Learner
@airbrooklyn.bsky.social
I’ve had careers in particle physics, mathematics and law. Currently retired, my interests are in linguistics and politics. I love to learn just about anything technical or politically relevant.
Does AI have enough cultural input to understand jokes as such?
January 14, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Does AI have enough cultural input to understand jokes as such?
The unfortunates who have fire insurance may find that they do not receive money to rebuild. The insurance may be taken by their mortgagee bank to reduce their mortgage. That leaves them with ashes and no money. In a catastrophe, fire insurance protects their bank not themselves.
January 14, 2025 at 1:04 PM
The unfortunates who have fire insurance may find that they do not receive money to rebuild. The insurance may be taken by their mortgagee bank to reduce their mortgage. That leaves them with ashes and no money. In a catastrophe, fire insurance protects their bank not themselves.
Reposted by Learner
this is incredible stuff. most state DOTs would spend tens of billions on highway expansions to try and see numbers like this (that wouldn’t even pan out anyway thanks to induced demand lol)
January 14, 2025 at 12:31 AM
this is incredible stuff. most state DOTs would spend tens of billions on highway expansions to try and see numbers like this (that wouldn’t even pan out anyway thanks to induced demand lol)
Trump’s statements fall into two categories: either fact based or fantasy. Fantasy should be ignored or reported as fantasy.
January 12, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Trump’s statements fall into two categories: either fact based or fantasy. Fantasy should be ignored or reported as fantasy.
Reposted by Learner
Openly shopping for a mechanism for lobbyists, foreign governments, etc. to stuff money in his pockets
Weird how Trump is only interested in owning this White-House-adjacent hotel when he has the ability to dole out political favors www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
Exclusive | The Trumps Are in Talks to Reclaim Their Prized D.C. Hotel
The family firm is looking for a hotel in Washington as Trump prepares to return to the White House.
www.wsj.com
January 11, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Openly shopping for a mechanism for lobbyists, foreign governments, etc. to stuff money in his pockets
Will the government rescue those in California too poor to have afforded fire insurance so they can afford to rebuild? Or will vulture private equity buy valuable real estate for a song?
January 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Will the government rescue those in California too poor to have afforded fire insurance so they can afford to rebuild? Or will vulture private equity buy valuable real estate for a song?
There should have been no dissents from the Supreme Court’s refusal to stop Trump’s sentencing in State court. A claim by an individual against a state cannot be heard in a federal court according to the 11th amendment.
January 10, 2025 at 5:39 AM
There should have been no dissents from the Supreme Court’s refusal to stop Trump’s sentencing in State court. A claim by an individual against a state cannot be heard in a federal court according to the 11th amendment.
Reposted by Learner
The oil industry buys off Congress. No action on climate.
The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns.
Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care.
The list goes on and on.
Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.
The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns.
Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care.
The list goes on and on.
Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.
January 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The oil industry buys off Congress. No action on climate.
The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns.
Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care.
The list goes on and on.
Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.
The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns.
Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care.
The list goes on and on.
Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.
Isn’t Trump’s desire for Canada to become a US state merely his way of saying we should have a completely open border.
January 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Isn’t Trump’s desire for Canada to become a US state merely his way of saying we should have a completely open border.
Reposted by Learner
Not even the pretense of separation - Trump is openly leveraging his position for personal and family profit, opening himself up to influence, corruption, or worse.
A Flurry of Announcements Signal That the Trump Family Will Keep Making Deals
Even before the start of the new administration, there has been repeated blurring of lines between the federal government efforts and Trump family businesses.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/u...
Even before the start of the new administration, there has been repeated blurring of lines between the federal government efforts and Trump family businesses.
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/u...
Trump Blurs Lines in $20 Billion Data Center Announcement and Other Deals
Even before the start of the new administration, there has been repeated blurring of lines between the federal government efforts and Trump family businesses.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Not even the pretense of separation - Trump is openly leveraging his position for personal and family profit, opening himself up to influence, corruption, or worse.
Reposted by Learner
What does renaming the Gulf of Mexico have to do with lowering the cost of living in America?
Absolutely nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
January 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
What does renaming the Gulf of Mexico have to do with lowering the cost of living in America?
Absolutely nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Reposted by Learner
I’m getting the feeling that the worst part of the next four years is going to be when Trump gets bored and decides to start shit so people will talk about him again
January 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I’m getting the feeling that the worst part of the next four years is going to be when Trump gets bored and decides to start shit so people will talk about him again
Trump wants to force Canada to become part of the United States. Wasn’t that what the War of 1812 settled? Some botched American defeats in and around the Great Lakes forced a peaceful treaty upon us.
January 8, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Trump wants to force Canada to become part of the United States. Wasn’t that what the War of 1812 settled? Some botched American defeats in and around the Great Lakes forced a peaceful treaty upon us.
Reposted by Learner
These fights have to be taken up every time
“Donald Trump is abusing the legal system to punish speech he dislikes. If you have to pay lawyers and spend time in court to defend your free speech, then you don’t have free speech.” — @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social on Trump's lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer
FIRE to defend veteran pollster J. Ann Selzer in Trump lawsuit over outlier election poll
FIRE to defend veteran pollster J. Ann Selzer in the lawsuit filed by President-Elect Donald Trump over outlier election poll.
www.thefire.org
January 7, 2025 at 9:35 PM
These fights have to be taken up every time
Reposted by Learner
Really great conversation here with @normornstein.bsky.social about where we might be headed
newrepublic.com/article/1899...
newrepublic.com/article/1899...
Transcript: Trump Drops New Hints on How He’ll Screw Over Mike Johnson
An interview with congressional scholar Norm Ornstein, who explains how Trump is already signaling how he’ll put GOP lawmakers in a brutally impossible situation—and why Trump-GOP rule will likely imp...
newrepublic.com
January 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Really great conversation here with @normornstein.bsky.social about where we might be headed
newrepublic.com/article/1899...
newrepublic.com/article/1899...
Reposted by Learner
This is why you *do* have to take what Trump says seriously. He’ll say something that he hasn’t thought through and then double down on it, because that’s who he is, but then his cronies will go about justifying it and rationalizing it to defend the mad king in a way that makes it a real threat.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville: "We've gotta take the Panama Canal back. We've gotta do something because if we were to happen to go to war with China over Taiwan and they were to shut the Panama Canal down, we'd have to go 8 to 10,000 miles just to get things back to the war zone."
January 7, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This is why you *do* have to take what Trump says seriously. He’ll say something that he hasn’t thought through and then double down on it, because that’s who he is, but then his cronies will go about justifying it and rationalizing it to defend the mad king in a way that makes it a real threat.
Reposted by Learner
The fact that no news channel is discussing the kidnapping of the venezuela oppositions son, but Trump and Greenland is all over, just means it will be four years of the same BS trap
January 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
The fact that no news channel is discussing the kidnapping of the venezuela oppositions son, but Trump and Greenland is all over, just means it will be four years of the same BS trap
Reposted by Learner
Congestion Pricing is proof that the courts and the rich can’t kill every good policy and that if you fight for a policy hard enough, you can, in fact, make a positive change in the world
January 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Congestion Pricing is proof that the courts and the rich can’t kill every good policy and that if you fight for a policy hard enough, you can, in fact, make a positive change in the world
Reposted by Learner
Poverty is a policy choice. Mass incarceration is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. Insulin rationing is a policy choice. Climate disintegration is a policy choice. Billionaire tax loopholes are a policy choice.
Make no mistake: We have the power to change things.
Make no mistake: We have the power to change things.
January 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Poverty is a policy choice. Mass incarceration is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. Insulin rationing is a policy choice. Climate disintegration is a policy choice. Billionaire tax loopholes are a policy choice.
Make no mistake: We have the power to change things.
Make no mistake: We have the power to change things.
Reposted by Learner
Reposted by Learner
This isn’t rocket science. He lied. He pushed erroneous garbage without knowing facts, knowing full well his base will never pay attention to the clarification.
January 2, 2025 at 3:53 AM
This isn’t rocket science. He lied. He pushed erroneous garbage without knowing facts, knowing full well his base will never pay attention to the clarification.
Reposted by Learner
For Maths fans, 2025 is a square.
45² = 45 x 45 = 2025
Also,
9² x 5² = 2025
40² + 20² + 5² = 2025
My favourite?
1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³ = 2025
#Mathematics #teaching #education
45² = 45 x 45 = 2025
Also,
9² x 5² = 2025
40² + 20² + 5² = 2025
My favourite?
1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³ = 2025
#Mathematics #teaching #education
January 1, 2025 at 1:56 PM
For Maths fans, 2025 is a square.
45² = 45 x 45 = 2025
Also,
9² x 5² = 2025
40² + 20² + 5² = 2025
My favourite?
1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³ = 2025
#Mathematics #teaching #education
45² = 45 x 45 = 2025
Also,
9² x 5² = 2025
40² + 20² + 5² = 2025
My favourite?
1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³ = 2025
#Mathematics #teaching #education
Reposted by Learner
The first step to fixing our economy is understanding the real problem — big money corrupting our politics and rigging the system against working people. Watch.
youtu.be/HZ3j4hHMO5E?...
youtu.be/HZ3j4hHMO5E?...
The 10 Biggest Myths About Our Economy
YouTube video by Robert Reich
youtu.be
January 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The first step to fixing our economy is understanding the real problem — big money corrupting our politics and rigging the system against working people. Watch.
youtu.be/HZ3j4hHMO5E?...
youtu.be/HZ3j4hHMO5E?...
Reposted by Learner
The Supreme Court endorsed oligarchy in its Citizens United decision and said the public wouldn’t see it as bribery. Then it followed up by redefining bribery almost out of existence. Honestly is for little people.
December 31, 2024 at 12:15 AM
The Supreme Court endorsed oligarchy in its Citizens United decision and said the public wouldn’t see it as bribery. Then it followed up by redefining bribery almost out of existence. Honestly is for little people.
Reposted by Learner
Ask people in Mexico or the developing world country of your choice about the virtues of "raw water"
Untreated water enthusiasts swear by natural springs, or “raw water.” Many of them are part of the so-called health freedom movement, which opposes vaccine mandates, pasteurized milk and other government public health interventions.
‘Raw Water’ Devotees Swear by Natural Springs, Despite the Risks
Untreated water enthusiasts swear by natural springs. Their movement has parallels with raw milk drinkers and vaccine skeptics.
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2024 at 7:36 PM
Ask people in Mexico or the developing world country of your choice about the virtues of "raw water"