Putin’s Ceasefire Terms

At first, that struck me as remarkably easy terms, but then, this is just for a ceasefire, they are not the final Russian demands for a lasting peace settlement. And they make sense from the Russian perspective, because even if Ukraine uses the ceasefire to rearm, refit, and repurpose its defenses, Russia will have acquired […]

https://voxday.net/2025/03/13/putins-ceasefire-terms/

"Here, the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Dr. Mann, through [his lawyers] Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Williams, acted in bad faith when they presented erroneous evidence and made false representations to the jury and the Court regarding damages stemming from loss of grant funding. . . The Court does not reach this decision lightly.

"This ruling follows closely on the heels of the same court reducing the punitive damages awarded to Mann against one of the defedents from $1,000,000 to $5,000. That reduction follows the Court’s order that Mann pay $530,820.21 of legal expenses that his lawsuit resulted in for National Review — which Mann had also sued, but whose case was dismissed."
https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/in-bad-faith#:~:text=Here%2C%20the%20Court,case%20was%20dismissed.

Bill Nye and Michael Mann were among America's top scientists at last week's "March for Science."

"Some scientists in the United States have told Nature that they are considering leaving the country in the wake of widespread disruption to research brought in by the administration of US President Donald Trump. The researchers say they are looking for opportunities in Europe, Australia and Asia."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00757-1

"It’s Official: the Cybertruck is More Explosive than the Ford Pinto" - FuelArc, 06FEB2025

>TL;DR: The CyberTruck is 17 times more likely to have a fire fatality than a Ford Pinto

>With its decade-long production run, the NHTSA reported that the Ford Pinto and its famously flawed gas tank behind the rear bumper caused 27 fiery deaths with its knowingly negligent design. There are other estimates, including some much higher, but I’m running with confirmable numbers here, either governmental sources for the Ford Pinto or news sources that I can verify for the Tesla CyberTruck.

https://archive.ph/7fB8y

"Criticism began to build as early readers of the book’s advance copies posted the offending lines and romance readers took to social media to voice their outrage. One excerpt has a character stating “Shouldn’t there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?”

"Another line of dialogue that offended was a character stating, “I was inspired by Elon Musk. I use his five step design process.”

While a completely innocuous line that speaks to Musk’s business practices and has nothing to do with politics, the left was triggered simply because of the name."

https://fandompulse.substack.com/p/romance-author-cancels-her-own-book

Understandable reaction.

"President Donald Trump has told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he would like the US-led military bloc to assist Washington in “securing” Greenland following talks in the Oval Office on Thursday.

"Trump initially proposed buying the Danish autonomous territory during his first term in 2019 and has reignited the discussion after returning to office. Speaking at a recent joint session of Congress, he stated that the US will secure the island “one way or the other.”

https://www.rt.com/news/614183-trump-us-nato-annex-greenland/

"Once we’re ready to order the leathers, we will hold a short two-week sale to permit anyone who would like to retroactively back the bindery in order to acquire these books at the same price as the original backers. This will probably be later this month, as soon as we have the definitive sizes of the book blocks determined."
https://substack.com/home/post/p-158594232#:~:text=Once%20we%E2%80%99re%20ready,book%20blocks%20determined.

Many significant scientific discoveries and breakthroughs came from uncredentialed amateurs:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the cloth merchant who discovered micro-organisms through his pioneering use of the microscope,
Michael Faraday, the book binder's apprentice who discovered the laws of electrochemistry and induction,
George Green, the miller and baker who devised potential theory,
Oliver Heaviside, the unemployed telegrapher who was the true author of what we now call "Maxwell's" Equations,
Gregor Mendel, the monk whose work with peas led him to discover the laws of genetics,
etc.

Here's a good take on the fallacy of credentialism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZp_WLVBhhY

Severe weather in store this weekend...

"The other point few people have mentioned is that Russia is the only party in this ‘deal’ which essentially gains nothing, and this applies to the wider discussed conflict settlement from the standpoint of the US. The going assumption from the US is that Russia will be “allowed to keep” certain territory it already holds, while Ukraine is given actual new items, whether it’s admission to some bloc, further funding and aid, etc. But think about this: Russia already controls the territories it has won—no one has the right to “give them” to Russia, via some ‘stamp of approval’—Russia already has them. Then what exactly is Russia’s incentive to agree to any deal?"

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/camo-putin-emerges-to-punt-ball-back

"The irony was not lost on many observers, who noted that the US is now effectively more of a direct threat to NATO than Russia ever was. Russia has never so much as even hinted at forcibly seizing any NATO territory, while the US is now openly discussing this very fact. Recall that the entire putative purpose of NATO is to ‘protect its members’—a fact the “defensive” alliance so boastfully prides itself on, when it constantly reminds us that NATO is not primarily aimed at Russia."

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/camo-putin-emerges-to-punt-ball-back

"The year is 2032, and social media is awash with footage of plumes of smoke rising alongside Big Ben as London is mired in chaos. The British government declared a curfew on the entire nation earlier in the week and initiated yet another crackdown on political protests. Angry Brits stormed the streets daily as rubber bullets and tear gas streamed from the largely ethnic minority riot police. The murmurs of discontent from the early 2020’s feels like a picnic now as violence and unrest has brought everything to a standstill. MP’s refuse to leave their homes, forcing the government to convene remotely."
https://socialmatter.substack.com/p/europe-gets-a-color-revolution?utm_medium=ios#:~:text=The%20year%20is,to%20convene%20remotely.

"It's not often you get to read a real homage, one in which the writer loves the source material and extends it. Here, John C. Wright asks "what if the Star Wars sequels were good?" Space Pirates of Andromeda gives us a very satisfying answer."

https://upstreamreviews.substack.com/p/review-space-pirates-of-andromeda?utm_campaign=post_embed