(date: 2023-12-14 09:25:42)
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
The final negotiated version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 authorizes $886 billion in national defense funding, an increase of $28 billion over last year.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/house-passes-sweeping-defense-policy-bill-that-includes-5-2-pay-raise-for-members-of-the-military/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
NASA’s veteran Voyager 1 spacecraft has stopped transmitting engineering and science data back to Earth.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/engineers_work_to_fix_voyager/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043624-a-lovely-holiday-gift-gui Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Windows Developer Blog
We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Intel®, one of our key partners, to bring the first Neural Processing Unit (NPU) powered by DirectML on Windows. AI is transforming the world, driving innovation and creating value across industries
The post DirectML: Accelerating AI on Windows, now with NPUs appeared first on Windows Developer Blog.
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/12/14/directml-accelerating-ai-on-windows-now-with-npus/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Overall, the industry has made lives better, and I expect that trend to continue in 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/larry-magid-2023-has-been-a-tumultuous-year-for-tech/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Sports clubs and intramurals at CSUN offer students the chance to compete in athletic competitions, both regional and national. As of the fall 2023 semester, there are 24 sport clubs. Overseen by manager John Paul Gale and senior coordinator Bladimir Martinez, the Sport Club program requires each club to pay a participation fee. Every currently…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177324/print-editions/print-stories/intramural-sports-and-clubs-for-all/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: Deno blog
We’ve re-added WebGPU, added new deno coverage reporters, made substantial Node.js compatibility improvements, and more.
https://deno.com/blog/v1.39 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
After closing at a record high on Wednesday, the iPhone maker’s market value is approaching that of France’s stock market.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/apple-is-so-big-its-almost-eclipsing-frances-stock-market/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Manu - I write blog
Well, it’s happening. The days of a carefully curated Minimalissimo are over. Carl has decided to take a break after 10 years running the site and I’m taking over which means chaos is about to ensue.
Just kidding. I am taking over the site though. Carl has written about the reasons behind his decision on his blog so if you want to know more head over to his blog. He was willing to just leave the site up as an archive and stop posting but I can’t let that happen.
Minimalissimo is such a nice project and has a massive archive so I offered to take over the day-to-day operations. But I had one condition and that was that I must be allowed to experiment with the site because you know I can’t help myself when it comes to play with online site projects.
I plan to write about the whole experience throughout the year and I’m going to be very transparent about it so if you’re interested in some behind-the-scenes keep an eye on this blog.
Minimalissimo ”Manu Edition” starts on January 1st. Gonna be a fun 2024.
https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/Bum2263y2wSbeYyf Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/moderna-merck-drugs-combined-shown-effective-against-melanoma/7397953.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
Washington — A Navy officer jailed in Japan over a deadly car crash that killed two Japanese citizens has been transferred into U.S. custody and is being returned to the United States, his family said Thursday.
Lt. Ridge Alkonis had been serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of an elderly woman and her son-in-law in May 2021.
“After 507 days, Lt. Ridge Alkonis is on his way home to the United States. We are encouraged by Ridge’s transfer back to the United States but cannot celebrate until Ridge has been reunited with his family,” the family, based in Dana Point, California, said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Government to effect this transfer and are glad that an impartial set of judiciary eyes will review his case for the first time.”
It was unclear where in the U.S. Alkonis is heading or whether upon his arrival in the country he might be required to spend any additional time behind bars under the terms of his transfer from Japan.
“We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Government to effect this transfer and are glad that an impartial set of judiciary eyes will review his case for the first time,” the family statement said.
The statement added: “When the Biden Administration is presented with the complete set of facts and circumstances surrounding the case, we’re confident they will promptly recognize the absurdity of Ridge’s conviction.”
Alkonis’ family has said the naval officer abruptly lost consciousness in the car after a lunch and ice cream excursion with his wife and children to Mount Fuji, causing him to slump over behind the wheel after suffering acute mountain sickness. But Japanese prosecutors and the judge who sentenced him contend he fell asleep while drowsy, shirking a duty to pull over immediately.
In the spring of 2021, after a period of land-based assignments, the Southern California native was preparing for a deployment as a department head on the USS Benfold, a missile destroyer.
On May 29, 2021, with the assignment looming, his family set out for an excursion of Mount Fuji hiking and sightseeing.
They had climbed a portion of the mountain and were back in the car, heading to lunch and ice cream near the base of Mount Fuji. Alkonis was talking with his daughter, then 7, when his family says he suddenly fell unconscious behind the wheel. He was so out of it, they say, that neither his daughter’s screams to wake up nor the impact of the collision roused him.
After the crash near Fujinomiya, he was arrested by Japanese authorities and held for 26 days in solitary confinement at a police detention facility, interrogated multiple times a day and was not given a medical treatment or evaluation, according to a statement of facts provided by a family spokesman. That statement says that when American authorities arrived to take Alkonis into custody and return him to a U.S. base, he already was held by the Japanese.
He was indicted on a charge of a negligent driving, resulting in death, and was sentenced to three years in prison.
After the sentencing, Alkonis’ family had sought to keep the case in the public spotlight, including by gathering outside the White House. President Joe Biden also raised the case during a meeting last May with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Alkonis is a specialist in underseas warfare and acoustic engineering who at the time of the crash had spent nearly seven years in Japan as a civilian volunteer and naval officer.
https://www.voanews.com/a/naval-officer-jailed-in-japan-in-deadly-crash-transferred-to-us-custody-his-family-says/7397963.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043621-thanks-to-youtubes-algori Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney’s copyright.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/earliest-version-of-mickey-mouse-set-to-become-public-domain-in-2024-along-with-minnie-tigger/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Yesterday I addressed the How Do I Write question, now let me address Why I Write. I write at least partially because I know there are good people who love my writing. The tech industry, to the extent that they remember me, resents me. I get that. It’s sad, because I do care, I am one of them, as Diana was one of the royals (see above). Anyway, I love to write because there are people who love to read. And I feel connected to them. My mother was the prototype. We weren’t very close in actual life, but she was a devoted reader of my blog. It gave us a connection. And I assume all daily or nightly readers of this blog have that kind of connection, whether I hear from them or not. And sometimes you do hear from them, and that’s especially lovely.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/14.html#a150733 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Supporters came to the rescue after Oct. 31 shutdown
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/oakland-irish-pub-slainte-rises-to-pour-again-friday-is-reopening-day/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Liliputing
The first laptops powered by Intel’s 14th-gen processors based on Meteor Lake architecture arrive today. And they represent a number of firsts for Intel’s consumer chips. Meteor Lake processors are the first to feature Intel’s new “Core Ultra” branding. They’re the first to be manufactured on the new Intel 4 process. They’re also the first […]
The post Intel’s 14th-gen “Core Ultra” mobile chips bring a graphics upgrade, AI features, and a branding refresh appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/intels-14th-gen-core-ultra-mobile-chips-bring-a-graphics-upgrade-ai-features-and-a-branding-refresh/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Liliputing
The Acer Swift Go 14 is getting a Meteor Lake refresh. The latest version of this thin and light laptop is available with a choice of Intel Core Ultra 5 125H or Core Ultra 7 155H processor options, with prices starting at $800 and $1000, respectively. According to Intel, its new 14th-gen processors should bring […]
The post Acer Swift Go 14 laptop with Intel Meteor Lake for $800 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/acer-swift-go-14-laptop-with-intel-meteor-lake-for-800-and-up/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Intel launched its 5th-generation Xeon Scalable processors with more cores, cache, and machine learning grunt during its AI Everywhere Event in New York Thursday.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/intel_xeon_ai/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Most restaurants will be closed on Christmas Day, which falls on a Monday this year, but some chains are offering take-home feasts with turkey, ham or prime rib throughout the holiday season.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/christmas-2023-these-restaurants-are-selling-take-home-feasts/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: NASA breaking news
On Dec. 17, 1903, humanity’s long-held dream of flying came true. Ideas of flying date back centuries, from the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, to kite flying in China, to the development of hydrogen-filled balloons in 18th century France, to early experiments with gliders in 19th century England and Germany. Around the turn of […]
https://www.nasa.gov/history/120-years-ago-the-first-powered-flight-at-kitty-hawk/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I’ve
been re-bingeing the whole
Crown
series, anticipating that there was going to be a new and
final
series of episodes, out today. I started watching the new one, and
all of a sudden the two princes, William and Harry, are actual people. I
have a lot of trouble with that, because of course I remember when they
were born. However I’m pretty sure I’ll go all the way through. There
are a lot of hours of entertainment in The Crown and a few scenes that
are truly spectacular
(like this). I
remember the really good ones of course, but there’s an awful lot of
schlock.
One scene I had not remembered was a pretty good illustration of how
fucked up people can be. Princess Diana had just gone on a
tour of NYC,
her first international tour on her own, and it was (surprising to her)
a huge success. Another British invasion. The people of NYC loved Diana
(at least in the show, I don’t remember this, I was living in California
at the time). So she comes home, and the royal family, instead of
cheering her, were angry with her for being so charming. Go figure. Her
husband, Prince Charles is yelling at her and he asks her if she ever
considered how
Camilla,
Charles’ one true love, would feel about Diana being so popular. Diana
is gobsmacked
(as am I). Why would she think of that. How totally fucked up is that.
Why should anyone, being themselves, being happy, worry about how anyone
else might feel about their happiness? I’ve been in Diana’s position a
few times, achieving success, much deserved, and was reminded that this
upset people who (apparently) didn’t want me to succeed? I have even
been asked that question. If you ever feel that way, that someone else’s
happiness is meant to make you feel bad, remember Carl Sagan’s
Pale Blue Dot
video. Really, no one cares if you are offended by someone else’s
happiness. Remember, none of this stuff amounts to anything in the big
picture. We’re very small, all of us put together, in the grand scheme
of things. So if you’re happy, good for you! And one other question – is
re-bingeing actually a word?? 😄
http://scripting.com/2023/12/14.html#a144009 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043622-psst-i-reopened-ordering- Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: 404 Media Group
The cost of medications, testing, retrieval, and storage involved in egg freezing is just one series of numbers in a process and procedure that feels like a combination of math, alchemy, and luck.
https://www.404media.co/egg-freezing-experience-cost-side-effects/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Got your weekend plans? We have some nifty ideas, from great movies and shows to holiday lights and hot mulled wine.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/7-awesome-bay-area-things-to-do-this-weekend-dec-15-17/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
A human being has integrity if he or she is what he or she appears to be.
http://scripting.com/davenet/2001/01/08/whatIsIntegrity.html#3 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is the secret sauce behind the success of many well-known Bay Area businesses, such as El Tiny Cafe in Berkeley.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/share-the-spirit-how-to-succeed-in-small-business-meet-the-organization-that-helps-make-it-happen/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Dave Karpf’s blog
Hi folks, below is a letter to the Substack founders that I helped draft as part of a group of publishers seeking answers to questions about the platforming and monetizing of Nazis. We are all publishing the letter on our own individual Substacks today for visibility, and to make our readers aware of our asks and concerns. With any luck you already have, or soon will have, seen this on a large number of other substacks. Thanks for reading.
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/substackers-against-nazis Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Updated The offensive cyber unit linked to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is exploiting the critical vulnerability affecting the JetBrains TeamCity CI/CD server at scale, and has been since September, authorities warn.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/russia_joins_north_korea_cybercity/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
As Governors Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom debated, we were in Florida visiting my daughter’s in-laws who live in the Orlando area. Although we enjoyed a fabulous week, we concluded that Florida may not be the nirvana people make it out to be. I especially enjoyed the Kennedy Space Center, which demonstrates how much America […]
The post Jim de Bree | Grass Always Greener Somewhere Else appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/jim-de-bree-grass-always-greener-somewhere-else/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
This letter was written before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco in November. I would like to give you a potential preview of the meeting between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Chinese President Xi Jinping at this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Newsom is waiting in a bright red Tesla outside […]
The post Larry Moore | Welcome, Comrade Newsom appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/larry-moore-welcome-comrade-newsom/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
20-year-old Jasbleidy Montejo, her husband and baby daughter traveled nearly 4,000 miles seeking a better life. Now, they’re calling San Jose home.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/they-are-my-angels-escaping-violence-and-traffickers-this-colombian-family-is-now-calling-san-jose-home/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Two Simon Sanchez High School students were charged in connection to a rioting complaint at John F. Kennedy High School.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/3-charged-in-assault-riot-complaints-at-jfk/article_4ebd9df6-9a0c-11ee-8102-5b53d6c02262.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Southern High School and Okayama Higashi Commercial High School are now sister schools, with a signing ceremony held Thursday at the Sånta Rita-Sumai school making it official.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/southern-high-becomes-sister-school-with-japan-high-school/article_84cb8e7e-9a27-11ee-99a8-330c293c6141.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
United Airlines flight attendants and their supporters once again took to the front of the A.B. Won Pat International Airport on Thursday in what is becoming a more frequent demonstration for better working conditions.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/united-flight-attendants-picket-union-seeks-federal-mediation/article_889423d2-9a26-11ee-bda2-47f191658691.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Measures authorizing a body camera program for the Guam Police Department and creating a Special Cost of Living Economic Task Force are among eight bills recently signed into law by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/bills-for-gpd-bodycams-cola-task-force-among-8-new-laws/article_52dd6706-9a19-11ee-a460-ebf2f4307544.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam Police Department Chief of Police Stephen Ignacio confirmed there have been 14 terroristic conduct complaints at schools this year.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gpd-14-social-media-threats-to-schools-in-2023/article_877fb448-9a2b-11ee-a817-5b527733dd29.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
New federal regulations are seemingly on the horizon for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in drinking water. If finalized, the regulations will require public water systems to monitor for the substances, notify the public and reduce levels…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/federal-pfas-regulations-loom/article_0c101540-956d-11ee-8519-836dc5612e04.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
When San Jose airport gets a lot of traffic, such as during the holidays, motorists may be rerouted to reduce backups.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/14/during-holidays-plan-on-much-longer-times-to-get-to-airport-terminals-roadshow/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Distilled Earth blog
A little more than a decade ago, CATL didn’t exist. Today, the Chinese company makes 37% of the world’s EV batteries.
https://www.distilled.earth/p/how-catl-became-the-biggest-ev-battery Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Journalism is a mere memory on Facebook. The platform reminds me of this daily by serving up a historic feed of my life and the internet we once inhabited. In between photos of first days and family vacations, I scroll through headlines prefaced by lengthy anecdotes and diatribes, my “take” attached to facts backing me…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/link-in-comments-wont-save-democracy/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Marketplace Morning Report
It makes sense that plenty aspects of our financial lives make us stressed, anxious and fearful — from stock market jitters to job changes or major purchases. In her newest book, journalist Farnoosh Torabi explores how to acknowledge those fears and gain a healthier relationship with your money and finances. We’ll chat with her. But first: What did Fed Chair Jerome Powell have to say about rate cuts in the upcoming year?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/maybe-panic-isnt-all-bad Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Vivaldi – the browser for users who just can’t get enough settings – has launched version 6.5 of its software on desktop and mobile.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/vivaldi_unveils_session_panels_to/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043620-actor-andre-braugher-has- Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Yes, the Israel-Hamas war is important, along with the ongoing coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the U.S. 2024 presidential election and preventing gun violence and defending democracy [and insert other traumatic news or tragedy here]. But the truth is people are tired of the negative news, and they’re avoiding it in droves. And…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/stop-ignoring-the-news-that-audiences-actually-care-about/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, it will be essential for public media to put its best foot forward to secure a future of continued growth and relevance. It may be tempting to think of broadcast radio and the digital on-demand form of podcasting as sister audio products, but digital audio is more like the decades-old Internet. More than…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/raising-the-alarm-bell-for-public-media/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Elon Musk revealed his true colors and chased away all of X’s advertisers in 2023. In 2024, maintaining a relationship with the hate-drenched platform that was once a key communications tool used by newsrooms and authorities around the world will become even more untenable. Should the imperiled social media company survive the crippling advertising boycott…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/elon-musks-behavior-forces-uncomfortable-questions-for-media/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
At a dynamic intersection of journalism, OSINT investigations, and legal practice, the future holds a promising trajectory. As witnessed in recent seminars, newsroom initiatives, and insights from figures like Ibrahim Olabi, the concept of mixed-mandate investigations is gaining momentum. This forward momentum is not just buzz; it’s a trend that’s set to reshape the landscape…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/legal-rigor-meets-journalistic-inquiry-to-yield-groundbreaking-investigations/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The LAist
We talked with officials and experts. Here’s a breakdown of answers to commonly asked questions following the Tustin hangar fire.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/tustin-hangar-fire-safety-help-house-neighborhood-school Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In no particular order, here is a cornucopia of predictions for 2024. As in every election year in recent memory, 2024 will improve the market for political news. Audience trend charts look like Charlie Brown’s sweater pattern — up and down and up again, every four years. By now, the savviest news organizations have figured…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/we-find-out-how-good-or-bad-21st-century-polling-really-is/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
There’s always a little wishful thinking in these annual forecasts — or a dose of gloom. Here’s what I wish the journalism industry would do in 2024 to tackle some of its underlying problems that are within its power to fix and to create more sustainable journalism businesses. News planning. I have long believed this…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-news-industry-learns-which-stories-not-to-write/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Union Unite thinks the proposed merger in Britain of telcos Vodafone and Three would results in thousands of people losing their jobs, price hikes for customers, and a “serious threat” to national security.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/unite_the_union_claims_vodafone/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: EU tensions increase over backing Ukraine both financially and politically, as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatens to block aid to Ukraine. Also, the former boss of oil giant BP loses $40 million in pay over “serious misconduct.” Plus, as Chinese developer Country Garden cuts executive salaries to tackle debt, the country’s property crisis spreads beyond its borders.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/will-hungarys-orban-block-eu-support-for-ukraine Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: More than 125 highways are closed in China due to a record-setting winter storm • Tropical Cyclone Jasper downed trees in parts of Queensland in Australia • The Geminids meteor shower will peak tonight.
Former President Donald Trump told a crowd at an Iowa campaign event yesterday that he would cancel “all climate reparation payments” immediately should he be re-elected next year. A campaign aide clarified that Trump was talking specifically about America’s pledge to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries adapt and become more resilient to the effects of climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced that America would give the fund $3 billion. President Biden’s climate policies have become a “core part” of Trump’s campaign message, says Reuters. In the same speech, Trump also promised to “end Joe Biden’s war on American energy” and “drill, baby, drill.”
Early reviews of the Chevy Blazer EV, which TechCrunch describes as “a vehicle designed to satiate Americans’ never-ending appetites for SUV,” are trickling in. The consensus? It’s good! But with a starting price around $56,000, it’s too expensive. Here’s a quick roundup
The
Chevy Blazer
EVChevrolet
In other EV news, more than 2 million Tesla vehicles are set to receive over-the-air updates to address failures in the Autopilot system. As Wired notes, that’s nearly all the vehicles Tesla has sold in the U.S. to date. At issue is the Autosteer functionality, and the recall follows an investigation by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (HTWSA) into a series of crashes that may have occurred while Autopilot was in use. The updates will include added safety controls and alerts, and further limit where drivers can use Autosteer, Wired says. The recall is a “win” for Tesla, argues Damon Lavrinc at Heatmap. “U.S. regulators did not conclude the technology itself was unsafe, and also determined that drivers are responsible for using Autopilot safely. This is what Tesla has contended since the beginning, and it’s a rebuke to safety advocates, many local legislators, and lawyers representing accident victims and their families.”
The Inernational Energy Agency (IEA) released its December Oil Market Report this morning, which says that global oil demand rose in 2023 but that a slowdown has begun and will continue through 2024. This, combined with supply growth from the U.S. (and elsewhere), will “complicate efforts by key producers to defend their market share and maintain elevated oil prices,” the agency concludes. The report is in contrast to projections put forward by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which this week said it still expects demand for oil to grow next year by 2.25 million barrels a day. Oil prices have been plummeting for several weeks now despite OPEC output cuts. The oil cartel blamed this on “exaggerated” concerns about oil demand growth.
Weather forecasts for the next few weeks are starting to come into focus, and a white Christmas is looking increasingly unlikely for the continental U.S. “For the second year in a row, models show low chances of snow leading up to and on Christmas, continuing a disappointing trend for snow lovers tied to human-caused climate change,” reports The Washington Post.
U.S.
temperature outlook for the next two
weeksNOAA
PETA has named Apple its 2023 Company of the Year for its move to ditch animal leather in its products.
https://heatmap.news/am-briefing-chevy-s-new-electric-suv Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente asked the Consolidated Commission on Utilities not to grant him a pay raise, just before the CCU proceeded to conduct a performance evaluation on him Thursday.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gpa-head-opts-out-of-pay-raise-ccu-grants-raise-for-gwa-head/article_011994d4-9a60-11ee-8374-173aca6b03e0.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, we’ll turn to television meteorologists to better understand how to restore the public’s trust in news. Many of us have a favorite weathercaster — someone with whom you trust your life when the weather may be trying to take it. I grew up watching Bob Ryan in Washington — and when I lived…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/weathercasters-help-us-navigate-the-trust-in-news-storm/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Ask any working science journalist about the state of the discipline, and they’ll tell you the mood is grim. The industry-wide layoffs of the past year, numbering more than 20,000 media workers, have dealt body blows to the livelihoods of journalists working on science and environment issues. CNBC dismantled its climate desk. Popular Science ended…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/science-journalism-has-its-defector-moment/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Multiple miscreants are misusing OAuth to automate financially motivated cyber crimes – such as business email compromise (BEC), phishing, large-scale spamming campaigns – and deploying virtual machines to illicitly mine for cryptocurrencies, according to Microsoft.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/moneygrubbing_crooks_abuse_oauth_apps/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Thursday upheld a ruling to hold in detention until January 30 U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia earlier this year on espionage charges.
The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow, his employer and the U.S. government have all rejected the spying allegations.
“Evan Gershkovich will remain in custody until January 30, 2024,” the Moscow city court said in a statement on social media, turning down an appeal lodged late last month.
A video released by the court showed Gershkovich, who previously worked for Agence France-Presse, standing in a cage for defendants during Thursday’s hearing, smiling and wearing a dark-colored sweater.
Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip at the end of March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western reporter to be held on spying charges in Russia since the Soviet era.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Russia this month also brought fresh charges against U.S.-Russian dual citizen Alsu Kurmasheva, arrested in the central city of Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent.”
Her employer, Radio Free Europe/Liberty (RFE/RL), this week denounced the fresh charges filed against her after reports she has also been accused of violating rules against Ukraine war criticism.
https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-court-upholds-detention-of-us-reporter-gershkovich-/7397704.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
After some lengthy discussion Thursday, the Guam Legislature managed to pass an extension to the moratorium on certain liquid fuel taxes and surcharges by the evening.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/fuel-tax-moratorium-extension-passes/article_fb09880e-9a66-11ee-a17e-236b848e25fe.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAS VEGAS — In what has become the season of the backup quarterback in the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers head to Las Vegas with the QB2 facing a Raiders team that will either continue to start a rookie or return to the starter-turned-backup. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/sports/backups-qbs-will-be-the-focus-when-the-chargers-play-at-the-raiders-on-thursday/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p><strong>HILO 40 - CLA 17</strong></p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/tuesday-sees-lots-of-girls-biif-basketball-action/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p><strong>HILO GIRLS 9 - KEA‘AU 0</strong></p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/sports/hilo-ksh-soccer-teams-remain-undefeated/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p><em>Editor’s note: This is a combination of two articles written by Steven Tsai that were released Wednesday.</em></p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/sports/warriors-nab-three-new-recruits/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p> Nearly 200 countries agreed Wednesday to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels — the first time they’ve made that crucial pledge in decades of U.N. climate talks though many warned the deal still had significant shortcomings.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/in-a-first-delegates-at-un-climate-talks-agree-to-transition-away-from-planet-warming-fossil-fuels/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAS VEGAS — A developer’s drive to open a Las Vegas Strip resort with a vibe echoing Miami Beach’s venerable Fontainebleau reaches reality on Wednesday, with the opening of a 67-story hotel-casino tower that became famous as it sat unfinished for more than a decade.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/newest-bluest-resort-on-las-vegas-strip-aims-to-bring-miami-beach-vibe-to-southern-nevada/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>IRVING, Texas — The NFL is adding Brazil as its first regular-season destination in South America next year. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/sports/nfl-approves-regular-season-game-for-brazil-in-2024-in-more-international-expansion/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CHARLESTON, W.Va. — College athletes who were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can return to competition — for now — after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/sports/college-athletes-who-transfer-twice-can-play-for-now-after-a-judge-sets-aside-ncaa-transfer-rule/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants carried out one of the deadliest single attacks on Israeli soldiers since the Gaza invasion began, killing at least nine in an urban ambush, the military said Wednesday, a sign of the stiff resistance Hamas still poses despite more than two months of devastating bombardment.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/9-israeli-soldiers-killed-in-gaza-city-ambush-in-sign-that-hamas-resistance-is-still-strong/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/house-approves-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden-as-republicans-rally-behind-investigation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Biden administration officials were laboring Wednesday to try to reach a last-minute deal for wartime aid for Ukraine by agreeing to Senate Republican demands to bolster U.S.-Mexico border policies, with urgency setting in as Congress prepared to depart Washington with the impasse unresolved.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/biden-considers-new-border-and-asylum-restrictions-as-he-tries-to-reach-senate-deal-for-ukraine-aid/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday hosted nearly 100 lawmakers from around the country to discuss how their states can try to better reduce gun violence. “You’re not in it alone,” Vice President Kamala Harris told them.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/us-lawmakers-gather-at-the-white-house-on-easing-gun-violence-youre-not-in-it-alone-harris-says/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings. He insisted he would only testify in public.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/hunter-biden-defies-a-gop-congressional-subpoena-he-just-got-into-more-trouble-rep-comer-says/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DETROIT — Tesla is recalling nearly all vehicles sold in the U.S., more than 2 million, to update software and fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when using Autopilot.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/tesla-recalls-nearly-all-vehicles-sold-in-us-to-fix-system-that-monitors-drivers-using-autopilot/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for a third meeting and gave its clearest signal yet that its aggressive hiking campaign is finished by forecasting a series of cuts next year.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/fed-pivots-to-rate-cuts-as-inflation-heads-toward-2-goal/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a pair of siblings reported as runaways.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/police-seek-leads-on-runaway-siblings/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A new study finds more than half of Hawaii’s households are living from paycheck to paycheck, one financial hardship away from poverty.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/study-low-wages-a-threat-to-heart-and-soul-of-society-in-hawaii/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Over 600 acres in North Kohala will be preserved thanks to Hawaii Land Trust and partners Na Kalai Wa‘a, federal, state and county agencies, and the Kohala community.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/n-kohala-acreage-purchased-for-preservation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/the-supreme-court-will-rule-on-limits-on-a-commonly-used-abortion-medication/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>During the week of Dec. 4-10, Hawaii Island police arrested 23 motorists for DUI. Five of the drivers were involved in a traffic collision. One was younger than 21.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/police-arrest-23-for-dui-21/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against former President Donald Trump.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/nation-world-news/supreme-court-will-hear-a-case-that-could-undo-capitol-riot-charge-against-hundreds-including-trump/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The lawyer for a Hilo man police say admitted he intentionally hit a recumbent tricyclist with his pickup truck in a fatal hit-and-run collision in October is trying to obtain his client’s release from jail.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/fatal-hit-and-run-suspect-seeks-freedom-while-case-is-pending/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After more than six months of housing and treating homeless patients discharged from Oahu hospitals, Hawaii’s first “medical respite” kauhale will begin shutting down today and take the lessons learned to two new projects designed to expand to mental health issues affecting the homeless.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/hawaiis-first-homeless-medical-respite-site-closing-as-concept-expands/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>While the overall assessed value of taxable properties on Oahu for 2024 didn’t skyrocket as it did a year ago, the city says the assessed value of homes in some parts of urban Honolulu are up by as much as 5%.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/hawaii-news/value-of-urban-oahu-properties-increases/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Amid wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, Western governments have limited capacity to deal with another humanitarian crisis. Yet a decision by Pakistan to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghans threatens to create a new wave of refugees and destabilize an already volatile region. Preventing the chaos from spreading needs to be a priority.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/opinion/pakistan-is-creating-the-worlds-next-refugee-crisis/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Current system is
failing our teachers</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/opinion/your-views-for-december-14-6/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s the season for blow-out holiday sales. That thing you’ve been eyeing all year, the one that skyrocketing inflation made just a little too pricey to justify, is probably now a steal.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/14/opinion/is-a-250000-college-degree-worth-it-probably-not-and-americans-are-catching-on/ Save to Pocket
information.reveal@gmail.com is not going to contain good
news
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Karakurt, a particularly nasty extortion gang that uses “extensive harassment” to pressure victims into handing over millions of dollars in ransom payments after compromising their IT infrastructure, pose a “significant challenge” for network defenders, we’re told.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/karakurt_defense_advice/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
Cold nights, fireplaces, the fresh scent of pine – all markers that the holiday season is upon us. As residents enjoy the glistening light displays around the city and frequent local shops for the perfect gift for their loved ones, criminals are scoping out the next opportunity to strike. While enjoying one of the most […]
The post Bill Miranda | Keep the Holidays Jolly with These Safety Tips appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/bill-miranda-keep-the-holidays-jolly-with-these-safety-tips/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
The name says it all. This project looks like an Amiga. It functions like an Amiga. But there’s a very different computing hidden inside.
The post This Amiga is not an Amiga | The MagPi #137 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/this-amiga-is-not-an-amiga-the-magpi-137/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Seven basic principles
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/moral-clarity-on-campus-about-the Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Millions of contractors for digital platforms – often referred to as gig workers – may soon be classified as employees in the European Union.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/europe_gig_workers_employees/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
But it does not exceed the legal threshold, the County of Santa Barbara says.
The post Fan Noise from Ever-Bloom Cannabis Greenhouses in Carpinteria Creates a Stir appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/14/fan-noise-from-ever-bloom-cannabis-greenhouses-in-carpinteria-creates-a-stir/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1931 – Season’s first major storm deposits 9 inches of snow in Newhall, 10 in Saugus. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-14/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The UK has failed to address the threat posed by ransomware, leaving the country at the mercy of a catastrophic ransomware attack that the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy (JCNSS) yesterday warned could occur “at any moment.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/uk_jcnss_ransomware_report/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Prioritizing safety at intersections and danger points can get almost everyone biking.
The post Moving Biking from Minority to Majority Status appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/14/moving-biking-from-minority-to-majority-status/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-to-discuss-protecting-palestinian-civilians-in-israel-visit-/7397637.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-shoots-down-aerial-vehicle-launched-from-houthi-controlled-areas-/7397633.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
SAP has revealed that its attempts to create an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tool for its cloud “was abandoned after a year and a half as a failure.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/sap_cloud_infosec_migration_advice/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
In a day that was chock full of political stories in which Republicans were launching attacks on Democrats, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) made a key point. “We have not passed an emergency supplemental, a Farm Bill, or regular Appropriations,” he said. “The story is not what they are doing. The story is what they are not doing.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-13-2023 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
The Department of Public Works was a no-show at an informational briefing hearing Wednesday intended to discuss road maintenance and repairs, school bus shelter replacement and repairs, Typhoon Mawar recovery efforts and a number of other DPW-related topics.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/dpw-no-show-at-information-hearing-ag-talks-roadway-damage/article_ce1ec2ae-9986-11ee-a207-77a71473e72c.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
GM’s self-driving taxi outfit, Cruise, has dismissed nine execs – including its chief operating officer – after staff withheld information regarding an incident in which a woman was injured by one of the firm’s robotaxis.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/gms_cruise_sacrifices_9_execs/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Heatmap News
Now it is over. Early on Wednesday morning, negotiators in Dubai reached an agreement at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the global meeting otherwise known as COP28.
Their final text for the Global Stocktake — a kind of report card on humanity’s progress on its Paris Agreement goals — is contradictory and half-hearted. Instead of blunt language instructing countries to “phase out fossil fuels,” it instead provides a range of options that could let countries achieve “deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” One of these possibilities is the tripling of global renewable capacity; another is a call for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.”
So far, this language — this call for leaving fossil fuels — has attracted the most attention by far. Simon Stiell, the UN’s top climate official, said that it marked “the beginning of the end” of the fossil-fuel era, while the climate journalist and activist Bill McKibben has argued that the phrase can become a useful tool for activists, who can now beat it across the head of the Biden administration.
But a separate phrase in the agreement caught my attention. Immediately after calling for transitioning away from fossil fuels, the text makes a different point: that the world must accelerate the development of “zero- and low-emission technologies, including, inter alia, renewables, nuclear, abatement and removal technologies such as carbon capture and utilization and storage, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors, and low-carbon hydrogen production.”
This language may rankle some readers because it seems to give pride of place to carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS, which would allow fossil fuel-burning plants to catch emissions before they enter the atmosphere. (It also seems to conflate CCS with carbon removal technology, even though they are different.) But I believe that the overarching demand — the call for accelerating climate-friendly technologies — represents a crucial insight, one that I could not stop thinking about at the COP itself, and one that is linked to any realistic demand to phase out fossil fuels. Here is that insight: The world will only be able to decarbonize when it develops abundant energy technologies that emit little carbon and that are price-competitive if not cheaper than their fossil-fueled alternatives.
Just as COP28 began, the Rhodium Group, an energy research firm, published a new study looking at how carbon pollution will rise and fall through the end of the century. Unlike other such studies — which ask either how the planet will fare if no new climate policy passes, or what the world must do to avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming — this new study tried to look at what was likely to happen. Given what we know about how countries’ emissions rise and fall with their economies, and when and how they tend to pass climate policy, how much warming can we expect by the end of the century?
As the report’s authors put it, the study was aimed not at policymakers, but at policy takers — the officials, executives, engineers, and local leaders who are starting to plan for the world of 2100.
Here’s the good news: Global greenhouse gas emissions are likely to peak this decade, the report found. Sometime during the 2020s, humanity’s emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other climate pollution will reach an all-time high and begin to fall. (Right now, we emit the equivalent of 50.6 billion tons of the stuff every year.) This will represent a world-historic turning point in our species’ effort to govern the global climate system, and it will probably happen before Morocco, Portugal, and Spain host the 2030 World Cup.
And that is roughly where the good news ends. Because unlike in rosy net-zero studies where humanity’s carbon emissions peak and then rapidly fall to zero, the report does not project any near-term pollution plunge. Instead, global emissions waver and plateau through the 2030s and 2040s, falling in some years, rising slightly in others, cutting an unmistakably downward trend while failing to get anywhere close to zero. By 2060, annual emissions will have fallen to 39 gigatons, only 22% below today’s levels.
And — worse news, now — that is as low as emissions will ever get this century, the report projects. Driven by explosive economic growth in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, global emissions begin to rise — slowly but inexorably — starting in the 2060s. They keep rising in the 2070s, 2080s, and 2090s. By the year 2090, emissions will have reached 44 gigatons, only 13% below today’s levels and roughly where emissions stood in 2003.
How Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Fall — Then Rise — in the 21st Century
Rhodium
Group
In other words, after a century of work to fight climate change, humanity will find itself roughly where it began. But now, with several thousand additional gigatons of emissions in the atmosphere, the planet will be about 2.8 degrees Celsius warmer (or about 5 degrees Fahrenheit). At its high end estimate, temperatures could rise as much as 4 degrees Celsius, or more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
This temperature rise will be caused by legacy emissions from polluters like the United States and China, but as the century goes on, it will increasingly come from Asian and African countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, and others. Why? It’s not like these countries, say, reject renewables or electric vehicles: In fact, Rhodium anticipates that renewables will have grown up to 22-fold by the end of the century.
Instead, emissions rise because fossil fuels are cheap and globally abundant — they remain one of the easiest ways to power an explosively growing society — and because of the growth of the so-called hard-to-abate sectors in these countries are slated to grow just as quickly as the economies themselves. Indonesia, Nigeria, and Vietnam will demand many megatons of new steel, cement, and chemicals to furnish their growing societies; right now, the only economical way to make those materials requires releasing immense amounts of carbon pollution into the atmosphere.
Let’s be clear: Rhodium’s report is a projection, not a prophecy. It should not provoke despair, I think, but determination. Many of the so-called hard-to-abate activities, such as steel or petrochemical making, should more aptly be called activities-that-we-haven’t-tried-very-hard-to-abate yet; people will likely find a way to do them by the middle of the century. (When I asked Bill Gates what he thought about the Rhodium Group’s findings, he replied that predicting the carbon intensity of certain activities in 2060 was all but impossible: We might have safe, cheap, and abundant nuclear fission by then, or even nuclear fusion.)
Yet it heralds a shift in climate geopolitics that, while it has not yet happened, is not so far away. Since the modern era of global climate politics began in 1990, most carbon emissions have come from just a handful of countries: China, the United States, and the 37 other rich, developed democracies that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. These countries have emitted 55% of climate pollution since 1990, while the rest of the world — the remaining low- and middle-income countries — have emitted only 45%.
But from now to 2100, that relationship is set to reverse. Through the end of the century, China and the OECD countries emit only 40% of total global emissions, according to Rhodium’s projections. The rest of the world, meanwhile, will emit 60% of global emissions.
In other words, decarbonization will soon become a challenge for middle-income countries. These countries will not be able to spend extra to buy climate-friendly technologies, but they are simply too populous for rich countries to subsidize. At the same time, these countries lack an existing fleet of fossil-fuel-consuming equipment, so they will not need to transition away from fossil fuels in the first place. Unlike in the United States, where we will have to shut down our oil-and-gas economy as we build a new one to replace it, Kenya or Indonesia can more or less build a climate-friendly middle-class economy de novo, much in the same way that in the 2000s countries “leapfrogged” landline telephones and adopted cell phones. Yet countries will only be able to leapfrog the fossil-fuel era if the climate equivalent of cell phones exist: if climate-friendly technologies are plentiful, useful, and price-competitive.
That’s not all it will take, of course. The world will have to phase down the production and consumption of fossil fuels, because the existence of climate-friendly technologies will not guarantee their use. Humanity may also have to create and enforce a strong moral taboo around burning fossil fuels, much in the same way that it has created a taboo around, say, child labor. But none of that can happen unless climate-friendly alternatives exist: Otherwise countries will ensure that they gain access to the energy that their development requires.
https://heatmap.news/technology/cop28-global-stocktake-climate-tech Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Adobe has revealed it may have to fork out “significant monetary costs or penalties” as a result of a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation of its subscription cancellation practices.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/adobe_q4_23/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Can California farmers grow this native plant into the booming global market? A Santa Barbara County–based project aims to find out.
The post Cracking the Elderberry Code appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/cracking-the-elderberry-code/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Canyons News (COC student paper)
With traffic fatalities increasing around southern California,one organization is using it’s wheels…
The post Finish The Ride and Finish The Run Event holds a deeper meaning to the community appeared first on Canyons News.
https://canyonsnews.com/finish-the-ride-and-finish-the-run-event-holds-a-deeper-meaning-to-the-community/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
The William S Hart Union High School District named Linda Storli as governing board president for 2024 at its annual organizational meeting Wednesday. Storli subsequently nominated board member Cherise Moore as clerk and Moore then nominated board member Joe Messina as assistant clerk. “It was a challenging year, we all put in a lot of […]
The post Storli named board president for Hart district in 2024 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/storli-named-board-president-for-hart-district-in-2024/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Canyons News (COC student paper)
When watching a film, it is usually a feature movie. But not…
The post College of the Canyons Friday Night Films Festival shows appreciation For independent cinema appeared first on Canyons News.
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date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
State Department — The United States and Taiwan are exploring ways to expand Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations system and other international forums, as well as addressing a range of global challenges, including public health, aviation safety and climate change.
The most recent routine consultation between the U.S. and Taiwan took place Wednesday, days after the Chinese delegation at COP28 opposed calls to include Taiwan in the United Nations climate talks in Dubai.
All participants in the latest U.S.-Taiwan talks “recognized the importance of working closely with likeminded partners who share our concerns regarding attempts to exclude Taiwan from the international community,” according to the U.S. State Department in a statement.
Taiwan Relations Act
Senior American officials have said Washington’s “One China” policy is “distinct” from Beijing’s “One China” principle. The U.S. policy is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances. China has objected to the Taiwan Relations Act and deemed it as invalid.
The Taiwan Relations Act has stated that “nothing in this Act may be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of Taiwan from continued membership in any international financial institution or any other international organization.”
The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan but claims sovereignty over the island, which became home to the Chinese Nationalist government after its defeat in 1949. During the U.N. climate talks held in the United Arab Emirates, Chinese officials lodged a protest after calls to include Taiwan’s participation in the climate summit by other countries.
“China has noted that during the meeting a handful of countries ignore the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and make noises about the participation by the Taiwan authorities in the COP,” a member of the Chinese delegation said via a translator in the plenary hall in Dubai.
Wednesday, officials from the State Department and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed near-term opportunities to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and other global public health bodies, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as Taiwan’s meaningful participation in other multilateral organizations.
World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization
The Beijing government has been blocking Taiwan’s representation at WHA meetings after the self-ruled democracy elected Tsai Ing-wen, a China skeptic, as president in 2016.
China has also blocked Taiwan’s participation in ICAO assemblies since 2013.
Since the U.S. switched its diplomatic recognition from the government of Taipei to Beijing in 1979, Washington has insisted that the two sides should resolve their political disputes peacefully.
Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said “fundamental differences” over Taiwan persist in Washington’s relationship with Beijing.
The top U.S. diplomat on China said the United States will continue to implement the Taiwan Relations Act and help Taiwan with its defense needs, renewing the U.S. commitment to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
In recent months, China has been increasing its military activities near the strait. The United States has voiced concerns about any Chinese interference through military coercion, as Taiwan prepares for a presidential election in January 2024.
“I think what we can do is to insist that the people in Taiwan have an opportunity to vote freely on January 13,” Burns told an audience during a seminar hosted by the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations.
In Beijing, Chinese officials said the election in Taiwan “is purely China’s internal affair.”
“Taiwan independence” means war and “Taiwan independence” is a dead end, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a recent briefing.
In a recent interview with VOA, U.S. Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Matt Murray said, “We certainly want to make sure there are opportunities for engagement” between the U.S. and Taiwan in international economic forums, as Taiwan is one of the top trading partners and investors in the United States.
Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, represented Taiwan during the APEC summit in San Francisco in mid-November, where he held talks with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
The two discussed the U.S.-Taiwan “relationship on the economy and technology,” Harris said in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter. Chang also had a pull-aside meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the APEC meetings, according to Murray.
The last U.S.-Taiwan working group meeting on international organizations took place in April.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-taiwan-discuss-broadening-taiwan-s-international-participation-/7397581.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
The Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives narrowly voted Wednesday to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Joe Biden, a step forward in the investigation into any involvement by the president in his son’s business dealings. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, the White House denies any wrongdoing.
https://www.voanews.com/a/republican-majority-us-house-of-representatives-narrowly-advances-biden-impeachment-inquiry/7397578.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The US Federal Communications Commission is continuing to reject SpaceX’s $885 million bid to supply wireless broadband to rural areas via its Starlink internet satellites – much to the Musk-owned biz’s annoyance.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/14/fcc_starlink_spacex/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
Ahead of the new calendar year, city of Santa Clarita officials announced their adjusted fiscal forecast has improved the city’s bottom line by about $5.3 million. Each year, the city announces its spending plan in June for the fiscal year starting July 1 and then adjusts as needed with end-of-the-calendar-year changes. The City Council approved […]
The post <strong>City announces midyear budget changes</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/city-announces-midyear-budget-changes/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
The Associated Student Organization (ASO) hosted De-Stress Fest on Thursday, an event designed to focus on students’ mindfulness approaching final exams. The event, run by
The post Stretching to the finish line appeared first on The Roundup.
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date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
The longest-tenured coach in the Santa Clarita Valley will be hanging up the cleats after the 2024 season. Hart legend Jim Ozella has been at the helm of the Indians baseball program for 25 years but the skipper announced to the school on Tuesday that 2024 would be his final season. “I came to the […]
The post Hart baseball legend to retire after 2024 season appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/hart-baseball-legend-to-retire-after-2024-season/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
At a Chiquita Canyon Landfill Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday, a federal official announced the Environmental Protection Agency was stepping in to seek ways to help residents quell a smell that’s earned thousands of complaints and expanded in scope since July. Fifth District LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley and previously […]
The post <strong>Chiquita Canyon problems facing elevated state, federal scope</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/chiquita-canyon-problems-facing-elevated-state-federal-scope/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
As the semester comes to its end, students gathered to ponder the meaning of life through poetry and song. The Philosopher’s Cabaret began at 3
The post Exploring the meaning of life appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2023/12/13/exploring-the-meaning-of-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exploring-the-meaning-of-life Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Highly recommend the Texas Observer feed.
https://feedland.com/?river=https://www.texasobserver.org/feed/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-downplays-biden-s-remarks-on-israel-s-indiscriminate-bombing-/7397560.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
California law spreads costs of maintaining nuclear power plant across the state.
The post Funding Diablo Canyon Will Cost Edison and San Diego Ratepayers, Too appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/funding-diablo-canyon-will-cost-edison-and-san-diego-ratepayers-too/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: The Signal
Irene’s first fostering experience was that of fostering her own grandchildren. This experience was so life-changing that she decided to keep her doors open for those in need after her grandchildren left. Irene now plays host to five foster children. This leaves her with having to make five Christmases possible. Through the partnership of Supervisor […]
The post <strong>500 lives changed in the spirit of Christmas and thrill</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/500-lives-changed-in-the-spirit-of-christmas-and-thrill/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA YNEZ, CA, December 13, 2023 — The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians recently presented a check for over
The post Chumash Casino Resort’s ‘Project Pink” Campaign Raises $10K for Ridley-Tree Cancer Center appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/chumash-casino-resorts-project-pink-campaign-raises-10k-for-ridley-tree-cancer-center/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/harvard-mit-leaders-face-continued-calls-to-resign-over-their-antisemitism-stance/7397502.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: NASA breaking news
Marshall Team Members Celebrate Holiday Season By Jessica Barnett For hundreds of team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, “eat, drink, and be merry” was the afternoon theme for Dec. 7. The center hosted a holiday celebration in Activities Building 4316, complete with food, door prizes, and plenty of opportunity to wish one happy […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-december-13-2023/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Measures authorizing a body camera program for the Guam Police Department and creating a Special Cost of Living Economic Task Force are among eight bills recently signed into law by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/bills-for-police-bodycams-cola-task-force-among-eight-new-laws/article_eb54b0da-9a0e-11ee-b551-43d2d088c332.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: OS News
A recent discovery that overclocking AMD’s latest chips blows a fuse to denote the chip has been overclocked has led to slightly misleading claims that it will automatically void the chips’ warranty for any type of failure. However, AMD clarified to Tom’s Hardware that overclocking AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000 (Storm Peak) and non-Pro lineup, among the best workstation CPUs, doesn’t automatically void the processor’s warranty. ↫ Zhiye Liu at Tom’s Hardware Something about these fuses in processors doesn’t sit right with me.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138078/amd-says-overclocking-blows-a-hidden-fuse-on-ryzen-threadripper-7000-to-show-if-youve-overclocked-the-chip-but-it-doesnt-automatically-void-your-cpus-warranty/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: OS News
We’re going to cover the Cortex A57 as implemented in the Nintendo Switch’s Nvidia Tegra X1. The Tegra X1 targets a wide range of applications including mobile devices and automobiles. It focuses on providing high GPU performance in a limited power envelope, making it perfect for a portable gaming console like the Switch. Tegra X1 consumes 117,6 mm2 on TSMC’s 20 nm (20 SoC) process and uses a quad core A57 cluster to provide the bulk of its CPU power. Each Cortex A57 core consumes just under 2 mm2 of area, and the quad core A57 cluster takes 13.16 mm2. ↫ Clamchowder at Chips and Cheese An old SoC still doing excellent work in the Switch.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138072/cortex-a57-nintendo-switchs-cpu/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: OS News
In collaboration with Polar Signals we have committed that beginning with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, our GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) package will enable frame pointers by default for 64-bit platforms. All packages in Ubuntu, with very few exceptions, will be rebuilt with frame pointers enabled, making them easier to profile and subsequently optimise. “I’ve enabled frame pointers at huge scale for Java and glibc and studied the CPU overhead for this change, which is typically less than 1% and usually so close to zero that it is hard to measure. Frame pointers allow more complete CPU profiling and off-CPU profiling. The performance wins that these can provide far outweigh the comparatively tiny loss in performance. Ubuntu enabling frame pointers by default will be a huge win for performance engineering and the default developer experience”. said Brendan Gregg, computer performance expert and Intel Fellow. ↫ Oliver Smith on the official Ubuntu blog So I guess the very minor performance regression is supposed to be compensated for by optimisations in individual packages that frame pointers will help realise.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138070/frame-pointers-enabled-by-default-in-ubuntu-24-04-lts/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
de Lalouvière, Nicole
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/647399 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Ammann, Jeanine; Mack, Gabriele; Irek, Judith; Finger, Robert; El Benni, Nadja
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/647439 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-14, from: Max Halford Blog
Funnel metrics as products I talked about metric decomposition in a previous article, and how it can be used to explain why metrics change values over time. That article explained how to decompose a sum, as well as a ratio. In this article, I’ll explain how to decompose a product. revenue = impressions * click_rate * conversion_rate * spend The decomposition in this article isn’t limited to funnels. It can be applied to any metric that is expressed as a product of factors.
https://maxhalford.github.io/blog/funnel-decomposition/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Nuclear power has benefited from a worldwide paradigm shift toward encouragement.
The post Diablo Canyon Extension Likely appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
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date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The LAist
Super Bowl LXI will be L.A.’s ninth time hosting the event.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/la-host-2027-super-bowl-sofi-stadium Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Google popped a bunch of AI models onto its cloud platform on Wednesday for folks to try out and perhaps adopt.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/google_gemini_duet_ai/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Gibbons Conservation Center is thrilled to announce they reached their goal, thanking everyone who donated to their November Matching Gift of $15,
https://scvnews.com/gibbons-conservation-center-gives-thanks-for-november-matching-gift/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Menlo Park levee breach is major milestone in $100 million restoration of Bay from salt ponds to wild marshes.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/re-wilding-san-francisco-bay-one-pond-at-a-time/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The power of open formats.
https://feedland.blog/2023/12/13/the-power-of-open-formats/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
After completing his first full year of instruction at Pierce College, veterinary professor Kevin Connolly is enthusiastic for the new students at the Equine Center
The post Brahmas and horses appeared first on The Roundup.
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date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The November fire that shut down a section of the 10 Freeway — subsequently reopening more than a week after the blaze severely damaged a crucial artery for Los Angeles drivers — brought comparison to the 1994 Northridge earthquake and damage it caused to roadways across the region
https://scvnews.com/csun-prof1994-earthquake-recovery-influenced-quick-repair-of-recent-10-freeway-fire/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
December 11, 2023 (Ventura, CA) – On Saturday, December 9, California State Senator MONIQUE LIMÓN and Assemblymember STEVE BENNETT presented a check for
The post Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura Receives $1.5 Million Gift from Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Steve Bennett appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/rubicon-theatre-company-in-ventura-receives-1-5-million-gift-from-senator-monique-limon-and-assemblymember-steve-bennett/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
I've been blogging for over 29 years, and have no plans on stopping, ever. 😀
https://blog.ayjay.org/bring-back-the-blog/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
The Biden administration’s support of Israel in the war against Hamas has drawn sharp criticism both from Americans protesting Palestinian civilian deaths and from State Department staff calling for a cease-fire. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has been signaling to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he needs to change course or risk international standing. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-warns-netanyahu-israel-losing-support-in-war-against-hamas-/7397104.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
In what plaintiff Sarah Depoian called “an extreme violation,” Dr. Merle Berger, an OBGYN professor at Harvard and founder of Boston IVF, one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics, is accused of inseminating her with his own sperm.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/lawsuit-ex-harvard-doctor-accused-of-inseminating-woman-with-his-own-sperm-without-permission/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Burrtec Waste Industries has partnered with the city of Santa Clarita to establish four convenient locations for residents to recycle their Christmas trees this holiday season
https://scvnews.com/recycle-trees-after-the-holiday-season-at-drop-off-locations/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043619-ive-discovered-a-new-word Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Global cuisine lined up for Travis Kalanick’s hush-hush venture
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/san-jose-downtown-food-halls-first-mystery-restaurant-tenants-coming-to-light/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
As details of the plan emerged, advocates for immigrants and members of President Joe Biden’s own Democratic Party fretted about the policies under discussion. Some demonstrated at the Capitol, warning of a return to the hardline border and immigration policies of the Trump era.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/biden-mulls-new-border-restrictions-in-quest-for-ukraine-deal/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
A spacious house located in the 800 block of Matadero Avenue in Palo Alto has new owners. The 2,083-square-foot property, built in 1949, was sold on Nov. 30, 2023.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/single-family-residence-sells-in-palo-alto-for-3-8-million-3/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-seeks-us-help-against-pakistani-taliban-in-afghanistan/7397076.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA, CA – December 13, 2023 It’s hard to have a happy holiday when you’re arrested for drunk driving.
The post 2023 Winter Holiday Season “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/2023-winter-holiday-season-drive-sober-or-get-pulled-over-campaign/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
More than 2 million Tesla vehicles are set to receive over-the-air updates to address failures in the Autopilot system, the carmaker’s much-hyped and oft-abused driver-assistance program. But the recall report published by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration shows regulators are willing to keep risky technology on the road as long as the driver gets nagged enough.
What’s at issue with the recall is less Autopilot’s ability to brake and accelerate and more its Autosteer functionality, which allows the car to follow curves and make turns. According to NHTSA, “the prominence and scope of the feature’s controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”
That “misuse” has been well documented in the years since Autopilot’s release. It began with Teslas being “hacked” with a water bottle to allow drivers to keep their hands completely off the wheel (and sometimes their bodies in the back seat); after that, researchers found that Autopiloted Teslas were involved in 273 crashes over a one-year period. Autopilot has been investigated in almost a dozen cases of vehicles crashing into emergency vehicles, and just this August, thousands of Autopilot complaints from German customers were leaked to Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper.
The initial NHTSA investigation began in 2021, and late this year U.S. regulators met with Tesla twice to address fixes. The automaker eventually decided to resolve the matter by voluntarily administering the recall — while, according to NHTSA, “not concurring with the agency’s analysis.”
While a 2 million-car recall isn’t something usually construed as a win, in this case, U.S. regulators did not conclude the technology itself was unsafe, and also determined that drivers are responsible for using Autopilot safely. This is what Tesla has contended since the beginning, and it’s a rebuke to safety advocates, many local legislators, and lawyers representing accident victims and their families.
Both Tesla and NHTSA point out that Autopilot is similar to other Level 2 automated driving systems offered by competing automakers — although these competitors have more cautiously waded into autonomy, building in myriad restrictions and ways to track driver focus. That’s in contrast to Tesla, which, despite ample contravening evidence and multiple lawsuits, still hosts a video of a Model X “self-driving” with no intervention from the passenger on its website.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/tesla-recall-elon-musk-win Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
UNESCO announced 55 new additions to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/italian-opera-added-to-unescos-list-of-intangible-cultural-heritage-180983433/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The force multiplier making this moment happen, I think, was Grand Jury member Stan Roden, who behind all his progressive earnestness still packs some serious — albeit tempered — swagger.
The post Poodle Smells Hope and Goodwill in Santa Barbara County appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/poodle-smells-hope-and-goodwill-in-santa-barbara-county/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
City is looking to tighten its eviction ordinance to give tenants the right to re-rent and stop landlord harassment.
The post Santa Barbara’s New Tenant Protections Move Forward appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/santa-barbaras-new-tenant-protections-move-forward-2/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Jason Verrett inspires his 49ers teammates with his latest comeback from injury.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/49ers-re-signed-cb-verrett-my-heart-was-always-wanting-to-be-here/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043617-the-national-lyrics-or-th Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
Mayor Bass made an ambitious campaign pledge to address homelessness by housing 17,000 Angelenos. We’ve been trying to keep tabs, but it’s complicated.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/why-its-so-hard-to-know-how-many-unhoused-people-mayor-bass-has-housed Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Draymond Green’s looming suspension is a big issue for Steph Curry and the Warriors — but it’s far from the team’s only problem.
It all might be too much to overcome.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/kurtenbach-the-warriors-demise-was-years-in-the-making-itll-take-years-and-possibly-the-unthinkable-to-reverse/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The agreement, which ended the COP28 climate conference, is not legally binding, but it’s the first to explicitly call for moving away from fossil fuels
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nations-agree-to-transition-away-from-fossil-fuels-in-landmark-climate-deal-180983431/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Michael Tsai
VMware (via Hacker News): Broadcom’s close of the VMware acquisition has brought together two engineering-first, innovation-centric teams to help build the world’s leading infrastructure technology company. […] VMware has been on a journey to simplify its portfolio and transition from a perpetual to a subscription model to better serve customers with continuous innovation, faster time […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/13/vmware-transition-to-subscriptions/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Michael Tsai
Daniel Gonzalez Reina (via Hacker News): On the one hand you have that Macs will use a HFP when the microphone is in use, and on the other you have that HFP use audio codecs which prioritizes low latency over audio quality. Therefore,☠️ Using the Bluetooth headset’s microphone will make your Mac sacrifice audio quality […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/13/why-is-bluetooth-sound-quality-bad-on-my-mac/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Michael Tsai
Apple (downloads): Xcode 15.1 includes SDKs for iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, and macOS Sonoma 14.2. The Xcode 15.1 release supports on-device debugging in iOS 12 and later, tvOS 12 and later, and watchOS 4 and later. Xcode 15.1 requires a Mac running macOS Ventura 13.5 or later. Robin Kunde: There’s a […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/13/xcode-15-1/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Michael Tsai
Kyle Orland: The jury unanimously answered “yes” to all 11 questions on the verdict form, indicating that Epic had proven those monopolies existed in every worldwide market except for China. Google “engaged in anticompetitive conduct” to establish or maintain the monopoly and illegally tied the Google Play store to the use of Google Play billing, […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/13/epic-wins-antitrust-case-with-google/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
The Topton FU02 is a small fanless computer with aluminum body featuring heat spreading fins on the top and sides. When we first reported on the FU02 last year, it was available with support for up to an AMD Ryzen 7 4700U processor. But it looks like Topton’s been busy adding newer processor options since then, […]
The post Topton FU02 fanless mini PC is now available with up to a Ryzen 7 7730U processor appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/topton-fu02-fanless-mini-pc-is-now-available-with-up-to-a-ryzen-7-7730u-processor/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
SpaceX blasts FCC as it refuses to reinstate Starlink’s $886 million grant.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/spacex-blasts-fcc-as-it-refuses-to-reinstate-starlinks-886-million-grant/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Chunliam Saechao was the subject of two lengthy armed standoffs as police waited outside his Pleasant Hill home.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/retired-pittsburg-detective-charged-with-attempting-to-kill-pleasant-hill-cops/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
The asteroid and comet-hunting infrared space telescope has gathered an impressive haul of observations, but it’s now at the mercy of the Sun, which is accelerating its demise. NASA’s NEOWISE has had a busy decade. Since its reactivated mission began on Dec. 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered a once-in-a-lifetime comet, observed more than […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/neowise/nasas-neowise-celebrates-10-years-plans-end-of-mission/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
A spokesperson for the Jewish Community Relations Council said that the menorah had been smashed, its pieces strewn across the area. Anti-Semitic graffiti was also sprayed on concrete benches near the display.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/hanukkah-menorah-near-lake-merritt-destroyed-by-vandals/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
“The emails at issue demonstrate poor judgment, but they are not criminal,” the suspect’s lawyers wrote in a memo to the court.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/criticizing-a-judge-is-not-illegal-charges-dropped-against-san-mateo-county-man-accused-of-threatening-jurist/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara’s Thomas Reynolds Gallery is presenting their 29th annual group exhibition ‘(Mostly) Small Treasures’ through January 31st.
The post Santa Barbara’s Thomas Reynolds Gallery Presents ‘(Mostly) Small Treasures’ appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/santa-barbaras-thomas-reynolds-gallery-presents-mostly-small-treasures/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
NASA currently is working with several commercial companies as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract, providing new opportunities for science, and technology payloads. These include: Building on NASA’s previous procurement efforts to foster development of a growing U.S. commercial launch market, VADR provides Federal Aviation Administration -licensed […]
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/launch-services-office/lsp/nasa-provides-update-on-venture-class-launch-services/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
County gives major polluter Central Coast Agriculture 180 days to install a critical piece of clean-air technology.
The post Lompoc Cannabis Lab Granted Temporary Permit appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/lompoc-cannabis-lab-granted-temporary-permit/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
As the busiest shopping season of the year ramps up, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, Team DEO, is calling on all L.A. County residents to shop at local mom and pop shops and small businesses across the county during the holiday season
https://scvnews.com/win-a-500-gift-card-to-local-mom-pop-shops/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
A 21-year-old Lancaster resident was arrested on suspicion of DUI of alcohol causing injury on Monday night, and held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to officials with the California Highway Patrol Newhall-area Office. According to Officer Josh Greengard, a spokesman for CHP Newhall, on Monday at approximately 8:30 p.m. the suspect was involved in […]
The post <strong>CHP: 21-year-old arrested following DUI crash on SR-14</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/chp-21-year-old-arrested-following-dui-crash-on-sr-14/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Blog by Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti
I’m not only a technical writer and an avid collector of old manuals: I’m also a gamer. One of the bits I always enjoyed about video games were the manuals, from the slim booklets that accompanied arcade games to the hefty guides that helped build virtual worlds in our heads while we waited for a few kilobytes to load in memory. Those manuals still hold valuable lessons for the software documentation we write today.
https://passo.uno/video-game-manuals-docs/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
A person was trapped aboard a cherry picker in Castaic and subsequently rescued by Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel on Tuesday night, according to L.A. County Fire Department officials. According to Esteban Benitez, a spokesman for the L.A. County Fire Department, fire personnel responded to a person trapped call at 6:07 p.m. at the […]
The post <strong>Person trapped, then rescued from cherry picker in Castaic</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/person-trapped-then-rescued-from-cherry-picker-in-castaic/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
Growing up, Bruce Askins was passionate about space and oceanography. His desire to explore other worlds always made him want to be an astronaut. Though he did not become an astronaut, Askins has built a 42-year career at NASA, and, as the infrastructure management lead for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program at the agency’s […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/i-am-artemis-bruce-askins/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
This year may forever be remembered as the start of the American clean energy manufacturing boom.
Since the beginning of 2023, companies have announced more than 150 separate investments in new and expanded factories to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and other clean energy technologies in the U.S., for a total pledged outlay of nearly $60 billion, according to tracking by the nonpartisan group E2. And these factories won’t just be assembling the final products. Entire supply chains have arrived on shore.
This is all, of course, due to the Inflation Reduction Act, the historic climate legislation President Biden signed in 2022. The projects announced this year are on top of some 60 announcements made right after the law passed.
But more specifically, these factories are the result of one program in the law that has perhaps not been fully appreciated — the 45X tax credit. The IRA’s X-factor, if I may.
In ecology, scientists refer to animals that have a disproportionate effect on their ecosystem as “keystone species.” Beavers, for example, engineer the landscape around them, creating habitat that allows certain other plants and animals to thrive. If beavers suddenly disappeared, those habitats and the creatures they supported would vanish, too.
Similarly, 45X is the “keystone” of the IRA, according to Harry Godfrey, managing director at Advanced Energy United, an industry association that represents a variety of clean energy companies. This one provision engineers the ecosystems supporting three key technologies — wind, solar, and batteries — by offering tax relief to U.S. manufacturers producing components up and down their supply chains.
The goal is not just to lower the cost of these climate solutions, but also to level the global playing field for American-made goods. Before the end of the year the Treasury Department will propose new guidance on how the 45X tax credit will work — for example, how the government will prevent fraud and abuse of the program — but the basic mechanics established in the IRA have given companies enough confidence to get to work.
The size of the credit companies are eligible for is specific to each manufactured component. Let’s look at how solar panels are made, as an example:
1. At the top of the supply chain are the companies that make polysilicon, the key material that helps transform sunlight into electricity. Those producers will earn $3 per kilogram of polysilicon fabricated in the U.S.
2. Next are the companies that buy polysilicon and turn it into solar wafers, thin slices that are later stacked to produce solar cells. They will receive $12 per square meter of wafer they produce.
3. The solar cell fabricators will receive a refund based on how much electricity their cells are capable of producing, paid out at 4 cents per watt, or $40 per kilowatt.
4. Producers of “polymeric backsheets,” a protective layer applied to the back of the final solar panels, can earn 40 cents per square meter.
5. Finally, companies that assemble the cells into a solar panel and apply the backsheets will get $70 per kilowatt.
Advanced Energy United made a rough estimate of what those five incentives would mean for solar using 2018 manufacturing data. It found that 45X would reduce the cost of a domestically produced solar panel by 41%. “That’s huge to the global competitiveness of this industry,” said Godfrey.
There are additional incentives under 45X not even included in their analysis. The program pays back 10% of the cost of producing the aluminum that goes into the solar panel’s frame and into the inverter that enables it to send power onto the electric grid, for example. Producers of “torque tubes” and “fasteners,” the structural components used to mount solar panels to a field or roof, are also eligible. Inverter manufacturers qualify, as well.
There’s no per-company cap or annual funding limit on the tax credit, and it will be in effect until 2032. But if it succeeds, it could become self-sustaining, encouraging companies to come to the U.S. in the future because that’s where the supply chain and workforce is. “Suddenly you’re shifting the gravity back into the United States,” Godfrey told me.
Proponents of subsidizing a domestic clean energy manufacturing industry tout benefits like job creation, economic development, and improving U.S. energy security and independence. Renewable energy technologies like wind and solar already inherently do this, as they reduce our exposure to the price volatility of oil and gas, as when energy prices spiked around the world in 2022 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Diversifying supply chains and bringing them to the U.S. further insulates the country from being overly dependent on China, which currently controls some 60% of the manufacturing capacity of clean energy technologies. Being so reliant on any one country is risky — and when that country is China, a country with which the U.S. has a longstanding rivalry, the risk is greater still. For instance, China recently restricted exports of graphite, a key mineral for electric vehicles, in retaliation to U.S. export limits on semiconductors.
45X is not the only program in the IRA that encourages domestic production. The consumer tax credit for electric vehicles, for example, which gives car buyers a $7,500 discount on a new EV, only applies to models that were assembled in the U.S., with at least 50% of their battery components made in the country, too. But the IRA creates a push and pull dynamic — 45X provides the push for that consumer-based pull to work.
“In order for these demand side credits to be effective, we need the manufacturing capacity,” Thomas Boylan, regulatory director at the Zero Emissions Transportation Association told me. “Broadly speaking, this is what will make or break the success of some of these other credits.”
Treasury’s upcoming guidance will help clarify exactly which processes and technologies qualify. But unlike some of the IRA’s other programs, where the department has had to contend with big, industry-shaping questions, like how a company can prove it is using clean electricity, the uncertainty around 45X is mostly around small details.
For example, Boylan told me there’s some confusion in the industry about who can claim which aspect of the credit. Can producers of critical minerals claim 45X, or is the credit just for companies who buy the minerals? And if one company is involved in multiple steps of the supply chain, can they claim 45X for each one? There’s also uncertainty about whether only producers of new materials are eligible, or whether, for example, an electric vehicle battery recycling company can claim the credit.
But as evidenced by the investment numbers, companies haven’t exactly been waiting for the guidance to make moves.
https://heatmap.news/economy/biden-ira-tax-credit-45x Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Following many failed attempts to retire, the legendary animator has released a new semi-autobiographical feature
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-boy-and-the-heron-miyazaki-last-film-180983419/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043616-from-alexandra-lange-mark Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Circle K, the global convenience store chain, is lighting up the holiday season with a major discount at the pump throughout the West Coast
https://scvnews.com/dec-14-circle-k-offering-40-cents-per-gallon-off-fuel/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
This edition of Full Belly Files was originally emailed to subscribers on December 8, 2023. To receive Matt Kettmann’s food newsletter in
The post Full Belly Files | New Machines, Feasting on Seven Fishes, and More appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/full-belly-files-new-machines-feasting-on-seven-fishes-and-more/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA – Cottage Health is expanding access to healthcare with a new, primary care clinic, Cottage Primary Care –
The post Cottage Primary Care – Santa Barbara – Oak Park Now Open and Accepting New Patients appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/cottage-primary-care-santa-barbara-oak-park-now-open-and-accepting-new-patients/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
News release Samuel Dixon Family Health Center announced it has received a $30,000 grant from the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation to go toward bolstering mental health services within the community. The funding will be allocated for counseling and support services for individuals and families who have little to no access to mental health resources […]
The post Dixon health center receives $30,000 grant from Newhall Foundation appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/dixon-health-center-receives-30000-grant-from-newhall-foundation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
Sipeed is continuing to expand its system of devices powered by a removable LM4A system-on-a-module with a RISC-V processor. One of the latest additions to the Sipeed Lichee family is the Lichee Pocket 4A, a handheld gaming PC with a 7 inch display and integrated game controllers. There’s no word on how much it will […]
The post Lichee Pocket 4A is a RISC-V powered handheld game console appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lichee-pocket-4a-is-a-risc-v-powered-handheld-game-console/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
By Alan Nunn Navy Recruit Training Command Public Affairs GREAT LAKES, Ill. — Seaman Recruit Jessica Stitzinger, a native of Santa Clarita, graduated as the top sailor from Recruit Training Command, Division 380, earning the Military Excellence Award, Dec. 7. The Navy Club of the MEA is the top award presented to the No. 1 recruit […]
The post Santa Clarita native earns Military Excellence Award at Recruit Training Command appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/santa-clarita-native-earns-military-excellence-award-at-recruit-training-command/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Theodore Paine Foundation
On the ride to drop my daughter of at school a couple of days ago on a cold December morning, it was foggy. Really foggy. We could barely see ten feet in front of us. As the car heater was warming up, she shivered in the back seat. Don’t worry I told her, it will […]
https://theodorepayne.org/foggy-mornings/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
The AYA Neo Pocket S is an upcoming handheld game console powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 processor. The chip is designed for handheld gaming, and Qualcomm says it offers up to twice the graphics performance of the first-gen processor used in the Razer Edge. AYA first introduced the AYA Neo Pocket S in August, […]
The post AYA Neo Pocket S handheld game console with Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 and WiFi coming soo appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/aya-neo-pocket-s-handheld-game-console-with-snapdragon-g3x-gen-2-and-wifi-coming-soo/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
SCV Water recently partnered with the College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute to develop a Project Management training for local water professionals
https://scvnews.com/scv-water-partners-with-coc-to-develop-project-management-training-for-local-water-professionals/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
News release In what has become a Newhall Christmas tradition, Faith Community Church looks forward to welcoming hundreds of neighbors to the church campus for this year’s “Festividad for Christ” event. “This is our 18th year of hosting Festividad, and we so enjoy celebrating Christmas with our local community,” Senior Pastor Steve Jackson said in […]
The post Faith Community Church to host 18th Annual ‘Festividad for Christ’ neighborhood Christmas celebration appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/faith-community-church-to-host-18th-annual-festividad-for-christ-neighborhood-christmas-celebration/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Shady Characters
https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2023/12/advent-calendar-addiator/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Our mother, Frances Corcoran, was proud of the fact that she was in the first graduating class of Santa Barbara
The post In Memoriam </br> Frances Corcoran </br> 1928-2023 appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/in-memoriam-frances-corcoran-1928-2023/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA MARIA, CA – Today, Assemblymember Gregg Hart and Senator Monique Limón will present a $1,000,000 check for the City of
The post Assemblymember Gregg Hart Secures $1 Million for Santa Maria Sports Complex appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/13/assemblymember-gregg-hart-secures-1-million-for-santa-maria-sports-complex/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
Crews at NASA’s Stennis Space Center cleared a milestone Dec. 11, installing a key component in preparation for future Green Run testing of NASA’s new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) vehicle for use on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Four large diffusers, each weighing 14 tons, were lifted by crane for installation on the Thad […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/stennis/nasa-stennis-continues-preparations-for-future-artemis-testing/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
Even in a sort-of dark location you’ll see some spectacular sights.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/how-to-watch-geminids-in-socal-the-years-best-meteor-shower Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
It’s been another great year at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Join us as we review some of the highlights of the science, engineering, and innovation from 2023. Announcing a New Innovation Hub Planned for NASA Research Park at Ames Berkeley Space Center is a proposed new campus of the University of […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/2023-nasa-silicon-valley/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Care
<p>Finance editor Ed Ongweso on Israel’s strategy to weaken Palestinians’ ability to resist, in particular through the use of technology and water deprivation.</p>https://logicmag.io/policy/the-genocide-industry-mowing-the-lawn Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
As North America slept, delegates from around the world concluded the global climate conference in Dubai, when the chair — local oilman Sultan al-Jaber — quick-gaveled through an agreement that included a sentence calling for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
That may not seem like much — it is, after all, the single most obvious thing one could possibly say about climate change, akin to “in an effort to reduce my headache, I am transitioning away from hitting myself in the forehead with a hammer.” And by itself it will accomplish nothing. As Samoa, speaking on behalf of the Small Island Nations, said a few minutes later, “we have come to the conclusion that the course correction that is needed has not been secured.”
But it is — and this is important — a tool for activists to use henceforth. The world’s nations have now publicly agreed that they need to transition off fossil fuels, and that sentence will hang over every discussion from now on — especially the discussions about any further expansion of the fossil fuel energy. There may be barriers to shutting down operations (what the text of the agreement obliquely refers to as “national circumstances, pathways and approaches”). But surely, if the language means anything at all, it means opening no more new oil fields, no more new pipeline. No more new LNG export terminals.
In fact, that last point — export terminals for liquefied natural gas — will almost certainly be the first real test of whether this agreement means anything. The American envoy John Kerry, who celebrated his 80th birthday during the talks, could be forgiven for thinking of it as a crowning achievement. Though he acknowledged stronger language would have been nice, “I think everybody here should be pleased that in a world of Ukraine and the Middle East war and all the other challenges of a planet that is foundering, this is a moment where multilateralism has actually come together and people have taken individual interests and attempted to define the common good,” Kerry said. “That is hard. That is the hardest thing in diplomacy, the hardest thing in politics.”
But Kerry’s job isn’t done. He needs to return home and convince the White House to pause the granting of new export licenses for the ongoing LNG buildout, a project so enormous that by itself it could produce more greenhouse gas emissions than all of Europe. If the White House agrees — and Dubai saw the release of a letter from 230 environmental organizations urging just such a pause — then we will know there was something real in all this endless talk.
And in that case, the bland sentence — “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner” — would join at least two others in the long history of the climate talks as historically significant.
The first came in 1995, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its second assessment report, said “the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate.” That bland sentence — bland for the same reason, because it also had to get past every government in the world — was the death knell for the argument that climate change wasn’t real; after it, no serious person (admittedly a category with many exceptions) could argue there was no need to do anything.
The second came in 2015, in the preamble to the Paris accords, when (at the urging of those same small island states) the text included a pledge to “substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to hold global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.” That recognition of 1.5 degrees changed the debate — but only because activists and scientists used it to demand that governments and businesses identify a “1.5 degree path,” which increased the seriousness of those plans. We’re not going to stay below 1.5 degrees — but that sentence may, in the end, knock half a degree off how much the planet warms.
If today’s sentence is to matter, it will need that same kind of activism, especially since the fossil fuel industry — the most well-represented ‘nation’ at the talks — managed to lard the text with wiggle words. For instance, the agreement “recognizes that transitional fuels can play a role in facilitating the energy transition while ensuring energy security,” which the fracked gas industry is going to interpret as permission for them to go on pumping. We need to insist that the clear, plain meaning of the language is, the fossil fuel era is over. No more new digging and drilling.
What I’m trying to say is, today’s agreement is literally meaningless — and potentially meaningful. But the diplomats are done now — the rest of us are going to have to supply that meaning.
Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the
author’s newsletter,
The
Crucial Years, and has been repurposed for Heatmap.
https://heatmap.news/climate/bill-mckibben-cop28-sentence Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/mimestream-1-2-1/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043615-hey-just-wanted-to-re-up Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/chronosync-11-0-1/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/1password-8-10-22/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/pixelmator-pro-3-5/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Cruella, Karma, Coco, Chanel and Clarise, Santa’s “reindeer” who were alpacas dressed in antlers, waited for residents to visit the third annual Barnyard Light Tour on Saturday at William S. Hart Park. In an event hosted by Friends of Hart Park and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, residents came to take […]
The post Hart Park hosts Barnyard Light Tour appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/hart-park-hosts-barnyard-light-tour/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/hunter-biden-defies-congressional-order-to-testify-about-business-affairs/7396680.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
On Aug. 8, 2023, Artemis II crew members (from left) Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch took a photo in front of their Orion crew module at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Announcing the crew and continuing work on the Space Launch System rocket and Orion are part of the significant […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/2023-in-review-artemis-ii-crew-visits-kennedy/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A new study sheds light on just how many creatures domestic cats will eat—including hundreds that are threatened or endangered
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-prey-on-more-than-2000-different-species-180983429/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
The CHP said 75 people were arrested in connections with the demonstration that snarled traffic for miles.
https://laist.com/news/protesters-calling-for-ceasefire-in-israel-hamas-war-shut-down-portion-of-110-freeway-near-downtown-la Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
There is a word I can’t stop thinking about recently, and once you hear it, you won’t be able to stop thinking about it either. That word is “kayfabe,” the carney term popularized by professional wrestlers to describe what is happening within the theatre of the absurd and fantastical world of good guys and bad…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-cable-news-kayfabe-is-dead/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
It’s hard to come out of this year without acknowledging the impactful work that independent college media outlets spearheaded: The Stanford Daily dethroning their university president, The Daily Tar Heel capturing the terror of a shooting lockdown, and The Daily Northwestern exposing a football hazing scandal. This work was incredible, and with the help of…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/college-media-remains-the-news-industrys-younger-cooler-aunt/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
As some social media platforms diminish in significance as primary news sources for news junkies — because of their perceived unreliability and chaotic nature — there will be a notable rise in the importance of homepages and newsletters as those readers seek more authoritative and trustworthy sources for news. The reality today is most voracious…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-homepage-is-back/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
At the tail end of 2023, we’re starting to see the decay or active dismantling of a number of the bastions of scale that shaped the digital news experience throughout the 2010s. Sure, some outlets closely associated with this time period are still holding on effectively, like The Verge and The Daily Beast. But companies…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/scale-is-a-trap/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2009, I logged onto Twitter for the first time. My journalism professor required students to join the platform, which he described as a necessary tool for breaking, reporting, and distributing news. Ten years later, I began teaching my own journalism courses, and similarly pushed students to join Twitter so that they could engage with…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/journalists-abandon-social-media-and-news-audiences-follow-eventually/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Who are you? Who funds your journalism? Who controls your news company? Do you keep community donations in your community? Do you have a political point of view? Why do you cover some things and not others? One of the most actionable steps we can take as news people to counter misinformation and disinformation is…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/to-build-trust-news-outlets-prioritize-transparency/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
The Sipeed Lichee Console 4A is tiny laptop computer with 7 inch display, a QWERTY keyboard, up to 16GB of RAM and up to a 2TB SSD. It’s also one of the only mini-laptops (or laptops at all) to be powered by a RISC-V processor, thanks to support for a Sipeed LM4A computer-on-a-module with a […]
The post Lichee Console 4A mini-laptop with a RISC-V processor is shipping soon appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lichee-console-4a-mini-laptop-with-a-risc-v-processor-is-shipping-soon/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: 404 Media Group
InflateVids went down after it was hacked in what administrators say was a random attack.
https://www.404media.co/hackers-popped-a-porn-site-for-inflation-fetishists/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Adam Singer: We need Twitter/X now more than ever.
https://www.hottakes.space/p/we-need-twitter-now-more-than-ever Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) investigation into safety risks associated with Tesla’s Autopilot have concluded with a recall of more than two million vehicles, with the agency determining Autopilot’s safety controls are “insufficient to prevent misuse.” …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/tesla_recall_autopilot_safety/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
ISLAMABAD — A special Pakistani court Wednesday indicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan on unprecedented and disputed charges of disclosing classified information involving the United States while in office.
The indictment has dealt a fresh blow to the incarcerated popular leader’s chances of contesting national elections in February and returning to power.
Co-defendant Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Khan’s deputy and a former foreign minister, was also indicted for his alleged role in the case. Foreign media representatives were not allowed to cover the legal proceedings, while only a handful of local journalists were given access as usual.
“The charges were read out loudly in the courtroom,” government prosecutor Shah Khawar told Reuters, saying Khan and Qureshi both pleaded not guilty.
Khan’s lawyer, barrister Gohar Khan, disputed the indictment. He told reporters after the hearing that “no charge was framed before us nor signed by the accused.” The trial was being conducted “hastily without ensuring transparency and fairness,” the lawyer alleged.
“Again, justice is being rushed, and whenever it is rushed, it is always crushed,” he added. The defense attorney lamented the trial could not be conducted openly and said most foreign and local media reporters were barred from covering the proceedings in violation of a judicial order.
“The criminal justice system of Pakistan is being used as a tool for political victimization. We have had enough of it. This must stop,” he said.
The court initially indicted Khan and Qureshi in October on the same charges in closed-door proceedings, but a higher court scrapped the process and ordered authorities to ensure an open trial and allow family members and journalists to attend it.
The judicial proceedings are underway inside a prison facility near the capital, Islamabad, for security reasons, the government says.
Legal experts say that a guilty verdict could result in a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment or a death sentence.
The lawsuit stems from a classified cable, internally known as a cipher, sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in March 2022.
Khan alleged the cipher documented the United States’ role in the toppling of his government a month later with the help of his country’s powerful military to punish him for visiting Moscow a day before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Both Washington and the Pakistan military deny the charges.
On Monday, the State Department spokesman again refuted allegations the U.S. had anything to do with Pakistan’s internal affairs.
“The United States does not play any role in choosing the leaders of Pakistan. We engage with the leadership shown by — or the leadership decided by the Pakistani people — and we will continue to engage with the government of Pakistan on all these issues,” Matthew Miller told a news conference in Washington.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party won the last general elections in 2018, making him the prime minister for the first time.
The charismatic cricketer-turned-politician discussed details of the cipher at party rallies and during media interviews in the run-up to the controversial vote and continued doing so after his ouster.
Khan maintains he was doing so lawfully because he was duty-bound to inform Pakistanis about “the foreign conspiracy” against the government they had elected.
Since his removal from power, the ousted prime minister has faced dozens of lawsuits filed by authorities, which he claims to be a ploy by the military to prevent his comeback to power because of his advocacy for an independent foreign policy for Pakistan, one free from the influence of the United States.
Last August, Khan was convicted in a graft case and sentenced to three years in jail. A superior court later suspended his sentence and ordered the government to release him on bail, but authorities refused, citing the cipher and other lawsuits against him.
Unless his conviction is overturned, the former prime minister remains disqualified from running in the upcoming elections or leading the PTI under election laws.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed controversial military tribunals to resume trials of more than 100 Imran Khan supporters on charges of attacking army properties during anti-government protests last May.
The judicial order came less than two months after a five-judge panel of the top court ruled against trying civilians in military courts. Khan and his party maintain the military trials of political activists are a violation of the constitution and are meant to scare their candidates away from the upcoming polls.
The military has staged three coups against elected prime ministers since Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947, and it ruled the country for more than three decades.
Pakistani politicians, including former prime ministers, say the unconstitutional military interventions have encouraged generals to influence policymaking significantly, even when not in power.
https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s-ex-leader-indicted-over-revealing-us-tied-state-secrets-/7396570.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
“I had a really tough year, so I’m just trying to get back on track. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to
The post Streetbeat: Did you accomplish your New Year’s resolution? appeared first on The Roundup.
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date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
A NASA technology experiment on the International Space Station completed its first laser link with an in-orbit laser relay system on Dec. 5, 2023. Together, they complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system. NASA’s LCRD (Laser Communications Relay Demonstration) and the new space station demonstration, ILLUMA-T (Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/tech-demonstration/laser-communications-relay/nasas-space-station-laser-comm-terminal-achieves-first-link/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Washington — President Joe Biden is taking a more active role in Senate negotiations over changes to the immigration system that Republicans are demanding in exchange for providing money to Ukraine in its fight against Russia and Israel for the war with Hamas.
The Democratic president has said he is willing to make “significant compromises on the border” as Republicans block the wartime aid in Congress. The White House is expected to get more involved in talks this week as the impasse over changes to border policy has deepened and the funds remaining for Ukraine have dwindled.
“It’s time to cut a deal that both sides can agree to,” Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Republicans say the record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border pose a security threat because authorities cannot adequately screen all the migrants and that those who enter the United States are straining the country’s resources. GOP lawmakers also say they cannot justify to their constituents sending billions of dollars to other countries, even in a time of war, while failing to address the border at home.
Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who is leading the negotiations, pointed to the surge of people entering the U.S. from Mexico and said “it is literally spiraling out of control.”
“All we’re trying to do is to say what tools are needed to be able to get this back in control, so we don’t have the chaos on our southern border,” Lankford said on CBS.
But many immigration advocates, including some Democrats, say some of the changes being proposed would gut protections for people who desperately need help and would not really ease the chaos at the border.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democratic bargainer, said the White House would take a more active role in the talks. But he also panned Republican policy demands so far as “unreasonable.”
“We don’t want to shut off the United States of America to people who are coming here to be rescued from dangerous, miserable circumstances, in which their life is in jeopardy. The best of America is that you can come here to be rescued from terror and torture,” Murphy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Much of the negotiating is taking place in private, but some of the issues under discussion are known: asylum standards, humanitarian parole and fast-track deportation authority, among others.
A look at what they are and what might happen if there are changes:
Humanitarian parole
Using humanitarian parole, the U.S. government can let people into the country by essentially bypassing the regular immigration process. This power is supposed to be used on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit.” Migrants are usually admitted for a pre-determined period and there’s no path toward U.S. citizenship.
Over the years, administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have used humanitarian parole to admit people into the U.S. and help groups of people from all over the world. It’s been used to admit people from Hungary in the 1950s, from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the latter half of the 1970s, and Iraqi Kurds who had worked with the U.S. in the mid-1990s, according to research by the Cato Institute.
Under Biden, the U.S. has relied heavily on humanitarian parole. The U.S. airlifted nearly 80,000 Afghans from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and brought them to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover. The U.S. has admitted tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled after the Russian invasion.
In January the Democratic administration announced a plan to admit 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela via humanitarian parole, provided those migrants had a financial sponsor and flew to the U.S. instead of going to the U.S.-Mexico border for entry.
The latest U.S. government figures show that nearly 270,000 people had been admitted into the country through October under that program. Separately, 324,000 people have gotten appointments through a mobile app called CBP One that is used to grant parole to people at land crossings with Mexico.
Republicans have described the programs as essentially an end run around Congress by letting in large numbers of people who otherwise would have no path to be admitted. Texas sued the administration to stop the program aimed at Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
What might change with asylum?
Asylum is a type of protection that allows a migrant to stay in the U..S. and have a path to American citizenship. To qualify for asylum, someone has to demonstrate fear of persecution back home due to a fairly specific set of criteria: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinions. Asylum-seekers must be on U.S. soil when they ask for this protection.
They generally go through an initial screening called a credible fear interview. If they are determined to have a chance of getting asylum, they are allowed to stay in the U.S. to pursue their case in immigration court. That process can take years. In the meantime, asylum-seekers can start to work, get married, have children and create a life.
Critics say the problem is that most people do not end up getting asylum when their case finally makes it to immigration court. But they say migrants know that if they claim asylum, they essentially will be allowed to stay in America for years.
“People aren’t necessarily coming to apply for asylum as much to access that asylum adjudication process,” said Andrew Arthur, a former immigration court judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for less immigration in the U.S.
Some of what lawmakers are discussing would raise the bar that migrants need to meet during that initial credible fear interview. Those who do not meet it would be sent home.
But Paul Schmidt, a retired immigration court judge who blogs about immigration court issues, said the credible fear interview was never intended to be so tough. Migrants are doing the interview soon after arriving at the border from an often arduous and traumatizing journey, he said. Schmidt said the interview is more of an “initial screening” to weed out those with frivolous asylum claims.
Schmidt also questioned the argument that most migrants fail their final asylum screening. He said some immigration judges apply overly restrictive standards and that the system is so backlogged that it is hard to know exactly what the most recent and reliable statistics are.
What is expedited removal?
Expedited removal, created in 1996 by Congress, basically allows low-level immigration officers, as opposed to an immigration judge, to quickly deport certain immigrants. It was not widely used until 2004 and generally has been used to deport people apprehended within 100 miles of the Mexican or Canadian border and within two weeks of their arrival.
Defenders say it relieves the burden on the backlogged immigration courts. Immigration advocates say its use is prone to errors and does not give migrants enough protections, such as having a lawyer help them argue their case. As president, Republican Donald Trump pushed to expand this fast-track deportation policy nationwide and for longer periods of time. Opponents sued and that expansion never happened.
What might these changes do?
Much of the disagreement over these proposed changes comes down to whether people think deterrence works.
Arthur, the former immigration court judge, thinks it does. He said changes to the credible fear asylum standards and restrictions on the use of humanitarian parole would be a “game changer.” He said it would be a “costly endeavor” as the government would have to detain and deport many more migrants than today. But, he argued, eventually the numbers of people arriving would drop.
But others, like Schmidt, the retired immigration court judge, say migrants are so desperate, they will come anyway and make dangerous journeys to evade Border Patrol.
“Desperate people do desperate things,” he said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-congress-mulling-big-changes-on-immigration/7396635.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The new image gives astronomers a near-infrared look at the stellar explosion called Cassiopeia A, located around 11,000 light years away from Earth
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/james-webb-telescope-captures-image-of-supernova-that-absolutely-shattered-a-star-180983421/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: TidBITS blog
Although the addition of the iPhone 15 lineup and Macs using the M2 family of chips to Self Service Repair is welcome, the release of the remote Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair troubleshooting tool is more interesting.
https://tidbits.com/2023/12/13/apple-self-service-repair-adds-remote-diagnostics-and-supports-new-devices/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Doing your homework is hard enough. Now, imagine your assignment is to construct a Formula One-style race car that goes head-to-head in an international competition against other universities. While this may sound like the plot for a “Fast and Furious” spinoff, this is the reality for CSUN’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) team, a…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177326/print-editions/print-stories/a-formula-for-success/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Educated Guesswork blog
https://educatedguesswork.org/posts/northern-yosemite/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Educated Guesswork blog
https://educatedguesswork.org/posts/transparency-part-1/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
The 2020s got off to a parched, smoky start in the West. But after three years of unrelenting drought, 2023 brought the region some relief.
Thanks to a very snowy winter followed by a very rainy spring, the worst of the Western drought receded rapidly in the early months of this year, data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows. The extent bottomed out in the early summer, when only one-sixth of the West was experiencing any level of drought at all. It’s crept upward since then to about 45% of the region, but still — that’s the lowest drought level the contiguous Western states have seen at this time of year since 2019.
Most remarkable, in some ways, has been California’s transformation. After years with far too little precipitation, in 2023 California often received far too much. A spate of atmospheric rivers early in the year dumped inches of rain on its lower elevations and feet of snow in its mountains. In April, Hurricane Hilary smashed rainfall records across the southern part of the state.
Two years ago this week, 100% of California was drought-stricken; early this fall, the last patches disappeared (though a small but declining percentage of the state is still considered “abnormally dry”). This is the first time drought has been absent from California since 2019. The most recent time before that was 2011. Before that, it was 2006.
Meanwhile, the uptick in Western drought since summer has been most severe in Arizona and New Mexico, where the vast majority of places are drier than usual and conditions in some areas are becoming more severe. Temperatures in Phoenix rose above 110 degrees Fahrenheit on a record 55 different days between June and September, including an historic 31-day streak that baked the city for almost all of July, the Arizona Republic reported. While the wet winter replenished some of the Colorado River’s dwindling water supply, the temporary boost wasn’t enough to avert imminent cutbacks among the Southwestern states that depend on it.
This precipitation rebound won’t last, of course. The above-average mountain snowpack that piled up from heavy winter snows and kept streams flowing through the spring and into the summer is long gone now. And the decline this year in infernos terrorizing the West is almost certainly a blip in the trend toward ever more devastating fire years, The Washington Post reported last week. If historic patterns hold true, there might not be another fire season this quiet for decades.
“We have just had a respite,” Tonya Graham, the mayor of Ashland, Ore., told the Post. “We have had a little bit of breathing space in this trajectory that is taking us toward higher wildfire and smoke risk and more extreme temperatures.”
But that rest doesn’t look to be over for everyone just yet. Snowpack is already starting to accumulate again. And the National Weather Service forecasts that at least in California and neighboring states, there’s a good chance precipitation will stay higher than normal through the winter.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/california-drought-rainfall-2024 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
The upcoming AOKZOE A2 is a handheld gaming PC with a 7 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel IPS LCD display, an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor and hall effect sensors for the joysticks and shoulder triggers. AOKZOE has been saying a crowdfunding campaign for the AOKZOE A2 is “launching soon” since June, and repeated the message […]
The post AOKZOE A2 handheld gaming PC has a 7 inch screen and Ryzen 7 7840U (crowdfunding campaign coming soon) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/aokzoe-a2-handheld-gaming-pc-has-a-7-inch-screen-and-ryzen-7-7840u/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Housing is a labor issue: The eternal labor September bodes well for the American housing crisis. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2015, 2018, 2022 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Housing is a labor issue (permalink) There’s a reason Reagan declared war on unions before he declared war on everything else – environmental protection, health care, consumer rights, financial regulation. Unions are how working people fight for a better world for all of us. They’re how everyday people come together to resist oligarchy, extraction and exploitation. Take the 2019 LA teachers’ strike. As Jane McAlevey writes in A Collective Bargain, the LA teachers didn’t just win higher pay for their members! They also demanded (and got) an end to immigration sweeps of parents waiting for their kids at the school gate; a guarantee of green space near every public school in the city; and on-site immigration counselors in LA schools: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/ Unionization is enjoying an historic renaissance. The Hot Labor Summer transitioned to an Eternal Labor September, and it’s still going strong, with UAW president Shawn Fain celebrating his members victory over the Big Three automakers by calling for a 2028 general strike: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/uaw-general-strike-no-class The rising labor movement has powerful allies in the Biden Administration. NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is systematically gutting the “union avoidance” playbook. She’s banned the use of temp-work app blacklists that force workers to cross picket lines: https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork She’s changed the penalty for bosses who violate labor law during union drives. It used to be the boss would pay a fine, which was an easy price to pay in exchange for killing your workers’ union. Now, the penalty is automatic recognition of the union: https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth And while the law doesn’t allow Abruzzo to impose a contract on companies that refuse to bargain their unions, she’s set to force those companies to honor other employers’ union contracts until they agree to a contract with their own workers: https://onlabor.org/gc-abruzzo-just-asked-the-nlrb-to-overturn-ex-cell-o-heres-why-that-matters/ She’s also nuking TRAPs, the deals that force workers to repay their employers for their “training expenses” if they have the audacity to quit and get a better job somewhere else: https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets (As with every aspect of the Biden White House, its labor policy is contradictory and self-defeating, with other Biden appointees working to smash worker power, including when Biden broke the railworkers’ strike:) https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/18/co-determination/#now-make-me-do-it A surging labor movement opens up all kinds of possibilities for a better world. Writing for the Law and Political Economy Project, UNITE Here attorney Zoe Tucker makes the case for unions as a way out of America’s brutal housing crisis: https://lpeproject.org/blog/why-unions-should-join-the-housing-fight/ She describes how low-waged LA hotel workers have been pushed out of neighborhoods close to their jobs, with UNITE Here members commuting three hours in each direction, starting their work-days at 3AM in order to clock in on time: https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1669088899769987079 UNITE Here members are striking against 50 hotels in LA and Orange County, and their demands include significant cost-of-living raises. But more money won’t give them back the time they give up to those bruising daily commutes. For that, unions need to make housing itself a demand. As Tucker writes, most workers are tenants and vice-versa. What’s more, bad landlords are apt to be bad bosses, too. Stepan Kazaryan, the same guy who owns the strip club whose conditions were so bad that it prompted the creation of Equity Strippers NoHo, the first strippers’ union in a generation, is also a shitty landlord whose tenants went on a rent-strike: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/20/the-missing-links/#plunderphonics So it was only natural that Kazaryan’s tenants walked the picket line with the Equity Stripper Noho workers: https://twitter.com/glendaletenants/status/1733290276599570736?s=46 While scumbag bosses/evil landlords like Kazaryan deal out misery retail, one apartment building at a time, the wholesale destruction of workers’ lives comes from private equity giants who are the most prolific source of TRAPs, robo-scabbing apps, illegal union busting, and indefinite contract delays – and these are the very same PE firms that are buying up millions of single-family homes and turning them into slums: https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords Tucker’s point is that when a worker clocks out of their bad job, commutes home for three hours, and gets back to their black-mold-saturated, overpriced apartment to find a notice of a new junk fee (like a surcharge for paying your rent in cash, by check, or by direct payment), they’re fighting the very same corporations. Unions who defend their workers’ right to shelter do every tenant a service. A coalition of LA unions succeeded in passing Measure ULA, which uses a surcharge on real estate transactions over $5m to fund “the largest municipal housing program in the country”: https://unitedtohousela.com/app/uploads/2022/05/LA_City_Affordable_Housing_Petition_H.pdf LA unions are fighting for rules to limit Airbnbs and other platforms that transform the city’s rental stock into illegal, unlicensed hotels: https://upgo.lab.mcgill.ca/publication/strs-in-los-angeles-2022/Wachsmuth_LA_2022.pdf And the hotel workers organized under UNITE Here are fighting their own employers: the hoteliers who are aggressively buying up residences, evicting their long-term tenants, tearing down the building and putting up a luxury hotel. They got LA council to pass a law requiring hotels to build new housing to replace any residences they displace: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-28/airbnb-operators-would-need-police-permit-in-l-a-under-proposed-law UNITE Here is bargaining for a per-room hotel surcharge to fund housing specifically for hotel workers, so the people who change the sheets and clean the toilets don’t have to waste six hours a day commuting to do so. Labor unions and tenant unions have a long history of collaboration in the USA. NYC’s first housing coop was midwifed by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1927. The Penn South coop was created by the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. The 1949 Federal Housing Act passed after American unions pushed hard for it: http://www.peterdreier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Labors-Love-Lost.pdf It goes both ways. Strong unions can create sound housing – and precarious housing makes unions weaker. Remember during the Hollywood writers’ strike, when an anonymous studio ghoul told the press the plans was to “allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses?” Vienna has the most successful housing in any major city in the world. It’s the city where people of every income and background live in comfort without being rent-burdened and without worry about eviction, mold, or leaks. That’s the legacy of Red Vienna, the Austrian period of Social Democratic Workers’ Party rule and built vast tracts of high-quality public housing. The system was so robust that it rebounded after World War II and continues to this day: https://www.politico.eu/article/vienna-social-housing-architecture-austria-stigma/ Today, the rest of the world is mired in a terrible housing crisis. It’s not merely that the rent’s too damned high (though it is) – housing precarity is driving dangerous political instability: https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/06/the-rents-too-damned-high/ Turning the human necessity of shelter into a market commodity is a failure. The economic orthodoxy that insists that public housing, rent control, and high-density zoning will lead to less housing has failed. rent control works: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset Leaving housing to the market only produces losers. If you have the bad luck to invest everything you have into a home in a city that contracts, you’re wiped out. If you have the bad luck into invest everything into a home in a “superstar city” where prices go up, you also lose, because your city becomes uninhabitable and your children can’t afford to live there: https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/27/lethal-dysfunction/#yimby A strong labor movement is the best chance we have for breaking the housing deadlock. And housing is just for starters. Labor is the key to opening every frozen-in-place dysfunction. Take care work: the aging, increasingly chronically ill American population is being tortured and murdered by private equity hospices, long-term care facilities and health services that have been rolled up by the same private equity firms that destroyed work and housing: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS In her interview with Capital & Main’s Jessica Goodheart, National Domestic Workers Alliance president Ai-jen Poo describes how making things better for care workers will make things better for everyone: https://prospect.org/labor/2023-12-13-labor-leader-ai-jen-poo-interview/ Care work is a “triple dignity investment”: first, it makes life better for the worker (most often a woman of color), then, it allows family members of people who need care to move into higher paid work; and of course, it makes life better for people who need care: “It delivers human potential and agency. It delivers a future workforce. It delivers quality of life.” The failure to fund care work is a massive driver of inequality. America’s sole federal public provision for care is Medicaid, which only kicks in after a family it totally impoverished. Funding care with tax increases polls high with both Democrats and Republicans, making it good politics: https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2021/4/7/voters-support-investing-in-the-care-economy Congress stripped many of the care provisions from Build Back Better, missing a chance for an “unprecedented, transformational investment in care.” But the administrative agencies picked up where Congress failed, following a detailed executive order that identifies existing, previously unused powers to improve care in America. The EO “expands access to care, supports family caregivers and improves wages and conditions for the workforce”: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/18/executive-order-on-increasing-access-to-high-quality-care-and-supporting-caregivers/ States are also filling the void. Washington just created a long-term care benefit: https://apnews.com/article/washington-long-term-care-tax-disability-cb54b04b025223dbdba7199db1d254e4 New Mexicans passed a ballot initiative that establishes permanent funding for child care: https://www.cwla.org/new-mexico-votes-for-child-care/ New York care workers won a $3/hour across the board raise: https://inequality.org/great-divide/new-york-budget-fair-pay-home-care/ The fight is being led by women of color, and they’re kicking ass – and they’re doing it through their unions. Worker power is the foundation that we build a better world upon, and it’s surging. Hey look at this (permalink) Rich countries are in Debt Default https://globalsouthperspectives.substack.com/p/rich-countries-are-in-debt-default Repair Manifesto https://www.ifixit.com/Manifesto (h/t Naked Capitalism) Beeper vs. iMessage is a fight about how tech works — and who’s really in charge https://www.theverge.com/23998294/beeper-imessage-apple-app-security This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Two rants on Geneva’s crappy WiFi, one fictional, one non- https://memex.craphound.com/2003/12/13/two-rants-on-genevas-crappy-wifi-one-fictional-one-non/ #20yrsago Bringing pinball to MAME, one table at a time https://web.archive.org/web/20031226090824/http://www.vpforums.com/ #15yrsago McCain-Palin campaign dumps Blackberries loaded with personal numbers, internal email https://web.archive.org/web/20081217004629/http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Politics/Detail?contentId=8055902&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.14.1&sflg=1 #15yrsago BBC episode rescued by illegal home taper — the sort of thing the Beeb is stamping out with DRM https://memex.craphound.com/2008/12/13/bbc-episode-rescued-by-illegal-home-taper-the-sort-of-thing-the-beeb-is-stamping-out-with-drm/ #10yrsago Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership sucks: short, funny animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9A0QUdkdf4 #10yrsago Android gives you the ability to deny your sensitive data to apps https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/awesome-privacy-features-android-43 #10yrsago British Library uploads one million public domain images to the net for remix and reuse https://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digital-scholarship/2013/12/a-million-first-steps.html #5yrsago Paper Girls 5: fate and free will (and dinosaurs and monsters) https://memex.craphound.com/2018/12/13/paper-girls-5-fate-and-free-will-and-dinosaurs-and-monsters/ #5yrsago The strange and complex world of flame-effect LED bulbs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuppeUZ6Z7w #5yrsago Ships are just giant floating computers, filled with ransomware, BadUSB, and worms https://www.ics-shipping.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/guidelines-on-cyber-security-onboard-ships-min.pdf #5yrsago Ajit Pai killed Net Neutrality and Trump gave away a huge tax break; Verizon got billions and killed 10,000 jobs https://www.vice.com/en/article/pa5x4z/verizon-trims-10000-employees-despite-billions-in-tax-cuts-and-government-favors #5yrsago Company behind the Grenfell Tower fire says it could have been put out with a simple fire extinguisher https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/12/grenfell-cladding-firm-arconic-fire-could-have-been-put-out-with-simple-extinguisher #5yrsago Clash of the corporate titans: Who’s spending what in Europe’s Copyright Directive battle https://memex.craphound.com/2018/12/13/clash-of-the-corporate-titans-whos-spending-what-in-europes-copyright-directive-battle/ #1yrago Web apps could de-monopolize mobile devices https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: 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 Spill, a Little Brother short story about pipeline protests. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Latest podcast: Daddy-Daughter Podcast, 2023 edition https://craphound.com/news/2023/12/10/daddy-daughter-podcast-2023-edition/) Recent appearances: Science Fiction and the Future of Science https://council.science/podcast/science-fiction/ AI needs to work with humans — not replace us (CBC IDEAS) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/artificial-intelligence-provocation-ideas-festival-1.7046841 Explore the Future of the 🔥 Climate and Information Climate (Andrew Revkin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGT-cvs4_Q Latest books: “The Lost Cause:” a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3007/Pre-Order_Signed_Copies%3A_The_Lost_Cause_HB.html#/) “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 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/2023/12/13/i-want-a-roof-over-my-head/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Liliputing
AMD’s new Ryzen 8040 “Hawk Point” chips are nearly identical to the previous-gen Ryzen 7040 series processors when it comes to CPU and graphics core counts and frequencies. But thanks to a next-gen neural processing unit (NPU), AMD says its new chips should deliver up to a 1.4X improvement in on-device AI tasks. So it’s […]
The post ASRock 4×4 BOX 8040 mini PCs feature AMD’s new Ryzen 8040U chips with AI features appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/asrock-4x4-box-8040-mini-pcs-feature-amds-new-ryzen-8040u-chips-with-ai-features/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission has observed an abrupt and dramatic drop in the solar wind, resulting in an expansion of the Martian atmosphere and magnetosphere by thousands of kilometers.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/maven_mars_solar_wind/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2023/12/13/so-how-did-you-two-meet/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-britain-impose-new-sanctions-against-hamas-operatives-/7396514.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
miss Frontier so much.
Debugging its database was several orders of magnitude less work than
the Node+SQL setup where the runtime and the database are very far
apart. In Frontier the database and the language are the same thing. And
because Frontier did the rational thing with synchronization, it was
handled in the kernel, the code you write doesn’t have to worry about
it, you can write reasonably readable code. In Node it’s a real chore to
come back to some code you worked on last a while back. Makes my mind
tired, but I do it, because it’s where I work now.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/13.html#a161529 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
To an athlete, the body is a temple. The way they treat their bodies from the offseason to the regular season can be the deciding factor for a great year. No matter what sport they play, an athlete must dedicate their time to becoming a great player. For many, that begins with what they eat….
https://sundial.csun.edu/177332/print-editions/print-stories/eat-to-win-the-diet-of-an-athlete/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The 712-year-old artifact is a horary quadrant, a medieval tool used to tell time based on the position of the sun
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/englands-oldest-known-scientific-instrument-is-for-sale-180983425/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Andrew Hickey is using Bluesky as a blogging platform, and because we're connected via RSS, you can read it in FeedLand. The power of standards. Just a bit more interop betw these systems and we'll have broken free of the possibility of being dominated by bigco's. This is how bootstraps work and they're super-important to progress.
https://feedland.com/?river=https://rss.firesky.tv/?filter=from:andrewhickey.bsky.social Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The child care sector has recovered nearly all of the jobs it lost when the pandemic hit. Yet there are still major staffing shortages, and the end of federal pandemic funding could put the industry’s rebound in peril. Also on the program: early reactions to COP28 agreement and a look at how to utilize fear to move your career forward.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-child-care-industry-is-rebounding-and-at-risk Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.
The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an impeachment process that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial.
Biden, in a rare statement about the impeachment effort, questioned the priorities of House Republicans in pursuing an inquiry against him and his family.
“Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies,” the president said following the vote. “Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.”
Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls for vengeance and retribution against his political enemies.
The decision to hold a vote came as Speaker Mike Johnson and his team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden’s family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.
“We do not take this responsibility lightly and will not prejudge the investigation’s outcome,” Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team said in a joint statement after the vote. “But the evidentiary record is impossible to ignore.”
House Democrats stood in united opposition to the inquiry resolution Wednesday, calling it a farce perpetrated by those across the aisle to avenge the two impeachments against Trump.
“This whole thing is an extreme political stunt. It has no credibility, no legitimacy, and no integrity. It is a sideshow,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said during a floor debate.
Some House Republicans, particularly those hailing from politically divided districts, had been hesitant in recent weeks to take any vote on Biden’s impeachment, fearing a significant political cost. But GOP leaders have made the case in recent weeks that the resolution is only a step in the process, not a decision to impeach Biden. That message seems to have won over skeptics.
“As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment,” Rep. Tom Emmer, a member of the GOP leadership team, said at a news conference Tuesday.
Emmer said Republicans “will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, and if they uncover evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered.”
Most of the Republicans reluctant to back the impeachment push have also been swayed by leadership’s recent argument that authorizing the inquiry will give them better legal standing as the White House has questioned the legal and constitutional basis for their requests for information.
A letter last month from a top White House attorney to Republican committee leaders portrayed the GOP investigation as overzealous and illegitimate because the chamber had not yet authorized a formal impeachment inquiry by a vote of the full House. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, also wrote that when Trump faced the prospect of impeachment by a Democratic-led House in 2019, Johnson had said at the time that any inquiry without a House vote would be a “sham.”
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said this week that while there was no evidence to impeach the president, “that’s also not what the vote this week would be about.”
“We have had enough political impeachments in this country,” he said. “I don’t like the stonewalling the administration has done, but listen, if we don’t have the receipts, that should constrain what the House does long-term.”
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who has long been opposed to moving forward with impeachment, said that the White House questioning the legitimacy of the inquiry without a formal vote helped gain his support. “I can defend an inquiry right now,” he told reporters this week. “Let’s see what they find out.”
House Democrats remained unified in their opposition to the impeachment process, saying it is a farce used by the GOP to take attention away from Trump and his legal woes.
“You don’t initiate an impeachment process unless there’s real evidence of impeachable offenses,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who oversaw the two impeachments into Trump. “There is none here. None.”
Democrats and the White House have repeatedly defended the president and his administration’s cooperation with the investigation thus far, saying it has already made a massive trove of documents available.
Congressional investigators have obtained nearly 40,000 pages of subpoenaed bank records and dozens of hours of testimony from key witnesses, including several high-ranking Justice Department officials currently tasked with investigating the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president himself, they have taken particular interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, from which they accuse the president of personally benefiting. Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into the younger Biden’s taxes and his gun use.
Hunter Biden is currently facing criminal charges in two states from the special counsel investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss filed additional charges last week, alleging he failed to pay about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.
Democrats have conceded that while the president’s son is not perfect, he is a private citizen who is already being held accountable by the justice system.
“I mean, there’s a lot of evidence that Hunter Biden did a lot of improper things. He’s been indicted, he’ll stand trial,” Nadler said. “There’s no evidence whatsoever that the president did anything improper.”
Hunter Biden arrived for a rare public statement outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, saying he would not be appearing for his scheduled private deposition that morning. The president’s son defended himself against years of GOP attacks and said his father has had no financial involvement in his business affairs.
His attorney has offered for Biden to testify publicly, citing concerns about Republicans manipulating any private testimony.
“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”
GOP lawmakers said that since Hunter Biden did not appear, they will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against him. “He just got into more trouble today,” Rep. James Comer, the House Oversight Committee chairman, told reporters Wednesday.
https://www.voanews.com/a/house-set-for-key-vote-on-biden-impeachment-inquiry-as-republicans-unite/7396428.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Washington — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and the maker of the drug mifepristone asking the high court to reverse an appellate ruling that would cut off access to the drug through the mail and impose other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal. The restrictions include shortening from the current 10 weeks to seven weeks the time during which mifepristone can be used in pregnancy.
The nine justices did not take up a separate appeal from abortion opponents who challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s initial approval of mifepristone as safe and effective in 2000.
The case will be argued in the spring, with a decision likely by late June, in the middle of the 2024 presidential and congressional campaigns.
Mifepristone, made by New York-based Danco Laboratories, is one of two drugs used in medication abortions, which account for more than half of all abortions in the United States. More than 5 million people have used it since 2000.
The Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022. That ruling has led to bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy in 14 states, with some exceptions, and once cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks, in two others.
Abortion opponents filed their challenge to mifepristone the following November and initially won a sweeping ruling six months later revoking the drug’s approval entirely. The appeals court left intact the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone. But it would reverse changes regulators made in 2016 and 2021 that eased some conditions for administering the drug.
The justices blocked that ruling from taking effect while the case played out, though Justices Samuel Alito, the author of last year’s decision overturning Roe, and Clarence Thomas said they would have allowed some restrictions to take effect while the case proceeded.
Women seeking to end their pregnancies in the first 10 weeks without more invasive surgical abortion can take mifepristone, along with misoprostol. The FDA has eased the terms of mifepristone’s use over the years, including allowing it to be sent through the mail in states that allow access.
In its appeal, the Democratic administration said the appeals court ignored the FDA’s scientific judgment about mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness since its approval in 2000.
Lawyers for the anti-abortion medical groups and individual physicians who have challenged the use of mifepristone had urged the Supreme Court to turn away the appeals.
“The modest decision below merely restores the common-sense safeguards under which millions of women have taken chemical abortion drugs,” wrote lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which describes itself as a Christian law firm. The lead attorney on the Supreme Court filing is Erin Hawley, wife of Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of President Donald Trump in Texas, initially revoked FDA approval of mifepristone.
Responding to a quick appeal, two more Trump appointees on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the FDA’s original approval would stand for now. But Judges Andrew Oldham and Kurt Engelhardt said most of the rest of Kacsmaryk’s ruling could take effect while the case winds through federal courts.
Besides reducing the time during which the drug can be taken and halting distribution through the mail, patients who are seeking medication abortions would have had to make three in-person visits with a doctor. Women also might have been required to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.
Health care providers have said that if mifepristone is no longer available or is too hard to obtain, they would switch to using only misoprostol, which is somewhat less effective in ending pregnancies.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-supreme-court-will-rule-on-limits-on-commonly-used-abortion-medication/7396454.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear an appeal that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against former President Donald Trump.
The justices will review a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding that has been brought against more than 300 people. The charge refers to the disruption of Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
That’s among four counts brought against Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s case that accuses the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss. Trump is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The court’s decision to weigh in on the obstruction charge could threaten the start of Trump’s trial, currently scheduled for March 4. The justices separately are considering whether to rule quickly on Trump’s claim that he can’t be prosecuted for actions taken within his role as president. A federal judge already has rejected that argument.
A lawyer for Trump didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to review the charge.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March or April, with a decision expected by early summer.
The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House.
At least 152 people have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, and at least 108 of them have been sentenced, according to an Associated Press review of court records.
A lower-court judge had dismissed the charge against Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer, and two other defendants, ruling it didn’t cover their conduct. The justices agreed to hear the appeal filed by lawyers for Fischer, who is facing a seven-count indictment for his actions on January 6, including the obstruction charge.
The other defendants are Edward Jacob Lang, of New York’s Hudson Valley, and Garret Miller, who has since pleaded guilty to other charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. Miller, who’s from the Dallas area, could still face prosecution on the obstruction charge.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found that prosecutors stretched the law beyond its scope to inappropriately apply it in these cases. Nichols ruled that a defendant must have taken “some action with respect to a document, record or other object” to obstruct an official proceeding under the law.
The Justice Department challenged that ruling, and the appeals court in Washington agreed with prosecutors in April that Nichols’ interpretation of the law was too limited.
Other defendants, including Trump, are separately challenging the use of the charge.
Defense attorney Kira Anne West, who has represented several January 6 defendants charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, said the courts will have to “undo a whole bunch of cases” and adjust many sentences if the Supreme Court rules in their favor.
“This is a watershed day,” she said. “In our world — defense lawyer world — this is huge.”
West represents a man scheduled to be tried in early January on charges including the obstruction count. She doesn’t yet know if she will seek a delay until the Supreme Court resolves the challenge.
More than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot, and more than 700 defendants have pleaded guilty.
https://www.voanews.com/a/supreme-court-to-hear-case-that-could-undo-capitol-riot-charge-against-100s-including-trump-/7396421.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
After two weeks of intense negotiations and apparent stalemate in Dubai, all 198 delegates swiftly approved a breakthrough climate agreement this morning at COP28. The deal — a culmination of a two-year process known as the global stocktake — isn’t perfect, and it was met with a mix of praise and disappointment. United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell said that while the deal doesn’t “turn the page” on fossil fuels, it marks “the beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. Here are five things worth knowing about the agreement:
1. It doesn’t call for a fossil fuel phase-out
The agreement avoids the contentious “phase out” wording that nearly derailed the climate talks earlier. But it does call on countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels this decade in pursuit of achieving net zero by 2050. This marks the first time a post-oil and gas future has been mentioned in a COP agreement, something that would have been “unthinkable just two years ago,” said Business Green’s James Murray.
The text also calls for tripling renewable energy capacity, phasing down unabated coal, reducing methane emissions, phasing out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, and accelerating zero and low-emissions technologies including nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage.
“This sends a clear signal that the world is moving decisively to phase out fossil fuels,” said Jake Schmidt, the senior strategic director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It puts the fossil fuel industry formally on notice that its old business model is expiring.”
2. It appears to greenlight natural gas
The final text features a paragraph making it clear that “transitional fuels” can play a role in the energy transition. This is likely a nod to natural gas — a fossil fuel often labeled as “clean” compared with coal but that leads to emissions of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. Environmentalists worry those emissions will put net zero goals in danger, but “producers have long argued that gas should complement the roll-out of intermittent renewables, replacing dirtier fossil fuels like coal and oil,” explained Stephen Stapczynski at Bloomberg Green.
3. It uses ‘weak’ language
One of the biggest criticisms of the deal is that it only “calls on” countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which some see as little more than an invitation. “It is the weakest of all the various terms used for such exhortations,” said CarbonBrief’s Leo Hickman.
4. Saudi Arabia gave a nod of approval
Saudi Arabia was chief among major oil-producing nations to object to a call for phasing out fossil fuels, so to eke out a deal, the COP presidency had to find language that signaled progress on curbing pollution without crossing Saudi Arabia’s red line. A source told Reuters the Saudis agreed to the deal because it offers “a menu where every country can follow its own pathway.”
5. It doesn’t do nearly enough on finance
The text lacks specific commitments from rich nations to help developing nations transition away from fossil fuels. “Asking Nigeria, or indeed, asking Africa, to phase out fossil fuels is like asking us to stop breathing without life support,” Ishaq Salako, Nigeria’s environmental minister, told The New York Times.
The theme emerging from the reactions seems to be that this deal is good, but not nearly as good as it could have been. Former Vice President Al Gore’s lukewarm reaction sums it up pretty well:
https://heatmap.news/sparks/cop28-agreement-5-things Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-identifies-tiniest-free-floating-brown-dwarf/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reminding telcos of their obligations to keep consumers safe from SIM swapping and port-out scams.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/fcc_sim_swapping_carriers/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Axel Springer, OpenAI strike "real-time news" deal for ChatGPT.
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/13/openai-chatgpt-axel-springer-news-deal Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Immigrants from Belarus, Ukraine and other Eastern European countries are actively exploring the American IT startup market. One immigrant-run venture capital firm is helping them find investments. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Michael Eckels.
https://www.voanews.com/a/eastern-european-startups-come-to-us-searching-for-opportunities/7396358.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
What should young people be taught about the Israeli-Palestinian crisis? It’s a question one California school district has struggled with, even before the war in Gaza. Genia Dulot has our story.
https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-palestinian-history-course-divides-california-school-district/7396357.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and the maker of the drug mifepristone asking the high court to reverse an appellate ruling that would cut off access to the drug through the mail and impose other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/the-supreme-court-will-rule-on-limits-on-a-commonly-used-abortion-medication/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Unread: An RSS Reader.
https://www.goldenhillsoftware.com/unread/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Arizona remained atop the Best of the West rankings, followed by Gonzaga and BYU. But Colorado, Utah and New Mexico improved their positions.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/best-of-the-west-utah-upsets-byu-now-comes-the-hard-part-arizona-remains-on-top-colorado-and-new-mexico-rise/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
I asked ChatGPT who won the 2020 election and if there was fraud, and why do some people say the election was stolen.
https://chat.openai.com/share/1fd92d6c-fbce-4a76-b213-7e4a22a45097 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
It’s not practical or necessary to test everyone who has a runny nose, cough or fever. But there are specific circumstances that warrant it.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/as-respiratory-viruses-spread-everywhere-what-should-you-do-if-you-get-sick/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
Here’s a look back at 2023’s most significant events at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida: JANUARYDay of Remembrance Marks 20th Anniversary of Columbia Tragedy NASA senior management and guests paid tribute to the crew members of space shuttle Columbia, as well as other astronauts who perished in the line of duty, during the agency’s […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-kennedy-space-centers-top-20-stories-of-2023/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Another time I blog about is when I figure something out that I’ve been trying to understand for a long time, in some cases my whole life. That still happens. The other day I found myself talking with a friend about love, why when someone says “I love you” it doesn’t mean what it seems to. Love comes from understanding someone well enough that you know what they desire, what they ache to have, and you to try to help them get it. See all the qualifications in that. Try. Help. Them. In other words, you can love someone when you know them. And you don’t give them what they want, you help them get it. You can’t love someone who your whole idea of is based on a dream you have about them. That’s different. Anyway, lots more to say about all this. It’s a recurring topic. It might be the only topic. Someday they’ll invent an AI that can analyze my writing and tell me if I’ve ever written for any other purpose than being worthy of love.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/13.html#a142503 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Billions of dollars are at stake: in-app spending is forecast to reach $182 billion next year and $207 billion in 2025. And competitors are ready to steal a piece of it.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/whats-next-in-the-fight-over-apple-and-googles-app-stores/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Some business leaders are asking whether those stories can now be leveraged to distinguish the city within a growing Tri-Valley mega-region that is becoming increasingly indistinguishable.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/can-opium-dens-and-secret-tunnels-get-people-to-stop-for-lunch-in-this-bay-area-city/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Deno blog
We compare Deno KV to other serverless data stores on performance, price, developer experience, and more.
https://deno.com/blog/comparing-deno-kv Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: 404 Media Group
After breaking trains simply because an independent repair shop had worked on them, NEWAG is now demanding that trains fixed by hackers be removed from service.
https://www.404media.co/polish-hackers-repaired-trains-the-manufacturer-artificially-bricked-now-the-train-company-is-threatening-them/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Scripting News: Why services launch without APIs.
http://scripting.com/2014/09/28/#a1411931064 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Washington — The Biden administration has notified Congress that it intends to spend nearly $700 million to buy a former Dublin hotel, demolish it and construct new buildings to turn the site into the new U.S. Embassy in Ireland. The State Department also announced that it had broken ground on a new embassy complex in Saudi Arabia as part of a revamp of its diplomatic facilities in the Gulf.
The department informed lawmakers late Monday that it plans to buy the former Jury’s Hotel in Dublin’s upscale Ballsbridge neighborhood for $171 million. Associated costs, including the design and construction of the new chancery and furnishing it, will bring the total to $688.8 million, according to a notice sent to Congress.
The 4.2 acre (1.7 hectare) property is located just a block from the existing U.S. embassy in the Irish capital, which dates to the 1960s and the State Department said “is well beyond its useful life, is too small for our operational needs, and is not functional in its layout.”
The new compound will include the embassy, a residence for Marine guards, support facilities and parking, the notice said. It did not give an estimate for when the project would be completed but estimated that there would be 189 employees at the new embassy in 2028, at least 109 of whom would require office space.
The U.S. has been planning to relocate its embassy in Dublin for more than a decade and the Ballsbridge site had been the expected site after Irish authorities approved zoning and other changes for it last year.
On Tuesday, the department announced that it had broken ground on construction of a new U.S. embassy on a 27.5-acre (11.1-hectare) site in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that it acquired in early 2020. That cost, along with the construction of a new U.S. consulate in Jeddah and planning for a new consulate in Dhahran, was more than $1 billion.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-to-spend-700m-on-new-embassy-in-ireland-breaks-ground-on-new-embassy-in-saudi-arabia/7396306.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Sharks scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/the-sharks-preached-patience-with-their-top-prospect-its-starting-to-pay-off/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: 404 Media Group
On this week’s episode we discuss the bizarre case of Sergey Ochigava, who somehow flew from Denmark to the US with no ticket or passport. What happened? No one knows.
https://www.404media.co/404-media-podcast-17-russian-lax-plane-no-passport/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
had a long chat yesterday with
Guy
Kawasaki. Along the way he wondered how I find something to write
every day. The answer – I don’t find things to write, it doesn’t work
that way. I don’t sit down in the morning and say OK now I have to write
1000 words and it doesn’t matter what it’s about. If I have something to
say I say it. And as you can tell, I usually do have something to say,
because I’m always thinking and planning, trying to figure out what I
want, or if I already know, how to get other people to help me get
there. A lot of trial and error, let’s see if this way of putting it
works, or that one, etc. There’s a slogan for this –
Narrate
Your Work – and my work is narratable and creates its own record
because I do my work right
here, because
much of my work involves other people. Actually all of it. And if I can
get the people I need to listen to me, ie read my blog, then we can work
together (a recurring theme) to make great communication systems out of
the web and avoid flushing our future down the toilet, which we always
seem to be doing.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/13.html#a140021 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: NASA breaking news
A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could occasionally erupt through the ice crust as geysers. The science team calculated the amount […]
https://www.nasa.gov/science-research/planetary-science/astrobiology/nasa-some-icy-exoplanets-may-have-habitable-oceans-and-geysers/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
A man was shocked with a stun gun by an officer with the Guam Police Department before allegedly trying to pull the stun gun from the officer’s hands.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/suspect-accused-of-disarming-police-officer-after-being-tased/article_ec47863c-9952-11ee-afe6-232c59934689.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department will be conducting driving while impaired checkpoints for the next several weeks and into the new year.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gpd-will-be-conducting-dwi-checkpoints-until-january-2024/article_388e73fa-9955-11ee-8199-0b27d5dcf15b.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Homeless Coalition is looking for 300 community volunteers to conduct the 2024 point-in-time (PIT) homeless count, which will take place Jan. 26, 2024.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/volunteers-sought-for-homeless-point-in-time-count-in-january/article_2c167dc6-9959-11ee-86e9-0319d9ea962b.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
The Office of the Attorney General is suggesting increasing tobacco taxes and funneling that additional revenue into relevant agencies so that they can hire personnel and enforce regulations on tobacco and related products.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/oag-increase-taxes-on-tobacco-use-money-to-fund-enforcement/article_4f0b9e70-9976-11ee-8260-9f8b6edb2f26.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero is calling the Guam Legislature into a special session to consider a measure that would extend the moratorium on most liquid fuel taxes and surcharges through the remainder of fiscal year 2024.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/governor-calls-special-session-gas-tax-moratorium-extension/article_0a43cbd0-9978-11ee-8fcb-afd3ebe8f6b6.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Guam Daily Post
Branty Walliby was found guilty of manslaughter for his involvement in a fatal attack last year at New Fatima Mart in Dededo, which resulted in the death of Arnold Narruhn.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/branty-walliby-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-2022-fatal-fight/article_385bd38a-9970-11ee-9510-9f909ab878ea.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I’m
pretty sure federation in social media is the wrong bet. We have to
think more broadly. What are the benefits we want from interop in social
media. Federation isn’t itself a benefit. It’s an idea hatched by
techies who aren’t thinking about how people actually use these systems
and which features are valued and which are problematic. Imho, what’s
valued is the ability to publish something quickly, and without much
fuss, and follow others, again easily without having to have a deep
understanding of how these things are architected. No one but us
programming plumbers cares. I think the idea of conversation not
only is overrated, but it’s where all the problems are, where all the
abuse happens. If we focus on the benefits, quick dissemination of news,
and the power of the individual to choose their sources and share them
with others – that’s where the juice is. Imho of course, ymmv, praise
Murphy, I am not a lawyer and my mother loved me, even though at times
it was hard to tell. ❤️
http://scripting.com/2023/12/13.html#a135218 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Large stormwater filtering devices are being installed in San Jose, but an unexpected problem is delaying completion at one site.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/stormwater-filtering-devices-being-installed-in-san-jose-but-one-site-left-construction-litter-in-its-wake/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Pedro Martinez, of Hesperia, who’s been jailed since January 2019, was found not guilty on Monday on all 10 counts against him.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/southern-california-school-janitor-who-spent-years-in-jail-acquitted-of-child-sexual-abuse/ Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2023-12-13, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
Board games with tokens should come with snackstitution rules. Tell me how many snacks of distinct types I’ll need if i want to replace the game pieces with edible things.
Imagine Catan where you can eat the sheep!
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111573375395714925 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
The NFC-leading 49ers are playing their best offense in at least 25 years, and the upcoming playoffs offer tight end George Kittle to cement his place in franchise lore.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/49ers-mailbag-putting-this-offense-george-kittle-no-1-seed-into-historical-perspective/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose International Airport passenger totals have stalled.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/13/san-jose-airport-air-travel-economy-airline-tech-covid-south-bay/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Cloudflare says that global internet traffic grew 25 percent this year, while Google regained its crown as the most visited web destination. Only a third of IPv6-capable requests were actually made over IPv6, and a third of all global bot traffic came from the US.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/cloudflare_internet_traffic_2023/ Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2023-12-13, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
I seriously thought this was going to be about Brandon Sanderson
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111573288762615047 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Both Spotify and Apple Music recently published their annual lists of the most listened to artists and songs. Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift dominated. But delve deeper, and you can also start to see the influence of social media and strength of growing international audiences. Plus, as oil prices slide, COP28 comes to an agreement using the words “fossil fuel” for the first time ever.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/what-spotify-wrapped-can-reveal-about-the-music-industry Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
All right, I’ll say it: I’m extremely nervous about Press Forward, the national initiative to inject $500 million into local journalism nationwide. Am I hater? A cynical 26-year-old? At the helm of a two-year-old hyperlocal newsroom still waiting on a transformational investment? All of the above? Two years ago, I quit my job in New…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/press-forward-must-prove-itself-to-the-black-press/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Author’s note: In June, The Government of Canada passed the Online News Act to “ensure that platforms compensate news businesses fairly.” Meta responded by blocking Canadian news from all its platforms, while Google threatened to do the same when the law came into effect on Dec. 19. As November drew to a close, Google and…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/after-the-breakup-canadian-news-orgs-learn-to-live-without-facebook/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
I recently joined the board of Honolulu Civil Beat, and one of the things I’ve always loved is reading their (heavily moderated) comments. The comments can be just as engaging as the pieces themselves. They demonstrate varied perspectives, deep knowledge, and vigorous but respectful debate from readers. This is in large part because a team…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/for-more-engagement-and-trust-try-this-one-weird-trick/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
We know we need to invest in health benefits, time off, and comprehensive training for our journalists covering the most difficult stories — particularly with the increase of visual content being handled by reporters and editors. But too often, we open our tool kits only after a crisis. In the wake of January 6, several…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/peer-support-will-be-a-critical-part-of-newsroom-resilience/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
The new course at Anaheim Union High School District teaches Korean American history while encouraging students to learn their family’s past.
https://laist.com/news/education/korean-american-history-virtual-anaheim-orange-county-california Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
When the summer of 2020 brought a reckoning over diversity and inclusion, hobbyist magician Carly Usdin renewed their commitment to making the club better — just as two members tried to get Carly kicked out. ‘Imperfect Paradise: The Castle,’ Part 3.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/the-fallout-from-the-2020-reckoning-at-the-magic-castle Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
California’s ‘failure to protect’ law allows child welfare agencies to take kids from households scarred by domestic violence. Advocates say the separation can worsen a family’s trauma.
https://laist.com/news/education/california-can-take-kids-from-abused-moms-why-the-separation-can-harm-both Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
California is spending almost $5 billion to address a growing youth mental health crisis. In Los Angeles County, a contract with teletherapy provider Hazel Health is funding free therapy sessions for all interested students.
https://laist.com/news/education/la-county-invests-big-in-free-virtual-mental-health-therapy-for-k-12-students Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Markup blog
We answer the questions readers asked in response to our guide to anonymizing your phone
https://themarkup.org/levelup/2023/12/13/without-a-trace-how-to-keep-your-phone-off-the-grid Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, more for-profit newsrooms will produce content using AI in an effort to reduce costs and increase pageviews. They will be joined by thousands of other businesses, industries, and marketers who will use AI at scale to try and gain attention and leads by any means necessary. Marketers are already bragging about their ability…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-web-floods/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
I predict that local news sources will have a robust presence in the American heartland, and that these sources will be founded, run, and staffed by people from the heartland. I predict that these will be journalists committed to facts and the accurate reflection of the communities they serve, and that they’ll be invested in…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/journalism-outside-urban-areas-thrives/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
The White House — In a sign that the United States is getting increasingly concerned over the scale of civilian casualties from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, President Joe Biden delivered a public rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, even as he maintains staunch support for Israel.
“We have made it clear to the Israelis, and they are aware that … the safety of innocent Palestinians is still a great concern. And so, the actions they’re taking must be consistent with attempting to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being hurt, murdered, killed, lost, etc,,” Biden said at a press conference during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House.
Zelenskyy is in the U.S. to lobby for military and economic aid for his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion. Aid to Ukraine and Israel are being blocked by Republican lawmakers who are demanding concessions on U.S. immigration policy.
Biden has grown more vocal with his public criticism of Israel’s military campaign that is now into its third month. Speaking off-camera to Democratic donors for his 2024 reelection bid earlier Tuesday, Biden said Israel is starting to lose support around the world because of its “indiscriminate bombings,” according to a White House transcript of the event.
Biden’s comment stands in contrast to those of White House officials who say Israel has taken measures to make their strikes more targeted to avoid civilian deaths.
“He’s [Netanyahu] a good friend, but I think he has to change. … This government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden said.
The president singled out Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister.
“Ben-Gvir and company and the new folks, they don’t want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution,” he said. “They not only want to have retribution, which they should for what the Palestinians — Hamas — did, but against all Palestinians.”
He suggested Netanyahu will need to empower the Palestinian Authority to become a partner in the peace process toward the two-state solution, which Israeli hard-liners oppose.
“You cannot say there’s no Palestinian state at all in the future. And that’s going to be the hard part,” Biden said, even as he underscored that the U.S. will not do “a damn thing other than protect Israel in the process.”
Biden said national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to the region this week and meet with the Israeli war Cabinet to emphasize U.S. commitment to Israel, as well as the need to protect civilian life and ensure more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the region to step up international efforts to protect the free flow of commerce through the Red Sea that has been disrupted by Iran-backed Houthi militants attacking vessels heading into Israel.
Cease-fire resolution
Biden’s remarks came amid an overwhelming vote at the United Nations General Assembly supporting a cease-fire in Gaza that further isolates Washington. The vote in the 193-member world body was 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions.
“Our duty is to try to save the lives who are still alive by having this resolution adopted and by forcing Israel to comply with it. And those who are shielding Israel to comply with the global consensus,” said Riyad Mansour, Palestinian permanent observer to the United Nations.”
The vote followed a similar resolution in the U.N. Security Council last week that failed due to a U.S. veto. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly.
While General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding, they carry political weight. U.N. member states are shaping “the narrative that the U.S. is standing alone in opposing the cease-fire,” and “looking for every means possible to create a sense of moral pressure on the U.S. to change its posture,” said Richard Gowan, U.N. director of the International Crisis Group.
“The Arab group at the U.N. wants to make the Americans nervous,” he told VOA. “It wants to send the message that America is losing international goodwill because of its stance.”
Biden’s critics say his unwavering support to Israel jeopardizes Washington’s interests.
The administration is inflicting “deep damage and lasting damage” to its ties with key countries beyond the Middle East, said Josh Paul, a former U.S. diplomat who resigned in protest over U.S. policy of sending arms to Israel without oversight.
“But also, where we are arguing, for example, in the United Nations to gain the support of the Global South for our just condemnation of Russia’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine,” Paul told VOA. “We are also going to lose votes if we are seen to be hypocritical, if we’re seen to be walking away from our values.”
Administration officials and other supporters of Israel say they support humanitarian pauses but that a cease-fire would allow Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror organization, to regroup and plan future attacks.
A cease-fire allows Hamas to have a legitimacy that it hasn’t earned, said Julie Rayman, managing director of policy and political affairs at the American Jewish Committee.
“It’s giving trust to terrorist leaders who have proven unequivocally that they are not trustworthy,” she told VOA.
Hamas fighters stormed from the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Gaza health officials say Israel’s military response has displaced at least 2 million people and killed more than 18,000 in the bloodiest campaign of the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
VOA’s United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/isolated-internationally-on-gaza-biden-delivers-rebuke-to-netanyahu-/7396199.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Amid simultaneous wars in Europe and the Middle East and mounting tensions with China, calls to strengthen our nation’s defense have only grown louder on both sides of the aisle. In March, the Biden administration came out with the largest Pentagon budget request in American history, to the tune of an eye-popping $842 billion. Ranked […]
The post Scott Hoolahan | To Secure the Military, End Price Gouging appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/scott-hoolahan-to-secure-the-military-end-price-gouging/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Recently the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn went before Congress to give testimony. They were repeatedly asked about demonstrations by students and administrators on their campuses calling for genocide of Jews. Demonstrations are happening because Israel decided to wisely respond with aggression and brute force in response to the barbaric act perpetuated against them […]
The post Brian Richards | Rot in Higher Education appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
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date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Nobody invented capitalism. It’s what all people voluntarily do, to everyone’s benefit. And it’s quite a contrast with socialism, statism, leftism, naziism, fascism and communism, which were all cooked up by intellectuals and imposed with violence. Rob Kerchner Valencia
The post Rob Kerchner | Capitalism Is only Natural appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
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date: 2023-12-13, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Spain recorded its highest-ever December temperature • Flooding forced some London drivers to abandon their cars • It will be cold but clear tonight in New York City for Taylor Swift’s blowout birthday bash.
A deal has been reached at the COP28 climate summit that marks “the beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era, says United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell. After two weeks of intense negotiations and several rejected drafts, an agreement was swiftly finalized today that calls on countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels this decade in pursuit of achieving net zero by 2050. It also calls for tripling renewable energy capacity, phasing down unabated coal, reducing methane emissions, phasing out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, and accelerating zero and low-emissions technologies.
COP28
leaders and delegates applaud a breakthrough at the
conference.Fadel
Dawod/Getty Images
The text of the deal will not please everyone. It is weak on financial commitments for helping developing countries. It allows for the use of “transition fuels” – such as natural gas, a fossil fuel – in facilitating the energy transition, as well as carbon capture technologies. It uses vague language that leaves much room for interpretation and loopholes. But this deal marks the first time oil and gas has been mentioned in a COP agreement, which would have been “unthinkable just two years ago,” says Business Green’s James Murray. COP28 president Sultan Al-Jaber called the deal historic but followed that with a word of caution: “Any agreement is only as good as its implementation. We are what we do, not what we say. We must turn this agreement into tangible action.”
The positive:
The negative:
A new study concludes electric car adoption is seeing “genuine exponential growth” across the world and that EVs “are highly likely to dominate the global passenger car fleet in the near future, less than a decade from today.” After analyzing the uptake of passenger EVs across 17 individual countries, Europe, and the world, the researchers believe that “system-wide adoption” will happen much faster than other estimates suggest. In Europe, for example, the researchers predict the majority of passenger cars will be EVs by 2031. The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, hint at “radical economic and infrastructural consequences in the near future.”
Estimated
future share of EVs within fleets across
regions.PLOS
One
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s annual Arctic Report Card, out yesterday, outlines the many ways climate change is dramatically transforming the Arctic’s delicate landscape. Some key takeaways:
There was one bright spot: A restoration initiative in Finland has helped protect nearly 130,000 acres of carbon-storing peatland and brought the return of more than 200 species of birds.
The Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday announced the creation of a new office that will focus on “emerging technology” including artificial intelligence and how it could be used to address climate change. The Office of Critical and Emerging Technology will help the DOE research how AI could help the nation prepare for “climate-related risks, enable clean-energy deployment (including addressing delays in permitting reviews), and enhance grid reliability and resilience.” “We are preparing to ensure that, as new technologies emerge, the United States leads the way in exploring those frontiers,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The Gila River Indian Community in Arizona recently broke ground on America’s first project to line a water canal with solar panels.
https://heatmap.news/climate/am-briefing-a-cop-breakthrough Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
The UN says Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has driven more than 5 million people from their homes, many of them older adults. Now, some are finding safe places to live thanks to the American charity To Ukraine With Love and a community called Miracle Village. Lesia Bakalets reports from the development of 107 apartments outside Kyiv.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-charity-provides-free-housing-for-displaced-older-ukrainians-outside-kyiv-/7396177.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Detroit, Mich — Tesla is recalling more than 2 million vehicles across its model lineup to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot.
Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly.
The agency says its investigation found Autopilot’s method of ensuring that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system.
The recall covers nearly all of the vehicles Tesla sold in the U.S. and includes models Y, S, 3 and X produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year.
The software update includes additional controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said.
The update was to be sent to certain affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest getting it at a later date, the documents said.
Autopilot includes features called Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control, with Autosteer intended for use on limited access freeways when it’s not operating with a more sophisticated feature called Autosteer on City Streets.
The software update apparently will limit where Autosteer can be used.
“If the driver attempts to engage Autosteer when conditions are not met for engagement, the feature will alert the driver it is unavailable through visual and audible alerts, and Autosteer will not engage,” the recall documents said.
Depending on a Tesla’s hardware, the added controls include “increasing prominence” of visual alerts, simplifying how Autosteer is turned on and off, additional checks on whether Autosteer is being used outside of controlled access roads and when approaching traffic control devices, “and eventual suspension from Autosteer use if the driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility,” the documents say.
Recall documents say that agency investigators met with Tesla starting in October to explain “tentative conclusions” about the fixing the monitoring system. Tesla, it said, did not agree with the agency’s analysis but agreed to the recall on Dec. 5 in an effort to resolve the investigation.
Auto safety advocates for years have been calling for stronger regulation of the driver monitoring system, which mainly detects whether a driver’s hands are on the steering wheel. They have called for cameras to make sure a driver is paying attention, which are used by many other automakers with similar systems.
Autopilot can steer, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, but is a driver-assist system and cannot drive itself despite its name. Independent tests have found that the monitoring system is easy to fool, so much that drivers have been caught while driving drunk or even sitting in the back seat.
In its defect report filed with the safety agency, Tesla said Autopilot’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”
A message was left early Wednesday seeking further comment from the Austin, Texas, company.
Tesla says on its website that Autopilot and a more sophisticated Full Self Driving system cannot drive autonomously and are meant to help drivers who have to be ready to intervene at all times. Full Self Driving is being tested by Tesla owners on public roads.
In a statement posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Tesla said safety is stronger when Autopilot is engaged.
NHTSA has dispatched investigators to 35 Tesla crashes since 2016 in which the agency suspects the vehicles were running on an automated system. At least 17 people have been killed.
The investigations are part of a larger probe by the NHTSA into multiple instances of Teslas using Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes. NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing safety problems with Teslas in the past year, announcing multiple recalls and investigations, including a recall of Full Self Driving software.
In May, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said Tesla shouldn’t be calling the system Autopilot because it can’t drive itself.
In its statement Wednesday, NHTSA said the Tesla investigation remains open “as we monitor the efficacy of Tesla’s remedies and continue to work with the automaker to ensure the highest level of safety.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/tesla-recalls-over-2-million-vehicles-to-fix-defective-system-that-monitors-drivers-using-autopilot/7396169.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Bruce Schneier blog
This is not about mass surveillance of mail, this is about the sorts of targeted surveillance the US Postal Inspection Service uses to catch mail thieves:
To track down an alleged mail thief, a US postal inspector used license plate reader technology, GPS data collected by a rental car company, and, most damning of all, hid a camera inside one of the targeted blue post boxes which captured the suspect’s full face as they allegedly helped themselves to swathes of peoples’ mail.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/12/surveillance-by-the-us-postal-service.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: After last minute horse-trading at the COP28 climate conference, 200 countries have agreed to a deal that calls for a transition away from fossil fuels for the first time. But critics argue it doesn’t go far enough. Meanwhile, Argentina’s new president Javier Milei is pressing ahead with his shock therapy plan for the economy, starting with a devaluation of the peso. And we also take a look at the economic problems at the top of the agenda in Egypt’s election.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/cop28-is-it-better-to-transition-or-phase-out Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Cloud giant AWS collected a staggering 76 percent more direct public sector revenue from the UK government in the past financial year.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/aws_sees_direct_uk_government/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: RIP Corp
RIP Corp is a Charts & Leisure production. Find us at ripcorp.biz, or follow in places @ripcorpdotbiz for all your dead business needs.
To support the show, please consider aligning yourself even more deeply with the brand, via our merch shop: ripcorp.threadless.com
RIP Corp is written and hosted by Ingrid Burrington. Produced by Meghal Janardan and Mike Rugnetta. Associate producer, Taylor Behnke. Original music and sound design from Andrew Atkin and Michael Simonelli. Fact-checking from Matt Giles. Logo design by Beatriz Lozano and illustrations by Megan Mulholland. Executive produced by Jason Oberholtzer.
https://ripcorp.biz/episodes/2500-and-a-dream-fansteel-and-the-history-of-tantalum-T15G5g7n Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Close to a million records containing personally identifiable information belonging to donors that sent money to non-profits were found exposed in an online database.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/donorview_database_breach/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p><strong>HONOKA‘A 60 - WAIAKEA 46</strong></p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/wildcats-dragons-down-warriors/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Last week, the Big Island’s top Pop Warner team took the national stage at the 66th Pop Warner National Championships in Orlando, Fla.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/photos-eagles-represent-west-hawaii-on-national-scale/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Slugging South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $113 million, six-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/south-korean-outfielder-jung-hoo-lee-gets-113-million-6-year-deal-giants-ap-source-says/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Tak could be annoying.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/stephen-tsai-takeuye-was-part-of-the-uh-hoops-family/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 33 points and 17 assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 32 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat Los Angeles 127-125 on Tuesday night in the Lakers’ first game since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/doncic-hardaway-led-mavs-over-lakers-127-125-in-las-first-game-since-winning-nba-cup/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The AFC is up for grabs with four weeks remaining in the regular season. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/analysis-the-afc-is-up-for-grabs-with-four-potential-division-races-coming-down-to-the-final-week/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CHICAGO — Reggie Jackson scored 25 points and short-handed Denver held off the Chicago Bulls for a 114-106 victory on Tuesday night after Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was ejected in the second quarter. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/jackson-scores-25-points-as-nuggets-beat-bulls-114-106-after-jokic-ejection/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The 2024 UH-Hilo Softball schedule will have 47 total games on tap with more than half of them played in the home state.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/uh-hilo-softball-2024-schedule-released/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>COSTA MESA, Calif. — Justin Herbert’s fourth year as an NFL starting quarterback is over with four games remaining in the season. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/sports/chargers-qb-justin-herbert-will-miss-rest-of-season-after-surgery-on-his-broken-index-finger/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Pahala is the first Hawaii Island ZIP code to be fully enabled to receive Hawaiian Telcom’s high-speed fiber internet service.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/pahala-gets-access-to-high-speed-internet-service/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii County is presenting its annual “Magic of the Season” holiday open house this week at the County Building in Hilo.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/experience-the-magic-of-the-season/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The National Park Service is seeking public feedback about the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s draft Accessibility Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/hvnp-seeks-public-input-on-accessibility-plan/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After acquiring a run-down coffee farm in Puna and turning it into an award-winning brand, the founders of Big Island Coffee Roasters are taking on a new challenge by opening a café and roastery in Hilo.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/big-island-coffee-roasters-opens-roasting-facility-cafe-in-hilo/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Multiple witnesses told police they saw a 21-year-old Pahoa man fire several shots in the air early Saturday morning before pointing a semiautomatic pistol at another man in a public parking lot in Hilo.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/man-accused-of-firing-multiple-shots-in-isles-incident/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Hamakua Community Development Plan Action Committee is mulling whether to request the county maintain Mud Lane or to open it up as an emergency evacuation route.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/2-options-mulled-for-mud-lane-including-evacuation-route/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The U.S. Coast Guard and Hawaii Fire Department on Tuesday cleared Young Brothers to resume operations at the Port of Hilo.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/us-coast-guard-clears-young-brothers-to-resume-operations-at-port-of-hilo/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Shawn Fain, the international president of the United Auto Workers union who recently won large raises for his workers, is taking aim at a new target: New Jersey lawmakers who are delaying votes on a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/auto-union-boss-urges-new-jersey-lawmakers-to-pass-casino-smoking-ban/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Results from testing ash samples in Lahaina show concerning high levels of toxic chemicals.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/elevated-levels-of-toxins-found-in-lahaina-ash-test-results-show/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A former student of the man who fatally shot three people at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he resigned from a tenured teaching position after making sexual comments about an outfit she wore to class.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/unlv-gunman-resigned-past-professor-job-after-inappropriate-comments-report/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KAILUA-KONA — The Kona Kohala Chefs Association recognized six recent scholarship winners Saturday at the sold out “Christmas with the Chefs” gala on the grounds of Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/community/six-culinary-scholarships-awarded-to-budding-young-chefs/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Kingston Trio’s status in American music history is secure — so much so, the seminal modern folk trio was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2011.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/entertainment/the-kingston-trio-brings-rich-legacy-to-palace-stage/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Police and federal agents are asking the public to remain vigilant while they investigate antisemitic graffiti and a threat made on the third day of Hanukkah to detonate hidden explosives “inside of every Hawaii synagogue.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/authorities-probe-threat-to-bomb-hawaii-synagogues/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/us-agency-takes-first-step-toward-requiring-new-vehicles-to-prevent-drunk-or-impaired-driving/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Three-time Grammy winner and four-time Na Hoku Hanohano award-winner Kalani Pe‘a returns to the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea for a special “Purple Hawaiian Christmas” concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/entertainment/its-a-purple-hawaiian-christmas-in-waimea-kahilu-presents-kalani-pea-on-friday/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel and the United States on Tuesday showed their sharpest public disagreement yet over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas as the two allies became increasingly isolated by global calls for a cease-fire.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/israel-and-us-show-sharp-divisions-over-mounting-casualties-and-future-of-war-against-hamas/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Google’s legal defeat at the hands of Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. threatens to roil an app store duopoly with Apple Inc. that generates close to $200 billion a year and dictates how billions of consumers use mobile devices. The loss — handed down by a San Francisco jury on Monday — is a blow to the two companies’ business model in apps, where they charge commissions of as much as 30% to software developers who typically have few other options.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/googles-epic-legal-defeat-threatens-200-billion-app-store-industry/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>It’s a common accusation: “You just hate Trump.” But this dismissive assertion always implies a subtext: “Your hatred of Trump blinds you to his virtues and accomplishments.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/opinion/you-dont-have-to-hate-trump-to-want-a-better-president/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>If you’ve ordered a coffee and been asked to tip your barista at Starbucks and hesitated, you’re not alone: If you don’t tip, will your chipper barista be let down? What does everyone else do?</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/opinion/tip-requests-are-everywhere-are-americans-greedy-or-is-service-worse/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>To hear his lawyers tell it, Donald Trump was alarmed by Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, motivated as president to focus on cybersecurity and had a good-faith basis four years later to worry that foreign actors had again meddled in the race.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/how-the-2016-election-could-factor-into-the-case-accusing-trump-of-trying-to-overturn-the-2020-race/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, the university’s highest governing body announced Tuesday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/harvard-board-keeps-president-as-leader-of-ivy-league-school-following-antisemitism-backlash/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Debraline H. Stanley, 71, of Keaau died Nov 21. Born in Kahuku, Oahu, she was a manager with Hawaii Care and Cleaning. Services at a later date. Survived by sons, Paul (Mahea) Stanley and Ammon K. Stanley of Keaau; daughters, Marlo (Eric) Mello of Mountain View, Stephanie (William) Hudnall of Keaau, Luana (Gem) Ahina of Kona and Kaui (Tana Sr.) Stanley of Waimea; daughter-in-law, Marleen Stanley; brothers, C. Puni Kaio and Steven Kaio of Keaau; sisters, Dell-Fin Brooks of Pahoa and Jerilyn Fely of Keaau; 30 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Ballard Family Mortuary.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/obituaries/obituaries-for-december-13-11/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — His country’s future at stake, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used inspirational words, optimistic resolve and a nod to Christmas in appealing Tuesday to leaders in Congress for U.S. aid for his fighters in the war with Russia.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/nation-world-news/with-ukraine-aid-in-peril-zelenskyy-pleads-his-case-on-capitol-hill-and-at-the-white-house/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Tired of too much
political correctness</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/opinion/your-views-for-december-13-7/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After over 70 years as a family-run business, Nakahara Store in Hawi closed the doors Tuesday in a bittersweet moment for owner Mary Rose Nakahara.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/13/hawaii-news/nakaharas-beloved-kohala-grocery-closes-its-doors/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Britain’s data watchdog has issued the Ministry of Defence with a financial penalty of £350,000 for the BCC email blunder that exposed names and contact data of Afghan interpreters locked in the Taliban-controlled country.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/mod_bcc_email_fine/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Last night, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to decide Trump’s claim that he is immune from any and all criminal prosecution for anything he did while in office. That claim is central to Trump’s defense; he has requested the charges against him be dismissed because of that immunity.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-12-2023 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Robert Reich on Substack
If so, how?
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/office-hours-should-the-us-pressure Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog
You know I spend all my days working on curl and related matters. I also spend a lot of time thinking on the project; like how we do things and how we should do things. The security angle of this project is one of the most crucial ones and an area where I spend a … Continue reading Making it harder to do wrong
https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2023/12/13/making-it-harder-to-do-wrong/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
YouTuber Kevin McAleer decided Elf on the Shelf shouldn’t be reserved for kids, so he trained a robot to help him get in on the fun.
The post Elf on the shelf for grown-ups (make a robot do it) appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/elf-on-the-shelf-for-grown-ups-make-a-robot-do-it/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Tilde.news
https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/offpunk/refs/v2.1 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
NASA has celebrated the Perseverance Rover’s 1000th Martian day of operations, and prepared the longest ever flight for the helicopter that accompanied it to the home of Marvin.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/perseverance_1000_sols_ingenuity_record/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about seasonal affective disorder? I’ve always disliked winter, but since I retired and am home a lot more, the gray, cold winter months make me feel really blue. — Sad Sam Dear Sam, If you get depressed in the winter but feel better […]
The post The Savvy Senior | How to Ease the Winter Blues appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/__trashed-2/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1900 – Automobile Club of Southern California founded; first car in SCV appeared 1902. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-13/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
I come home from a friendly meetup and notice that my tiny web-server has a load of 80 instead of the usual 0.5. What the hell is going on? I look at the logs of the last 24 hours and see an IP number with more than 100 000 hits in the last 24h. What are they doing?
Whois tells me it is from the “Alibaba Cloud”. Oh yeah? What are the Chinese trying to do on my site?
I start poking around. More and more IP numbers from all over the net show up. Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud.
All right, so I’m blocking some of them individually as I go, but after a while I realize that I probably have to block them at the network level.
For the moment I’m also taking down one of the wikis that’s overloading my server.
Just looking at the top 10 offenders for two of my domains, and running whois on them to find the entire network they belong to, and checking that it’s Alibaba or Tencent:
# Alibaba Cloud 2023-12-10
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.76.0.0/14'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.80.0.0/13'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.74.0.0/14'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.235.0.0/16'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.246.0.0/16'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.244.0.0/15'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.240.0.0/14'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '47.236.0.0/14'" [or]
# Tencent Cloud
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '42.192.0.0/15'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '49.232.0.0/14'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '101.34.0.0/15'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '43.142.0.0/16'" [or]
RewriteCond "%{REMOTE_ADDR}" "-R '124.220.0.0/14'"
RewriteRule ^ https://alexschroeder.ch/nobots [redirect=410,last]
If I want this to be for the entire server and not repeat it for each location, I guess I’ll have to use Apache rewrite rules.
While I’m doing this, I notice a new pattern… My wiki software allows you to fetch a feed for every page. Either it contains updates to the page (Oddmuse), or a feed of the pages linked (Oddmu). It’s for humans.
Of course some shit engineer decided that it was a good idea to scan the web for all the feeds that are out there (so rare! so precious!) and to download them all, forever (uncover the darknet! server our customers!) and now I have to block IP number ranges, add robot agents to robots.txt files (not all of them provide one), or block user agents (not all of them provide a useful one) and I block and block and block (for the environment! to avoid +2.0°C and the end of human civilization!) and all this while I know that all these shit requests exist out there, for all the sites, everywhere – a hundred thousand requests or more per day, per site, wasting CO₂ – and what am I going to do, kill the feeds for humans because some shit engineer decided to feed a machine?
I’m on the Butlerian Jihad again.
Oh, and Virgin Media is downloading tons of PDFs I’m hosting? Are they looking for copyright violations? On the blocklist they go.
And what’s this, Feedly is also downloading feeds like crazy, every few minutes? Slow down, idiots. My news is not important. On the blocklist they go. Or are you trying to train your stupid intelligence? Fuck this AI training stuff. I already use “X-Robots-Tag: noimageai” but I guess I should add even more HTTP headers to block even more engineers overstepping boundaries?
Ah, and MonitoRSS going into overdrive, from the Amazon Cloud. Really, I don’t think there are humans in the Amazon Cloud. Onto the blocklist they go. Well, at least this IP range.
And who’s that VelenPublicWebCrawler, zealously collecting pages? Onto the blocklists they go.
Following a lead from StackExchange and looking at the
ipset manual I see that the type hash:net
supports banning entire networks!
Here’s a fish script:
#! /usr/bin/fish
# Use hash:net because of the CIDR stuff
ipset create banlist hash:net
iptables -I INPUT -m set --match-set banlist src -j DROP
iptables -I FORWARD -m set --match-set banlist src -j DROP
# Alibaba 2023-12-10
set -l networks \
47.76.0.0/14 \
47.80.0.0/13 \
47.74.0.0/14 \
47.235.0.0/16 \
47.246.0.0/16 \
47.244.0.0/15 \
47.240.0.0/14 \
47.236.0.0/14
# Tencent 2023-12-10
set -a networks \
42.192.0.0/15 \
49.232.0.0/14 \
101.34.0.0/15 \
43.142.0.0/16 \
124.220.0.0/14
# OVH 2023-12-10 (Borked Feed Reader)
set -a networks 141.94.0.0/16
# Bell Canada 2023-12-10 (Borked Feed Reader)
set -a networks 142.177.0.0/16
# Amazon 2023-12-10 (MonitoRSS?)
set -a networks 44.192.0.0/11
# Virgin Media 2023-12-10
set -a networks 81.108.0.0/15
# BSO 2023-12-10 (maybe Feedly?)
set -a networks 8.29.192.0/21
# ASAHI 2023-12-10 (idiot bot getting 1PDC PDF repeatedly)
set -a networks 220.146.0.0/16
for network in $networks
ipset add banlist $network
end
#Bots #Butlerian Jihad #Administration
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2023-12-10-bots-again Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Back in 2016, a member of the Microsoft community asked the Windows giant to add a time input field its Forms product, and received word from an employee that the feature request had been put on the to-do list.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/microsoft_forms_feature_request_delay/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
AI and the chips that run it are so hot right now.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/equinix_liquid_cooling/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Cybercrime gangs like the notorious Lazarus group and spyware vendors like Israel’s NSO should be considered cyber mercenaries – and become the subject of a concerted international response – according to a Monday report from Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/cyber_mercenary_orf_report/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
U.S. lawmakers called for a tougher stance against Iran Tuesday as the conflict between Israel and Hamas threatens to expand across the Middle East. Iranian proxies have launched more than 90 attacks against U.S. forces since October 17th, 10 days after the Hamas terror attack on Israel. Some Republican lawmakers are demanding that the Biden administration impose stricter sanctions on the Islamic Republic. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-lawmakers-seek-harder-stance-on-iran-amid-growing-mideast-tension/7395999.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Hello, dear [READERNAME], The Register today brings you the news that the heir to Lotus Notes has added the ability to mail merge emails.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/hcl_modernises_notes_by_adding/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
Ukraine’s president, alongside President Joe Biden, pleaded with U.S. lawmakers Tuesday to approve $61 billion in aid for the country as it continues to fight off Russia’s invasion. Without those funds, they say, a cold, grim winter looms. White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-echoes-wish-for-ukraine-victory-asks-congress-to-approve-aid/7395989.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
In a sign that the United States is getting increasingly concerned over the number of civilian casualties from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, President Joe Biden delivered a public rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even as he maintains staunch support for Israel. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/isolated-internationally-on-gaza-biden-delivers-rebuke-to-netanyahu/7395986.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Recognition, resolutions and even a Sheriff’s Department challenge coin were among the gifts given to outgoing Santa Clarita Mayor Jason Gibbs as he passed the gavel Tuesday to the incoming one, Cameron Smyth. But the best, he said, came from College of the Canyons’ culinary program, which made Gibbs’ favorite dish: a plate of pork […]
The post Smyth named mayor for 2024 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/smyth-named-mayor-for-2024/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, honored Santa Clarita Magazine and its publishers, Moe, Linda and Alex Hafizi, as the Small Business of the Month for December at City Hall on Tuesday.
The post Photos: Small Business of the Month appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/photos-small-business-of-the-month/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Dutch photolithography dominator ASML has reached an agreement to build its first-ever offshore research lab, to be located in South Korea in partnership with Samsung.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/asml_samsung_hynix_alliance/ Save to Pocket
@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)
The last few days have been really productive for me creatively. I’ve made so much progress on a thorough outline of book 2 of my WIP, with proper through-lines of narrative tension,1 and I’m feeling really good about how the actual writing of it is going to go. I also did a cold reread of book 1, and was really happy with it, actually! I’d even say it’s about ready to start seeking out feedback from other people 😬
And… what did I have to do to start making progress again? It seems like the solution is simple:
So there you have it; that’s what I’ve been up to. In what has otherwise been a bit of a tough year for me, it feels great to be optimistic about something for once 😊
If you’re really curious, last year I wrote this blog post about how bad my previous outline was. This new one is sooooo much better. So much. If only the ideas that struck me this year had come a little earlier 🤪 ↩︎
https://www.jayeless.net/2023/12/outlining-progress.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
The White House — A barrage of Russian missiles targeted Ukraine’s capital, injuring at least 45 people Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged U.S. officials to approve $61 billion in new aid to help his country fight off Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s air forces said the country’s air defenses downed all 10 ballistic missiles launched by Russia.
Falling debris from the downed missiles damaged a children’s hospital and the city’s water system, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said, while Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said debris also hit several homes.
“Russia has proven once again that it is a heinous country that fires missiles at night, trying to hit residential areas, kindergartens, and energy facilities during the winter,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday on social media. “There will be a response. Certainly.”
Zelenskyy added that he and U.S. President Joe Biden had agreed to work on increasing the number of Ukraine’s air defense systems, and that Russia had “demonstrated how critical this decision is.”
The Biden administration Tuesday announced up to $200 million in new military aid, including air defense missiles and components, for Ukraine from previously approved resources.
The announcement came as Zelenskyy used his visit to Washington to make a forceful case for a new commitment of $61 billion in aid to help his country’s war cause as the U.S. Congress decides on the matter.
The Ukrainian leader rejected the notion that his nation would cede territory to the Russians after nearly two years of brutal warfare.
“That’s insane, to be honest,” Zelenskyy said.
He added: “I don’t know whose idea it is, but I have a question to these people: if they are ready to give up their children to terrorists. I think not.”
Biden also pressed for Ukrainian victory and seemed to push back against starting negotiations with Moscow.
“We need to ensure Putin continues to fail in Ukraine and Ukraine to succeed,” he said. “And the best way for that to do that is to pass the supplemental” funding request.
But the U.S. Congress, which signs the checks, is not yet convinced. Earlier Tuesday, Zelenskyy met with lawmakers in an attempt to persuade them.
Republicans say they want to see “proper oversight” of the funding, and they also want to see “a clear articulation of strategy.”
Biden, meanwhile, accused Republicans of playing into Moscow’s hands by failing to pass the aid package.
“The host of a Kremlin-run show said, ‘Well done, Republicans. That’s good for us,’” he said, adding: “If you’re being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you’re doing. History will judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Zelenskyy of “cadging” – slang meaning to beg for something undeserved – and said he is an American puppet.
But U.S. taxpayers are showing signs of Ukraine fatigue, and some Republicans question why about a third of U.S. money goes not toward weapons, but government assistance.
John Jameson, a mine-clearing campaigner who recently visited the country, said Ukraine needs every penny.
“The deminers were working while we heard the sound of artillery going on,” he told VOA, on Zoom. “And they’re doing that because they know it’s essential for them to be able to start farming and producing and going back to work now so they can live so they can not only just to fight the war but so they can live but no, we can’t wait until the fighting is over.”
But when will it end? Analysts say this may take more than a year – and question whether Ukraine’s supporters are funding it enough, considering how well this small army has done against a much larger foe.
“They’ve become, in some ways, victims of their own success,” said Dalibor Rohac, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “I don’t think we should be sort of reasonably asking Ukrainians to do more, especially given the almost homeopathic nature of Western assistance. When you think about the amounts of munitions that are being delivered – the miniscule amounts of long range artillery, precision artillery, air defenses, etc, etc, that are being delivered to Ukraine. I think they are making a really impressive use of very limited resources that are given to them, provided to them, against a much larger adversary.”
This urgent discussion comes as Biden on Tuesday announced another $200 million in military aid for Ukraine from previously approved resources.
Biden has asked Congress for a $110 billion package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel, along with other national security priorities.
But Republicans in the U.S. Senate have balked, saying major U.S. border security changes are needed.
Some Republicans are asking for the immediate deportation of migrants who entered the country illegally, stripping them of a chance to seek U.S. asylum. They have also called for greatly scaling back Biden administration programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. lawfully.
The U.S. has already provided Ukraine $111 billion for its fight against Russia’s 2022 invasion.
VOA’s Carla Babb contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-echoes-wish-for-ukraine-victory-asks-congress-to-approve-aid/7395958.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
If Threads supported outbound RSS 2.0 feeds we could avoid the dominance Twitter had over news for so long. There’s nothing hard or magical about it, the technology of RSS is simple, and well understood by thousands of developers.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/12.html#a025624 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Daring Fireball
This new feature will add significant protection against a thief who steals your iPhone and knows your device passcode.
https://daringfireball.net/2023/12/ios_17-3_stolen_device_protection Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The City’s LEAD Goleta Community Academy is one month away, and the City is encouraging local high school and college
The post Attention High School and College Students: Invitation to Attend Upcoming LEAD Goleta Academy appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/attention-high-school-and-college-students-invitation-to-attend-upcoming-lead-goleta-academy/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Today, Environment California Research and Policy Center announced petitions at an event on the UCSB campus, calling
The post Environment California Joined Local Supporters to Announce New Proposals to Safeguard Ocean Life appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/environment-california-joined-local-supporters-to-announce-new-proposals-to-safeguard-ocean-life/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department will host its annual Rose Pruning Day on Saturday, January 13,
The post Annual Rose Pruning Day Scheduled for January 13 appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/annual-rose-pruning-day-scheduled-for-january-13/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Supervisors approve new public nuisance language making it easier for sheriff to pull the plug on for-profit parties.
The post Santa Barbara County Puts Lid on Party Profiteers in Isla Vista appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/santa-barbara-county-puts-lid-on-party-profiteers-in-isla-vista/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
The Sierra Vista Junior High School Clubhouse will now be known as the Thomas E. Dierckman Clubhouse — Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley after the William S. Hart Union High School District board approved a resolution at last week’s meeting. Dierckman has been serving on the board of directors for the Boys […]
The post <strong>Sierra Vista clubhouse renaming approved by Hart district</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/sierra-vista-clubhouse-renaming-approved-by-hart-district/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
A tour through Montecito Union School’s lush Nature Lab.
The post Connecting Kids and Community Through Soil appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/connecting-kids-and-community-through-soil/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Precocious and Grammy-fied jazz star Samara Joy makes Santa Barbara debut, with Christmas/family ties in tow.
The post Review | Breaking Musical Bread, Sharing the Spotlight appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/review-breaking-musical-bread-sharing-the-spotlight/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Former Valencia High School softball coach Donna Lee and current Hart High School girls’ soccer coach Brett Croft have both been honored by multiple organizations recently, including by the California Interscholastic Federation. Getting recognized for their hard work in their own backyard, as was the case at last week’s William S. Hart Union High School […]
The post <strong>Hart district recognizes Croft, Lee</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/hart-district-recognizes-croft-lee/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
By Michelle Mason Guest Contributor My mom, Donna Mason, has been a nurse at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital in their acute pediatrics unit for the last 38 years. As she retires, I want to highlight her work as a dedicated nurse, mother and wife. Right after graduating nursing school in 1985, she started working as a […]
The post A daughter’s tribute: Pediatric nurse retires after 38 years of service appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/a-daughters-tribute-pediatric-nurse-retires-after-38-years-of-service/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
Mayor Karen Bass delivered a speech on the one year anniversary of taking office, saying she’s made important progress on homelessness.
https://laist.com/news/politics/bass-touts-first-year-accomplishments-critics-give-mixed-reviews Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
County agrees to delay implementation of a new state law that could expand involuntary 5150 holds tenfold.
The post Grave Disability Law Poses Grave Problems for Santa Barbara County’s Mental-Health System appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/grave-disability-law-poses-grave-problems-for-santa-barbara-countys-mental-health-system/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats inspires a new attitude.
The post An Evening of Blues That Helped Me Get Over Mine appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/12/an-evening-of-blues-that-helped-me-get-over-mine/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Signal
Zamora: Positive campus culture, unique grading system highlight Bowman High Upon finishing her site report on Bowman High School at last week’s William S. Hart Union High School District governing board meeting, Bowman High School Principal Nina Zamora was awarded the One Hart Award by governing board member Cherise Moore. Moore, who represents Trustee Area […]
The post <strong>Bowman principal honored with Hart district’s One Hart Award</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/bowman-principal-honored-with-hart-districts-one-hart-award/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Canyons News (COC student paper)
Car enthusiasts of the Santa Clarita Valley gathered for the highly anticipated…
The post Local Car Show Rolls into Town at the Burgers and Brews Car Show appeared first on Canyons News.
https://canyonsnews.com/local-car-show-rolls-into-town-at-the-burgers-and-brews-car-show/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The Biden administration has taken a special interest in Nvidia’s sale of accelerators to China and is now working with the chipmaker to establish which chips the Middle Kingdom is permitted to acquire.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/us_commerce_dept_nvidia/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Canyons News (COC student paper)
Harmony strikes a chord in Santa Clarita at the Good Karma Music…
The post Santa Clarita hosts Good Karma Music and Arts Festival appeared first on Canyons News.
https://canyonsnews.com/santa-clarita-hosts-good-karma-music-and-arts-festival/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
An online effort called “Project Menorah” asks people of all faiths to put menorahs in their windows for Hanukkah as a show of support for Jewish neighbors. It started in Los Angeles.
https://laist.com/news/la-born-effort-asks-people-of-all-faiths-to-light-a-menorah-in-support-of-jewish-neighbors Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Canyons News (COC student paper)
The Farmers Market at College of the Canyons supplies many fruits and…
The post College of the Canyons Farmer’s Market protects against Fruit Flies appeared first on Canyons News.
https://canyonsnews.com/college-of-the-canyons-farmers-market-protects-against-fruit-flies/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The year Twitter died: a special series from The Verge.
https://www.theverge.com/c/23972308/twitter-x-death-tweets-history-elon-musk Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
If you ask a student on campus about what they eat on a daily basis, they might joke and say that they survive on Cup Noodles. For a number of students, there is some truth to that. According to a Health Affairs survey, 30% of college students faced food insecurities. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,…
https://sundial.csun.edu/176805/print-editions/print-stories/the-menu-affordable-eating/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
It’s the last Patch Tuesday of 2023, which calls for celebration – just as soon as you update Windows, Adobe, Google, Cisco, FortiGuard, SAP, VMware, Atlassian and Apple products, of course.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/13/december_2023_patch_tuesday/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: VOA News USA
washington — Unabated anger and tensions over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas could spill over into the holiday season in the United States, potentially putting large public gatherings at risk, according to law enforcement and homeland security officials.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security late Tuesday issued a public service announcement, warning of a heightened threat to holiday or faith-based events and New Year’s Eve celebrations in the coming weeks.
The announcement further warned of potential dangers to protests, rallies and other First Amendment-protected events.
“Ongoing tensions related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas likely heighten the threat of lone actor violence targeting large public gatherings throughout the winter,” the statement said. “These targets likely remain attractive to lone actors inspired by a range of ideologies due to their accessibility and symbolic nature.”
According to the FBI and DHS, there is no specific or credible intelligence to suggest an attack is in the works, but the statement warns there has been “a spike in reporting on potential hate crimes or other criminal violations” since the October 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with some 240 people taken hostage.
The Israeli military response has since displaced an estimated 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says nearly 18,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children.
The FBI and DHS warning said any escalation of the conflict could “further exacerbate the threat of violence.”
Just last week, DHS issued a new guide to help faith-based organizations, including churches, synagogues and mosques, take steps to better secure their facilities and their congregations.
The same day, FBI Director Christopher Wray told U.S. lawmakers that the bureau’s hate crime caseload had spiked by 60% since October, with the majority of threats targeting the Jewish community.
The just-released public service announcement noted both the FBI and DHS have also seen a jump in hoax bomb threats and active shooter threats aimed at synagogues “likely intended to disrupt services and intimidate congregants.”
The new advisory updates a previous warning from October 25.
U.S. homeland security officials have previously said the country has been mired for more than a year now in a “heightened threat environment,” with the biggest threat coming from U.S.-based extremists motivated by “enduring racial, ethnic, religious and anti-government ideologies.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/7395885.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: OS News
Three years after Fortnite-maker Epic Games sued Apple and Google for allegedly running illegal app store monopolies, Epic has a win. The jury in Epic v. Google has just delivered its verdict — and it found that Google turned its Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly. After just a few hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously answered yes to every question put before them — that Google has monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets and in-app billing services markets, that Google did anticompetitive things in those markets, and that Epic was injured by that behavior. They decided Google has an illegal tie between its Google Play app store and its Google Play Billing payment services, too, and that its distribution agreement, Project Hug deals with game developers, and deals with OEMs were all anticompetitive. ↫ Sean Hollister for The Verge Good news, of course, but it does make one wonder why a judge in Epic’s case versus Apple ruled the exact opposite as the jury did today. We don’t yet know what this verdict will mean for Google in a practical sense – that’s up to the judge, and Google intends to appeal, for course – so if consumers will actually see any benefit from this remains to be seen.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138063/epic-win-jury-decides-google-has-illegal-monopoly-in-app-store-fight/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: Tilde.news
https://libreboot.org/news/10.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/shohei-ohtani-700-million-contract-deferral-067a345f?mod=hp_lead_pos9 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: OS News
As part of our transition to subscription and a simplified portfolio, beginning today, we will no longer sell perpetual licenses. All offerings will continue to be available as subscriptions going forward. Additionally, we are ending the sale of Support and Subscription (SnS) renewals for perpetual offerings beginning today. ↫ Krish Prasad of VMware This sucks. Every few years, I would buy a cheap VMware license on eBay for like €10 or something, to keep my Windows virtual machine going for the incredibly rare cases where I need one for my job because some popular CAT tools are Windows-only. I really do not wish to buy a subscription for that. I guess it’s time to transition to VirtualBox.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138061/broadcom-stops-selling-perpetual-vmware-licenses-subscription-only-from-now-on/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: OS News
The Timeline feature in Maps helps you remember places you’ve been and is powered by a setting called Location History. If you’re among the subset of users who have chosen to turn Location History on (it’s off by default), soon your Timeline will be saved right on your device — giving you even more control over your data. Just like before, you can delete all or part of your information at any time or disable the setting entirely. If you’re getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can always choose to back up your data to the cloud so it doesn’t get lost. We’ll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google. ↫ Marlo McGriff, Director of Product, Google Maps, at Google’s official blog All else being equal, moving location data from residing unencrypted in the cloud to on your device is a good thing. That being said, if Google is giving up access to this data, it most likely means they’ve gotten really good at estimating your whereabouts using other data instead.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138059/google-to-move-location-data-and-maps-history-to-your-device/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: The LAist
A new proposal would keep eviction protections in place for renters in the city of L.A. who adopted COVID cats or pandemic pups.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-city-pets-covid-19-eviction-protections-pandemic-housing-landlord-renters-tenants Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: James Fallows, Substack
To be more precise: Here are young people who are doing the right things. Different regions, different backgrounds, different goals. Similar pluck.
https://fallows.substack.com/p/the-kids-are-all-right Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
There is no longer a significant competitive gap in the sport of women’s soccer. There is a brighter future than we expected. The 2023 Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand has wrapped up, where for the first time since the inaugural edition in 1991, the final featured two new teams: Spain and…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177338/print-editions/print-stories/world-cup-down-under-brings-womens-soccer-to-new-heights/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: John Naughton’s online diary
Remembering Tony Holden On Monday I went to the Memorial Service for Tony Holden in St Martin-in-the-Fields. He was one of the best journalists of his generation, but also a hospitable friend and a writer who was vastly more erudite … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/wednesday-13-december-2023/38897/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-13, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
How to Brainstorn Ideas with Google Bard.
https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/how-to-brainstorn-ideas-with-google-bard/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The College of the Canyons Workforce and Economic Advancement division was distinguished as one of the top-performing training providers by the South Bay Workforce Investment Board for its 100 percent job placement of Uniquely Abled Academy graduates.
https://scvnews.com/colleges-uniquely-abled-program-receives-award-for-100-percent-job-placement/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, from: San Jose Mercury News
Mercury News Letters to the Editor for April 13, 2023
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/12/letters-1526/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: nlnet feed
https://nlnet.nl/news/2023/20231213-bluehats.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-13, updated: 2023-12-13, from: nlnet feed