Monday Mule Pack – Black Holes, Soviet Dissidents, the New Space Race, and the Man Who Broke America

April 10, 2017

A weekly look at some of the more interesting articles from around the web.

What does a black hole look like? Astronomers are on a quest to find out.

On Wednesday night, a battalion of 120 astronomers working at eight observatories on four continents will mobilize in an unprecedented effort to image the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, a body named Sagittarius A*. By combining observations from points across the globe, they’ll create a virtual observatory the size of Earth itself. The “Event Horizon Telescope,” they call it.

If all goes according to plan, the EHT should capture the dark silhouette of Sagittarius A* against the hot, glowing material that surrounds it, offering the first-ever glimpse at a black hole’s event horizon. The resulting snapshot could confirm our understanding of the laws of the universe — or upend it.

Neat.

The media loved Trump’s show of military might. Are we really doing this again?

Missile strikes may seem thrilling, and retaliation righteous.

But journalists and commentators ought to remember the duller virtues, too, like skepticism, depth and context.

Why Authoritarians Attack the Arts

American observers shook their heads in disapproval when the performance artist Danilo Maldonado was arrested and jailed for criticizing the Castro regime, and when the Chinese sculptor and photographer Ai Weiwei was placed under house arrest and had his studio demolished by the government. But closer to home, it is imperative that we understand what Trump’s attack on the arts is really about. It’s not about making America a drab and miserable place, nor is it about a belief in austerity or denying resources to communities in need. Much like the disappearance of datafrom government websites and the exclusion of critical reporters from White House briefings, this move signals something broader and more threatening than the inability of one group of people to do their work. It’s about control. It’s about creating a society where propaganda reigns and dissent is silenced.

It’s O.K., California. Breaking Up Isn’t Hard to Do.

While creating a new nation would tear the United States asunder, redrawing state boundaries is nowhere near as unthinkable — or as dangerous — as some suggest.

Interesting idea.

Mitch McConnell, the man who broke America

No man has done more in recent years to undermine the functioning of U.S. government. His has been the epitome of unprincipled leadership, the triumph of tactics in service of short-term power.

Couldn’t agree more. McConnell might be the worst man in America.

How to End the Politicization of the Courts

Republican activists have built a strongly conservative network of judicial candidates. Democratic candidates are more idiosyncratic. Some are more sympathetic to prosecutors, others to the defense. Some are more pro-business than others.

No wonder, then, that Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia are among the most conservative justices ever, according to research by Lee Epstein of Washington University. By contrast, every Democratic-nominated justice of the last 50 years has been closer to the center.

How Soviet Dissidents Ended 70 Years of Fake News

The dissidents could have presented their own form of propaganda, hyping the persecution and turning that rich Soviet lexicon of “hooligans” and “antisocial elements” into bitter screeds against the state itself. But they didn’t. They chose instead to communicate it all as dispassionately and clinically as possible. They reached for what we might call objectivity.

Jeff Bezos Says He Is Selling $1 Billion a Year in Amazon Stock to Finance Race to Space

“If we can make access to space low-cost, then entrepreneurs will be unleashed,” he said. “You will see creativity, you will see dynamism, you will see the same thing in space that I’ve witnessed on the internet in the last 20 years.”

Trump Budget Cuts “Critical” NASA Climate Missions

“If America is to be first, this is the kind of mission that we do,” one that is unique and brings engineering challenges that move technology forward and help the U.S. attract the best and brightest scientists, he said.

“If you’re not leading that, the brains are not going to come here, they’re going to go elsewhere,” Boss said. “There’s a direct economic impact to not leading in science.”

The unexpected ways our lives will change when cars drive themselves

The notion that car accidents will become a thing of the past once vehicles drive themselves will have far-reaching implications, Evans writes. One of the ancillary benefits: There will be no need for air bags, crumple zones, and other safety features currently built into cars. That would reduce the weight and complexity of vehicle design, making cars more energy efficient and less expensive in the process.

 

 

 

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