Notes and comments. Part 251

Note: My previous large file titled “Tidbits and notes. Part 211” has vanished after I pressed Leave instead of Cancel. WordPress,com support system was of No help. If you know how I can retrieve the file, I’ll be very appreciative.

PM2.5 is the technical term for fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. It’s the smallest unit of air pollution, the kind spewed out of wildfires, car exhaust, and power plants that burn fossil fuels. It’s small enough to invade human airways and slip into the bloodstream.

Right now 95% of the global population is exposed to PM2.5 levels exceeding the WHO’s recommended levels (which is high any way)—and that pollution has steadily increased in the past decade.

 “Stochastic terrorism?”  Stochastic is a branch in math. When terrorism is added, the term refers to “the use of mass communication to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable.”

It’s one thing to know that many young Africans try to reach Europe for a better life and get exploited by smugglers along the way. It’s another to become immersed in the painful story of one such migrant. Yomi Kazeem details the tortuous path taken by one young man from Nigeria to Italy through Libya and across the Mediterranean.

The German brand Aldi has demanded that its Colombian suppliers of bananas drop their prices ASAP—or Aldi will drop them. The tactic could lead to lower-quality bananas throughout Europe.

The notes F and B, played in sequence or together, clash in a way that feels twitchy, unnatural, and foreboding. As Gwynn Guilford explains in time for Halloween, the demonic combo was taboo in medieval Europe and referred to as diablous in musica—literally, ”Satan in music.” But it was later embraced by the likes of Berlioz and Beethoven—and, much later, by Black Sabbath and Metallica.

India’s fleet of e-rickshaws has grown to about 1.5 million—bigger than the total number of electric passenger cars sold in China since 2011—despite little help from the government.

The world’s billionaires made more money in 2017 than in any year in recorded history. A UBS report says billionaires become 20% richer last year.

Seulement en Libye et en Somalie, les deux puissance au monde, le sabre et l’esprit, ont ete’ vaincus

Dans les democracies “equitables”, le sabre et l’esprit prennent la releve: pas de de suite et pas a chaque election

Ces nuits passe’ en souvenir du polissage des obsessions, ceritudes et doutes

Invariable positions in politics should be reduced to the bare minimum: all issues (economics, finance, trade, social equity, election laws…) need to be ripe for community-wide discussions and referendum.

In Middle-East politics, I have two invariable positions, based on daily confirmation for many decades: 1) Israel is our Existential enemy, and 2) Greater Syria forms one Nation with One people (current Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq)