I personally would be glad if China did put more restriction on rare-earth metals exports due to this whole trade dispute. It would both stop their reckless mining of it, while bringing prices sooner to what they'd eventually level out at as China becomes more developed, their wages increase, and regulations become more enforced. Yeah, it would cause a shakeup, but it's something that would happen down the line in any case and it would eventually level out.

And I'm willing to bet technology companies would still be able to produce in the interim, China isn't the only country that exports rare-earth metals. Electronics would just be a lot more expensive for a time. I honestly believe the market would respond rather quickly, though, and a lot of mines would be reopened.

I've actually heard those being lampooned for a while since Trump's campaign started getting steam. They were referenced in that "Darth Trump" video. It's so ridiculous and perfectly written to make fun of that I still have doubts whether they existed or not.

Man, if I didn't have anything going on, I'd seriously consider driving up there from Michigan. I got my enhanced ID a few months ago and I've yet to use it.

Weird, I haven't heard anything about this. However, as a Michigander, and one that lives in the east, so Lake Huron isn't too far, I support this. I trust it's far enough and that waste weak enough that it won't contaminate drinking water. It's a pretty deep mine, they're talking, and I don't really see how there's much worry it could contaminate the water, let alone to the point that it would make the water dangerous for people. It's a mile away from the shore, which might be short in driving distance, but when you think about how deep this stuff is, and how good water itself is at mitigating radiation it does come into contact with, I don't really understand the worry. Even if there is a leak, it would have to be pretty serious to actually reach the shore, and I trust if the company did make mistakes, there's enough safeguards in these systems that it would mitigate how much is leaked.

These reactors haven't been operating too far away, either, and they haven't managed to make our water undrinkable. And that's the stuff I'm really worried about, because that's where a meltdown is possible.

In any case, I don't think the site is all that odd, if you've read the article. It's near the reactor, they already own the land, and geologically, it's a very safe place to put it. I think they made their point very succinctly. And I feel it's pretty disingenuous to only quote them on their financial argument when they've had geological surveys, on top of the fact that the shorter the distance you transport radioactive materials over, the safer it is.

I'm very skeptical of the claim that 20% of Ottawa residents have an account. I think more than likely, Ashley Madison made a lot of fake accounts and based them all out of Ottawa.

Now all I need is something that ensures pages render neatly in lynx and I'll never have to leave the terminal for news.

I'd suggest just allowing people to control what they get notifications for.

I think you need to take analysis like this with a grain of salt. As they even say at the end of the article, they're still nearly half a year from voting, and a lot can change. Herman Cain was doing well before the actual primaries started, too. Michelle Bachmann won that straw poll they like to talk about. The fact is, though, you can't really take anything going on with the primaries right now as indicative of who'll be winning when it draws near to voting time.

I think it's likely in a few more months time you'll start to see more career politicians gaining steam and actually rising in polls and favorability, as the less experienced have to start facing questions on concrete policy. There's just a feel I have that a lot of the perception of disruption is hopeful thinking.

Hurray for science! I'm actually wondering if the observed thrust might be a consistent error in something all the experiments failed to control, because then I imagine that could actually lead to some useful information in the future if people ever make similar observations in something else.

I feel like by the end of the second season of True Detectiv, this song was actually rather appropriate for the plotline and its eventual conclusion. That's about as much as I can say without spoiling anything.

Anyways, it's a pretty cool song in general. It was odd to me at first, but I enjoy what's more a poetic reading than actual singing in this song.

I like this, because it explains what I wasn't observant enough to realize was the reason I dislike TED. It's all about change but it never enacts it, and I think, at least partially, it's for the reasons he describes of people clinging onto an old system that is the source of many problems.

I also really enjoyed his commentary on institutions in general, and his criticism of how communism and capitalism seem to fail us in modern times. I'm not sure if he was hinting at Technocratic economic theory, but his insistence that we need to use technology more towards the idea of reshaping these institutional structures, rather than just being applied on top of them, really resonated with ideas that I've become more supportive of.

I'm not sure if it's what this article describes, or other things as well, that's lead me to just kind of ignore the Daily Show for the past few years as I felt it wasn't that great at promoting liberal ideas, or even making me laugh at opposing opinions I found ridiculous.

I guess this makes me a bit happy that John Oliver got his own show instead of taking over. The freedom he gets on HBO has led to me discovering issues I didn't even know were issues, and has made me incredibly more supportive of movements I didn't care to understand before. I can't think of any time the Daily Show really did that for me, but maybe that wasn't the point. Maybe it really was just to be smug and laugh at the opposition. Sometimes comedy is helpful for frustrated people who can't bring the change they want.

But it's hyperbole, I think, to say he spoiled a generation of liberals. I don't see people acting anymore smug about their opinions among liberals than I do amongst conservatives. Albeit, they're both often incredibly smug, but I don't think this is far from the norm. Politically minded people will often be very convinced of their opinions, and as a result will easily think themselves smarter than those who disagree.

What are you guys doing tomorrow night?

I just think he framed it disingenuously, because he made it seem like we were supplying ISIS allies with humvees and that's how they acquired them. Even if I agree that we arm groups in an irresponsible fashion, ISIS didn't acquire its weaponry through trade with other groups.

I didn't enjoy it for the most part, because a lot of the statements made were backed up with false, or misleading premises. I don't quite remember them all clearly, I was drinking to keep myself relaxed through all the rage, but I remember Rand saying that we've been funding allies of ISIS, and mentioning their possession of American humvees, in the same breath. That annoyed me because those humvees were captured when members of the Iraqi army fled their posts, so I don't see how it's too relevant to who we fund in Syria, which was obviously the legislation he was referencing when he said he voted against it.

I also still don't understand how people seem to buy Trump's assertion that the Mexican government is literally pushing killers into the US so they don't have to deal with them, as if those few violent immigrants had any noticeable effect in Mexico compared to the actual cartel killings that still go on regularly in the country. It's taking away attention from the fact that we have a neighbor that desperately needs reform and desperately needs assistance from its more fortunate ally. I do like that one of the moderators tried to push Trump on where his proof was of these assertions, at least, but it still seems like there was a lot of support.

I mean, I'm further left than Bernie Sanders, so I don't know why I subjected myself to watching this, but it made me feel very cynical.

I guess if you really want to get drunk, what you want to do is take a drink every time they mention Ronald Reagan.

Extortion is done to fund a mafia's activities, and the bosses' yachts and so on.

How do you even establish property in the first place?