Interesting Links for 03-01-2020

[andrewducker]

Details of Valve's unreleased Portal prequel revealed

(tags:games valve video )

Higher cow-milk fat intake is associated with lower childhood adiposity

(tags:fat weight children )

The many crimes of Macavity

(tags:crime cats musicals )

Ex-Google exec savages firm on human rights

(tags:rights China google )

80% of betting company money comes from 2% of customers

(tags:gambling )

Jimmy Savile and the BBC: the report's key sections

Yes, it's a couple of years old, but I just bumped into it.
(tags:OhForFucksSake bbc children rape RapeCulture viaFJM )

The extensive problems with Keir Starmer's past

(tags:Labour politics crime OhForFucksSake rape )

The best way to make popcorn

(tags:food )

Duolingo sparks Gaelic boom as young Scots shrug off 'cringe' factor

(tags:Scotland language )

Psilocybin found safe for consumption in largest ever controlled study

(tags:psilocybin psychology depression research safety )

U-Haul to Implement Nicotine-Free Hiring Policy

(tags:nicotine smoking USA jobs OhForFucksSake )

U.S. kills top Iranian commander Soleimani in air strike

(tags:USA Iran iraq )

Epilepsy Foundation Was Targeted in Mass Strobe Cyberattack

Also: 30 times? Can someone help them with their security?
(tags:assault epilipsy OhForFucksSake hacking )

Words used in fanfic to describe genitals. Warning: may cause giggling

(tags:writing fanfic genitals funny )

Why killer whales—and humans—evolved menopause

(tags:grandparents whales menstruation fertility family )

Which emoji scissors close (I love the obsession you get with these)

(tags:emoji design )

Most illustrations of butterflies show dead ones

(tags:insects illustration death )

Comments

[cmcmck]

Allow me to present you with a live one- a small tortoishell in our garden this last Summer:

[mountainkiss]

I am not defending Kier Starmer per se but I am always a bit cross when liberals give so much attention to attacking one another. Conservatives don’t do that, and it’s why they end up not splitting the vote in the end. Until this changes, I don’t think the outcomes are going to change.

Front runners

[nojay]

Anyone who's likely to be a contender in the forthcoming Labour Party leadership race is going to get a kicking in the press. Kier Starmer has had a lot of slobbering "what a nice man he is" coverage over the past couple of years because he was not Jeremy Corbyn, that baby-eating demon in human skin. Now Corbyn's on the way out the ground is being prepared for his successor to get the same treatment. Expect more and better in the near future.

Re: Front runners

[mountainkiss]

True and expected, but that’s from a Tory press. I don’t think (possibly wrongly and if I’m wrong then I retract my original comment) that the tweetstream in the link comes from right of centre. That wasn’t the tone I read.

Re: Front runners

[andrewducker]

No, liberal.

But I think it's worth carefully examining who we're getting rather than just saying "I like their opinions on one thing, they'll be fine."

Voting is definitely about compromise, and the least worst candidate, but that doesn't mean accepting any old person without complaint.

Re: Front runners

[mountainkiss]

I don’t disagree but I often think there is a lack of proportionality.

Re: Front runners

[andrewducker]

There is. And massively excess tribalism.

Re: Front runners

[calimac]

The former DPP running for President of the United States dropped out of the race, and complaints about her prosecutorial record were a large part of the reason.

Re: Front runners

[andrewducker]

Another good reason. Whittle them down to the ones that aren't too authoritarian.

Re: Front runners

[calimac]

Maybe. But in that case I think the complaints were oversold. I can't say about Starmer.

Re: Front runners

[andrewducker]

If a politician can't face some questioning from their own side about their past then I'm not convinced that they will be able to deal well with the kind of treatment they'll get when they hit the big time.

Which is kind of harsh, but I've seen repeated politicians have questions thrown at them that they should have had answers for and flail badly. I want someone better than that representing me.
(See Tim Farron and "Is homosexuality sinful?" for a recent one. Or Jeremy Corbyn and "Will you apologise for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party?" The questions may be unnuanced and unfair, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared for them.)

Re: Front runners

[calimac]

It wasn't a matter of not being able to face questioning. I thought she did pretty well. But nobody can entirely wash off a sufficient barrage of mud. And if you eliminate candidates by this sort of trial by ordeal, you'll be left with some uninspiring milquetoast, or (if you're Republican) some kind of raging attack-dog like Trump. That doesn't seem to me a good way of proceeding.

The problem with the way the US pre-primary system works is that it's based entirely on polling. First, polling is dramatically unreliable. Second, they only allow respondents to choose one candidate. Lots of candidates with plenty of potential support get pushed out because their supporters also like some other good candidate.

Re: Front runners

[andrewducker]

Oh yes, I can totally see using FPTP messing up that process entirely. What a mess!

Re: Front runners

[skington]

The Labour Party uses the Alternative Vote for leadership elections, so at least this issue won't apply.