Interesting Links for 22-10-2013

[andrewducker]

• A handy guide to the new nuclear power plants deal
  (tags: uk nuclearpower )
• The letter Q was illegal in Turkey from 1928 until last month
  (tags: spelling turkey )
• The ocean is broken
  (tags: environment ocean nuclearpower )
• Facebook stops censoring violent videos
  (tags: censorship facebook )
• Heavy new penalties for VAT evaders boost revenue from

Comments

[steer]

I've mixed feelings over that "the ocean is dead" thing. He's sailing for the most part, across the heart of the pacific (Japan to west coast US). That really is supposed to be pretty much desolate. Unless you got lucky on a migration route at a particular time of year you wouldn't see much life -- the ocean there is incredibly deep, there's just not much to sustain life (indeed pretty much the only thing that does is marine debris).

The pacific garbage patch is an important issue but it's not what he describes (it's mostly small particulates not visible to the naked eye). So what he describes is almost certainly the aftermath of the tsunami.

It's a vivid piece that raises some important issues -- bycatch, marine pollution. But he's not really giving the right impression of each problem -- in fact in some ways the exact wrong impression.

[andrewducker]

Yeah - it's an interesting individual viewpoint, but it shouldn't be taken as an actual scientific survey.

[steer]

I get my deep sea news from "Deep Sea News" -- it's an excellent collection of linked posts from researchers in the field.

Here's a post by a researcher in the area:
http://io9.com/5911969/lies-youve-been-told-about-the-pacific-garbage-patch

(Not actually on deep sea news but she linked to it from there).

[nancylebov]

For what it's worth, he says he sailed the same route 10 years earlier, and saw much more life.

[bart_calendar]

What sucks is the weird negative comments Stoya got for writing honestly about porn and feminism.

[alitheapipkin]

That is indeed a shame - that's the most balanced and thoughtful post I've read on the subject. Unfortunately, the topic seems to be becoming more and more entrenched in two opposing view points who would rather scream at each other than have any sort of reasoned discussion.

[bart_calendar]

Yep.

[moussaka_thief]

Seriously, I agree. I enjoyed her perspective and thought it was actually very sensible!

[drdoug]

I confidently predict that the nuclear plants deal (if it sticks) will turn out to be considerably more terrible than even the (mainstream) detractors are claiming. I also predict that the full magnitude of how terrible a deal it is will come out slowly over many years, kicking and screaming.

I base this on the observation that this has been true of every single nuclear project I've looked at.

[andrewducker]

I don't really see why it makes sense to subsidise it this way - if you're going to invest government money in it, then surely it makes more sense to do it in-house so it can be run as a non-profit?

[alitheapipkin]

But that would involve our current Government thinking that doing anything not-for-profit isn't BAD AND WRONG :(

[a_pawson]

Absolutely. However, all three political parties seem to have a complete aversion towards anything being paid for using public money. Everything from schools to nuclear power stations are being built using funds raised from private investors rather than from bond issues. I don't know enough about economics to understand why this seems to be the way things are done.

[octopoid_horror]

I rather liked how the Stoya piece managed to have not a single photo of her.

Vice is annoying, since it has some incredible articles and videos, but also has some absolutely terrible shite at the same time. Although I guess that's their thing.

[bart_calendar]

Stoya gets art approval for her stories on Vice and I suspect she and her boyfriend thought it would be hilarious to make an art project out the ridiculous bras she has to wear on set.

Both of them have a very amusing sense of humor.

[rhythmaning]

Waterstone's Oxford St often do great tweets. Whoever it is they have writing them really understands the medium.

Excellent stories in 140 character chunks!

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I see them retweeted intermittently, they do a great job.