First Derivative [15]
Comey testified yesterday that Trump is not personally under investigation re: Russia but believes he was fired to affect the investigation.
UK election: Labour upsets. Tories will have to form coalition with DUP.
Top Secret NSA Report Details Russian Hacking Effort Days Before 2016 Election
The report indicates that Russian hacking may have penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than was previously understood. It states unequivocally in its summary statement that it was Russian military intelligence, specifically the Russian…
This is less of a smoking gun than it is a Chekhov gun. First evidence I've seen that election infrastructure itself was potentially compromised, not just that a propaganda campaign was conducted using stolen emails. I'd bet this pops up again—TK
Richard Spencer Was My High-School Classmate
On December 17, 2007, the libertarian magazine Reason held a Christmas bash—a “Very Special, Very Secular Christmas Party”—at its office in Washington, D.C. The guest of honor, the late Atlantic book critic Christopher…
an intriguing profile of an obnoxious man, from Graeme Wood—TK
Feel-good fractals: from ocean waves to Jackson Pollock's art
When Richard Taylor was 10 years old in the early 1970s in England, he chanced upon a catalogue of Jackson Pollock paintings. He was mesmerised, or perhaps a better word is Pollockised. Franz Mesmer, the crackpot 18th-century physician, posited the…
Always thought aesthetics had to do with fractals. Now I know why—TK
Russia escalates spy games after years of U.S. neglect
In the throes of the 2016 campaign, the FBI found itself with an escalating problem: Russian diplomats, whose travel was supposed to be tracked by the State Department, were going missing. The diplomats, widely assumed to be intelligence…
Maybe it's because I started watching The Americans but this is fascinating/scary. Can't imagine China isn't doing the same. Long game beyond 2016, '...the Kremlin is waging a quiet effort to map the United States’ telecommunications infrastructure...'—TK
You Look Familiar. Now Scientists Know Why.
The brain has an amazing capacity for recognizing faces. It can identify a face in a few thousandths of a second, form a first impression of its owner and retain the memory for decades. Central to these abilities is a longstanding puzzle: how the…
Scientists can now reconstruct faces by interpreting signals in monkeys' brains.—TK
BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince
Spectre of 'another 7/7' led Tony Blair to block bribes inquiry, high court told…
a tiny spotlight on what goes on in the shadows—TK
India, Once a Coal Goliath, Is Fast Turning Green
Just a few years ago, the world watched nervously as India went on a building spree of coal-fired power plants, more than doubling its capacity and claiming that more were needed. Coal output, officials said, would almost…
On top of the Aadhaar program, more ambitious reform and development going on in India—TK
House to vote on sweeping rollback of banking rules
The House on Thursday is preparing to vote on sweeping legislation to roll back Wall Street regulations. The bill, introduced by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), offers the country's nearly 6,000 banks a choice: If they want to avoid many of the…
A Stanford researcher might be on the brink of a dramatic shift in how we treat depression
Depression is the leading disability worldwide, and it can kill. Nevertheless, scientists know surprisingly little about it. We do know, however, that talking seems to help — especially under the guidance of a licensed mental health…
A little bizarre and quaintly dystopian but if the alternative is mainly self-medication, a welcome innovation.—TK
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain break diplomatic ties with Qatar over 'terrorism'
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have broken off diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar on Monday. Saudi Arabia said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and…
Pot denounces kettle. Hard not to see the recent terrorist attacks in Iran (which Iran has blamed Saudi Arabia) as connected.—TK