Argument for Libertarianism

This about Science & Technology, tagged , was written by for on December 7, 2013 .No Comments

Reprinted from Facebook (2018/02/15): Dear 23andMe Customers, I’m writing to update you on our conversation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and how it impacts you. If you are a customer whose kit was purchased before November 22, 2013, your 23andMe experience will not change. You will be able to access both ancestry and health-related information […]

Delving Into Bitcoins And The Deep Web

This about Science & Technology, tagged , , was written by for on April 19, 2013 .1 Comment

Several days ago, the USD/BTC exchange rate soared to dizzying heights, reaching almost $250 for one unit of the virtual, decentralized currency. Then it crashed to $55. But since then, it has gone back up to $100. I’d heard of them before, but I had assumed it was some sort of pyramid, and that the […]

Translation: Skolkovo In The Ratings

This about Science & Technology, tagged , , was written by for on February 5, 2013 .No Comments

Russia claims one of the top places in a new ratings system of national innovation compiled by Bloomberg. According to the latest studies, the US was recognized as the world’s most innovative country in a new rating. This is not surprising for a country that hosts the likes of Apple and Microsoft. But Russia at […]

Tales From The Beijing Embassy

This about Science & Technology, tagged , , , was written by for on December 8, 2010 .7 Comments

Four cables from Cathay, courtesy of this excellent Cable Search tool. The first cable (Cable 1) is one of the last dispatches of Ambassador to the PRC Clark T. Randt, a long, analytical piece from January 2009. But it’s also perhaps the least interesting of the four.  This is because it is only a rehashing of […]

I’d Sooner See The World Burn Than Compromise With Rogue Scientists

This about Science & Technology, tagged , , was written by for on December 7, 2010 .3 Comments

Or at least that’s what seems to be going around in the mind of Condoleezza Rice, if this cable (Cable 1) from September 2008 is anything to go by. After successfully persuading countries like Brazil to let the American scientist Christopher Field run unopposed for an important position in a Working Group of the Intergovernmental Panel […]

Top 10 AGW Denial Myths

This about Science & Technology, tagged , , was written by for on June 6, 2009 .7 Comments

I’ve long viewed the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) denial movement with a certain sense of bemusement. The causal links are rock-solid – could it really be a coincidence that atmospheric CO2 levels started rising at the very same moment as industrial civilization got into swing, within decades reaching magnitudes big enough to decisively interrupt the […]