ignorabimus's recent activity

  1. Comment on Fifth American tourist arrested at Turks and Caicos airport after ammo allegedly found in luggage in ~travel

    ignorabimus
    Link Parent
    Except that attempting to smuggle (well transporting without a license) arms into a country is something the police usually take pretty seriously. Letting everyone off with a "oh well it was an...

    Except that attempting to smuggle (well transporting without a license) arms into a country is something the police usually take pretty seriously. Letting everyone off with a "oh well it was an innocent mistake" seems like a sure-fire recipe to effectively decriminalise smuggling arms.

    4 votes
  2. Comment on Fifth American tourist arrested at Turks and Caicos airport after ammo allegedly found in luggage in ~travel

    ignorabimus
    Link Parent
    Running airport security on this basis of small exceptions for things people think might be innocent mistakes is a recipe for disaster (not to mention this would create a very easy avenue for arms...

    If these are all over one or two bullets, it absolutely is a petty power trip and not a legitimate attempt to stop the flow of ingredients for gun violence.

    Running airport security on this basis of small exceptions for things people think might be innocent mistakes is a recipe for disaster (not to mention this would create a very easy avenue for arms smugglers to bring ammunition into the country). I think it's pretty reasonable to expect people to check their luggage to make sure that they don't have any bullets before they go on holiday.

    9 votes
  3. Comment on Europe's new power map, from ASML to the Arctic – places other than Paris, Brussels and Berlin are wielding economic influence in ~misc

  4. Comment on Some observations about some of the conversations here in ~tildes

    ignorabimus
    Link Parent
    The delicious irony made me laugh :)

    The delicious irony made me laugh :)

    2 votes
  5. Comment on [Columbia University president] Minouche Shafik: Universities must engage in serious soul searching on protests in ~life

    ignorabimus
    (edited )
    Link
    Sorry, I know a lot of things should go in the politics megathread, but I thought this was interesting enough to warrant a seperate piece as a university leader posting a piece on the protests in...

    Sorry, I know a lot of things should go in the politics megathread, but I thought this was interesting enough to warrant a seperate piece as a university leader posting a piece on the protests in a mainstream newspaper it seems to be quite a significant step. Of course if it's not appropriate I would appreciate it if the moderators could close/lock/delete it and sorry for the hassle. I also know this is a controversial topic – I don't want to create unproductive hate, please engage charitably if at all :)

    This piece has a very PR-y feel (of course, given the pressure the university is under from legislators). I think the intereting parts are

    For me, the lesson is clear. If colleges and universities cannot better define the boundaries between free speech and discrimination, government will move to fill that gap, and in ways that do not necessarily protect academic freedom. Just as our predecessors fought for desegregation and the admission of women, we need to create an educational environment where we fight all forms of prejudice, including against Arabs, Jews and Muslims.

    Which seems to be a rebuke of US politicians for trying to intervene in higher education?

    And a part which seems to be pointing out that the protests follow in a long and legitimate history

    Second, what is the university’s role in the context of a major political crisis like the war in Gaza? There is a long history of political activism on campuses, which has contributed to many important examples of progress, such as opposition to the Vietnam war, the anti-apartheid struggle and the civil rights movement.

    5 votes
  6. Comment on Ireland can’t blame its anti-immigrant problem on Rishi Sunak – The sudden arrival of European-style populism in Irish politics is the result of thirteen years of government complacency in ~misc

    ignorabimus
    Link Parent
    I agree totally here, but also because of the impact on UK politics. I think there are two harms Boosts the conservative party and I don't really know much about Irish foreign policy positions but...

    I think tying the immigration increase here to the UK's small boats nonsense is also foolish.

    I agree totally here, but also because of the impact on UK politics. I think there are two harms

    1. Boosts the conservative party and I don't really know much about Irish foreign policy positions but my guess would be that a Labour government would be better for Ireland (not least because they don't have the emotional maturity of a 2 year old and probably wouldn't let David Frost loose on foreign policy decisions)
    2. A lot of people in the UK see exporting immigration problems to another country as "mission accomplished" more than a harm.

    So if I were an Irish government minister the one thing I would not do is make statements to the press which support the Tories and boost the white elephant Rwanda deal. Especially given that as you point out it's very unlikely to be the source of a lot of refugees.

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Ireland can’t blame its anti-immigrant problem on Rishi Sunak – The sudden arrival of European-style populism in Irish politics is the result of thirteen years of government complacency in ~misc

    ignorabimus
    Link
    TL;DR

    TL;DR

    These incidents speak to a deeper existential anxiety in the Republic. The story of modern Irish history might be one of the underdog that managed, somehow, to emerge as a diplomatic superpower, as the Economist declared in 2020. But events of the past year have reversed Ireland’s exceptionalism. It may be rich and in possession of serious soft power. But it is also a country where citizens loot the inner city; chant that Ireland is full; and where the biggest party – Sinn Féin – was born of an ethno-nationalist project. Ireland has been forced into a realisation: in spite of its diplomatic successes, and its decade of rapid liberalisation, it has all the problems of a normal European country.

    The central mistake of Fine Gael’s 13-year tenure is simple. It spent so long carefully stage-managing Ireland’s international reputation that it was blind to the problems fomenting all around it. Now the party has stepped back from all the clever reputational manoeuvres – the border, the triumphant gay marriage and abortion referendums, the love affair with Joe Biden’s White House – only to realise that it has built its own death trap.

    3 votes
  8. Comment on Climate policy is working – double down on what’s succeeding instead of despairing over what’s not in ~enviro

    ignorabimus
    Link

    China provides one of the best illustrations of how lower-cost technology can enable the rapid deployment of clean energy. According to the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor, China is on track to almost double its current wind and solar capacity by 2025 and thus meet its target of generating 1,200 gigawatts from clean energy five years ahead of schedule. Conversely, although the United States has had great success in directing new investment to domestic clean energy manufacturing since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, it has been slower to deploy renewable energy and encourage the production and purchase of electric vehicles, thanks to bureaucratic delays and weak supply chains as well as local opposition to new clean energy infrastructure.

    Crucially, governments must do more to raise climate financing for developing countries that have done little to create the crisis but already suffer some of its worst effects. The main objective at this year’s UN climate change conference in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, will be setting a new goal for climate financing now that the $100 billion yearly target dating from 2015 has been achieved. Given that 18 times that figure will be required by 2030, governments will need to muster the creativity and determination to figure out how to unlock public and private sources of financing in practical ways.

    13 votes
  9. Comment on Ireland plans to send asylum seekers back to UK under emergency law in ~news

    ignorabimus
    Link
    Will be interesting to see what happens here. The Irish government (whether intentionally or not) has given a massive boon to Rishi Sunak in making these public statements, given that one of the...

    Will be interesting to see what happens here. The Irish government (whether intentionally or not) has given a massive boon to Rishi Sunak in making these public statements, given that one of the primary criticisms of the Rwanda policy was that it would be an ineffective (and extremely expensive) deterrent. Plus I think a lot of people in the UK will actually see "exporting" the problem to Ireland as a good thing (and a useful threat to clobber the EU with).

    5 votes