News gathered 2023-12-25
(date: 2023-12-25 14:29:25)
Erasing Santa Barbara’s Offshore Platforms
date: 2023-12-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Environmental authorities choose complete removal as the preferred decommissioning method.
The post Erasing Santa Barbara’s Offshore Platforms appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/25/erasing-santa-barbaras-offshore-platforms/ Save to Pocket
Warriors stars fall flat, drop Christmas game to Denver Nuggets
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
Golden State Warriors lose to Denver Nuggets in Christmas showdown
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/warriors-stars-fall-flat-drop-christmas-game-to-denver-nuggets/ Save to Pocket
Bills of 2023: Newsom vetoes bill to regulate driverless trucks
date: 2023-12-25, from: The Signal
Editor’s note: As 2023 draws to a close, The Signal is presenting CalMatters’ wrap-up stories on some of the key bills that reached the governor’s desk at the close of the 2023 legislative session. Here’s the CalMatters summary of Assembly Bill 316, which would have established new regulations for self-driving trucks. By Lynn La CalMatters Writer […]
The post Bills of 2023: Newsom vetoes bill to regulate driverless trucks appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/bills-of-2023-newsom-vetoes-bill-to-regulate-driverless-trucks/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Surprising win by the Knicks over the Bucks.
https://theknickswall.com/a-very-merry-knicksmas-win-over-the-bucks/ Save to Pocket
Explore Public Art, the Art Beneath Your Feet
date: 2023-12-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)
First of a five-part series exploring public art sculpture in the city of Santa Clarita
https://scvnews.com/exploring-public-art-in-the-scv-art-beneath-your-feet/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2023-12-25, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Jeremy Scahill summed it up well:
Remarkable how so many defenders of Israel’s mass killing operations in Gaza sound like a Hollywood depiction of a sociopath torturing someone. “We can make it all stop if Hamas puts down its weapons & surrenders.” The “it” here being the annihilation of 1,000 children a week.
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111643045959771197 Save to Pocket
6800 Single Board Computer
date: 2023-12-25, from: Tilde.news
https://github.com/jefftranter/6800/tree/master/sbc Save to Pocket
Holiday Travel Is Mostly Nice, But With Some Naughty Disruptions Again on Southwest Airlines
date: 2023-12-25, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/holiday-travel-is-mostly-nice-but-with-some-naughty-disruptions-again-on-southwest-airlines/7412142.html Save to Pocket
Fire heavily damages Los Altos dance school, tutoring center
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
The three-alarm blaze caused the building’s roof to collapse.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/fire-heavily-damages-los-altos-dance-school-tutoring-center/ Save to Pocket
Detached house in Palo Alto sells for $2.7 million
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
A historic house located in the 800 block of Lytton Avenue in Palo Alto has new owners. The 1,388-square-foot property, built in 1926, was sold on Dec. 4, 2023. The $2,700,000 purchase price works out to $1,945 per square foot.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/detached-house-in-palo-alto-sells-for-2-7-million/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
BTW, there is only one RSS 2.0 spec. 😄
http://scripting.com/2023/12/25.html#a200548 Save to Pocket
Newsboat 2.34 is out
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: Newsboat News
<p>
Here‘s a little update to your favourite RSS/Atom reader,
everyone :)
</p>
<p>
There aren‘t many user-visible changes though; most of the
effort was spent improving things internally. Dennis van der
Schagt and bogdasar1985 continue to make progress on various
fronts, which should eventually bring us a new key-bind system,
help fix the long-standing issue with non-UTF-8 content in old
cache.db files, and more.
</p>
<p>
Docs also received some updates and polish. Lysander Trischler
continues to play a vital role here, reviewing all the
docs-related changes and helping authors improve them even
further. Incidentally, I don‘t mention any of this work in the
changelog; should I?
</p>
<p>
Hope you‘ll find this new release at least as good as the
previous one. We‘re already working on the next, better one :)
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate today, and a happy New
Year!
</p>
<p>
Here are the files:
<a href="https://newsboat.org/releases/2.34/newsboat-2.34.tar.xz">tarball</a>,
<a href="https://newsboat.org/releases/2.34/newsboat-2.34.tar.xz.asc">its signature</a>,
<a href="https://newsboat.org/releases/2.34/docs/newsboat.html">the docs</a>, and
<a href="https://github.com/newsboat/newsboat/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#234---2023-12-25">the changelog</a>.
</p>
https://newsboat.org/releases/2.34/docs/newsboat.html Save to Pocket
Pope Francis denounces the weapons industry as he makes a Christmas appeal for peace in the world
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem “is a place of sorrow and silence” this year.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/pope-francis-denounces-the-weapons-industry-as-he-makes-a-christmas-appeal-for-peace-in-the-world/ Save to Pocket
Elon Musk’s X, accused of withholding bonuses promised to staff, will have to face a court battle
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
X stands accused of failing to pay out annual bonuses to staff after its October 2022 acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/elon-musks-x-accused-of-withholding-bonuses-promised-to-staff-will-have-to-face-a-court-battle/ Save to Pocket
Ukraine celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time, distancing itself from Russia
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
Christmas carried more than spiritual weight for many Ukrainians this year as the country newly observed it as a public holiday on Dec. 25 rather than the later date followed in Russia.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/ukraine-celebrates-christmas-on-dec-25-for-the-first-time-distancing-itself-from-russia/ Save to Pocket
The latest on Draymond Green’s path back from indefinite suspension
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green is charting his path back
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/the-latest-on-draymond-greens-path-back-from-indefinite-suspension/ Save to Pocket
Gary Kildall Has a Talk with PC Magazine
date: 2023-12-25, from: Computer ads from the Past
My little Christmas gift to you
https://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/gary-kildall-has-a-talk-with-pc-magazine Save to Pocket
Three-bedroom home in Saratoga sells for $2.6 million
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
The property located in the 18200 block of Clemson Avenue in Saratoga was sold on Dec. 6, 2023. The $2,600,000 purchase price works out to $1,923 per square foot. The house, built in 1955, has an interior space of 1,352 square feet.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/three-bedroom-home-in-saratoga-sells-for-2-6-million/ Save to Pocket
Christmas morning fire in San Leandro apartment building displaces three people
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
No residents or firefighters were injured in the blaze, which was contained by 7:15 a.m. Monday
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/christmas-morning-fire-in-san-leandro-apartment-building-displaces-three-people/ Save to Pocket
Watch the Newly Remastered Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special (1988) on YouTube
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/watch-the-newly-remastered-pee-wees-playhouse-christmas-special-1988-on-youtube Save to Pocket
Travel Troubleshooter: This Booking.com reservation is fake! Will the company pay up?
date: 2023-12-25, from: San Jose Mercury News
When Dale Cerney checks into his resort in Kauai, Hawaii, they don’t have a reservation on file for him. Will Booking.com pay for the mistake?
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/25/travel-troubleshooter-this-booking-com-reservation-is-fake-will-the-company-pay-up/ Save to Pocket
SCV Water announces Gladbach scholarship available
date: 2023-12-25, from: The Signal
News release Established in honor of the late Edward G. “Jerry” Gladbach, a past ACWA president, SCV Water vice president, and longtime local, state, and national water leader, the 2024/25 Edward G. “Jerry” Gladbach Scholarship opportunity is now available on the Association of California Water Agencies website. This annual ACWA Scholarship awards $2,500 to one qualified […]
The post SCV Water announces Gladbach scholarship available appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/scv-water-announces-gladbach-scholarship-available/ Save to Pocket
Hey everyone. Just a quick holiday note to let you know that…
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/23/12/0043669-hey-everyone-just-a-quick Save to Pocket
War of the workstations: How the lowest bidders shaped today’s tech landscape
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The MIT and New Jersey schools of software design, and how big lies turned into holy truths
Feature Digging into stories of 1980s OSes, a forgotten war for the future of computing emerges. It was won by the lowest bidders, and then the poor users and programmers forgot it ever happened.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/25/the_war_of_the_workstations/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I made a change to how images are served from this blog, to see if the images are still blocked by GMail. Previously we redirected to an S3 file, so we could use HTTPS and but not have to have the bits flow through one of my Digital Ocean servers, which after this change, they now do. For most of you this will be blah blah whatever blah blah zzzz, but some people may find it interesting.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/25.html#a153447 Save to Pocket
A pulse check on holiday travel and holiday hiring
date: 2023-12-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The holiday travel season is likely to be a busy one, with more people expected to travel domestically this year than in 2022. Meanwhile, drivers can expect to pay the same (or even a bit less) for a gallon of gas. And there’s zero days left to wrap up Christmas shopping — so what better time to take stock of how hiring for the holiday season has shaped up?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/a-pulse-check-on-holiday-travel-and-holiday-hiring Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I also want to write a bit more about RSS support in Bluesky, what it means, and ideas for next steps. BTW, here’s a screen shot of the email I sent to Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, on Dec 12, asking for RSS 2.0 support, which was released publicly ten days later on Dec 22.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/25.html#a145923 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
This period is often a time of innovation in the world of blogs, podcasting and feeds. For me this year, I’m using the time to do more work on CSS and basic user interface stuff for FeedLand and for news products like news.scripting.com, which has been surprisingly popular. The new stuff will start showing up first in that site, pretty soon. The goal is to build on its popularity, to bootstrap a new platform.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/25.html#a145530 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Happy Christmas everyone who celebrates. I have a little business to do here on my blog today, then the regular holiday schedule will begin starting tomorrow and probably go through the first week of January.
http://scripting.com/2023/12/25.html#a145416 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The Amazon Music Web API is a new, simplified API allowing quick retrieval of meta-data about albums, tracks, artists, playlists, podcasts, and more from the Amazon Music catalog’s millions of songs.
https://developer.amazon.com/docs/music/API_web_overview.html Save to Pocket
Why People Still Fall For Fake News About Climate Change
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: The LAist
It was the hottest year on Earth in 125,000 years, and #climatescam is taking off.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/why-people-still-fall-for-fake-news-about-climate-change Save to Pocket
A Look Back At US Climate Solutions This Year
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: The LAist
The country may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/a-look-back-at-us-climate-solutions-this-year Save to Pocket
Land Of The Free, Home Of The Inefficient: Appliance Standards As Culture War Target
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: The LAist
To meet climate goals, energy efficiency for dozens of appliances is getting renewed attention from the Biden administration.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/land-of-the-free-home-of-the-inefficient-appliance-standards-as-culture-war-target Save to Pocket
A Medicare mental health expansion
date: 2023-12-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Come Jan. 1, hundreds of thousands of additional licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists will be eligible to work with Medicare patients for the first time. This Christmas Day, we’ll take a look at what the expansion means for patients and providers. And later: Do you feel like your life has been taken over by the pings of social media notifications? Well, how about a detox?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/a-medicare-mental-health-expansion Save to Pocket
Advent of DOS
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: Uninformative blog
https://www.uninformativ.de/blog/postings/2023-12-25/0/POSTING-en.html Save to Pocket
Chinese Migration Up at Border as US Marks Anniversary of Repeal of Exclusion Act
date: 2023-12-25, from: VOA News USA
Washington — As the U.S marks the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, thousands of Chinese immigrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, mostly for the same reasons as their countrymen did more than a century ago.
Zhongwei Wang made that journey this spring through Central America with his family.
“When I knew there was a way to leave China, I felt overjoyed, really overjoyed,” he said.
According to the U.S. Border Patrol, from January through September, more than 24,000 Chinese migrants crossed the border without authorization, about 13 times the number recorded during the same period last year.
“They see a lack of opportunity. They see the Chinese economy stagnating. There’s also been a lot of frustration with how controlling the Chinese government is, how many restrictions there are on their lives, and people have been researching how to get to the United States,” said Madeline Y. Hsu, a history professor at the University of Maryland.
Hsu spoke at CRCEA80, the gathering on December 5 of nearly 400 representatives from 121 Chinese-American organizations who came together to mark the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only U.S. law that prohibited immigration based solely on race.
Wang’s journey
Wang arrived with his parents, his wife, and their two children in May. They left China’s Anhui province, he told VOA’s Mandarin Service, because of the Chinese government’s aggressive COVID-19 lockdown and human rights issues.
The family flew from Hong Kong to Turkey to Quito, Ecuador, which offers a 90-day visa exemption for Chinese passports.
From there, they walked through the Darien Gap, a dangerous path in the mountainous jungle between Colombia and Panama that tens of thousands of migrants used in 2022 on their way to the U.S. “We had to climb four hills on the first day,” he said.
His wife was carrying her 14-month-old son on her back. His mother, who was in poor health, couldn’t walk after climbing the first hill, but a fellow migrant helped along the way.
Those without the means to obtain a visa sometimes choose this dangerous route. Wang said he originally planned to apply for a tourist visa to come to the United States, but at that time the waiting list for a tourist visa interview to the United States was more than six months.
While he said he objected to China’s COVID-19 lockdown policies and human rights record, he had also protested against the Chinese government after he arrived in the U.S., which prompted local law enforcement to visit his uncle’s home in China.
“We must not stop [protesting the Chinese government] overseas, despite their threats to intimidate my family, my uncle, and the others. So, when we are overseas, we cannot keep a low profile. If we don’t speak out when [our families] are threatened, they [the Chinese government] know this method is effective and they will threaten others again,” he said.
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act, which passed in 1882, was the only law in U.S. history that singled out a specific ethnic group. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially ended the act on Dec. 17, 1943, and granted Chinese Americans equal citizenship rights for the first time.
Renata Castro, a Florida-based immigration lawyer, says today’s Chinese migrants, if they are unable to come to the U.S. with an existing visa, are finding other ways to flee the world’s second-most populous nation, including showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum.
“Mainly because these are individuals that are escaping the oppressions of the Chinese government. … But most importantly, they are fleeing the lack of economic expectations they have in China right now,” she said.
When people come to the U.S. seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or are afraid that they will suffer persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular group, they are permitted to file for asylum regardless of their immigration status.
But to apply for asylum, a person must be present in the U.S.
Chinese migrants who cross into the U.S. without authorization usually wait for agents from U.S. Border Patrol to pick them up. Once the agents process these migrants, many are assigned court dates and released in cities close to their final destination, adding to an immigration court system that is taking about five years to decide cases.
According to October data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Chinese migrants were granted asylum nearly 67% of the time in immigration courts over the past two decades — one of the highest rates by nationality. The reasons, per the Christian nonprofit ChinaAid, is the continuing decline in human rights conditions, higher accessibility to information on social media about crossing the U.S. Mexico border, and restrictions on religious freedom.
Out of 108,273 Chinese migrant applications, 77,711 were granted asylum. Asylum was denied to 29,635 and 927 applications received another type of immigration relief.
VOA’s Tracy Wen Liu contributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-migration-up-at-border-as-us-marks-anniversary-of-repeal-of-exclusion-act/7396937.html Save to Pocket
US Military Under Onslaught in Mideast Since Start of Israel-Hamas War
date: 2023-12-25, from: VOA News USA
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Iranian-backed proxies have ratcheted up attacks on U.S. service members in the Middle East, and Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have attacked several military and commercial ships with ballistic missiles and drones. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-military-under-onslaught-in-mideast-since-start-of-israel-hamas-war-/7400210.html Save to Pocket
Some of our favorite economic stories from 2023
date: 2023-12-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: In a special festive episode, we’re taking a look back at some of the headlines and headline-makers that grabbed the attention of our production team in 2023. We’ll touch on everything from bank collapses to crypto’s wild ride, redesigned chocolate bar packaging, and one of the biggest stories of the year: the murky and rapidly-changing world of artificial intelligence.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/some-of-our-favorite-economic-stories-from-2023 Save to Pocket
A holiday question: How old is too old?
date: 2023-12-25, from: Robert Reich on Substack
My guide to when to get out
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-old-is-too-old-fc8 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Best TV Episodes of 2023.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/25/arts/television/best-tv-episodes-of-2023.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Look how far we haven't come since Windows NT.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/19/windows_nt_30_years_on/ Save to Pocket
Hawaii lags in preparing kids for kindergarten, state DOE report shows
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In the Hawaii public schools’ first statewide assessment of children’s kindergarten readiness, less than one-third of children entering kindergarten this fall demonstrated “baseline readiness” for school, according to new state Department of Education data that evaluated basic language, math and social skills, and physical development.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/hawaii-news/hawaii-lags-in-preparing-kids-for-kindergarten-state-doe-report-shows/ Save to Pocket
Pohai Malama Adult Residential Care Home hosts open house
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After closing its doors to inpatient services last year, Pohai Malama will be reopening as an adult residential care home beginning next year.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/hawaii-news/pohai-malama-adult-residential-care-home-hosts-open-house/ Save to Pocket
Project Hawaii Big Island Christmas Party for underprivileged kids returns
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Christmas cheer was heavy in the air Thursday as more than 250 Hawaii Island youth were treated to a party featuring food, games, gifts and a visit from Santa Claus.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/hawaii-news/project-hawaii-big-island-christmas-party-for-underprivileged-kids-returns/ Save to Pocket
On Christmas Eve, Bethlehem resembles a ghost town. Celebrations are halted due to Israel-Hamas war.
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The typically bustling biblical birthplace of Jesus resembled a ghost town Sunday after Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem were called off due to the Israel-Hamas war.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/nation-world-news/on-christmas-eve-bethlehem-resembles-a-ghost-town-celebrations-are-halted-due-to-israel-hamas-war/ Save to Pocket
U.S. Rep. Ed Case pushes bill to protect ornamental reef fish
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>U.S. Rep. Ed Case is pushing for legislation that would restrict international imports of protected ornamental reef fish and coral collected through destructive practices.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/hawaii-news/u-s-rep-ed-case-pushes-bill-to-protect-ornamental-reef-fish/ Save to Pocket
Dolphins nip Cowboys 22-20 on Jason Sanders’ last-second field goal, secure playoff spot
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jason Sanders had waited all season for this moment. On a Miami Dolphins team that scores more touchdowns than any other in the NFL, the former All-Pro kicker hadn’t needed to attempt many field goals.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/sports/dolphins-nip-cowboys-22-20-on-jason-sanders-last-second-field-goal-secure-playoff-spot/ Save to Pocket
NFL roundup: Chad Ryland’s 56-yard field goal sends Patriots past Broncos 26-23 as Denver’s playoff hopes dim
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DENVER (AP) — Chad Ryland made a career-long 56-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, and the New England Patriots delivered a near-fatal blow to the Denver Broncos’ playoff hopes with a 26-23 stunner Sunday night.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/sports/nfl-roundup-chad-rylands-56-yard-field-goal-sends-patriots-past-broncos-26-23-as-denvers-playoff-hopes-dim/ Save to Pocket
BIIF hoops: Honma, Huihui combine for 50 in KSH’s rout of Kohala
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KAPAAU — From the opening tip, No. 23 Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i girls basketball never let up.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/sports/biif-hoops-honma-huihui-combine-for-50-in-kshs-rout-of-kohala/ Save to Pocket
The NBA’s annual Christmas slate awaits. Teams insist it’s special to be picked
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra was part of 12 Christmas games as a staff member, assistant coach or head coach in his first 20 seasons with the Miami Heat.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/sports/the-nbas-annual-christmas-slate-awaits-teams-insist-its-special-to-be-picked/ Save to Pocket
Photos: Pahoa tops St. Joseph
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Pahoa Daggers defeated the St. Joseph Cardinals 68-16 in the last game before the Christmas holiday at the University of Hawaii at Hilo gym on Saturday night. Both teams will resume play next Saturday (Dec. 30) with the Daggers playing Konawaena at home and the Cardinals playing at Kealakehe.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/sports/photos-pahoa-tops-st-joseph/ Save to Pocket
In a troubled world, Christians strive to put aside earthly worries on Christmas Eve
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany — Christians around the world were striving on Christmas Eve to put aside the worries and fears of an unsettled, war-torn world as they prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/nation-world-news/in-a-troubled-world-christians-strive-to-put-aside-earthly-worries-on-christmas-eve/ Save to Pocket
At least 68 killed in central Gaza in airstrike, adding to weekend’s bloodshed
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — At least 68 people were killed by an Israeli strike in central Gaza, health officials said Sunday, while the number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat over the weekend rose to 15.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/nation-world-news/at-least-68-killed-in-central-gaza-in-airstrike-adding-to-weekends-bloodshed/ Save to Pocket
With the Supreme Court on sideline for now, Trump’s lawyers press immunity claims before lower court
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was acting within his role as president when he pressed claims about “alleged fraud and irregularity” in the 2020 election, his lawyers told a federal appeals court in arguing that he is immune from prosecution.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/nation-world-news/with-the-supreme-court-on-sideline-for-now-trumps-lawyers-press-immunity-claims-before-lower-court/ Save to Pocket
Police in Serbia fire tear gas at election protesters threatening to storm capital’s city hall
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BELGRADE, Serbia — Riot police in Serbia fired tear gas to prevent hundreds of opposition supporters from entering the capital’s city council building on Sunday in protest of what election observers said were widespread vote irregularities during a general election last weekend.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/nation-world-news/police-in-serbia-fire-tear-gas-at-election-protesters-threatening-to-storm-capitals-city-hall/ Save to Pocket
A Denver nugget against Trump?: The 14th Amendment may keep him off the Colorado ballot
date: 2023-12-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>There are many ways to deny demagogic, anti-democratic Donald John Trump a second presidential term, which is an American imperative. When Trump was running for a first term in 2016, this newspaper ran the longest editorial in its history urging his defeat. When he was running for reelection in 2020, we outlined 99 reasons he had to be beaten. Fortunately, that time he was, and soundly so. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/25/opinion/a-denver-nugget-against-trump-the-14th-amendment-may-keep-him-off-the-colorado-ballot/ Save to Pocket
How the tech toy century has troubled Santa’s sack
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Bell Labs made it bulge then Gordon Moore made it deflate
Opinion It is, as the more observant may have noticed, Christmas time again. In all decent households, this marks the traditional giving and receiving of tech toys, many millions of which will have been hauled around the world by Santa and his reindeer.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/25/opinion_tech_toy_century/ Save to Pocket
If you found a Raspberry Pi in your Christmas stocking, read this
date: 2023-12-25, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
If you’ve received a Raspberry Pi as a gift and you’re new to all this, read on to find out how to get going with your shiny new computer.
The post If you found a Raspberry Pi in your Christmas stocking, read this appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/if-you-found-a-raspberry-pi-in-your-christmas-stocking-read-this/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Dec. 25)
date: 2023-12-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1852 – Acton gold mine owner and California Gov. Henry Tifft Gage born in New York. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-25/ Save to Pocket
December 24, 2023
date: 2023-12-25, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Happy holidays to you all, however you celebrate… or don’t. We are some of the lucky ones this year, with a roof over our heads, food on the table, and family and friends close to hand. We are blessed. But it has not always been this way. For those struggling this holiday season, a reminder, if it helps, that Christmas marks the time when the light starts to come back.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-24-2023 Save to Pocket
Tungsten W + PalmPix
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Tungsten_W_PalmPix Save to Pocket
Palm OS + Bluetooth Keyboard
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Palm_OS_Bluetooth_Keyboard Save to Pocket
PF 2020!
date: 2023-12-25, from: Jirka’s blog
Happy new year to everyone!
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231225-0443_PF_2020 Save to Pocket
January 1st
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_January_1st Save to Pocket
Even newer keyboard
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Even_newer_keyboard Save to Pocket
Elektronika BK 0010-01
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Elektronika_BK_0010_01 Save to Pocket
Another GPD Pocket failure: update
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Another_GPD_Pocket_failure_update Save to Pocket
Another GPD Pocket failure
date: 2023-12-25, 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/20231225-0443_Another_GPD_Pocket_failure Save to Pocket
Christmas Eve 2023
date: 2023-12-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
http://scripting.com/2023/12/24/033749.html?title=christmasEve2023 Save to Pocket
Staff, volunteers bring holiday love to animal shelter
date: 2023-12-25, from: The Signal
Forty-seven canine companions were howling and barking in their kennels impatiently waiting for the Christmas meals that 16 staff and volunteers prepared for them at the Castaic Animal Care Center on Sunday morning. In the spirit of Christmas, volunteers at the Castaic shelter every year come together to remind the furry friends at the shelter […]
The post Staff, volunteers bring holiday love to animal shelter appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/staff-volunteers-bring-holiday-love-to-animal-shelter/ Save to Pocket
Monday 25 December,2023
date: 2023-12-25, from: John Naughton’s online diary
Piece of cake! Happy Christmas! Quote of the Day ”Santa Claus has the right idea — visit people once a year.” Victor Borge Musical alternatives to the morning’s radio news Take your pick! FIZZ – Christmas Medley | Radio 1 … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/monday-25-december2023/38944/ Save to Pocket
Activists Emboldened to Seek Ouster of Ex-Iranian Officials From US Academia After Ex-Diplomat’s Suspension
date: 2023-12-25, from: VOA News USA
Washington — Iranian-American activists seeking to oust former Iranian officials from U.S. academia to hold them accountable for the Islamic republic’s poor human rights record say a U.S. college that suspended one former official last month needs to do more.
Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) also tells VOA that the suspension of Mohammad Jafar Mahallati at Ohio’s Oberlin College has emboldened the nonprofit group to target a second former Iranian official for removal from another U.S. higher education institution.
Oberlin told U.S. media earlier this month that it put Mahallati on indefinite administrative leave on November 28. It provided no reason for the move.
Mahallati served as Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. from 1987-89. He then left the Iranian government for teaching and research roles at several U.S. and Canadian universities, including New York’s Columbia University in the 1990s, before joining Oberlin as a religion professor in 2007.
AAIRIA activists, who include former political prisoners and relatives of executed dissidents in Iran and other human rights advocates, had campaigned for years for Oberlin to remove Mahallati. They accuse him of covering up Iran’s 1988 mass killings of jailed dissidents while he served as its envoy to the U.N.
In an October 2020 statement to The Oberlin Review, a student-run weekly newspaper at the college, Mahallati said: “I categorically deny any knowledge and therefore responsibility regarding mass executions in Iran when I was serving at the United Nations.” He did not respond to a VOA email sent to his gmail address on December 15 seeking further comment for this report.
AAIRIA member Lawdan Bazargan, whose brother was among those killed in the 1988 mass executions, discussed Mahallati’s case in the latest edition of VOA’s Flashpoint Iran podcast. She also elaborated on AAIRIA’s next demands of Oberlin and her group’s goal of securing the removal of former Iranian diplomat Seyed Hossein Mousavian as a scholar at New Jersey’s Princeton University.
Oberlin responded to a VOA email about Bazargan’s interview by saying it has no comment. The Oberlin Review reported earlier this year that in 2021, the college hired an “unnamed third party” to investigate whether Mahallati covered up the 1988 mass killings. It said the college concluded based on the findings that there was “no evidence to corroborate” the accusation.
Mousavian served as Iran’s ambassador to Germany from 1990-97 and then in a series of other diplomatic and national security roles until leaving the government to join Princeton in 2009. He did not respond to a VOA email, sent Friday to his Princeton address, seeking reaction to Bazargan’s comments.
In an article published last month, Princeton Alumni Weekly said Mousavian sent it an email saying: “All my books, articles, speeches, and interviews during 13 years working at Princeton University are about peace, security, stability, and opposing wars and warmongering.”
The following transcript of Bazargan’s December 14 interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
VOA: What is your reaction to Mahallati’s denial that he covered up the 1988 mass killings in Iran when he served as Iranian ambassador to the U.N.?
Lawdan Bazargan, Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists: His position always had been that he did not know. So, we gathered more documents, sending them to [rights group] Amnesty International.
Amnesty International in February 2023 issued its latest report that documented this atrocity. It previously reported [in 2018] that in the first three weeks of July 1988, the Iranian regime had killed members of [opposition group] Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) and then paused for two weeks [before starting a second wave of killings in late August 1988].
Amnesty International’s latest report says the organization released its first alert about the atrocity during that pause [on August 16, 1988]. So Mahallati had 11 days to save at least the opposition leftists [from being killed]. Four thousand MEK members already had been killed. But 1,000 leftists, including my brother, could have been saved if he had spoken up, which he did not.
VOA: You said that you want to see Oberlin College do more than just suspend Mahallati. What are the next steps that you would like to see?
Bazargan: We want to make sure that he does not receive a pension, that Oberlin College creates a memorial in the memory of our loved ones, and that a course is taught at the college about the Iranian regime and its atrocities in the same way that we teach about Nazism and what Stalin did in Russia. We have to teach that the reason behind all the atrocities and wars in the Middle East is actually the Islamic republic of Iran, and they have to be punished for what they did.
VOA: What is your expectation about whether the college will do these things?
Bazargan: For the past three and a half years, people have been telling us it is impossible [to remove Mahallati from Oberlin]. They said, ‘He has a tenure, there is no way you guys can do it.’ And we did it.
I am sure that it will take time and effort [to achieve our next goals], but we will go for them. And we will go after other apologists of the Islamic regime of Iran, like Mousavian at Princeton and others.
https://www.voanews.com/a/activists-emboldened-to-seek-ouster-of-ex-iranian-officials-from-us-academia-after-ex-diplomat-s-suspension/7411297.html Save to Pocket
Mini NASM assembler
date: 2023-12-25, from: FreeDOS News
Rugxulo pointed us to this interesting assembler, for anyone who does assembly programming. mininasm is a NASM-compatible mini assembler for 8086, 186 and 286, able to run on DOS and on modern systems. Rugxulo adds: “mininasm is a fork of Oscar Toledo’s tinyasm which aims to be both more compatible with regular NASM as well as more efficient in memory. The latest release version v6 on Github is dated from late last year.” Try it out at mininasm on GitHub..
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2023/12/mini-nasm-assembler/ Save to Pocket
mTCP NetDrive
date: 2023-12-25, from: FreeDOS News
NetDrive is a DOS device driver that allows you to access a remote disk image hosted by another machine as though it was a local device with an assigned drive letter. The remote disk image can be a floppy disk image or a hard drive image. Thanks to Michael B. Brutman for add this to his already very feature packed mTCP set. However, Michael notes that the rest of mTCP hasn’t changed much so he’s made NetDrive available as a separate download - although newer mTCP releases should include NetDrive. For now, get it at NetDrive website.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2023/12/mtcp-netdrive/ Save to Pocket
On Weekend Before Christmas, ‘Aquaman’ Sequel Drifts to First at Box Office
date: 2023-12-25, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/on-weekend-before-christmas-aquaman-sequel-drifts-to-first-at-box-office/7411289.html Save to Pocket
Christmas Eve draws a mild shopper surge
date: 2023-12-25, from: The Signal
A relatively small crowd of last-minute Christmas shoppers descended on local shops and the Valencia Town Center on Sunday, bringing an end to a spike in foot traffic seen throughout the prior week, merchants reported. “Right now, it’s mild,” said Macy’s cashier and jewelry associate Patricia Zamora. “But it’s been at least four or five […]
The post <strong>Christmas Eve draws a mild shopper surge</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/christmas-eve-draws-a-mild-shopper-surge/ Save to Pocket
A hard look at Certificate Transparency, Part II: CT in Reality
date: 2023-12-25, updated: 2023-12-25, from: Educated Guesswork blog
https://educatedguesswork.org/posts/transparency-part-2/ Save to Pocket
pgBadger v12.4 released
date: 2023-12-25, from: PostgreSQL News
Grenoble, France - December 25th, 2023
pgBadger
pgBadger is a PostgreSQL performance analyzer, built for speed with fully detailed reports based on your PostgreSQL log files.
pgBadger 12.4 was released today, this release of pgBadger fixes some issues reported by users since last release.
- Fix pgbouncer report with version 1.21
- Prevent parallelism perl file to be higher than the number of files.
- Fix regression tests broken since v12.3.
- Fix cases where LOG entries where counted as ERROR log level entries.
For the complete list of changes and acknowledgements, please checkout the release note on https://github.com/darold/pgbadger/releases
Links & Credits
I would like to thank all users who submitted patches and users who reported bugs and feature requests, they are all cited the ChangeLog file.
pgBadger is an open project. Any contribution to build a better tool is welcome. You just have to send your ideas, features requests or patches using the GitHub tools or directly to pgbadger@darold.net.
Links :
- Download: http://pgbadger.darold.net/
- Support: use GitHub report tool at https://github.com/darold/pgbadger/issues or contact pgbadger@darold.net.
For a complete list of commercial support near of your place take a look at the PostgreSQL Professional Services page, they all do great job and most of them can help you.
About pgBadger :
pgBagder is a new generation log analyzer for PostgreSQL, created by Gilles Darold (also author of ora2pg, the powerful migration tool). pgBadger is a fast and easy tool to analyze your SQL traffic and create HTML5 reports with dynamics graphs. pgBadger is the perfect tool to understand the behavior of your PostgreSQL servers and identify which SQL queries need to be optimized.
Docs, Download & Demo at http://pgbadger.darold.net/
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/pgbadger-v124-released-2772/ Save to Pocket
CloudNativePG 1.22.0, 1.21.2 and 1.20.5 Released!
date: 2023-12-25, from: PostgreSQL News
The CloudNativePG Community is thrilled to unveil version 1.22.0 of the CloudNativePG Operator, a significant milestone featuring the introduction of declarative tablespaces and temporary tablespaces alongside various enhancements and fixes.
Tablespaces, a powerful and widely adopted feature in database management systems, now take center stage in CloudNativePG 1.22.0. This release empowers users to boost the vertical scalability of their databases by decoupling the physical and logical data modeling, achieving optimal performance through parallel on-disk read/write operations. With CloudNativePG, users can define additional tablespace volumes, and also ensure they can be used for temporary operations (CloudNativePG seamlessly manages the temp_tablespaces GUC).
This marks a pivotal step towards adopting Very Large Databases, building upon the foundation laid by Kubernetes volume snapshots introduced in version 1.21.
Starting from version 1.22.0, the ALTER SYSTEM command is now disabled by default. This ensures that changes to the PostgreSQL configuration are orchestrated through the Kubernetes API. This streamlined approach guarantees coherence across the entire high-availability cluster and aligns with best practices for Infrastructure-as-Code.
In terms of security, all supported versions now require TLS 1.3 for PostgreSQL connections by default, further bolstering the integrity of data transmission.
Before initiating an upgrade, carefully review the detailed instructions. New patch releases are now available for all supported versions, including 1.21.2 and 1.20.5.
Considering the notable changes introduced, we strongly recommend upgrading to CloudNativePG 1.22.0 at your earliest convenience. Alternatively, update to the latest patch version within your current minor release.
With the release of 1.22.0, the 1.20.x minor version will reach its end of life on January 21, 2024.
This release addresses several bugs for improved stability. For a comprehensive list of changes, refer to the following release notes:
Thank you for your continued support and engagement with CloudNativePG!
About CloudNativePg
CloudNativePG is an open source Kubernetes Operator for PostgreSQL workloads that orchestrates the full life cycle of a PostgreSQL cluster, from bootstrapping and configuration, through high availability and connection routing, to backups and disaster recovery. CloudNativePG relies on PostgreSQL’s native streaming replication to distribute data across pods, nodes, and zones, using standard Kubernetes patterns. Replicas can be scaled up and down in a Kubernetes native manner, and the operator automatically and safely reconfigure replication as appropriate. CloudNativePG is a project originally created and supported by EDB.
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/cloudnativepg-1220-1212-and-1205-released-2771/ Save to Pocket
Enlightenment 0.26.0 released
date: 2023-12-24, from: OS News
The venerable Enlightenment project has pushed out a new release, one mainly focused on bug fixes. There are a few new features, too, however, such as a watchdog thread, enabled by default, to detect mainloop hangs, bigger task previews, an API to play sounds for notifications, a DDC option in backlight settings, and a lot more.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138125/enlightenment-0-26-0-released/ Save to Pocket
Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 could send 240 mln PCs to landfills – report
date: 2023-12-24, from: OS News
Microsoft’s plan to end support for Windows 10 operating system could result in about 240 million personal computers being disposed, potentially adding to landfill waste, Canalys Research said. The electronic waste from these PCs could weigh an estimated 480 million kilograms, equivalent to 320,000 cars. While many PCs could remain functional for years post the end of OS support, Canalys warned demand for devices without security updates could be low. ↫ Akash Sriram for Reuters A lot of these machines are perfectly capable of running Windows 11 if not for Microsoft’s artificial restrictions, and while less relevant – most people can’t just switch to Linux or BSD – there are alternative operating systems to keep these machines going. The only good thing that might come of this is a flurry of cheap, usable hardware on the second hand market, which can be used by us enthusiasts for all kinds of things.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138122/microsoft-ending-support-for-windows-10-could-send-240-mln-pcs-to-landfills-report/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Following Bluesky users from Micro.blog.
https://www.manton.org/2023/12/24/following-bluesky-users.html Save to Pocket
Metrolink plans system upgrades during service suspension Dec. 26-29
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
News release Metrolink will pause service systemwide from Dec. 26-29 to complete infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and repairs. Trains will not run on any of Metrolink’s seven lines, and Arrow service will also be suspended during this time. Planned work will help Metrolink provide safer, more efficient service as the Los Angeles mega-region prepares […]
The post Metrolink plans system upgrades during service suspension Dec. 26-29 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/metrolink-plans-system-upgrades-during-service-suspension-dec-26-29/ Save to Pocket
Time to Celebrate 2024
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
By Michele E. Buttelman Signal Staff Writer It’s almost 2024! How will you celebrate? Do you host a New Year’s Eve party at home, attend a festive celebration at a Santa Clarita Valley restaurant or watch the New Year ring in around the world wearing your PJs and sipping a cup of warm coco while snuggled […]
The post Time to Celebrate 2024 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/time-to-celebrate-2024/ Save to Pocket
Theme Parks Decked Out for the Holidays
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
By Michele E. Buttelman Signal Staff Writer It’s not the holiday season without a trip to one of the many Southern California theme parks. Time is running out to enjoy the special sights and tastes of the holidays at area theme parks. Each theme park celebrates the season in its own unique way. Holiday in […]
The post Theme Parks Decked Out for the Holidays appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/theme-parks-decked-out-for-the-holidays/ Save to Pocket
Fashion Experts Reveal Six Fashion Trends for this Winter
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
Green Cargo Pants are revealed to be the number one fashion trend for winter. By Maryann Lasko For The Sunday Signal Here are the statistics. Bomber jackets make a comeback, with searches for ‘Leather Bomber Jackets’ increasing by nearly 130%. Searches for ‘Satin Maxi Skirt’ increase by 127%. The research carried out by fashion experts at […]
The post Fashion Experts Reveal Six Fashion Trends for this Winter appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/fashion-experts-reveal-six-fashion-trends-for-this-winter/ Save to Pocket
Ten Best Cities for Nightlife in the United States
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
By Ryan Nicklin Special to Sunday Signal A new study has revealed that Las Vegas is the best city in America if you want to experience the best nightlife. Research by BetMGM analyzed multiple factors that contribute to how great a city is when it comes to its nightlife. These factors include the number of bars, […]
The post Ten Best Cities for Nightlife in the United States appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/ten-best-cities-for-nightlife-in-the-united-states/ Save to Pocket
Computers Can Make Phonics Fun
date: 2023-12-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
There are now multiple versions of computer programs that provide the kind of one-on-one tutoring that makes phonics learning easier for many children, as well as being enjoyable.
The post Computers Can Make Phonics Fun appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/24/computers-can-make-phonics-fun/ Save to Pocket
Bills of 2023: Newsom signs bill to add paid sick days
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
Editor’s note: As 2023 draws to a close, The Signal is presenting CalMatters’ wrap-up stories on some of the key bills that reached the governor’s desk at the close of the 2023 legislative session. Here’s the CalMatters summary of Senate Bill 616, which increases the number of mandatory paid sick days for employees. By Sameea […]
The post Bills of 2023: Newsom signs bill to add paid sick days appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/bills-of-2023-newsom-signs-bill-to-add-paid-sick-days/ Save to Pocket
Console
date: 2023-12-24, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
Console
I’ve been trying to get used to sway as my window manager. Recently I realized that my dmenu wouldn’t list games like openarena. No surprise there: /usr/games/bin is not part of PATH and so it doesn’t get shown. I wondered how to get it there, and then I found that many people log in from the Linux console without a session manager or display manager. That is, they login from the console, get a login shell, and that shell then starts the window manager.
This is what I see on the first virtual console:
Debian GNU/Linux 12 melanobombus tty1
login: _
If I log in, fish starts and one of the startup files it executes is .config/fish/conf.d/sway.fish which starts sway but only when logging in from tty1. You can switch between the consoles using Alt-F1 to Alt-F6. Once sway runs, you can switch back to the remaining virtual consoles using Ctrl Alt F2 to Ctrl Alt F6.
# If running from tty1 start sway
set TTY1 (tty)
[ "$TTY1" = "/dev/tty1" ] && exec sway
Since this script uses exec, sway replaces fish. No big deal. But I still get to setup PATH.
So now I was staring at the login prompt of the console… and I don’t know about you, but I could use a larger font!
I tried to go the console-setup route but that doesn’t help:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
This allows me to change the console font.
And once my script runs, I can repeat that:
setupcon
But at that point I’m already logged in!
In theory, there’s a systemd service that is supposed to handle it:
$ systemctl status console-setup
● console-setup.service - Set console font and keymap
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/console-setup.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
Active: active (exited) since Sat 2023-12-23 14:45:03 CET; 18min ago
Process: 496 ExecStart=/lib/console-setup/console-setup.sh (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 496 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CPU: 3ms
And yet… it does not! Why is that? Examining /lib/systemd/system/console-setup.service I find that it runs /lib/console-setup/console-setup.sh and that does some complicated stuff to try and determine whether to run setupcon or not. I guess in my case doesn’t?
Oh well, there’s always the option of using kernel parameters!
I created a one line file called /etc/default/grub.d/font.cfg to set a console font. This way the default setting in /etc/default/grub is overwritten, too. No more quiet splash! I like to see the output scroll by as the system boots.
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="fbcon=font:TER16x32"
To activate it:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure grub2
Rebooting the system, I noticed that things still didn’t seem to work for the initramfs which ends up asking me for the password to decrypt my disk. So what I needed was to get the new config into the initramfs, too.
Based on the current kernel I’m running:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure linux-image-6.1.0-15-amd64
I think it works, now!
@landley had some pointers:
- Ramfs, rootfs and initramfs, Kernel Documentation
- The problem. (Why “root=” doesn’t scale.), part 1
- Tech Tip: How to use initramfs., part 2
- Programming for Initramfs., part 3
- mkroot, “a tiny system builder that creates a kernel that boots from initramfs in 300 lines of bash”
- mkroot walkthrough, an outline for a talk introducing mkroot
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2023-12-23-console Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The New Yorker Radio Hour: Bruce Springsteen Has a Gift He Keeps on Giving.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bruce-springsteen-has-a-gift-he-keeps-on-giving/id1050430296?i=1000639483852 Save to Pocket
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the City of Santa Clarita
date: 2023-12-24, from: City of Santa Clarita
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the City of Santa Clarita By City Manager Ken Striplin As we come together to celebrate the Christmas holiday, it’s a perfect opportunity to also celebrate our beloved City of Santa Clarita. This year has been remarkable for our community. Throughout the past twelve months, our City has continued […]
The post Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the City of Santa Clarita appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2023/12/24/merry-christmas-and-happy-holidays-from-the-city-of-santa-clarita/ Save to Pocket
CSUN Receives Helping Hand from Climate Fellows
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
California State University, Northridge’s Institute for Sustainability is getting some help from the California Climate Action Corps in its ongoing efforts to combat the effects of climate change
https://scvnews.com/csun-receives-helping-hand-from-climate-fellows/ Save to Pocket
US Official: Israel’s War on Hamas Elevates Threats Outside of Conflict Zone
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
Israel continues its military operations against Hamas and its allies ahead of one of Christianity’s major holidays. But in the United States, officials warn of heightened threats due to the conflict in Gaza. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-israel-s-war-on-hamas-elevates-threats-outside-of-conflict-zone/7410863.html Save to Pocket
Human-Scale vs Asymmetric Social Media
date: 2023-12-24, from: Pointers gone wild blog
Every once in a while, I see people mention “dark patterns” in UI design. Patterns that are actively trying to deceive users, either to maximize engagement, to click some ad, or to get them to perform an action they didn’t want to perform. An obvious example would be some huge pop-up ad which can be […]
https://pointersgonewild.com/2023/12/24/toxic-by-design-human-scale-vs-asymmetric-social-media/ Save to Pocket
Woman arrested on suspicion of assaulting partner
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
A woman was arrested on suspicion of assaulting her romantic partner with a pair of scissors in the 28000 block of Woodstock Avenue early Sunday morning, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. According to Deputy Nicholas Hoslet, authorities first received the report at 2:27 a.m., with the informant saying that a woman was […]
The post <strong>Woman arrested on suspicion of assaulting partner</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/woman-arrested-on-suspicion-of-assaulting-partner/ Save to Pocket
Lady Mustangs Roll Past Montana Tech 50-39
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University women’s basketball team hit a 3-pointer in the first six seconds and opened up a 15-2 lead in the first 4:25 of the game in a 50-39 win over the Montana Tech Orediggers Friday in the final game of the Cactus Classic in Chandler, Ariz
https://scvnews.com/lady-mustangs-roll-past-montana-tech-50-39/ Save to Pocket
The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit 4X4 SUV
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
What is a Grand Cherokee? A Grand Cherokee is a midsize SUV, built in the Detroit, Michigan assembly plant, and sold worldwide by Jeep. The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee answers the demands of the every day and every new adventure. The new 3 row Grand Cherokee L, which is longer and larger, gives you more interior space and rear cargo room, while stunning the competition with luxury options that have on and off road stability.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/the-2023-jeep-grand-cherokee-l-summit-4x4-suv/ Save to Pocket
Cougars Win 65-40 Over Pierce College
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
College of the Canyons tamed L.A. Pierce College by a 65-40 final score on Lee Smelser Court at the Cougar Cage on Wednesday, winning its second straight contest in a low scoring affair
https://scvnews.com/cougars-win-65-40-over-pierce-college/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Cybertruck: Elon Musk’s Alter Ego?
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, doesn’t do subtle. He makes spaceships that explode and underground vehicle transportation tunnels to nowhere. For the past 16 years, his company has also manufactured the only electric cars to successfully infiltrate the internal combustion engine automotive industry.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/tesla-cybertruck-elon-musks-alter-ego/ Save to Pocket
Traffic fatality leads to the closure of El Camino Real in San Carlos
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a traffic fatality in San Carlos, which occurred around 7 a.m. Sunday at El Camino Real and Belmont Avenue.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/traffic-fatality-leads-to-the-closure-of-el-camino-real-in-san-mateo/ Save to Pocket
Automakers believe that their wish list is reasonable
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Tomorrow is Christmas Day, and the hard-working elves at the Environmental Protection Agency are putting the finishing touches on tailpipe emission regulations that will govern the auto industry from 2027 to 2032. It is unlikely that Santa will be delivering finalized rules by tomorrow morning, but wish lists from all stakeholders were due on July 5th. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) was not shy about asking for shiny new regulations that are less aggressive than those proposed by the EPA.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/automakers-believe-that-their-wish-list-is-reasonable/ Save to Pocket
If the Mess Fits: Making Garments from Garbage at Manzanita Hall
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
California State University, Northridge’s interdepartmental sustainability initiative, “From Waste to Wearable,” will be hosting a fashion exhibition in December on the second floor of Manzanita Hall. Refreshments will be provided, including cocktails, mocktails and catering. The show will feature guest of honor Dan Hoskins speaking, who is the dean of Mike Curb College of Arts,…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177569/print-editions/print-stories/if-the-mess-fits-making-garments-from-garbage-at-manzanita-hall/ Save to Pocket
California threatens penalties over insurers’ stalling tactics against car insurance buyers
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
California’s insurance commissioner is warning of a possible crackdown against insurers that fail to offer and sell auto insurance to the state’s good drivers.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/california-threatens-penalties-over-insurers-stalling-tactics-against-car-insurance-buyers/ Save to Pocket
What’s behind California’s skyrocketing spending and $68 billion deficit?
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
The reasons are only what they seem on the surface, but those still play a role.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/whats-behind-californias-skyrocketing-spending-and-68-billion-deficit/ Save to Pocket
A True American
date: 2023-12-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Karen Jones is a true American.
The post A True American appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2023/12/24/a-true-american/ Save to Pocket
Biden Campaigns on Economy, Abortion, Democracy — and Not Being Trump
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
philadelphia / washington — U.S. President Joe Biden describes next year’s election as a battle for “the soul” of his nation. His campaign has centered on that, and assertions that he has improved Americans’ lives through his stands on the economy, access to abortion, and threats to democracy.
In recent months, he has crisscrossed the nation to talk up legislation that has created jobs, to promote his efforts to protect abortion rights and improve gun safety, and to speak — often passionately — about his work to protect constitutional rule.
He has approached so-called kitchen table issues in metaphorically apt settings that let him communicate several messages at once, such as when he told first responders Monday in Philadelphia — the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution — that firefighters once saved his house from burning down.
Or when he visited the district of one of his loudest Republican detractors in November to tout his work in bringing them climate-friendly jobs.
“The historic investments we’re celebrating today is in Congressman [Lauren] Boebert’s district,” Biden said. “She’s one of the leaders of this extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] movement. She, along with every single Republican colleague, voted against the law that made these investments in jobs possible.”
Or, at an event in November touting job growth, when he flexed his credentials as a grandparent to a rural Minnesota mother who tried to silence a crying baby, telling her, “It’s OK. Kids are allowed to do that with me.”
From his perch at the White House, Biden seems confident about his chances of defeating his most likely challenger, former President Donald Trump.
When a reporter asked him in early December if he thought Trump could be beaten by any Democrat other than him, Biden paused, smiled and said, “Probably 50 of them. … I’m not the only one who can defeat him, but I will defeat him.”
Age factor
But for a lot of U.S. voters, this is a numbers issue. Pollsters say most worry about the economy, while many also point to a number the Biden administration can’t change: his advanced age.
By election night, Biden — who at 81 is about four years older than Trump — will be five years senior to the oldest man to ever occupy the office — Ronald Reagan.
Democratic pollsters say these concerns are weighing Biden down, leaving Trump currently ahead in critical swing states.
“Voters are not comfortable with the age of either of our candidates,” Evan Roth Smith, head pollster for Blueprint, a public opinion research initiative, told VOA. “I think the age factor is part of the wider dissatisfaction with, ‘Oh no. This again? We’re doing this again, Trump versus Biden?’”
Trump has campaigned on the sidelines of his many court appearances facing a range of charges.
“He’s playing to — as strange as it sounds — a sense of nostalgia, that when Donald Trump was president — and this is what he would say — prices were lower, the Middle East wasn’t at war, Ukraine wasn’t being invaded by Russia, China was was less muscular, and so on and so forth,” Smith said.
Warns of Trump’s vitriol
Biden also has recently worked a bit more Trump vitriol into his campaign, recently hammering on Trump’s words that he will be a “dictator” for a day if he is re-elected.
“I’m going to follow the Hatch Act and avoid commenting on the 2024 election,” deputy White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in response to VOA’s question about whether the administration sees Trump’s comments as a national security threat.
But he added, “And I want to say: It is wrong to suspend the Constitution and abuse federal power to persecute critics and trample the First Amendment. It is wrong to override the will of the voters, as upheld by over 80 federal judges and the Trump administration’s top election security official. It is wrong to engage in violent rhetoric and spread dangerous conspiracy theories that have cost brave police officers their lives.”
Trump made the comment December 5 during an interview with a popular conservative media personality, who asked, “You are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
“Except for Day One,” Trump replied.
He then elaborated, “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
This strong contrast is one that both men — and those trying to supplant Trump for the Republican nomination — are attempting to highlight before November.
But one thing is clear if either man wins in 2024: After four years with each, American voters know exactly what kind of president they’re choosing.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-campaigns-on-economy-abortion-democracy-and-not-being-trump-/7399079.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2023-12-24, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
http://scripting.com/2023/12/24.html#a162253 Save to Pocket
Biden Stumps on Economy, Abortion, Democracy – and on Not Being Trump
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
US President Joe Biden describes next year’s election as a battle for “the soul” of this nation. His campaign has centered on that – as well as on threats to democracy, abortion access, and his economic accomplishments. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell looks at the issues — and the politics — that will dominate the coming election year.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-stumps-on-economy-abortion-democracy-and-on-not-being-trump-/7399138.html Save to Pocket
How Shanahan and Lynch built the 49ers’ self-sustaining culture maintained by players
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
The 49ers have built an environment where talent, desire and work ethic are systemically blended.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/how-shanahan-and-lynch-built-the-49ers-self-sustaining-culture-maintained-by-players/ Save to Pocket
CalArts, Fernandeño Tataviam Announce Groundbreaking Scholarship
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (FTBMI) and California Institute of the Arts recently announced a first-of-its-kind scholarship to support students who have extensive knowledge of and passion for the Fernandeño Tataviam community.
https://scvnews.com/calarts-fernandeno-tataviam-announce-groundbreaking-scholarship/ Save to Pocket
Two slain, one wounded in Oakland shootings
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Two men were killed and another man wounded in a pair of shootings Saturday afternoon and early Sunday in different areas of Oakland, authorities said.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/two-slain-one-wounded-in-oakland-shootings/ Save to Pocket
AP Bonta Appealing Injunction on State’s Conceal-Carry Limits
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) — A federal judge in Orange County has preliminarily blocked California from enforcing key provisions of Senate Bill 2, a new law that places strict limits on where concealed-carry permit holders can take handguns. Hours after the decision, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an appeal
https://scvnews.com/ap-bonta-appealing-injunction-on-states-conceal-carry-limits/ Save to Pocket
Ocean Water Advisory Issued for All L.A. County Beaches
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Due to rainfall, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health advises beach users to avoid all water contact, especially near discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers due to potentially higher bacteria levels in these areas
https://scvnews.com/ocean-water-advisory-issued-for-all-l-a-county-beaches-2/ Save to Pocket
Bipartisan Compromises to Reduce Gun Violence in US Still Elusive
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
As mass shootings continue to claim lives in the United States, the Biden administration has announced more support to help states reduce gun violence. But bipartisan compromise in Congress is still elusive. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the reasons behind the divide.
https://www.voanews.com/a/bipartisan-compromises-to-reduce-gun-violence-in-us-still-elusive/7398235.html Save to Pocket
Ring in the New Year with local sparkling wines
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Plenty of bubbly to be found in Santa Cruz Mountains.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/ring-in-the-new-year-with-local-sparkling-wines/ Save to Pocket
Dec. 29: Annual Red Rock Canyon Christmas Bird Count
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Red Rock Canyon State Park will host their annual Bird Count promoting local birdwatching and community-science Friday, Dec. 29, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m
https://scvnews.com/dec-29-annual-red-rock-canyon-christmas-bird-count/ Save to Pocket
From stories to action: Share the Spirit readers respond
date: 2023-12-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
We’d like to express our deepest gratitude to our amazing donors. Your contributions will fuel essential programs that support countless families struggling in our local communities.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/12/24/from-stories-to-action-share-the-spirit-readers-respond/ Save to Pocket
Internet Decor Legends From LA Redefine The Christmas Tree
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The LAist
Marco Zamora and Juan “El Creativo” Renteria, an L.A.-based creative pair, have created a spiral sculpture that gives the illusion of floating in the air.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/internet-decor-legends-from-los-angeles-redefine-the-christmas-tree Save to Pocket
Doctors Are As Vulnerable to Addiction As Anyone. California Grapples With A Response
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The LAist
The Medical Board of California, which licenses MDs, is developing a program to evaluate, treat, and monitor doctors with alcohol and drug problems. But there is sharp disagreement over whether those who might volunteer for the program should be subject to public disclosure and over how much participants should pay.
https://laist.com/news/health/doctors-are-as-vulnerable-to-addiction-as-anyone-california-grapples-with-a-response Save to Pocket
LEVER WEEKLY: “We’re Offering These Goodies To The Justice”
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Lever News
From Clarence Thomas’ potential tax penalties to the complicated history of “Zionism,” here’s a roundup of our reporting from the past week.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-weekly-were-offering-these-goodies-to-the-justice/ Save to Pocket
The Enduring Appeal Of ‘The Nutcracker’ And Where You Can Watch The Christmas Perennial This Holiday Season
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The LAist
Check off your holiday season bucket lists by watching some of the local productions of the classic ballet.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/the-enduring-appeal-of-the-nutcracker-and-where-you-can-watch-the-christmas-perennial-this-holiday-season Save to Pocket
Up to 3 GDOE schools may close
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
With the public school student population decreasing from 36,000 to 24,000 over the last few years, the superintendent of education is looking at consolidating some schools, which means school closures.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/up-to-3-gdoe-schools-may-close/article_2da182c0-a1ed-11ee-8424-ebec373e02d8.html Save to Pocket
School mold mitigation, fencing incomplete 210 days post-Mawar
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
It’s been roughly 210 days since Typhoon Mawar hit Guam, but health and safety measures, namely mold mitigation and fence repair at public schools, have not been completed under the Defense Local Area Network.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/school-mold-mitigation-fencing-incomplete-210-days-post-mawar/article_de4a7744-a1ed-11ee-9118-bf0ec1118177.html Save to Pocket
Court sides with elderly man in land dispute, dismissal reversed
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
An elderly man fighting to have two parcels of land returned to him after he claimed his son fraudulently obtained them will have another chance in court, as the Supreme Court of Guam reversed the Superior Court’s dismissal of the…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/court-sides-with-elderly-man-in-land-dispute-dismissal-reversed/article_2753c566-a1ea-11ee-9091-3be4bf9f6e32.html Save to Pocket
P-EBT reload delayed to 2024
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer assistance for students has been delayed until the summer of 2024, Department of Public Health and Social Services officials announced Friday in a press release.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/p-ebt-reload-delayed-to-2024/article_7779706e-a12b-11ee-8adc-43b4a8528837.html Save to Pocket
Supreme Court vacates preliminary injunction on GDOE telephone bids
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
The Supreme Court of Guam has vacated a preliminary injunction which prevented the Guam Department of Education from taking action on two bids won by GTA.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/supreme-court-vacates-preliminary-injunction-on-gdoe-telephone-bids/article_a9670d44-a062-11ee-a1bd-9f7108cd3329.html Save to Pocket
Autopsy planned for body found in Mangilao
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department has confirmed that a body was discovered in the backyard of a Mangilao home on Saturday, but the cause of death remains unknown.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/autopsy-planned-for-body-found-in-mangilao/article_36f03458-a1ec-11ee-b842-532092d54b21.html Save to Pocket
Man allegedly carjacks woman at gunpoint
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
Officers with the Guam Police Department met Dec. 15 with a woman who was crying and scared at the Lucky Town Apartments in Mangilao. The woman reported she had been robbed.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-allegedly-carjacks-woman-at-gunpoint/article_51715df8-a146-11ee-a85f-e3206191e1d8.html Save to Pocket
Woman accused of forging GPA check
date: 2023-12-24, from: Guam Daily Post
A woman is accused of defrauding the Guam Power Authority by cashing a check she reportedly knew was forged.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/woman-accused-of-forging-gpa-check/article_35b3155a-a143-11ee-aebe-271aa3b4f782.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2023-12-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Researchers examine the self-serving fiction of ‘objective’ political news.
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/election-politics-front-pages.php Save to Pocket
These Mules At The Rose Parade Have Century-Long Ties To The Birth Of National Forests In California
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The LAist
The mules are part of a legacy that harkens back to the time when the state’s wilderness was first being reimagined as recreational space.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-activities/the-mules-youll-see-at-this-years-rose-parade-have-century-long-ties-to-the-birth-of-national-forests-in-california Save to Pocket
See The Metro Project Bringing Nearly 1,500 New Housing Units To North Hollywood
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The LAist
The nearly 16-acre project will also renovate the Metro station, add a new bus transit center, and bring more open space, restaurants, and shops to the area.
https://laist.com/news/transportation/see-the-metro-project-bringing-nearly-1-500-new-housing-units-to-north-hollywood Save to Pocket
Sunday caption contest: Ho ho ho!
date: 2023-12-24, from: Robert Reich on Substack
And last week’s winner
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-caption-contest-ho-ho-ho-92e Save to Pocket
Hawaii health care workers’ student loans to be paid
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Just in time for Christmas, the state told 492 Hawaii health care workers this week that it will pay off their student loans — up to $100,000 — in return for a two-year commitment to stay in the islands.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/hawaii-news/hawaii-health-care-workers-student-loans-to-be-paid/ Save to Pocket
Mother of 3 fatally shot in Pearlridge parking garage
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A Waipahu mother of three who was shot to death allegedly by her estranged husband Friday morning in a parking garage at Pearlridge Center had a protective order against him that went into effect two weeks before she was killed.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/hawaii-news/mother-of-3-fatally-shot-in-pearlridge-parking-garage/ Save to Pocket
Israel strikes 2 homes, killing more than 90 Palestinians. Biden says he didn’t request a cease-fire
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>RAFAH, Gaza Strip — More than 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza, rescuers and hospital officials said Saturday, a day after the U.N. chief warned that nowhere is safe in the territory and that Israel’s offensive creates “massive obstacles” to distribution of humanitarian aid.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/nation-world-news/israel-strikes-2-homes-killing-more-than-90-palestinians-biden-says-he-didnt-request-a-cease-fire/ Save to Pocket
It ‘shows a lot of disrespect’: Council OKs Puna route study after initially rejecting bill
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Hawaii County Council voted Wednesday to reject $1.5 million for a study of possible alternate routes into Puna before immediately calling for a do-over and accepting the funds.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/hawaii-news/it-shows-a-lot-of-disrespect-council-oks-puna-route-study-after-initially-rejecting-bill/ Save to Pocket
Hefty raises for county execs
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Top Hawaii County executives will get significant pay hikes starting Jan. 1.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/hawaii-news/hefty-raises-for-county-execs/ Save to Pocket
Paramedics were convicted in Elijah McClain’s death. That could make other first responders pause
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BRIGHTON, Colo. — Two Denver-area paramedics were convicted Friday for giving a fatal overdose of the sedative ketamine to Elijah McClain in 2019 — a jury verdict that experts said could have a chilling effect on first responders around the country.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/nation-world-news/paramedics-were-convicted-in-elijah-mcclains-death-that-could-make-other-first-responders-pause/ Save to Pocket
About 300 Indian travelers are stuck in a French airport in a human trafficking probe
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>VATRY, France — About 300 Indian citizens heading to Central America were sequestered in a French airport for a third day Saturday after a dramatic police operation prompted by a tip that those aboard might be victims of human trafficking, authorities said.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/nation-world-news/about-300-indian-travelers-are-stuck-in-a-french-airport-in-a-human-trafficking-probe/ Save to Pocket
Keiki visit the jolly man in red as Christmas nears
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Santa Claus’ Hawaii workshop has started to slow down as Christmas Day nears, giving Santa himself more time to visit keiki for last-minute wishes and pictures.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/hawaii-news/keiki-visit-the-jolly-man-in-red-as-christmas-nears/ Save to Pocket
Rudolph hits Pickens for 2 long touchdowns, Steelers end 3-game skid with 34-11 win over Bengals
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph isn’t afraid to admit his mind would drift toward the future as the seasons passed and he remained at the bottom of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ depth chart.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/rudolph-hits-pickens-for-2-long-touchdowns-steelers-end-3-game-skid-with-34-11-win-over-bengals/ Save to Pocket
Bill would name field after the “Father of Hilo Baseball”
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The “Father of Hilo Baseball” will be commemorated with a baseball field at the Dr. Francis F. C. Wong Stadium named after James “Jimmy” Correa.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/bill-would-name-field-after-the-father-of-hilo-baseball/ Save to Pocket
Josh Allen accounts for 3 touchdowns as Bills escape with 24-22 victory over Chargers
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Josh Allen accounted for three touchdowns, Tyler Bass made a 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining, and the Buffalo Bills escaped with a 24-22 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night to improve their playoff chances.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/josh-allen-accounts-for-3-touchdowns-as-bills-escape-with-24-22-victory-over-chargers/ Save to Pocket
Pistons match NBA single-season record with 26th straight loss, fall 126-115 to the Nets
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — Pistons players sat in stunned silence in one corner of the locker room, stared blankly ahead in another.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/pistons-match-nba-single-season-record-with-26th-straight-loss-fall-126-115-to-the-nets/ Save to Pocket
LeBron James scores season-high 40 points, Lakers beat Thunder to end 4-game skid
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>OKLAHOMA CITY — LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-120 on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/lebron-james-scores-season-high-40-points-lakers-beat-thunder-to-end-4-game-skid/ Save to Pocket
NBA roundup: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown lead Celtics to a 145-108 rout of the Clippers
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown added 24 and the Boston Celtics kicked off their Christmas weekend in Southern California with a 145-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/nba-roundup-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-lead-celtics-to-a-145-108-rout-of-the-clippers/ Save to Pocket
New York Mets hit with record luxury tax of nearly $101 million for season of fourth-place finish
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — The New York Mets must pay a record luxury tax of nearly $101 million after a fourth-place finish in their division, among an unprecedented eight teams that owe the penalty for the 2023 season.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/sports/new-york-mets-hit-with-record-luxury-tax-of-nearly-101-million-for-season-of-fourth-place-finish/ Save to Pocket
Cartoon for December 24
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Big Island as seen by Hawaii Tribune-Herald cartoonist Gary Hoff.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/opinion/cartoon-for-december-24-7/ Save to Pocket
The war took away their limbs. Now bionic prostheses empower wounded Ukrainian soldiers
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KYIV, Ukraine — When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/nation-world-news/the-war-took-away-their-limbs-now-bionic-prostheses-empower-wounded-ukrainian-soldiers/ Save to Pocket
Congress launches an investigation into the Osprey program after the deadly crash in Japan
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — A congressional oversight committee has launched an investigation into the V-22 Osprey program following a deadly crash in Japan which killed eight Air Force special operations service members.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/nation-world-news/congress-launches-an-investigation-into-the-osprey-program-after-the-deadly-crash-in-japan/ Save to Pocket
The Island Intelligencer: A very Langley Christmas
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Every Dec. 25, the West pauses, be it for faith or cultural reasons, to keep Christmas traditions. Ever wondered how this plays out at CIA headquarters or among its officers abroad? Pull a stool up to the hearth and let me regale you with tales of the Spy of Christmas Past, for espionage and Noël share more in common than surreptitious entries. [Lays finger aside nose, eyes twinkling, winks.]</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/opinion/the-island-intelligencer-a-very-langley-christmas/ Save to Pocket
Blinken gets it exactly right: The secretary of state’s eloquent case against Hamas
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In this space we do the talking, about what the Daily News deems important and worthy. But today we are giving a good chunk of our space to Secretary of State Tony Blinken. America’s top diplomat gave his year-end press conference Wednesday before he left for another trip to the Mideast for the Israel-Hamas war that the terror gang launched from Gaza on Oct. 7.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/opinion/blinken-gets-it-exactly-right-the-secretary-of-states-eloquent-case-against-hamas/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for December 24
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Debra Elaine Durning, 68, of Holualoa died Dec. 9 in Holualoa. Born in Saugus, Mass., she was a warranty administrator for an automobile company. Private services. Online condolences: ballardfamilymortuaries.com. Survived by sons, Dylan (Lindsey Kennel) Durning of Kailua-Kona and Aaron Durning of Ipswich , Mass.; sister, Patricis (Tommy) Lamy of Otisfield, Maine. Arrangements by Ballard Family Mortuary-Kona.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/obituaries/obituaries-for-december-24-9/ Save to Pocket
Your Views for December 24
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Three points
regarding abortion</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/opinion/your-views-for-december-24-6/ Save to Pocket
In Austin, Texas, appreciating the luxury tucked into the weirdness
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>AUSTIN, Texas — Business travel being to travel what business writing is to literature, drawing a bit of elegance out of a business trip can sometimes take effort. Now that several of us had moved on to Austin after all useful nuggets had been mined from the conference we had been attending in Houston, key diffewwrences quickly made themselves known between this, the state capital, and the purposefully commercial city we had just vacated. “Keep Austin Weird” is the official slogan of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, and the city seems to be on a collective mission to reach that sensible objective.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/features/in-austin-texas-appreciating-the-luxury-tucked-into-the-weirdness/ Save to Pocket
Volcano Watch: A pupu platter of earthquakes
date: 2023-12-24, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Apupu platter is an assortment of appetizers commonly served at social gatherings in Hawaii. During one week in December 2023, island of Hawaii residents and visitors were treated to an assortment of earthquakes resulting from a variety of different geologic processes, like a pupu platter of earthquakes!</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2023/12/24/community/volcano-watch-a-pupu-platter-of-earthquakes/ Save to Pocket
ESA’s Mars Express continues to avoid retirement home
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Another chunk of science, another mission extension. But probe is running on fumes
Space Extenders II The Mars Express recorded the highest clouds ever seen above the surface of a planet, as well as water ice on Mars’ polar caps. And although the veteran spacecraft is now seemingly entering the final phase of its journey, this good thing isn’t coming to an end just yet.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/24/mars_express_mission_extension/ Save to Pocket
US Investors See Value in Israeli Tech Firms Despite War
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
HERZLIYA, Israel — Nearly 7,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon, venture capitalist George Djuric said he was compelled to visit Israel during the country’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas and to pledge support for the high-tech sector.
Djuric, chief technology officer at yVentures who arrived in the United States as a 3-year-old refugee from Bosnia during the Bosnian war in the mid-1990s, this week joined some 70 other U.S. tech executives and investors on a trip to Israel.
“Coming here is a chance to stand in solidarity with Israel and also support the tech ecosystem, which is the world’s second largest after Silicon Valley,” he said. “As a technology fund, it makes sense for us to be here.”
Although not Jewish, Djuric said he was drawn to Israel by the state’s resiliency and as someone whose family’s views were shaped by war.
“I was horrified by what happened on October 7 and I was equally horrified the next day when I saw people demonstrating in support of what happened,” he said, referring to the October 7 attack on Israel launched by Hamas.
Investors and analysts had predicted the conflict with the Palestinians would derail a fragile recovery in high-tech, which accounts for more than half of Israel’s exports and nearly a fifth of its overall economic output.
Funding had already dropped sharply amid a global slowdown and a divisive government judicial overhaul when the war took its toll on the economy. Growth, on pace for a 3.4% clip this year, has fallen to an expected 2% with the outlook at least as grim.
At least 15% of the tech workforce has been called up for military reserve duty.
Yet, even as the war rages, tech funding deals are still getting done, albeit at a slower pace. Startups have raised more than $6 billion in 2023 compared with $16 billion in 2022.
On Tuesday, ScaleOps, a startup specializing in cloud resource management, announced a $21.5 million funding round. Last week, cyber startup Zero Networks, which prevents attackers from spreading in corporate networks, raised $20 million.
‘Long-term bullish on Israel’
Ron Miasnik, of Bain Capital Ventures who co-organized the delegation, said he had expected Israeli startups to go on drawing large sums. He said he believed the country’s economy would ultimately bounce back.
“It doesn’t matter to us whether the economic rebound takes three months, six months, nine months or 12 months,” he said. “We’re long-term bullish on Israel.”
Miasnik said the idea of the trip emerged from watching other solidarity groups, such as religious ones. “We felt the (U.S.) tech and the venture capital community, which is so heavily integrated within Israel, was missing,” he said.
Initially, it was supposed to be just 15 people but, he said, hundreds of people showed interest. They included CEOs and senior executives of U.S.-based tech and VC funds from Meetup.com, Apollo, TPG, Susquehanna Growth Equity, Mastercard, John Deere and Harvard University’s endowment investment fund.
In addition to meeting local investors and startups, they met Israeli leaders and families of hostages still held captive in Gaza and toured border towns hit by the October 7 attack.
Bain has a number of investments in Israel, including Redis Labs, in which the fund has invested more than $100 million, and cybersecurity firm Armis, and Miasnik said he was seeking to add more Israeli cybersecurity startups to its portfolio.
Similarly, Danny Schultz, managing director of New York-based Gotham Ventures said he was looking to invest in 10 to 20 Israeli growth stage startups, mainly in fintech, in the next three to five years.
“At the point that Israeli CEOs need more capital, they also need relationships across the ocean in the U.S. and Europe to really help build their companies,” he said.
Joy Marcus co-founded a new VC fund called The 98 and only invests in “women-led technology businesses that are disrupting industry.”
“I am tortured by the war. … So I am here to support Israel first and foremost,” she said. “And I am also very interested in investing in some Israeli women.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-investors-see-value-in-israeli-tech-firms-despite-war-/7410518.html Save to Pocket
Nevada Tribe Says Coalitions, Not Lawsuits, Will Protect Sacred Sites as US Advances Energy Agenda
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
RENO, NEV. — The room was packed with Native American leaders from across the United States, all invited to Washington to hear from federal officials about President Joe Biden’s accomplishments and new policy directives aimed at improving relationships and protecting sacred sites.
Arlan Melendez was not among them.
The longtime chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony convened his own meeting 4,023 kilometers away. He wanted to show his community would find another way to fight the U.S. government’s approval of a massive lithium mine at the site where more than two dozen of their Paiute and Shoshone ancestors were massacred in 1865.
Opposed by government lawyers at every legal turn, Melendez said another arduous appeal would not save sacred sites from being desecrated.
“We’re not giving up the fight, but we are changing our strategy,” Melendez said.
That shift for the Nevada tribe comes as Biden and other top federal officials double down on their vows to do a better job of working with Native American leaders on everything from making federal funding more accessible to incorporating tribal voices into land preservation efforts and resource management planning.
The administration also has touted more spending on infrastructure and health care across Indian Country.
Many tribes have benefited, including those who led campaigns to establish new national monuments in Utah and Arizona. In New Mexico, pueblos have succeeded in getting the Interior Department to ban new oil and natural gas development on hundreds of square miles of federal land for 20 years to protect culturally significant areas.
But the colony in Reno and others like the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona say promises of more cooperation ring hollow when it comes to high-stakes battles over multibillion-dollar “green energy” projects. Some tribal leaders have said consultation resulted in little more than listening sessions, with federal officials not incorporating tribal comments into the decision making.
Rather than pursue its claims in court that the federal government failed to engage in meaningful consultation regarding the lithium mine at Thacker Pass, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony will focus on organizing a broad coalition to build public support for sacred places.
Tribal members are concerned other culturally significant areas will end up in the path of a modern-day Gold Rush that has companies scouting for lithium and other materials needed to meet Biden’s clean energy agenda.
Melendez was among those thrilled when Biden appointed Deb Haaland to lead the Interior Department. A member of Laguna Pueblo, Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.
Melendez, a former member of the U.S. Human Rights Commission who has led his colony for 32 years, said he understands the difficulty of navigating the electoral landscape in a western swing state where the mining industry’s political clout is second only to the power wielded by casinos.
Still, he was disappointed Haaland declined an invitation to visit the massacre site.
“The largest lithium project in the United States and they don’t even have the time to come out here and meet with the tribal nations in the state of Nevada,” he said.
The tribe’s lawyer, Will Falk, urged other tribes to resist “tricking ourselves into believing that just because the first Native American secretary of Interior is in office that she actually cares about protecting sacred sites.”
Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz didn’t respond directly to that criticism but said in an email to The Associated Press that there has been “significant communications and partnership with tribes in Nevada.”
The federal government in early December published new guidance for dealing with sacred sites. While Falk and others are skeptical, they acknowledged the document speaks to concerns tribes have raised for decades.
Among other things, the guidance says federal agencies should involve tribes as early as possible when planning projects to identify potential impacts to sacred sites and to determine whether mitigation measures can allay concerns. Agencies also should consult with tribes that attach significance to the project area, regardless of where they are located.
It also suggests Indigenous knowledge should be on equal footing with other sciences and incorporated into the federal decision-making process. That knowledge can consist of practices, cultural beliefs and oral and written histories that tribes have developed over many generations.
Justin C. Ahasteen, executive director of the Navajo Nation Washington (D.C.) Office, said the new guidance appears to have incorporated some of the recommendations made by tribal leaders but that it could have gone further.
“If this guidebook increases transparency in the consultation process, we will take it as a win,” Ahasteen said. “But ultimately the thing we all seek is for the federal government to acknowledge the necessity of tribal consent before changing rules that affect tribes.”
The problem, Falk said, is none of it is legally binding.
“These kinds of documents function more as pacifying propaganda,” he said.
Western Shoshone Defense Project Director Fermina Stevens said the changes were “more ‘lip service’ for the government to deal with the ‘Indian problem’ in this new day and age of mineral extraction.”
Morgan Rodman, executive director of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, disagrees. He said the guidance is intended to serve as a springboard to improve engagement with tribes and that the administration will be aggressive with training to make sure employees have an understanding of what sacred sites are.
“While change certainly doesn’t happen overnight, it’s part of a continuum of important policy statements — part of the momentum we’ve been building the last three years,” he said in an interview.
Rodman made clear he wasn’t referencing Thacker Pass, but some directives he highlighted have been key points of contention in that case.
U.S. Judge Miranda Du in Reno twice ruled the tribe failed to prove the massacre occurred on the specific grounds of the mining project, or that far-flung tribes had a legal stake in the fight. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her earlier ruling in July.
The tribe says the government has ignored evidence that the land they consider sacred isn’t limited to a specific site where the U.S. Calvary first attacked men, women and children as they slept.
They cited newspaper accounts, diaries and a government surveyor’s report documenting human skulls discovered along a miles-long escape route crossing the mine site where troops killed and scalped those who tried to flee.
Tribal historic preservation officer Michon Eben said the whole stretch is an unmarked burial ground.
Melendez said he’s pleased Biden has promised to enhance consultation.
But if federal agencies don’t follow through, he said, “Well, it’s just words that really don’t mean anything to us.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/nevada-tribe-says-coalitions-not-lawsuits-will-protect-sacred-sites-as-us-advances-energy-agenda-/7410515.html Save to Pocket
David Hegg | What 2 Nights Say of Us
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
By David Hegg This morning finds our society at the start of two important nights. Just seven days separate them, but how we see them couldn’t be more different. Today we celebrate Christmas Eve, with its candles, carols and reflections on that night outside Bethlehem when Jesus’ birth was announced. And in seven days, most […]
The post David Hegg | What 2 Nights Say of Us appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/david-hegg-what-2-nights-say-of-us/ Save to Pocket
Diana Sevanian | What to Give?
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Signal
That’s a question that many adult children and grandkids consider when thinking about the family elders on their holiday gift lists. Here are some sincere suggestions from someone who works in support services, which helps to provide care management and advocacy to our community’s more challenged seniors. Many aged women and men live alone, are […]
The post Diana Sevanian | What to Give? appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2023/12/diana-sevanian-what-to-give/ Save to Pocket
Bidens Plan to Spend Christmas at Camp David, New Year’s in St. Croix
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/bidens-plan-to-spend-christmas-at-camp-david-new-year-s-in-st-croix-/7410514.html Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Dec. 24)
date: 2023-12-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1965 – Signal newspaper owner Scott Newhall shows up for a duel (of words) with rival Canyon Country newspaper publisher Art Evans, who no-shows and folds his paper soon after. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-dec-24/ Save to Pocket
Matadors’ comeback falls short, lose eighth straight
date: 2023-12-24, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
With conference play around the corner, the Matadors (2-8) tried to snap their seven-game losing streak against the Loyola Marymount Lions (5-6), but came up just short and fell 77-74. It was a pretty balanced offensive attack for CSUN. Six Matadors finished with at least eight points, led by forward Talo Li-Uperesa, who put up…
https://sundial.csun.edu/177741/sports/matadors-comeback-falls-short-lose-eighth-straight/ Save to Pocket
December 23, 2023
date: 2023-12-24, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
On this day in December 1783, General George Washington stood in front of the Confederation Congress, meeting in the senate chamber of the Maryland State House, to resign his wartime commission. Negotiators had signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War on September 3, 1783, and once the British troops had withdrawn from New York City, Washington believed his job was done.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-23-2023 Save to Pocket
The Talk Show: ‘Error -37’
date: 2023-12-24, updated: 2023-12-24, from: Daring Fireball
https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2023/12/23/ep-391 Save to Pocket
PF 2020!
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
Happy new year to everyone!
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0443_PF_2020 Save to Pocket
January 1st
date: 2023-12-24, 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/20231224-0443_January_1st Save to Pocket
Alarm clock failure
date: 2023-12-24, 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/20231224-0443_Alarm_clock_failure Save to Pocket
reMarkable and WWW
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
I still don’t understand such things: the reMarkable {sup}1{/sup} they developed a Chrome add-on which makes possible to save WWW pages to PDF (and possibly to upload them to the reMarkable tablet wrough their cloud and tablet’s WiFi).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0442_reMarkable_and_WWW Save to Pocket
reMarkable2
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
I have got the reMarkable e-paper tablet for work. I saw many positive reviews, many negative reviews and some neutral ones. So I wasn’t sure how good the device will be for me.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0442_reMarkable2 Save to Pocket
m68k->PPC->x86->ARM?
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
Please note that I’m trying to make fun. Don’t take this post too seriously.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0442_m68k_PPC_x86_ARM Save to Pocket
lynx –nocolor
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
I really dislike how the Lynx WWW browser looks on some modern systems. On my SGI it was OK - it simply respected IRIS terminal colors. On modern systems in seems to be full of colors with gray background. Text colors are quite nice but I have disliked the gray background. I have wished to have or black one or transparent one (it a terminal emulator supports transparency).
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0442_lynx_nocolor Save to Pocket
iMac G5 keyboard
date: 2023-12-24, from: Jirka’s blog
Today my wife requested new keyboard. I thought that the Apple white-transparent keyboard is too inferior to her IBM laptop keyboard. Well, it is. So I have replaced it by spare HP one. A HP keyboard which was a part of the PA-RISC Visualize workstation (the workstation itself does not work, unfortunately). And she is happy with it.
http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20231224-0442_iMac_G5_keyboard Save to Pocket
Haitian Migrants in US Place Their Hopes on Hard Work, Helping Hands
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
BOSTON — When Ernseau Admettre decided to leave Haiti and head north with his young family in tow, very little was guaranteed.
But the situation in his homeland, beset by poverty and gang violence, had grown so dire that a risky passage to and then across the United States’ Southern border offered a kind of hope he said he could never find by staying put.
Admettre discovered Boston through the internet and set his sights on Massachusetts. The trip took the family through several countries including the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Mexico.
“We’re going through a very tragic moment in our country. We have no safety. We cannot definitely have all our needs met in Haiti,” Admettre said through a translator Friday. “Leaving Haiti was the best solution to survive.”
The Admettres — Ernseau, 43; his wife, Jimene, 36: and their children Elionai, 6, and Gabyana, 2 months — eventually arrived at the Boston International Airport right as winter temperatures were settling in.
Ernseau Admettre said he was lucky to be discovered by volunteers working to fill gaps in the shelter system as his family was being kicked out of the airport. He viewed those volunteers as angels sent by God.
“I don’t have any family who lives in the United States,” he said. “We didn’t expect to receive this welcome or experience because we have no family ties here.”
The family is now one of eight that have found shelter at a rectory building at the Bethel AME Church in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The families — which include 13 children ranging from infants to a 15-year-old — total 28 individuals, according to Geralde Gabeau, executive director of the Immigrant Family Services Institute in Boston, which is helping provide services.
Admettre said he has received a work authorization and hopes to start bringing in money so his family can move out of the shelter and into an apartment. He said he has studied business administration and computer sciences and is also a tailor.
Gabeau said the migrants are determined to work hard to find their way in the country. She said they are focused first on getting authorized to work. The organization hopes to bring in employers in January to help those living in the rectory find a way to jobs and more permanent homes.
For now, they live and cook together and take English and computer classes.
“They live as a community,” Gabeau said, pointing to big pots of vegetables and meat and Haitian rice on the kitchen stove.
Demand for shelter has increased as the state struggles to find newly arriving migrants places to stay after hitting a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families in its emergency homeless shelter system last month.
As of Thursday, there were more than 350 families on the state waiting list hoping to find a spot in the system. The state planned to open a former courthouse in Cambridge as an overnight overflow site to accommodate some of them.
The space can fit up to 70 families with cots and limited amenities and will only be used in the evening and overnight hours, according to Scott Rice, director general of Massachusetts Emergency Assistance. The site is only open to families who have been assessed at a state intake site and determined to be eligible for emergency assistance.
Rice said the facility will give eligible families a warm, safe place to sleep until a shelter unit becomes available.
“We encourage community organizations to reach out to us with any daytime programs and resources they are able to provide to families in need,” Rice said in a statement.
https://www.voanews.com/a/haitian-migrants-in-us-place-their-hopes-on-hard-work-helping-hands-/7410462.html Save to Pocket
Contrary to Politicians’ Claims, Offshore Wind Farms Don’t Kill Whales
date: 2023-12-24, from: VOA News USA
PORTLAND, Maine — Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy.
In recent months, conservatives including former President Donald Trump have claimed construction of offshore wind turbines is killing the giant animals.
Scientists say there is no credible evidence linking offshore wind farms to whale deaths. But that hasn’t stopped conservative groups and ad hoc “not in my back yard”-style anti-development groups from making the connection.
The Associated Press sorts fact from fiction when it comes to whales and wind power as the rare North Atlantic right whale’s migration season gets under way:
Where are US offshore wind projects?
To date, two commercial offshore wind farms are under construction in the United States. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource are building South Fork Wind, located 56 kilometers east of Montauk Point, New York. Ørsted announced December 7 that the first of its 12 turbines there is now sending electricity onto the grid. Vineyard Wind is building a 62-turbine wind farm 24 kilometers off Massachusetts. Both plan to open by early next year, and other large offshore wind projects are obtaining permits.
There are also two pilot projects — five turbines off Rhode Island and two off Virginia. The Biden administration aims to power 10 million homes with offshore wind by 2030 — a key piece of its climate goals.
Lawsuits from community groups delayed Ørsted’s two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey, and the company recently announced it’s canceling those projects. That decision was based on their economic viability and had nothing to do with offshore wind opposition in New Jersey, said David Hardy, group executive vice president and CEO Americas at Ørsted.
Are US wind farms causing whale deaths?
Experts say there’s no evidence that limited wind farm construction on the Atlantic Coast has directly resulted in any whale deaths, despite politically motivated statements suggesting a link.
Rumors began to swirl after 2016, when an unusual number of whales started to be found dead or stranded on New England beaches — a trend that predates major offshore wind farm construction that began this year.
“With whale strandings along the Northeast earlier this year in places like New Jersey, the reality is that it’s not from offshore wind,” said Aaron Rice, a marine biologist at Cornell University.
In answering questions about whale strandings earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that around 40% of recovered whale carcasses showed evidence of death from fishing gear entanglement or vessel strikes. The others could not be linked to a specific cause.
In Europe, where offshore wind has been developed for more than three decades, national agencies also have not found causal links between wind farms and whale deaths.
Meanwhile, U.S. scientists are collecting data near offshore wind farms to monitor any possible impacts short of fatality, such as altered behavior or changes to migration routes. This research is still in preliminary stages, said Doug Nowacek, a marine biologist at Duke University who helped put trackers on whales this summer off Massachusetts as part of a five-year federally-funded study.
What real dangers do whales face?
While the exact causes of recent whale strandings along the East Coast mostly are not known, whales do face dangers from human activities.
The biggest threats are shipping collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, according to scientists and federal authorities. Underwater noise pollution is another concern, they say.
Some advocates for protecting whales have characterized the push against offshore wind power as a distraction from real issues. “It seems that this is being used in an opportunistic way by anti-wind interests,” said Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at the environmental group Oceana.
Since 2016, humpback whales have been dying at an advanced rate — one the federal government terms an “unusual mortality event.” The much rarer North Atlantic right whale with fewer than 360 on Earth is also experiencing an unusual mortality event.
NOAA reports 83 whales have died off the East Coast since December 1, 2022. Roughly half were humpbacks between Massachusetts and North Carolina, and two were critically-endangered right whales in North Carolina and Virginia.
What’s being done to protect whales near wind farms?
Federal law sets limits on human-generated sound underwater for continuous noise and short sudden bursts.
Marine construction projects can reduce possible impact on marine mammals, including by pausing construction during migration seasons, using “bubble curtains” to contain sound from pile-driving and stationing trained observers with binoculars on ships to look for marine mammals.
Offshore wind developers are taking steps required by regulators, but also are voluntarily adopting measures to ensure marine mammals are not harmed. Ørsted won’t drive piles between December 1 and April 30, when whales are on the move. It uses additional lookout vehicles, encircles monopiles for turbines with bubble curtains and does underwater acoustic monitoring.
Equinor plans to use acoustic monitoring and infrared cameras to detect whales when it starts developing two lease areas off Long Island with its partner bp. The company says it will limit pile driving to months when right whales are least likely to be present.
Why are some people alleging wind farms cause whale deaths?
One vocal opponent of offshore wind is the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the foundation’s center for energy, climate and environment, wrote in November that Ørsted’s scrapped New Jersey wind project was “unsightly” and a threat to wildlife.
“Whales and birds … stand to gain if offshore wind abandons the Garden State,” Furchtgott-Roth wrote.
Ørsted’s Hardy said claims about wind farms killing whales are “not scientific” but “very much politically-driven misinformation.”
The Heartland Institute, another conservative public policy group, has also pushed back at offshore wind projects. H. Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the institute, said the wind projects are subject to unfairly lax regulatory restrictions compared to fossil fuel projects.
“We think it should be held to the same standard that any oil and gas project would be,” Burnett said.
Smaller anti-wind groups have also organized in coastal communities to oppose projects they feel jeopardize water views, coastal industries and recreation.
What’s the impact of misinformation?
Offshore wind opponents are using unsupported claims about harm to whales to try to stop projects, with some of the loudest opposition centered in New Jersey.
Misinformation can cause angst in coastal communities where developers need to build shoreside infrastructure to operate a wind farm.
Republican politicians have taken opposition from shore towns and community groups seriously. GOP congressmen from New Jersey, Maryland and Arizona got the U.S. Government Accountability Office to open an investigation into the offshore wind industry’s impacts on commercial fishing and marine life and want a moratorium on projects.
New Jersey’s Democrat-controlled Legislature remains steadfastly behind the industry.
Are whales affected by climate change?
One reason whale advocates push for renewable energy is that they say climate change is harming the animals — and less reliance on fossil fuels would help solve that problem.
Scientists say global warming has caused the right whale’s preferred food — tiny crustaceans — to move as waters have warmed.
That means the whales have strayed from protected areas of ocean in search of food, leaving them vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglements. Large whales play a vitally important role in the ecosystem by storing carbon, so some scientists say they are also part of the solution to climate change.
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date: 2023-12-24, from: Tilde.news
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Full Circle Weekly News 345
date: 2023-12-24, from: Full Circle Magazine
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