August 7, 2023

Time to Lay Out America's Aims in Ukraine

Muddled goals and objectives only undercut U.S. geopolitical strategy and diplomacy

https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/time-to-lay-out-americas-aims-in



Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia hosted a peace conference in Jeddah designed to help Ukraine promote the ten-point peace plan first outlined by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at last November’s G20 summit. It’s the second such gathering convened to advance Kyiv’s peace proposal, the first having been held in Denmark in June. These talks are mostly informal, intended to give Kyiv an opportunity to make its case directly not just to the United States and its NATO allies but countries like Brazil, China, India, and South Africa as well. It’s all part of Zelenskyy’s push to blunt Russian influence and win support in the so-called Global South, an effort that’s achieved at least some success with Riyadh’s somewhat surprising willingness to host this conclave.

It's a meeting that comes amidst a Ukrainian counteroffensive that’s proven more difficult and made slower progress against entrenched Russian defensive positions so far than many had hoped. What’s more, the United States has been less than clear about its own long-term vision for America’s relationship with Ukraine and Ukraine’s relationship with NATO. Instead of bringing Ukraine into NATO—the best long-term option for everyone involved, as Brian Katulis has argued—the Biden administration has floated an unrealistic “Israel model” that bizarrely neglects the fact that, among other things, Israel possesses a nuclear deterrent. Nor is Israel exactly secure, facing chronic threats from Iran and various terrorist groups ensconced along its borders. What’s more, Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territory, while Ukraine has been invaded and occupied by Russia since 2014. All in all, an Israel model would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future Russian depredations.

This fuzzy approach to strategy had some logic in the war’s first several months, when it was uncertain whether or not Ukraine’s military could stop Russia’s invasion in its tracks—much less push Russian forces out of Kharkiv and Kherson. Today, however, it creates needless points of friction between the United States, its NATO allies, and Ukraine, as they hash out—sometimes rather publicly—their next steps. Worse, it could prolong the war by giving the Kremlin reason to believe that it can simply wait for the United States to grow bored or tired of supporting Ukraine. It also opens up space for freelance diplomacy by former U.S. officials that, intentionally or not, sends Moscow much the same message.

It's time, in other words, for the United States to clearly outline its own war aims in Ukraine—not as a combatant, of course, but as a nation with a direct and vital interest in Ukrainian victory and Russian defeat. Lacking the diplomatic muscle and geopolitical influence America can bring to bear, President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government can only get so far with their own peace initiative. Detailing America’s own goals and objectives would eliminate any uncertainty or ambiguity that encourages Moscow to keep fighting in the hope that the United States will quit. It can also give the United States an opportunity to address indirect issues raised by the war, like the Kremlin’s repeated implicit nuclear threats and its blockade of Ukrainian grain.

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August 7, 2023

Warning by Sam Harris: AI Could Destroy Us, The Internet And Democracy (7 Aug 2023)

00:00 Intro
02:02 6 years later, where do you stand on AI?
16:36 Is this not the most pressing problem?
33:16 Why I deleted twitter
45:43 Narrow AI
58:26 The meaning of AGI
01:02:00 In the age of AI how do we create purpose?
01:10:06 Who will AI replace?
01:14:41 Should we be doing universal basic income?
01:21:40 Would you stop AI if you could?
01:27:31 How do we change our minds to be happier?
01:34:28 Why not lying & telling the truth will make you happier
01:41:28 The last guests question

August 7, 2023

Terror Birds: The Terrible Reign Of Giant Killer Birds

August 7, 2023

Germany Is so Much More Than Oktoberfest and Berghain

The views in Saxony > the beers in Munich (almost).

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/underrated-towns-cities-to-visit-in-germany



Many first-time travelers to Germany start in heavy hitters like Munich, where the beer flows freely every September for Oktoberfest, or Berlin, the chilled-out culture capital. But as excellent as both are, they reflect such a limited part of Germany—a country that’s about the size (in square kilometers) of Montana or New Mexico, two of America’s largest states. So once you've got the country’s greatest hits under your belt, hop a train and head to one of Germany’s lesser-known cities, where you can wander through art museums and medieval towns, taste beer brewed in ancient styles, pour one out for Beethoven, and take advantage of some of the best hiking Germany has to offer. Here are the best and most underrated destinations to throw on your itinerary.



Slurp ramen and down rare brews in Düsseldorf

Art, fashion, architecture, and industry all converge in Düsseldorf, which dates back to about the 8th Century. The city’s old town, Altstadt—largely devastated during WWII but rebuilt to reflect its historic past—is often referred to as "the longest bar in the world,” packing 300+ bars into a one-square-kilometer district. Here, you’ll drink altbier, a rare, top-fermented style beer that’s unique to Düsseldorf; check out the Altbier-Safari, which goes to each of the main altbier breweries in Altstadt, and a currywurst-and-cheesy food tour of Carlsplatz Market. Düsseldorf is also home to one of the largest Japanese communities in Europe. Just a 10-minute walk from the Altstadt, check out the “Little Tokyo on the Rhine” neighborhood. It’s a small area along the Immermannstrasse, and Japanese grocers, sushi bars, and shops line adjacent streets. Slurp down some ramen at Takumi, or a round of sashimi at Nagomi.



Raise a Kölsch to the good (extra) old days in Cologne

From Düsseldorf, it’s just a 25-minute train ride to Cologne, one of Germany’s oldest cities. Sitting on the banks of the Rhine, the city’s most prominent feature is the Gothic spirals of Cologne Cathedral, one of the world’s tallest twin-spired churches whose towers rise more than 500 feet into the air. Like Düsseldorf, Cologne is proud of its beer traditions; and what altbier is to Düsseldorf, the refreshing and light Kölsch is to Cologne. While in town, down a pint at Früh, located near the cathedral, Gaffel am Dom, and Peters Brauhaus. Also make time to swing through one of Cologne’s many museums, such as the Museum Ludwig, a modern art museum that’s kept works by Picasso, Warhol, and Lichtenstein, and the Cologne Chocolate Museum, which chronicles the history of chocolate worldwide.



Get cultured in Ruhrgebiet, a former industrial town turned art hub

In Ruhrgebiet, you’ll find a former coal-mining region that’s been reinvigorated into a hotbed for art and culture: Old furnaces, mines, and winding towers still dot the landscape, many of which have been converted into art spaces and music venues. There are 20 museums spread across the metropolitan area, including the Museum Folkwang in Essen, housing works by legendary European artists like Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Rodin. You’ve also got to visit the UNESCO-approved Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in the town of Essen. Often dubbed “the most beautiful coal mine in the world,” the rusty but iconic piece of Bauhaus-style steel architecture offers a museum, a free swimming pool, an open-air cinema that screens movies all summer, and an ice skating rink in the winter.

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August 7, 2023

Architect Ben Ridley on life in his low-energy house in Muswell Hill. London

https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/the-modern-house-films-ben-ridley-low-energy-house/



“Although I had worked on low-energy homes before this, I had never lived in one. It’s been really nice to experience the comfort and warmth it offers.” The first conversation we had with Ben Ridley at his home in north London was a memorable one. When we visited him in 2022 for Issue No.4 of our magazine, the director of Architecture for London (a practice that builds “healthy buildings that are a joy to inhabit”) discussed the importance of retrofitting. “There are many small things people can do to make their houses greener,” he advised, such as fitting one’s letterbox with an airtight seal. “Go for the low-hanging fruit first.” Now, having recently returned with our film team, we can attest that our second encounter was equally inspiring…





Ben lives in an Edwardian house that dates to 1905. It has beautiful proportions and big windows, “which were good starting points for me as an architect”. Before he renovated it, however, the inside hadn’t been touched since the 1960s. Drawing up a plan that involved a low-energy retrofit, Ben stripped the interiors, extended the rear and the loft and set about insulating the entire building. He made it airtight through the introduction of things like triple-glazed windows and employed an MVHR system. As a result, the house is draught-free and the temperature is stable throughout the house – even in the depths of winter. “You don’t feel the cold,” he explains. “Not even near the windows.”





Sustainability has also informed the aesthetics. Ben has used lime plaster on the walls, which adds an airtight seal and has a pleasing texture, meaning there’s no need for paint. He also used stone and wood because they have relatively low-embodied energy (and avoided concrete and steel). This palette of natural materials is not only good for the planet but it looks good too. These soft neutral tones, for instance, create a sense of serenity throughout the house, which Ben has decorated minimally: “I like the idea of a calm space, so I keep it clutter-free.”





“People aren’t going to accept low-energy retrofit if it means you lose the character or the joy of your home,” he says – and, as this project proves, that needn’t be the case. Watch our film now to see this for yourself and to discover how Ben’s low-energy home brings him comfort and joy. And if you want to live in one yourself, Architecture For London has designed a scheme for a Passivhaus-standard house in Muswell Hill – and the plot of land with planning permission is on the market with us.

August 7, 2023

A new music video for 'North' will premiere on the Fever Ray YouTube channel on August 9th at the

following times:

7pm CEST / 6pm BST / 10am PDT / 1pm EDT

August 7, 2023

"Those Noble Qualities": Classical Pseudonyms as Reflections of Divergent Republican Value Systems.

https://allthingsliberty.com/2023/08/those-noble-qualities-classical-pseudonyms-as-reflections-of-divergent-republican-value-systems/







During the trial years under the Federal Constitution, some political observers contributed to the national discourse by employing one of the period’s most ambitious and creative ornaments: the classical pseudonym. Cloaked behind these ancient disguises, commenters added a historically nuanced layer to their arguments that enlisted the ubiquitous gravity of the classical past. These signatures have puzzled generations of scholars since at least the middle of the twentieth century, leaving them scrambling to decode their exact purposes. Douglass Adair, for example, argued that a classically-educated audience integrated the diplomacy of a pseudonym’s historical figure into contemporary essays. Mackubin T. Owens, Jr., conjectured the founders “looked to antiquity for their models of greatness” and selected classical masks to emphasize a particular virtue for an eighteenth-century audience. Other scholars determined that ancient noms de plume allowed elite statesmen to participate in an erudite parlor game or simply behave in a manner unbecoming of their station. Most recently, Eran Shalev argued that the founding generation used these literary devices to connect with and channel the virtue of the past.

Each of these explanations is convincing, but a critical element remains absent from this conversation. During the early 1790s, political contributors used classical pseudonyms to draw on the authority of the ancient world in their contemporary struggle to define the new national order. By reflecting their republican value system through a Greek or Roman prism, these actors sought to legitimize their vision with the sacred wisdom of the classical world. Ultimately, writing under ancient veneers allowed partisans to politicize and weaponize ancient history during the turbulent start of the Federal Republic.

Federalists employed ancient personalities who advocated a patrician worldview and a culture of deference. These American aristocrats resurrected historical and semi-historical actors such as Timoleon, Lycurgus and Marcus to help articulate and cultivate their contemporary republican vision. In contrast, Republicans conjured classical figures who championed plebeian rights and a culture of vigilance. These American activists animated ancient figures such as Caius, Aratus and Lucius to promulgate an opposing value system. In the process, these factions transformed revered heroes of the ancient world into de facto American partisans, channeling their legacies into the national drama.

The following passages examine classical pseudonyms as presented in the two nationally distributed newspapers, the Gazette of the United States and the National Gazette. Advertisements for titles arriving in American bookstores during the 1790s, as reflected in those papers, reveal Americans’ continued fascination with the classical past. For most, John Dryden’s translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans remained the most widely available source of ancient history. Other classical works or classically-themed literature commonly referenced by Americans include translations of Homer, Virgil, Tacitus and reprints of Joseph Addison’s Cato: A Tragedy. This keen interest in the ancient world conditioned the reading republic to think creatively and politically about classical pseudonyms.

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August 7, 2023

Ex-Google Officer Speaks Out On The Dangers Of AI - Mo Gawdat - E252

August 7, 2023

Can we build AI without losing control over it? - Sam Harris TEDSummit Banff, Canada, June 29, 2016

August 6, 2023

Catch LA's Hoagie Wave with This Punk Rock, Philly-Style Pop-Up

West Coast hoagies are worth a shot (especially when East Coast expats make them).

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/los-angeles/where-to-g/eat/los-angeles/best-philly-style-hoagies-los-angeles



Buying lunch out of someone’s cooler on the sidewalk is nothing new in LA. Usually, that means tamales or tacos de canasta, and for a brief period in the chaotic 2010s, it may or may not have meant a couple of cans of black market Four Loko that a young entrepreneur had stashed from when it still had caffeine. Today, though, the line that snakes around the asphalt ring of Echo Park Lake has assembled for something a little different—hoagies. A real-deal version of the iconic Philadelphia sandwich had been relatively hard to find in LA, but no longer. The hoagie wave is upon us. The man behind the cooler at the lake, Josh Agran of Delco Rose Hoagies, is surfing down the face of that wave with a pile of immaculate Delaware County (aka Delco) style sandwiches. The forearm-length hoagies come tightly wrapped in thick brown paper, the better to hold in the oil and vinegar that coats the shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pepperoncini on top of thinly sliced cold cuts and provolone on a baguette. It’s a simple formula, but Agran’s version is perfect—sharp from the vinegar and pepperoncini balanced with a slick of good olive oil, anchored by precisely calibrated slices of cold cuts, all supported by a sturdy baguette from Jersey native and fellow hoagie enthusiast Andy Kadin of Bub & Grandma’s bread.



The result is something alchemical, a sandwich balanced just so powerfully evocative for anyone who’s spent time in the greater Philly area. If you ask him about his goals for the sandwich, Agran will cite his inspiration—a long-closed South Philly market called Maria Calla Deli that sold the hoagie of his dreams, which was a little more slender and balanced than the stuffed ones you see at lots of modern spots. Then he will describe a feeling he wants to evoke, a mix of nostalgia and bliss, and he may even pull up a photo from Eric Wareheim’s Instagram. The multi-hyphenate Philly native rolled through a couple of early Delco Rose pop-ups with a crew of hometown friends and captured music producer Alex Goose in a moment of rapture, mouth full and eyes closed. It’s an unmistakable feeling, a sensation worth chasing, and one that Agran is always trying to create.







Agran’s hoagies are tightly constructed and carefully designed to take you to a higher plane of Delco-style ecstasy, but he never really meant to get into the sandwich business. He’s a punk musician, the guitarist for Paint It Black, and a rocker at heart. But one fateful day, he decided to make a few hoagies for his coworkers at the gourmet market Cookbook; they were a hit, and word got out. The Philly network in LA is a powerful thing, transplants united by boundless pride in their hometown. Agran was thinking about popping up with his hoagies, but the logistics and the capital required to get going seemed overwhelming; buying ingredients, developing a process, testing ratios, and finding the right location were all daunting tasks. That’s when his Philly friends stepped in.



They largely helped by staying on top of him about it, encouraging him by repeatedly asking for hoagies. They also provided some material help, too by testing, assembling, and helping him nail down his ordering system. And in the case of Lindsay Rose Medoff, by providing a location—she’s the owner of Suay Sew Shop in Frogtown and offered him a prime spot at her shop, right off the LA River Bike Path. He picked a fortuitous date—Super Bowl Sunday, and in honor of the Eagles, he made about 60 sandwiches and set up his table for the first time. It was a smashing success, and he’s been off to the races ever since, mostly popping up at Echo Park Lake but occasionally bouncing around the greater NELA area, in Highland Park or Hermon, or the middle of a trendy stretch of shops along Sunset Boulevard. Delco Rose usually only pops up once a week, now on Saturdays as of early August. But if you’re looking for a hoagie on other days, there are some alternatives in town that will more than hit the spot.

Here are a few of our favorite other hoagies in LA.

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