leicsmac

At an everyday practical level, this is all correct, there's plenty of evidence. However, on a long term global level, to say nothing of the cultural osmosis that means... interesting US-centric political viewpoints are, taking on increased popularity in the UK (look at the % of Reform polling whose policy platform is basically Trump policy platform for the UK, with all that entails), I think that's a rather different matter that is worthy of consideration.

Think we did once upon a time, but then I think it was decided having all news/pol stuff in one thread (mostly) along with all the associated bickering was easier in terms of moderation. It's an unfortunate fact, however, that the decisions made over there are going to affect us all - mostly negatively.

Only if it's a ploy for the next step to look like the scene with the corrupt police chief in Man on Fire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg0m79gm10o In case it isn't already immediately obvious and hasn't been for a long time, you're either kissing Trumps' arse or you're in his way, with all the consequences that entails. He and his self-interested lackeys do not do subtlety, nuance or any kind of middle ground. The UK government and diplomatic corps should acknowledge this and act accordingly.

The 2012/13 winter will take some beating on that score, but yes, this has been pretty appalling.

I think that our positions on this aren't in fact that disparate - work for the best but prepare for the worst, because things have gotten to the point where no matter what we do there will be at least some consequences. A multipronged approach involving lobying, preparation, prevention and mitigation are all called for. We really just don't want to get into a position where the bodies start piling up, because fudging things becomes much trickier then - there's panic, there's insularity and sometimes there's shooting.

You're right to pull me up for being a little blase and too succinct there. From a scientific perspective, knowing the origins has its use because we can carry that knowledge forward for any possible future use. However, I'm almost certain that the intent of the current US administration on this one is less than 1% scientific and more than 99% political, which I will happily make a stand on being pointless and simply a point to direct Yellow Peril bigotry from, for the reasons stated above and more.

https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-demands-answers-following-report-of-musk-personnel-seeking-access-to-highly-sensitive-us-treasury-payments-system To add to the general ominous nature of things happening now...

And in other news, the "lab leak" theory is apparently in vogue at the White House again. Pointless speculation unless one wants a nationalist stick to beat the Chinese with, of course (given that even if it were true such a thing would be uncontrollable the moment it left the door and it's foolhardy to think otherwise, and it screwed the Chinese as much as anyone else), but hey.

It's possible that this is right, but if it is then the lives of billions of people are on the line no matter what, so before we're certain that's the case it might be a good idea to pursue prevention as well as planning for adaptation and mitigation.

A while ago, I would have believed that to be true. Now that a party that shares pretty much the entire Trump policy platform is polling at a level pretty much equivalent to the Tories and Labour in the UK, I'm not so sure.

I'll take that on faith, but I think the above couple of additional points do also stand.

... when the current PM looks to make political capital the day after the death of 60+ people in a mass casualty incident by blaming his political opposition with no evidence, let me know. Also, let me know when he's been convicted of a felony.

Honestly hope you're having a laugh there, ser. Sadly I'm almost certain Trump and his backers are 100% serious on a variety of detrimental changes.

And this is just inside the first two weeks.

Yeah, that was my working hypothesis, but I asked really in the thought of being proven wrong. That level of ego and lack of humility and empathy in high office are not good qualities.

It does make something of a difference, yes. Metallic ones are more dense than stony ones and so are more likely to hit the ground in one piece and be more damaging. We can get a good idea of composition of asteroids based on the way they move (which gives us rough density figures), their albedo (how much sunlight they reflect), and knowing how far from Sol they originated (a little rough too, but broadly speaking we find more metallic ones nearer Sol). Asteroid mining may still become the Next Big Thing in the world of tech, so having an idea of which ones to target for such things is of importance.

... can anyone think of any situation where Trump or one of his lackeys has actually admitted fault or apologised for anything? Never apologise, never explain, never admit fault, always deflect, always blame something else. It's incredibly corrosive - not just morally but because of the practical cost, too. As Valery Legasov said, "every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."

Yeah, that's true, hence the margin of uncertainty given. And, again, smaller ones like the one discussed above and the Chelyabinsk asteroid that still could cause big local damage are much harder to spot and could well come at us with no warning at all. I might do a deeper dive later and see if anything in particular has changed recently on this that I've missed.

Though this is five years old now, think most of it still applies as a primer on this topic.

Pretty sure it is of the ones we have had advance notice of. But there's so many variables, chief among them the vast difference in possible damage between the lower and upper estimates of its size.

As above.

Not just weird, but a threat.

Yeah, what @samlcfc and yourself have been saying these past few posts is what I'd settle on.

Yes. The mechanism by which animals change into others is not really relevant imo - there is no reason to suspect, regardless of mechanism, that such a mechanism wouldn't take place in other places as well as our own.