Interesting Links for 03-01-2018

[andrewducker]

Are train fare rises really the problem?

I do actually think there _is_ a case to be made: 1) Environmentally - if there are people commuting then rail is presumably better for the environment than cars. 2) It makes cities more viable, and therefore helps job concentration. But I also think that a lot of commuter train subsidies basically allow middle class people to live outside of the city at a subsidised cost. I'd rather that that money went to improving the city and making it cheaper and easier for more people to live there in the first place and not commute at all.
(tags: trains transport money )

The Labour Party anti-antisemitism saga is starting to look like a Monty Python sketch

(tags: Labour Jews bigotry wtf politics uk )

For posterity, here's the BBC's tech correspondent learning what Goatse is in realtime...

(tags: funny internet BBC )

Norwegian Student Takes Secret Street Photos In The 1890s

(tags: history photos )

Women-fronted films are top three highest-grossing movies of 2017

(tags: movies women )

A thread about the potentially very topical subject of the creation of new peers to get controversial legislation through the House of Lords

(tags: houseoflords politics uk )

Inside Silicon Valley’s Secretive, Orgiastic, Sexist Dark Side

Which is, of course, Silicon Valley doing exactly what has happened whenever entitled men get their hands on loads of money.
(tags: sex drugs society Technology )

Google used a tax loophole to shelter $19.2B

(tags: tax google holland ireland )

The Robots Are Coming, and Sweden Is Fine

(tags: automation jobs society sweden )

Urinals of the Justice League

(tags: funny toilets viaJennieRigg comics superheroes )

Peter Dinklage and Gwen Stefani Sing the best song ever ........... SPACE PANTS!!

(tags: video music EpicWTF )

Retirement Planning vs. Quest for the Amulet of Nargoth: Which Is Right for Me?

(tags: pensions fantasy funny )

Comments

[movingfinger]

Everything really is better with blockchain!

Can't wait till we start seeing the boxes of artisanal blockchain chocolates, blockchain shower heads, and of course the blockchain self-driving car.

[andrewducker]

And blocks, chained together.

[calimac]

The summary of the 1910 House of Lords controversy looks historically correct to me (except for the date typo).

One might add that creating extra peers to pass a bill was actually done in the time of Queen Anne. (In those days you didn't need a lot of them.)

[momentsmusicaux]

> I'd rather that that money went to improving the city and making it cheaper and easier for more people to live there in the first place and not commute at all.

I'm not sure that's a viable way of pushing things.

People will switch to cars, and suffer the car commute even if it gets horribly congested.

[andrewducker]

I'm not convinced - I've seen people do the maths in several occasions of whether it makes financial sense to live outside the city - comparing train costs to mortgage reductions.

(Some will, I'm sure. But less people will think it worthwhile to live outside the city)

[coth]

Commuting costs are only one of the reasons why people move out of cities. Access to space, family management, and access to non-city occupations and pastimes when not at work are also major drivers. From the point of view of the individual household, probably policy should concentrate on equalising transport costs (time and money) between modes to let peoples' other choices reflect their wishes without having to bear disproportionate costs for their choice.

But organisations make choices too. And one of the major arguments for transport subsidy is to link organisations to wider pools of population. And if you want that, then doing it via public rather than private transport is sensible.

[andrewducker]

Agreed on the second point. Infrastructure should definitely be a government function.

Not sure why we should be subsiding people's choices though. (Unless other reasons make it worthwhile, like environmental reasons)

[autopope]

The 1890's Norwegian student with the hidden camera? Recontextualize that today and you've got a nasty, voyeuristic creeper.

Yes, the surviving photos in this feature article are historic documents and nothing presented seems particularly dubious, other than the lack of consent implied in using a concealed camera. It still doesn't change the ethical murkiness of his actions, though.