donald Trump. “Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermining American ideals—and bring the debate about his fitness for office into Congress, where it belongs.” By Yoni Appelbaum.

“On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol, raised his right hand, and solemnly swore to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He has not kept that promise.

Instead, he has mounted a concerted challenge to the separation of powers, to the rule of law, and to the civil liberties enshrined in our founding documents. He has purposefully inflamed America’s divisions. He has set himself against the American idea, the principle that all of us—of every race, gender, and creed—are created equal.

This is not a partisan judgment. Many of the president’s fiercest critics have emerged from within his own party. Even officials and observers who support his policies are appalled by his pronouncements, and those who have the most firsthand experience of governance are also the most alarmed by how Trump is governing.”

Link via MetaFilter.

C-SPAN: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Explains Our Broken System. (Video, 5:06min)

Link also via MetaFilter.

Datenkrake Facebook

Deutsche Welle: Kartellamt untersagt Facebook Datensammelei. “Eine “marktbeherrschende Stellung” löst im deutschen Kartellrecht Alarm aus. Im Fall des sozialen Netzwerks sieht das Bundeskartellamt den Wettbewerb gefährdet – und setzt eine Frist.”

“Das Bundeskartellamt hat Facebook untersagt, außerhalb des Online-Netzwerks Daten seiner Nutzer zu sammeln – wie dies zum Beispiel über “Gefällt mir”-Buttons auf anderen Webseiten geschieht. Behördenchef Andreas Mundt erklärte, Facebook besitze in Deutschland eine marktbeherrschende Stellung und missbrauche sie. Dies sei ein Wettbewerbsverstoß. Facebook will sich gegen das Votum vor Gericht wehren. Wegen der Verknüpfung von Datenschutz und Wettbewerbsaufsicht könnte der Fall wegweisend werden – und jahrelang durch die Instanzen gehen.

Das Kartellamt untersagte Facebook auch, die auf fremden Websites gesammelten Daten mit Informationen zusammenzuführen, die bei Einträgen der Nutzer auf der eigenen Online-Plattform gespeichert wurden. Die Behörde betrachtet dabei zum Konzern gehörende Dienste wie Instagram und Whatsapp ebenfalls als Drittquellen. Das Online-Netzwerk bekommt ein Jahr Zeit, sein Verhalten zu ändern, und muss innerhalb von vier Monaten Lösungsvorschläge präsentieren.”

“North is on the move”

NPR Science: As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model.

“North is on the move, and that’s a problem for your smartphone’s maps.

Earth’s geographic north pole is fixed. But the planet’s magnetic north pole — the north that your compass points toward — wanders in the direction of Siberia at a rate of more than 34 miles per year.

That movement may seem slow, but it has forced scientists to update their model of Earth’s magnetic field a year earlier than expected so that navigational services, including map-based phone apps, continue to work accurately.”

NPR: The North Magnetic Pole Is Shifting East, Fast. “NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with Nature reporter Alex Witze about a rapid shift in the Earth’s magnetic poles.”

“If the answer here doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will.”

3Blue1Brown: The most unexpected answer to a counting puzzle and So why do colliding blocks compute pi? and How colliding blocks act like a beam of light…to compute pi. (YouTube, 5:12min and 15:15min and 14:40min)

The connection between the initial experiment and the calculation of π is surprising, and finding two different solutions in physics is even more astounding. The videos are extremely well done, and the presentation helps a lot with understanding the mathematical manipulations.

Mind. Blown.

Link via Futility Closet.

Cold War 2.0 / Kalter Krieg 2.0?

Deutsche Welle: US announces withdrawal from INF missile treaty. “The US has begun its withdrawal from the INF treaty with Russia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would continue talking with Moscow about its alleged violations until the withdrawal process was finished.”

Deutsche Welle: Pompeo verkündet Ausstieg der USA aus Abrüstungsvertrag INF. “Außenminister Mike Pompeo hat verkündet, was alle erwarten. Die USA steigen aus dem INF-Vertrag mit Russland zum Verzicht auf landgestützte atomare Mittelstreckenwaffen aus. Grund sind neue russische Marschflugkörper.”