(date: 2023-12-18 11:02:17)
date: 2023-12-19, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Bogush, Gleb; Nalepa, Monika; Remington, Thomas F. Burkhardt, Fabian; Orttung, Robert; Perović, Jeronim; Pleines, Heiko; Schröder, Hans-Henning; Powell, Ellen
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/648037 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate, ending 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. A rancher’s daughter who was largely unknown on the national scene until her appointment, she received more letters than any other member in the court’s history in her first year and would come to be referred to by commentators as the nation’s most powerful woman.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/late-supreme-court-justice-oconnor-honored-as-a-trailblazer/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
On Sunday, several of Nevada’s fake electors attended a Trump rally in Reno, where the former president thanked three of them personally, including Hindle and McDonald, while saying they were treated unfairly. He did not mention the specific charges.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/some-of-trumps-2020-fake-electors-have-roles-in-2024-races/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Just a few days ago on Dec. 15, the city of Santa Clarita officially turned 36-years-old.
https://scvnews.com/ken-striplin-santa-clarita-turns-36/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
Trees and power lines fell in many areas, including some that landed on homes and cars. In the coastal town of Guilford, Connecticut, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Hartford, a tree fell on a police cruiser but the officer escaped injury, officials said. Certain roads throughout the region were closed due to flooding or downed trees.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/storms-wallop-the-northeast-ground-flights-flood-roads/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
A 2,354-square-foot house built in 1968 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 13500 block of Debbie Lane in Saratoga was sold on Nov. 20, 2023, for $3,760,000, or $1,597 per square foot.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/sale-closed-in-saratoga-3-8-million-for-a-three-bedroom-home-2/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
A deadly collision in Dallas is leaving police, and even veteran officers, stunned after the pedestrian victim was found in the driver’s passenger seat 40 miles away.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/driver-says-he-hit-a-deer-police-found-a-dead-body-in-his-car/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
Authorities are trying to identify a woman killed in a hit-and-run collision Monday morning in San Leandro.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/pedestrian-killed-in-san-leandro-hit-and-run-collision-suspect-later-arrested/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If you’re planning to give someone an Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 for the holidays you’d better act fast: Apple plans to pull both models from shelves in mere days after losing a patent fight earlier this year. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/apple_pulling_watch_series_9/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
In the U.S., the frequency of disasters causing at least $1 billion in damages has gone from roughly three a year during the 1980s to an annual average of 17.8 over the period 2018 to 2022.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/more-than-3-million-americans-are-already-climate-migrants-researchers-say/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
No one knows what to do. This is not a new development. No one has known what to do for quite some time. But it is nonetheless the case that no one knows what to do — what to do about distrust of traditional journalism, what to do about the crushing compost heap of biased…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/journalism-needs-to-learn-how-to-defend-itself/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, the journalism community will recognize just how different the future of local news is going to look compared with its past. That future is already here. A recent Washington Post article reported on the swell of trained journalists and other content creators leveraging social media and messaging platforms to meet audiences where they…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-year-we-see-the-future-of-local-news-wont-look-like-its-past/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Liliputing
Asus has been leading the charge toward putting OLED displays in all the things over the past few years, and the new Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) carries on that trend by packing a 14 inch, 2880 x 1800 pixel, 120 Hz touchscreen OLED display into a thin and light notebook with an Intel Meteor Lake […]
The post The new Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is a 2.8 pound notebook with a 2.8K display, Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, and 32GB RAM for $1300 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/the-new-asus-zenbook-14-oled-is-a-2-8-pound-notebook-with-a-2-8k-display-intel-core-ultra-7-155h-and-32gb-ram-for-1300/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: TidBITS blog
An ITC import ban has caused Apple to stop selling its new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US. Order soon if you want one, or choose an Apple Watch SE, which remains for sale.
https://tidbits.com/2023/12/18/apple-to-stop-selling-two-apple-watch-models-in-the-us-due-to-import-ban/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, the heart of local news strategy boils down to the question: Do you care about place, or not? To what I believe are the most exciting and promising new local journalism organizations, the answer to that question is, deeply, yes. That calls for a very different, and I’d argue more challenging, way of…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/local-news-rediscovers-local-history/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
James Free, a formerly homeless man in the mission’s long-term shelter program, found them while sorting through donations.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/nikes-dropped-anonymously-into-shelters-bin-draw-bid-of-50800-at-auction/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
Processing time for routine service is now six to eight weeks and two to three weeks for expedited service.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/after-years-of-delays-wait-times-for-us-passports-are-back-to-normal/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
As we witness the collapse of Twitter/X and seek new platforms to build audience, more media companies next year will have to think creatively about inventing new ways to fill the void and engage readers. We all know that many of the most enduring news organizations are built on establishing deep niche audiences, not relying…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/build-your-own-platform/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
News consumers will increasingly check out of publications and platforms that don’t link tragic news to coverage of responses to the root problems that precipitated it. People want depth beyond explainers or infographics; they want to feel wiser about the nuanced, generational crises that we are facing, and the solutions that might turn the various…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/readers-seek-depth-beyond-explainers-and-infographics/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/highlights-from-vagabonding-by-rolf-potts Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: San Jose Mercury News
Andrew James Cordova, 34, was convicted of murdering Deon Ward in a 2015 shooting.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/18/man-convicted-of-murder-at-montalvin-manor-meth-house/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Interview Intel’s 5th-gen Xeon server processors have launched into the most competitive CPU market in years.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/intel_xeon_challengers/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NASA breaking news
On Aug. 18, 2023, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured ridged lines carved onto Mars’ landscape by the gradual movement of ice. While surface ice deposits are mostly limited to Mars’ polar caps, these patterns appear in many non-polar Martian regions. As ice flows downhill, rock and soil are plucked from the surrounding landscape and […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/ice-flows-on-mars/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: VOA News USA
Capitol Hill — The U.S. Congress is running out of time to pass a new aid package for Ukraine, as Senate lawmakers worked through the weekend to negotiate a deal for border security funding in return for Republican votes.
The United States has already dedicated more than $100 billion to arming and supporting Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve another $60 billion. However, Republicans in Congress have become increasingly skeptical about the need to continue underwriting Ukraine’s defense.
In recent weeks, Republicans in the Senate have conditioned approval of any additional money for Ukraine on the simultaneous strengthening of immigration rules aimed at reducing the number of people entering the U.S. at its southern border and expelling some who are already in the country.
A small group of lawmakers from the two parties, along with representatives from the Biden administration, are trying to hammer out an agreement that can gain enough support from both sides to protect it from that body’s various legislative pitfalls.
The U.S. Senate had been scheduled to hold its last day in session for this year last Thursday but adjusted the schedule to allow for time for further negotiations. The House of Representatives went out of session for the rest of the year but could be called back to vote if a deal is reached.
As of Monday morning, lawmakers still had not agreed on legislation and a vote appeared increasingly unlikely.
House wants more
Even if an agreement passes in the Senate, it likely would not survive in the House, where Republicans hold a very narrow majority. A significant group of Republican House members opposes additional aid to Ukraine, and the party recently voted out a speaker who partnered with Democrats to pass legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who took over after predecessor Kevin McCarthy was ousted, has said that more funding for the border is essential to any Ukrainian aid package; however, he also wants more conditions placed on the aid.
“What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed,” he said this week.
EU aid blocked; Putin celebrates
Worries about continued U.S. funding for Ukraine sharpened Friday after another key source of support was shut down. With the European Union considering a package of aid worth more than $50 billion, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban used his veto to scuttle the plan.
Orban’s vote came just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly celebrated the fact that Ukraine appears to be losing support in the West.
“Ukraine today produces nearly nothing; they are trying to preserve something, but they don’t produce practically anything themselves and bring everything in for free,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “But the freebies may end at some point and apparently it’s coming to an end little by little.”
While opponents of aid to Ukraine often denigrate aid packages as being a “blank check” handed over to the Ukrainian government, most of the aid is in the form of military hardware. The dollar figures in the aid packages mostly represent money spent in the U.S. to pay arms manufacturers for the equipment the U.S. ships to Ukraine.
There is little doubt that a significant delay in additional funding from the U.S. would adversely impact Ukraine on the battlefield, but experts differed on the question of how long it would take before the effects become apparent.
“My current understanding is that there’s sufficient money remaining in the presidential drawdown authority for the Biden administration to continue sending arms to Ukraine for several more weeks, so into January,” said Nicholas Lokker, a research associate in the Center for a New American Security’s Transatlantic Security Program. “Once you start getting into January, the money is going to start running out.”
Lokker said that Ukraine is already experiencing shortages of artillery shells and air defense munitions, and that a cutoff or significant delay in aid from the U.S. would exacerbate those shortages.
Giving Russia time
Gian Gentile, a retired U.S. Army colonel and now a senior historian with the RAND Corporation, said that he thinks a delay in U.S. funding might take a little longer, perhaps months, to become apparent on the battlefield.
Gentile, however, said a significant delay, or reduction in U.S. support, could have a major impact on the dynamics of the war.
“If it’s such an extended delay that Ukraine has to really pull back on the amount of artillery it’s using and goes completely on the defensive, that gives Russia time and space,” he told VOA. “If they’re taking fewer casualties, that allows the Russians to spend more time on training, rebuilding and getting ready for another offensive.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-lawmakers-still-negotiating-ukraine-aid-deal-as-holidays-near/7402731.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NASA breaking news
Scientists and engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, have completed testing for BurstCube, a shoebox-sized spacecraft designed to study the universe’s most powerful explosions. Members of the team have also delivered the satellite to their partner Nanoracks (part of Voyager Space) in Houston, Texas, where it will be packed for launch. […]
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/nasas-burstcube-passes-milestones-on-journey-to-launch/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Dear Sundial readers, This final issue of the Sundial’s magazine for the fall semester has stories connected to sustainability and the environment. As we come to the end of the semester and year, we can reflect on what has been accomplished, as well as the setbacks this year. During this time, most of us are…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177546/print-editions/print-stories/letter-from-the-editor-sustainability/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043630-joan-westenberg-misses-th Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Logic Matters blog
In latter years, Before Covid, we went to Florence a number of times before Christmas. It is a real delight then, when the city is largely free of other tourists. But it was not to be, this year. So there is only my virtual self, slouching down a deserted backstreet, as conjured up by ChatGPT. …
The post Not Florence … appeared first on Logic Matters.
https://www.logicmatters.net/2023/12/18/not-florence/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Elon Musk’s X has earned the dubious honor of being the first online platform to have formal Digital Services Act (DSA) proceedings launched against it, with the European Commission accusing it of disseminating illegal content among other violations of the recently enacted rule. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/eu_x_investigation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/world-of-goo-2 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Heatmap News
Voters in Maine were confronted with an unusual decision when they went
to the polls this November. Question three on the ballot asked Mainers
if they wanted to eliminate the two private utilities that delivered
electricity to 97% of the state. A new, nonprofit utility called Pine
Tree Power would take over the service, and it would be overseen by a
publicly-elected board.
Though the proposal may sound radical, it’s not unheard of. Since the dawn of the electric grid, communities have periodically decided to municipalize their utilities. The city of Sacramento, California, took over PG&E’s local electric distribution franchise in 1946. Winter Park, Florida, took over electric service from a company called Progress Energy in 2005. But a takeover at the state level has only been attempted by Nebraska, where the entire state’s electric service went public in the 1940s and has remained that way ever since.
Unlike in Nebraska, the campaign in Maine failed. Seventy percent of voters said “no” to question three. But the ballot measure wasn’t a one-off. This year marked a renewed push for public power that’s growing around the country in light of the challenges of tackling climate change.
Investor-owned utilities have used their vast financial resources and political influence to delay and block the transition off of fossil fuels, in ways large and small, for decades. Activists, tired of trying to work within that system, are turning their attention to what they see as the more systemic root cause — the perverse incentives created by having utilities that need to turn a profit.
Americans often refer to their electricity or gas providers as “public utilities.” But only about 15% of the population is served by a government-owned, customer-owned, or member-owned electric utility. The other 85% are beholden to private companies that were granted monopolies to sell electricity decades ago.
What started as a smattering of independent campaigns to change that ratio started to coalesce into a nationally coordinated movement this year. A few weeks before the vote on the ballot measure, some 70 delegates from about 40 grassroots climate groups from around the country convened for a workshop at the Press Hotel in Portland, Maine. For three days, they exchanged notes and strategies for how to get public power on the agenda in their own cities and states, and reform public utilities in places that already had them. By the end, they had cemented a more energized, organized coalition.
The guiding theory behind the push for public power is that public utilities don’t need to generate returns for shareholders, theoretically enabling them to make investments guided by other priorities, like reducing emissions — and charge customers less in the process.
“We’ve seen time and time again that the market is not going to correct this,” Greg Woodring, a workshop participant from Ann Arbor, Michigan, told me. “Public power gives us the ability to choose where our energy is coming from, the ability to directly make that change without having to ask or plead or beg or incentivize a corporate entity that, at the end of the day, is only making a decision based on what’s going to make the most profit possible.”
But public power is divisive in the larger climate movement. While not necessarily ideologically opposed, critics are concerned about wasting time and money. Private utilities don’t go without a fight, and communities can get bogged down in legal battles for years. The city of Boulder, Colorado, famously tried to wrest control over its electric service from the utility Xcel for a decade, and gave up.
In Maine, the Conservation Law Foundation, a prominent environmental group, warned that the cost of a transition to public power was too uncertain, that it could mire the state in litigation, and that having a publicly-elected board could subject critical energy decisions to “partisan political maneuvering.” Instead, the group made a case for strengthening laws and regulations. However, it also conceded that if the utilities don’t meet metrics of affordability and sustainability they should face stiffer fines, or even lose their ability to operate in the state.
Defenders of investor-owned utilities argue that they have advantages over nonprofits when it comes to building the clean grid of the future. “The investor-owned business model enables companies to raise and deploy massive amounts of capital in an efficient and cost-effective manner, and their purchasing power helps to minimize costs to customers,” said Sarah Durdaller, a spokesperson for the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group for private electric utilities. She told me that the organization’s members’ “commitment to delivering resilient clean energy to our customers has never been stronger, and our focus on affordability has never been more important.”
The Maine campaign was not the first time a shift to publicly-owned utilities has been pitched as a climate strategy. One of the main motivations for Boulder’s effort, which started in 2010, was Xcel’s unwillingness to help the city meet its climate goals. But the increased momentum behind public power in 2023 signaled a new direction for climate activism more broadly, which had seemed to stagnate after the rise and fall of the youth-led Sunrise Movement and the election of Joe Biden.
“This is a site where we can practice democracy,” Isaac Sevier, one of the workshop organizers, told me. “I think that’s something that energizes people, it gives them more hope, it gives them something to be a part of and fight for and struggle for in a time when so many people are turning away.”
The workshop in Maine was convened by a handful of national organizations, including the Climate and Community Project, a progressive think tank, Lead Locally, a group that works to elect progressive candidates, and the Democratic Socialists of America’s Green New Deal Campaign Commission.
The DSA has been a major force behind the recent surge in interest in public power. At the start of this year, it kicked off a new campaign called “Building for Power” focused on trying to strengthen public institutions at the local level. In addition to public power, DSA is advocating for green public housing and transit, and improved public spaces.
“We want to rebuild, and in some cases, build anew, public sector capacity,” Matt Haugen, one of the organizers of the workshop, told me. “Through decades of neoliberalism, the public sector has been hollowed out in the U.S., and we’re seeing in all these areas that it’s clear the private sector just cannot meet these human needs.”
Many of the participants at the workshop were DSA members, but there were also local organizers affiliated with national environmental organizations, like 350 and the Sierra Club, and others from smaller, grassroots groups. There was a freshman in college, a seasoned activist in his 80s, and many ages represented in between. While almost everyone there was from a left-leaning city, they hailed from every corner of the country, including California, Montana, Michigan, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Some, like Woodring of Ann Arbor, were from cities that were already in the early stages of considering a public power takeover. His group had convinced the city council to complete a feasibility study on municipalization. Others, like Marta Meengs, from Missoula, Montana, were trying to figure out how to win smaller battles, like the right to have community-owned solar farms. Others wanted to reform existing public power agencies, like Amy Kelly from Tennessee, where the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority runs the grid — but is investing heavily in natural gas, and offers few avenues for civic engagement.
One such group had already seen some success. The New York chapter of the DSA passed the Build Public Renewables Act earlier this year after four years of campaigning. The law directs the New York Power Authority, an existing state-owned power provider, to shut down all of its fossil fuel plants by the end of 2031, and expands its mandate to include building renewable energy projects. Most residential customers in New York are actually served by private utilities, but proponents saw the law as a way to get more clean energy built, faster, and with high labor and equity standards.
The Inflation Reduction Act, the climate law signed by President Biden last year, is one reason the tides turned for the New York campaign. It enabled government agencies and nonprofits to take advantage of tax credits for renewable energy projects for the first time, improving the economics of public power.
“It really opens up a huge amount of additional space for public power to be a part of the answer,” Johanna Bozuwa, executive director of the Climate and Community Project, told me.
Though few of the participants had ever met or even heard of each others’ campaigns, the stories that led them to advocate for public power shared a number of common themes: Worsening power outages due to extreme weather. Alarm over the insufficient pace of emission reductions. Outrageously high bills. But perhaps most of all, frustration with constantly coming up against utilities wielding money and influence to fight clean energy.
Woodring, of Ann Arbor, cited a 2022 analysis that found that more than 90% of sitting legislators in Michigan at the time took money from groups and individuals affiliated with DTE, the biggest utility in the state. The company was also tied to more than $200,000 in donations to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who’s responsible for appointing the state’s utility regulators. As a result, according to the workshop participants from Michigan, the company has been able to restrict the growth of residential solar, which would eat into its profits.
Mikal Goodman, a 23-year-old city councilmember from Pontiac, Michigan, told me his interest in public power stemmed from DTE’s high rates and failure to invest in modernizing its transmission system. Some of its poles and wires dated back to before World War II, he said. Last winter, storms knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of households in southeast Michigan, leaving some families in the dark for over a week. But the day after one especially bad storm in February that left 450,000 people without power, DTE’s CEO Gerardo Norcia bragged to Wall Street analysts about the company’s “strong financial results” due to budget cuts and delayed maintenance.
In Pontiac, Goodman said, outages are life-threatening. He described the city as a donut hole — a poor, majority minority community surrounded by much wealthier, whiter towns. Most Pontiac residents don’t have the resources to run backup generators, replace rotting food, or flee to hotels if they need to, like many of their well-off neighbors, he said.
The idea that energy is a human right, and should not be treated as a commodity, came up repeatedly at the workshop. Many of the participants were drawn to public power by the desire to see an energy transition that benefits everyone, not just those who can afford clean energy.
Sevier, who has done a lot of work related to decarbonizing buildings, was frustrated that other advocates in the field were ignoring the growing energy affordability crisis. One in six households are behind on their utility bills, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, and gas and electric utilities are increasingly disconnecting customers that are in arrears. A January report from Bailout Watch, a nonprofit watchdog of fossil fuel companies, estimated that the 12 utilities that perpetrated the vast majority of shutoffs between 2020 and the fall of 2022 could have forgiven the debt with just 1% of their spending on shareholder dividends.
“If we require that everything in your life become electric, but at the same time, we don’t transform a system that guarantees that everyone actually can have electricity,” Sevier told me, “then I ask, who are we building this ‘electrify everything’ system for?”
Other advocates questioned a system where the public is often forced to pay for a company’s mistakes, but which the public has no say over. Travis Gibrael, an organizer with a group called Reclaim Our Power in northern California, which is working on a public takeover of PG&E, described the hypocrisy of the state’s relationship with the company. Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration helped the company emerge from bankruptcy after it was found responsible for wildfires that destroyed whole towns and killed more than 100 people. Now the company is raising rates by 13% to pay for wildfire prevention measures like burying power lines.
“They burn down the state, they kill a bunch of people. And yet all of those liabilities are just put on us, including the people who lost family members,” Gibrael told me. “It’s like, we’re already paying for the cost of the system and all the crises that are coming from it. So for us to just own it, because we’re already paying for it, makes sense.”
Reclaim Our Power has allies in the city government of San Francisco, which is in the early stages of trying to purchase the local electric grid from PG&E.
In some ways, Maine seemed to be an ideal testing ground for such sweeping reforms. Central Maine Power and Versant, the two private electric companies in Maine that would have been ousted, are consistently rated the worst for customer satisfaction in the Northeast. CMP has faced multiple investigations and fines over its billing system, customer service, and delays connecting new solar projects to the grid. Mainers additionally hate the company due to a controversial power line it is building to deliver hydropower from Canada into the U.S.
Advocates also appealed to nationalist views by highlighting the fact that both companies have “foreign owners,” and that they are funneling ratepayer dollars out of the country rather than back into Maine’s communities. (CMP is owned by Iberdrola, a Spanish company. Versant is owned by Enmax, a Canadian company owned by the city of Calgary.)
Public power advocates attributed their loss largely to the nearly $40 million the incumbent utilities spent fighting the campaign. “They outspent us 37 to one,” Lucy Hochschartner, the deputy campaign manager for Pine Tree Power, told me. “We were persuading people one by one, as they were getting absolutely inundated by messaging on the television, in their mailbox, on the radio, over digital.”
But she also said the campaign was successful in that it got a lot more people talking about the issue — it made national headlines for weeks — which could make it easier for future campaigns.
Reflecting on the loss, John Qua, a campaign manager at Lead Locally, told me it showed that running a ballot initiative is probably one of the most difficult ways to win public power. Another path is to try and win an electoral majority to enact legislation. “While it takes longer, you can cement a stronger, usually progressive majority in support,” he said
Workshop attendees were clear-eyed about the fact that public ownership would not, in itself, be a silver bullet. They were quick to acknowledge the shortcomings of many existing public institutions, and that a publicly-owned utility will only be as strong as public participation in elections and decision making — a tall order when so few people today even understand the basics about where their energy comes from. Grace Brown, a researcher at the University of Glasgow in Scotland who studies public power movements, said it’s a much harder proposition in the U.S. than in Europe, where people are used to relying on the government for services, and socialism isn’t such a dirty word.
“That’s not just about winning votes, it’s about changing the mindset of this whole country,” she told me. “It’s trying to change these huge ideological ideas of how this country understands what the state should be and what the government should do.”
Public power isn’t the only idea out there for breaking the inertia and corporate capture of the energy system. This year, Colorado, Connecticut, and Maine passed laws that will prevent utilities from charging ratepayers for their lobbying efforts. Several states are experimenting with new, performance-based regulations, whereby utilities’ compensation is tied to specific goals, including emission reductions.
There’s also evidence that the existing channels for democratic engagement with the energy system aren’t totally broken. California and Michigan both recently made big strides on the climate and equity issues that public power advocates care about. This summer, the Golden State passed a law requiring utilities to design progressive rates tied to customers’ incomes. Michigan passed a law requiring utilities to use 100% clean energy by 2040.
The revitalized push for public power is about more than clean energy. To proponents, it’s about shaping this new, green energy system in a way that benefits a wider public. Whether or not they see more victories, the questions they are raising about who decides when and how we transition to this hypothetical clean energy future are already infiltrating the wider climate discussion. And as past public power movements, like the one in Boulder, have shown, even when the campaigns fail, the threat they pose to utilities is usually enough to get the companies to change their approach.
If there’s one thing I took away from the workshop, it’s that the movement is just getting started. Expect to see more high-profile campaigns — perhaps in San Francisco or Ann Arbor — in the coming years.
https://heatmap.news/politics/what-is-public-power-utilities-maine-ann-arbor-san-francisco Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Bruce Schneier blog
More unconstrained surveillance:
Lawmakers noted the pharmacies’ policies for releasing medical records in a letter dated Tuesday to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. The letter—signed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.)—said their investigation pulled information from briefings with eight big prescription drug suppliers.
They include the seven largest pharmacy chains in the country: CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart Stores, Inc., The Kroger Company, and Rite Aid Corporation. The lawmakers also spoke with Amazon Pharmacy…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/12/police-get-medical-records-without-a-warrant.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Om Malik blog
Adobe and Figma have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced $20 billion merger agreement due to anticipated difficulties in receiving necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. The decision ends the potential acquisition of Figma by Adobe, announced in September 2022. Both companies will continue to operate …
https://om.co/2023/12/18/implications-of-the-adobe-figma-deal-failure/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The iFixit gang has rounded out their year by tearing into 2023’s M3 iMac, where they found Apple’s most replaceable battery yet.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/apples_easiest_to_replace_battery/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Liliputing
The EDATECH ED-IPC3020 is a tiny fanless computer that measures 102.8 x 89.5 x 32.5mm (4″ x 3.5″ x 1.3″) and which features support for up to two 4K displays, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. Powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer, it has a 2.4 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A76 processor, 4GB to […]
The post EDATEC ED-IPC3020 is a Raspberry Pi 5-powered industrial PC with NVMe and analog audio support appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/edatec-ed-ipc3020-is-a-raspberry-pi-5-powered-industrial-pc-with-nvme-and-analog-audio-support/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The Senate delayed its holiday recess for the first part of this week, as negotiators still try to reach a compromise on immigration. But also at stake is funding for Ukraine, which uses U.S. aid to pay for essential government services. Also in this episode: A Japanese company has agreed to acquire U.S. Steel, and Afghan refugees have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/a-devastating-delay-for-ukraine Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Debbie Urbanski’s ‘After World’: An unflinching, bleak, vivid tale of humanity’s final days. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Debbie Urbanski’s ‘After World’ (permalink) Debbie Urbanski’s debut novel After World is an unflinching and relentlessly bleak tale of humanity’s mass extinction, shot through with pathos and veined with seams of tragic tenderness and care: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/After-World/Debbie-Urbanski/9781668023457 I first encountered Urbanski in “An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried,” an experimental short story on Motherboard’s brilliant Terraform science fiction portal: https://www.vice.com/en/article/xwvgeq/an-incomplete-timeline-of-what-we-tried “Incomplete Timeline” is a list of climate remediation steps “working back from human extinction,” like “increased military fortification of national, provincial, and state borders,” “the founding of several utopias,” and “redefine the word wilderness.” These items begin with a climax, or perhaps an anticlimax: “The coordinated release of various strains of a human sterilization virus.” This is the jumping off point for After World, which expands this final item to the action of a wrenching tale whose backstory is the list’s remainder. Sen Anon – the story’s semi-protagonist – is 18 years old when the world learns that every person alive has been sterilized and so the human race is living out its last years. The news triggers a manic insistence that this is a good thing – long overdue, in fact – and the perfect opportunity to scan every person alive for eventual reincarnation as virtual humans in an Edenic cloud metaverse called Gaia. That way, people can continue to live their lives without the haunting knowledge that everything they do makes the planet worse for every other living thing, and each other. Here, finally, is the resolution to the paradox of humanity: our desire to do good, and our inevitable failure on that score. And so the Earth is converted to a place of mass suicides, as people gurn and mug while boarding airplanes filled with explosives so they can go out in a literal blaze of glory. The food will run out soon, and the government makes sure everyone has a suicide pill for the day when the hunger grows too intense. Not everyone is lucky enough to get on one of the suicide flights, and, being eager to see themselves off before they harm the planet further, just hang themselves in the garage or jump off a roof. They are counted as heroes, but also nuisances, because disposing of the bodies is a lot of work. But some people – young people – are given a mission to live on for as long as possible. These are the observer/recorders who are charged to spend the last days of the species closely watching the return of the natural world, the seeing off of humanity, and to write it all down in longhand in a succession of notebooks that are taken away by drones. This is part of the story humanity cooks up for itself about extinction being a noble choice, rather than a chaotic act born of desperation. Sen Anon is one of these observers, and her mothers take her to a remote cabin to live out (and observe) the last of humanity’s days, ensuring she is settled in and then killing themselves. After all, without them, Sen Anon’s limited food supply – meagerly supplemented by drones in proportion to the quality of the observations in her notebooks – will stretch further. Much of the novel takes the form of Sen Anon’s notebook observations, countersunk with an omniscient third-person narrator who is revealed to be [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc, a software agent involved in the project to recreate all those dead humans in the Gaia metaverse. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc is a very unreliable narrator, who reprograms itself through the course of the story, all the while muttering asides to itself about the theoretical basis for telling Sen’s story this way. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc struggles with a supervisory AI that has been charged with overseeing all the [storyworkers], but which can’t – or won’t – rein in [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc as [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc grows more involved in Sen’s life. This experimental storytelling style (supplemented by found texts from humanity’s dying, like a glossary of terms to be retired and new terms being created by a linguist who is starving to death as they complete their task) creates a contradictory narrative distance and closeness. It’s a curiously flawed omniscience that’s allows Urbanski to capture the yawning, bottomless horror of the climate emergency of today and on the horizon. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the kind of sustained, deepening existential dread that After World created, chapter by chapter. To sharpen this, Sen’s mothers – scientists who were given exceptions to the no-child policy because their work was deemed essential to the now-abandoned project of saving humanity – are grimly supportive of the mass suicide project. When Sen’s own horror creeps up on her, her mothers are sharp and often unkind, with only the smallest flashes of love and sorrow for their daughter escaping their facades, all the more vivid for their rarity. In contrast, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc grows ever more sympathetic to Sen and the rest of vanished humanity. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc is a very convincing alien with motives and perspectives that are profoundly nonhuman, and yet, the compassion and love are unmistakable. Of After World’s two protagonists, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc might be the more relatable. It takes an alien point of view to truly see humanity’s flawed glory, irredeemable and irreplaceable. If you reveled in the nonhuman umwelts on display in Laura Jean McKay’s 2020 debut The Animals In That Country, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc will stretch your brain and imagination in similar ways: https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/27/im-a-backdoor-man/#doolittle After World is a book that goes hard. Pitiless, merciless and relentless, it takes you to the darkest depths of climate despair and reveals the indestructible beauty at our species’ core. Hey look at this (permalink) 52 things I learned in 2023 https://medium.com/magnetic/52-things-i-learned-in-2023-a3bbb9f9323d (h/t Kottke) Department of Transportation Issues $140 Million Fine for 2022 Southwest Holiday Meltdown https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2023-12-18-140-million-fine-southwest-cancellations/ The Robber Barons of Prison Tech https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/prison-telecom-gtl-viapath-jpay-securus-private-equity.html (h/t Naked Capitalism) This day in history (permalink) #15yrsago Norm Coleman tries to get Franken ballot tossed because the voter wrote, “Thank you for counting my vote.” https://web.archive.org/web/20081222013855/https://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/the_worst_ballot_challenge_of.php #10yrsago Severed hand grafted to ankle, reattached to wrist a month later https://metro.co.uk/2013/12/16/severed-hand-saved-after-being-attached-to-mans-ankle-4232581/ #10yrsago Secretive TPP treaty could kill creator’s right to get copyrights back from studios, labels and publishers https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/tpps-attack-artists-termination-rights #5yrsago Livetweeting a toothbrush’s firmware update https://twitter.com/AndrewCrow/status/1074565600083492864 #5yrsago Malaysia charges Goldman Sachs with criminal complicity in multi-billion-dollar 1MDB fraud https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/12/18/goldman-sachs-fires-back-after-malaysia-charges-bank-in-1mdb-probe/ #5yrsago Lawsuit: US citizen suing CBP for coercing him into unlocking his phone during boarding at LAX https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5zny7/haisam-elsharkawi-lawsuit-against-us-government-cbp-dhs-unlock-phone #5yrsago Sony won’t let you post “crap recordings” of a few seconds of your own Beethoven piano performance https://www.facebook.com/dheera/videos/10101580541973018/ #5yrsago Kansas judge tells government debt collectors they can’t hound a broke 58-year-old woman until her 84th birthday https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2018/12/good-news-out-of-kansas-compassionate.html #5yrsago Charter will pay $174.2m for defrauding New Yorkers over data speeds, the largest settlement ever paid by a US ISP https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/18/18146210/charter-spectrum-174-million-settlement-new-york-state-attorney-general-internet-speeds #5yrsago Tumblr’s porn filter blocked Tumblr’s images illustrating what Tumblr’s porn filter won’t block https://gizmodo.com/tumblrs-porn-filter-flags-its-own-examples-of-permitted-1831151178 #5yrsago Debunking “ghost users”: MI5’s plan to backdoor all secure messaging platforms https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2018/12/17/on-ghost-users-and-messaging-backdoors/ #5yrsago Elizabeth Warren’s new bill: let the US government manufacture generic versions of overpriced, unavailable drugs https://theintercept.com/2018/12/18/elizabeth-warren-generic-drugs-bill/ #1yrago “Metaverse” means “pivot to video” https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/18/metaverse-means-pivot-to-video/ 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: The Internet’s Original Sin https://craphound.com/news/2023/12/17/the-internets-original-sin/) Upcoming appearances: Internet Con (Peculiar Book Club), Jan 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5UvzuJ1R4I Recent appearances: Enshittification: A Monopoly Story (Macro n Cheese) https://realprogressives.org/podcast_episode/episode-255-enshittification-a-monopoly-story-with-cory-doctorow 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 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/2023/12/18/storyworker-ad39-393a-7fbc/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043646-this-is-the-lowest-price Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently trained its sights on unusual and enigmatic Uranus, an ice giant that spins on its side. Webb captured this dynamic world with rings, moons, storms, and other atmospheric features – including a seasonal polar cap. The image expands upon a two-color version released earlier this year, adding additional wavelength […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-rings-in-holidays-with-ringed-planet-uranus/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NASA breaking news
On a vast ice sheet in Antarctica, scientists and engineers are preparing a NASA experiment called GUSTO to explore the universe on a balloon. GUSTO will launch from the Ross Ice Shelf, near the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station research base, no earlier than Dec. 21. GUSTO, which stands for Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz […]
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/scientific-balloons/nasas-gusto-prepares-to-map-space-between-the-stars/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Here’s an OPML subscription list of the people I follow on Bluesky.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/18.html#a145206 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Microsoft has broken Wi-Fi connectivity for some users with a recent Windows update.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/windows_patch_wifi_broken/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: 404 Media Group
The once-prophesized future where cheap, AI-generated trash content floods out the hard work of real humans is already here, and is already taking over Facebook.
https://www.404media.co/facebook-is-being-overrun-with-stolen-ai-generated-images-that-people-think-are-real/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043552-when-i-feel-irreparably-t Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
Only six schools will be refurbished under school refurbishment projects, instead of the districtwide approach originally intended.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/only-6-public-schools-will-get-arp-funding-for-refurbishment/article_23da7da8-9d58-11ee-8c83-4b9f50aff81e.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
A man was charged with driving while impaired after officers with the Guam Police Department saw him asleep at a traffic light.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-who-fell-asleep-at-traffic-light-gets-charged-with-dwi/article_4d84c080-9d4b-11ee-ae17-af0c62cdc78d.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam’s Head Start program isn’t planning to lose federal funding for noncompliance with regulations, as the program is confident it will meet the deadline to implement corrective actions laid out in its quality improvement plan.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/head-start-makes-progress-on-its-quality-improvement-plan/article_2ef751c6-9d52-11ee-8273-cbbf8e9e10d2.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
A man who has been facing an attempted murder charge for more than two years is set to plead guilty.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-expected-to-take-plea-deal-in-2021-dededo-shooting-case/article_c807604a-9d43-11ee-a5e7-9b458ceff885.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
A man was accused of damaging a car owned by Hågat residents while they were sleeping.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-accused-of-punching-car-while-owners-were-sleeping/article_e61e74e8-9d4c-11ee-b46e-234ef92178d9.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
Trial in the Superior Court of Guam continued this week for a man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl known to him.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/alleged-rapist-on-trial-for-2020-complaints/article_2eaafa6e-9d49-11ee-900d-e7e101bc62aa.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
The chair of the legislative committee on education told the Guam Department of Education superintendent that a waiver of the 180 instructional day mandate won’t be entertained unless GDOE presents the true count of lost instructional days.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/barnett-no-180-day-waiver-until-gdoe-provides-accurate-numbers/article_e9bfe360-9d4d-11ee-a148-c339dc20930f.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Guam Daily Post
Faced with the Supreme Court of Guam determination that the abortion ban on island is without effect, Attorney General Douglas Moylan, who was fighting in federal court to be able to enforce the ban, is now planning to take the…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ag-plans-to-take-abortion-case-to-scotus/article_c06b2934-9d39-11ee-9a1f-3343559195ab.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Tilde.news
https://git.sr.ht/~rabbits/famicom-cookbook Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
If Trump wins in 2024, he’ll have more power than ever before.
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/18/trump-2025-republican-congress Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/river-at-risk/7402455.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
IBM will buy two of European software industry veteran Software AG’s tech platforms for €2.13 billion in cash.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/ibm_buys_software_ag_units/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Love at first ride: The Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp gravel e-bike.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/12/love-at-first-ride-the-specialized-turbo-creo-2-comp-gravel-e-bike/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NASA breaking news
In December 1973, Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue passed the one-month mark of the third and final mission aboard the Skylab space station. Launching on Nov. 16, they began a planned 56-day flight that mission managers fully expected to extend to 84 days. They continued the science […]
https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-skylab-4-astronauts-push-past-the-one-month-mark/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2023/12/18/the-secret-tv-show-art-gallery/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Elon Musk's Big Lie About Tesla Is Finally Exposed.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/elon-musk-tesla-crash-1234930544/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Marketplace Morning Report
After posting its first profitable quarter this year, ride-hailing and food delivery company Uber joins the S&P 500 stock index today. We take a look at the company’s 14-year ride so far and hear what lies on the road ahead. Plus, shipping companies look to avoid the Red Sea amid missile attacks. What are the alternatives? And as wage gains stall, inflation continues to take a bite.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/taking-uber-to-the-sp-500 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Though several of this year’s experiments in AI-generated stories ended poorly, next year, several major newsrooms will publish automated or semi-automated explainers — and they’ll be good. Explanatory journalism involves, among other things, synthesis of existing material, and that’s a skill that modern chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude excel at. They can summarize reports, answer…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-semi-automated-explainer-gets-good/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, the journalism industry will be forced to reinvent the news experience. The coming year will be defined by the increasing prominence of generative AI search, which offers AI-generated summaries and responses to user inquiries in a conversational format. This will decimate search traffic for news media. In response to the risks from generative…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/ai-kills-the-one-size-fits-all-model/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In the fall of 1963, Kwame Nkrumah spoke to journalists at the second Conference of Africa Journalists in Accra. Nkrumah was trying to articulate what he thought African journalism was and what it should be in the new political dispensation. Another speaker at this event was philosopher and professor William Emmanuel Abraham, whose worry was…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-year-journalism-in-africa-embraces-its-africanness/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
In 2024, we will finally take political economy seriously. What might that augur for the future of journalism? For starters, it means moving beyond critiquing the predictable failures of hyper-capitalist media to imagining and building democratic alternatives. But first we must shift how we understand the relationships between the market, media, and democracy. American media…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/the-news-industry-finally-reckons-with-the-political-economy-of-journalism/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The LAist
Pasadena and other cities in the Southland have banned the use of noisy and smelly gas leaf blowers. These small machines are significant polluters, but many small businesses are struggling as a result of the transition.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/leaf-blower-bans-are-a-win-for-climate-but-small-businesses-are-struggling-to-adapt Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The LAist
Eighteen California children say the EPA fails to recognize the unique physical and mental impacts climate change has on kids.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/the-latest-youth-climate-lawsuit-tries-a-novel-argument-the-unique-environmental-vulnerability-of-children Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
So, let’s just assume for a moment that all of the hullabaloo about UFOs is real. Yes, I’m talking about unidentified flying objects, or what some now call UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena). Let’s say that there are indeed alien life forms darting around, studying us human beings, trying to figure out what drives our behavior…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/journalisms-next-disruptor-love/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
It’s not like any year is free of gruesome media layoffs. But this time feels different. The conversations I’ve been having with friends across media this year keep going back to the same idea: resilience. And not in the wishy-washy self-helpy connotation of the word: resilience, as in continued drive and purpose through the chaos….
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/dedicated-moonlighters/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
One big problem with generative AI is that it’s often wrong, but always so certain it’s right. At the very instant ChatGPT is luring you into a hallucinogenic forest of nonexistent species and fake legal precedents — you need a friend who will recommend a pause. That friend is Clippy, the much-maligned Microsoft Office paperclip…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/12/a-humble-clippy-for-ai/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: More than 130,000 people on the East Coast are without power after a weekend storm • Freakishly strong winds killed at least 13 people in Argentina • China’s deep freeze continues to defy forecasters’ expectations.
The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Jasper brought intense rain and flooding to several towns in Australia’s northeastern region of Queensland. About 24 inches of rain fell on the city of Cairns in a span of 40 hours, which is more than triple the December average, according to Reuters. At least 12,000 people are without power, and officials are worried residents could lose access to drinking water. Rescue teams responded to more than 350 callouts. “We have people stuck on roofs there that have been there all night,” says Queensland Premier Steven Miles.
Twitter/AlboMP
Jasper slammed into the area last week as a Category 2 storm, and the rains haven’t let up since. “We see a lot of natural disasters and this is just about the worst I can remember,” Miles told ABC Television. On the other side of the country, in New South Wales, firefighters battled against more than 50 raging bushfires made worse by an intense heatwave.
All new vehicles sold in Canada must be zero-emissions vehicles starting in 2035, Reuters reports, citing an anonymous government official. The new regulations, called the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, are expected to be announced this week. The official says there will be a gradual transition starting in 2026, when zero-emissions vehicles must represent 20% of all new car sales, increasing to 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. In the U.S., President Biden wants to bring in tailpipe emissions rules that would “effectively compel automakers to ensure two out of every three cars and light trucks sold in 2032 are electric models,” Bloomberg explains. Republicans in the House stand opposed to the regulations.
Better-than-expected November rain means the Panama Canal can slightly increase the number of ships it allows through the passage each day, Bloomberg reports. The canal is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, but a record drought in the region has made for low water levels, forcing the canal to cut daily crossings in recent months. Currently 22 ships are allowed through per day, down from 36. Thanks to the November rain the number will go up to 24, at least for now. The number was set to go down sharply to 18 in February of next year.
More than 3 million Americans have relocated to avoid flood risk over the last two decades or so, according to a new report by data nonprofit First Street Foundation. The analysis underscores the extent to which climate migration is already happening in America, albeit on a hyper-local level. People are moving short distances within their own cities, creating “Climate Abandonment Areas” – whole neighborhoods that are seeing large population losses due to flooding caused by climate change.
Over the next 30 years, more neighborhoods are expected to become Climate Abandonment Areas, and their population losses will grow. “The downstream implications of this are massive and impact property values, neighborhood composition, and commercial viability both positively and negatively,” says Dr. Jeremy Porter, Head of Climate Implications Research at the First Street Foundation. Climate change is causing an increase in extreme weather, and floods are the most common and widespread weather-related natural disaster.
About half of the world’s biggest companies have managed to keep their air-travel emissions low in the years following the pandemic slowdown, according to new analysis. The advocacy group Transport and Environment looked at the emissions from 217 major global companies and found for about 104 of them, air travel emissions remain down by at least 50% compared to pre-COVID levels. The group says this “shows the feasibility of a shift towards less flying, more rail travel, and the increased use of virtual meetings.” The largest emissions reductions came from technology giant SAP (down 86%), pharmaceutical company Pfizer (down 78%), and consulting group PwC (down 76%).
A Nissan Ariya EV recently become the first vehicle ever to drive from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Instagram/poletopoleev
https://heatmap.news/culture/am-briefing-a-combustion-engine-crackdown Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Liam Proven blog
I am overdue.
So, on Tuesday, as I said last week, I was
up at 4:30 to fly to Liverpool. I saw Ms Helene Stephenson, a senior
consultant there, who greeted me familiarly although I am ashamed to
admit I don’t remember meeting her before.
I got good news (for a
change).
They are happy with how it’s uniting, and as soon as
1 year post-operation, they could maybe remove the plate in my wrist –
that is right under the skin, and causes me pain, which is why I’ve
taken to wearing a towelling wristband on that wrist. I don’t need to
bang it; just resting on a hard surface hurts.
I can lift
heavier loads now, increasing slowly. (I was told to avoid any load over
1kg in July or so.)
I can start swimming, and start
physiotherapy to try to build up some strength and increase the
rotation. I’ve made an appointment for January, and went for a swim on
Saturday and it was OK. It felt weird but it didn’t
hurt.
Regarding my loss of supination (that’s the rotation in
the forearm: pronation is turning the palm of your hand downwards, for
example to type. I can do that. Supination is turning the palm upwards,
for instance to hold a bowl of soup. Soup -> supination,
geddit?)
Ms Stephenson thinks that maybe, with lots of
effort, I can regain as much rotation as I had before, although no more
than that. That would be a big deal. I haven’t been able to turn my palm
flat since the mid-1980s but not being able to hold my hand vertical,
like a blade or for a kung-fu chop downwards, is a major
handicap.
It’s the first positive news in 9mth, and my
spirits are a little lifted.
Then I went for a belated veggie
fry-up, followed by a pint, then a visit to Pete Young and family, which
was great. They’ve been looking after the laptop Douglas Spencer lent me
in hospital, and my noise-cancelling headphones as recommended by Tomáš
Brukner shortly before Ada arrived. I’ve really missed
those!
comments
https://lproven.dreamwidth.org/309122.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The National Grid is reportedly the latest organization in the UK to begin pulling China-manufactured equipment from its network over cybersecurity fears.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/national_grid_bans_china_equipment/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Clarence Thomas’ Money Complaints Sparked Resignation Fears.
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-money-complaints-sparked-resignation-fears-scotus Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Two major shipping companies are avoiding the Suez Canal as Houthi militants in Yemen step up their assaults on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Then, a veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner goes on trial. And later: When the Taliban captured Kabul, tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated to the U.S. Now, many left behind are taking a riskier journey to the States.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/militant-attacks-threaten-shipping-in-the-red-sea Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Peoples CDC blog
This is the @PeoplesCDC weekly update for December 18, 2023! This Weather Report from the People’s CDC sheds light on the ongoing COVID situation in the US.
https://peoplescdc.org/2023/12/18/peoples-cdc-covid-19-weather-5/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Liliputing
The RedMagic 9 Pro is a smartphone designed for gamers, with features like RGB lighting effects, a fan for active cooling, and touch-sensitive shoulder triggers. But it’s also a phone that pairs high-end specs with an upper mid-range price tag, which could make it attractive for non-gamers as well. The phone launched in China in November, […]
The post RedMagic 9 Pro goes global for $649 and up (Gaming phone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12+ GB of RAM) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/redmagic-9-pro-goes-global-for-649-and-up-gaming-phone-with-snapdragon-8-gen-3-and-12-gb-of-ram/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: National Archives, Pieces of History blog
On December 13, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland designated the National Archives Building as a National Historic Landmark. To celebrate this major achievement, the National Archives History Office has published a two-part online exhibit, “Presidential Visits to the National Archive Building.” Today’s post comes from Alyssa Moore. The new, two-part online exhibit, “Presidential … Continue reading New Online Exhibits: “Presidential Visits to the National Archives Building”
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/12/18/new-online-exhibits-presidential-visits-to-the-national-archives-building/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Ayjay blog
Carolyn Dever, writing about the ransomeware attack on the British Library: We’re past the days of card catalogs, alas: the modern library has long since converted to digital recordkeeping. What this means is that readers request books electronically, and the institution charts those books’ locations electronically, too. If I wanted to see what I had […]
https://blog.ayjay.org/cost-benefit/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: The Lever News
David Sirota speaks with Princeton professor D. Graham Burnett about our weakened attention spans and the profit driven motive causing it.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-time-premium-big-tech-is-attention-fracking-our-brains/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Interview Open source companies do not run on goodwill alone, and industry veteran SUSE is walking the tighrope between pleasing the community and charging cold hard cash for some of its wares.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/suse_captain_container/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Britain will be acting as headquarters for a not-so-secret next-generation fighter aircraft program the UK has linked up with Japan and Italy to build, the MoD revealed late last week.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/uk_japan_italy_fighter_deal/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The city expects a judge’s ruling by the end of the year over a lawsuit challenging its enforcement of laws meant to crack down on homeless activity.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/hawaii-news/homeless-laws-continue-to-face-legal-challenges/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — Time slipping, White House and Senate negotiators struggled Sunday to reach a U.S. border security deal that would unlock President Joe Biden’s request for billions of dollars worth of military aid for Ukraine and other national security needs before senators leave town for the holiday recess.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/senate-border-security-talks-grind-on-as-trump-invokes-nazi-era-blood-rhetoric-against-immigrants/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/as-2023-holidays-dawn-face-masks-have-settled-in-as-an-occasional-feature-of-the-american-landscape/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Exactly half of the Big Island’s traffic deaths over the past three years have involved drivers impaired on drugs, according to police.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/hawaii-news/police-drugs-a-factor-in-half-the-big-islands-traffic-deaths/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/study-bolsters-evidence-that-severe-obesity-increasing-in-young-us-kids/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ROME — Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, closing out a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/pope-francis-87th-birthday-closes-out-a-big-year-of-efforts-to-reform-the-church-cement-his-legacy/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — Nikki Haley denounced Republican presidential rival Ron DeSantis in Iowa Sunday for campaigning in the state with Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, the lone House Republican who voted last week against a GOP resolution condemning antisemitism on university campuses.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/haley-slams-desantis-for-stumping-in-iowa-with-massie-whos-opposed-votes-condemning-antisemitism/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>RENO, Nev. — Former President Donald Trump called out three of Nevada’s fake electors Sunday, saying they’re being treated unfairly less than 24 hours before they are scheduled to be arraigned for signing certificates falsely stating Trump won the state in 2020.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/trump-says-nevada-fake-electors-treated-unfairly-during-rally-in-reno/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Republican Party of Florida suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and demanded his resignation during an emergency meeting Sunday, adding to calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials for him to step down as police investigate a rape accusation against him.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/florida-republican-party-suspends-chairman-and-demands-his-resignation-amid-rape-investigation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea early today in a resumption of its high-profile weapons testing activities, its neighbors said, as the North vows strong responses against U.S. and South Korean moves to boost their nuclear deterrence plans.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/north-korea-fires-long-range-ballistic-missile-into-sea-in-resumption-of-weapons-launches/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including the mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages, fueled global concerns about the conduct of the 10-week-old war in Gaza.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/israel-faces-new-calls-for-truce-after-killing-of-hostages-raises-alarm-about-its-conduct-in-gaza/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>GEORGETOWN, S.C. (AP) — An intense late-year storm barreled up the East Coast on Sunday with heavy rains and strong winds that shattered rainfall records, forced water rescues from flooded streets and washed out holiday celebrations.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/nation-world-news/storm-drenches-florida-and-causes-floods-in-south-carolina-as-it-moves-up-east-coast/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Deebo Samuel was stunned to be so wide open for San Francisco’s first touchdown of the game. A few quarters later, Christian McCaffrey had enough time to catch a deep pass, fall to the turf, then scramble to his feet and run for a 41-yard touchdown.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/sports/nfl-roundup-49ers-clinch-nfc-west-with-45-29-rout-of-cardinals-for-6th-straight-win/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) completed its third distance paddling meet of the season on a hot Saturday morning at Kailua Pier, with all participating schools in attendence. Paddlers will enjoy a multi-week break before returning to the waters Jan. 6 in Hilo Bay for the first regatta of the season.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/sports/photos-biif-paddlers-push-through-week-3/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KEALAKEHE<strong> — </strong>Kealakehe girls basketball fell to Ka‘u on Saturday at home by a score of 44-32.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/sports/biif-hoops-kohala-ksh-dominate-weekend-games/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 17 rebounds, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee rebounding record, and Damian Lillard scored 39 points in the Bucks’ 128-119 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/sports/antetokounmpo-breaks-abdul-jabbar-bucks-career-rebounding-record-in-victory-over-rockets/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>As world leaders gathered in Dubai for COP28 (the 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference), animal advocates mobilized with a climate wake-up call: Not only does ditching meat, eggs and dairy save animals — it’s also the key to saving the world.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/opinion/what-does-going-vegan-have-to-do-with-cop28-everything/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>For decades, the National Collegiate Athletic Association fought proposals that would’ve allowed schools to pay athletes. It went to court; it went to Congress. Whenever possible, it extolled the moral and financial benefits of amateurism. Then, last week, the NCAA abruptly changed its mind. Charlie Baker, the association’s president, released a proposal that would enable schools to pay athletes. It’s a profound and radical shift.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/18/opinion/ncaa-makes-a-selfish-attempt-to-cling-to-relevance/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Status-Q blog
One Friday night, in the dark, towards the end of November, I set off from home in the direction of the Derbyshire Peak District. Three hours later, I parked my campervan in the car-park of a friendly pub, and settled down for a night of testing its heating system against the outside temperatures, which had Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2023/12/18/11880/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: The Lever News
Labor activists say a scandal-plagued construction company is taking advantage of Biden’s climate plan.
https://www.levernews.com/build-back-b-s/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Opinion The passage of time can harsh one’s mellow in bittersweet ways. Tech anniversaries, while they do make you feel “That can’t be true, it was just the other year,” also offer the chance of a bit of fun in the form of emulated nostalgia.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/opinion_column_clis/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Robert Reich on Substack
The media should be reporting on his growing paranoia, persecution complex, and cognitive impairment
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-about-trumps-age Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Young maker prodigy Allie holds patents and was a host on Myth Busters Jr – what’s in her future?
The post Meet Allie Weber | #MagPiMonday appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/meet-allie-weber-magpimonday/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who, Me? As the year rolls down to its inevitable conclusion, we’re running out of Mondays. But have no fear, gentle reader – future Mondays will bring you further installments of Who, Me? in which Register readers share their tales of tech support gone wrong.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/who_me/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1929 – Swift justice: Thomas Vernon sentenced to life in prison for Saugus train derailment and robbery 1 month earlier. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-18/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Halley’s Comet, officially 1P/Halley, has begun its long journey back towards Earth after making it to aphelion – the point in its orbit farthest from the Sun – on December 9.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/comet_halley_now_officially_on/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Google Groups has announced it will end support for Usenet – a significant change that undoes one of the early decisions that propelled the search and ads giant to dominance.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/google_ends_usenet_links/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
A week after blowing out the Bethesda Flames by 38 points on their home court, the Matadors (7-3) were given a more difficult challenge versus the Utah Tech Blazers (5-6), winning in dramatic fashion, 80-75. It was a very intense game that saw multiple lead changes and ties, with the Matadors only pulling away in…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177687/sports/matadors-tested-by-blazers-at-home-in-thrilling-win/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Building owners should consider an on-site datacenter an amenity they need to offer tenants – according to an Australian outfit that hopes to provide those same datacenters.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/resetdata_basement_datacenters/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/supreme-court-to-honor-late-justice-o-connor/7402199.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
RSS is the perfect format for open non-silo'd social web apps.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/17.html#a034045 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
It seems that former president Donald Trump is aligning his supporters with a global far-right movement to destroy democracy. On Saturday, in Durham, New Hampshire, Trump echoed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s attacks on immigrants, saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country”—although two of his three wives were immigrants—and quoted Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attacks on American democracy. Trump went on to praise North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong Un and align himself with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, the darling of the American right wing, who has destroyed Hungary’s democracy and replaced it with a dictatorship.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-17-2023 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Apple and iOS virtualization software maker Corellium have ended their four-year-long battle with a confidential settlement.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/apple_corellium_case_settles/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
2009: RSS will form the basis for the open distributed version of Twitter.
http://scripting.com/stories/2009/11/20/whereIsRss.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
One interesting way to make our feed readers smarter about working with Mastodon and Bluesky is to do the same kind of mapping from account to feed we do with sites that support feed discovery. When we see the user is trying to subscribe to a Mastodon account, we know where its feed is, so subscribe to that. Same for Bluesky. I expect we’ll do that for FeedLand via the FeedHunter package.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/17.html#a035520 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara real estate broker Kelly Knight recently received two prestigious awards from the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. A
The post Kelly Knight wins Howard Gates and Community Service Awards appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/17/kelly-knight-wins-howard-gates-and-community-service-awards/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
As you may know I do have a Palm Tungsten W. And I als othave the KODAK PalmPix for m5xx devices. So I have almost modern smarphone (jsut 17 years old!) with the (detachable camera).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Tungsten_W_PalmPix Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
A long walk (~30 km) around Kruzberk water reservoir (Czech Republic) today. There were just a few people. But a lot of animals (~20 deers, a fox and so). It was a trip so I used Logout’s pseudo-Citizen (they are combined from various parts, probably only the face is original - but even the face is modified, too) automatic watches.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Saturday Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
I have the Aceeca PDA32 portable computer, you know. It has its advantages. For example, it has Bluetooth, a miniUSB connector and it has Palm OS 5.4.0.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Palm_OS_Bluetooth_Keyboard Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
Happy new year to everyone!
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_PF_2020 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
I’m sitting in front of my SGI O2 workstation, browsing Mastodon, syncing my Plucker feeds, listening ORF Radio Wien on-line, and of course writing this phlog.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_January_1st Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
In hunt for an adequate input device for my Aceeca I have got the (as far as I know) latest and greatest Stowaway product - the 4-row iGo keyboard. I think I had one in the past but sold it when I was in mood to reduce my PDA collection.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Even_newer_keyboard Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
I have several these computers: they are traditional home computers from 1980s (computers with integrated keyboards, with several ports and which can be connected to old TVs) except for two things: they were made in the USSR and they do not have 8bit CPUs - they run Soviet CPU which is compatible with the PDP-11 (they are not copies so differences in instruction set can be found).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Elektronika_BK_0010_01 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Jirka’s blog
I wrote yesterday than my GPD Pocket refused to charge and also didn’t power on. I also noted that some people recommend to disconnect its internal battery and to wait some time.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231218-0443_Another_GPD_Pocket_failure_update Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-18, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Brent Simmons: On Mastodon Support in NetNewsWire.
https://inessential.com/2023/12/17/on_mastodon_support_in_netnewswire Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: NetNewsWire
On his blog, Brent writes up his thoughts about Mastodon support in NetNewsWire.
https://netnewswire.blog/2023/12/17/mastodon-and-netnewswire.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Infosec in brief MongoDB on Saturday issued an alert warning of “a security incident involving unauthorized access to certain MongoDB corporate systems, which includes exposure of customer account metadata and contact information.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/infosec_in_brief/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: VOA News USA
WILMINGTON, Del. — A car plowed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Joe Biden ’s motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters. The president and first lady Jill Biden were unharmed.
While Biden was walking from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV, a sedan hit a U.S. Secret Service vehicle that was being used to close off intersections near the headquarters for the president’s departure. The sedan then tried to continue into a closed-off intersection, before Secret Service personnel surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn and instructed the driver to put his hands up.
Biden was ushered into his waiting vehicle, where his wife was already seated, before being driven swiftly back to their home. His schedule was otherwise unaffected by the incident.
The Secret Service did not immediately comment on the incident.
https://www.voanews.com/a/car-plows-into-parked-vehicle-in-biden-s-motorcade-outside-delaware-campaign-office/7402159.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, updated: 2023-12-18, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) last week published details of a campaign that spreads English language pro-China and anti-US narratives on YouTube.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/18/asia_in_brief/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2023-12-18, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I loved this documentary- available for two weeks to stream:
https://kinema.com/events/israelism-worldwide-rental-tdqdt3
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111598675194190839 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: Advent of Computing
https://adventofcomputing.libsyn.com/episode-122-to-edit-text Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: John Naughton’s online diary
Bay View From our hotel room in Dingle. Quote of the Day ”The reality is that the Times is becoming the publication through which America’s progressive elite talks to itself about an America that does not really exist.” James Bennet, … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/monday-18-december-2023/38914/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-18, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Spielmann, Raffaele; Aaron, Jordan
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/620259 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Tilde.news
https://www.battleforlibraries.com Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
Washington — As U.S. congressional negotiators worked deep into the weekend in a bid to craft an urgent deal linking aid to Ukraine and Israel to new border security, one top Democrat said he was “very optimistic” about a resolution.
“I’m very encouraged. I’m very optimistic they’re moving in a very positive way,” Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He said he had been in touch with negotiators from both parties, as well as the White House, and “they understand that the border is broken” and needs to be fixed.
Three Senate negotiators — independent Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat Chris Murphy and Republican James Lankford — met Saturday and were to meet again Sunday in search of a compromise that would also include aid for Taiwan.
All three cited progress after the Saturday talks, Politico reported.
But at least one senior Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, sounded a more cautious note Sunday, suggesting that some lawmakers were bridling at the pressure for a quick deal.
“The bottom line here is we feel like we’re being jammed,” Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” We’re not anywhere close to a deal. It’ll go into next year.”
The Biden administration has stressed the urgency of getting new aid, particularly as Ukraine faces another winter under Russian attack.
Democrats support a proposed $61 billion package of military, humanitarian and macroeconomic assistance.
But Graham and other Republicans insist that Congress must first shore up border security to stem a continuing influx of migrants.
He said a compromise was possible but warned Democrats that “I will not help Ukraine, Taiwan or Israel until we secure a border that’s been obliterated.”
Lawmakers had been due to go into recess Thursday evening.
But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that the chamber would return Monday, giving negotiators time to reach “a framework agreement.”
Any deal reached in the Senate would also need to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has begun its holiday recess. Its members can in theory be recalled to Washington to vote if an agreement is reached.
https://www.voanews.com/a/top-us-lawmaker-very-optimistic-on-ukraine-border-deal/7401799.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara-raised Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett, also a solo artist, returns with his ‘Holiday Hoedown’ at SOhO.
The post Fighting His Own Good Fight, for the Holidays appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/17/fighting-his-own-good-fight-for-the-holidays/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043644-xkcd-label-as-many-us Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
Hundreds of neatly wrapped gifts were bundled up in packages and lined up against the wall closest to the Christmas tree. Each package full of different-sized gifts had a Post-It note with a number on it and in total there were almost 150 packages for 150 families. Executive Director Yorleni Sapp wore her heart on […]
The post <strong>Holiday hope shines bright at Single Mother’s Outreach ‘Adopt a Family’ celebration</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/holiday-hope-shines-bright-at-single-mothers-outreach-adopt-a-family-celebration/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Lessons From the Past Year of Wordle.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/briefing/wordle-tips.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
Just north of Washington, D.C., the University of Maryland hosts more than 5,000 international students, most of them pursuing master’s degrees or doctorates. VOA’s Laurel Bowman looks at why they choose to study in the U.S. and what they need to succeed.
https://www.voanews.com/a/international-graduate-students-flock-to-us-to-study/7401777.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
You may hope the big company has good intentions, but they're a big company and they honestly don't have very much respect for us. I've had my nose rubbed in this for my whole career. It was amazing how much better they listened when I had a Harvard business card. 😀
https://social.masto.land/@dave/111596855641501561 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Shady Characters
https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2023/12/advent-calendar-curta/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Social media users posted professor Michelle Zacarias’ phone number and email address online after she referred to Hamas as “the Palestinian resistance movement” on X.
The post Annenberg professor doxxed following comments on Hamas appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2023/12/17/annenberg-professor-doxxed-following-comments-on-hamas/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Dan Rather’s Steady
A Reason To Smile
https://steady.substack.com/p/gratitude Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: Daring Fireball
https://eieio.games/nonsense/game-11-flappy-bird-finder/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: Daring Fireball
https://mastodon.social/@chockenberry/111597172724732985 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
RSS News Feeds instead of Social Media
https://www.tomfichtner.com/rss-news-feeds/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita residents can expect to have a wet week as two storm systems make their way across Southern California. “The first system is going to impact Southern California late tonight through Monday night,” National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Thompson said Sunday. “For the Santa Clarita Valley, it’ll be dry today, but then late tonight, […]
The post <strong>Santa Clarita to be hit by two storm systems this week</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/santa-clarita-to-be-hit-by-two-storm-systems-this-week/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
Deputies are investigating a vehicle theft that occurred on Sandy Drive in Canyon Country at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials. The vehicle stolen was a white Nissan Pathfinder and the suspect is believed to be a Black heavyset male, according to radio control dispatch. “Our deputies just […]
The post Deputies still investigating vehicle theft appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/deputies-still-investigating-vehicle-theft/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
The last episodes of The Crown were absolute garbage. It’s so bad that you notice the music and how dramatic it is for absolutely no drama on screen. I’m surprised the actors were willing to go along with it. The only good part was where the Queen does standup near the end of the last episode. Something like 80 hours of TV behind them, and all of a sudden this stoic character, with no sense of humor whatsoever, who can’t even cry, is bringing down the house. Oh please. I had to stick around to see how bad it can get, now you don’t. If I had to give it a rating it would be Oh The Humanity.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/17.html#a182414 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: FreeDOS News
The FDISK program creates and manages partitions on a hard drive. FreeDOS FDISK recently had two new maintenance releases that fixed several bugs. 1.3.10 increased compatibility with some older quirky IDE controllers and added an Italian translation. Version 1.3.11 fixed a bug where FDISK was not writing the partition table of the 8th disk. You can download the new versions from the FDISK repository on GitHub or more directly from the releases page.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2023/12/fdisk-1311/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Picked
a movie,
The
Last Duel, more or less at random, based largely on
who
was in it, and the fact that the
NYT
gave it a critic’s pick rating. It was good. But this isn’t a movie
review, it’s a review of the user interface for choosing movies on
streaming services. Why can’t we integrate a site like
Metacritic with Hulu, Netflix,
Amazon, Max, AppleTV, et al. Just let me know what Metacritic says, and
make it clickable, so I can see what the individual pubs had to say if I
want more info. Don’t make me look it up. People joke about how we spend
our time scrolling around not watching anything. But it’s true, I do it.
Most of them are not worth the time, I suspect. But when you find one
that’s good, almost at random and even so had to do a lot of work to
determine if it was worth a chance, and this has been going on for a
decade, why doesn’t one of these services just buy Metacritic and
integrate it and make your users sing your praises everywhere online.
How much could Metacritic cost? (They seem to be in trouble, a lot of
the links generated by their CMS are broken.)
http://scripting.com/2023/12/17.html#a180650 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Om Malik blog
The 120th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight serves as a good reminder to reflect on the long arc of technology and its impact. By drawing inspiration from Isaac Asimov and employing my “present future” framework, I delve into the power of envisioning the future, beginning with the futuristic visions of French artists at the turn of the 20th century. Our collective history of progress and innovation as a species provides a solid foundation for optimism about the future of technology and AI.
https://om.co/2023/12/17/what-do-french-artists-wright-brothers-ai-have-in-common/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: City of Santa Clarita
Happy Birthday, Santa Clarita by City Manager Ken Striplin Just a few days ago on December 15, the City of Santa Clarita officially turned 36-years-old. Our community has evolved incredibly since incorporation back in 1987. Originally measuring 39-square-miles, with only 130,000 residents at the time of our incorporation, the City now spans over 73-square-miles and […]
The post Happy Birthday, Santa Clarita appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2023/12/17/happy-birthday-santa-clarita/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
The 49ers (10-3) must focus on stopping James Conner and Kyler Murray on the ground in today’s game against the Cardinals (3-10).
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/49ers-keys-to-victory-today-at-arizona-cardinals/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Liliputing
Intel’s Meteor Lake H-series processors promise modest gains in CPU performance over the previous-gen Raptor Lake chips, but big boosts in graphics performance. And while many of the first Meteor Lake PCs announced were laptops, they’re also starting to show up in compact desktop computers. The new ASRock NUC Ultra 100 Box and NUCS Ultra 100 […]
The post ASRock NUC Ultra 100 Box Series mini PCs have Intel Meteor Lake-H inside appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/asrock-nuc-ultra-100-box-series-mini-pcs-have-intel-meteor-lake-h-inside/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
MEXICO CITY — Once nearly impenetrable for migrants heading north from Latin America, the jungle between Colombia and Panama this year became a speedy but still treacherous highway for hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.
Driven by economic crises, government repression and violence, migrants from China to Haiti decided to risk three days of deep mud, rushing rivers and bandits. Enterprising locals offered guides and porters, set up campsites and sold supplies to migrants, using color-coded wristbands to track who had paid for what.
Enabled by social media and Colombian organized crime, more than 506,000 migrants — nearly two-thirds Venezuelans — had crossed the Darien jungle by mid-December, double the 248,000 who set a record the previous year. Before last year, the record was barely 30,000 in 2016.
Dana Graber Ladek, the Mexico chief for the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration, said migration flows through the region this year were “historic numbers that we have never seen.”
It wasn’t only in Latin America.
The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean or the Atlantic on small boats to reach Europe this year has surged. More than 250,000 irregular arrivals were registered in 2023, according to the European Commission.
A significant increase from recent years, the number remains well below levels seen in the 2015 refugee crisis, when more than 1 million people landed in Europe, most fleeing wars in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Still, the rise has fed anti-migrant sentiment and laid the groundwork for tougher legislation.
Earlier this month, the British government announced tough new immigration rules aimed at reducing the number of people able to move to the U.K. each year by hundreds of thousands. Authorized immigration to the U.K. set a record in 2022 with nearly 750,000.
A week later, French opposition lawmakers rejected an immigration bill from President Emmanuel Macron without even debating it. It had been intended to make it easier for France to expel foreigners considered undesirable. Far-right politicians alleged the bill would have increased the number of migrants coming to the country, while migrant advocates said it threatened the rights of asylum-seekers.
In Washington, the debate has shifted from efforts early in the year to open new legal pathways largely toward measures to keep migrants out as Republicans try to take advantage of the Biden administration’s push for more aid to Ukraine to tighten the U.S. southern border.
The U.S. started the year opening limited spaces to Venezuelans — as well as Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians — in January to enter legally for two years with a sponsor, while expelling those who didn’t qualify to Mexico. Their numbers dropped somewhat for a time before climbing again with renewed vigor.
Venezuelan Alexander Mercado had only been back in his country for a month after losing his job in Peru before he and his partner decided to set off for the United States with their infant son.
Venezuela’s minimum wage was the equivalent of about $4 a month then, while 2.2 pounds (a kilogram) of beef was about $5, said Angelis Flores, his 28-year-old wife.
“Imagine how someone with a salary of $4 a month survives,” she said.
Mercado, 27, and Flores were already on their way when in September the U.S. announced it was granting temporary legal status to more than 470,000 Venezuelans already in the country. Weeks later, the Biden administration said it was resuming deportation flights to the South American nation.
Mercado and Flores hiked the well-trod trail through the jungle, managing to push through in three days. Flores and their son, in particular, got very sick. She believes they were infected by the contaminated water they drank along the way.
“There was a body in the middle of river and the ‘zamuros’, those black birds, were eating it and picking it apart … all of that was running in the river,” she said.
For Mercado and Flores, the journey accelerated once they left the jungle. In October, Panama and Costa Rica announced a deal to speed migrants across their countries. Panama bused migrants to a center in Costa Rica where they were held until they could buy a bus ticket to Nicaragua.
Nicaragua also seemed to opt for speeding migrants through its territory. Mercado said they crossed on buses in a day.
After discovering that Nicaragua had lax visa requirements, Cubans and Haitians poured into Nicaragua on charter flights, purchasing roundtrip tickets they never intended. Citizens of African nations made circuitous series of connecting flights through Africa, Europe and Latin America to arrive in Managua to start travelling overland toward the United States, avoiding the Darien.
In Honduras, Mercado and Flores were given a pass from authorities allowing them five days to transit the country.
Adam Isacson, an analyst tracking migration at the Washington Office on Latin America, said that Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras grant migrants legal status while they’re transiting the countries, which have limited resources, and by letting migrants pass legally the countries make them less vulnerable to extortion from authorities and smugglers.
Then there are Guatemala and Mexico, which Isacson called the “we’re-going-to-make-a-show-of-blocking-you countries” attempting to score points with the U.S. government.
For many that has meant spending money to hire smugglers to cross Guatemala and Mexico, or exposing themselves to repeated extortion attempts.
Mercado didn’t hire a smuggler and paid the price. It was “very difficult to get through Guatemala,” he said. “The police kept taking money.”
But that was just a taste of what was to come.
Standing outside a Mexico City shelter with their son on a recent afternoon, Flores recounted all of the countries they had traversed.
“But they don’t rob you as much, extort you as much, send you back like when you arrive here to Mexico,” she said. “Here the real nightmare starts, because as soon as you enter they start taking a lot of your money.”
Mexico’s immigration system was thrown into chaos on March 27, when migrants held in a detention center in the border city Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, set mattresses on fire inside their cell in apparent protest. The highly flammable foam mattresses filled the cell with thick smoke in an instant. Guards did not open the cell and 40 migrants died.
The immigration agency’s director was among several officials charged with crimes ranging from negligence to homicide. The agency closed 33 of its smaller detention centers while it conducted a review.
Unable to detain many migrants, Mexico instead circulated them around the country, using brief, repeat detentions, each an opportunity for extortion, said Gretchen Kuhner, director of IMUMI, a nongovernmental legal services organization. Advocates called it the “politica de desgaste” or wearing down policy.
Mercado and Flores made it all the way to Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, where they were detained, held for a night in an immigration facility in the border city of Reynosa and then flown the next morning 650 miles (1046 kilometers) south to Villahermosa.
There they were released, but without their cell phones, shoelaces and money. Mercado had to wait for his brother to send $100 so they could start trying to make their way back to Mexico City through an indirect route that required them to travel by truck, motorbike and even horse.
In late November, they had just made it back to Mexico City again. This time Mercado was unequivocal: They would not leave Mexico City until the U.S. government gave them an appointment to request asylum at a border port of entry.
“It is really hard to make it back here again,” he said. “If they manage to send me back again I don’t know what I would do.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/7401569.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Here are statements from Santa Clara County and its officials to the Bay Area News Group in response to the news organization’s ongoing investigation into the fentanyl-related death of a 3-month-old Phoenix Castro.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/santa-clara-countys-responses-to-baby-phoenix-investigation/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Occasion marked by virtual anniversary ceremony.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/cupertino-celebrates-45-years-as-sister-city-of-toyokawa-japan/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Family Giving Tree is aiming to deliver 44K gifts.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/milpitas-nonprofit-holds-holiday-wish-drive/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Six Bay Area parents have been arrested over the deaths.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/list-fentanyl-has-killed-at-least-6-bay-area-babies-since-2020/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Homestead High student honored for musical prowess.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/sunnyvale-teen-wins-youngarts-award/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Casa di Mir set to relocate to San Jose after 25 years in old post office.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/montessori-school-moving-from-campbell-to-cambrian-park/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Nonprofit will open in new space in new year.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/cancer-carepoint-moves-its-offices/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Ring in 2024 across time zones.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/new-years-eve-at-childrens-discovery-museum/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: San Jose Mercury News
Nikita Garcia’s turnaround is what advocates envision from Santa Clara County’s commitment to keep families together instead of removing children from abusive or neglectful homes.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/17/this-san-jose-mom-lost-her-first-two-children-while-homeless-heres-how-she-turned-her-life-around-for-the-third/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Lever News
From billionaires bankrolling judges’ luxury trips to the politics of Israeli soccer hooligans, here’s a roundup of our reporting from the past week.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-weekly-when-do-they-have-time-to-be-judges/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: The LAist
Experts warn that new tropical viruses are headed for the U.S. – and the country should take active measures to fend them off.
https://laist.com/news/health/the-u-s-is-unprepared-for-the-growing-threat-of-mosquito-and-tick-borne-viruses Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: The LAist
The Lego version is designed by the same landscape architecture firm behind the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — currently under construction across the 101. It needs your vote to become a reality.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/the-lego-version-of-the-worlds-biggest-wildlife-bridge-thats-being-built-in-la-needs-your-vote Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
The Commission on the Healing Arts of Guam opened the floor for discussion on whether the various boards would be interested in the Health Professional Licensing Office becoming semi-autonomous.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/public-health-seeks-input-from-boards-on-licensing-office-becoming-semi-autonomous/article_693f4c32-9a35-11ee-9fe7-efa03544f205.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
After years of waiting and overcoming obstacles, the University of Guam and its partners held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the new School of Engineering building.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/uog-holds-groundbreaking-for-school-of-engineering-building/article_0b2d66ec-9af3-11ee-afd8-13c64e739ee4.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
Department of Corrections officers found makeshift weapons in the cell of an inmate who has a history of violent convictions, court documents state.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/makeshift-weapons-found-in-inmate-s-cell/article_8764672e-9c74-11ee-8e24-e7a77552232e.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
A number of capital improvement projects at Guam Community College are making progress despite some challenges, according to the institution’s president.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/minor-delays-in-gcc-construction-progress/article_2977cfa6-9c7a-11ee-9387-ef3501f5d715.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Visitors Bureau held its December meeting Thursday afternoon and questions were raised and answered concerning canceled flights and tourism, green electric scooters spotted around Guam and New Year’s drones and fireworks.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gvb-potential-canceled-flights-lack-of-rooms-electric-scooters-among-concerns/article_5cf8e31c-9afc-11ee-9ab6-07d7ff68f6c3.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
A man who allegedly lashed out at his ex-girlfriend after seeing her new love interest is behind bars waiting for bail to be set.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-allegedly-threatens-couple-with-knife/article_51af2a18-9c71-11ee-b19a-cf9e5e4603cd.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Guam Daily Post
It was a bittersweet Sunday at Ritidian, where some people went to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the wildlife refuge and others stood in protest, mourning the loss of ancestral land.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ritidian-wildlife-refuge-celebrates-30th-anniversary-families-protest/article_4a1fc2de-9c86-11ee-bf56-bbb1e90a073a.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Status-Q blog
Spotted in the skies above Derbyshire a couple of weeks ago. First thing in the morning, perhaps after a good strong coffee… Later in the day, in those same skies… Phew, Bob – that was a bit close!…
https://statusq.org/archives/2023/12/17/11859/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Robert Reich on Substack
And last week’s winner
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-caption-contest-grandpa-explains Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, updated: 2023-12-17, from: The LAist
The L.A. Memorial Coliseum is home to a crew of feral cats, which lucky visitors can sometimes catch a glimpse of after USC games. They help keep rats and other pests away.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/meet-the-la-memorial-coliseums-rat-catching-crew-of-25-30-feral-cats Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Liliputing
The ACEMAGIC TANK03 is a mini PC with the kind of features you’d expect from a premium gaming laptop, including support for up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080M graphics. But instead of putting those components in a laptop, ACEMAGIC stuffed them inside a tiny desktop computer that’s just a […]
The post ACEMAGIC TANK03 Review: Tiny gaming PC with up to Core i9-12900H and NVIDIA RTX 3080M appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/acemagic-tank03-review-tiny-gaming-pc-with-up-to-core-i9-12900h-and-nvidia-rtx-3080m/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
By David Hegg It is the 5th century B.C. Greek philosopher Plato, who gets the credit for both creating and promoting what has become known as the “noble lie.” In “The Republic,” he blatantly declared that not all persons are created equal. He put it this way: “When God made you, he used a mixture […]
The post David Hegg | Noble Lies Aren’t Noble appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/david-hegg-noble-lies-arent-noble/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Howard Jacobson blog
‘Why are there hippos on the beach?’ I asked the lifeguard. He looked like an older Tadzio from Death in Venice, clad in striped concentration-camp pyjamas, conscious of his beauty. He answered my question with a question. ‘You’ve heard of liposuction?’
https://jacobsonh.substack.com/p/last-night-i-dreamed-of-hippos-on Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Tilde.news
Article here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2312.08396.pdf
<p><a href="https://tilde.news/s/xg8cbh/ssh3_faster_rich_secure_shell_using_http_3">Comments</a></p>https://github.com/francoismichel/ssh3 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>About two dozen gleaming motorcycles with riders sporting the colors of different clubs pulled up to the curb fronting the Southwest Airlines ticket counter at Hilo International Airport shortly afternoon Friday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/hawaii-news/motorcycle-clubs-southwest-airlines-deliver-toys-for-lahaina/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A 42-year-old Puna man is accused of assaulting three neighbors — while he was naked.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/hawaii-news/police-naked-assailant-attacks-3-neighbors/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>It’s the heart of the holiday season and people are in a giving mood.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/hawaii-news/scams-ramp-up-during-holidays/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A 70-year-old Hilo man accused of the hit-and-run death of a 79-year-old Hilo woman will remain in the custody of Hawaii Community Correctional Center — at least for now.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/hawaii-news/judge-orders-bail-study-in-hit-and-run-case/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — It was the most painful inflation Americans had experienced since 1981, when “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Jeffersons” were topping the TV charts. Yet the Federal Reserve now seems on the verge of defeating it — and without the surge in unemployment and the deep recession that many economists had predicted would accompany it.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/federal-reserve-on-cusp-of-what-some-thought-impossible-defeating-inflation-without-steep-recession/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>VATICAN CITY — A Vatican tribunal on Saturday convicted a cardinal of embezzlement and sentenced him to 5½ years in prison in one of several verdicts handed down in a complicated financial trial that aired the city state’s dirty laundry and tested its justice system.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/cardinal-is-convicted-of-embezzlement-in-big-vatican-financial-trial-sentenced-to-5%c2%bd-years/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio was in the throes of a bitter debate over abortion rights this fall when Brittany Watts, 21 weeks and 5 days pregnant, began passing thick blood clots.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/a-black-woman-was-criminally-charged-after-a-miscarriage-it-shows-the-perils-of-pregnancy-post-roe/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LONDON — A U.S. warship shot down 14 suspected attack drones over the Red Sea on Saturday, and a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships, the British and American militaries said.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/us-and-britain-say-their-navies-shot-down-15-attack-drones-over-the-red-sea/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — It could be a cold, grim New Year for thousands of migrant families living in New York City’s emergency shelter system. With winter setting in, they are being told they need to clear out, with no guarantee they’ll be given a bed elsewhere.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/no-room-at-the-inn-as-holidays-approach-migrants-face-eviction-from-new-york-city-shelters/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>JERUSALEM — Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said Saturday, in Israel’s first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/nation-world-news/netanyahu-says-israel-is-as-committed-as-ever-to-war-after-soldiers-mistakenly-killed-3-hostages/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In exchange for approving a supplemental national-security bill providing aid to Israel and Ukraine, Republican lawmakers are insisting on a far-reaching crackdown on the flow of migrants at the US’s southern border. Many Democrats continue to resist the GOP’s demands. They should reconsider.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/opinion/democrats-make-a-border-deal-to-save-ukraine/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hilo 54 - Kea‘au 15</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/biif-basketball-hilo-5-0-ksh-overcomes-honokaa/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Waiakea 7 - HPA 0</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/biif-soccer-roundup/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CINCINNATI — Trailing 17-3 late in the third quarter behind an offense that had struggled to move the ball, the Bengals needed Jake Browning to be nearly perfect — and he was.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/jake-browning-shines-again-for-bengals-rallying-them-to-27-24-overtime-win-over-vikings/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Half of UH-Hilo Baseball’s upcoming 50-game 2024 slate will be played right here at home at Francis Wong Stadium.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/uh-hilo-baseball-schedule-released/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DETROIT — Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions bounced back and took a step toward ending a six-season playoff drought.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/jared-goff-throws-5-td-passes-as-nfc-north-leading-lions-bounce-back-beat-broncos-42-17/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PHOENIX — Once the initial shock wore off on the price tag of Shohei Ohtani’s record-shattering $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, details about the contract emerged that were nearly as stunning.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/dodgers-ohtani-got-creative-with-700-million-deal-but-both-sides-still-have-some-risk/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>INDIANAPOLIS — Gardner Minshew got the most out of his depleted supporting cast.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/sports/gardner-minshew-colts-bolster-playoff-chances-beat-fading-steelers-30-13/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>AI ‘infantilizes younger generation’</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/opinion/your-views-for-december-17-5/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In my fifth year at UH Hilo, I am finally accomplishing one of my personal goals: studying Hawaiian language. I have studied languages my whole life. My mother bought some Spanish language records for me while I was in grade school. That was followed by Spanish, French, and German study in high school, more Spanish and Portuguese during study abroad trips, and dabbling in Catalan, Greek and Russian as an undergraduate, with more serious study of Arabic, Farsi, and Latin in graduate school.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/opinion/irwin-the-importance-of-language-and-family/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hiking wasn’t my primary concern when I RSVPed to a destination wedding in an architecturally stunning town in central Mexico.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/features/traveling-abroad-isnt-all-about-sightseeing-heres-how-to-get-outdoors-wherever-you-are/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Kilauea has erupted three times in 2023 — January–March, June, and September — and has also experienced significant intrusive activity to the southwest of the summit since the beginning of October.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/community/volcano-watch-sniffing-out-stealthy-gas-escape-between-kilaueas-eruptions/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Maybe you’ve heard about the ascendant restaurant scene in Puerto Rico. Most people haven’t: The island is still principally known as a highly convenient place for sun and beaches, with no passport required for U.S. citizens, and the food scene is often relegated to what’s convenient to cruise ship ports.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/17/features/puerto-ricos-restaurant-scene-has-never-been-better-heres-why/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
In a December 2020 interview with Stephen Colbert, former President Barack Obama mused about having a third term as president. When asked about it, Obama said, “People ask me, knowing what you know now, do you wish you had a third term? And, I used to say, you know what, if I could make an […]
The post Arthur Saginian | Obama the Puppeteer appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/arthur-saginian-obama-the-puppeteer/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-middle-east-vision-emerges-as-biden-focuses-beyond-gaza-war-/7400564.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The White House has been increasingly pressuring Congress to pass stalled legislation to support Ukraine’s war against Russia, saying that funding has run out.
On Tuesday, however, President Joe Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine.
Money is dwindling. But the announcement of more weapons being sent to Kyiv just underscores the complexity of the funding. So has the money run out? Or are there still a few billion dollars floating around?
It’s complicated.
Store credit …
In a Nov. 4 letter to Congress, White House budget director Shalanda Young said flatly: “We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now.”
Since then, the U.S. has announced three more aid packages totaling $475 million. That may seem contradictory, but it’s due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine.
There are two pots of money for weapons and security assistance set up specifically for the war. One is the Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, under which the U.S. provides weapons already in its stockpile. The other is the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds long-term weapons contracts.
Money for USAI has all been spent. That pot is empty.
And money for the PDA also appeared to be gone. But then the Pentagon determined that it had overstated the value of the weapons it had already sent Ukraine, overcharging the Ukraine weapons account by $6.2 billion. That effectively left Ukraine with a store credit that is slowly being whittled down. It now stands at around $4.4 billion.
PDA packages continued to be announced every few weeks. But in recognition of the dwindling money, the latest packages have been smaller — about $200 million or less, compared with previous ones that often totaled $400 million to $500 million.
… but empty shelves
In theory, the Pentagon would have enough equipment to offer these smaller packages for months. But there’s a caveat: While the credit exists, there may not be enough stock on the Pentagon shelves. So some weapons may be unavailable.
Congressional funding to buy weapons to replace the ones the U.S. sends to Ukraine is now down to about $1 billion. That dwindling money means the military services are worried they won’t be able to buy all the weapons they need to ensure the U.S. military is ready to defend the American homeland.
For example, the 155 mm rounds commonly used by Howitzers are one of the most requested artillery munitions by Kyiv. The demand has been so high that the Army has pressed the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania, where the shell casings for the rounds are made, to increase production in order to meet war demands and have enough on hand for American military needs.
On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the U.S. could provide the full $4.4 billion in weapons, but with only a quarter of that amount available for replenishment, it’s a tough choice. “We have to start to make decisions about our own readiness,” he said.
Political wrangling
The U.S. has already sent Ukraine $111 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion more than 21 months ago. But the latest package is stalled.
Support for Ukraine funding has been waning as some lawmakers see the war taking funding from domestic needs. But the broader problem is a political battle over the southern U.S. border.
President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass a $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs. It includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, with about half to replenish Pentagon stocks. It also includes about $14 billion for Israel as it fights Hamas and $14 billion for U.S. border security. Other funds would go for security needs in the Asia-Pacific.
Prospects for compromise remain in doubt, even as Zelenskyy warned in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington on Monday that, “If there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it’s just Putin and his sick clique.”
The jobs argument
Harkening back to the “all politics is local” idea, the Pentagon and the White House have rolled out maps and statistics to show members of Congress how their own districts and states are reaping benefits from the Ukraine funding.
Charts detail $10 billion in industry contracts for weapons ranging from air defense systems and missiles to a wide array of drones, ammunition and other equipment. And they break out an additional nearly $16.8 billion in contracts to replenish Pentagon stocks.
The maps show contracts benefitting industries and companies in more than 35 different states. And U.S. officials are hoping the local jobs argument will help build support for the funding.
How big is the need?
Winter has set in, so the fighting in Ukraine has leveled off a bit. And along stretches of the battlefront, fighting is somewhat stalemated.
But Ukrainian forces have been taking ground back in some key locations, and Zelenskyy and other leaders have said they want to keep pushing forward. Ukraine does not want to give the Russians weeks or months this winter to reset and further solidify their fighting positions — as they did last winter.
During his visit to Washington this week, Zelenskyy said his forces are making progress, and the White House pointed to newly declassified intelligence that shows Ukraine has inflicted heavy losses on Russia in recent fighting around the eastern city of Avdiivka — including 13,000 casualties and over 220 combat vehicles lost. The Ukrainian holdout in the country’s partly occupied east has been the center of some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks.
Putin on Thursday, however, said his troops are making gains.
“Almost all along the line of contact our armed forces, let’s put it modestly, are improving their positions, almost all are in an active stage of action and there is an improvement in the position of our troops all along,” he said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/7399654.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/what-white-house-gardens-say-about-america/7398469.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/men-charged-with-killing-3-600-birds-to-sell-on-black-market-/7399142.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1839 – Judge John F. Powell born in Galway, Ireland [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-17/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio was in the throes of a bitter debate over abortion rights this fall when Brittany Watts, 21 weeks and 5 days pregnant, began passing thick blood clots.
The 33-year-old Watts, who had not shared the news of her pregnancy even with her family, made her first prenatal visit to a doctor’s office behind Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Warren, a working-class city about 100 kilometers southeast of Cleveland.
The doctor said that, while a fetal heartbeat was still present, Watts’ water had broken prematurely and the fetus she was carrying would not survive. He advised heading to the hospital to have her labor induced, so she could have what amounted to an abortion to deliver the nonviable fetus. Otherwise, she would face “significant risk” of death, records of her case show.
That was a Tuesday in September. What followed was a harrowing three days entailing: multiple trips to the hospital; Watts miscarrying into, and then flushing and plunging, a toilet at her home; a police investigation of those actions; and Watts, who is Black, being charged with abuse of a corpse. That’s a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Her case was sent last month to a grand jury. It has touched off a national firestorm over the treatment of pregnant women, and especially Black women, in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump elevated Watts’ plight in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
Michele Goodwin, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Policing The Womb, said the case follows a pattern of women’s pregnancies being criminalized against them. She said those efforts have long overwhelmingly targeted Black and brown women.
Even before Roe was overturned, studies show that Black women who visited hospitals for prenatal care were 10 times more likely than white women to have child protective services and law enforcement called on them, even when their cases were similar, she said.
“Post-Dobbs, what we see is kind of a wild, wild West,” said Goodwin. “You see this kind of muscle-flexing by district attorneys and prosecutors wanting to show that they are going to be vigilant, they’re going to take down women who violate the ethos coming out of the state’s Legislature.”
She called Black women “canaries in the coal mine” for the “hyper-vigilant type of policing” women of all races might expect from the nation’s network of health care providers, law enforcers and courts now that abortion isn’t federally protected.
At the time of Watts’ miscarriage, abortion was legal in Ohio through 21 weeks, six days of pregnancy. Her lawyer, Traci Timko, said Watts sat for eight hours at Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s awaiting care on the eve of her pregnancy reaching 22 weeks, before leaving without being treated.
Timko said hospital officials had been deliberating over the legalities.
“It was the fear of, is this going to constitute an abortion and are we able to do that,” Timko said. The hospital didn’t return calls seeking confirmation and comment.
But B. Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said the hospital was in a bind.
“These are the razor’s edge decisions that health care providers are being forced to make,” she said. “And all the incentives are pushing hospitals to be conservative, because on the other side of this is criminal liability.”
Warren Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Guarnieri told Warren Municipal Court Judge Terry Ivanchak during Watts’ preliminary hearing that she left home for a hair appointment after miscarrying, leaving the toilet clogged. Police would later find the fetus wedged in the pipes.
“The issue isn’t how the child died, when the child died,” Guarnieri told the judge, according to TV station WKBN. “It’s the fact the baby was put into a toilet, was large enough to clog up the toilet, left in that toilet, and she went on (with) her day.”
In court, Timko bristled.
“This 33-year-old girl with no criminal record is demonized for something that goes on every day,” she said.
The size and stage of development of Watts’ fetus became an issue during her preliminary hearing.
At the time, vigorous campaigning over Issue 1, an ultimately successful amendment to enshrine a right to abortion in Ohio’s constitution, included ads alleging the amendment would allow abortions “until birth.”
A county forensic investigator reported feeling “what appeared to be a small foot with toes” inside Watts’ toilet. Police seized the toilet and broke it apart to retrieve the intact fetus as evidence. An autopsy confirmed that the fetus died in utero before passing through the birth canal and identified “no recent injuries.”
The judge acknowledged the case’s complexities when he bound the case over to the grand jury.
“There are better scholars than I am to determine the exact legal status of this fetus, corpse, body, birthing tissue, whatever it is,” he said from the bench.
Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Diane Barber, lead prosecutor on Watts’ case, could not speak specifically about the case, other than to note the county is compelled to move forward with it. She doesn’t expect a grand jury finding this month.
Timko, a former prosecutor, said Ohio’s abuse-of-corpse statute is vague.
“From a legal perspective, there’s no definition of ‘corpse,’” she said. “Can you be a corpse if you never took a breath?”
Grace Howard, assistant justice studies professor at San José State University, said clarity on what about Watts’ behavior constituted a crime is essential.
“Her miscarriage was entirely ordinary,” she said. “So I just want to know what (the prosecutor) thinks she should have done. If we are going to require people to collect and bring used menstrual products to hospitals so that they can make sure it is indeed a miscarriage, it’s as ridiculous and invasive as it is cruel.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-woman-criminally-charged-after-miscarriage-/7401364.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Letter from the Editor: Issue 4 Volume 64 Yesterday’s News: Remembering CSUN’s football program Technology: A formula for success The Menu: The diet of an athlete Goals and goosebumps: Introducing the rising star of women’s soccer Women’s soccer reaches new heights Too Close for Comfort: The great Pacific partition Campus Talk: Intramural sports and clubs…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177600/print-editions/november-2023-volume-64-issue-4/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The Dons will host Agoura on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m.
The post Santa Barbara Pulls Away From Corona Del Mar for 89-78 Victory appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/16/santa-barbara-pulls-away-from-corona-del-mar-for-89-78-victory/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/black-american-solidarity-with-palestinians-rises-testing-ties-to-jewish-allies-/7401358.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
NEW YORK — The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather.
There are people — lots of people. But look around, and it’s clear one thing is largely absent these days: face masks.
Yes, there’s the odd one here and there, but nothing like it was three years ago at the dawn of the COVID pandemic’s first winter holidays — an American moment of contentiousness, accusation and scorn on both sides of the mask debate.
As 2023 draws to an end, with promises of holiday parties and crowds and lots of inadvertent exchanges of shared air, mask-wearing is much more off than on around the country even as COVID’s long tail lingers. The days of anything approaching a widespread mask mandate would be like the Ghost of Christmas Past, a glimpse into what was.
Look at it a different way, though: These days, mask-wearing has become just another thing that simply happens in America. In a country where the mention of a mask prior to the pandemic usually meant Halloween or a costume party, it’s a new way of being that hasn’t gone away even if most people aren’t doing it regularly.
“That’s an interesting part of the pandemic,” says Brooke Tully, a strategist who works on how to change people’s behaviors.
“Home delivery of food and all of those kind of services, they existed before COVID and actually were gaining some momentum,” she says. “But something like mask-wearing in the U.S. didn’t really have an existing baseline. It was something entirely new in COVID. So it’s one of those new introductions of behaviors and norms.”
The situation now is … situational
It tends to be situational, like the recent decision from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital system to reinstate a mask mandate at its facilities starting Dec. 20 because it’s seeing an increase in respiratory viruses. And for people like Sally Kiser, 60, of Mooresville, North Carolina, who manages a home health care agency.
“I always carry one with me,” she says, “’cause I never know.”
She doesn’t always wear it, depending on the environment she’s in, but she will if she thinks it’s prudent. “It’s kind of like a new paradigm for the world we live in,” she says.
It wasn’t that long ago that fear over catching COVID-19 sent demand for masks into overdrive, with terms like “N95” coming into our vocabularies alongside concepts like mask mandates — and the subsequent, and vehement, backlash from those who felt it was government overreach.
Once the mandates started dropping, the masks started coming off and the demand fell. It fell so much so that Project N95, a nonprofit launched during the pandemic to help people find quality masks, announced earlier this month that it would stop sales Monday because there wasn’t enough interest.
Anne Miller, the organization’s executive director, acknowledges she thought widespread mask usage would become the rule, not the exception.
“I thought the new normal would be like we see in other cultures and other parts of the world — where people just wear a mask out of an abundance of caution for other people,” she says.
But that’s not how norms work, public safety or otherwise, says Markus Kemmelmeier, a professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In 2020, Kemmelmeier authored a study about mask-wearing around the country that showed mask usage and mandate resistance varied by region based on conditions including pre-existing cultural divisions and political orientation.
He points to the outcry after the introduction of seat belts and seat belt laws more than four decades ago as an example of how practices, particularly those required in certain parts of society, do or don’t take hold.
“When they first were instituted with all the sense that they make and all the effectiveness, there was a lot of resistance,” Kemmelmeier says. “The argument was basically lots of complaints about individual freedoms being curtailed and so forth, and you can’t tell me what to do and so forth.”
Figuring out the balance
In New York City’s Brooklyn borough, members of the Park Slope Co-op recently decided there was a need at the longstanding, membership-required grocery. Last month, the co-op instituted mask-required Wednesdays and Thursdays; the other five days continue to have no requirement.
The people who proposed it weren’t focused on COVID rates. They were thinking about immune-compromised people, a population that has always existed but came to mainstream awareness during the pandemic, says co-op general manager Joe Holtz.
Proponents of the mask push at the co-op emphasized that immunocompromised people are more at risk from other people’s respiratory ailments like colds and flu. Implementing a window of required mask usage allows them to be more protected, Holtz says.
It was up to the store’s administrators to pick the days, and they went with two of the slowest instead of the busy weekend days on purpose, Holtz says, a nod to the reality that mask requirements get different responses from people.
“From management’s point of view,” he says, “if we were going to try and if there’s going to be a negative financial impact from this decision that was made, we want to minimize it.”
Those shopping there on a recent Thursday didn’t seem fazed.
Aron Halberstam, 77, says he doesn’t usually mask much these days but wasn’t put off by the requirement. He wears a mask on the days it’s required, even if he doesn’t otherwise — a middle ground reflecting what is happening in so many parts of the country more than three years after the mask became a part of daily conversation and daily life.
“Any place which asks you to do it, I just do it,” Halberstam says. “I have no resistance to it.”
Whatever the level of resistance, says Kemmelmeier, the culture has shifted. People are still wearing masks in places like crowded stores or while traveling. They do so because they choose to for their own reasons and not because the government is requiring it. And new reasons can come up as well, like when wildfires over the summer made air quality poor and people used masks to deal with the haze and smoke.
“It always will find a niche to fit in with,” he says. “And as long as there are needs somewhere, it will survive.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/face-masks-now-an-occasional-feature-of-us-landscape-/7401355.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Today is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, when 30 or more men boarded three trading vessels in Boston Harbor. They broke open 342 chests of tea and dumped about 90,000 pounds of the valuable leaves overboard. The pointed destruction of a cargo worth about $1.7 million in today’s dollars escalated the ongoing struggle between the British government and thirteen of its North American colonies.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-16-2023-saturday Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Both Dos Pueblos and San Marcos will play at home on Tuesday.
The post Rivals Dos Pueblos and San Marcos Battle to Scoreless Draw in Boys’ Soccer appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/16/rivals-dos-pueblos-and-san-marcos-battle-to-scoreless-draw-in-boys-soccer/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
Happy new year to everyone!
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_PF_2020 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
I’m sitting in front of my SGI O2 workstation, browsing Mastodon, syncing my Plucker feeds, listening ORF Radio Wien on-line, and of course writing this phlog.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_January_1st Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
I have several these computers: they are traditional home computers from 1980s (computers with integrated keyboards, with several ports and which can be connected to old TVs) except for two things: they were made in the USSR and they do not have 8bit CPUs - they run Soviet CPU which is compatible with the PDP-11 (they are not copies so differences in instruction set can be found).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Elektronika_BK_0010_01 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
I wrote yesterday than my GPD Pocket refused to charge and also didn’t power on. I also noted that some people recommend to disconnect its internal battery and to wait some time.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Another_GPD_Pocket_failure_update Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
It seems that something is wrong with my GPD Pocket. Roughly before one year I had to replace the faulty battery. Now the battery seems to look OK but the device does not charge. When on AC power then it shows 1-4% of battery and obviously refuses to start.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Another_GPD_Pocket_failure Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
During 2018 and 2019 I used the PSION Organiser IILZ as my alarm clock. It was very good for that: it is possible to define eight or so different alarms which can be repeated daily, on workdays, on weekends or just in selected day of week. It fitted my needs very well. And she sound was loud enough (unlike the alarm on m68k Palms which is useless because it is quiet and very short). It has been also practical to have a simple note taking device near my bed - to record some evening ideas and so.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Alarm_clock_failure Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
I’m in the process of installing of software to my brand new Aceeca PDA32. It synchronises well with my Fedora/ppc64le workstation (“modprobe visor”, “pilot-xfer -p /dev/ttyUSB0 -i XXX” ; the “pilot-xfer..” must be sometimes repeated).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Aceeca_Software Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Jirka’s blog
There is several devices at the eBay. It seems to be and industrial PDF which runs Palm OS 5.4. It was released about 2010, long after the Palm OS was pronounced dead.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231217-0443_Aceeca_Palm_PDA32 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: VOA News USA
arlington, virginia — A Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S. state of Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities, a cemetery official said Saturday.
The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40 Republican congressmen that the Pentagon suspend efforts to dismantle and remove the monument from Arlington cemetery.
Safety fencing has been installed around the memorial, and officials anticipate completing the removal by December 22, the Arlington National Cemetery said in an email. During the removal, the surrounding landscape, graves and headstones will be protected, the Arlington National Cemetery said.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin disagrees with the decision and plans to move the monument to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said.
In 2022, an independent commission recommended that the memorial be taken down, as part of its final report to Congress on renaming of military bases and assets that commemorate the Confederacy.
The statue, unveiled in 1914, features a bronze woman, crowned with olive leaves, standing on a 32-foot pedestal, and was designed to represent the American South. According to Arlington, the woman holds a laurel wreath, a plow stock and a pruning hook, with a Biblical inscription at her feet that says: “They have beat their swords into plough-shares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
Some of the figures also on the statue include a Black woman depicted as “Mammy” holding what is said to be the child of a white officer, and an enslaved man following his owner to war.
In a recent letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, more than 40 House Republicans said the commission overstepped its authority when it recommended that the monument be removed. The congressmen contended that the monument “does not honor nor commemorate the Confederacy; the memorial commemorates reconciliation and national unity.”
“The Department of Defense must respect Congress’ clear legislative intentions regarding the Naming Commission’s legislative authority” the letter said.
U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican, has led the push to block the memorial’s removal. Clyde’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.
A process to prepare for the memorial’s removal and relocation has been completed, the cemetery said. The memorial’s bronze elements will be relocated, while the granite base and foundation will remain in place to avoid disturbing surrounding graves, it said.
Earlier this year, Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty, part of the broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after confederate soldiers.
The North Carolina base was originally named in 1918 for General Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles that contributed to the Confederacy’s downfall.
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted nationwide after Floyd’s killing by a white police officer, coupled with ongoing efforts to remove Confederate monuments, turned the spotlight on the Army installations. The naming commission created by Congress visited the bases and met with members of the surrounding communities for input.
https://www.voanews.com/a/confederate-memorial-to-be-removed-from-arlington-national-cemetery-/7401330.html Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
Christine and Dwayne’s Christmas day is not one that resembles a Christmas movie shown on TV. The two take care of their granddaughter as their foster child. On Saturday, foster families registered in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services celebrated Christmas at Hart Park at the annual foster children holiday toy […]
The post <strong>Christmas – a day of happiness and hardship for the foster community; DCFS lightens the load</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/christmas-a-day-of-happiness-and-hardship-for-the-foster-community-dcfs-lightens-the-load/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company presents “The Nutcracker” — a beloved community performance for 29 years, which took place at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons on Saturday. Attendees were taken through an enriching ballet experience, where dancers in tutus and pointe shoes leaped their way across the stage, while they […]
The post Photos: The Nutcracker 2023 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/photos-the-nutcracker-2023/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-17, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Mastodon by having native support for RSS 2.0 did the right thing. Very important.
https://social.masto.land/@dave/111593060141975473 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: The Signal
Dr. Suess’s famous character The Grinch is known to be a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to destroy Christmas for the citizens of Whoville on Christmas Eve. He got a little bit of an image makeover Friday night in Newhall. During the holiday celebration at the Newhall Community Center, the Grinch happily greeted children and […]
The post How the Grinch’s heart grew in size at the Newhall Community Center appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/how-the-grinchs-heart-grew-in-size-at-the-newhall-community-center/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Tilde.news
https://iffybooks.net/event/permacomputing-dec-17/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: IT for Archivists
Version 1.11.0 of siegfried is now available. Get it here. CHANGELOG v1.11.0 (2023-12-17) glob-matching for container signatures; see digital-preservation/pronom#10 sf -update requires less updating of siegfried; see #231 default location for siegfried HOME now follows XDG Base Directory Specification; see #216. Implemented by Bernhard Hampel-Waffenthal siegfried prints version before erroring with failed signature load; requested by Ross Spencer update PRONOM to v116 update LOC to 2023-12-14 update tika-mimetypes to v3.0.0-BETA update freedesktop.
https://www.itforarchivists.com/post/sf1110/ Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Kerr, Jasmine I.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/648038 Save to Pocket
date: 2023-12-17, from: Full Circle Magazine
Credits
https://fullcirclemagazine.org/podcasts/podcast-344/ Save to Pocket