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    • Why Evolution Is True – Page 2 – Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
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    Why Evolution Is True – Page 2 – Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.

    Vaseline Posted on

    The butt end of the week has arrived: it’s Friday, October 18, 2024, and cool fall weather has finally hit Chicago.

    National Chocolate Cupcake Day, which is a good flavor if you must pay the inflated prices for cupcakes they charge these days (compared to real cakes, that is, like the famous “Tuxedo Cake” from Costco—read the review—highly recommended for parties or private gluttony). Here’s the Tuxedo Cake, which, at about $16, is not cheap for Costco, but it is a true gourmet cake and well worth buying. I imagine it will serve about eight people at a party.  Eschew the pricey cupcakes!

    It’s also World Student Day, National Mammography Day, National No Beard Day (I hate shaving but I do it), and World Menopause Day. 

    Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the October 18 Wikipedia page.

    Da Nooz:

    *The big news is that the world’s most wanted terrorist is dead. Yes, Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas, has been killed by the IDF. Here’s the headline from the NYT (click to read; article archived here):

    The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that Yahya Sinwar, the powerful and elusive militant leader who has been the No. 1 target for Israel since the beginning of the war, had been killed in battle.

    Mr. Sinwar was viewed as the architect of the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel that set off the 13-month war that has plunged the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian crisis and began a wider conflict that now includes the fighting in Lebanon.

    After a firefight in Gaza on Wednesday with Hamas forces, Israeli soldiers retrieved a body that appeared to be that of Mr. Sinwar. On Thursday, after “completing the process of identifying the body,” the military said that Mr. Sinwar, who was in his early 60s, had been “eliminated.”

    Since launching the assault on Hamas in Gaza last October in retaliation for Hamas’s cross-border raids, in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 abducted, Israeli officials have repeatedly said that their goal was nothing less than the destruction of the militant group.

    But no target loomed larger for Israel than Mr. Sinwar himself. Over his past year in hiding in the devastated enclave, he was believed to still be closely overseeing Hamas military operations.

    Mr. Sinwar’s death raises hopes for an end to a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Gazans and plunged many more into a humanitarian crisis.

    Here’s an IDF video of what purports to be Sinwar’s last moments. Covered with dust, sitting in a chair, and missing a hand, the man throws a stick at the drone that’s looking at him. Then, according to the IDF, it was lights out:

    In a comment yesterday, someone said that this could turn out  badly for the hostages, and it could: Hamas could just decide to slaughter the 30 that supposedly remain alive. But then they are dooming themselves, as there is no reason for Israel to make a peace deal. I hope to Ceiling Cat that the hostages will be okay. There is some trepidation on the part of the hostages’ families:

    For the families and supporters of the scores of hostages remaining in Gaza, the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, their chief captor, brought both a moment of satisfaction and deep trepidation for the fate of the captives.

    “We’ve closed the account with the archmurderer Sinwar,” said Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker and one of the most vocal and prominent campaigners for a hostage deal, in a video statement. “But now, more than ever, the lives of my son Matan and the other hostages are in tangible danger.”

    Remember also that both Biden and Harris (the latter vociferously) told Israel that they could not go into the area around Rafah, and that is precisely where Sinwar was killed (it was thought he was in the area).  This is one reason why we shouldnt let the U.S. direct Israeli wara strategy.

    I don’t like being joyful over anyone’s death, even someone as evil as Sinwar. But life in an Israeli prison without parole would not solve the problem, for he would continue to run Hamas and plot terror from jail.  So let’s just say that I’m not sad that he’s dead. And fingers crossed for peace and a hostage return!

    Here’s a 12-minute video with Tom Gross on Spectator TV about the significance of Sinwar’s death:

    *Kamala Harris finally agreed to a non-softball interview—with Fox News! I haven’t seen it yet (UPDATE: I did ant it’s below.). The NYT reports, and of course they criticize the reporter for cutting Harris off, even though she takes forever to answer questions (and rarely answers them), frequently beginning with an anecdote from her childhood. From the NYT:

    Vice President Kamala Harris may not get another debate with former President Donald J. Trump, but on Wednesday, she got one with Bret Baier.

    In an interview that turned contentious almost the instant it began, Mr. Baier, Fox News’s chief political anchor, repeatedly pressed the Democratic presidential nominee on illegal immigration, taxpayer support for gender-transition surgery and other areas that closely aligned with Mr. Trump’s regular attacks against her.

    At one point, Mr. Baier wondered if the vice president considered Mr. Trump’s supporters “stupid.” (“I would never say that about the American people,” she replied.) At another point, he asked if she would apologize to the mother of a murdered 12-year-old Texas girl whose death is frequently invoked by Mr. Trump because two recent Venezuelan migrants were charged with the crime.

    Mr. Baier’s aggressive demeanor was consistent with the kind of tough coverage of Ms. Harris that blankets Fox News’s daily programming. Lots of viewers were surely eager to hear how she would respond when confronted head-on.

    Frequently, however, Mr. Baier did not give viewers that chance. Instead, looking frustrated, he cut off several of Ms. Harris’s answers aft

    May I please finish responding?” Ms. Harris asked at one point. “I’m in the middle of responding to the point you’re making, and I’d like to finish.”

    Well, maybe if she’d answer questions straightforwardly without rambling (her way of avoiding giving answers), she would have been cut off less. I wish other interviewers had pressed her to give straight answers. The WSJ gives several examples of her answers:

    Asked when she first noticed that Biden’s mental faculties were diminishing, Harris didn’t directly answer: “I have watched him from the Oval Office to the situation room, and he has the judgment and the…experience to do exactly what he has done in making very important decisions on behalf of the American people.” Asked about Biden again, she changed the topic to Trump’s fitness.

    . . . . Harris reiterated her plan to appoint a Republican to her cabinet and create a bipartisan panel to advise her on policies. “The coalition we have built has room for everyone who is ready to turn the page on the chaos and instability of Donald Trump,” she said. “And I pledge to you to be a president for all Americans.”

    , , , In her testy interview with Bret Baier, marked by frequent interruptions, Harris more clearly separated herself from Biden than she had previously. “Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”

    That is not an answer, nor did she give one; she needs to say not that she’s a “new generation”, but how her policies would differ from those of Biden. But of course she did not answer that, because it would alienate some Democrats. And how is that “separating herself from Biden,” except that she’s not younger?

    But heres the whole interview; judge for yourself:

    *John McWhoter’s latest column in the NYT, “Ta-Nehisi Coates and the myth of black fragility“, defends those people who were criticized for saying, “Yes, it’s okay that CBS asked Ta-Nehisi Coates tough questions.”  An excerpt (there’s a lot more):

    The debate revolves around Ta-Nehisi Coates, who went on the “CBS Mornings” program to promote his provocative new book, “The Message,” and was greeted with a series of tough questions from the co-host Tony Dokoupil. As you have already heard, some of Dokoupil’s colleagues complained that his interview had gone too far and he had pushed too hard, and he was summoned to a meeting with the standards team and something called the Race and Culture Unit, which is assigned to monitor “context, tone and intention.” Executives later announced that the interview had not met the network’s editorial standards.

    Since then there’s been no end of discussion about journalistic ethics and personal bias. But the outrage and concern generated on Coates’s behalf doesn’t help him. It brutally condescends to him.

    The idea that Coates should not have been asked such tough questions reflects a pernicious image of Black people, and Black men in particular, that first gained traction in 2020 and 2021, when antiracist virtue signaling too often transmogrified into an extreme grotesque. In a new book, the scholars Craig Frisby and Robert Maranto describe it as part of a worldview in which “whites are inherently oppressive, and African Americans (and by extension all ‘people of color,’ or POCs) serve only as victims around whom whites must walk on eggshells to avoid triggering deep emotional pain.”

    . . . If only the CBS employees and their managers had had the same kind of faith in Coates. If it had been a white author in the hot seat that day, I find it impossible to imagine that anyone would have sounded any internal alarms. Certainly no one would have summoned the Race and Culture Unit. But why does the mere fact that the host is white make the interview a racial incident?

    As depressing as all this may be, there’s reason for optimism — and evidence that we really have left the era of “peak woke.” The CBS correspondent Jan Crawford had the guts to speak up in defense of Dokoupil, arguing he had done nothing wrong. Shari Redstone, head of CBS’s parent company, said Dokoupil’s censure was a mistake. Even Coates has said that he can take care of himself.

    That’s as it should be. Acting as though Black people can’t hold their own in a challenging discussion — as though they can’t speak up for themselves and therefore need others to speak up for them — isn’t antiracist, it’s demeaning. Blackness is not weakness. We need to stop coddling sane, self-sufficient Black people — like Coates — and move on.

    I agree totally with McWhorter on this one. The defense of Coates—not his views on Israel, but on the fact that he was grilled too hard—is deeply condescending to African-Americans.  Yes, it may smack of hero worship of Coates, but if a Presidential candidate should be allowed to field tough questions, why not Coates. I think a lot of it is, as McWhorter notes, attributable to Coates’s ethnicity. Even if you believe in affirmative action, and that kind of differential treatment of races, it’s just not right to go easy on someone as famous and accomplished as Coates when he writes something controversial.

    *The University of Chicago News has announced the reopening of Botany Pond. (There is video, too.)

    Botany Pond, a beloved campus landmark and a popular and peaceful oasis for the University of Chicago community, has reopened following an extensive restoration designed to maintain its historical character and keep it flourishing for future generations.

    Originally envisioned by renowned botanist John Merle Coulter as an outdoor research laboratory more than a century ago, Botany Pond is now a more sustainable habitat for both wildlife and visitors following the project. Work over the past year has improved the landscaping surrounding the pond to provide for universal access and views of the water, while native plantings have been mixed in with exotic historical specimens that date to the turn of the 20th century.

    “The students, faculty, staff and visitors who return to Botany Pond will be able to marvel at new views of the changing Midwestern seasons, and see science and sustainability reflected in this restoration,” said Katie Martin Peck, UChicago’s associate director for campus environment.

    Yet some of the biggest enhancements are under the pond’s surface. UChicago faculty consulted with sustainability and wildlife experts on an innovative, natural filtration system that uses microorganisms and layers of rocks to provide a better habitat for the aquatic life, mitigate the long-term buildup of sediment and ensure water clarity. The system is more energy-efficient, requires less maintenance and provides multiple ecological benefits as well.

    Prof. Emeritus Michael LaBarbera, one of six UChicago faculty members who advised the project, is helping lead the establishment of a balanced ecosystem. Previously, water leakage and sediment build-up had affected the pond’s ability to support fish and other aquatic life.

    “One of the most difficult aspects of this restoration is the necessity to recreate a functional ecosystem from scratch,” said LaBarbera, a renowned UChicago evolutionary biologist. “In natural systems, components of this ecosystem arrive over the course of several years via water inflow and by hitchhiking on migratory animals. Since this wasn’t possible for Botany Pond, I volunteered to stand in to restock the pond’s diversity.”

    LaBarbera said the next steps will include adding mud and zooplankton—free-swimming, microscopic animals like rotifers, water fleas and copepods—to establish the next levels of the ecosystem.

    “By next spring, we have high hopes that Botany Pond will again be both an aesthetic gem in the center of campus and a fully functional ecosystem,” he said.

    and. .

    Next year, larger pond inhabitants like native fish and turtles, which have been locally fostered, will be introduced. Martin Peck also said they anticipate ducks will return to the pond as part of their annual migration patterns.

    The new layout provides spaces designed for ducks, turtles and other wildlife, including boulders and plantings to provide refuge; stepped boulders for access in and out of the water, which is particularly important for ducklings; and fish habitat and terrestrial areas strategically located with specific plantings.

    Of course the ducks will return, though perhaps not Honey. . . . 🙁  I went over the duckling egress steps with the contractor yesterday, a very nice lady, and we talked about some tweaks to the pond to allow access to ducks and ducklings.  And we have some herpetologists who inspected the turtle-worthiness of the pond and will make some recommendations to allow sunning, egress, and hibernation. I am hoping for a good season and some ducklings—but not too many! Kudos to Facilities, Mike LaBarbera, and to the contractor and her team, who redesigned the pond despite some annoying difficulties, like leakage. There will no longer be incoming and outgoing water, but recycled water.

    Here’s Honey eating from my hand:

    *From the AP “Oddities section”, a ONE-TON pumpkin, weighing nearly as much as a female hippo!

    A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.

    Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

    His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), falling short of the world record he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

    Gienger, 44, said that as he has done in the past, he focused on having healthy soil and well-fed plants but that a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely impacted his pumpkin’s growth.

    “We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working,” Gienger said. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”

    Gienger and his family drove his gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to California.

    You can see a photo at the link; it is HUGE. I wonder what they’ll do with it since it’s not a pie pumpkin. Carve it for Halloween?

    Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili won’t let Andrzej sit in his computer chair. After all, Hili is The Editor:

    A: May I sit down here?

    Hili: Take a stool. This is a chair on which I shoulder all the burden of responsibility.

    In Polish:

    Ja: Czy mogę tu usiąść?

    Hili: Weź stołek, to jest fotel, w którym dźwigam cały ciężar odpowiedzialności.

    And a photo of Baby Kulka, who’s now a big kitty:

    *******************

    From The Dodo:

    From Cat Memes:

    From Strange, Stupid, or Silly Signs. What is this label about?

    From Masih, marking the death of Yahya Sinwar:

    From Luana, a bit from Harris’s interview with Fox News two days ago:

    From Barry, who calls this “The Balrog of Meowgoth”:

    A cartoon sent in by Simon:

    From Bryan, sent in by astronaut Chris Hadfield; the “chopstick” arms that helped retrieve the SpaceX booster the other day:

    From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I retweeted:

    Two tweets from Doctor Cobb. First, cats, and I’ll report on this in an upcoming Caturday Felid post:

    Matthew says, “Carter: his vote counts in Georgia even if he dies!”  And it’s true, though I don’t know how he could vote; I thought he was in a coma before Harris became a candidate. At any rate, Georgia is of course a swing state:

    Vaseline
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