Favorites March 16th 2022

Ezra Klein @ezraklein

Here's a frightening thought. timothynoah.substack.com/p/we-need-a-sl…

The public reacts so fast that you don't have time to think through the implications of actions. And then when we do take actions, we're not doing it covertly, shortening the news cycle further.

max seddon @maxseddon

NEW: Details on the possible Russia-Ukraine deal – Russia ceases fire and withdraws – Ukrainian "neutrality" without Nato – Kyiv keeps its army but can't host foreign bases – Russian gets legal status in Ukraine with @ArashMassoudi and Roman Olearchyk

ft.comSubscribe to read | Financial TimesNews, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

Much closer to something that might be accepted, similar to Austria's deal. (Notice it still allows Ukraine to join the EU). Glimmers of hope, but still a long way to go comments Ezra Klein.

live l'affh love @s_damerdji

"In the most expensive county in the data set—Santa Clara (CA)—narrowing the right-of-way to 16 ft would save more than $100,000 per housing unit through reduced land consumption."

tandfonline.comThe Width and Value of Residential Streets(2022). The Width and Value of Residential Streets. Journal of the American Planning Association: Vol. 88, No. 1, pp. 30-43.

Plus, it's easier to get a tree canopy going when the street isn't so wide.

Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu

BREAKING — US will provide Ukraine with armed drones: Biden

Here's the full list of hardware, we're calling them "Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems" not "drones". The ones we're sending are "switchblades" which are apparently basically flying pipe bombs.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

The opposite of my constant complaint about the Fed ten years ago — if inflation is already above target and you are forecasting it to continue to be above target for years, why aren’t you adjusting policy to the point where you’d forecast hitting the target?

The federal reserve raised rates 25 basis points, Bullard dissented, voting for 50. I'm not saying I'm certain Yglesias is right about what we should do, but it seems not entirely crazy.

Barak Ravid @BarakRavid

Scoop: The Biden administration is considering removing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a terror blacklist in return for a public commitment from Iran to de-escalation in the region. My story on @axios

axios.comU.S. weighs deal to remove Iran’s IRGC from terror blacklistIt’s a key remaining sticking point in finalizing an agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Congrats to Iran on being downgraded to like... 3rd most disliked country from 2nd. They're still not the nicest group, but currently we have bigger problems.

Kate O'Keeffe @Kate_OKeeffe

NEW: A Chinese spy hired a private investigator to use violence if necessary to end the campaign of a U.S. Congressional candidate, instructing him to “beat him until he cannot run for election,” the Department of Justice said: wsj.com/articles/chine… @aviswanatha @fanellijames

wsj.comChinese Agent Proposed Violent Means to End Dissident’s Congress Run, DOJ SaysThe Justice Department unsealed a complaint accusing a Chinese government agent of trying to undermine a former dissident’s congressional campaign, among others who were allegedly targeted.

That's uhhh... not usually what you expect for 'election interference'.

Josh Barro @jbarro

I can’t believe you people are making me explain this again, but: year-round daylight saving is bad; we tried it in 1974, people hated it and we repealed it; it will be fucking dark at 8am for weeks; even Putin failed when he tried to inflict it on Russia.

joshbarro.comThis Week In the Mayonnaise Clinic: Actually, Changing the Clocks Is GoodPlus, why Los Angeles is awesome.

I'm excited about the end of changing clocks in the US. But for the sake of debate, here's an argument against it, I just think Barro is wrong on this one.

Fred Wellman @FPWellman

They did it on purpose. These are war criminals. https://t.co/jTMBh1Jvaz

No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC

NEW: Satellite imagery shows the Russian word for “CHILDREN” was painted in massive letters on the pavement outside of the Mariupol Drama Theater where hundreds of innocent Ukrainians were sheltering—Russia bombed it anyways.

Casualties are not yet known. The war goes on.

• Short thread explaining explaining how people misuse the term "revealed preference"

• If you want to know what an actual Fascist speech looks like (I can’t say I recommend it), someone went through and added subtitles to Putin's address today.

Mountain View, December 2019