Powerful antibiotics discovered using AI

Jo Marchant
5-6 minutes
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00018-3
Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Escherichia coli bacteria (green) taken from the small intestine of a child.

Escherichia coli bacteria, coloured green, in a scanning electron micrograph.Credit: Stephanie Schuller/SPL

A pioneering machine-learning approach has identified powerful new types of antibiotic from a pool of more than 100 million molecules — including one that works against a wide range of bacteria, including tuberculosis and strains considered untreatable.

Who are the biggest bullshitters?

www.economist.com /graphic-detail/2019/04/30/who-are-the-biggest-bullshitters
Apr 30th 2019
3-3 minutes
North Americans seem most prone to shameless bluffing



EVERYBODY TELLS the occasional fib. But whereas liars consciously conceal the truth, reckons Harry Frankfurt, a philosopher, bullshitters are shameless: they say what they want to, without even considering the truth. Bluffers seem to be everywhere: the share of Americans who believe that most people can be trusted has fallen from 48% in 1984 to just 31% today.

Victory for Boris Johnson’s all-new Tories

www.economist.com /leaders/2019/12/13/victory-for-boris-johnsons-all-new-tories

print-edition iconPrint edition | LeadersDec 13th 2019
7-8 minutes
BRITAIN’S ELECTION on December 12th was the most unpredictable in years—yet in the end the result was crushingly one-sided. As we went to press the next morning, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party was heading for a majority of well over 70, the largest Tory margin since the days of Margaret Thatcher. Labour, meanwhile, was expecting its worst result since the 1930s. Mr Johnson, who diced with the possibility of being one of Britain’s shortest-serving prime ministers, is now all-powerful.

Terror Attacks in France: A Culture of Denial

www.gatestoneinstitute.org /15019/france-terrorism-denial
Alain Destexhe
7-9 minutes

Pictured: Police block a bridge near Paris Police headquarters, after a terrorist murdered four police employees on October 3, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)

On October 3, 2019, a knife-wielding Muslim employee of the Paris Police Department Intelligence Directorate stabbed to death four other employees at police headquarters in the center of Paris, before a trainee police officer shot and killed him. While it was not the deadliest terror attack France has experienced in recent years, the fatal stabbings that took place at the Paris police headquarters were perhaps the most worrisome. Its author (a French public servant employed by the police), its highly sensitive target, and the catastrophic handling of the aftermath of the attack reveal the failure of the French institutions.

Donald Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds is a blow to America’s credibility

www.economist.com /leaders/2019/10/17/donald-trumps-betrayal-of-the-kurds-is-a-blow-to-americas-credibility
print-edition iconPrint edition | LeadersOct 17th 2019
6-8 minutes
THE PITHIEST summary of Donald Trump’s foreign policy comes from the president himself. Referring to the mayhem he has uncorked in Syria, he tweeted: “I hope they all do great, we are 7,000 miles away!” Mr Trump imagines he can abandon an ally in a dangerous region without serious consequences for the United States. He is wrong. The betrayal of the Kurds will lead friends and foes to doubt Mr Trump’s America. That is something both Americans and the world should lament.

Η απόσυρση των ΗΠΑ από την Συρία.

Ας δούμε την Συρία σαν το σύμβολο της παρουσίας των ΗΠΑ στην Μέση Ανατολή. Η στενή στρατιωτική σχέση τους με τους Κούρδους, οι κοινοί τους αγώνες, η εύκολη νίκης τους επί του χαλιφάτου, χάρις στους περισσότερους των 11.000 νεκρών Κούρδων, με μόλις επτά αμερικάνους νεκρούς, τι λένε στους υπόλοιπους συμμάχους των ΗΠΑ; Σε όσους δεν έχουν τέτοιες θυσίες πρόσφατα; Μήπως ότι πολέμησαν στην Νορμανδία; Και γιατί η θυσία στην Νορμανδία είναι πιο σημαντική από έναν πόλεμο σε κάποια πόλη της Β Συρίας;

ΛΑΡΚΟ: Μπορεί το κοβάλτιο να σώσει το νικέλιο;

Παρατήρηση: Μια εταιρεία που χρωστάει κοντά στο μισό δις, δεν μπορεί να πληρώσει το ηλεκτρικό, είναι δυνατόν να δίνει 45 εκ για 1100 εργαζόμενους; ~41 χιλιάδες τον χρόνο ή 3.400 Ευρώ τον μήνα, για κάθε εργαζόμενο κατά μέσο όρο; Με το περιβαλλοντικό κόστος που έχει, την ανύπαρκτη φροντίδα για την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος και τα πρόστιμα που επιβάλλονται εξ αυτού; Ενδεικτική για την κατάσταση που μας οδήγησε στην χρεοκοπία. 

...Η ΛΑΡΚΟ επιβιώνει λόγω ΔΕΗ, αφού το απλήρωτο ρεύμα έχει φτάσει στα 310 εκατ. ευρώ και συνεχίζει να αυξάνεται με ρυθμό 20-30 εκατ. ανά έτος. Δεν γνωρίζουμε πόσες προβλέψεις έχει εγγράψει η ΔΕΗ, αλλά η βιωσιμότητα της ΔΕΗ περνά και από τη ΛΑΡΚΟ. Η εταιρεία επίσης χρωστά 20 εκατ. περίπου στον Οργανισμό Ανασυγκρότησης Επιχειρήσεων (ουσιαστικά δηλαδή στο Δημόσιο), 30 εκατ. στην Τράπεζα Πειραιώς και 70 εκατ. στην παλαιά ΛΑΡΚΟ, για τα οποία έχει γίνει και η κατάσχεση...

...Τα βασικά κόστη της ΛΑΡΚΟ είναι το ηλεκτρικό ρεύμα και το εργασιακό, που είναι επίσης μη ανταγωνιστικό (ετήσια δαπάνη 45 εκατ. ευρώ για 1.100 εργαζομένους)...
______________________________________________________________________________

Map of the present situation in Syria. In light of the eminent Turkish invasion.

Trump’s Confounding Syria Moves Are Spurring Policy Confusion — Again

www.bloomberg.com /news/articles/2019-10-08/trump-s-confounding-syria-moves-spur-policy-confusion-again
By Nick Wadhams and Glen Carey
7-9 minutes


Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that U.S. forces would stand aside if Turkey invades Syria sowed chaos in his administration, drew criticism from his allies in Congress and left Kurdish fighters feeling betrayed. Yet after a day of confusion, it wasn’t clear how much American policy had really changed.

It was, in short, another example of how foreign policy gets made in the Trump era -- with the president delivering one message, his advisers providing another and then Trump sometimes adding a third for good measure. Abrupt foreign policy shifts are taken after limited consultation with staff and emerge in confusion and contradictions.

Where did the reformist just re-elected as Indonesia’s president go?

print-edition iconPrint edition | AsiaSep 26th 2019
5-6 minutes
NOT SINCE 1998, when huge crowds demanding reformasi brought down Suharto, Indonesia’s late dictator, have university students taken to the streets in such numbers. In cities across the archipelago and, above all, outside the parliament in Jakarta, tens of thousands have gathered in the past few days. Despite tear-gas, water cannon and beatings, their numbers are growing. Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, the recently re-elected president, faces an unexpected test.

The protesters carry a rattlebag of demands tied together by attempts by the political elite and the security forces to roll back two decades of democratic change. They call their movement reformasi dikorupsi, or reform corrupted. That Jokowi has come into the movement’s sights is significant. He swept to power in 2014 because Indonesians loved his reputation for clean government and because he was outside the intermarried elites that have long dominated politics, the security services and business.

China’s repression of Islam is spreading beyond Xinjiang

www.economist.com
ChinaSep 25th 2019 | DUANJIAPING
10-13 minutes
AS DARKNESS BEGINS to settle on Duanjiaping village, a few men in white skullcaps head towards a large mosque. It is time for the Maghrib, the fourth of the five daily prayers of devout Muslims. It is clear even before they reach the building’s high yellow walls that all is not right. The prayer-hall’s four minarets, topped by golden crescent moons, are still a towering landmark. But they are covered in scaffolding and green netting (see picture), and they are not due for repair.

Nancy Pelosi launches an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump

www.economist.com
United StatesSep 25th 2019 | WASHINGTON
8-10 minutes
NANCY PELOSI has long been a Republican bogeyman. In 2018, Republican congressional candidates across America built her into a caricature of a wild-eyed, out-of-touch coastal liberal. In fact, Mrs Pelosi is among America’s most calculating politicians. That has frustrated some of those on the left of her caucus, but the leader of the House of Representatives knows that she owes her majority to moderates from conservative districts. For months, progressives pushed to open impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, while Mrs Pelosi urged caution. On September 24th, she joined their calls, announcing that the House was “moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.”

Η αυτοκράτωρ Τουρκία, του Χρήστου Γιανναρά

www.kathimerini.gr

"Ενας λαός που θέλει να είναι κάτι άλλο από αυτό που είναι, δεν μπορεί να επιβιώσει ιστορικά, έχει τελειώσει. "

5-7 minutes

The attack on Saudi oil facilities raises the risks of war

www.economist.com
Middle East and AfricaSep 16th 2019
5-7 minutes
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP says America’s forces are “locked and loaded” to strike at those responsible for the devastating drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia’s industry on September 14th. Is he about to pull the trigger for another American war in the Middle East?

Responsibility for the strikes on the Khurais oilfield and the Abqaiq oil-processing facility—the biggest such plant in the world—was claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen. But American officials dismissed this notion. Not only was the weaponry involved made in Iran, they say. They also believe the attacks had come not from the south-east of the Arabian peninsula, ie, Yemen, but the north, from Iraq, where Iran runs proxy Shia militias; or indeed from the territory of Iran itself. “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” tweeted Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state. “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

Αντιπαλεύεται η παρακμή;

www.kathimerini.gr

του Χρήστου Γιανναρά | Kathimerini


Στην ελληνική γλώσσα έχουμε δύο λέξεις για να σημάνουμε τα αντικείμενα της εμπειρικής πιστοποίησης: τη λέξη «πράγματα» και τη λέξη «χρήματα».

«Πράγματα» είναι τα παράγωγα του πράττειν, τα αποτελέσματα μιας ποιητικής (δημιουργικής) ενέργειας, τα πεπραγμένα ενός μοναδικού και ανεπανάληπτου προσώπου. «Χρήματα» είναι εκείνα από τα πράγματα που καθορίζονται κυρίως από τη χρήση τους, εξυπηρετούν χρηστικές ανάγκες, είναι χρήσιμα στην πρακτική του βίου. Τα πράγματα ενδέχεται να διασώζουν την ετερότητα (μοναδικότητα και ανομοιότητα) ενός προσωπικού δημιουργικού λόγου, να παραπέμπουν στο πρόσωπο του δημιουργού τους – όπως η ζωγραφιά στον ζωγράφο και το ποίημα στον ποιητή. Τα χρήματα ταυτίζονται απλώς με τη χρηστική τους σκοπιμότητα, παραπέμπουν στην ίδια για όλους ωφέλιμη διευκόλυνση.

Boris Johnson’s Unconservative Party

From Economist.com

print-edition iconPrint edition | LeadersSep 7th 2019

4-5 minutes
BORIS JOHNSON has been Conservative leader for little more than a month, and until this week had appeared in Parliament as prime minister only once. But that did not stop him carrying out the biggest purge in the party’s history on September 3rd. After a backbench rebellion led to a resounding defeat of his uncompromising Brexit policy, 21 moderate Conservative MPs, including seven former cabinet members and a grandson of Winston Churchill, had the whip withdrawn and were told they would not be allowed to stand as Tories at the next election.

It was the most dramatic step in a long process: the transformation of Britain’s ruling party from conservatives into radical populists. The capture of the Tories by fanatics determined to pursue a no-deal Brexit has caused the party to abandon the principles by which it has governed Britain for most of the past century. With an election looming, and the Labour opposition captured by an equally radical hard-left, the Tories’ sinister metamorphosis is terrible news.

The wildcat goldminers doomed by their toxic trade

www.reuters.com
By TIM COCKS and DAVID LEWIS
16-20 minutes

BAWDIE, Ghana – A few years after coming as a teenager to this Ghanaian town to prospect for gold, Yaw Ngoha had made enough cash to marry his sweetheart and build a house with a porch, to which he would later add a flat-screen TV and satellite dish.

So when a town elder invited a doctor to talk to miners about the hazards of wildcat mining, “nobody listened,” said the 36-year-old, sitting on a wooden bench on his porch in a lush banana grove.

“We needed money.”

Since Ngoha started prospecting in the early 2000s, more and more people like him have helped Ghana grow into Africa’s biggest gold producer. Across the continent and beyond, millions have turned to the trade. Few are deterred by the risks.

Ngoha’s friends and family members started to sicken and die, but he told himself this had nothing to do with the amount of dust they’d been breathing in or the toxins – including mercury and nitric acid – they used to extract the gold.

One morning in 2016, Ngoha started coughing up blood. It felt like his airways were collapsing. His doctor treated him for tuberculosis.

Exclusive: Fake-branded bars slip dirty gold into world markets

www.reuters.com
Peter Hobson
13-16 minutes
LONDON (Reuters) - A forgery crisis is quietly roiling the world’s gold industry.
July 5, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Gold bars fraudulently stamped with the logos of major refineries are being inserted into the global market to launder smuggled or illegal gold, refining and banking executives tell Reuters. The fakes are hard to detect, making them an ideal fund-runner for narcotics dealers or warlords.

In the last three years, bars worth at least $50 million stamped with Swiss refinery logos, but not actually produced by those facilities, have been identified by all four of Switzerland’s leading gold refiners and found in the vaults of JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the major banks at the heart of the market in bullion, said senior executives at gold refineries, banks and other industry sources.

Progress and its discontents

"ο παγκόσμιος καπιταλισμός σημαίνει λιγότερη φτώχεια από ποτέ"
Ακολουθούν σκέψεις. Στο τέλος του άρθρου είναι το κείμενο με την αντίθετη άποψη.

“Academic mobbing” undermines open inquiry and destroys the soul of universities Open Future

Jul 23rd 2019
9-12 minutes
This is a by-invitation commentary as part of The Economist’s Open Future initiative, which is designed to spur a global conversation across the ideological spectrum on individual rights, open markets, free speech, technology and more. You can comment here. More articles can be found here.


In a 1951 essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled “The Best Answer to Fanatacism—Liberalism”, the philosopher Bertrand Russell laid out ten principles which he believed summed up the liberal outlook. The fifth item on Russell’s list was, “Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.” This statement echoes the motto of Britain’s Royal Society (a learned society founded in 1660 for the promotion of scientific knowledge), which is Nullius in verba, meaning “Take nobody’s word for it.”