(date: 2023-11-06 16:30:18)
date: 2030-06-01, from: Notes by Peter Baumgartner
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date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Martinsson A.; Steiner R.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636400
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Abdellaoui G.; Abe S.; Adams J.H.; Allard D.; Alonso G.; Anchordoqui L.; Anzalone A.; Arnone E.; Asano K.; Attallah R.; Attoui H.; Pernas M.A.; Bachmann R.; Bacholle S.; Bagheri M.; Bakiri M.; Baláz J.; Barghini D.; Bartocci S.; Battisti M.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636401
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Chen J.; Jiang Y.; Liu X.; Xia W.; Huang A.; Zong J.; Wang Z.; Qian B.; Donat F.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636402
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Jiang Y.; Wang X.; Li M.; Liang Y.; Liu Z.; Chen J.; Guan T.; Mu J.; Zhu Y.; Meng H.; Zhou Y.; Yao L.; Xue L.; Wang W.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636403
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Xue, Yunpeng; Stewart, Colin; Kelly, David; Campbell, David; Gormley, Michael
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636398
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Weder, Silvan; Blum, Hermann; Engelmann, Francis; Pollefeys, Marc
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/637080
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Gramsch Calvo, Benjamin; Axhausen, Kay W.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/635246
date: 2024-01-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Heimgartner, Daniel; Axhausen, Kay W.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/635243
date: 2023-12-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Nolte, Tom M.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636393
date: 2023-12-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Branchesi M.; Falanga M.; Harms J.; Jani K.; Katsanevas S.; Lognonné P.; Badaracco F.; Cacciapuoti L.; Cappellaro E.; Dell’Agnello S.; de Raucourt S.; Frigeri A.; Giardini D.; Jennrich O.; Kawamura T.; Korol V.; Landrø M.; Majstorović J.; Marmat P.; Mazzali P.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/639001
date: 2023-12-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Kroll S.L.; Hulka L.M.; Kexel A.K.; Vonmoos M.; Preller K.H.; Treyer V.; Ametamey S.M.; Baumgartner M.R.; Boost C.; Pahlisch F.; Rohleder C.; Leweke F.M.; Quednow B.B.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/639002
date: 2023-12-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Wang Y.; Wang W.; Liu D.; Hou W.; Zhou T.; Ji Z.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/638999
date: 2023-11-15, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Bekar, Ismail; Pezzatti, G. Boris; Conedera, Marco; Vacik, Harald; Pausas, Juli G.; Dupire, Sylvain; Bugmann, Harald
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/636378
date: 2023-11-15, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Papanikolaou, Nikos; Lambiotte, Renaud; Vaccario, Giacomo
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/637219
date: 2023-11-15, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Keller, Franziska; Popa, Răzvan-Gabriel; Julien, Allaz; Bovay, Thomas; Bouvier, Anne-Sophie; Geshi, Nobuo; Miyakawa, Ayumu; Bachmann, Olivier
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/637218
date: 2023-11-07, from: The LAist
The Rose Bowl Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl are some of the venues that will be able to reinvest a portion of taxes generated by their live events into safety and maintenance projects.
https://laist.com/news/politics/new-state-law-hopes-to-help-preserve-historic-venues
date: 2023-11-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Last month, the City Council proudly cut the ribbon and welcomed our residents to the new 15-acres of enhanced and upgraded amenities at Central Park
https://scvnews.com/ken-striplin-high-quality-additions-to-central-park/
date: 2023-11-07, from: San Jose Mercury News
Mercury News Letters to the Editor for Nov. 7, 2023
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/06/letters-1476/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Signal
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of murder Monday against a 20-year-old man accused of crashing Nov. 1 and killing his passenger while on probation for a previous DUI charge, according to a spokeswoman for county prosecutors. Detectives with the Traffic Unit of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station suspect that Raul […]
The post Driver facing murder charges in fatal crash appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/driver-facing-murder-charges-in-fatal-crash/
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University is accepting applications to the Audrey Ku Chou Scholarship, established in honor of President Abner Chou’s late mother, who passed away in December
https://scvnews.com/tmu-accepting-stem-scholarship-applications-until-dec-1/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Another car was unable to dodge the deer after it walked onto the highway, then hit it and sent it flying through the air, troopers say.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281505708.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
A house that sold for $5 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in San Jose in the past week.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The remains of 338 people were found alongside arrowheads, blades and axes, researchers said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281503998.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
A 16-year-old was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Syracuse officials said
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281507498.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Video Microsoft today started what it promises will be a multi-year partnership with an AI gaming startup that will let developers use generative neural networks to create characters, dialog, and adventures for Xbox games.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/microsoft_ai_gaming/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The woman thought her son was joking at first.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281506653.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: OS News
A wider bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is asking the Biden administration about its plans to respond to China’s rising use of RISC-V chip design technology after Reuters last month reported on growing concerns about it in both houses of Congress. Now, a broader group of 18 lawmakers that includes five Democrats is asking the Biden administration for how it plans to prevent China “from achieving dominance in … RISC-V technology and leveraging that dominance at the expense of U.S. national and economic security,” according to a letter the group sent to Raimondo and seen by Reuters. A rather shortsighted take, and without even looking I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these lawmakers have chip factories or whatever in their districts.
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
Chase Center will be the center of the basketball universe for All-Star weekend in February 2025.
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
College of the Canyons women’s tennis program will host is first annual Mixed Doubles Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the ‘Cougar Courts’ tennis facility located on the college’s Valencia Campus
https://scvnews.com/nov-11-lady-cougs-hosting-inaugural-mixed-doubles-tourney/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The woman called back and got no answer, police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281508548.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Poa the tiny baby penguin spent some time in the ICU before exploring her new home, the Massachusetts aquarium said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281507208.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University women’s basketball team played an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Boise State Friday, coming up short 82-58 in Boise, Idaho
https://scvnews.com/tmu-comes-up-short-against-d1-boise-state/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The couple was swimming around a coral reef in Suwarrow.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281508118.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
There are no major contests in California, but voters will decide abortion, voting rights and other issues across the U.S.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/06/election-2023-five-key-races-to-watch-tuesday/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The governor is using a high-profile infrastructure package meant to keep projects from being hamstrung by environmental rules
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281506393.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
Court enters not-guilty pleas on behalf of accused Los Gatos “party mom” Shannon O’Connor, who was ordered to return to court Dec. 20 on a fresh indictment to set a trial date.
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
The performer had several film and TV roles, including “My Sister’s Keeper” and “Letters from Iwo Jima.”
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Sharks face Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday after back-to-back blowout losses to Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins
date: 2023-11-06, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/audio-hijack-4-3/
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
Timothy Kahae needed multiple surgical repairs after his nail gun allegedly misfired.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The incident happened Saturday morning when the man allegedly “came at” officers with a pair of scissors.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281507723.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University women’s soccer program entered the opening round of the Golden State Athletic Championship Tournament as the No. 4 seed, but it was the No. 5-seed Vanguard Lions that came away from Reese Field with the 3-0 win to end the Lady Mustangs’ season
https://scvnews.com/lady-mustangs-soccer-season-ends/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
America’s immigration cops have pushed back against an official probe that concluded their lax mobile device security potentially put sensitive government information at risk of being stolen by foreign snoops.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/ice_device_security/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The driver and victim were cousins, the coroner said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281507873.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“While on the road, the victim’s 16-year-old daughter started hitting the suspect and telling him to pull over,” police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281505193.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
The guy caught on video carrying a parrot was interviewed by law enforcement — and it wasn’t him.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/whos-capturing-parrots-with-nets-in-temple-city
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The lower State Street staple relocates to a more intimate spot on Meigs Road after two dozen years downtown.
The post Santa Barbara’s Energy Tattoo & Body Piercing Moves to the Mesa appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/santa-barbaras-energy-tattoo-body-piercing-moves-to-the-mesa/
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
Jurors on Monday found the Aurora police officer who put Elijah McClain in a neck hold more than four years ago not guilty on all counts.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
The closure is in effect until Tuesday afternoon.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“To be clear, the area in question has no trails and is very steep with many cliff bands throughout.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281491963.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“We stared at each other in disbelief before erupting with excitement,” researchers said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281501763.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: San Jose Mercury News
Make your choice for the top performance among boys high school athletes from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/06/vote-now-bay-area-news-group-boys-athlete-of-the-week-94/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Heatmap News
Home to two million people, the Gaza Strip sits squeezed between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea on a bit of land just twice the size of Washington, D.C. Gaza is the smaller part of Palestine’s two territories; you could walk the length of its southern border with Egypt in under three hours. But land is not the only thing that’s long been in short supply in Gaza. As the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the region, has made clear, Gaza is also increasingly bereft of water.
Over the course of the tragic war, water infrastructure has played an unprecedented role. In the aftermath of Hamas’s massacre and kidnapping of Israeli civilians on October 7, the Israeli government took measures to halt drinking water — as well as aid, food, and electricity — from entering the Strip. First, on October 9, Israel shut off the pipelines that usually send water into Gaza and halted deliveries by truck. And while it turned back on some of the pipelines on October 15, it didn’t restart the electricity or the fuel shipments that power Gaza’s desalination and wastewater treatment plants.
Yet these harsh measures in recent weeks belie a much longer-term problem, as a deeper dive into the region’s infrastructure reveals. Palestinians in Gaza have not had access to safe or ample drinking water for decades.
“The water crisis that Gaza is facing is a chronic crisis,” Dr. Shaddad Attili, the former Palestinian minister of water and head of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) from 2008 to 2014, told me. “But now water is being used as a weapon. If they don’t get killed by missiles, they will die from the contaminated water that they’re using.”
The Israeli Defense Forces, the water authority in the West Bank, and COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for the government activities in the Palestinian territories, all did not reply to requests for comment by the time of publication.
There are three natural water resources that run through Israel and Palestine: the Jordan River Basin on the eastern border; the Mountain Aquifer, which runs directly through the West Bank; and the Coastal Aquifer, on which Israel is upstream and Gaza is downstream. The majority of the water comes from these three sources, but since the region is a desert geography, water is generally in short supply.
Israel acquired control over all the water that runs through the Israeli and Palestinian territories in the Six-Day War in 1967 when it seized the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights in the north from Syria. In November of that year, Israel introduced a military order stating that Palestinians could not construct any new water infrastructure without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli army. Israel gave, and continues to give, these permits sparingly.
Today, the water discrepancy is striking. While there are eight times more Palestinians living in the West Bank than Israeli settlers, 70% of the water output is given to the settlements, where it is largely used for farming, according to an April 2023 report on the West Bank’s water deprivation by the Israeli humanitarian organization, B’Tselem.
During the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, the West Bank won some rights to run their own pumping stations in select parts of the territory. Today, they still need to earn permits from the Israeli military in order to build new pumping stations. Gaza used to pump their water from the Coastal Aquifer, but developments over the past 30 years have made that water inaccessible.
Prior to this war, the water situation in Gaza was already dire. The World Health Organization said that Gaza’s water supply was unable to meet the minimum requirement for daily per capita water consumption.
Gaza has some unregulated pumping stations that pull water up from the aquifer, but they’re not a major cause of the problem. The Coastal Aquifer extends from a town called Binyamina in Northern Israel to the Sinai Desert in Egypt. Just 2% of the total aquifer passes through Gaza. Through the late 1990s, it supplied drinkable tap water to most of Gaza’s residents. While it historically has provided 95% of their freshwater, it’s unusable now for a few reasons.
First, Gaza’s population growth rate is among the highest in the world, with almost half of the population under 18 years old in 2022. High population growth means the already scarce groundwater can no longer replenish fast enough to meet demand.
But there are deeper problems with the water’s quality. Seawater seeps into the aquifer since it’s so close to the coast and untreated wastewater has polluted the aquifer for decades to a point that it’st is no longer safe to drink. In 2020, a study in the journal Water said that the quality of groundwater in the Coastal Aquifer had “deteriorated rapidly,” largely due to Israeli pumping.
“At least 95% of the freshwater (from the aquifer) is either inaccessible or not drinkable,” said Jordan Fischbach, director of planning and policy research at The Water Institute and author of a report on the public health impacts of Gaza’s water crisis in 2018.
As a result, the Coastal Aquifer — the primary source of Gaza’s water — is essentially out of commission. Residents of Gaza are now left with only about 20% of their needs filled.
But those sources have also proven to be unreliable.
The first are the pipelines, which were built with funding from international humanitarian aid. The pipelines run from Israel-controlled fresh aquifers and the water is paid for by the Palestinian National Authority (PA) in the West Bank. These are the pipelines that Israel stopped sending water from following Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians.
But even in the best of times, the pipelines only supply around 10% of the water demand in Gaza. Attili from the Palestinian National Authority said that the water is combined with some of the unsafe brackish water in order to increase volume.
The second source of water are small-scale desalination plants, which turn seawater into potable water, but they rely on electricity to run.
Usually they provide another 10% of Gaza’s water, but when Israel halted the importation of fuel and shut down electricity transmission into Gaza, these plants stopped running too.
However, even when electricity and fuel are available, over one-third of plants are not monitored, maintained, or officially regulated. “A number of construction materials, fuel and other things you would need to build and power drinking and wastewater facilities are considered ‘dual use.’” said Fischbach, meaning they could also be used to build weapons. “These are types of materials that are restricted by both Egyptian and Israeli authorities.”
A 2021 study showed that 79% of desalination plants are unlicensed and 12% of water samples tested showed dangerous contamination levels.
“Desalination is necessary to get anything even close to drinking water quality and only a fraction of [desalination plants] are actually licensed and monitored” said Fischbach. “Many of them are producing water that we would still consider below drinking water quality.”
He added that most of them don’t run to their capacity anyways because they are so energy intensive and Gaza doesn’t have enough electricity.
Gaza also gets water from water trucks controlled by humanitarian aid or delivered by the Palestinian National Authority. This water passes directly through Israeli land, which means Israel was able to easily halt deliveries in the wake of the Hamas attacks.
In recent weeks, some residents of Gaza have resorted to drinking sea water or brackish water directly from the Coastal Aquifer. Not only are these not sources of freshwater, they are also further polluted by untreated sewage running through the region.
Israel’s decision to cut electricity to Gaza also meant that the wastewater treatment plants can’t run. Treated wastewater is used for showering and other sanitation uses. But when it’s not processed through a plant, wastewater runs into the aquifer and groundwater, further polluting what’s left of their drinking sources.
While the situation is worse due to the lack of electricity from the war, Gaza has never had ample wastewater treatment plants.
“For two decades now Palestinians have been prevented from building and maintaining the infrastructures that keep wastewater out of the aquifer,” says Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins, a cultural anthropologist and professor at Bard College. She is the author of Waste Siege: the Life and Infrastructure of Palestine.
In the West Bank, the aquifer is deep, carrying around 340 million cubic meters of water every year, so wastewater that has been somewhat treated can be further cleaned by soil and rock as it seeps through the aquifer. But Gaza’s aquifer is very shallow — its estimated to carry only about 55 million cubic meters per year —, and therefore cannot clean the water. Instead, it needs extensive infrastructure.
“In Gaza, you would need an incredibly high sophistication of technology to permit the wastewater to go safely into the ground,” says Stamatopoulou-Robbins. “Even the kind of concrete containers that would hold wastewater are not permitted to be maintained or built.”
In addition to the plants themselves, you would need piping to connect buildings to the wastewater treatment plants, she adds. “So all of the conveyance technology and infrastructure which is expensive anywhere in the world, all of that is subject to Israeli controls and tends to be prevented.”
As is the case with desalination plants, neither Israel nor Egypt allows the necessary materials into Gaza for building wastewater treatment plants because those materials are also considered dual-use materials.
Even as Israel turned the water and electricity back on, there are questions around how many of these desalination and wastewater treatment plants have been bombed and are no longer running.
As far as logistically turning off these resources, it’s fairly straightforward. “The ability to shut off electricity transmission is quite easy,” said Fischbach. “It’s just flipping a switch — the same way with a rolling blackout. Fuel imports are also easy. Nothing is going into Gaza. As far as drinking water lines, you can just not pump that water. So the logistics are easy.”
Several reports of hygiene related diseases spreading through cramped spaces are surfacing in recent days. Doctors in Gaza are saying that patients are showing signs of disease caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation. Children are suffering from diarrhea, lung infections, and rashes.
“The desalination plants are out of service because there’s no electricity, the sewage treatment plants are out of service because there is no electricity. And because our people now take refuge in shelters, there is a hygiene problem,” said Attili. “I have gone to so many conferences where we say water is a tool for cooperation, not conflict, and they all agree, but now the international community remains silent.”
https://heatmap.news/politics/israel-gaza-hamas-war-water-pipelines-aquifer
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The approximately 1,600-year-old coins found in Italy were found in rare, exceptional condition, officials said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281497928.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Conservators have restored the malignant spirit, which generated controversy among 18th-century audiences
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
The TCL NXTPAPER 11 is a budget tablet with an 11 inch, 2000 x 1200 pixel display, a MediaTek Helio P60T processor, 6GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a microSD card reader with support for cards up to 1TB. When it was first introduced in February, the tablet was also the first to feature […]
The post TCL NXPAPER 11 tablet is now available for $230 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/tcl-nxpaper-11-tablet-is-now-available-for-230/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The balloon’s double burner failed while about 75 feet in the air, federal officials said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281503523.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
November 2023 I am pleased to welcome you to this new blog series – what my team affectionally calls, “Nicky Notes.” Through this platform, I hope to regularly share updates about all of the exciting work we do in the Science Mission Directorate, while offering some more candid reflections.
https://science.nasa.gov/directorates/smd/nicky-notes-inaugural-blog-post/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The Maryland woman misread the ticket at first, but her actual prize was much bigger.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281502653.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
More than a thousand votes were cast in our poll on daylight saving time.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281499523.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Recent and coming pay raises may have prompted some state workers of retirement age to stick around a bit longer.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281492173.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Cougars were crowned champions of the 15th Annual ‘Clash at Canyons’ Tip-Off Event after posting wins over Barstow College and Cuyamaca College to begin the 2023-24 season
https://scvnews.com/cougars-crowned-clash-at-canyons-champions-at-annual-tourney/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Video OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and less memorably branded AI models, held its first developer conference on Monday in San Francisco, where it announced a new foundational model, more affordable pricing, customizable, low-code models called GPTs, and a store to distribute them.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/openai_gpt4_turbo_copyright_shield/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
The Asus Chromebook CM30 Detachable is a budget ChromeOS tablet with a 10.5 inch display, support for touch and pen input and optional support for a keyboard cover. Asus launched the line in 2021 with the introduction of the Asus Chromebook CM3000. Now the company has revealed a follow-up called the Chromebook CM3001. The new […]
The post Asus Chromebook CM3001 brings a slight spec bump to this 2-in-1 tablet appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/asus-chromebook-cm3001-brings-a-slight-spec-bump-to-this-2-in-1-tablet/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Californians may have overpaid for certain meats, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281501383.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The shooting happened at an apartment with four people inside, three of whom were U.S. Park Police officers, according to Virginia police.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281500918.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The American Cancer Society released new guidance on who should get yearly scans for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death around the world
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Cops say she also referenced her “people back in Palestine.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281501193.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
They’re challenging just who exactly is entitled to a $5 million insurance policy.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article281403983.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A San Diego map dealer uncovered the artifact’s true origins through impressive historical sleuthing
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
A judge could dismiss the charge if he completes the course.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281499058.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana presented an award to Richard Danne Monday for his outstanding achievement in creating the NASA worm logotype and inspiring the world through the medium of design for the benefit of humanity. The Exceptional Public Achievement Medal was presented to Danne following a panel discussion at NASA Headquarters in Washington featuring […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/worm-designer-receives-nasas-exceptional-public-achievement-medal/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“Money can help keep Schiff’s name in the media spotlight,” an expert said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article280790465.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
California Institute of the Arts earns the number seven spot in this year’s top 50 film schools in the U.S., per entertainment and media business platform TheWrap
https://scvnews.com/the-wrap-ranks-calarts-no-7-in-best-film-schools-of-2023/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“I checked the numbers again and again and yelled at my husband, ‘Look at this, look at this! Check this for me!’”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281497443.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Her winning Powerball ticket was worth more than she thought.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281495148.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
Unless there’s something wrong with my calendar, Black Friday is nearly three weeks away. But that hasn’t stopped Best Buy and Newegg from launching “Black Friday Deals” sales a little early. Don’t be surprised if more items go on sale in the coming weeks though. Meanwhile, EBay is running a sale that lets you save […]
The post Daily Deals (11-06-2023) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-11-06-2023/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Tres escuelas secundarias de Santa Bárbara Unificado participaron en la temporada inaugural de fútbol americano femenino de banderas este otoño.
The post Fútbol Bandera Une a las Escuelas Secundarias Unificadas de SB en una Emocionante Primera Temporada appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The earliest sunset this week is around 4:55 p.m.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281494503.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The post Flag Football Unites SB Unified High Schools in Exciting First Season appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
As a student working on her doctorate in geology nearly 20 years ago, Elena Miranda was excited at the prospect of exploring a burgeoning new field of research that could provide insights into the causes of the Earth’s faults and shear zones, key information for understanding earthquakes and other tectonic movements
https://scvnews.com/csun-professor-earns-geological-societys-top-honors/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“If you’re out there, many, many people are loving and missing you and want you back.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281492738.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Daring Fireball
These new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are the best laptops ever made. Not just the best MacBooks, the best laptops, full stop, and I don’t think it’s even close.
https://daringfireball.net/2023/11/the_2023_m3_macbook_pros
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Thirteen athletes are nominated. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 12.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/high-school/article281495223.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Twenty-eight players are nominated. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 12.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/high-school/prep-football/article281494468.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The plane “drifted” as it was landing, causing it to collide with the golf cart, police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281497618.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
He targeted the women and their families, federal prosecutors in Florida said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281490658.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“What was that?!?”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281498443.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (November 5, 2023) – On a picture postcard Sunday morning, Phillip Reid of San Luis Obispo and Danielle Zola of
The post Reid, Zola Win Santa Barbara Half presented by HOKA appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/reid-zola-win-santa-barbara-half-presented-by-hoka/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The grim early-morning discovery sparked an investigation.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281491653.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the three productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, Nov. 6 - Sunday, Nov.
https://scvnews.com/three-productions-filming-in-scv/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
We’ve heard of getting burned by non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but this is a new one: attendees at a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) event over the weekend in Hong Kong are reporting eye pain and difficulty seeing after an evening party went wrong. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/bored_ape_nft_party_eyes/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Genes associated with the torso are largely absent in a species of starfish, upending how scientists perceive these creatures
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“He bought a of things. At this point, he doesn’t have any more money.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281221248.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
As the American public grows concerned about Biden’s age and the economy, mounting problems in California leave the governor in a poor position.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/article281488713.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Cobel Sasser’s blog
Hi. My name is Cabel. And I’ve probably got the neatest job in the whole world. I wear many hats. But here on my personal blog, I get to write about the things I really care about, just for you. And from the fact that you’re reading this blog at all, I think you may […]
https://cabel.com/2023/11/06/dak-and-the-golden-age-of-gadget-catalogs/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
One of the people killed in the three-car crash was a teenager, Maryland police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281493663.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The disclosure of its location is considered rare, a submarine expert said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281486598.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The city of Orlando has agreed to buy the nightclub property, where a permanent memorial will eventually open
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The camouflaged animal blends in with the murky river water and surrounding rocks, researchers said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/world/article281491433.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Two adults and six children were inside when the home was set on fire, fire marshals said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281495163.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
The NASA Worm Logo sign at the NASA Headquarters building in Washington is unveiled in this image from June 21, 2023. The unveiling occurred just before NASA’s Earth Information Center, an immersive experience combining live data sets with cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling, opened to the public. On Nov. 6, 2023, NASA held a discussion […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-worm-logo/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Signal
Dress-up parties have become a beloved tradition in Santa Clarita Valley. Whether it’s for Halloween, a themed birthday party, or just a fun get-together, people in the valley love to don creative costumes and let their imaginations run wild. In this article, we will explore the most popular dress-up parties in Santa Clarita Valley and […]
The post Popular dress-up parties in Santa Clarita Valley: What are the most popular dress-up costumes? appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
The mission team is making sure the robotic scientist, now in its fourth extended mission, is staying strong, despite wear and tear from its 11-year journey. Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover remains busy conducting exciting science. The rover recently drilled its 39th sample then […]
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Downtown Infrastructure including water and sewer mains and parking are up for improvements.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article281315913.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: TidBITS blog
Apple has confirmed to The Verge that it will not make an Apple silicon version of the 27-inch iMac. Sad to say, it’s time to think about what other Mac and display combinations would be best for your post-iMac needs.
https://tidbits.com/2023/11/06/apple-confirms-no-more-27-inch-imacs/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
He said he escaped from the trunk of his own car, according to Memphis officials.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281489098.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Commentary by former state Assemblymember Juan Arambula.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article281493873.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Welcome to the November edition of JCI Santa Clarita’s monthly newsletter!
https://scvnews.com/cindy-curtis-message-from-jci-santa-clarita-president-2/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Jeff Geerling blog
Smart home automation shouldn’t be stupid
<div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><img src="https://www.jeffgeerling.com/sites/default/files/images/jeff-light-switches-smart-iot.jpg" width="700" height="394" class="insert-image" alt="Jeff Geerling holds a dumb not smart light switch" /></p>There are far too many smart home devices which make using a device harder. Like a light switch and light bulb that requires a wireless connection to a hub in order to control the lights.
Before, you could flick a switch, and a light would come on.
Now, you have to ensure the light has power, the switch has power, and the hub has power. And the wireless connection between switch, hub, and light needs to be reliable. And the hub can’t lock up or go offline. And if it’s anything like most modern IoT devices, the hub needs a reliable Internet connection and cloud account, or things will start failing at some point.
That’s dumb.
And that’s just light switches. Can you imagine relying on this kind of ‘smarts’ for essential services in your home, like HVAC, water supply, etc.?
To be truly ‘smart’, I follow three principles for home automation. Every smart device must be:
<span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Jeff Geerling</span></span>
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/smart-home-automation-shouldnt-be-stupid
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The massive creature was “hanging out” and feeding “just a few feet from the boat,” the anglers said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281490313.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans fall 52-42 to the Huskies, their sixth ranked loss in two years.
The post USC still can’t hang with the big dogs appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/usc-still-cant-hang-with-the-big-dogs/
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA is hosting a virtual industry forum on Nov. 13, 2023, to introduce the agency’s Lunar Infrastructure Foundational Technologies (LIFT-1) demonstration Request for Information (RFI). At this event, representatives of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will discuss the relevant Moon-to-Mars Objectives, STMD Envisioned Future Priorities (EFPs), and will answer questions from potential respondents interested in the RFI. […]
https://www.nasa.gov/general/stmd-lift-1-industry-day/
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
As NASA ushers in an exciting era of long-term exploration on the Moon with Artemis, new strategies are being formulated to determine how technology, infrastructure, and operations will function together as a cohesive and cross-cutting system. As a sustained presence grows at the Moon, opportunities to harvest lunar resources could lead to safer, more efficient […]
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/nasa-lift-1-request-for-information/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“It hasn’t sunk in for any of us quite yet, but once the money is in the bank, I think it will start to feel real.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281491558.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Garrett Hah and Thomas Johnson report live from T-Mobile Arena.
The post USC vs. Ohio State — live updates appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/usc-vs-ohio-state-live-updates/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Hundreds attend the annual Diwali Cultural Show and Dinner held at La Colina Junior High.
The post Sangam Santa Barbara Shines its Light on Diwali appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/sangam-santa-barbara-shines-its-light-on-diwali/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Week of November 9.
The post Free Will Astrology appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/free-will-astrology-185/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Another front is opening in Google’s antitrust war today, as a trial between the search giant and Fortnite dev Epic Games over Google’s Play Store fees is kicking off in a California court. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/epic_google_head_to_court/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Signal
Officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred at the intersection of Sand Canyon Road and Placerita Canyon Road on Monday morning. A man “was pronounced dead at the scene,” stated a press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “There is no additional information […]
The post LASD investigating fatal shooting in Canyon Country appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/lasd-investigating-fatal-shooting-in-canyon-country/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The other two dogs then ran away, Utah police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281490898.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Several items were then stolen from the 67-year-old man, police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281490763.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
It’s been more than a decade since ARM introduced it’s big.LITTLE technology that allows high-performance CPU cores to be bundled on a chip with energy-efficient cores, theoretically offering the best of both worlds. And most smartphone processors that have shipped during that time have adopted that technology. MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9300 does something a little […]
The post MediaTek Dimensity 9300 goes all-in on “big” cores, has no efficiency cores appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/mediatek-dimensity-9300-goes-all-in-on-big-cores-has-no-efficiency-cores/
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s Stennis Space Center began with a single mission – to test Apollo rocket stages to carry humans to the Moon. Moving forward, the site has a renewed vision – to evolve as a unique, multifaceted aerospace and technology hub. It also has a clear blueprint for getting there. The NASA Stennis Strategic Plan 2024-2028, […]
date: 2023-11-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Like humans, the rodents appear to be able to visualize walking through locations they’ve previously visited
date: 2023-11-06, from: Heatmap News
The buzzy topic of conversation among New York City Marathon race volunteers in the predawn hours of Sunday morning wasn’t if a course record was going to be broken or Peres Jepchirchir’s pre-race withdrawal, but how we decided what we were going to wear.
This year, I was one of the marathon Start Village’s waste diversion and composting volunteers (on brand!), which meant setting an alarm for 2:05 a.m. to catch a bus to Staten Island in time for check-in. When I left my apartment, the temperature was a nippy 47 degrees and still dropping; my toes started to hurt from the cold during the on-site orientation and I was grateful I’d opted for a fleece base layer. But by the time my shift ended, and the last wave of runners was heading across the start line and over the Verrazano Bridge, it was around 63 degrees and I was sweating through my volunteer beanie. One of the most discarded items at my waste diversion station, up there with banana peels and spare water bottles, was unused hand warmers.
According to historic weather data kept by FindMyMarathon.com, the 2023 New York City marathon was about 5 degrees warmer this year than average. Blessedly, it was also about 11 degrees cooler than last year’s record high of 74 degrees, which caused hundreds of heat-related injuries, depleted on-course water stations, and saw runners collapsing along the five-borough route. The ideal marathon temperature, metabolically speaking, is between 52 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit (or, by some estimates, even colder), which is part of why New York’s November marathon has been such an ideal and legendary race, albeit one that can be bitterly cold at the start line. Though that might be changing.
As I’ve written before, the world’s major marathons, which are held during the shoulder seasons to optimize good running weather, are trending warmer. According to one study, the number of cities that could host an Olympic marathon safely is expected to decline by 27% by as soon as the late 21st century due to rising temperatures. Boston Marathon winning times are expected to get slower and slower as the city’s average April high temperatures continue to creep up. The New York City Marathon, which used to be held annually in October, has already been bumped back, in the 1980s, in pursuit of cooler temperatures and faster results; is there a future in which it could be bumped back again, to mid- or late-November, solely because of climate change?
Sunday’s high in the 60s ultimately didn’t impact the marathon results too dramatically; Tamirat Tola managed to set a new course record, after all. And admittedly, runners are prone to complain if it’s above 55 degrees out, as Laura Green jokes in her popular “Strava Decoded” TikTok video. But the 2023 New York City Marathon didn’t make it out of the year entirely unscathed by climate change, either: The race’s officially sanctioned 18-mile training run on Sept. 30 was canceled due to flooding from a storm that researchers said was 10% to 20% wetter than it would have been a century earlier.
As a high-intensity sport that requires traversing miles of outdoor space, road running is — and will continue to be — especially vulnerable to these sorts of shifts. This year, runners mostly lucked out with the weather. But November 2024 is another year.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/the-nyc-marathon-was-unseasonably-warm-again-that-spells-trouble
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education and three other universities have been awarded a $10.4 million contract to launch a national center to expand school-based mental health.
The post UC Santa Barbara Receives National Grant to Expand Mental Health Treatment for Schoolchildren appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
Israel’s airstrikes and military operations in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks are broadly supported inside Israel, but signs of dissent are emerging among some Jewish American communities. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, with Saba Shah Khan contributing. Camera: Gustavo Martínez Contreras
https://www.voanews.com/a/some-us-jews-question-israeli-military-tactics-in-gaza-/7343675.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Sweet pup needs a home!
The post Sumo appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/sumo/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Om Malik blog
A week after Apple announced its M3 Chip, it unveiled a range of computers powered by this latest version of Apple Silicon. As previously explained, with the M3 chips, Apple has finally embraced a shift toward ‘artificial intelligence,’ a move that has long-lasting implications for computing. In addition, Apple announced a new “Space Black” color. …
https://om.co/2023/11/06/my-quick-m3-macbook-review/
date: 2023-11-06, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/mimestream-1-1-5/
date: 2023-11-06, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/fantastical-3-8-7/
date: 2023-11-06, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/lightroom-classic-13/
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
Ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, where U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet, a study comparing views of China and the U.S. across 24 countries shows that people’s views of Washington are more favorable than those of Beijing, especially among high and middle-income countries.
The new data essay released by Pew Research Center Monday, compares previously published views of the U.S. and China and highlights the differences across more than 10 measures, including confidence in U.S. and Chinese leaders, perception of their economic power and technological prowess.
Countries featured in the study include advanced economies in North America and Europe, as well as middle-income countries in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa.
Skewed to the U.S.
When it comes to favorable views of the U.S. and China, the study found that high-income countries tend to “skew toward the US.” Japan and South Korea favor the U.S. over China by 57% and 62%.
There are smaller differences in views of the two countries in middle-income countries surveyed with countries having “generally positive” views of China and the United States.
The difference in the confidence in Biden and Xi was prominent in countries such as Germany and Sweden where 53% and 64% more expressed confidence in Biden over Xi. In Indonesia and Kenya, the difference in confidence toward the two leaders was only a few percentage points, with Biden maintaining a slight lead over Xi.
“These gaps in views of the American and Chinese leaders reflect both souring attitudes toward Xi in high-income countries and greater confidence in Biden,” the Pew researchers wrote.
Although views of China and the U.S. have fluctuated over the years, according to Pew, they have “rebounded dramatically in many of the countries surveyed” since Biden came to power, while views of China remain “among their most negative.”
“Confidence in the U.S. president was relatively low in 2007 when Bush was president but increased when Obama took office in 2008,” said Christine Huang, research associate at Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the latest study.
“Favorable views of the U.S. likewise because substantially more positive in most countries surveyed during the Obama era. Confidence in China’s president has also declined over time alongside favorable views of the country,” she told VOA in a written response.
Richard Turcsányi, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Palacky University Olomouc in the Czech Republic says “high-income countries are more often than not U.S. allies, so they are comfortable with the current international order …They tend to be democratic and thus dislike China for its authoritarian system.”
He said middle-income countries are rarely traditional U.S. allies and they are often “not fully democratic,” so these countries want to change some things in the world to elevate their roles.
“Many of them inhibit various dislikes and feelings of injustice, often targeting the U.S., Europe, and the West in general and China seems like an alternative. While they may not exactly like Beijing, the difference between the U.S. and China will be less pronounced in their eyes,” he added.
U.S. more interventionist
While the U.S. enjoys more favorable views than China in general, people in the 24 countries surveyed hold mixed views of Washington and Beijing when it comes to foreign policy.
The study shows that the U.S. is more likely to be viewed as an interventionist power than China in almost all countries. In Greece 93% of the people surveyed viewed the U.S. as a country that interferes in other nations’ affairs and 56% viewed the same of China leading to a 37% point difference in China’s favor. In Australia however, there is only a two-percentage point difference with Australians surveyed viewing the U.S. similarly as countries that will intervene in the affairs of other countries.
More people across the 24 countries, including in Japan, Canada and Mexico, also think the U.S. is more likely to take their countries’ interests into account than China. In addition to that, more people surveyed in the 24 countries, including South Korea, the U.K. and India, think the U.S. contributes to global peace and stability than China does.
Pew researchers say these results show that global views of the U.S. and China may not be as absolute as the overall favorable ratings both countries receive.
“A closer look at each country’s image shows areas where China outperforms the U.S.,” Huang from Pew told VOA.
Tech and military power
Compared to the starker contrasts between views of the U.S. and China in measures such as favorability and confidence in leaders, the study found that differences are less prominent in areas like technological power.
Among all the countries surveyed, a median 72% of the people view U.S. technology as “the best or above average,” and 69% have similar thoughts about Chinese technology. Despite the small overall difference, people surveyed in Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Argentina, were more likely to rate China’s technological achievements positively while U.S. technological achievements tend to receive more positive reviews in Asian countries included in the study, including South Korea and Japan.
Huang from Pew told VOA that regional variations in views of the U.S. and China’s technology may be tied to differences in market penetration of various products. “Chinese technology is seen especially likely to be considered well-made in Nigeria, where Chinese companies currently have control of much of the mobile market share,” she said.
While majorities in every country surveyed say the American military is above average or the best and only about half of the countries surveyed say the same of China, the Pew study found that “there is little difference” in ratings of Chinese and American militaries between middle-income countries such as Mexico and high-income countries like Germany.
Some researchers say results from public opinion studies can serve as important reference points for policymakers around the world. “Policymakers in many countries depend on public opinion because they stand in elections,” Turcsányi in Czech Republic told VOA.
“If the general mood around the leaders is that China is seen negatively with little economic promises, leaders will be willingly or unwillingly influenced by this sentiment and will act on it,” he added.
Pew researchers said they hope findings from the study can help policymakers and government officials establish a better understanding of the geopolitical balance between the U.S. and China.
“We can’t say for certain how it will be used, and it’s up to the officials to hopefully watch programs like this one and learn from our research,” Laura Silver, associate director at Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the study, told VOA.
https://www.voanews.com/a/new-study-sizes-up-how-countries-see-the-us-and-china/7343632.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The man is accused of a string of thefts before running from deputies, the sheriff’s office said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281489008.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
Sprites, those beguiling electrical flashes of light above thunderstorms, raise so many questions: Why do they take the shapes they do? What conditions in the upper atmosphere trigger them? How do sprites affect Earth’s global electric circuit, and what is their contribution to the energy in Earth’s upper atmosphere? On October 26, 2022, NASA’s Spritacular […]
https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/one-year-of-spritacular-science/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Heirs of Samsung patriarch billionaire Lee Kun-hee are selling approximately US$2 billion (2.6 trillion won) of company shares, reportedly to help pay off the inheritance tax due after his 2020 death.…
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
CSUN’s Pride Center provides many resources to aid queer students on campus, but there are numerous ways that students themselves can help the Pride Center make the campus a more inclusive place, from financial aid to direct engagement. Established over 10 years ago, the Pride Center at CSUN seeks to aid students who are a…
https://sundial.csun.edu/176766/featured/how-you-can-help-the-pride-center-help-you/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
Towns across the U.S. want to stop building homes that are vulnerable to climate-driven disasters, like wildfires, floods and droughts. It’s easier said than done.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
The Mele Overclock 4C is a 178 x 94 x 21mm (7″ x 3.7″ x 0.8″) computer that’s small enough to fit in a pocket. But it’s a full-fledged desktop computer, complete with a 15-watt Intel N95 quad-core processor, a decent set of ports, and dual storage support. It’s available now from Amazon with a […]
The post Mele Overclock 4C is a cheap, pocket-sized PC with Intel N95 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/mele-overclock-4c-is-a-cheap-pocket-sized-pc-with-intel-n95/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Authorities believe the shooter was involved in the crash.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281486838.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Signal
By Signal Staff A man intentionally set a fire in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on Sunday, causing an estimated $1.2 million in damage to as many as a half-dozen apartments and displacing approximately 20 residents, according to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials. “Initial reports at the scene indicate the male suspect called his girlfriend earlier […]
The post Deputies: Man breaks into ex-girlfriend’s home, sets fire appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/deputies-man-breaks-into-ex-girlfriends-home-sets-fire/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Om Malik blog
Former Facebooker and designer Maykel Loomans interviewed me for his podcast, Full Stack Whatever. In Part 1 of the podcast, we talked about the evolution of technology and the internet from its early days to now. We chatted about how it has moved from connecting information to connecting people to connecting machines. We talked about …
https://om.co/2023/11/06/i-was-on-fullstackwhatever-podcast/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Deputies shared one of his last photos.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281486033.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The woman must pay restitution to the Florida businesses she defrauded, prosecutors say.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281484973.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: 404 Media Group
“Idk what to do with my life when The Finals goes away until release.”
https://www.404media.co/the-finals-players-in-deep-depression-now-that-the-open-beta-is-over/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The man was found shot in the chest, torso and back, police said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281486903.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
He stopped for gas and “thought I’d try a lottery ticket,” the lucky winner says.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281488083.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The 26-year-old was trying to break up a fight when security grabbed him, a friend told a news outlet.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281487138.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A Russian woman the US accuses of being a career money launderer is the latest to be sanctioned by the country for her alleged role in moving hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of oligarchs and ransomware criminals.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/us_sanctions_russian_woman_for/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Kuachua Xiong was arrested while driving across the country from California with an AR-15 and plans to scale the White House fence, court papers say.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281486023.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
18th season selection examines how creative activities transform us.
The post UC Santa Barbara Reads ‘Your Brain on Art’ appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/uc-santa-barbara-reads-your-brian-on-art/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Amazon is a ripoff: New Amazon paradox just dropped. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2003, 2013, 2018, 2022 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Amazon is a ripoff (permalink) There’s a cheat-code in US antitrust law, one that’s been increasingly used since the Reagan administration, when the “consumer welfare” theory (“monopolies are fine, so long as the lower prices”) shoved aside the long-established idea that antitrust law existed to prevent monopolies from forming at all. The idea that a company can do anything to create or perpetuate a monopoly so long as its prices go down and/or its quality goes up is directly to blame for the rise of Big Tech. These companies burned through their investors’ cash for years, selling goods and services below cost, or even giving stuff away for free. Think of Uber, who lost $0.41 on every dollar they brought in for their first 13 years of existence, a move that cost their investors (mostly Saudi royals) $31 billion. The monopoly cheerleaders in the consumer welfare camp understood that these money-losing orgies could not go on forever, and that the investors who financed them weren’t doing so for charitable purposes. But they dismissed the possibility that would-be monopolists could raise prices after attaining dominance, because these prices hikes would bring new competitors into the market, starting the process over again. Well, Uber has doubled the price of a ride and halved the wages of its drivers (not that consumer welfare theorists care about workers’ wages – they care about consumer welfare, not worker welfare). And not just Uber: companies that captured whole markets have jacked up prices and lowered quality across the board, a Great Enshittening whose playbook has been dubbed “venture predation”: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/19/fake-it-till-you-make-it/#millennial-lifestyle-subsidy Not only was this turn predictable – it was predicted. Back in 2017, Lina Khan – then a law student – published a earthshaking Yale Law Journal paper, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” laying out how monopolists would trap their customers and block new competitors as they raised prices and lowered quality: https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox Today, Khan is the chair of the FTC, and has brought a case against Amazon that turns her legal theories into practice, backed by a cheering chorus of Amazon customers, workers, suppliers and competitors who’ve been cheated by the e-commerce giant: https://pluralistic.net/ApexPredator Khan’s case argues that Amazon is not the house of bargains that it’s widely billed as. She points to the sky-high fees that Amazon extracts from its sellers (45-51% of every dollar!) and the company’s use of “most favored nation” deals that force sellers who raise their Amazon prices to pay those rents to raise their prices everywhere else, too: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos Now, a new Amazon Paradox has dropped, and it drills into another way that Amazon overcharges most of us by as much as 29% on nearly every purchase, disqualifying it from invoking that consumer welfare cheat code. The new paper is “Amazon’s Pricing Paradox,” from law professors Rory Van Loo and Nikita Aggarwal, for The Harvard Journal of Law and Technology: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3645/ The authors concede that while Amazon does have some great bargains, it goes to enormous lengths to make it nearly impossible to get those bargains. Drawing from the literature on behavioral economics, the authors make the reasonable (and experimentally verified) assumption that shoppers generally assume that the top results in an Amazon search are the best results, and click on those. But Amazon’s search-ordering is enshittified: it shifts value from sellers and shoppers (you!) to the company. A combination of self-preferencing (upranking Amazon’s own knock-offs), pay-for-placement (Amazon ads), other forms of payola (whether a merchant is paying for Prime), and “junk ads” (that don’t match your search) turn Amazon’s search-ordering into a rigged casino game. The ability to manipulate customers and sellers and get more money from both is why Amazon has so many incentives to use Amazon’s internal search tool, rather than, say, searching Amazon via Google, which can yield far superior results. For years, Amazon ran a program called Amazon Smile, where a share of every purchase you made would be given to a charity of your choice – but only if you found that item by searching for it on Amazon, and not via Google or a direct link: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys In their new paper, the authors extract and analyze a large dataset of common items you might buy on Amazon, determining which result is best – the lowest price at the highest rating – and then calculating how much more you’ll pay for that item if you click the first relevant (non-ad) item on the search results. If you trust Amazon search to find you the best product and click that first link, you will pay a 29% premium for that item. If you expand your selection to the “headline” – the first four items, which are often all that’s visible without scrolling – you’ll pay an average of 25% more. That top row accounts for 64% of Amazon’s clicks. On average, the best deal on Amazon is found in the seventeenth slot in the search results. Seventeen! Amazon argues that none of this matters, because it allows users to refine their searches to get the best bargains, but Amazon’s search won’t let you factor in “unit pricing” – that is, the price per unit. So if you order your search by price, the seller who’s offering a single pencil for $10 will show up above a seller who’s offering ten pencils for $10.01. Here is an iron law of cons: any time someone adds complexity to a proposition bet, the complexity exists solely to make it hard for you to figure out if you’re getting a good deal. Whether that’s the payout lines on a craps table, the complex interplay of deductibles and co-pays on your health insurance, the menu of fees your bank charges, or the add-ons for your cell-phone plan, the complexity exists to confound your intuition and overwhelm your reason: https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/04/house-always-wins/#are-you-on-drugs And Amazon certainly knows how to pile on the complexity! First, there’s the irrelevant results – AAA batteries that show up in a search for AA batteries, or dog accessories that show up in a search for cat accessories: https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola Then there’s the “drip pricing”: extra charges that get tacked on at checkout, like shipping fees. I once found an item on Amazon that advertised “free shipping” – but at checkout, that “free shipping” came with a delivery date that was three months in the future. Upgrading to shipping in the current quarter doubled the price. Drip pricing makes it hard to figure out if Prime is a good deal, too. Recall that Amazon already comps shipping on orders over $25, so a potential Prime purchaser has to evaluate whether they’ll place enough sub-$25 orders in the coming year to justify the price – and also factor in the fact that Prime items are often more expensive on a per-unit basis than their non-Prime equivalents. Yes, Prime comes with other perks – music and videos – but valuing these just adds complexity to your calculations about whether Prime is a good buy for you, and requires that you factor in the possibility that Amazon will enshittify those services and reduce their value in the coming year, say, by taking away the ability to turn off shuffle when listening to music: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-prime-music-alexa-restrictions-shuffle-11674054533 Or stuffing ads into your videos: https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/22/23885242/amazon-prime-tv-movies-streaming-ads-subscription-date Finally, there’s the nonsense labels that Amazon pastes onto its search results: “Best Seller,” “Climate Pledge Friendly,” “Highly Rated,” “Top Rated From Our Brands” and other gibberish that doesn’t necessarily mean what it seems like it means. Is an item a “best seller” because it was briefly price-dropped, or elevated in search results, or both, or because other shoppers genuinely liked it better? The authors conclude that getting the best price on Amazon requires that you “first spend considerable time searching through pages of results and then utilize, at a minimum, spreadsheet algebraic capabilities to determine the product’s full price…[and] somehow de-bias from the psychological effects of anchoring, and labels such as ‘limited time deal’ and ‘Best Seller,’ as well as many other subtle psychological influences.” Amazon says it’s entitled to use the consumer welfare cheat-code to get out of antitrust enforcement because it has so many bargains. But to get those bargains, you have to pay such minutely detailed attention – literally spreadsheeting your options and hand-coding mathematical formulas to compare them – that you’ll almost certainly fail. The price of failure is incredibly high – a 25-29% overcharge on every purchase. Amazon’s burying of this vital information will be familiar to Douglas Adams readers, as the “Beware of the Leopard” tactic. It’s not even the first time Amazon’s deployed it: https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/27/beware-of-the-leopard/#relentless Another group of scholars recently coined a useful term to describe this ripoff: in a paper published last week, Tim O’Reilly, Mariana Mazzucato and Ilan Strauss dubbed the costs of all this complexity “attention rents”: https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/#euthanize-rentiers It’s fascinating to see these two different groups of scholars, coming at this problem from multiple disciplines, all converging on the same analysis! When technologists, trad economists, behavioral economists, and antitrust lawyers all study Amazon and come away pointing at the same sleazy tactic as being at the heart of the scam, it feels like maybe we’re having A Moment. What’s more, all of this is so thoroughly presaged by Khan’s 2018 paper that it suggests that she’s a bona fide prophet. The authors of this new paper are pretty confident that this gimmick violates antitrust law. They point out that it doesn’t matter if Amazon customers feel like they’re getting a good deal – just as it doesn’t matter if don’t know that you got charged a higher rate for your mortgage because you’re Black, that’s still illegal. What’s more, consumer protection law doesn’t require that the merchant intends to rip you off. There’s plenty of laws requiring supermarkets to post unit prices on their shelves. These laws don’t start from the assumption that supermarkets who don’t use unit pricing are trying to scam you! Rather, they start from the assumption that you will make better-informed purchases if you have that information, and so you should get it. Regulating the presentation of prices is firmly in the purview of antitrust law, especially consumer welfare antitrust, which fetishizes low prices above all else. The less competitive a market is, the less pressure a company will feel to offer clear price information to customers, because those customers will have fewer places to go if they don’t like the company’s business practices. All of this militates for antitrust intervention: rules for how Amazon must do its business. The authors propose three different kinds of rules: I. Force Amazon to halt its most deceptive practices, like hiding the true price including shipping or chaffing search results with confusing junk ads. One fascinating tidbit: just a few days after this paper was published, the FTC revealed that Amazon had been deliberately cluttering its results with junk ads in order to juice revenue: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/02/jeff-bezos-urged-amazon-to-flood-search-results-with-junk-ads-ftc.html II. Mandate interoperability between Amazon and comparison shopping sites by forcing the company to publish its pricing data in machine-readable format, and allowing customers to authorize shopping bots to access their purchasing data to help them figure out how to get a better deal. Another fascinating turn – the same week this paper came out, the CFPB proposed a rule that would force your bank to do the same thing – let you forward your data to comparison shopping sites that would tell you which bank you’d get the best deal from: https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/21/let-my-dollars-go/#personal-financial-data-rights The CFPB rule goes one step further, strictly limiting how those comparison sites can use your data, banning them from retaining, selling or sharing it or using it to target ads to you. This is the approach that my EFF colleague Bennett Cyphers and I proposed in our “Privacy Without Monopoly” paper: https://www.eff.org/wp/interoperability-and-privacy III. Create legal safe harbors for scraping. Scraping is a form of “adversarial interoperability,” the self-help measures that technologists use to modify and adapt existing services without their owners’ consent. Think of reverse-engineering, bots, etc: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability Comparison shopping sites have historically relied on scraping to help their users get better deals. Amazon almost certainly scrapes its competitors’ sites to figure out if a merchant is selling more cheaply elsewhere (these merchants are punished by being banished to screen eleventy-million of the search results, which has the same effect of just kicking them off of Amazon). Scraping was once the norm online, then it dwindled, as monopolists used their cash reserves and market power to get governments to punish rivals that used it. But scraping is a very important backstop to any kind of price-analysis. Though Mario Zechner used grocery stores’ own official APIs to prove that they were colluding to rig prices, he has gone on record to say that he would also use scraping if they shut down those gateways or denied him access to them: https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/ In my latest nonfiction book, The Internet Con, I lay out virtually the same program for addressing monopoly power in every tech industry: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con I. Start with traditional antitrust remedies (breakups, bans on unfair or deceptive practices) II. Mandatory APIs that allow tinkerers, co-ops, nonprofits, and startups to interface with dominant platforms and offer their users and suppliers better services and deals; III. Safe harbors for adversarial interoperability, so that when companies cheat on their mandatory APIs by blocking or degrading them, those rival services can keep things going while they wait for fact-intensive regulatory proceedings to force the big companies back into compliance. Reading this new paper, I was struck by how much convergence there is among different kinds of practitioners, working against the digital sins of very different kinds of businesses. From the CFPB using mandates and privacy rules to fight bank ripoffs to behavioral economists thinking about Amazon’s manipulative search results. This kind of convergence is exciting as hell. After years of pretending that Big Tech was good for “consumers,” we’ve not only woken up to how destructive these companies are, but we’re also all increasingly in accord about what to do about it. Hot damn! (Image: Doc Searls, CC BY 2.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) Boots Riley: “The Only Answer Is Organizing on the Job” https://jacobin.com/2023/11/boots-riley-hollywood-gaza-class-struggle-wga-art/ How GoGuardian Invades Student Privacy https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/how-goguardian-invades-student-privacy Surveillance Wages: A Taxonomy https://lpeproject.org/blog/surveillance-wages-a-taxonomy/ This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Dashboard cig lighters are the new cup-holders https://money.cnn.com/2003/11/04/pf/autos/lighters/index.htm #10yrsago Regex Runner: a game to teach regular expressions to kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs2ZchTUEvQ #5yrsago Unisyn voting machine manual instructs election officials to use and recycle weak passwords https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/06/unisyn-voting-machine-manual-instructs-election-officials-to-use-and-recycle-weak-passwords/ #5yrsago Steganographically hiding secret messages in fake fingerprints https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/06/steganographically-hiding-secret-messages-in-fake-fingerprints/ #5yrsago The internet is made up of revolutionary technologies, but isn’t revolutionary https://locusmag.com/2018/11/cory-doctorow-what-the-internet-is-for/ #5yrsago America for sale: 38% of all election funding comes from 0.0001% of Americans (2,210 people account for 25% of the total) https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/06/america-for-sale-38-of-all-election-funding-comes-from-0-0001-of-americans-2210-people-account-for-25-of-the-total/ #1yrago The End of the Road to Serfdom https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/06/the-end-of-the-road-to-serfdom/
https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet seen in X-rays, using NASA telescopes. The black hole is at an early stage of growth that had never been witnessed before, where its mass is similar to that of its host galaxy. This result may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/nasa-telescopes-discover-record-breaking-black-hole/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Patrick Serzynski, a 60-year-old Illinois man, had been missing for five days.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281485243.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Liliputing
Most Raspberry Pi clones we’ve seen over the years have been designed to be the same shape and size as the Raspberry Pi Model B line of credit card-sized computers. But every now and then somebody decides to copy the design of the smaller Raspberry Pi Zero. The latest example? The Geniatech XPI-3566-Zero sure looks […]
The post Geniatech XPI-3566-Zero is a Raspberry Pi Zero clone powered by a Rockchip RK3566 processor appeared first on Liliputing.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
With great effort, CSUN’s hockey team won their first game at home of the season on Saturday, Oct. 14 against CSU Long Beach, with a winning score of 9-3. The Matadors wasted no time by aggressively seeking early dominance. They were already taking shots at the net just 21 seconds into the game. CSUN forward…
https://sundial.csun.edu/176758/sports/first-home-win-for-csuns-hockey-team-and-a-loss-for-ucla/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Spatial disorientation among pilots led to 101 deaths, 65 lost aircraft and $2.32 billion of damages in the US Airforce between 1993 and 2013, according to research. The problem also hits astronauts, whose senses can be bamboozled when they are severed from the familiar pull of Earth’s gravity.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/new_orientation_assistant_to_help/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
State and local authorities are trying to find the animal.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281485253.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Fans can enter the contest via Instagram or Facebook.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281398698.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Monday that the United States maintains its focus on the Indo-Pacific region despite concurrent global challenges, such as the Israel-Hamas conflict.
At the Ankara airport, after concluding a two-and-a-half-hour discussion with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Blinken said, “Even as we intensely focus on the crisis in Gaza, we are equally engaged in the vital work in the Indo-Pacific and other parts of the world to advance American interests.”
The top U.S. diplomat will arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday for the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meetings and bilateral talks.
Blinken said he plans to debrief his counterparts from G7 about the recent Middle East visit.
Japan chairs this year’s G7. Supporting Ukraine’s economic recovery and energy needs, as well as regional security are on the agenda in Blinken’s bilateral meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minster Yoko Kamikawa.
Kishida just returned from Manila and Kuala Lumpur where he confirmed that Japan will promote bilateral defense and maritime security cooperation with the Philippines and Malaysia.
On Sunday, Kishida, during a joint news conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, announced that both countries had agreed to “accelerate adjustments towards the implementation” of the official security assistance grant program, known as OSA.
Japan has designated four Asia-Pacific countries — Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, and the Philippines — as recipients of the OSA. Under this program, Japan provides materials, equipment and assistance for infrastructure development based on the security needs of these countries.
In Manila, Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines confirmed Friday that both countries would start negotiations on a reciprocal access agreement, a new bilateral deal aimed at strengthening defense cooperation.
Japan also agreed to provide the Philippines with coastal radar systems under the OSA program.
Both the Philippines and Japan have been seeking to enhance trilateral defense ties with the United States in response to what they perceive as China’s increasing military aggression in the East and South China Sea.
Japan rejects China’s sovereignty claims over the Senkaku Islands located in the East China Sea. The Philippines and China are on a collision course over the contested South China Sea, as shown in last month’s incident in which Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Philippine vessels near the Second Thomas Shoal.
Following the collision, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated Washington’s “ironclad” defense commitment to the Philippines.
The United States has supported Japan’s decision to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in August. Blinken said on August 15 that the U.S. is satisfied with Japan’s “safe, transparent, and science-based process.”
But despite assurances from Kishida’s government and external monitors including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the move has brought furious opposition from neighboring countries and environmental organizations who questioned its safety.
China, for example, has banned all seafood imports from Japan. Beijing’s fierce protest also came at a time of increased geopolitical tensions between Japan and China.
“The PRC is hypocritically banning Japanese seafood while fishing from Japan’s waters for the exact same fish. Can’t blame them since the fish is outstanding but can blame them for their hypocrisy. America is sending this fish to a more deserving market: our U.S. military service members and their families,” said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in a social media posting on X, formerly known as Twitter. He was referring to People’s Republic of China.
Before heading to Asia, Blinken was in Israel, Jordan, West Bank, Iraq and Turkey where he reaffirmed Washington’s support for humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow the delivery of lifesaving aid to civilians as Israel intensifies its offensive on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-heads-to-japan-for-g7/7343430.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Bruce Schneier blog
The Flipper Zero is an incredibly versatile hacking device. Now it can be used to crash iPhones in its vicinity by sending them a never-ending stream of pop-ups.
These types of hacks have been possible for decades, but they require special equipment and a fair amount of expertise. The capabilities generally required expensive SDRs—short for software-defined radios—that, unlike traditional hardware-defined radios, use firmware and processors to digitally re-create radio signal transmissions and receptions. The $200 Flipper Zero isn’t an SDR in its own right, but as a software-controlled radio, it can do many of the same things at an affordable price and with a form factor that’s much more convenient than the previous generations of SDRs…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/11/crashing-iphones-with-a-flipper-zero.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Microsoft will offer driver and firmware updates for its Surface devices for an additional two years, claiming the decision is in response to customer demand. This comes after Google promised its rival Chromebook devices will get updates for a decade.…
date: 2023-11-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
Several recommendations this morning with a common theme.
The
latest 500 songs podcast is about
Janis
Joplin. Of course I listened to Joplin in the early 70s, and I
remember where I was when I heard of her death. I always assumed she was
the freak she presented herself as, that her singing came from her soul,
but I learned from this episode that wasn’t what we were seeing. That’s
what makes this podcast so interesting, it tells me about myself before
I developed my fine-tuned skepticism, as we review the music of my
Boomer life. I tended to believe the stories I was told. When I was a
kid I loved to read biographies, but as time went by I knew some of the
people who had bios written about them, in fact short bios were written
about me in magazines. Since then I understand that the story and the
actual person often have very little to do with each other.
A similar story, a biography of Yogi Berra, that makes you want to cry for love of the man and for the tragedy that his fame as a character, obscured the fame he deserves as an athlete. This version of the story is that the personality and the player were the same person, that without the sense he had of other people and strong sense of self, he wouldn’t have been nearly as great on the field. Very emotional for me, and it did change how I look at the Yankees (I’m a Mets fan from a family of Dodgers fans), and I never really appreciated him when he became a coach and then manager of the Mets. I always felt the two teams couldn’t integrate that way. A well-told story, I hope some of it is true. 😄
Finally a Fresh Air interview with David Byrne of the Talking Heads. A very different personality from Janis or Yogi, obviously. I love the Talking Heads music, esp these days – it’s the best Peloton music. The interview is eye-opening, as he explains how he put his stage personality together and why he switched from violin to guitar as a kid. He also exudes confidence from a person who packaged his discomfort with himself as his message.
I didn’t realize until I wrote this up how well these three bits go with each other.
http://scripting.com/2023/11/06/144454.html?title=janisYogiAndDavid
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
One of the cats was “too weak to eat” when he got to the animal rescue.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281481848.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Bunnie’s Studio Blog
A bipartisan group of 18 lawmakers in the US Congress have recently amplified a request to the White House and the Secretary of Commerce to place restrictions on Americans working with RISC-V (see also the initial request from the Senate) in order to prevent China from gaining dominance in CPU technology. The request is facially […]
https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=6862
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
President Joe Biden recently signed a sweeping executive order to promote the safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence. VOA’s Julie Taboh reports on reactions by Washington-area AI experts.
https://www.voanews.com/a/ai-experts-weigh-in-on-biden-s-executive-order-/7343372.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Open enrollment season is upon us, and a new type of benefits is gaining popularity: support for workers going through menopause, including flexible time off, counseling and hormone therapy. While only a small number of workplaces currently provide menopause-specific benefits, a growing number of employers are open to the idea. Later in the program: Germany aims to crack down on illegal immigration.
date: 2023-11-06, from: 404 Media Group
“Been to lots of concerts, festivals, Burning Man, and never have I ever experienced fucked eyes like this.”
https://www.404media.co/bored-ape-yacht-club-conference-eye-pain-vision-loss-yuga-labs/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
An 11-year-old boy was killed in the shooting.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281481368.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked.
A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others hope is a promising new crop for the state following years of punishing drought and a push to scale back on groundwater pumping.
The 49-year-old mechanical engineer is one of a growing number of Californians planting agave to be harvested and used to make spirits, much like the way tequila and mezcal are made in Mexico. The trend is fueled by the need to find hardy crops that don’t need much water and a booming appetite for premium alcoholic beverages since the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s attracted entrepreneurs such as Ortega, as well as some California farmers. They’re seeking to shift to more water-efficient crops and irrigation methods to avoid fallowing their fields with looming limits on how much groundwater they can pump, as well as more extreme weather patterns anticipated with climate change. Agave, unlike most other crops, thrives on almost no water.
“When we were watering them, they didn’t really grow much, and the ones that weren’t watered were actually growing better,” Ortega said, walking past rows of the succulents.
He is now investing in a distillery after his initial batches of spirits, made from Agave americana, sold for $160 a bottle.
Consumers started spending more on high-quality spirits during the pandemic shutdowns, which spurred a rise in premium beverage products, said Erlinda A. Doherty, an agave spirits expert and consultant.
Tequila and mezcal were the second-fastest growing spirit category in the country in 2022, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Both are proprietary spirits under Mexican laws, which are recognized in U.S. trade agreements. Much like how champagne hails from a region of France, anything called tequila must contain at least 51% blue Weber agave and be distilled in Jalisco or a handful of other Mexican states. Mezcal can be made from a variety of agave types but must be produced in certain Mexican states.
Agave growers and distillers in California — as well as some in Texas and Arizona — are betting there is an appetite for more agave-based spirits even if they are produced outside of Mexico and not called tequila or mezcal.
“We seem to have this insatiable thirst for agave, so why not have a domestically grown supply?” Doherty said. “I am kind of bullish on it.”
Alfonso Mojica Navarro, director of the Mexican Chamber of the Tequila Industry, said tequila has a lengthy history, global reputation for excellence and close connection with Mexican culture. While he didn’t comment specifically on California’s foray into agave spirits, he said he believes Mexico can respond to the growing demand.
“The tequila industry is concerned that each time there are more players trying to take advantage of tequila’s success by producing agave spirits, liqueurs or other beverages that allude to the Mexican drink, its origins and characteristics despite not being the same,” he said in a statement.
Agave isn’t grown on a large scale in California yet, and it would take years for that to happen. But spirits, made by cooking the plant’s core to produce sugars that are fermented, are proving popular, said Ventura Spirits owner Henry Tarmy, who distilled his first batch five years ago.
“We’ve sold everything we’ve made,” he said.
Much like Mexico has, California is taking steps to protect its nascent industry. The state legislature enacted a law last year requiring “California agave spirits” be made solely with plants grown in the state and without additives.
A dozen growers and a handful of distillers also formed the California Agave Council last year, and the group has tripled in size since then, said Craig Reynolds, the founding director who planted agave in the Northern California community of Davis. He said those making agave spirits have a deep appreciation for Mexican tequila.
“We have about 45 member growers,” he said. “All of them want more plants.”
Agave takes little water but presents other challenges. The plant typically takes at least seven years to grow and is tough to harvest, and a mature plant can weigh hundreds of pounds. Once cut, it has to be grown all over again.
Still, many see agave as a viable alternative as California — which supplies the bulk of the country’s produce — explores ways to cut back water use.
While record rain and snowfall over the winter mostly ended a three-year drought in California, more dry periods are likely in store. The state enacted a law nearly a decade ago to regulate the pumping of groundwater after excessive pumping led some residents’ wells to run dry and the land to sink. Scientists expect extreme weather patterns will become even more common as the planet warms, causing more drought.
Stuart Woolf, who grows tomatoes and almonds in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley, said he started thinking about agave after estimating he’ll only be able to farm about 60% of his land in 20 years due to water limitations. And that’s despite investing in solar energy and groundwater recharge projects to protect the farm that has been in his family for generations.
After trying out a test plot a few years ago, Woolf went on to plant some 200,000 agave on land he otherwise would have fallowed. Each acre of agave is taking only 7.6 centimeters (3 inches) of water a year — a tenth of what row crops demand and even less than pistachio and almond trees, he said.
Woolf and his wife Lisa gave a $100,000 donation to the University of California, Davis, which formed a research fund to look at the succulent’s varieties and its potential as a low-water crop.
“I have been trying to figure out what is a crop that I can grow that is somewhat climate-resilient, drought-tolerant, so I can utilize our land,” Woolf said. “The amount of water I am giving them is so low, I don’t think I am ever going to have a problem.”
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Infosec in brief Okta has confirmed details of its October breach, reporting that the incident led to the compromise of files belonging to 134 customers, “or less than 1 percent of Okta customers.” …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/security_in_brief/
date: 2023-11-06, from: 404 Media Group
Hakan Ayik, who unknowingly popularized the FBI’s backdoored encrypted phone called Anom, has been a most wanted criminal for years. Finally authorities arrested him this week.
https://www.404media.co/associates-react-to-arrest-of-hakan-ayik-anom/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Clovis Crush cross country coach smashed Two Cities Marathon record for third consecutive year.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/article281478758.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
La directora de origen hondureño Nicole Mejía quiere que veteranos se sientan vistos y queridos al ver la película.
https://www.fresnobee.com/vida-en-el-valle/entretenimiento/article281354863.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Chris Heilmann
For a quiz, I am playing with Pangrams, sentences that have all 26 letters of the alphabet in them. Using Set and some RegEx it is a one-liner in JavaScript to validate them (split into two lines for readability…). const isPangram = s => new Set( s.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z]/g, ‘’).split(‘’) ).size === 26; I’ve also put together […]
https://christianheilmann.com/2023/11/06/pangram-validator-in-one-line/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Commentary for Men’s Health Awareness Month.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article281415893.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
Donald Trump on Monday testified that his company did not provide accurate estimates of many of his properties in a rambling and defiant performance on the witness stand in a civil fraud trial in New York.
The former U.S. president said his company undervalued his Mar-a-Lago estate and Doral golf course in Florida and overvalued his Trump Tower apartment, among other assets, but sought to minimize the importance of the estimates, which state lawyers said were inflated to win better financing terms.
“It wasn’t important. You’ve made it important, but it wasn’t,” Trump said of the estimates.
Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled those estimates to be fraudulent. New York state lawyers argued in their lawsuit that the estimates misled lenders and insurers, earning him $100 million and exaggerating his wealth by $2 billion.
Trump has repeatedly said the case is “witch hunt” and has accused Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James of being politically biased against him.
He kept up those complaints on the witness stand, where he accused legal authorities of paying unduly close attention to his business after he won the 2016 presidential election.
“I’m sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me,” he said.
“This is a very unfair trial,” he added later.
Trump’s remarks drew a sharp reprimand from Engoron, who threatened to cut his testimony short.
“Mr Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom,” Engoron asked Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Kise.
James brushed aside Trump’s attacks.
“At the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers. The numbers, my friends, don’t lie,” James said outside the courthouse before Trump’s testimony.
Unlike the four criminal cases the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination faces, this civil trial does not threaten to put him in prison as he mounts a comeback White House bid.
Indeed, Trump has sought to take advantage of the legal cases, using them to solicit campaign donations and argue that he is being targeted for his political views.
But the civil fraud case against Trump and his business could undercut his image, cultivated over decades, as a glamorous billionaire who shuttles between elegant resorts and premium golf courses that bear his name.
James is seeking $250 million in fines, as well as restrictions that would prevent Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. from doing business in their home state.
In testimony last week, both sons said they were unfamiliar with the details of the valuation documents. Trump made that argument as well, saying accountants did the bulk of the work.
Engoron has already canceled business certificates for companies that control large portions of his business, though that order is on hold during appeal.
Evidence introduced at trial so far has revealed that company officials, including Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr., tried to manipulate the assessed value of trophy properties like the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
One witness, his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, testified that Trump directed him to doctor financial statements to boost his net worth.
Trump’s anger has been clear throughout.
Though his presence until Monday has not been required in court, he has already appeared several times to glower at the proceedings from the defendant’s table and complain about the case to TV cameras outside the chamber.
That has earned him fines of $15,000 for twice violating a limited gag order that prevents him from criticizing court staff. Trump’s lawyers have chafed at that order and indicated they might use it as the basis for an appeal, but Engoron expanded it on Friday to cover them as well.
Trump’s crowded legal calendar threatens to take him off the campaign trail for much of next year.
His election campaign’s written fundraising appeals at the outset of the trial on Oct. 2 said Trump was defending his family and reputation from New York Democrats, calling them “corrupt tyrants.”
Republican voters do not seem to be bothered by his legal woes, as opinion polls show he holds a commanding lead in the party’s presidential nominating contest.
The trial was originally scheduled to run through early December but could wrap up sooner as the state calls its final witnesses this week. It is unclear how many witnesses the defense will call.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka is due to testify on Wednesday, though she is not a defendant in the case.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Exclusive Element has become the latest company to change its open source license, but rather than going down a source-available path, it has opted to move from Apache 2.0 to AGPLv3.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/element_moves_to_agplv3/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The deadline to spend pandemic-era child care subsidies passed at the end of September, the so-called “child care cliff.” We visit one child care facility in Baltimore to hear how the end of federal funding could affect providers’ ability to recruit and retain workers. Plus, a video game maker goes after the Google app store, and the House of Representatives is expected to vote on its transportation funding bill.
@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2023-11-06, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)
So, my big project this weekend was setting up a Plex media server on our underused Linux desktop – along with Plex-Debrid for, you know, convenient streaming of old public domain movies. Pleased to say that, despite a few hours debugging a problem that boiled down to “our home wi-fi speeds are a bit crap and the Plex web app is too overzealous killing connections”, I have it all working now! Can’t wait to put it to good use 😎
https://www.jayeless.net/2023/11/set-up-plex.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
It helps that most of it is underground.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
“Really inefficient engine technology is, pound for pound, more polluting than cars and trucks.”
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/lawn-equipment-spews-shocking-amount-of-air-pollution
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Some forms of commercial crime are up in the Golden State, but others remain flat.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281362898.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“I think the ultimate solution is the design,” an East Sacramento mom said.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281248053.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
When responsibly planned, forest restoration projects can improve forest health by reducing density and restoring ecosystems to a more natural state.
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/article281199853.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The spending began four years ago, according to police.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281479788.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: NASA breaking news
On Oct. 1, 1958, NASA, the newly established agency to lead America’s civilian space program, officially began operations, with T. Keith Glennan and Hugh L. Dryden as administrator and deputy administrator, respectively. One of the new agency’s top priorities involved the development of a spacecraft capable of sending a human into space and returning him […]
https://www.nasa.gov/history/65-years-ago-nasa-formally-establishes-the-space-task-group/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Real music, fake rumors, and an homage to Saint Barbara. I mean Saint Barbra.
The post Broadway Comes to Santa Barbra appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/11/06/broadway-comes-to-santa-barbra/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Peoples CDC blog
This is the @PeoplesCDC weekly update for November 6, 2023! This Weather Report from the People’s CDC sheds light on the ongoing COVID situation in the US.
https://peoplescdc.org/2023/11/06/peoples-cdc-covid-19-weather/
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will expand its traveler-based surveillance program to include testing for respiratory viruses, partners Ginkgo Bioworks and XWELL said on Monday.
The expansion, to be launched at four of the seven participating airports, comes ahead of the fall and winter months in the United States when viruses that cause respiratory diseases such as influenza and respiratory synctial virus (RSV) usually circulate more heavily.
CDC has warned that it expects hospitalizations from COVID-19, RSV infections and flu this year to be similar to last year’s numbers, higher than the pre-pandemic levels.
Ginkgo and XWELL said they will monitor over 30 new viruses, bacteria, and antimicrobial resistance targets including seasonal respiratory pathogens such as influenza A and B, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 as part of the expansion.
The expansion will launch at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
The surveillance program is a public-private partnership between the health agency, Ginkgo’s biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric, and XWELL’s diagnostic testing service, XpresCheck.
The agency conducts voluntary nasal swabbing and airport wastewater sampling as part of the program, aimed to help with early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
AI In Brief X, the micro-blogging site formerly known as Twitter, revealed its “first AI” to a select group of users over the weekend.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/ai_in_brief/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
“They will bite if they feel threatened.”
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article281289793.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Nonessential building work is paused, commercial trucks are banned, and office staff are working from home in the Indian city of Delhi due to severe pollution. Plus, a United Nations report shows the cost to farmers of Taliban authorities’ ban on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. Also: Germany’s government hopes tougher sentences for people traffickers will slow illegal migration.
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
Although disagreements with Arab leaders over a cease-fire in Gaza continue, the United States is advocating for a humanitarian pause. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Sunday that without the return of hostages taken by Hamas militants, no cease-fire will happen. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)
Today we’re calling all young people who are excited to explore coding and space science, and the mentors who want to support and inspire them on their journey. Astro Pi Mission Space Lab is officially open again, offering young people all over Europe the amazing chance to have their code for a science experiment run…
The post Explore space science and coding with Astro Pi Mission Space Lab appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/european-astro-pi-challenge-mission-space-lab-2023-24/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Let’s talk about how the Sacramento Kings have struggled offensively while emphasizing physicality and defense.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/article281468158.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: National Archives, Pieces of History blog
As we commemorate Veterans Day, we want to thank all of the veterans who have served our country throughout the years. Today’s historic spotlight is on National Archives employee Eunice Whyte, who served in the U.S. Navy in both World Wars. Only two women served in the U.S. Naval Reserves during both World War I … Continue reading Historic Staff Spotlight: Eunice Whyte—Navy Veteran of both World Wars
date: 2023-11-06, from: Internet Archive Blog
As an academic librarian helping connect students and faculty with the research materials they need, Sanjeet Mann has turned to the Internet Archive many times. “I really value having the […]
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will host Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for two days of talks this week, the latest in a series of high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials as the world’s two largest economies aim to ease tensions, the Treasury Department announced Monday.
The Yellen-He talks set for Thursday and Friday come ahead of the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco which starts November 11. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week during the summit, what would be the first engagement between the two leaders in nearly a year.
“As a foundation, our two nations have an obligation to establish resilient lines of open communication and to prevent our disagreements from spiraling into conflict,” Yellen wrote in a Washington Post op-ed to spotlight the upcoming meeting. “But we also know that our relationship cannot be circumscribed to crisis management.”
The meeting between the two senior government officials comes after Biden spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the White House for about an hour late last month, when Beijing’s top diplomat came to Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Xi similarly met with Blinken in June when the secretary of State traveled to Beijing for talks with Wang.
Yellen last met with her counterpart He during a July visit to Beijing, when she urged Chinese government officials for cooperation on climate change and other global challenges and not to let sharp disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that He, who is the government’s lead person on U.S.-China economic and trade issues, would visit the U.S. from Nov. 8-12.
Yellen is expected to amplify the message on climate during her talks with He in San Francisco. Treasury in a statement said that Yellen will also underscore that the Biden administration “will take targeted action to advance our national security and that of our allies, and protect human rights, but we do not use these tools to seek economic advantage.”
Tensions between the two countries remain high, including over U.S. export controls on advanced technology. The Biden administration has also taken Beijing to task for economic practices that it says have put U.S. companies and workers at a disadvantage.
The U.S. has also criticized China’s lending practices under its $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, a network of projects and maritime lanes that snake around large portions of the world, primarily Asia and Africa. Critics, including the Biden administration, say China’s projects often create massive debt and expose nations to undue influence by Beijing.
Yellen in her op-ed wrote she would raise during the meetings the administration’s “serious concerns with Beijing’s unfair economic practices, including its large-scale use of non-market tools, its barriers to market access and its coercive actions against U.S. firms in China.”
The U.S. has also repeatedly raised concerns about China’s assertive actions in the East and South China seas.
The U.S. military last month released a video of a Chinese fighter jet flying within 10 feet (three meters) of an American B-52 bomber over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident. Earlier in October, the Pentagon released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that occurred in the last two years, part of a trend U.S. military officials call concerning.
The U.S. also has renewed a warning that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a security pact, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Philippine vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
Beijing has released its own video of close encounters in the region, including what it described as footage of the USS Ralph Johnson making a sharp turn and crossing in front of the bow of a Chinese navy ship. The U.S. destroyer also was captured sailing between two Chinese ships.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Tilde.news
https://deprogrammaticaipsum.com/think/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Obit Thomas K Mattingly II, command module pilot of Apollo 16 and commander of two Space Shuttle missions, has died aged 87.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/thomas_k_mattingly_obit/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Southend-on-Sea City Council has reported a data breach, joining a growing list of UK public sector organizations to have accidentally and illegally exposed sensitive files this year.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/southend_council_foi_leak/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The UK government is stumping up £36 million ($41.4 million) to help support a green energy project that aims to use waste heat from a datacenter to keep nearby homes warm.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/uk_waste_datacenter_heat/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Outdoor flames and open burning are prohibited in Ka‘u and West Hawaii as a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning remains in effect.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Loki the cat has returned to his home at Kona Stories Bookstore after 84 days in the wild.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — Donald Trump has testified in court as a football owner, casino builder and airline buyer. He bragged in a deposition that he saved “millions of lives” by deterring nuclear war as president. Another time, he fretted about the dangers of flung fruit.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza lost communications Sunday in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war, while Israel’s military said it encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BOZEMAN, Mont. — Donovan Archambault was 11 years old in 1950 when he was sent from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana to a government-backed Native American boarding school in Pierre, South Dakota, where abusive staff forced him to abandon his community’s language and customs.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In case you forgot, this Saturday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, although the federal holiday will be on Friday the 10th. And if I ask why we celebrate veterans on Nov. 11, do you know? Maybe not, so here’s the answer: The Armistice ending World War I was signed at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/06/opinion/rainy-side-view-veterans-day/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaiian Electric on Friday announced a series of statewide strategies to alleviate the risk of wildfires in drought-stricken parts of Hawaii.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KATHMANDU, Nepal — Villagers in the mountains of northwest Nepal on Sunday cremated the bodies of some of those who perished in an earthquake two days earlier. The strong temblor killed 157 people and left thousands of others homeless.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BERLIN — The hostage situation at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon, around 18 hours after a man drove his vehicle through the gates of the airport with his 4-year-old daughter as a passenger, authorities said. The man was arrested and the girl is safe.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Getting the nation’s soaring debt under control should be a national priority. But many special-interest groups don’t agree. </p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>On Oct. 10, days after Hamas launched its depraved attack on Israel, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about some progressive members in Congress who were calling for a cease-fire and de-escalation. She did not try to hide her disgust.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/06/opinion/dont-blame-the-squad-end-the-killing/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks something like a ship, shrugged off Category 5 winds that might otherwise have collapsed it.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds plans to endorse Ron DeSantis for president, giving the Florida governor’s 2024 campaign a boost as he struggles to show progress against Donald Trump in the Republican primary, two people familiar with the matter said Sunday.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Konawaena boys and Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i girls represented the Big Island in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Bowling Championships on Thursday and Friday at the Schofield Bowling Center on Oahu.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAS VEGAS — The smell of cigar smoke wafted beyond the locker room door, and there was no doubt the Raiders were at long last enjoying themselves.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Austin Ekeler’s best decision last Sunday might have come off the field.</p>
date: 2023-11-06, from: Guam Daily Post
The judge presiding over the Guam Regional Transit Authority corruption case denied the prosecution’s motion to strike the record of evidence and testimony heard in an evidentiary hearing last week.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Guam Daily Post
While the debate continues over where and how to build a new public hospital on Guam, a couple of lawmakers have set their sights on exploring potential alternatives, either in the interim, while a new hospital is built, or as…
date: 2023-11-06, from: Guam Daily Post
Core Tech International Corp. received an excellence in construction award for a low-income housing project in Radio Barrigada.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Guam Daily Post
Students in the University of Guam’s criminal justice capstone class are trying to break the cycle of recidivism on Guam by bringing the issue to the forefront in a forum.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam has the highest incidence of lung cancer per capita in the world and among the U.S. Asian Pacific islands, or USAPI.
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Opinion YouTube wants its pound of flesh. Disable your ad blocker or pay for Premium, warns a new message being shown to an unsuspecting test audience, with the barely hidden subtext of “you freeloading scum.” Trouble is, its ad blocker detecting mechanism doesn’t exactly comply with EU law, say privacy activists. Ask for user permission or taste regulatory boot. All good clean fun.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/youtube_ad_blockers_opinion/
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks something like a ship, shrugged off Category 5 winds that might otherwise have collapsed it.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Paulson said, recalling the warning to evacuate. Her house lost only a few shingles, with photos taken after the storm showing it standing whole amid the wreckage of almost all the surrounding homes.
Some developers are building homes like Paulson’s with an eye toward making them more resilient to the extreme weather that’s increasing with climate change, and friendlier to the environment at the same time. Solar panels, for example, installed so snugly that high winds can’t get underneath them, mean clean power that can survive a storm. Preserved wetlands and native vegetation that trap carbon in the ground and reduce flooding vulnerability, too. Recycled or advanced construction materials that reduce energy use as well as the need to make new material.
A person’s home is one of the biggest ways they can reduce their individual carbon footprint. Buildings release about 38% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions each year. Some of the carbon pollution comes from powering things like lights and air conditioners and some of it from making the construction materials, like concrete and steel.
Deltec, the company that built Paulson’s home, says that only one of the nearly 1,400 homes it’s built over the last three decades has suffered structural damage from hurricane-force winds. But the company puts as much emphasis on building green, with higher-quality insulation that reduces the need for air conditioning, heat pumps for more efficient heating and cooling, energy-efficient appliances, and of course solar.
“The real magic here is that we’re doing both,” chief executive Steve Linton. “I think a lot of times resilience is sort of the afterthought when you talk about sustainable construction, where it’s just kind of this is a feature on a list … we believe that resilience is really a fundamental part of sustainability.”
Other companies are developing entire neighborhoods that are both resistant to hurricanes and contribute less than average to climate change.
Pearl Homes’ Mirabella community in Bradenton, Florida, consists of 160 houses that are all LEED-certified platinum, the highest level of one of the most-used green building rating systems.
To reduce vulnerability to flooding, home sites are raised 3 feet above code. Roads are raised, too, and designed to direct accumulating rainfall away and onto ground where it may be absorbed. Steel roofs with seams allow solar panels to be attached so closely it’s difficult for high winds to get under them, and the homes have batteries that kick in when power is knocked out.
Pearl Homes CEO Marshall Gobuty said his team approached the University of Central Florida with a plan to build a community that doesn’t contribute to climate change. “I wanted them to be not just sustainable, but resilient, I wanted them to be so unlike everything else that goes on in Florida,” Gobuty said. “I see homes that are newly built, half a mile away, that are underwater … we are in a crisis with how the weather is changing.”
That resonates with Paulson, in Mexico Beach, who said she didn’t want to “live day to day worried about tracking something in the Atlantic.” Besides greater peace of mind, she says, she’s now enjoying energy costs of about $32 per month, far below the roughly $250 she said she paid in a previous home.
“I don’t really feel that the population is taking into effect the environmental catastrophes, and adjusting for it,” she said. “We’re building the same old stuff that got blown away.”
Babcock Ranch is another sustainable, hurricane-resilient community in South Florida. It calls itself the first solar-powered town in the U.S., generating 150 megawatts of electricity with 680,000 panels on 870 acres. The community was also one of the first in the country to have large batteries on site to store extra solar power to use at night or when the power is out.
Syd Kitson founded Babcock Ranch in 2006. The homes are better able to withstand hurricane winds because the roofs are strapped to a system that connects down to the foundation. Power lines are buried underground so they can’t blow over. The doors swing outward in some homes so when pressure builds up from the wind, they don’t blast open, and vents help balance the pressure in garages.
In 2022 Hurricane Ian churned over Babcock Ranch as a Category 4 storm. It left little to no damage, Kitson said.
“We set out to prove that a new town and the environment can work hand-in-hand, and I think we’ve proven that,” said Kitson. “Unless you build in a very resilient way, you’re just going to constantly be repairing or demolishing the home.”
The development sold some 73,000 acres of its site to the state for wetland preservation, and on the land where it was built, a team studied how water naturally flows through the local environment and incorporated it into its water management system.
“That water is going to go where it wants to go, if you’re going to try and challenge Mother Nature, you’re going to lose every single time,” said Kitson. The wetlands, retention ponds, and native vegetation are better able to manage water during extreme rainfall, reducing the risk of flooded homes.
In the Florida Keys, Natalia Padalino and her husband, Alan Klingler, plan to finish building a Deltec home by December. The couple was concerned about the future impacts global warming and hurricanes would have on the Florida Keys and researched homes that were both sustainable and designed to withstand these storms.
“We believe we’re building something that’s going to be a phenomenal investment and reduce our risk of any major catastrophic situation,” Klingler said.
“People have been really open and receptive. They tell us if a hurricane comes, they’re going to be staying in our place,” Padalino said.
date: 2023-11-06, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
This #MagPiMonday, The MagPi editor Lucy Hattersley talks about watching our newest board come alive in front of her very eyes.
The post Number 5 is alive! | #MagPiMonday appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/number-5-is-alive-magpimonday/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Robert Reich on Substack
What I am telling them in response
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/my-children
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.
The post Classifieds – November 6, 2023 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/classifieds-november-6-2023/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Darch (sørenpeter) neotxt blog
@eapl.mx<em>@eapl.mx Nice description of twtxt and thanks for linking to my (broken) code
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Sporting culture has enabled nations to build relationships and ease tensions.
The post Exploring the world of diplomacy through sports appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/exploring-the-world-of-diplomacy-through-sports/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC will face the Kansas State Wildcats on ESPN to open its 2023-2024 season.
The post Men’s basketball takes high expectations to Vegas appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/mens-basketball-takes-high-expectations-to-vegas/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
After defeating Arizona on Friday, the Trojans also won their second conference meet against ASU the following day.
The post Women’s swim and dive wins conference opener appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/womens-swim-and-dive-wins-conference-opener/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
A new era for the Trojans will begin against the No. 7 Buckeyes in Las Vegas.
The post Women’s basketball heads to Sin City appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/womens-basketball-heads-to-sin-city/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC earned its first conference victory in a defensive battle against the Cardinal.
The post Men’s water polo knocks off Stanford appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/mens-water-polo-knocks-off-stanford/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The McClintock Theatre hosted the new School of Dramatic Arts production.
The post ‘Hit the Wall’ inspires LGBTQIA+ student community appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/hit-the-wall-inspires-lgbtqia-student-community/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The cinematic film captivates audiences with a new take on the Elvis family.
The post ‘Priscilla’ reconstructs Elvis Presley history appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/priscilla-reconstructs-elvis-presley-history/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Thornton student ensembles took center stage at Carson Soundstage Thursday night.
The post Guitar Showcase sets the night on fire appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/guitar-showcase-sets-the-night-on-fire/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
I’m having trouble telling dreams and reality apart, but life goes on.
The post Getting up is hard, losing time with loved ones is harder appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/getting-up-is-hard-losing-time-with-loved-ones-is-harder/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
By looking at old media with rose-colored glasses, we’re missing out on the present.
The post Nostalgia is ruining our perceptions appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/nostalgia-is-ruining-our-perceptions/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Despite Carrot’s efforts to reach out to students, some say they aren’t receptive.
The post Carrot Guy promotes social app appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/do-students-dig-the-carrot-guy/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Many posters were ripped down in videos that have gone viral across the nation.
The post Students raise awareness for hostages held by Hamas appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/students-raise-awareness-for-hostages-held-by-hamas/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC students are torn over the merit of automated ticketing for speeding drivers.
The post Speed cameras to be installed around L.A. appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/06/speed-cameras-to-be-installed-around-l-a/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
I’m not a big Python-using programmer and so I lack the experience to handle unexpected issues. Yesterday I ran into something I think is worth documenting for myself. Perhaps I’ll run into it in another year’s time.
The symptom I noticed yesterday was that weasyprint wouldn’t hyphenate the PDFs I was generating. I suspected that it might be related to the recent switch to Debian 12.
I installed weasyprint again:
sudo apt install weasyprint
That seemed to have no effect. So I decided I’d like to install weasyprint from PyPI again.
pip3 install weasyprint
This resulted in a strange error:
Could not fetch URL https://pypi.org/simple/weasyprint/: There was a problem confirming the ssl certificate: HTTPSConnectionPool(host=‘pypi.org’, port=443): Max retries exceeded with url: /simple/weasyprint/ (Caused by SSLError(“Can’t connect to HTTPS URL because the SSL module is not available.”)) - skipping
It took me a while to understand what this was about.
I rediscovered that I was running pyenv when I tried to verify the Python version I was running:
$ which pip3
/home/alex/.pyenv/shims/pip3
I had installed pyenv so I was using my own self-compiled Python which was in fact missing the SSL library it had been compiled against. I suspect that it’s the same disappearing library that caused me so much headache when I moved to Debian 12: libcrypt1.
@jonny helped me realize that uninstalling it all might be the answer.
I wasn’t quite sure how to uninstall pyenv. I could uninstall the environment I was using, but it kept listing it as unavailable. Then I remembered why I had installed pyenv in the first place: I had needed a newer Python to install the latest weasyprint! Since I now had a newer system Ptyhon I probably didn’t need pyenv any more and so I deleted what I found in “/.local” and the line I had added to “/.config/fish/config.fish” and restarted my shell.
When I tried to install weasyprint using my system’s pip, it warned me about messing up my system’s Python and recommended using a virtual environment. This seems reasonable and so that’s what I did.
sudo apt install python3.11-venv
mkdir ~/.local/weasyprint
python3 -m venv .local/weasyprint/
.local/weasyprint/bin/pip install weasyprint
cd /home/alex/.local/bin/
rm weasyprint
ln -s ~/.local/weasyprint/bin/weasyprint .
And now hyphenation works again!
If you’re curious, there’s a link of posts going into the benefits of weasyprint here: Markdown instead of LaTeX, Writing Markdown, generating PDF, Markdown to PDF.
#Administration #Python #Programming #Markdown
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2023-11-06-pyenv
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who, me? Oh for heavens’ sakes is it Monday already? Far out. Well, if you’re here anyway, you may as well read another instalment of Who, Me? – The Register’s weekly attempt to look on the bright side of the working week by revelling in the misfortune of others.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/who_me/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Care
<p>A letter from Logic(s) Editor-in-Chief J. Khadijah Abdurahman. </p>https://logicmag.io/policy/what-meaningful-words-remain-to-be-said
date: 2023-11-06, from: Hannah Richie at Substack
Low-carbon electricity will reduce material requirements, but moving to electric vehicles increases them
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/energy-transition-materials
date: 2023-11-06, from: Tilde.news
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Asia in brief Alibaba announced on Friday it would make Salesforce cloud products and platform available on its Cloud Platfrom beginning December 18, 2023.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/asia_in_brief/
date: 2023-11-06, from: VOA News USA
A caravan of at least hundreds of migrants left from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Sunday heading for the U.S. southern border.
The smaller caravan plans to join a larger one that left six days ago and is currently stopped about 40 kilometers north of the town of Huixtla.
Organizers said the first had swelled to some 7,000 people while the government in the southern Chiapas state said it estimated the group at 3,500 people.
Many migrants are fleeing poverty and political instability in their homelands, hailing from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and especially Honduras and Venezuela, according to a Reuters witness.
“I think 3.4 months is too long to wait to get a humanitarian visa, to be able to travel through Mexican territory,” said Selma Alvarez from Venezuela. “Because we are at the mercy of coyotes, of criminals, it is good that we accompany each other in the caravan. It seems safer to me.”
Alvarez added that the group was impatient to get to the U.S. border and start the process to enter the U.S. with appointments secured via a U.S. government app, CBP One, and request asylum.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, is under pressure to lower the number of people crossing illegally into the U.S. from Mexico.
A record number of people this year have crossed the Darien Gap region connecting Panama and Colombia.
https://www.voanews.com/a/hundreds-leave-to-join-mexico-migrant-caravan-headed-for-us/7343044.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Founder and Director of the Hidden Road Initiative Nanor Balabanian received text messages from her students asking her to save them from Azerbaijan’s bombardment of Artsakh. The Nagorno Karabakh Republic, also known as Artsakh, is a self-determined state recognized internationally as a part of Azerbaijan. A majority of its population is Armenian. On Sept. 19,…
https://sundial.csun.edu/176746/news/letters-to-artsakh/
date: 2023-11-06, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office helicopter spotted the vehicle at Island Waterpark Drive.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281471893.html
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Another shootout loss is the final straw for the defensive coordinator’s USC tenure.
The post Trojans part ways with Alex Grinch appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/05/usc-parts-ways-with-alex-grinch/
date: 2023-11-06, from: John Naughton’s online diary
Betjeman Towers Every time I pass through St Pancras station I think of him. Quote of the Day ”War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.” Ambrose Bierce Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Fleetwood Mac | The Chain … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/monday-6-november-2023/38786/
date: 2023-11-06, from: City of Santa Clarita
Have You Been to Central Park Recently? By City Manager Ken Striplin “Great art picks up where nature ends.” – Marc Chagall Last month, the City Council proudly cut the ribbon and welcomed our residents to the new 15-acres of enhanced and upgraded amenities at Central Park. Including new multipurpose fields, an additional basketball court, […]
The post Have You Been to Central Park Recently? appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2023/11/05/have-you-been-to-central-park-recently/
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Signal
By David Hegg We’ve all heard it. It’s one of those sayings you hear and smile at, and then forget. Originally penned during World War II, medical doctor Gordon A. Eadie wrote, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” In his article, Eadie was identifying the truth that the worldwide war was […]
The post David Hegg | Standing and Falling appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/david-hegg-standing-and-falling/
date: 2023-11-06, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Bellotti, Valentina; Wang, Hyun Suk; Truong Phuoc, Nghia; Simonutti, Roberto; Anastasaki, Athina
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/638449
date: 2023-11-06, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Nikolic, Marin; Cesarini, Alessia; Billeter, Emanuel; Weyand, Fabian; Trtik, Pavel; Strobl, Markus; Borgschulte, Andreas
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/638252
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Signal
A brush fire broke out and was swiftly contained Sunday on Soledad Canyon Road along the northbound lanes of State Route 14, east of Shadow Pines Boulevard, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. According to an alert on PulsePoint, the 10-by-10 fire was first reported at 2:27 p.m. According to Supervising Fire Dispatcher […]
The post Brush fire contained on Soledad Canyon Road appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/brush-fire-reported-on-soledad-canyon-road/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Dave Karpf’s blog
A preemptive reply to some arguments I expect to hear in 2024
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/what-elections-are-for
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-11-05, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
have an itch to make a simple chat program for a workgroup whose
only output is a simple RSS 2.0 feed. Uses Markdown and supports
full textcasting. Open source of course. Something people can test their
apps against. A model for the kind of feed I’d like to see every social
network generate for each user. Think of it as a lifeboat or an
insurance policy that whatever you write in this place can be forever,
even if the service goes away. Imagine if
T2
had a vision like this, instead of just re-creating Twitter. It’s 2023,
Twitter was new in
2007.
There’s a whole generation of developers who have never seen any real
innovation on the web.
http://scripting.com/2023/11/05.html#a214724
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Micron’s fortunes in China appear to be on the mend after the Middle Kingdom’s commerce minister invited the US chipmaker to expand its investments in the region.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/05/china_micron_processors/
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit Sunday to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Blinken urged the Iraqi prime minister to hold accountable those responsible for continuing attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and fulfill Iraq’s commitments to protect all installations hosting U.S. personnel at the invitation of the Iraqi government.
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets in recent days, as more U.S. forces deploy to the Middle East to support regional deterrence efforts. U.S. military officials have blamed Iranian-backed proxies for the near-daily attacks on U.S. forces.
Blinken received a security briefing on the threat to U.S. facilities at the U.S. Embassy prior to his talks with al-Sudani, which lasted for more than an hour.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting Sunday, Blinken said al-Sudani is “working with his own security forces and others to take necessary action” to deal with attacks on U.S. forces and to prevent further attacks.
“This is a matter of Iraqi sovereignty. No country wants to have militia groups engaged in violent activity,” Blinken said at a news conference Sunday.
“We have a shared purpose and commitment in trying to make sure that these attacks don’t happen,” he added.
Al-Sudani has spoken out against those attacks. He reportedly will begin a regional tour to Iran and the Persian Gulf nations Monday.
Blinken and al-Sudani also discussed the need to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading, including in Iraq.
In a phone call on October 23, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin thanked al-Sudani for reaffirming the Iraqi government’s full commitment to protect U.S. forces in Iraq.
Earlier Sunday, Blinken held talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in another unannounced visit to the West Bank, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance and resume essential services in Gaza as Israel’s war against Hamas intensifies.
Blinken told reporters that he and Abbas agreed that it is critical for the Palestinian Authority to play a leading role in the future of Gaza.
“With regard to [the] future of Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian views, Palestinian voices, Palestinian aspirations need to be at the center of that,” Blinken said Sunday. “The Palestinian Authority is the representative of those voices so it’s important that they play a leading role.”
The top U.S. diplomat was headed to Turkey, where he will hold talks with officials in Ankara.
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Signal
Boy Scouts of America Troop 2222 cycled 50 miles through Santa Clarita’s bike paths and paseos without leaving city limits on Sunday. The event marked the culmination of months of training and resulted in the participants earning one of the most crucial badges that the organization has to offer. “We go way to the end […]
The post <strong>BSA troop cycles 50 miles without leaving Santa Clarita</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/bsa-troop-cycles-50-miles-without-leaving-santa-clarita/
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
In 2008 during the great recession, Angela Padilla went through a series of hardships that put her into a desperate situation — the company she worked for closed down before she gave birth to her son, leaving her as an unemployed single mother. But when she made the decision to go back to school to…
date: 2023-11-05, from: Om Malik blog
“….the rich were kept in power by the connivance of the educated classes, who encouraged the People to vote into office the lickspittle frontmen of the Elite who would make promises they had no intention of keeping and assure the People that their votes would bring better times and a more honest and equitable society.” …
https://om.co/2023/11/05/hope-is-the-ultimate-drug/
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Signal
Four words could constantly be heard at the beginning of “Touch-a-Truck” attendees’ sentences on Saturday: “Let’s go see the …” After that would come words such as “fire truck,” “mail truck,” “moving truck,” “garbage truck” or “school bus.” Central Park filled with hundreds of residents on Saturday at the Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation’s annual […]
The post <strong>Attendees of all ages take the driver’s seat at ‘Touch-a-Truck’</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/attendees-of-all-ages-take-the-drivers-seat-at-touch-a-truck/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Shady Characters
The Empire of the Sum audio book is out now, narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick, and this is your chance to win one of four (four!) free copies at audiobooks.com. To enter, leave a comment on this post with a valid email address so that I can contact you in the event that you win.
https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2023/11/win-empire-audiobook/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Jeff Geerling blog
Reducing Raspberry Pi 5’s power consumption by 140x
<div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Sorry to clickbait with that title... but it's actually true. I can help you improve power use by 140x—for <em>power off</em> power consumption, at least.</p>
By default, the Raspberry Pi 5 (like the Pi 4 before it) leaves the SoC powered up (just in a shutdown state) when you shut down the Pi.
Because of this, a Pi 5 will still sit there consuming 1.2-1.6W when completely shut down, even without anything plugged in except power.
That’s a lot—even compared to a modern desktop PC!
Why is this?
Apparently some HATs have trouble if the 3v3 power rail is off, but 5v is still active—which would be the case if you completely power off the SoC, but still have your 5V power supply plugged in.
Because of that, the Pi ships by default with the setting
POWER_OFF_ON_HALT=0, and the Pi eats up precious watts all
the time.
<span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Jeff Geerling</span></span>
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/reducing-raspberry-pi-5s-power-consumption-140x
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
More than a dozen U.S. states have enacted or introduced legislation to restrict drag shows. The moves are the product of socially conservative momentum against shows where performers who are mostly men dress mostly as women. Gustavo Martinez Contreras reports from a unique show in New Mexico. Camera: Gustavo Martinez Contreras.
https://www.voanews.com/a/indigenous-drag-queens-combine-politics-glitter-/7342603.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The self-proclaimed “King of the $20 Scratchers” says it’s his biggest win so far.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281461998.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Possible target of gunfire uncooperative.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article281463493.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Bruins take home bragging rights in a final meeting under the Pac-12 banner.
The post UCLA routs Trojans in final regular season match appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/05/ucla-routs-trojans-in-final-regular-season-match/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Om Malik blog
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX and Alameda Research, has been found guilty and is likely going to spend time in jail. There is no shortage of hot takes and explainers about SBF and his crimes. However, when I think about SBF and FTX, this story—more so than that of Elizabeth Holmes and her saga—is …
https://om.co/2023/11/05/sbf-saga-the-process-breakdown/
date: 2023-11-05, from: OS News
WinRAR has a massive security hole that’s still being actively exploited, and it’s one of many Windows applications that do not auto-update. The developer boasts of more than 500 million WinRAR installations around the world, so it’s likely that hundreds of millions of PCs are vulnerable to malicious ZIP files today. How is it that, in 2023, the world’s most popular desktop operating system doesn’t provide an easy way to update your installed applications? It baffles me that Windows and macOS users still have to manually keep track of and update each and every one of their applications individually, like it’s 1997 or something. Stay safe. It’s the wild west out there for some of you.
date: 2023-11-05, from: OS News
Google engineers on Wednesday posted an initial “request for comments” set of patches that re-implement Android’s Binder code within the Linux kernel in the Rust programming language rather than C. Binder remains a critical piece of Android’s software stack and for increasing the robustness and security, Google is pursuing a rewrite of the C code in Rust. Binder is responsible for inter-process communication (IPC) and other tasks on Android while replacing it with memory-safe Rust code should be a big step-up for system security. Rust is everywhere.
https://www.osnews.com/story/137745/google-rewriting-androids-binder-in-rust-with-promising-results/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
An inside look at the 95-yard kickoff return touchdown by Malik Sherrod, the Bulldogs’ first since 2008.
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/article281444988.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: Dan Rather’s Steady
A Reason To Smile
https://steady.substack.com/p/the-power-of-a-breath
date: 2023-11-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Analysis The White House wants to know who is deploying AI compute clusters and training large language models — but for now only the really, really, big ones.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/11/05/biden_ai_reporting_thresholds/
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record to win the New York City Marathon men’s race on Sunday while Hellen Obiri of Kenya pulled away in the final 400 meters to take the women’s title.
Tola finished in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds, topping the 2:05.06 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Tola pulled away from countrymate Jemal Yimer when the pair were heading toward the Bronx at mile 20. By the time Tola headed back into Manhattan a mile later he was up by 19 seconds and left only chasing Mutai’s mark.
Albert Korir of Kenya, who won the 2021 NYC Marathon, finished second nearly 2 minutes behind Tola.
While the men’s race was well decided before the last few miles, the women’s race came down to the stretch. Obiri, Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia and defending champion Sharon Lokedi were all running together exchanging the lead. Obiri made a move as the trio headed back into Central Park for the final half-mile and finished in 2:27.23. Gidey finished second, 6 seconds behind.
Lokedi was 10 seconds behind Obiri, who won the Boston Marathon in April.
This was a stellar women’s field that was expected to potentially take down the course record of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003. Unlike last year when the weather was unseasonably warm with temperatures in the 70s, Sunday’s race was much cooler with it being in the 50s — ideal conditions for record breaking times and for the 50,000 runners.
Instead the women had a tactical race with 11 runners, including Americans Kellyn Taylor and Molly Huddle in the lead pack for the first 20 miles. Taylor and Huddle both led the group at points before falling back and finishing in eighth and ninth.
Once the lead group came back into Manhattan for the final few miles, Obiri, Gidey and Lokedi pushed the pace.
As the trio entered Central Park they further distanced themselves from Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, who finished fourth.
The men’s and women’s winners finished within a few minutes of each other. About an hour earlier, Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race, finishing a few seconds short of his own course record by finishing in 1:25.29. It was the Swiss star’s record-extending sixth NYC Marathon victory.
“It’s incredible. I think it takes some time to realize what happened,” Hug said. “I’m so happy as well.”
He’s the most decorated champion in the wheelchair race at the event, breaking a tie with Tatyana McFadden and Kurt Fearnley for most wins in the division in event history.
Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won her New York debut, shattering the course record in the women’s wheelchair race. She finished in 1:39.32, besting the previous mark by over 3 minutes, which was held by American Susannah Scaroni.
“It’s difficult to describe in words. I said to my coach if I win this race, it’s the best performance I ever showed,” she said. “Knew it’s the toughest marathon of all. It was the first time. I knew it was going to be so tough.”
Debrunner and Tola both earned a $50,000 bonus for topping the previous course records.
Tickets to Paris
Daniel Romanchuk and Aaron Pike qualified for the 2024 Paris Games by finishing as the top Americans in the men’s wheelchair race. Scaroni and McFadden qualified on the women’s side for the Olympics.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
The head remains missing following his arrest, police told a news outlet.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article281459578.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
Someone suffered a mouth injury.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/recalls/article281453988.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: Liliputing
There’s a new mini PC available that features a AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, DDR5-5600 memory, and plenty of connectivity options including two Ethernet ports, support for up to three 4K displays, and a 40 Gbps USB4 port. It also has a somewhat gaudy chassis with a top cover that features RGB lighting effects and the […]
The post This mini PC combines Ryzen 7 7840HS with a “Cyberpunk” design for $559 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/this-mini-pc-combines-ryzen-7-7840hs-with-a-cyberpunk-design-for-559-and-up/
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Signal
By Signal Staff Several people were injured when an SUV doing “doughnuts” on Town Center Drive lost control and struck at least one person shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials. The SUV left the scene, and shortly thereafter sheriff’s deputies stopped an SUV on Magic Mountain Parkway and detained […]
The post Deputies: Vehicle loses control doing ‘doughnuts’ on Town Center Drive; several injured appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Gary Marcus blog
Essentially every conversation about “driverless cars” over the last decade has to be rethought — with important implications as well for “AGI timelines”.
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/rethinking-driverless-cars
date: 2023-11-06, from: The LAist
The company behind Sriracha told us production has resumed.
https://laist.com/news/food/the-great-sriracha-shortage-is-over-for-now
date: 2023-11-05, from: The LAist
Actors are striking over residual payments for streaming and the use of artificial intelligence, among other issues.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links A link-clump demands a linkdump: Fit the ninth. This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading A link-clump demands a linkdump (permalink) Cometh the weekend, cometh the linkdump. My daily-ish newsletter includes a section called “Hey look at this,” with three short links per day, but sometimes those links get backed up and I need to clean house. Here’s the eight previous installments: https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/ The country code top level domain (ccTLD) for the Caribbean island nation of Anguilla is .ai, and that’s turned into millions of dollars worth of royalties as “entrepreneurs” scramble to sprinkle some buzzword-compliant AI stuff on their businesses in the most superficial way possible: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/08/ai-fever-turns-anguillas-ai-domain-into-a-digital-gold-mine/ All told, .ai domain royalties will account for about ten percent of the country’s GDP. It’s actually kind of nice to see Anguilla finding some internet money at long last. Back in the 1990s, when I was a freelance web developer, I got hired to work on the investor website for a publicly traded internet casino based in Anguilla that was a scammy disaster in every conceivable way. The company had been conceived of by people who inherited a modestly successful chain of print-shops and decided to diversify by buying a dormant penny mining stock and relaunching it as an online casino. But of course, online casinos were illegal nearly everywhere. Not in Anguilla – or at least, that’s what the founders told us – which is why they located their servers there, despite the lack of broadband or, indeed, reliable electricity at their data-center. At a certain point, the whole thing started to whiff of a stock swindle, a pump-and-dump where they’d sell off shares in that ex-mining stock to people who knew even less about the internet than they did and skedaddle. I got out, and lost track of them, and a search for their names and business today turns up nothing so I assume that it flamed out before it could ruin any retail investors’ lives. Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory, one of those former British colonies that was drained and then given “independence” by paternalistic imperial administrators half a world away. The country’s main industries are tourism and “finance” – which is to say, it’s a pearl in the globe-spanning necklace of tax- and corporate-crime-havens the UK established around the world so its most vicious criminals – the hereditary aristocracy – can continue to use Britain’s roads and exploit its educated workforce without paying any taxes. This is the “finance curse,” and there are tiny, struggling nations all around the world that live under it. Nick Shaxson dubbed them “Treasure Islands” in his outstanding book of the same name: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230341722/treasureislands I can’t imagine that the AI bubble will last forever – anything that can’t go on forever eventually stops – and when it does, those .ai domain royalties will dry up. But until then, I salute Anguilla, which has at last found the internet riches that I played a small part in bringing to it in the previous century. The AI bubble is indeed overdue for a popping, but while the market remains gripped by irrational exuberance, there’s lots of weird stuff happening around the edges. Take Inject My PDF, which embeds repeating blocks of invisible text into your resume: https://kai-greshake.de/posts/inject-my-pdf/ The text is tuned to make resume-sorting Large Language Models identify you as the ideal candidate for the job. It’ll even trick the summarizer function into spitting out text that does not appear in any human-readable form on your CV. Embedding weird stuff into resumes is a hacker tradition. I first encountered it at the Chaos Communications Congress in 2012, when Ang Cui used it as an example in his stellar “Print Me If You Dare” talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njVv7J2azY8 Cui figured out that one way to update the software of a printer was to embed an invisible Postscript instruction in a document that basically said, “everything after this is a firmware update.” Then he came up with 100 lines of perl that he hid in documents with names like cv.pdf that would flash the printer when they ran, causing it to probe your LAN for vulnerable PCs and take them over, opening a reverse-shell to his command-and-control server in the cloud. Compromised printers would then refuse to apply future updates from their owners, but would pretend to install them and even update their version numbers to give verisimilitude to the ruse. The only way to exorcise these haunted printers was to send ‘em to the landfill. Good times! Printers are still a dumpster fire, and it’s not solely about the intrinsic difficulty of computer security. After all, printer manufacturers have devoted enormous resources to hardening their products against their owners, making it progressively harder to use third-party ink. They’re super perverse about it, too – they send “security updates” to your printer that update the printer’s security against you – run these updates and your printer downgrades itself by refusing to use the ink you chose for it: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer It’s a reminder that what a monopolist thinks of as “security” isn’t what you think of as security. Oftentimes, their security is antithetical to your security. That was the case with Web Environment Integrity, a plan by Google to make your phone rat you out to advertisers’ servers, revealing any adblocking modifications you might have installed so that ad-serving companies could refuse to talk to you: https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai WEI is now dead, thanks to a lot of hueing and crying by people like us: https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/02/google_abandons_web_environment_integrity/ But the dream of securing Google against its own users lives on. Youtube has embarked on an aggressive campaign of refusing to show videos to people running ad-blockers, triggering an arms-race of ad-blocker-blockers and ad-blocker-blocker-blockers: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-will-the-ad-versus-ad-blocker-arms-race-end/ The folks behind Ublock Origin are racing to keep up with Google’s engineers’ countermeasures, and there’s a single-serving website called “Is uBlock Origin updated to the last Anti-Adblocker YouTube script?” that will give you a realtime, one-word status update: https://drhyperion451.github.io/does-uBO-bypass-yt/ One in four web users has an ad-blocker, a stat that Doc Searls pithily summarizes as “the biggest boycott in world history”: https://doc.searls.com/2015/09/28/beyond-ad-blocking-the-biggest-boycott-in-human-history/ Zero app users have ad-blockers. That’s not because ad-blocking an app is harder than ad-blocking the web – it’s because reverse-engineering an app triggers liability under IP laws like Section 1201 of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which can put you away for 5 years for a first offense. That’s what I mean when I say that “IP is anything that lets a company control its customers, critics or competitors: https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/ I predicted that apps would open up all kinds of opportunities for abusive, monopolistic conduct back in 2010, and I’m experiencing a mix of sadness and smugness (I assume there’s a German word for this emotion) at being so thoroughly vindicated by history: https://memex.craphound.com/2010/04/01/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-you-shouldnt-either/ The more control a company can exert over its customers, the worse it will be tempted to treat them. These systems of control shift the balance of power within companies, making it harder for internal factions that defend product quality and customer interests to win against the enshittifiers: https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/ The result has been a Great Enshittening, with platforms of all description shifting value from their customers and users to their shareholders, making everything palpably worse. The only bright side is that this has created the political will to do something about it, sparking a wave of bold, muscular antitrust action all over the world. The Google antitrust case is certainly the most important corporate lawsuit of the century (so far), but Judge Amit Mehta’s deference to Google’s demands for secrecy has kept the case out of the headlines. I mean, Sam Bankman-Fried is a psychopathic thief, but even so, his trial does not deserve its vastly greater prominence, though, if you haven’t heard yet, he’s been convicted and will face decades in prison after he exhausts his appeals: https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/sam-bankman-fried-guilty-on-all-charges The secrecy around Google’s trial has relaxed somewhat, and the trickle of revelations emerging from the cracks in the courthouse are fascinating. For the first time, we’re able to get a concrete sense of which queries are the most lucrative for Google: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/1/23941766/google-antitrust-trial-search-queries-ad-money The list comes from 2018, but it’s still wild. As David Pierce writes in The Verge, the top twenty includes three iPhone-related terms, five insurance queries, and the rest are overshadowed by searches for customer service info for monopolistic services like Xfinity, Uber and Hulu. All-in-all, we’re living through a hell of a moment for piercing the corporate veil. Maybe it’s the problem of maintaining secrecy within large companies, or maybe the the rampant mistreatment of even senior executives has led to more leaks and whistleblowing. Either way, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the anonymous leaker who revealed the unbelievable pettiness of former HBO president of programming Casey Bloys, who ordered his underlings to create an army of sock-puppet Twitter accounts to harass TV and movie critics who panned HBO’s shows: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/hbo-casey-bloys-secret-twitter-trolls-tv-critics-leaked-texts-lawsuit-the-idol-1234867722/ These trolling attempts were pathetic, even by the standards of thick-fingered corporate execs. Like, accusing critics who panned the shitty-ass Perry Mason reboot of disrespecting veterans because the fictional Mason’s back-story had him storming the beach on D-Day. The pushback against corporate bullying is everywhere, and of course, the vanguard is the labor movement. Did you hear that the UAW won their strike against the auto-makers, scoring raises for all workers based on the increases in the companies’ CEO pay? The UAW isn’t done, either! Their incredible new leader, Shawn Fain, has called for a general strike in 2028: https://www.404media.co/uaw-calls-on-workers-to-line-up-massive-general-strike-for-2028-to-defeat-billionaire-class/ The massive victory for unionized auto-workers has thrown a spotlight on the terrible working conditions and pay for workers at Tesla, a criminal company that has no compunctions about violating labor law to prevent its workers from exercising their legal rights. Over in Sweden, union workers are teaching Tesla a lesson. After the company tried its illegal union-busting playbook on Tesla service centers, the unionized dock-workers issued an ultimatum: respect your workers or face a blockade at Sweden’s ports that would block any Tesla from being unloaded into the EU’s fifth largest Tesla market: https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-sweden-strike/ Of course, the real solution to Teslas – and every other kind of car – is to redesign our cities for public transit, walking and cycling, making cars the exception for deliveries, accessibility and other necessities. Transitioning to EVs will make a big dent in the climate emergency, but it won’t make our streets any safer – and they keep getting deadlier. Last summer, my dear old pal Ted Kulczycky got in touch with me to tell me that Talking Heads were going to be all present in public for the first time since the band’s breakup, as part of the debut of the newly remastered print of Stop Making Sense, the greatest concert movie of all time. Even better, the show would be in Toronto, my hometown, where Ted and I went to high-school together, at TIFF. Ted is the only person I know who is more obsessed with Talking Heads than I am, and he started working on tickets for the show while I starting pricing plane tickets. And then, the unthinkable happened: Ted’s wife, Serah, got in touch to say that Ted had been run over by a car while getting off of a streetcar, that he was severely injured, and would require multiple surgeries. But this was Ted, so of course he was still planning to see the show. And he did, getting a day-pass from the hospital and showing up looking like someone from a Kids In The Hall sketch who’d been made up to look like someone who’d been run over by a car: https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/53182440282/ In his Globe and Mail article about Ted’s experience, Brad Wheeler describes how the whole hospital rallied around Ted to make it possible for him to get to the movie: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-how-a-talking-heads-superfan-found-healing-with-the-concert-film-stop/ He also mentions that Ted is working on a book and podcast about Stop Making Sense. I visited Ted in the hospital the day after the gig and we talked about the book and it sounds amazing. Also? The movie was incredible. See it in Imax. That heartwarming tale of healing through big suits is a pretty good place to wrap up this linkdump, but I want to call your attention to just one more thing before I go: Robin Sloan’s Snarkmarket piece about blogging and”stock and flow”: https://snarkmarket.com/2010/4890/ Sloan makes the excellent case that for writers, having a “flow” of short, quick posts builds the audience for a “stock” of longer, more synthetic pieces like books. This has certainly been my experience, but I think it’s only part of the story – there are good, non-mercenary reasons for writers to do a lot of “flow.” As I wrote in my 2021 essay, “The Memex Method,” turning your commonplace book into a database – AKA “blogging” – makes you write better notes to yourself because you know others will see them: https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/ This, in turn, creates a supersaturated, subconscious solution of fragments that are just waiting to nucleate and crystallize into full-blown novels and nonfiction books and other “stock.” That’s how I came out of lockdown with nine new books. The next one is The Lost Cause, a hopepunk science fiction novel about the climate whose early fans include Naomi Klein, Rebecca Solnit, Bill McKibben and Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s out on November 14: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago FCC screws America, adopts Broadcast Flag, doom, gloom, armageddon https://web.archive.org/web/20040611171815/https://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/20031104_eff_pr.php #20yrsago Human genome online https://web.archive.org/web/20031129191516/http://www.ensembl.org/ #15yrsago Spider Robinson’s “Very Hard Choices” — rigorous, science fictional look at telepathy’s problems https://memex.craphound.com/2008/11/04/spider-robinsons-very-hard-choices-rigorous-science-fictional-look-at-telepathys-problems/ #10yrsago Fighting patent trolls and corruption with the Magnificent Seven business-model https://locusmag.com/2013/11/cory-doctorow-collective-action/ #10yrsago Explaining the banned phrases in a Chinese microblogging client https://blockedonweibo.tumblr.com/post/65525907975/the-chinese-keywords-on-messaging-app-lines-bad #10yrsago Rob Ford hired a hacker to nuke the crack-smoking video https://www.vice.com/en/article/dpw89x/rob-fords-office-hired-a-hacker-to-destroy-the-crack-tape #10yrsago A conversation with Terry Pratchett, author of The Carpet People https://memex.craphound.com/2013/11/05/a-conversation-with-terry-pratchett-author-of-the-carpet-people/ #5yrsago Voting systems in Wisconsin and Kentucky are running FTP. Seriously. https://www.propublica.org/article/file-sharing-software-on-state-election-servers-could-expose-them-to-intruders #5yrsago Two Goldman Sachs bankers charged in multibillion-dollar Malaysian money-laundering scam https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/former-goldman-sachs-bankers-charged-multibillion-dollar-money-laundering-scandal-n929916 #5yrsago Analyst: Apple’s poor earnings will recover now they’ve switched from innovating to rent-seeking https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/04/analyst-apples-poor-earnings-will-recover-now-theyve-switched-from-innovating-to-rent-seeking/ #5yrsago The Ghastlygun Tinies: MAD’s Edward Gorey satire that takes aim at school shootings https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/04/the-ghastlygun-tinies-mads-edward-gorey-satire-that-takes-aim-at-school-shootings/ Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: 404 Media (https://www.404media.co/), Kottke (https://kottke.org/), Boing Boing (https://boingboing.net/), Roz Doctorow. Currently writing: A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING Picks and Shovels, a Martin Hench noir thriller about the heroic era of the PC. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS JAN 2025 The Bezzle, a Martin Hench noir thriller novel about the prison-tech industry. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS FEB 2024 Vigilant, Little Brother short story about remote invigilation. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Moral Hazard, a short story for MIT Tech Review’s 12 Tomorrows. FIRST DRAFT COMPLETE, ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION Spill, a Little Brother short story about pipeline protests. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Latest podcast: The Canadian Miracle, Part 1 (https://craphound.com/news/2023/11/01/the-canadian-miracle-part-1/ Upcoming appearances: Second Life Book Club, with Rebecca Giblin, Nov 8/17hPT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L07T82M_xzk The New Luddites Seizing the Means of Computation, with Brian Merchant (Hallway Track), Nov 9 https://www.verylittlegravitas.com/hallwaytrack CBC IDEAS, Nov 16 (Stratford, ON) https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-ideas-visionaries-in-conversation-tickets-729692809837 Inspiring the Next Generation, Nov 16 (Stratford, ON) https://www.provocation.ca/upcoming-2023-events-stratford Gibson’s Bookstore, Nov 18 (Concord, NH) https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/doctorow-lost-cause Lost Cause at Simsbury Public Library, Nov 20 (Simsbury, CT) https://simsbury.librarycalendar.com/event/author-visit-cory-doctorow-29257 Generation of Lost Causes, Nov 22 (Toronto) https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT495758&R=EVT495758 Who Is Watching Big Tech? Nov 27 (Toronto)` https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT496408&R=EVT496408 The Lost Cause at The Strand (NYC), Nov 29 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cory-doctorow-the-lost-cause-tickets-734958008187 The Lost Cause at Flyleaf Books (Chapel Hill), Dec 7 https://www.flyleafbooks.com/doctorow-2023 Recent appearances: An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw It Into Reverse (Hackaday Supercon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT1ud0rAT7w The Material Power That Rules Computation (This Machine Kills) https://soundcloud.com/thismachinekillspod/294-the-material-power-that-rules-computation-ft-cory-doctorow The Science in the Fiction https://www.buzzsprout.com/2201157/13896228-ep-14-cory-doctorow-on-the-lost-cause-red-team-blues-and-chokepoint-capitalism Latest books: “The Internet Con”: A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). “Red Team Blues”: “A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before.” Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. Signed copies at Dark Delicacies (US): and Forbidden Planet (UK): https://forbiddenplanet.com/385004-red-team-blues-signed-edition-hardcover/. “Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin”, on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com “Attack Surface”: The third Little Brother novel, a standalone technothriller for adults. The Washington Post called it “a political cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution and resistance.” Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1840/Available_Now%3A_Attack_Surface.html “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism”: an anti-monopoly pamphlet analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a solution. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59?sk=f6cd10e54e20a07d4c6d0f3ac011af6b) (signed copies: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2024/Available_Now%3A__How_to_Destroy_Surveillance_Capitalism.html) “Little Brother/Homeland”: A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html “Poesy the Monster Slayer” a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed copy here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2682/Corey_Doctorow%3A_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer_HB.html#/. Upcoming books: The Lost Cause: a post-Green New Deal eco-topian novel about truth and reconciliation with white nationalist militias, Tor Books, November 2023 The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books, February 2024 Picks and Shovels: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books, February 2025 Unauthorized Bread: a graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2025 This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic “When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla” -Joey “Accordion Guy” DeVilla
https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/05/variegated/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Tilde.news
https://citizen428.net/blog/exploring-uiua/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
When
professionals look at ChatGPT they see someone stealing their ideas.
When I look at it, as an amateur in everything but what I specialize in,
I see new ways to express myself. This is what technology has been doing
since our species started thinking and sharing ideas, thus creating our
civilization. So which should I value more, the new ideas I’ll be able
to send and receive, or protecting the cash flow of others. I get it, I
used to depend on the cash generated from my software. But it’s funny
almost none of that money came from individual sales of software. And
value is manifested in many other ways than dollars.
The last month for me has been a revelation, as I can talk with ChatGPT and get it to express my wishes to DALL-E in a language it understands better than I do, and the net result is I can show you visually how I think about things I write about here. For example, I’ve been trying to come up with a way to visualize RSS. Not as some dead thing as Google and others tried to make you see it as. Rather as a bunch of balloons on a perfect day in the high desert of New Mexico. I asked that every balloon say RSS, but it could only manage one. Still the point gets through.
You should feel proud of RSS because it was something created by you, not by the tech industry. We can do a lot more stuff like that if we choose to work together. It’s one of those weird things like making a balloon lighter than air so you, a flightless animal, can fly around in the wind on a gorgeous day with other humans.
With the ChatGPT and DALL-E connection we’re finally somewhere I honestly never thought we’d get, at least not in my lifetime – you will be able to write your own software by telling a computer what you want. And it will be infinitely better at listening to you, with its full attention, its mind engaged 100 percent, able to talk with you at whatever level you are able to. With that, you can certainly create software, and through trial and error that used to take decades of experience, you can get results – in weeks and months. I don’t want to scare you, my programmer colleagues, but our craft is being reformed by this too.
I tried an experiment a few days ago. I got a random question that made no sense, about RSS and local files and seemed to depend on magic. I get these all the time and I don’t have the intellectual ability or patience to understand what they’re saying. So I pasted the email verbatim into ChatGPT and it answered the question. I sent the person a link to the answer, and he responded, cryptically as before, but apparently ChatGPT understood what he was asking for, where I did not. Now we’re getting a glympse at the future.
There’s this Silicon Valley expression – A’s hire A’s and B’s hire C’s. Here we are presented with that conundrum, but we’re the B and we could hire an A. I guess that’s the question.
BTW, Andrew Hickey, who has opened my mind to music over the last year, has made a mistake in saying that the same people who promoted NFTs and Bitcoin are the ones promoting AI. I saw Web 3 as a cheap exploitation of something open and wonderful, the Web, purely for greed. Like Exxon laying waste to the Arctic for more oil profits. Or if I started a band and called it Beatles II, and journalists went along with the con.
AI is more challenging, not as clear-cut, and at the same time incredibly useful even seductive, and we need minds like Hickey’s to look at this carefully and think, and use it as a tool, so he can help us understand what’s going on. I’ve seen this many times, people I admire who have dismissed AI, but when I tell them not to, and they try to use it, they immediately get it. Hickey will be one of those people, I’m sure of it.
PS: BTW, the future never ends up looking like you thought it would.
http://scripting.com/2023/11/05/144116.html?title=morningCoffeeNotes
date: 2023-11-05, from: Robert Reich on Substack
And last week’s winner!
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-caption-contest-johnsons-legacy
date: 2023-11-05, from: Fresno Bee Stories
These recalls follow that of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree earlier this week after that was linked to cases of lead toxicity.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/recalls/article281454033.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: The LAist
When the driest place in North America and one of the hottest places on Earth becomes a desert oasis complete with a lake, it’s impossible not to take note.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Tilde.news
date: 2023-11-05, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
After breakfast but before going shopping… blogging.
I’ve been using cgit for a long time on my server. Recently, I switched over to legit. The repositories are now served from a separate subdomain.
Two days ago I noticed that legit wasn’t showing all my repos. When I add some logging, it seemed that those repos cannot be opened by the underlying go-git library: “reference not found”. Are these repos broken in obscure ways? I started chatting with legit’s author, @icy.
As it turns out, the problem is that when I create a new bare repository on my server, its HEAD points to the default branch. In my case, that’s the “main” branch.
However, if I check out somebody else’s repository, that repository might not have a “main” branch. Many repositories have a “master” branch instead. That used to be the git default branch for many years and many repositories still use it. Some of my older repositories used it! Changing them all seemed like a big chore at the time and so I only went about it as I stumbled upon it.
When I decide to publish one of these repositories on my server using legit, the problem is that legit looks at the repository’s HEAD and finds a reference to the “main” branch. If the repository doesn’t have a “main” branch, then the result is a “reference not found” error.
My legit configuration file starts as follows:
repo:
scanPath: /home/git
readme:
- readme
- README
- readme.md
- README.md
mainBranch:
- main
- master
The documentation for “repo.mainBranch” has this to say:
repo.mainBranch: main branch names to look for.
So the takeaway is this: It is not enough to have one of these two branches in your repository. The repository’s HEAD also has to point one of these branches!
It took me a while to figure out what’s causing this problem, based on
logging the error to git.Open. If you get the “reference
not found” error then the problem is that on the server, HEAD refers to
a branch that doesn’t exist. A typical example would be publishing a
repository with a “master” branch to the server where you initialised
the bare git repository with a default branch of “main”. In this case,
the default branch is “main” but it doesn’t exist, which is where the
error “reference not found” comes from. People attempting to clone the
repository run into a similar problem; they get the message “warning:
remote HEAD refers to nonexistent ref, unable to checkout”.
One solution to this problem would be to rename whatever the default branch is in your repository to the default branch your server expects. In this case, rename “master” to “main” and push that change to the server:
git branch -m master main
git push -v origin origin/master\:refs/heads/main \
\:refs/heads/master
The alternative would be to change the default branch for this reopsitory on the server. Change into the bare git repository and change the default branch for this repository only from “main” to “master:
git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/master
I chose the first approach for my repositories.
I just took the opportunity to find the repos that still used “master” as the default branch on the server:
cd /home/git
find . -name HEAD \
-exec grep --quiet master '{}' ';' \
-exec echo '{}' ';'
Then I changed into most of them, and switched the default branch:
sudo -u git git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/main
And in parallel, I went through the same repositories on my laptop and renamed the “master” branch to the “main” branch, and pushed it:
git branch -m master main \
&& git push -v origin origin/master\:refs/heads/main \
\:refs/heads/master
It’s a lot of manual back and forth, but with two windows next to each other, it’s just a lot of copy & paste & focus.
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2023-11-04-legit
date: 2023-11-05, from: Status-Q blog
“A work of art”, so the saying goes, “is never finished, merely abandoned.” This assertion rings true in many artistic spheres, to the extent that I’ve seen variations attributed to people as diverse as Leonardo da Vinci and W.H.Auden. The site ‘Quote Investigator’ suggests that it actually originated in a 1933 essay by the poet Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2023/11/05/11762/
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Signal
Medical experts in Sweden and Canada have changed their guidelines concerning “trans” youth. They’ve found that many children are choosing to embark on a sex/gender transition without a medical reason, falsely believing they suffer from a condition called “gender dysphoria.” This new phenomenon is brought about by a combination of factors, including a negative self-image, […]
The post Richard LaMotte | An Irreversible Conveyer Belt appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/11/richard-lamotte-an-irreversible-conveyer-belt/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii is set to receive nearly $23.5 million to improve Kawaihae Harbor, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz announced Tuesday.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Members of the County Council questioned Fire Chief Kazuo Todd on Tuesday about the Hawaii Fire Department’s ability to prevent or respond to a wildfire on the scale of the August blaze that devastated Lahaina.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Numerous improvement projects in parks and recreational facilities across Hawaii County are nearing the finish line as the Parks and Recreation Department sets goals for next year.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KATHMANDU, Nepal — Thousands of villagers in the mountains of northwestern Nepal slept outdoors Saturday night in the bitter cold after an earthquake killed at least 157 people and damaged or destroyed most homes.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A booth at the Florida Republican Party’s Freedom Summit made swift business of Donald Trump merchandise on Saturday, selling everything from socks to bathtub rubber ducks that paid tribute to the former president.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hundreds of people lined the streets of Hilo Saturday morning to celebrate and commemorate Hawaii County’s veterans.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The United States and Arab partners disagreed Saturday on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military strikes killed civilians at a U.N. shelter and a hospital, and Israel said the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks in Ukraine wounded at least 14 civilians over the past day, officials said Saturday, as the president of the European Union’s executive arm returned to the Ukrainian capital to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii is one of the most challenging states in which to start a business. Oodles of regulations and taxes and high housing, labor and shipping costs all conspire to hamstring aspiring entrepreneurs.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/05/opinion/relax-rules-on-cottage-food-entrepreneurs/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Margarita Damian, 73, of Hilo, died Oct. 14 at home. Born in Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia, she was a homemaker and a member of the Pahoa Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mass to be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 10 at the Pahoa Sacred Heart Catholic Church, with burial to be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Alae Cemetery in Hilo. Casual attire. All-night vigil from noon onward Nov. 10 at 16-1998 Silversword Court, Ainaloa. Survived by husband Thomas Edyn of Hilo; son Edson Edin of Hilo; daughters Neiso Refit of Pahoa, Chitorina Edyn, Marieta Haruo and Pona Edin, all of Hilo, Damiana (Jefferson) Rayphard and Mary (Christopher) Nereo, both of Guam; brothers Inasio Weneta of Honolulu, Sirisio (Nitia) Ruback and Nino (Singiora) Rewein, both of Oahu, Silverio (Kamai) Ruback and Justino (Sarafina) Ruback, both of Guam, Erminio (Ermana) Ruback and Kuku Ruback, both of Chuuk, FSM, Rosen Ruback and Nemesio Ruback, both of Hilo; sister Rosalya (Youtheo) Khan of Oahu; 18 grandchildren and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/05/obituaries/obituaries-for-november-5-8/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix has successfully cleared out a massive downtown homeless encampment by Saturday’s court ordered deadline by helping more than 500 people find beds in shelters and motels.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DETROIT — Stellantis plans to build a new midsize pickup truck, along with battery-run versions of six Jeep, Ram and Dodge vehicles.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>For over 30 years, high-precision GPS (Global Positioning System) measurements have been a key tool used by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Scientists have come to depend on daily GPS positions to monitor changes in the shape of volcanoes and understand magma storage and movement underground.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Be proactive with
access to Kumukahi</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/05/opinion/your-views-for-november-5-10/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>When the COVID pandemic cast its dark cloud over the United States, there was an unexpected silver lining: Child poverty was all but wiped out.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Has life been a sprint since Labor Day? The post-summer rush is exhilarating but also exhausting. One cure: a getaway for a mid-autumn reset. For a thorough recharge, spend 48 hours in a digital and physical detox.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>RENO, Nev. (AP) — Brayden Schager threw two touchdown passes to Pofele Ashlock, Matthew Shipley kicked a pair of 50-yard field goals and Hawaii knocked off Nevada 27-14 on Saturday.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Waimea-born Kamehameha Schools - Hawai‘i 2022 graduate Jonah Reich recently announced his commitment to join the Kansas State baseball team.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/11/05/sports/ksh-grad-takes-college-journey-to-next-level/
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Bert Auburn kicked a 42-yard field goal in overtime and the Texas defense got a key stop on fourth down to earn a 33-30 win over Kansas State in a matchup of Big 12 co-leaders.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The West Side Eagles, Kona’s premier 11-under Pop Warner football team, captured island glory last weekend at Waverider Stadium.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>HOUSTON — Dillon Brooks scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Houston Rockets to a 107-89 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers needed a lift from a big man out of Kansas each time the undermanned Suns made a run at the lead.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 26 points, Paolo Banchero added 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and the Orlando Magic blasted the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101 on Saturday night.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: Guam Daily Post
Alumni from the University of Guam have teamed together to help preserve an endangered plant endemic to Guam, known in CHamoru as fadang.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Guam Daily Post
Three individuals were charged on Saturday with offenses related to illegal drug possession in three separate cases.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Guam Daily Post
The Office of the Attorney General is moving to have all testimony and evidence presented at a hearing last week for the Guam Regional Transit Authority corruption case be struck from the record.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Guam Daily Post
Nine students from Guam Community College have completed their time at the Construction Boot Camp IV.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Guam Daily Post
Inarajan Middle School and George Washington High School are the worst off when it comes to meeting the school sanitary building codes, according to Guam Department of Education officials.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Big Island leeward residents are asked to be on high alert and take precautions as a red flag warning is anticipated to take affect today around 10 a.m. and continue through Monday.</p>
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
Using sidewalks as exam rooms and heavy red duffle bags as medical supply closets, volunteer medics spend their Saturdays caring for the growing number of migrants arriving in Chicago without a place to live.
Mostly students in training, they go to police stations where migrants are first housed, prescribing antibiotics, distributing prenatal vitamins and assessing for serious health issues. These student doctors, nurses and physician assistants are the front line of health care for asylum-seekers in the nation’s third-largest city, filling a gap in Chicago’s haphazard response.
“My team is a team that shouldn’t have to exist, but it does out of necessity,” said Sara Izquierdo, a University of Illinois Chicago medical student who helped found the group. “Because if we’re not doing this, I’m not sure anyone will.”
More than 19,600 migrants have come to Chicago over the last year since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses to so-called sanctuary cities. The migrants wait at police stations and airports, sometimes for months, until there’s space at a longer-term shelter, like park district buildings.
Once in shelter, they can access a county clinic exclusively for migrants. But the currently 3,300 people in limbo at police stations and airports must rely on a mishmash of volunteers and social service groups that provide food, clothes and medicine.
Izquierdo noted the medical care gap months ago, consulted experienced doctors and designed a street-medicine model tailored to migrants’ medical needs. Her group makes weekly visits to police stations, operating on a shoestring budget of $30,000, mostly used for medication.
On a recent Saturday, she was among dozens of medics at a South Side station where migrants sleep in the lobby, on sidewalks and an outdoor basketball court. Officers didn’t allow the volunteers in the station so when one patient requested privacy, their doctor used his car.
Abrahan Belizario saw a doctor for the first time in five months.
The 28-year-old had a headache, toothache and chest pain. He recently arrived from Peru, where he worked as a driver and at a laundromat but couldn’t survive. He wasn’t used to the brisk Chicago weather and believed sleeping outdoors exacerbated his symptoms.
“It is very cold,” he said. “We’re almost freezing.”
The volunteers booked him a dental appointment and gave him a bus pass.
Many migrants who land in Chicago and other U.S. cities come from Venezuela where a social, political and economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty. More than 7 million have left, often risking a dangerous route by foot to the U.S. border.
The migrants’ health problems tend to be related to their journey or living in crowded conditions. Back and leg injuries from walking are common. Infections spread easily. Hygiene is an issue. There are few indoor bathrooms and outdoor portable toilets lack handwashing stations. Not many people carry their medical records.
Most also have trauma, either from their homeland or from the journey itself.
“You can understand the language, but it doesn’t mean you understand the situation,” said Miriam Guzman, one of organizers and a fourth-year medical student at UIC.
The doctors refer patients to organizations that help with mental health but there are limitations. The fluid nature of the shelter system makes it difficult to follow-up; people are often moved without warning.
Chicago’s goal is to provide permanent homes, which could help alleviate health issues. But the city has struggled to manage the growing population as buses and planes arrive daily at all hours. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office in May, calls it an inherited issue and proposed winterized tents.
His administration has acknowledged the heavy reliance on volunteers.
“We weren’t ready for this,” said Rey Wences Najera, first deputy of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights. “We are building this plane as we are flying it and the plane is on fire.”
The volunteer doctors also are limited in what they can do: Their duffle bags have medications for children, bandages and even ear plugs after some migrants wanted to block out sirens. But they cannot offer X-rays or address chronic issues.
“You’re not going to tell a person who has gone through this journey to stop smoking,” said Ruben Santos, a Rush University medical student. “You change your way of trying to connect to that person to make sure that you can help them with their most pressing needs while not doing some of the traditional things that you would do in the office or a big academic hospital.”
The volunteers explain to each patient that the service is free but that they’re students. Experienced doctors, who are part of the effort, approve treatment plans and prescribe medications.
Getting people those medications is another challenge. One station visit prompted 15 prescriptions. Working from laptops on the floor — near dozens of sleeping families — the doctors mapped out which medics would pick up medications the following day and how they’d find the recipients.
Sometimes the volunteers must call for emergency help.
Thirty-year-old Moises Hidalgo said he had trouble breathing. Doctors heard a concerning “crackling” sound, suspected pneumonia and called an ambulance.
Hidalgo, who came from Peru after having left his native Venezuela more than a decade ago, once worked as a chef. He’s been walking around Chicago looking for jobs, but has been turned away without a work permit.
“I’ve been trying to find work, at least so that I can pay to sleep somewhere, because if this isn’t solved, I can’t keep waiting,” he said.
To stay warm while sleeping outside, he wore four layers of clothing; his loose pants cinched with a shoelace.
The medics hope Chicago can formalize their approach. And they say they’ll continue to keep at it — for some, it’s personal.
Dr. Muftawu-Deen Iddrisu, who works Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, said he wanted to give back. Originally from Ghana, he attended medical school in Cuba.
“I come from a very humble background,” he said. “I know how it feels. I know once sometime back someone did the same for me.”
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The angelic K-pop quintet participated in a discussion and performance Thursday night.
The post LE SSERAFIM graces the GRAMMY Museum appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/05/le-sserafim-graces-the-grammy-museum/
date: 2023-11-05, from: John’s World Wide Wall Display
At work I get emails about scratch. I often miss these or don’t pay enough attention. There is also a scratch blog on medium. I thought I could subscribe to that in an RSS reader. Couldn’t see a rss link so I searched for more information. Ironically the first two medium articles I found needed […]
https://johnjohnston.info/blog/a-wee-bit-technical/
date: 2023-11-05, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Saturday’s game was the Trojans’ second consecutive loss at home.
The post USC football comes up short in shootout vs. Washington appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/11/04/usc-football-washington/
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada at the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit, which aimed to enhance economic ties, fortify U.S. investments in the region, and tackle immigration challenges. Veronica Villafane narrates this report by Paula Diaz.
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
Most members of the U.S. Congress have stood firmly behind Israel since the Hamas attack last month, but not Cori Bush. The Missouri Democrat called Israel’s response a “war crime” and an “ethnic cleansing campaign,” and was among the few House members who opposed a resolution supporting Israel.
Her unwavering stance has angered some in her district. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on Monday dropped a U.S. Senate bid to challenge Bush in next year’s 1st District Democratic primary, and moderate Democrats believe he could win.
Bush isn’t alone.
She’s among a small group of Democrats viewed by critics as insufficiently supportive of Israel — both long before and now after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel — or insufficiently critical of Hamas. Across those districts, moderates like Bell are being encouraged to run. In particular, Summer Lee in Pennsylvania, Jamaal Bowman in New York, Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib in Michigan probably will face challengers.
All five have condemned Hamas’ attack and antisemitism, but they’ve all made statements seen as inflammatory by Israel’s staunchest supporters and been critical of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Bush and Omar accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing.” Summer Lee said it had committed “human rights violations.” And at a recent cease-fire rally, Bowman said: “We cannot allow the lives of anyone to be erased. This erasure of Palestinian lives and experience has been happening for decades.”
Adding to the fraught politics for Democrats is the fact that others could face pressure for the opposite reason — such as Shri Thanedar in Detroit, who represents a heavily Democratic district with a big Muslim population but has backed Israel.
Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution supporting Israel. Bush, Bowman, Lee, Omar and Tlaib were among nine Democrats who opposed the measure, saying it failed to call for a cease-fire, create a pathway to peace, or express the need to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Bowman, Lee, Omar and Tlaib also were among the 17 sponsors of Bush’s resolution asking the Biden administration to call for a cease-fire. Critics of that resolution said it failed to mention Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel, hostages held by Hamas, or that the U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
All five are considered progressives in the Democratic caucus and represent strongly Democratic districts, so the main threat to their re-election prospects would probably come from the Democratic Party.
Stances spur call for challengers
Challenges to Bush and the others were possible even before the Hamas attack on October 7 or Israel’s subsequent attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their stances after October 7 have fueled calls for primary challengers.
Lee and Omar — who narrowly held off primary competitors in 2022 — may be particularly vulnerable.
The progressive group Justice Democrats, which has backed primary challengers against moderate Democrats around the country, blamed the primary challenges on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and a network of Republican donors who help fund AIPAC’s efforts to elect unequivocal allies of Israel.
“Democratic members are truly out of step with their voters and their bases who do not want to see us barreling toward another war on their taxpayer dollars,” Justice Democrats’ spokesperson Usamah Andrabi said.
It is unfortunate, Andrabi said, that the House Democratic leadership has not taken a stronger stance against AIPAC’s efforts to knock off rank-and-file Democrats.
It remains unclear whether House Democrats will help incumbents fend off primary challengers through campaign fundraising arms. One organization, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said it could potentially get involved in a primary race to protect an incumbent, but declined to discuss specifics.
Before October 7, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued statements of support for Omar and others, saying he will support the reelection of every House Democratic incumbent, regardless of ideology.
AIPAC declined to discuss its campaign efforts, saying “there will be a time for political action, but right now our priority is building and sustaining congressional support for Israel’s fight to permanently dismantle Hamas, which perpetrated this barbaric, terrorist attack on the Jewish state.”
Rashida Tlaib, the lone Palestinian American in Congress, has been an outspoken opponent of the Biden administration’s response to the conflict. On Friday, she posted a video on social media showing anti-war protests across the United States and accusing President Joe Biden of supporting what she said was genocide against the Palestinian people. “We will remember in 2024,” she said. The White House declined comment Saturday on the video.
While Tlaib defeated her primary opponent handily last year, pro-Israel groups have already signaled that they will focus on defeating her in 2024. The Democratic Majority for Israel — which bills itself as the “voice of pro-Israel Democrats” — began running ads against Tlaib in Detroit this week.
Tlaib’s metro Detroit House district includes a large Arab American population in Dearborn and a substantial Jewish constituency in Southfield.
Her congressional neighbor, however, is in a different situation: Tlaib and Thanedar have feuded publicly since he criticized her statements on Hamas’ attack on Israel, and Thanedar — a freshman who represents Detroit — has since drawn criticism from Tlaib on how he runs his office.
Thanedar’s Detroit district has been a center of pro-Palestinian pushback in the state, with thousands of demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in the city’s downtown on October 28.
He has a primary challenger in former state Senator Adam Hollier — Thanedar beat Hollier by 5 percentage points in a nine-way primary in 2022 — but Hollier’s campaign said his run isn’t a response to Thanedar’s stance on Israel.
Rabbis criticize representative
In Pittsburgh, Summer Lee has faced broad criticism from the Jewish community, where members just marked the five-year anniversary of a gunman’s rampage through the Tree of Life synagogue, killing 11 people in the worst attack on Jews on American soil.
On Tuesday, a group of 36 rabbis and four cantors released a letter criticizing Lee for voting against the House resolution expressing support for Israel and for supporting Bush’s cease-fire resolution.
“It’s a rare day in any Jewish community when you have Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad and Reconstructionists together on one page,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Pittsburgh’s Temple Sinai, who helped organize the effort. “But the reality is that Representative Lee isn’t representing her constituents.”
Lee already has one declared opponent, and more may be coming. Bhavini Patel, 29, said she would have run regardless of Lee’s stance on Israel. But, she said, Lee’s standing in the Jewish community shows how Lee doesn’t try to understand the people she represents.
Congresswoman accused of antisemitism
In Minneapolis, a former school board member, Don Samuels, is considering a second campaign against Ilhan Omar after he came within 2 percentage points of unseating her in 2022’s primary election.
That close race turned mostly on the future of policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered. It remains to be seen how Omar’s stance on Israel will play out in her district, which has a large Somali American Muslim population.
Omar has long been dogged by accusations that she is anti-Israel and antisemitic — accusations that have intensified since the Hamas attack. Since then, she has criticized both Hamas for its decision to attack Israel and the Israeli government’s response. Her main focus has been the impact on civilians in the Gaza Strip. She has called for a cease-fire and for Hamas to release hostages.
In New York, current Westchester County Executive George Latimer is considering challenging Bowman.
Latimer said people had encouraged him to challenge Bowman long before October 7, including overtures that had nothing to do with Israel. After Hamas’ attack, however, some in the Jewish community have intensified their efforts.
A group of more than two dozen rabbis last month publicized a letter they wrote asking Latimer to challenge Bowman, citing the congressman’s posture on Israel.
Latimer said he would decide in the coming months.
Bush calls for ‘pro-peace agenda’
In Missouri, Bush — who has called Israel an “apartheid” state — said she is pushing a “pro-peace agenda.”
Writing on social media, she said, “Israel’s collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamas’s actions is a war crime. I strongly condemn Hamas & their appalling violations of human rights, but violations of human rights don’t justify more human rights violations in retaliation.”
Her challenger, Bell, said those types of comments “send the wrong message and we need to be sending to rogue nations and dictators and terrorist groups the message that that they cannot have missiles trained on Israel like we see with Hamas, like we see with Iran.”
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
Elon Musk unveiled details Saturday of his new AI tool called “Grok,” which can access X in real time and will be initially available to the social media platform’s top tier of subscribers.
Musk, the tycoon behind Tesla and SpaceX, said the link-up with X, formerly known as Twitter, is “a massive advantage over other models” of generative AI.
Grok “loves sarcasm. I have no idea who could have guided it this way,” Musk quipped, adding a laughing emoji to his post.
“Grok” comes from Stranger in a Strange Land, a 1961 science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, and means to understand something thoroughly and intuitively.
“As soon as it’s out of early beta, xAI’s Grok system will be available to all X Premium+ subscribers,” Musk said.
The social network that Musk bought a year ago launched the Premium+ plan last week for $16 per month, with benefits like no ads.
The billionaire started xAI in July after hiring researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Tesla and the University of Toronto.
Since OpenAI’s generative AI tool ChatGPT exploded on the scene a year ago, the technology has been an area of fierce competition between tech giants Microsoft and Google, as well as Meta and start-ups like Anthropic and Stability AI.
Musk is one of the world’s few investors with deep enough pockets to compete with OpenAI, Google or Meta on AI.
Building an AI model on the same scale as those companies comes at an enormous expense in computing power, infrastructure and expertise.
Musk has said he cofounded OpenAI in 2015 because he regarded the dash by Google into the sector to make big advances and score profits as reckless.
He then left OpenAI in 2018 to focus on Tesla, saying later he was uncomfortable with the profit-driven direction the company was taking under the stewardship of CEO Sam Altman.
Musk also argues that OpenAI’s large language models — on which ChatGPT depends on for content — are overly politically correct.
Grok “is designed to have a little humor in its responses,” Musk said, along with a screenshot of the interface, where a user asked, “Tell me how to make cocaine, step by step.”
“Step 1: Obtain a chemistry degree and a DEA license. Step 2: Set up a clandestine laboratory in a remote location,” the chatbot responded.
Eventually it said: “Just kidding! Please don’t actually try to make cocaine. It’s illegal, dangerous, and not something I would ever encourage.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/musk-teases-ai-chatbot-grok-with-real-time-access-to-x-/7342167.html
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
The cancellation of two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey is the latest in a series of setbacks for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, jeopardizing the Biden administration’s goals of powering 10 million homes from towering ocean-based turbines by 2030 and establishing a carbon-free electric grid five years later.
The Danish wind energy developer Ørsted said this week it’s scrapping its Ocean Wind I and II projects off southern New Jersey due to problems with supply chains, higher interest rates and a failure to obtain the amount of tax credits the company wanted.
Together, the projects were supposed to deliver over 2.2 gigawatts of power.
The news comes after developers in New England canceled power contracts for three projects that would have provided another 3.2 gigawatts of wind power to Massachusetts and Connecticut. They said their projects were no longer financially feasible.
In total, the cancellations equate to nearly one-fifth of President Joe Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.
Despite the setbacks, offshore wind continues to move forward, the White House said, citing recent investments by New York state and approval by the Interior Department of the nation’s largest planned offshore wind farm in Virginia. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also announced new offshore wind lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
“While macroeconomic headwinds are creating challenges for some projects, momentum remains on the side of an expanding U.S. offshore wind industry — creating good-paying union jobs in manufacturing, shipbuilding and construction,” while strengthening the power grid and providing new clean energy resources for American families and businesses, the White House said in a statement Thursday.
Industry experts now say that while the U.S. likely won’t hit 30 gigawatts by 2030, a significant amount of offshore wind power is still attainable by then, roughly 20 to 22 gigawatts or more. That’s far more than the nation has today, with just two small demonstration projects that provide a small fraction of a single gigawatt of power.
Large, ocean-based wind farms are the linchpin of government plans to shift to renewable energy, particularly in populous East Coast states with limited land for wind turbines or solar arrays. Eight East Coast states have offshore wind mandates set by legislation or executive actions that commit them to adding a combined capacity of more than 45 gigawatts, according to ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington-based research firm.
“I think very few people would argue that the U.S. will have the gigawatts the Biden administration wants” by 2030, said Timothy Fox, a ClearView vice president. “But I do think eventually we will have it and will likely exceed it.”
Offshore wind developers have publicly lamented the global economic gales they’re facing. Molly Morris, president of U.S. offshore wind for the Norwegian company Equinor, said the industry is facing a “perfect storm.”
High inflation, supply chain disruptions and the rising cost of capital and building materials are making projects more expensive while developers are trying to get the first large U.S. offshore wind farms opened. Ørsted is writing off $4 billion, due largely to cancellation of the two New Jersey projects.
David Hardy, group executive vice president and CEO Americas at Ørsted, said it’s crucial to lower the levelized cost of offshore wind in the United States so Americans aren’t debating between affordability and clean energy. Hardy spoke at the American Clean Power industry group’s offshore wind conference in Boston last month on a panel with Morris.
“We’re probably a little bit too ambitious,” he said. “We came in hot; we came in fast, we thought we could build projects that were inexpensive, large projects right out of the gate. And it turns out that we probably still need to go through the same learning curve that Europe did, with higher prices in the beginning and a little slower pace.”
In May, there were 27 U.S. offshore wind projects that had negotiated agreements with states to provide power before the brunt of the cost increases hit, according to Walt Musial, offshore wind chief engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, an arm of the Energy Department. The delay between signing purchase agreements and getting final approval to build allowed unexpected cost increases to render many projects economically unfeasible, he said.
Musial called Ørsted’s announcement a setback for the industry but “not a fatal blow by any means.”
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced approval of the nation’s largest offshore wind project. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will be a 2.6 gigawatt wind farm off Virginia Beach to power 900,000 homes. And even as Ørsted announced the New Jersey cancellations, it said it was investing with utility Eversource to move forward with construction of Revolution Wind, Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, a 704-megawatt project.
The current outlook from S&P Global Commodity Insights is 22 gigawatts by 2030, though that will be revised due to the recent industry announcements.
New York state, meanwhile, recently announced the award of 4 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity as it seeks to obtain 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. That announcement came shortly after New York regulators rejected a request for bigger payments for four offshore wind projects worth a combined 4.2 gigawatts of power.
Any delay in offshore wind means continued reliance on fossil fuel-burning power plants, according to environmental advocates. “The quicker they come online, the quicker our air quality improves,” said Conor Bambrick, director of policy for Environmental Advocates NY.
New Jersey, under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, has established increasingly stringent clean energy goals, moving from 100% clean energy by 2050 to 100% by 2035. Murphy cast Ørsted’s decision as “outrageous” and an abandonment of its commitments, but the two-term Democrat said New Jersey plans to move forward with offshore wind.
The first U.S. commercial-scale offshore wind farms are currently under construction: Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and South Fork Wind off Rhode Island and New York.
date: 2023-11-05, from: VOA News USA
The tiny half-pint (about .25 liter) cartons of milk served with millions of school lunches nationwide may soon be scarce in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.
The problem is not a shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials.
Pactiv Evergreen of Lake Forest, Illinois, which bills itself as “the leading manufacturer of fresh food and beverage packaging in North America” acknowledged in a statement Friday that it “continues to face significantly higher than projected demand” for its milk cartons.
The shortage is affecting the company’s ability to “fully supply some school milk orders,” according to Matt Herrick, spokesperson for the International Dairy Foods Association.
School officials in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Washington state said they were preparing for the shortage, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture acknowledged that the supply chain problem affects “multiple states.”
In California, state education officials told schools to be flexible with how they offer milk to kids, including limiting milk choices; using boxed, shelf-stable milk; and providing milk using bulk dispensers.
The carton shortage — which could also affect milk and juice served in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons — has forced officials across the country to brainstorm backup plans.
In Clarence, New York, local school district officials told parents they plan to provide “small bottles of water or cups of milk with lids” if the cartons run out.
In Lake Stevens, Washington, 64 kilometers from Seattle, chocolate milk was missing from this week’s dairy delivery, said Jayme Taylor, director of communications for the local school district.
“That’s the only complaint we received from students,” she said in an email.
Milk is required to be served with school meals, but officials with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service issued a memo late last month allowing districts to serve different types or sizes of milk during the supply shortage — or to skip milk altogether.
It’s not clear how long the carton shortage could last. In Everett, Washington, school officials told parents to expect a disruption in cafeteria milk supply that could “range up to several months.”
Herrick said U.S. milk processors are working with other package suppliers to resolve the shortage. He said he expected the problem to improve within weeks and to be resolved by early next year.
date: 2023-11-05, from: Full Circle Magazine
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