More details emerge about Kavanaugh

The Republican strategy with the Brett Kavanuagh nomination is clear: Quickly have hearings that feature only Kavanuagh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford, declare that it is a ‘he said, she said’ stalemate, decide that Kavanaugh’s denials are credible, and vote him in. But as a quintet of former prosecutors have pointed out, there are many ways to get further than just two conflicting testimonies, but this requires investigation by an independent party to ferret out corroborating or contradictory evidence, and having hearings without such preliminary work would result in just a charade.
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Fun with numbers!

The integers are one of the most studied areas of mathematics and yet we keep keep learning new things about them. Today comes this bit of knowledge: Any positive integer can be written as the sum of three palindromes. More precisely, this is based on a paper Every Positive Integer Is A Sum Of Three Palindromes by Javier Cilleruelo, Florian Luca, and Lewis Baxter that makes the claim that “For integer g ≥ 5, we prove that any positive integer can be written as a sum of three palindromes in base g.”

Here is an interactive site based on this result. It invites you to write down any number, however large, and then watch as it is given as the sum of three palindromic numbers. Go on, try it!

Numbers are fascinating things. it is not surprising that number theory attracts some of the finest mathematicians.

What Kavanaugh is accused of is not adolescent drunken high jinks

Some defenders of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the US Supreme Court have responded to the allegations that have been leveled against him by arguing, like senator Orrin Hatch does, that this was youthful behavior and that what matters is what kind of person he is now,. But it is important to realize that what is alleged is not drunken high jinks, some casual groping done at a party. What happened was attempted rape that involved isolating, overpowering, and silencing the victim. When Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge are said to have done is take a 15-year old girl Christine Blasey Ford to a closed room and then try to rip off her clothes in order to rape her. It was only her taking a brief opportunity of confusion to lock herself in a bathroom that prevented the rape from taking place. Kavanaugh was 17 years old at the time and in the US many 17-year olds are tried as adults if the crime is serious enough, though whether that is a good thing is a debate for another place and time.
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Mary Poppins returns

When I read that Walt Disney studios were doing another Mary Poppins film, I was dismayed, thinking that they were doing a remake of the classic original that I enjoyed and could only compare unfavorably with the original. But the new Mary Poppins Returns is not a remake but a sequel that shifts the story to 25 years later, though Poppins remains a young woman. Emily Blunt takes over the role immortalized by Julie Andrews and returns to the same house to assist the two children in the original who are now adults and dealing with their own problems. Dick Van Dyke also appears in the film, not as the chimney sweep Bert but as the son of the head of the bank and thus without the atrocious Cockney accent that he was forever being asked about. Lin-Manuel Miranda seems to be the new chimney sweep.

The trailer looks pretty promising. The film releases on December 19.

Cuba moves to legalize same-sex marriage

In a long overdue move, the government of Cuba is seeking to change many elements of its constitution, one article of which currently declares marriage to be between a man and a woman.

The proposed new Constitution, drafted by a special commission within Cuba’s National Assembly, was unveiled in July. If the National Assembly and President Miguel Díaz-Canel approve the document after a Feb. 24, 2019 public referendum, marriage would be defined as a “union between two people.”
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Beyond legalizing gay marriage, the new Constitution would protect private property, limit the presidential term to five years and introduce the role of prime minister.

Intense debate has surrounded the possibility of marriage equality in Cuba, and not just within the government’s official public meetings. Cubans are also discussing and debating gay marriage with neighbors and friends, in the streets and online – a departure from Cuba’s traditionally more top-down style of government.

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Obsessing over the lives of others

People have always had a fascination about the lives of rich and famous people and it is a staple of the media to feature celebrity interviews that encourage them to open up about the most mundane elements of their lives. And if the celebrity is not willing to divulge that information voluntarily, then there are the paparazzi and other groups that will resort to all manner of methods to get it. Gossip sells.
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Expect the Trump mob to descend on Kavanaugh accuser

Older people may remember how Anita Hill was vilified and her name dragged through the mud when she came forward with allegations of odious behavior by then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. He was finally confirmed after he cowed craven Democrats, including then judiciary chair Joe Biden, by alleging racism when it was nothing of the sort. And that was before the days of the internet. Now new allegations have emerged about even worse behavior, this time an attempted rape of a 15-year old, by current nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (The full interview can be read here but may have a paywall restriction.)
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Squeezing prisoners for profit

I have written before about how US prison systems are being used to squeeze prisoners and their families for money, by forcing them to use services provided by private for-profit companies for things that could be done far more cheaply using standard methods. One system is to force families to send letters and cards and photographs to prisoners only through dedicated electronic means that are far more expensive than the postal service. Another is forcing prisoners to buy music only through their expensive dedicated systems and players. The prisons get a cut of the revenues.
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‘All politics is local’ comes to Amish country

The Amish people are known for having a lifestyle that is simple without many modern amenities, such as shunning electricity and using horse-drawn carriages instead of cars, though that is slowly changing as the pressure of modernity presses in on them and draws young people away. They are also known for having a strong sense of community, valuing personal relationships and trust. I recall how a long time ago, we went for the first time to an Amish furniture store in rural Ohio (the Amish produce extremely well-crafted wood furniture) and bought several items. When it came time to paying for them, we discovered that they did not take credit cards. But the owner said that that was not a problem, just to take all the stuff and send him a check later.
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