What's in the news?

[LisztesFerenc]

Because dilution of voting populations into a minimal number of districts is a dilution of both speech and the vote, which has both first and fourteenth amendment implications.

  I don't pretend to be an expert on the subject matter, but "has both first and fourteenth amendment implications" sounds exactly like the kind of thing that would be tricky to pin down in a court of law. This isn't fraud or embezzelment where money is going places it shouldn't, lines need to be drawn somehow, how do you prove these were done with the intention on influencing an election?

  I don't think Gerrymandering is complex, but I can see how proving Gerrymandering in a court could be. But I could also be wrong, its not an area I have any practical expirience in.

[Regina Minx]

  I don't pretend to be an expert on the subject matter, but "has both first and fourteenth amendment implications" sounds exactly like the kind of thing that would be tricky to pin down in a court of law. This isn't fraud or embezzelment where money is going places it shouldn't, lines need to be drawn somehow, how do you prove these were done with the intention on influencing an election?

With math, of course.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/31/health/cdc-director-fitzgerald-resigns-bn/index.html

So the director of CDC resigned over the fact she bought stocks in the tobacco industry after becoming director. Which, you know, seems a bit of an odd choice. She was already on shaky grounds due to other connections that made her impartiality suspect.

[Beguile's Mistress]

On the list of who can offend the most people the quickest you need to remember that it is taking and entire government (Polish) to do what Trump is doing single-handedly.

[LisztesFerenc]

With math, of course.

  The title of the article you linked to is pretty much exactly what I said. "Why Gerrymanders are Hard to Prove, and What to Do about It" vs. " It could be one of those cases where its very easy to understand the spirit of the law (Don't Gerrymander, you idiots), but is very difficult to quanitfy why its wrong in exact words."

  So I don't quite understand why it sounds like you disagree with me, unless the title of the paper is misleading. I'll have a closer look when I get home.

[Oniya]

I believe that the article goes a step farther and explains a method by which fair districts can be mathematically generated, eliminating the need to 'prove' anything.  (I haven't read the article, but Little Oni saw a video about such a method a year or so ago.)

In essence, you don't even ask the question 'Is map A gerrymandered' - you simply present map B that is mathematically not gerrymandered.

[Regina Minx]

I believe that the article goes a step farther and explains a method by which fair districts can be mathematically generated, eliminating the need to 'prove' anything.  (I haven't read the article, but Little Oni saw a video about such a method a year or so ago.)

In essence, you don't even ask the question 'Is map A gerrymandered' - you simply present map B that is mathematically not gerrymandered.

Or go to at-large elections.

[Shekinah]

This makes me so sad: Truck driver ‘irreparably damages’ 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines in Peru by driving over a 100-yard section when he pulled over to check his tires

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5335513/Lorry-driver-damages-2-000-year-old-Nazca-Lines-Peru.html

[Arianna]

This makes me so sad: Truck driver ‘irreparably damages’ 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines in Peru by driving over a 100-yard section when he pulled over to check his tires

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5335513/Lorry-driver-damages-2-000-year-old-Nazca-Lines-Peru.html

Oh...wow. That is so, so sad :( I cannot believe it.

[Beorning]

Oh, for crying out loud :( This is so... stupid.

[Lustful Bride]

Welp, there is now a new super high tech way to swap people's faces onto porn using machine learning.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/30/16945494/deepfakes-porn-face-swap-legal

This is gong to be the new problem with revenge porn I bet.

[gaggedLouise]

Welp, there is now a new super high tech way to swap people's faces onto porn using machine learning.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/30/16945494/deepfakes-porn-face-swap-legal

This is gong to be the new problem with revenge porn I bet.

Agree - but believe it or not, I know somebody who would likely want to use it to interpose her own face in some lusty pictures (and I'm definitely not referring to myself, I'm not that weird) :)

[Beorning]

On the list of who can offend the most people the quickest you need to remember that it is taking and entire government (Polish) to do what Trump is doing single-handedly.

Continuing with the topic - here are some repercussions to that law proposed by PiS:

1. Israel's Knesset is planning to pass a law against "decreasing the responsibility of Nazi collaborators" - a direct move against PiS' law.

2. Israel may also recall the ambassador from Poland!

3. USA's Department of State issued an actual *warning* to Poland, stating that the passing of the new law might damage Polish-USA relations and cause harm to Poland's strategic goals.

Well done, PiS!

[RedRose]

People seem to mostly consider that she was the one to go after him, and that she was fully willing at the time. I'm going to wait until the trial... http://www.firstpost.com/world/french-budget-chief-gerald-darmanin-accused-of-rape-fellow-ministers-lend-support-to-under-fire-colleague-4325077.html

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hidden-ancient-mayan-apos-megalopolis-110002872.html

Archaeologists in Guatemala have uncovered an unprecedented network of 60,000 ancient Mayan features such as palaces and elevated highways, according to an exclusive report by National Geographic. The discovery is being called a “megalopolis,” and suggests that we’ve been vastly underestimating the sophistication of the Mayan civilization at the height of its power 1,200 years ago.

Pretty darn exciting stuff!!!

[TheGlyphstone]

I became thoroughly disillusioned with the Mayans when 2012 came around, the Fifth Age ended, and Shadowrun failed to happen. ;D

[Lilias]

Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/02/01/cdc-to-cut-by-80-percent-efforts-to-prevent-global-disease-outbreak/

[gaggedLouise]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hidden-ancient-mayan-apos-megalopolis-110002872.html

Pretty darn exciting stuff!!!

Absolutely. I saw a headline slipping by at the bottom bar of BBC News and immediately felt excited about it! Sounds a bit like Angkor Wat which, huge as it is, is just one of a network of dozens of Khmer temples and waterways, most of them still more or less buried in the jungle.

[eBadger]

Exciting, but some of the reporting is a bit misleading, too.  This wasn't a discovery of some unknown city, it was a scan that revealed many subtle features around known archeological sites. 

[Lilias]

Are y'all great yet?

https://www.snopes.com/trump-supporters-navajo-legislator-legal/

[AmberStarfire]

One for dog owners:
http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/raw-chicken-a-pet-paralysis-risk-study/news-story/d096e47b8a85cc70414f915515ab422b

[Oniya]

So, I posted a little while ago about the gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.  Predictably, the Republicans met the news of 'You have to redraw your districts' with 'Hey, wait a minute!' and tried to block it.  SCOTUS has said 'No block.'

Bonus:  I mentioned that Little Oni had seen a video about how to fairly redraw districts using math. 
Here 'tis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A

[Regina Minx]

Bonus:  I mentioned that Little Oni had seen a video about how to fairly redraw districts using math. 
Here 'tis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A

+10 likes because of math.

[CopperLily]

Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/02/01/cdc-to-cut-by-80-percent-efforts-to-prevent-global-disease-outbreak/

I work in infectious diseases. The entire field feels like its holding its breath.

[CopperLily]

Bonus:  I mentioned that Little Oni had seen a video about how to fairly redraw districts using math. 

The biggest issue with math-based redistricting, and one where there *will* be a fight, is that it's easy to say "We'll write an algorithm to optimize districts", but picking the actual optimization target is hard.

Should two parties each have a 50% chance of winning - and should that be *per* seat, or in the chamber as a whole? Should that be because a district has lots of swing-voters, or lots of party line types? Should they simply be equal population? Are there groups you genuinely *want* to over-represent? Are "safe seats" desirable, actively to be targeted, or something else? How much randomness will you accept?