Tommi Nieminen

Well, I don’t know about Balkans, but at least for me, a half-liter beer of any kind takes 30–45 minutes. Stouts and porters are too thick to drink faster, ales too bitter etc. A light lager may be, but why bother?

There’s a easy rule. Allow ~ 45 min per beer and think how long the meeting will last. Most will actually not drink that much, but it’s good to have spare ones.

”Homicidal maniacs”? Do they need to be maniacs?

The figures only make sense in “first past the post” (or “winner takes it all”) systems.

I wholeheartedly agree; but there’s now growing fear all around the world that not even attending to a research conference will save you from ICE if they are behind their daily quota.

I’ve heard of a big conference this year in the US (decided and planned for years before Trump) that now offers remote participation option.

I don’t understand why tourism hasn’t dropped more than it has. I

Probably because something so big as a voyage to the US is often planned for years before which may make it too difficult or expensive to cancel. A year from now, things might look a lot different.

I think a majority would find that unethical regardless. Majority of Americans, no doubt. Majority of the rest of the world, probably not.

When I was beginning to work at the university, there was a professor who had started an affair with his student. Everybody knew about that, no one cared a s***. Later on, the student got employed at the department, and then they got married. The only thing I ever heard of it being talked about was that it wasn’t quite sure whether it was the student or her professor who actually did her “maturity exam” (a then-compulsory exam after finishing your MA thesis, the questions of which were based on the thesis).

The most curious thing in the whole mess is the revelation that Americans actually think companies should react to this kind of thing. Like the employer would “naturally” and “obviously” have a right to invade employees’ personal life and privacy.

Basically a Sophie Scholl kind of resistance.

That was probably one reason why Hitler wasn’t assassinated by the allies. OTOH, the death of Franco (but to old age!) meant the end of fascism in Spain. When a dictator dies, there’s always a chance for better.

Which is not going to happen, and not only because he’s not born a US citizen.

“Strictly phonetic”—no. But more-or-less-strictly phonological, yes. Finnish is also one of those.

“Why would I own a car? Our public transportation works fine. Or a watch, since I can already see the time from my mobile phone.”

The humanity does. Well, maybe not “need” it but deserve it. Finding out about the world around us is what we exist for.