A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Is Ryan Zinke left of the Republican mainstream? Probably, reports Montana State University political scientist Dr. David Parker, who looks at several methods of ascertaining a legislator’s place on the political spectrum. Parker provides expert, accessible, unbiased analysis.
An unhappy journey from Syria to Sweden. Looking for a better, safer, life, Ahmad Majid and his extended family escape from Syria with the clothes on their backs and not much more. After months, and much uncertainty and travail, they arrive in Sweden, where they’re not entirely welcome. The New York Times has their story, and hauntingly evocative photographs of their journey. Read this while there’s still time for a walk in the sunlight.
Black Lives Matter should address black on black violence. That’s John McWhorter’s opinion, presented in a thoughtful oped at the Washington Post.
How much electricity does the average Chinese home use? An interesting question, but one that won’t be answered by the Huffington Post’s story on Apple’s plan to install 200 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity in China. Quantifying an electricity generation project in terms of an “average home” is one of journalism’s least useful practices. The average home must be, but seldom is, quantified: size, kilowatt hours used, peak demand, and so forth. And the nameplate capacity of a photovoltaic array is realized only when the sun is bright and the sunbeam is square to the PV panel. Overall, Apple’s project is interesting, but the technical details in the story are exasperatingly fuzzy.
The ugliest yacht in the world? Just possibly, reports gCaptain, which has photographs of the vessel. Built in Germany for a Russian tycoon with unique, possibly pornographic, tastes, it looks to me like the result of a naval architect’s having had one rum too many before drawing the sail plan.