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Thursday, August 10, 2017

The Political Page, T+202 -- August 10, 2017

Updates

August 16, 2017: NOKO (Kim) blinked. He says he has "called off" the four-missile launch on Guam. Comes after tough talk from Trump. In the past, concessions to NOKO would have been made to get Kim to "blink." Now Iran fills the void with threats to renege on "the deal" and may re-start (wink, wink) its nuclear program. 

Later, 10:06 p.m. Central Time: if allies go to war with NOKO, "everyone" seems to agree it would be catastrophic. If so, one wonders why the rest of the world isn't taking stronger action on sanctions -- this doesn't add up. Total embargo on NOKO seems appropriate, but yet that's not even being talked about -- at least in the mainstream press. China fears a humanitarian catastrophe --if war breaks out, there will be a humanitarian catastrophe. 

Later, 4:17 p.m. Central Time: NOKO - US rhetoric heats up. When should one start to take any of this seriously? When the US orders all non-essential civilian and all non-essential military and all family members of US military personnel out of SOKO; and, bans US travel to SOKO.  

Original Post
 
Did the mainstream media misread Trump's "fire and fury" speech? Prior to that speech, Trump's approval rating had dropped to an all-time low, and lower than anything recorded by Barack Obama during his presidency. Trump's approval rated had dropped to 38%.

His approval rating "popped" to 44% following the "fire and fury" speech. The "44%" comes from a Drudge Report headline; the link takes you to the Rasmussen daily presidential tracking poll to which Drudge linked.

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The Physics Page

The Jazz of Physics: 
The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe
Stephon Alexander
c. 2016
DDS: 523.1 ALE 

The title intrigued me. The first three pages made me look at the jacket to see a photo of the author and get the typical short bio. Blew me away. But the first chapter really, really blew me away. An accomplished jazz musician who became physicist. I've only read the first chapter and the first two pages of the second chapter, but for now, I'm hooked.

[Later, August 26, 2017: I've completed the book. Overall, a good book, but anti-climactic. After finishing it, my first thought: the author has had quite a "ride," but from what I can tell hasn't accomplished anything remarkable in the world of physics. That's the case with the entire field of physics right now. It's hard to believe the thousands of physicists worldwide, the technology, and the billions of dollars being spent (large hadron colliders; space travel) and nothing to really show for it. At least compared to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I'm sure I'm wrong, but that's my impression.]

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My Favorite Things, John Coltrane

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