News gathered 2024-01-15
(date: 2024-01-15 11:57:10)
Vote now: Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Make your choice for the top performance among girls high school athletes from Jan. 7-13.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/vote-now-bay-area-news-group-girls-athlete-of-the-week-98/ Save to Pocket
Apple removing blood-ox tool to avoid watch ban, Masimo says
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Irvine company said US Customs and Border Protection approved the change Jan. 12.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/apple-removing-blood-ox-tool-to-avoid-ban-masimo-says/ Save to Pocket
Missed opportunties cost Sharks in loss to Buffalo Sabres
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Sharks unable to respond after allowing two second period goals to the Buffalo Sabres
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/missed-opportunties-cost-sharks-in-loss-to-buffalo-sabres/ Save to Pocket
Thousands of Juniper Networks devices vulnerable to critical RCE bug
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Yet more support for the argument to adopt memory-safe languages
More than 11,500 Juniper Networks devices are exposed to a new remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, and infosec researchers are pressing admins to urgently apply the patches.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/juniper_networks_rce_flaw/ Save to Pocket
Sketchfest returns to SF with another packed lineup
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Performing comedians love the annual 2½-week festival of laughs in S.F. almost as much as the fans do.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/sketchfest-returns-to-sf-with-another-packed-lineup/ Save to Pocket
Apple Updates Magic Keyboard Firmware to Block Bluetooth Monitoring
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
Those who use Apple’s Magic Keyboard will automatically receive a firmware update that prevents an attacker with physical access from monitoring Bluetooth traffic. It’s not something to worry about but is an indication of the kind of attacks possible today.
https://tidbits.com/2024/01/15/apple-updates-magic-keyboard-firmware-to-block-bluetooth-monitoring/ Save to Pocket
Ships, Aircraft Search for Missing Navy Seals After Mission to Seize Iranian Missile Parts
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — U.S. Navy ships and aircraft combed areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing U.S. Navy SEALs on Monday as details emerged about their mission to board and take over a vessel carrying components for medium-range Iranian ballistic missiles headed for Somalia, a U.S. defense official said Monday.
The official said crew on the dhow, which did not have a country flag, were planning to transfer the missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another boat off the coast of Somalia. The Navy recognized the boat as one with a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public.
The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller, a Navy expeditionary sea base vessel, and traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat. As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8 p.m. local time, one SEAL got knocked off by high waves and a teammate went in after him. Both are missing.
The team boarding the small boat was facing about a dozen crew members. The crew members, who were taken into custody, had no paperwork, which allowed a search of the vessel. The weapons were confiscated, and the boat was sunk, a routine procedure that usually involves blowing open holes in the hull.
U.S. officials have said that the waters in the Gulf of Aden are warm, and Navy SEALs are trained for such emergencies. On Monday, Navy ships, helicopters and drones were involved in the ongoing search.
The U.S. Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions in the region, also intercepting weapons on ships that were bound for Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Officials have said that the SEAL mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing U.S. and international mission to provide protection to commercial vessels in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes that the United States and the United Kingdom have conducted in Yemen over the past two days.
https://www.voanews.com/a/ships-aircraft-search-for-missing-navy-seals-after-mission-to-seize-iranian-missile-parts/7440990.html Save to Pocket
‘Days of Our Lives’ star Bill Hayes dies at 98; played Doug Williams since 1970
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
In 1955, he had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts with “The Legend of Davy Crockett.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/days-of-our-lives-star-bill-hayes-dies-at-98-played-doug-williams-since-1970/ Save to Pocket
Man dies weeks after he was hit by a car in San Jose
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
A man died on Saturday from injuries sustained in a late-December traffic collision in San Jose, according to police.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/man-dies-weeks-after-he-was-hit-by-a-car-in-san-jose/ Save to Pocket
Boeing steps up quality inspections on 737 Max after blowout
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
It’s also opening its factories to airline customers as it seeks to improve quality and bolster confidence in its 737 Max following a near-disaster on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/boeing-steps-up-inspections-to-review-quality-after-blowout/ Save to Pocket
Mammography AI can cost patients extra. Is it worth it?
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The software can store and evaluate large datasets of images and identify patterns and abnormalities that human radiologists might miss.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/mammography-ai-can-cost-patients-extra-is-it-worth-it/ Save to Pocket
Poll shows Trump gaining support among California Republicans for presidential nod
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Support among California Republicans for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid has risen to 66% among likely Republican voters, up from 57% last fall, with none of his Republican rivals close.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/poll-shows-trump-gaining-support-among-california-republicans-for-presidential-nod/ Save to Pocket
Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week
date: 2024-01-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Make your choice for the top performance among boys high school athletes from Jan. 8-13.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/15/vote-now-bay-area-news-group-boys-athlete-of-the-week-101/ Save to Pocket
Jan. 26: Submissions Deadline for Hart District Talent Show
date: 2024-01-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The WiSH Education Foundation is proud to announce the first district-wide talent show for all students, teachers and administrators from all grades in the William S. Hart Union High School District
https://scvnews.com/jan-26-submissions-deadline-for-hart-district-talent-show/ Save to Pocket
Nurse practitioner Carissa Bencito joins Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care
date: 2024-01-15, from: The Signal
News release Carissa Bencito, a certified family nurse practitioner, has joined Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care. Bencito will see patients at the primary care practice on the Henry Mayo Campus and at the recently opened Henry Mayo Office in the Student Health Center on the campus of California Institute of the Arts. “We are […]
The post Nurse practitioner Carissa Bencito joins Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/nurse-practitioner-carissa-bencito-joins-henry-mayo-newhall-primary-care/ Save to Pocket
Logic Pro 10.8.1
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/logic-pro-x-10-8-1/ Save to Pocket
Google is no longer bringing the full Chrome browser to Fuchsia
date: 2024-01-15, from: OS News
In contrast to that minimal experience, Google was seemingly working to bring the full might of Chrome to Fuchsia. To observers, this was yet another signal that Google intended for Fuchsia to grow beyond the smart home and serve as a full desktop operating system. After all, what good is a laptop or desktop without a web browser? Fans of the Fuchsia project have anticipated its eventual expansion to desktop since Fuchsia was first shown to run on Google’s Pixelbook hardware. However, in the intervening time – a period that also saw significant layoffs in the Fuchsia division – it seems that Google has since shifted Fuchsia in a different direction. The clearest evidence of that move comes from a Chromium code change (and related bug tracker post) published last month declaring that the “Chrome browser on fuchsia won’t be maintained.” ↫ Kyle Bradshaw at 9To5Google Up until a few years ago, every indication was that Google had big plans for Fuchsia, from “workstation” builds to porting Chrome to developers using Fuchsia for Google Meet calls, and lots of other improvements, changes, and additions that pointed squarely at Fuchsia being prepped for use on more than just the Nest Hub devices. We’re about a year later now, and everything has changed. The workstation builds have been discontinued, the Fuchsia team was hit harder by the Google layoffs than other teams, and now the Chrome port has been deprecated. All signs now point to Fuchsia being effectively a dead end beyond its use on Hub devices. At least Google had the decency to kill this before it released it.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138318/google-is-no-longer-bringing-the-full-chrome-browser-to-fuchsia/ Save to Pocket
HazMat Team responds to Chiquita Canyon Landfill
date: 2024-01-15, from: The Signal
L.A. County Fire Department personnel confirmed that firefighters were on the scene and investigating a report of a possible methane leak at Chiquita Canyon Landfill on Monday morning. Officials said the situation is believed to be “static” as of the publication of this story, according to Supervisor Melanie Flores, indicating those on the scene […]
The post HazMat Team responds to Chiquita Canyon Landfill appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/hazmat-team-responds-to-chiquita-canyon-landfill/ Save to Pocket
OmniFocus 4.0.4
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/and-omnifocus-4-0-4/ Save to Pocket
Little Snitch 5.7.3
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/little-snitch-5-7-3/ Save to Pocket
Effortless OpenBSD audio and desktop screen recording guide
date: 2024-01-15, from: OS News
Welcome to my comprehensive guide on recording audio and desktop screen on OpenBSD. In this blog post, I’m excited to share my personal setup and approach to efficiently capturing high-quality audio and video on one of the most secure and stable operating systems available. Whether you’re a professional content creator, a developer looking to record tutorials, or simply an OpenBSD enthusiast, this guide is tailored to help you navigate the intricacies of screen recording in this unique environment. Alongside this step-by-step tutorial, I’ve also included a practical YouTube video to demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of the recordings you can achieve with this setup. So, let’s dive in and explore the world of audio and video recording on OpenBSD! ↫ Rafael Sadowski The BSD world needs more of these kinds of guides and articles. I feel like the various BSDs have so much to offer to desktop users, especially now that there is a reasonable contingent of Linux users who aren’t happy with the spread of things like systemd and Wayland, but the fact of the matter is that the BSDs are not as focused on desktop and laptop use as Linux has been. That’s not a dig at BSD developers – BSD focuses on different things – but it does mean that people interested in using BSD on desktops and laptops need a bit more assistance.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138316/effortless-openbsd-audio-and-desktop-screen-recording-guide/ Save to Pocket
Timing 2024.1
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/timing-2024-1/ Save to Pocket
Mimestream 1.2.4
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/mimestream-1-2-4/ Save to Pocket
One killed in Newhall Ranch Road crash
date: 2024-01-15, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies confirmed one person was dead following a single-vehicle collision early Monday morning on Newhall Ranch Road in Valencia. No information regarding the victim’s identity was immediately available, according to station officials. Station officials received a report of a domestic dispute between a man and a woman at around 1:20 […]
The post One killed in Newhall Ranch Road crash appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/one-killed-in-newhall-ranch-road-crash/ Save to Pocket
Jan. 18: SUSD Special Meeting to Review Schools Data
date: 2024-01-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
A special meeting of the Saugus Union School District Governing Board will take place Thursday, Jan. 18, with public session beginning at 5:30 p.m
https://scvnews.com/jan-18-susd-special-meeting-to-review-schools-data/ Save to Pocket
Quicken 7.5
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/quicken-7-5/ Save to Pocket
Arc 1.25.1
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/arc-1-25-1/ Save to Pocket
Crippled Peregrine lunar lander set for fiery return to Earth in matter of days
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Doing science and still alive … but not for long
Astrobotic has confirmed that the doomed Peregrine Lunar Lander’s mission will end on Thursday, January 18 with the spacecraft burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/peregrine_lunar_lander_return/ Save to Pocket
Trump Poised for Big Win in Iowa Republican Presidential Caucuses
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-poised-for-big-win-in-iowa-republican-presidential-caucuses/7440860.html Save to Pocket
Do You Use It? Widgets See Middling Adoption
date: 2024-01-15, from: TidBITS blog
The results of our poll asking how frequently you use widgets show that roughly 50% of users never use widgets at all, with 25% to 50% of people using them slightly or heavily. But those numbers are complicated by the availability of three types of widgets on the iPhone and iPad, two on the Mac, and one on the Apple Watch.
https://tidbits.com/2024/01/15/do-you-use-it-widgets-see-middling-adoption/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Musk’s X still has one thing going for it: its users.
https://www.ft.com/content/4078fbf2-f8d0-4884-b445-5cc2de9e5987?accessToken=zwAAAY2m3Li8kc9AePvy-NBIhNO0RVzC3p5ZhwE.MEUCIQCsWPaY8DAU9GKPcI0ozX0lw0QMwQjjr7i06wRpzZqjsgIgBaJxmaCtcyxOombEpXS_3aVMdixAHQeg-k4wihDP-kI&segmentId=b7ab87e8-0810-8fe6-5aca-8db6c070c88d Save to Pocket
How To Watch The Emmys On Monday Night
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The LAist
After a strike-related delay, television’s prestigious awards ceremony will air on Monday.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/how-to-watch-the-emmys Save to Pocket
Patch time: Critical GitLab vulnerability exposes 2FA-less users to account takeovers
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The bug with a perfect 10 severity score has been ripe for exploitation since May
GitLab admins should apply the latest batch of security patches pronto given the new critical account-bypass vulnerability just disclosed.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/critical_gitlab_vulnerability/ Save to Pocket
Jan. 17: Hart District to Discuss 2024/2025 School Year Calendar
date: 2024-01-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The regular meeting of the William S. Hart Union High School District’s Governing Board will be held Wednesday, Jan. 17, beginning with closed session at 6 p.m., followed immediately by open session at 7 p.m
https://scvnews.com/jan-17-hart-district-to-discuss-2024-2025-school-year-calendar/ Save to Pocket
Article Spotlight: Understanding fatality patterns and sex ratios of Brazilian free-tailed bats
date: 2024-01-15, from: PeerJ blog
https://peerj.com/blog/post/115284888751/article-spotlight-understanding-fatality-patterns-and-sex-ratios-of-brazilian-free-tailed-bats-tadarida-brasiliensis-at-wind-energy-facilities-in-western-california-and-texas/ Save to Pocket
US-Owned Vessel Hit by Missile in Gulf of Aden
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
JERUSALEM — A missile fired from Yemen struck a U.S.-owned ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea, officials said.
Suspicion immediately fell on the Iranian-backed Houthis, though the rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the assault on the Gibraltar Eagle. It marked the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday’s attack happened some 110 miles (177 kilometers) miles southeast of Aden. It said the ship’s captain reported that the “port side of vessel hit from above by a missile.”
Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Gibraltar Eagle, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier.
The ship is owned by Eagle Bulk, a Stamford, Connecticut-based firm traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The firm did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Satellite-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed the Gibraltar Eagle had been bound for the Suez Canal, but rapidly turned around at the time of the attack.
The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yemen’s Houthi rebels did not acknowledge any attack, though they have fired missiles previously in that area.
Sunday’s attack toward the American warship also marked the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
It wasn’t presently clear whether the U.S. would retaliate for the latest attacks, though President Joe Biden has said he “will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
The Houthi fire Sunday went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.
The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge that attack either.
The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the U.S. said.
“An anti-ship cruise missile was fired from Iranian-backed Houthi militant areas of Yemen toward USS Laboon,” Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.”
The first day of U.S.-led strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets with cruise missiles and bombs launched by fighter jets, warships and a submarine. Sites hit included weapon depots, radars and command centers, including in remote mountain areas, the U.S. has said.
The Houthis have yet to acknowledge how severe the damage was from the strikes, which they said killed five of their troops and wounded six others.
U.S. forces followed up with a strike Saturday on a Houthi radar site.
Shipping through the Red Sea has slowed over the attacks. The U.S. Navy warned American-flagged vessels Friday to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for 72 hours after the initial airstrikes.
For their part, the Houthis alleged without providing evidence that the U.S. struck a site near Hodeida on Sunday around the same time as the cruise missile fire. The Americans and the United Kingdom did not acknowledge conducting any strike — suggesting the blast may have been from a misfiring Houthi missile.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. But they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.
Even the leader of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, obliquely referenced the widening Houthi attacks on ships in a speech Sunday, saying that “the sea has become a battlefield of missiles, drones and warships” and blaming the U.S. strikes for escalating maritime tensions.
“The most dangerous thing is what the Americans did in the Red Sea, [it] will harm the security of all maritime navigation,” Nasrallah said.
Though the Biden administration and its allies have tried to calm tensions in the Middle East for weeks and prevent any wider conflict, the strikes in the Red Sea threaten to ignite one.
It’s also affecting shipping for the Middle East nation of Qatar, one of the world’s top natural gas suppliers. Three liquid natural gas tankers that had recently loaded in Qatar and were bound for the Suez Canal remain idling off Oman, while another coming from Europe to Qatar remains off Saudi Arabia. QatarEnergy and government officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting, sought to distance itself from the attacks on Houthi sites as it tries to maintain a delicate détente with Iran and a cease-fire it has in Yemen. The Saudi-led, U.S.-backed war in Yemen that began in 2015 has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
The American military did not specifically say the fire targeted the Laboon, following a pattern by the U.S. since the Houthi attacks began. However, U.S. sailors have received combat ribbons for their actions in the Red Sea — something handed out only to those who face active hostilities with an enemy force.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-owned-vessel-hit-by-missile-in-gulf-of-aden-/7440794.html Save to Pocket
DACC Seeking Adoption for Unsocialized Cats
date: 2024-01-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
In October 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control served a search warrant at an animal rescue facility in Littlerock, CA, leading to the rescue of over 200 cats and dogs
https://scvnews.com/dacc-seeking-adoption-for-unsocialized-cats/ Save to Pocket
This handheld game console’s display can rotate for landscape or portrait mode
date: 2024-01-15, from: Liliputing
Classic handheld game consoles came with a variety of screen sizes, resolutions, and aspect ratios. And that can make it difficult to find a modern handheld that has a screen perfectly suited to playing retro games designed for some of those consoles: a modern screen that handles Game Boy titles with ease will display black […]
The post This handheld game console’s display can rotate for landscape or portrait mode appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/this-handheld-game-consoles-display-can-rotate-for-landscape-or-portrait-mode/ Save to Pocket
Reports China’s military is using Baidu’s AI lead to stock plunge
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Web giant retorts that researchers simply used its publicly available APIs
Web giant Baidu’s stock is down 12 percent after a report linked its AI platform with the Chinese military, amid separate claims the Middle Kingdon’s armed forces are sidestepping US sanctions to buy Nvidia GPUs.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/baidu_ai/ Save to Pocket
Pluralistic: Sympathy for the spammer (15 Jan 2024)
date: 2024-01-15, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Sympathy for the spammer: The desperate and credulous are superspreaders in the botshit pandemic. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Sympathy for the spammer (permalink) In any scam, any con, any hustle, the big winners are the people who supply the scammers – not the scammers themselves. The kids selling dope on the corner are making less than minimum wage, while the respectable crime-bosses who own the labs clean up. Desperate “retail investors” who buy shitcoins from Superbowl ads get skinned, while the MBA bros who issue the coins make millions (in real dollars, not crypto). It’s ever been thus. The California gold rush was a con, and nearly everyone who went west went broke. Famously, the only reliable way to cash out on the gold rush was to sell “picks and shovels” to the credulous, doomed and desperate. That’s how Leland Stanford made his fortune, which he funneled into eugenics programs (and founding a university): https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/malcolm-harris/palo-alto/9780316592031/ That means that the people who try to con you are almost always getting conned themselves. Think of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scams. My forthcoming novel The Bezzle opens with a baroque and improbable fast-food Ponzi in the town of Avalon on the island of Catalina, founded by the chicle monopolist William Wrigley Jr: http://thebezzle.org Wrigley found fast food declasse and banned it from the island, a rule that persists to this day. In The Bezzle, the forensic detective Martin Hench uncovers The Fry Guys, an MLM that flash-freezes contraband burgers and fries smuggled on-island from the mainland and sells them to islanders though an “affiliate marketing” scheme that is really about recruiting other affiliate marketers to sell under you. As with every MLM, the value of the burgers and fries sold is dwarfed by the gigantic edifice of finance fraud built around it, with “points” being bought and sold for real cash, which is snaffled up and sucked out of the island by a greedy mainlander who is behind the scheme. A “bezzle” is John Kenneth Galbraith’s term for “the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it.” In every scam, there’s a period where everyone feels richer – but only the scammers are actually cleaning up. The wealth of the marks is illusory, but the longer the scammer can preserve the illusion, the more real money the marks will pump into the system. MLMs are particularly ugly, because they target people who are shut out of economic opportunity – women, people of color, working people. These people necessarily rely on social ties for survival, looking after each others’ kids, loaning each other money they can’t afford, sharing what little they have when others have nothing. It’s this social cohesion that MLMs weaponize. Crypto “entrepreneurs” are encouraged to suck in their friends and family by telling them that they’re “building Black wealth.” Working women are exhorted to suck in their bffs by appealing to their sisterhood and the chance for “women to lift each other up.” The “sales people” trying to get you to buy crypto or leggings or supplements are engaged in predatory conduct that will make you financially and socially worse off, wrecking their communities’ finances and shattering the mutual aid survival networks they rely on. But they’re not getting rich on this – they’re also being scammed: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4686468 This really hit home for me in the early 2000s, when I was still editing Boing Boing. We had a submission form where our readers could submit links for us to look at for inclusion on the blog, and it was overwhelmed by spam. We’d add all kinds of antispam to it, and still, we’d get floods of hundreds or even thousands of spam submissions to it. One night, I was lying in my bed in London and watching these spams roll in. They were all for small businesses in the rustbelt, handyman services, lawn-care, odd jobs, that kind of thing. They were 10 million miles from the kind of thing we’d ever post about on Boing Boing. They were coming in so thickly that I literally couldn’t finish downloading my email – the POP session was dropping before I could get all the mail in the spool. I had to ssh into my mail server and delete them by hand. It was maddening. Frustrated and furious, I started calling the phone numbers associated with these small businesses, demanding an explanation. I assumed that they’d hired some kind of sleazy marketing service and I wanted to know who it was so I could give them a piece of my mind. But what I discovered when I got through was much weirder. These people had all been laid off from factories that were shuttering due to globalization. As part of their termination packages, their bosses had offered them “retraining” via “courses” in founding their own businesses. The “courses” were the precursors to the current era’s rise-and-grind hustle-culture scams (again, the only people getting rich from that stuff are the people selling the courses – the “students” finish the course poorer). They promised these laid-off workers, who’d given their lives to their former employers before being discarded, that they just needed to pull themselves up by their own boostraps: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/10/declaration-of-interdependence/#solidarity-forever After all, we had the internet now! There were so many new opportunities to be your own boss! The course came with a dreadful build-your-own-website service, complete with an overpriced domain sales portal, and a single form for submitting your new business to “thousands of search engines.” This was nearly 20 years ago, but even then, there was really only one search engine that mattered: Google. The “thousands of search engines” the scammers promised to submit these desperate peoples’ websites to were just submission forms for directories, indexes, blogs, and mailing lists. The number of directories, indexes, blogs and mailing lists that would publish their submissions was either “zero” or “nearly zero.” There was certainly no possibility that anyone at Boing Boing would ever press the wrong key and accidentally write a 500-word blog post about a leaf-raking service in a collapsing deindustrialized exurb in Kentucky or Ohio. The people who were drowning me in spam weren’t the scammers – they were the scammees. But that’s only half the story. Years later, I discovered how our submission form was getting included in this get-rich-quick’s mass-submission system. It was a MLM! Coders in the former Soviet Union were getting work via darknet websites that promised them relative pittances for every submission form they reverse-engineered and submitted. The smart coders didn’t crack the forms directly – they recruited other, less business-savvy coders to do that for them, and then often as not, ripped them off. The scam economy runs on this kind of indirection, where scammees are turned into scammers, who flood useful and productive and nice spaces with useless dross that doesn’t even make them any money. Take the submission queue at Clarkesworld, the great online science fiction magazine, which famously had to close after it was flooded with thousands of junk submission “written” by LLMs: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159286436/ai-chatbot-chatgpt-magazine-clarkesworld-artificial-intelligence There was a zero percent chance that Neil Clarke would accidentally accept one of these submissions. They were uniformly terrible. The people submitting these “stories” weren’t frustrated sf writers who’d discovered a “life hack” that let them turn out more brilliant prose at scale. They were scammers who’d been scammed into thinking that AIs were the key to a life of passive income, a 4-Hour Work-Week powered by an AI-based self-licking ice-cream cone: https://pod.link/1651876897/episode/995c8a778ede17d2d7cff393e5203157 This is absolutely classic passive-income brainworms thinking. “I have a bot that can turn out plausible sentences. I will locate places where sentences can be exchanged for money, aim my bot at it, sit back, and count my winnings.” It’s MBA logic on meth: find a thing people pay for, then, without bothering to understand why they pay for that thing, find a way to generate something like it at scale and bombard them with it. Con artists start by conning themselves, with the idea that “you can’t con an honest man.” But the factor that predicts whether someone is connable isn’t their honesty – it’s their desperation. The kid selling drugs on the corner, the mom desperately DMing her high-school friends to sell them leggings, the cousin who insists that you get in on their shitcoin – they’re all doing it because the system is rigged against them, and getting worse every day. These people reason – correctly – that all the people getting really rich are scamming. If Amazon can make $38b/year selling “ads” that push worse products that cost more to the top of their search results, why should the mere fact that an “opportunity” is obviously predatory and fraudulent disqualify it? https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/29/aethelred-the-unready/#not-one-penny-for-tribute The quest for passive income is really the quest for a “greater fool,” the economist’s term for the person who relieves you of the useless crap you just overpaid for. It rots the mind, atomizes communities, shatters solidarity and breeds cynicism: https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security The rise and rise of botshit cannot be separated from this phenomenon. The botshit in our search-results, our social media feeds, and our in-boxes isn’t making money for the enshittifiers who send it – rather, they are being hustled by someone who’s selling them the “picks and shovels” for the AI gold rush: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/03/botshit-generative-ai-imminent-threat-democracy That’s the true cost of all the automation-driven unemployment criti-hype: while we’re nowhere near a place where bots can steal your job, we’re certainly at the point where your boss can be suckered into firing you and replacing you with a bot that fails at doing your job: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no The manic “entrepreneurs” who’ve been stampeded into panic by the (correct) perception that the economy is a game of musical chairs where the number of chairs is decreasing at breakneck speed are easy marks for the Leland Stanfords of AI, who are creating generational wealth for themselves by promising that their bots will automate away all the tedious work that goes into creating value. Expect a lot more Amazon Marketplace products called “I’m sorry, I cannot fulfil this request as it goes against OpenAI use policy”: https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/12/24036156/openai-policy-amazon-ai-listings No one’s going to buy these products, but the AI picks-and-shovels people will still reap a fortune from the attempt. And because history repeats itself, these newly minted billionaires are continuing Leland Stanford’s love affair with eugenics: https://www.truthdig.com/dig-series/eugenics/ The fact that AI spam doesn’t pay is important to the fortunes of AI companies. Most high-value AI applications are very risk-intolerant (self-driving cars, radiology analysis, etc). An AI tool might help a human perform these tasks more accurately – by warning them of things that they’ve missed – but that’s not how AI will turn a profit. There’s no market for AI that makes your workers cost more but makes them better at their jobs: https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/ Plenty of people think that spam might be the elusive high-value, low-risk AI application. But that’s just not true. The point of AI spam is to get clicks from people who are looking for better content. It’s SEO. No one reads 2,000 words of algorithm-pleasing LLM garbage over an omelette recipe and then subscribes to that site’s feed. And the omelette recipe generates pennies for the spammer that posted it. They are doing massive volume in order to make those pennies into dollars. You don’t make money by posting one spam. If every spammer had to pay the actual recovery costs (energy, chillers, capital amortization, wages) for their query, every AI spam would lose (lots of) money. Hustle culture and passive income are about turning other peoples’ dollars into your dimes. It is a negative-sum activity, a net drain on society. Behind every seemingly successful “passive income” is a con artist who’s getting rich by promising – but not delivering – that elusive passive income, and then blaming the victims for not hustling hard enough: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/12/blueprint-trouble (Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) It’s Time to Nationalize and Then Break Up Boeing https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/its-time-to-nationalize-and-then This day in history (permalink) #15yrsago Wingsuit base jumpers are human flying squirrels — video https://vimeo.com/1778399 #10yrsago RIP, Neal Barret Junior https://locusmag.com/2014/01/neal-barrett-jr-1929-2014/ #10yrsago Patent mess goes to the Supreme Court https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/01/supreme-court-looks-to-rein-in-top-patent-court-with-two-new-cases/ #10yrsago Requirements for DRM in HTML5 are a secret https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/14/requirements-for-drm-in-html5-are-a-secret/ #10yrsago NSA official: mass spying has foiled one (or fewer) plots in its whole history https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/10/nsa-mass-surveillance-powers-john-inglis-npr #5yrsago From the empty, shutdown IRS, automated processes are sending out property seizure notices, and no human can stop them https://theintercept.com/2019/01/14/irs-shutdown-federal-government-shut-down-irs-asset-seizures/ #5yrsago Google Walkout meets #MeToo in a new anti-arbitration campaign https://endforcedarbitration.medium.com/googlers-for-ending-forced-arbitration-launch-public-education-campaign-via-social-media-e46d7608cd0e #5yrsago Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reaches more people on Twitter than the press and establishment Democrats https://www.axios.com/2019/01/13/ocasio-cortez-dominates-twitter #5yrsago In LA, the teachers of America’s largest school district are on strike https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/14/la-teachers-working-class-power-labor-strikes #1yrago Kate Beaton’s “Ducks” https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/14/hark-an-oilpatch/#kate-beaton Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: Currently writing: A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING Picks and Shovels, a Martin Hench noir thriller about the heroic era of the PC. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS JAN 2025 The Bezzle, a Martin Hench noir thriller novel about the prison-tech industry. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS FEB 2024 Vigilant, Little Brother short story about remote invigilation. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Spill, a Little Brother short story about pipeline protests. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Latest podcast: The Bezzle, read by Wil Wheaton (excerpt) https://craphound.com/news/2024/01/14/the-bezzle-read-by-wil-wheaton-excerpt/ Upcoming appearances: Enshittification: The Rise and Fall of Big Tech (Crash Course Economics) https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YsKONp5zRgeF6SVuIOb6hQ#/registration Books & Books (Coral Gables, Florida), Jan 22 https://www.booksandbooks.com/event/in-person-an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ Marshall McLuhan Lecture 2024 (Berlin), Jan 29 https://transmediale.de/en/2024/event/mcluhan-2024 The Lost Cause at Otherland (Berlin), Jan 30 https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/autor-innenabend-mit-cory-doctorow.html Recent appearances: The Lost Cause (The Writer’s Voice) https://www.writersvoice.net/2024/01/cory-doctorow-the-lost-cause/ What the Future will Bring (Homeless Romantic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Vq8qW2A8I Talking “The Lost Cause” with Warren Mosler (MMT Podcast) https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-182-cory-95211955 Latest books: “The Lost Cause:” a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3007/Pre-Order_Signed_Copies%3A_The_Lost_Cause_HB.html#/) “The Internet Con”: A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). “Red Team Blues”: “A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before.” Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. Signed copies at Dark Delicacies (US): and Forbidden Planet (UK): https://forbiddenplanet.com/385004-red-team-blues-signed-edition-hardcover/. “Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin”, on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com “Attack Surface”: The third Little Brother novel, a standalone technothriller for adults. The Washington Post called it “a political cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution and resistance.” Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1840/Available_Now%3A_Attack_Surface.html “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism”: an anti-monopoly pamphlet analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a solution. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59?sk=f6cd10e54e20a07d4c6d0f3ac011af6b) (signed copies: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2024/Available_Now%3A__How_to_Destroy_Surveillance_Capitalism.html) “Little Brother/Homeland”: A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html “Poesy the Monster Slayer” a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed copy here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2682/Corey_Doctorow%3A_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer_HB.html#/. Upcoming books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books, February 2024 Picks and Shovels: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books, February 2025 Unauthorized Bread: a graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2025 This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic “When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla” -Joey “Accordion Guy” DeVilla
https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/15/passive-income-brainworms/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I’m thinking about putting together blogrolls for other people, based on what I think their interests are. As an experiment, I asked ChatGPT to put together a blogroll for “a person like Dave Winer,” and this is what it came up with.
http://scripting.com/2024/01/15.html#a162542 Save to Pocket
GKD Pixel pocket retro game console now available for $90
date: 2024-01-15, from: Liliputing
The GKD Pixel is a handheld game console that looks a bit like a Game Boy… but smaller, and with full color display. First unveiled last year, the GKD Pixel is now available for pre-order for $90, and it’s expected to begin shipping by the end of January. We also now have more details about […]
The post GKD Pixel pocket retro game console now available for $90 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/gkd-pixel-pocket-retro-game-console-now-available-for-90/ Save to Pocket
Robotic Restaurant Opening in California
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
An automated restaurant is opening this month in Pasadena, California. CaliExpress will be serviced by robots that make food in the kitchen and AI that takes clients’ orders. The only job humans will still need to do is assemble and pack the food. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian
https://www.voanews.com/a/robotic-restaurant-opening-in-california/7440606.html Save to Pocket
License Suspension for DUI in Ohio: Duration and Legal Insights
date: 2024-01-15, from: The Signal
When you are arrested for DUI in Ohio, you will face license suspension. However, the duration may vary depending on the factors of your case. Some people only have their driver’s license suspended for 90 days while others may have their driving privileges revoked permanently. The moment you are arrested, you will face an immediate […]
The post <strong>License Suspension for DUI in Ohio: Duration and Legal Insights</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/license-suspension-for-dui-in-ohio-duration-and-legal-insights-2/ Save to Pocket
What are the methods of hand engraving silver jewelry？
date: 2024-01-15, from: The Signal
I think machine carving and hand carving are just different tools, there is no absolute difference in artistic level. Their artistic performance depends on the artistic level of the tool user. A high level of hand engraving is better than a lot of low-level machine engraving. Similarly, a high level of machine carving than a […]
The post <strong>What are the methods of hand engraving silver jewelry？ </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/what-are-the-methods-of-hand-engraving-silver-jewelry%ef%bc%9f/ Save to Pocket
Polls are facing labor shortages too
date: 2024-01-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Roughly 1 million people volunteer to work at polls during presidential elections, but recruiting enough poll workers remains a perennial challenge. Those staff shortages can add to wait times at the polls, which, in turn, can depress voter turnout. Now, as many poll workers grow older and end their service, advocacy groups are pushing for young people to step up. Also: Who says college is just for the young?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/polls-are-facing-labor-shortages-too Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Now the Atlantic is saying we should go to a Trump rally. That is sick. Here’s what I want. I want to go to a pro-democracy event, where we do things like register to vote, and offer community service to each other. We need to belong to something great, not to study the degradation of our country. We also should use our communication systems to spread not only positive messages, but to position Hitler as the ultimate loser. We have to present the counter-argument, in a way that still has a chance of getting through. And I still want us to celebrate the symbols of our fight for freedom, which obviously never ends. That’s why I’m wearing a MLK button, in real life and on my blog.
http://scripting.com/2024/01/15.html#a153832 Save to Pocket
FTC secures first databroker settlement banning sale of sensitive location data
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Also, iOS spyware abused Apple’s own ECC, breach victim says it can’t figure out what hackers took, and some critical vulns
Infosec in brief The US Federal Trade Commission has secured its first data broker settlement agreement, prohibiting X-Mode Social from sharing or selling sensitive location data.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/infosec_in_brief/ Save to Pocket
Ukrainian Refugee Receives Lifesaving Treatment in Colorado
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
In the Western U.S. state of Colorado, doctors are helping a Ukrainian refugee who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer. Svitlana Prystynska has our story from the Rocky Mountain town of Estes Park. Camera: Volodymyr Petruniv
https://www.voanews.com/a/ukrainian-refugee-receives-lifesaving-treatment-in-colorado/7440541.html Save to Pocket
Modern C
date: 2024-01-15, from: Tilde.news
https://gustedt.gitlabpages.inria.fr/modern-c/ Save to Pocket
Eben Upton on Sinclair, Acorn, and the Raspberry Pi
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The future’s bright. The future’s retro
Interview Inspired at least in part by Pi creator Eben Upton’s dalliances with the home computers of the 1980s, the Raspberry Pi casts a long shadow over the retro computing world.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/eben_upton_on_sinclair_acorn/ Save to Pocket
These Product Names Are a Mouthful
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/01/15/these-product-names-are-a-mouthful/ Save to Pocket
looking ahead
date: 2024-01-15, from: Ayjay blog
Lately I’ve been posting in How to Think mode — HTT as the tag here calls it: I’ve been writing about various common-all-too-common errors in reasoning and how they might be avoided. But I’m about to change direction for a while. When I was a young faculty member at Wheaton College, a college that prides […]
https://blog.ayjay.org/looking-ahead-2/ Save to Pocket
A Surgeon General Report Once Cleared the Air About Smoking. Is it Time for One on Vaping?
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
NEW YORK — Sixty years ago, the U.S. surgeon general released a report that settled a longstanding public debate about the dangers of cigarettes and led to huge changes in smoking in America.
Today, some public health experts say a similar report could help clear the air about vaping.
Many U.S. adults believe nicotine vaping is as harmful as — or more dangerous than — cigarette smoking. That’s wrong. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and most scientists agree that, based on available evidence, electronic cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes.
But that doesn’t mean e-cigarettes are harmless either. And public health experts disagree about exactly how harmful, or helpful, the devices are. Clarifying information is urgently needed, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University.
“There have been so many confusing messages about vaping,” Gostin said. “A surgeon general’s report could clear that all up.”
One major obstacle: E-cigarettes haven’t been around long enough for scientists to see if vapers develop problems like lung cancer and heart disease.
“There’s a remarkable lack of evidence,” said Dr. Kelly Henning, who leads the public health program at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Smoking and Vaping
Cigarette smoking has long been described as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the annual toll at 480,000 lives. That count should start to fall around 2030, according to a study published last year by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, thanks in part to a decline in smoking rates that began in the 1960s.
Back then, ashtrays were everywhere and more than 42% of U.S. adults smoked.
On Jan. 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released an authoritative report that said smoking causes illness and death — and the government should do something about it. The report is considered a watershed moment: In the decades that followed, warning labels were put on cigarette packs, cigarette commercials were banned, governments raised tobacco taxes and new restrictions were placed on where people could light up.
By 2022, the adult smoking rate was 11%.
Some experts believe e-cigarettes deserve some of the credit. The devices were billed as a way to help smokers quit, and the FDA has authorized a handful of e-cigarettes as less-harmful alternatives for adult smokers.
Vaping’s popularity exploded in the 2010s, among both adults but and teens. In 2014, e-cigarettes surpassed combustible cigarettes as the tobacco product that youth used the most. By 2019, 28% of high schoolers were vaping.
U.S. health officials sounded alarms, fearing that kids hooked on nicotine would rediscover cigarettes. That hasn’t happened. Last year, the high school smoking rate was less than 2% — far lower than the 35% rate seen about 25 years ago.
“That’s a great public health triumph. It’s an almost unbelievable one,” said Kenneth Warner, who studies tobacco-control policies at the University of Michigan.
“If it weren’t for e-cigarettes, I think we would be hearing the public health community shouting at the top of their lungs about the success of getting kids not to smoke,” he said.
Vaping’s Benefits and Harms
Cigarettes have been called the deadliest consumer product ever invented. Their smoke contains thousands of chemicals, at least 69 of which can cause cancer.
The vapor from e-cigarettes has been estimated to contain far fewer chemicals, and fewer carcinogens. Some toxic substances are present in both, but show up in much lower concentrations in e-cigarette vapor than in cigarette smoke.
Studies have shown that smokers who completely switch to vaping have better lung function and see other health improvements.
“I would much rather see someone vaping than smoking a Marlboro. There is no question in my mind that vaping is safer,” said Donald Shopland, who was a clerk for the committee that generated the 1964 report and is co-author of a forthcoming book on it.
But what about the dangers to people who have never smoked?
There have been 100 to 200 studies looking at vaping, and they are a mixed bag, said Dr. Neal Benowitz, of the University of California, San Francisco, a leading academic voice on nicotine and tobacco addiction. The studies used varying techniques, and many were limited in their ability to separate the effects of vaping from former cigarettes smoking, he said.
“If you look at the research, it’s all over the map,” Warner said.
Studies have detected bronchitis symptoms and aggravation of asthma in young people who vape. Research also indicates vaping also can affect the cells that line the blood vessels and heart, leading to looks for a link to heart disease. Perhaps the most cited concern is nicotine, the stimulant that makes cigarettes and vapes addictive.
Animal studies suggest nicotine exposure in adolescents can affect development of the area of the brain responsible for attention, learning and impulse control. Some research in people suggests a link between vaping and ADHD symptoms, depression and feelings of stress. But experts say that the research is very limited and more work needs to be done.
Meanwhile, there’s not even a clear scientific consensus that vaping is an effective way to quit smoking, with different studies coming up with different conclusions.
Clearing the Air
Last month, the World Health Organization raised alarms about the rapidly growing global markets for electronic cigarettes, noting they come in thousands of flavors that attract young people.
In 2016, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said efforts were needed to prevent and reduce e-cigarette use by children and young adults, saying nicotine in any form is unsafe for kids.
About four months before the report’s release, the FDA began taking steps to regulate e-cigarettes, believing they would benefit smokers.
The agency has authorized several e-cigarettes, but it has refused more than 1 million product marketing applications. Critics say the FDA has been unfair and inconsistent in regulation of products.
Meanwhile, the number of different e-cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has boomed, due largely to disposables imported from China that come in fruit and candy flavors. But vaping by youths has recently been falling: Last year, 10% of high school students surveyed said they had used e-cigarettes in the previous month, down from 14% the year before.
Why the decline? “It’s hard to say what’s working,” said Steven Kelder, a University of Texas researcher.
He mentioned a 2019 outbreak of hospitalizations and deaths among people who were vaping products with THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its high.
The illnesses were traced to a thickening agent used in black market vape cartridges, a substance not used in commercial nicotine e-cigarettes. But it may be a reason many Americans think of e-cigarettes as unsafe, Kelder said.
Sherri Mayfield, a 47-year-old postal worker, remembers the 2019 outbreak and reports of rapid illnesses and deaths in youths. Vaping “absolutely” needs to be studied more, Mayfield said last week while on a cigarette break in New York with some co-workers.
“Cigarettes aren’t safe” but at least it can take them decades to destroy your health, she said.
The surgeon general’s office said in a statement that the 1964 report “catalyzed a 60-year movement to address the harmful effects of smoking” and suggested similar action was needed to address youth vaping.
Murthy’s website, however, currently lists neither vaping nor smoking as a priority issue.
https://www.voanews.com/a/a-surgeon-general-report-once-cleared-the-air-about-smoking-is-it-time-for-one-on-vaping-/7440470.html Save to Pocket
Convict’s probation revoked for refusing drug treatment program
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A man will spend three additional years in prison for not participating in drug treatment.
https://www.postguam.com/news/convict-s-probation-revoked-for-refusing-drug-treatment-program/article_35d3170c-b1d7-11ee-9931-abb4fa764a3a.html Save to Pocket
GFD, GPD bring awareness to an uptick in burning cars
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Fire Department and Guam Police Department hope to bring awareness to the dangers of abandoned car fires.
https://www.postguam.com/news/gfd-gpd-bring-awareness-to-an-uptick-in-burning-cars/article_05bdc3ee-b341-11ee-a35e-9fab66fc7ba1.html Save to Pocket
Lujan seeking to improve transit through Hawaii
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
Sen. Jesse Lujan has written to United Airlines Guam Director Sam Shinohara and United Airlines Global Managing Director Dan Weiss about an opportunity “to improve the travel experience” for Guam passengers transiting through Hawaii, by using an additional baggage recheck…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lujan-seeking-to-improve-transit-through-hawaii/article_b50df850-b34b-11ee-8ea3-0f18691a4e8b.html Save to Pocket
Hearing date set for Guam Host Community Compensation Act
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam Delegate James Moylan now has a definitive date on when the Guam Host Community Compensation Act will be heard by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs - Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/hearing-date-set-for-guam-host-community-compensation-act/article_18a85b14-b345-11ee-a9fd-573fa4a02c6a.html Save to Pocket
Suspect allegedly pinned victim between his car and parked car
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A man was charged with four counts of aggravated assault in connection to a disturbance at a Yigo apartment.
https://www.postguam.com/news/suspect-allegedly-pinned-victim-between-his-car-and-parked-car/article_66a7f97a-b343-11ee-9f39-634d644e93b1.html Save to Pocket
Moylan wants to remove Hawaii travel transiting ‘inconveniences’
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
Del. James Moylan met with United Airlines to discuss “inconveniences” for Guam residents while traveling through Hawaii.
https://www.postguam.com/news/moylan-wants-to-remove-hawaii-travel-transiting-inconveniences/article_2fad5480-b33c-11ee-8806-ffa0c696e4d6.html Save to Pocket
Former resident given 4 years for cryptocurrency Ponzi scam
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A former Guam resident sentenced to serve four years in federal prison for scamming more than 100 investors in a cryptocurrency case.
https://www.postguam.com/news/former-resident-given-4-years-for-cryptocurrency-ponzi-scam/article_04c3eb16-b338-11ee-b928-bb5eb3e98c96.html Save to Pocket
Medicare general enrollment from Jan. 1 through March 31
date: 2024-01-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The Department of Public Health and Social Services, in partnership with the Guam District Office of the Social Security Administration, is reminding the public that the Medicare general enrollment period began on Jan. 1 and will continue through March 31.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/medicare-general-enrollment-from-jan-1-through-march-31/article_03f9dabe-b343-11ee-89cb-f3b3d03dd8b5.html Save to Pocket
Introducing a new maintainer of libtool
date: 2024-01-15, from: Tilde.news
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/libtool/2024-01/msg00002.html Save to Pocket
Big Cloud deploys thousands of GPUs for AI – yet most appear under-utilized
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If AWS, Microsoft, Google were anywhere close to capacity, their revenues would be way higher
Cloud providers have deployed tens of thousands of GPUs and AI accelerators in their race to capitalize on the surge in demand for large language models.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/cloud_providers_gpu_analysis/ Save to Pocket
Iowa Caucuses: What to Watch as Voters Weigh in on the Republican Campaign’s First Contest of 2024
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/7440381.html Save to Pocket
How Ice Age Fossils At La Brea Tar Pits Help Us Understand Our Climate Future
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The LAist
Ongoing research is being used to direct conservation and land management decisions today.
https://laist.com/news/how-to-la/how-ice-age-fossils-at-la-brea-tar-pits-help-us-understand-our-climate-future Save to Pocket
Will Avalanches In California Worsen With Climate Change?
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The LAist
Scientists say predicting the effects of climate change on avalanches is elusive.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/will-avalanches-in-california-worsen-with-climate-change Save to Pocket
Gasoline Is Cheap Right Now — But Charging An EV Is Still Cheaper
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The LAist
The price of home charging an electric vehicle in the U.S., on average, is equivalent to $1.41 per gallon.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/gasoline-is-cheap-right-now-but-charging-an-ev-is-still-cheaper Save to Pocket
Vision Pro’s Long Shadow Over A Boring CES 2024
date: 2024-01-15, from: Om Malik blog
CES 2024, unlike its predecessors, lacked the usual impact because tech companies now prefer their own events for product releases. This was an in-between year, and no one knew what to build, or whom to copy. As is usually the case, the looming shadow of Apple, along with the launch of its Vision Pro device, only highlighted the fact that this …
https://om.co/2024/01/15/vision-pro-looms-over-ces-2024/ Save to Pocket
The state of the unions
date: 2024-01-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated after speaking with striking sanitation workers in Memphis. Strikes have gotten more rare in the decades following King’s murder, but data from Cornell University shows that the number of strikes have been picking up over the last two years. What does that momentum mean for the year ahead? And later, the tide may be turning against noncompete agreements.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-state-of-the-unions Save to Pocket
Microsoft braces for automatic AI takeover with Copilot at Windows startup
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Experiment is limited to the Insider Dev Channel. For now
Microsoft is experimenting with having Copilot open automatically upon Windows startup.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/microsoft_copilot_windows_startup/ Save to Pocket
AI could affect 40% of jobs
date: 2024-01-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: The International Monetary Fund predicts that artificial intelligence is likely to cause disruptions for jobs across the globe — but it won’t have an even effect on workers and global economies. Then, two British brothers are on trial in Switzerland for stealing Ming Dynasty porcelain worth nearly $3.7 million. And the soccer tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations, has kicked off in the Ivory Coast.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/ai-could-affect-40-of-jobs Save to Pocket
Voice Cloning with Very Short Samples
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-05, from: Bruce Schneier blog
New research demonstrates voice cloning, in multiple languages, using samples ranging from one to twelve seconds.
Research paper.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/voice-cloning-with-very-short-samples.html Save to Pocket
Silence, Violence, and the Human Condition
date: 2024-01-15, from: Ayjay blog
I don’t believe that “silence is violence,” ever. And I doubt that anyone else would either, if they were to spend a bit of time thinking about it. People remain silent when they see violence (either threatened or performed) for a wide variety of reasons: sometimes they are indifferent to the sufferings of others, sometimes […]
https://blog.ayjay.org/silence-violence-and-the-human-condition/ Save to Pocket
AI and robots join forces to cook up proteins faster
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Applications across chemistry, energy, and medicine await human-free acceleration
Scientists have developed a platform based around a robot guided by an AI-based computer system, which could slash the time for engineering new proteins from months to weeks.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/ai_robot_protein_engineering/ Save to Pocket
CDW settles in lawsuit with rival reseller over Cisco sales
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Meanwhile pending case from Cisco accuses Dexon of selling counterfeit kit
CDW, the world’s largest reseller, has reached a settlement with relative minnow in an antitrust case involving Cisco.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/cdw_settles_in_lawsuit/ Save to Pocket
It’s an Outrageously Good Time to Buy a Used EV
date: 2024-01-15, from: Heatmap News
The news that Hertz is selling off one-third of its electric vehicle fleet after limited demand and costly repairs means U.S. consumers just got 20,000 more choices when shopping for a used EV. And with prices continuing to fall, now may be one of the best times to snag a pre-owned electric at a nice discount. But buyer beware.
Last year, used car prices finally began to slip after pandemic-induced supply issues. EVs led the way, with pre-owned models down 22% from the previous year, according to Cox Automotive. Tesla saw the biggest price drops, specifically with the average Model 3 going for 21% less than the year before. Hertz’s liquidation of its EVs is certainly going to help keep used prices in check, particularly in oversaturated markets.
“EV inventory is already far outpacing current consumer demand,” says Pat Ryan, Founder and CEO of CoPilot, a AI-driven car shopping assistant. “Used EVs have a market days supply of 51, compared to 43 for used gas-powered cars and 44 for used hybrids.” And it’s even higher for new models.
Ryan suggests the reason for the glut comes down to a few issues: Early adopters and luxury buyers made the switch to electric a few years ago, limiting demand while also keeping a steady supply of pre-owned vehicles hitting the market. There’s also price, charging, and even a partisan divide. And with traditional automakers like GM and Ford overproducing EVs relative to demand (newcomers like Tesla aren’t necessarily seeing similar problems), there are a lot of new and used options to choose from.
But for EV shoppers that might be a “potential advantage,” says Ryan. “Now might be a good time to buy as some dealers will likely be hoping to make a deal in order to move inventory off their lots.”
What kind of deal is the real question. While a $21,500 Tesla Model 3 may seem enticing, the same issues that plagued Hertz – including the high cost of repairs – should give some buyers pause.
“If someone did want to buy a car from Hertz, buyers should be aware that most rental companies fix their vehicles in-house,” says Tom McParland, the owner of Automatch Consulting. “And if the car was involved in an accident that history may never appear on a Carfax.”
While fleet vehicles are relatively well-maintained to ensure they’re on the road and making money, anyone that’s regularly rented a car knows the wear and tear is substantial. The high-tech systems that power modern EVs are one thing, but the most costly item – the battery – is where buyers have to be the most vigilant.
“The big issue with used EVs is that it is currently difficult to accurately ascertain what the remaining battery life is,” says McParland. Because of that, he says, “a lot of the higher-mile cars will end up wholesaled and picked up by those questionable used car lots with ‘guaranteed credit approval.’”
https://heatmap.news/sparks/used-electric-cars-tesla-model-3-hertz-prices Save to Pocket
KDE 6 hits RC-1 while KDE 5 brings fresh spin on OpenBSD
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
New versions and ports of the Plasma desktop ahoy
The KDE dev team has spent many nights working on the first release candidate of the new Qt 6-based release, during which time a tiny, intrepid band of coders was able to bring the current stable release to OpenBSD.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/kde_6_kde_5_openbsd/ Save to Pocket
Police investigating possible drowning in Ka‘u
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii Island police are investigating a possible drowning involving a 24-year-old man visiting from North Carolina that occurred Saturday morning in Ka‘u.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/hawaii-news/police-investigating-possible-drowning-in-kau/ Save to Pocket
Wildfire prevention and helping Maui recover from flames top the agenda for Hawaii lawmakers
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are due to convene this week for the first time since the burning of historic Lahaina awakened the state to the deadly and costly threat posed by wildfires in an age of climate change.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/hawaii-news/wildfire-prevention-and-helping-maui-recover-from-flames-top-the-agenda-for-hawaii-lawmakers/ Save to Pocket
In his closing pitch to Iowa Republicans, Trump says their votes can help him punish his enemies
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>INDIANOLA, Iowa — Donald Trump implored his supporters Sunday to brave frigid temperatures and deliver him a decisive victory in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, saying their vote would help bring to Washington the retribution he has repeatedly promised if he returns to the White House.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/nation-world-news/in-his-closing-pitch-to-iowa-republicans-trump-says-their-votes-can-help-him-punish-his-enemies/ Save to Pocket
2023 drier than normal for much of the island
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>December brought rainfall to most of the windward Big Island, but most of the gauges islandwide registered less than the average amount of precipitation for the final month of the year. That, as it turned out, was the conclusion to a 2023 that generally was drier-than-normal.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/hawaii-news/2023-drier-than-normal-for-much-of-the-island/ Save to Pocket
Millions of Americans face below-zero temperatures as storms bring blast of Arctic air, snow and ice
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. — Subfreezing temperatures across much of the U.S. left millions of Americans facing dangerous cold as Arctic storms left four dead and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South, and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions that forced the postponement of an NFL game.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/nation-world-news/millions-of-americans-face-below-zero-temperatures-as-storms-bring-blast-of-arctic-air-snow-and-ice/ Save to Pocket
Fixes slated for Wailoa boat harbor: $3.2M allocated for the project
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Wailoa Small Boat Harbor is on the verge of getting some improvements after years of neglect.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/hawaii-news/fixes-slated-for-wailoa-boat-harbor-3-2m-allocated-for-the-project/ Save to Pocket
White House says ‘it’s the right time’ for Israel to scale back Gaza war as fighting hits 100 days
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>JERUSALEM — The White House said Sunday that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/nation-world-news/white-house-says-its-the-right-time-for-israel-to-scale-back-gaza-war-as-fighting-hits-100-days/ Save to Pocket
Iowa principal who risked his life to protect students during a high school shooting has died
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa principal who put himself in harm’s way to protect students during a school shooting earlier this month died Sunday, a funeral home confirmed.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/nation-world-news/iowa-principal-who-risked-his-life-to-protect-students-during-a-high-school-shooting-has-died/ Save to Pocket
Yemen Houthi rebels fire missile at US warship in Red Sea in first attack after American-led strikes
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea on Sunday, but a U.S. fighter jet shot it down in the latest attack roiling global shipping amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, officials said.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/nation-world-news/yemen-houthi-rebels-fire-missile-at-us-warship-in-red-sea-in-first-attack-after-american-led-strikes/ Save to Pocket
Biden extends state, local slush funds
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In Iowa, officials used federal COVID money to build a new baseball stadium near the famed “Field of Dreams” diamond. Michigan politicians directed more than $25 million in pandemic cash toward tourism and marketing efforts. In New Mexico, officials spent $16 million in COVID funds to run a lottery for people who got vaccinated. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/opinion/biden-extends-state-local-slush-funds/ Save to Pocket
‘With life you can’t stop and you can’t give up’: Gyms help keiki prepare for more than just competition
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Coaches and trainers hope to give kids an outlet for their mental and physical health through the sport of boxing.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/sports/with-life-you-cant-stop-and-you-cant-give-up-gyms-help-keiki-prepare-for-more-than-just-competition/ Save to Pocket
BIIF hoops: Kona dominates, Samura scores over 40 again
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KAILUA-KONA — With just a few weeks remaining in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) basketball regular season, teams from across the island competed hard all weekend in attempt to finish the year strong.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/sports/biif-hoops-kona-dominates-samura-scores-over-40-again/ Save to Pocket
Jordan Love and the Packers pull a wild-card stunner, beating Dak Prescott and the Cowboys 48-32
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Jones grew up idolizing Emmitt Smith and the Dallas Cowboys.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/sports/jordan-love-and-the-packers-pull-a-wild-card-stunner-beating-dak-prescott-and-the-cowboys-48-32/ Save to Pocket
Jared Goff leads Lions to first playoff win in 32 years, 24-23 over Matthew Stafford and the Rams
date: 2024-01-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DETROIT — Jared Goff lifted his arms in the air, encouraging Ford Field fans to get even louder, before taking the final snap to end his long-suffering franchise’s skid in the playoffs.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/15/sports/jared-goff-leads-lions-to-first-playoff-win-in-32-years-24-23-over-matthew-stafford-and-the-rams/ Save to Pocket
What’s the matter with Iowa?
date: 2024-01-15, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Why today’s Iowa Republican caucuses won’t represent America.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/whats-the-matter-with-iowa Save to Pocket
We Fact Checked Everything Trump Has Said About Climate Change Since 2021
date: 2024-01-15, from: Heatmap News
“Climate change is a hoax” is soooo 2016. In recent years, Republicans have gotten more savvy in their attacks on climate change — and, by proxy, on the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate legislation passed in 2022. These days, it’s less the science of global warming that’s up for debate than the way we’re addressing it. Republicans are now fighting a multi-front battle against EVs, the energy transition, and climate science, on behalf of golden eagles and whales. And no one is leading the charge more obviously — or quantifiably — than former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.
With the climate agenda on the line, Heatmap is keeping a running list of Trump’s climate-related statements on the campaign trail. We’ve looked at his rallies, his TV appearances, and his comments on social media and put together a list of Trump’s most frequent and glaringly inaccurate claims since he vacated the White House in January 2021.
While some of his musings (okay, fine, a lot of them) might be laughably absurd, others might be something you’ve kind of, sort of wondered about, yourself. To help you better separate fact from fiction, we’ve added context and explanation to each quote, along with a bottom-line determination as to the remark’s facticity.
Lastly, this list is a work in progress and will be regularly updated and added to in the coming months, so if you’re ever in doubt, know that you can find the answer somewhere in here. For ease of navigation, we’ve broken things down into sections:
Climate & Weather | International cooperation | Wind | Solar | Electric Vehicles | Energy | Efficiency, etc.
Climate & Weather
“You know they don’t call it global warming so much now, they call it climate change because it wasn’t working … Global warming wasn’t working when it was cooling. So now they call it climate change, that takes care of everything.” [Dec. 5, 2023]
Fact check: The term “climate change” was initially popularized by Republicans. In a 2002 memo, Republican pollster Frank Luntz urged President George W. Bush to drop the phrase “global warming” in favor of “climate change” since the former sounds more “frightening” and “has catastrophic communications attached to it,” while “climate change sounds a more controllable and less emotional challenge.”
That said, scientists generally prefer the term “climate change” for pretty much exactly the reason Trump highlighted here — because it encompasses phenomena caused by the increase in CO2 in our atmosphere that don’t manifest as warming, like ocean acidification. For the record: Global warming doesn’t mean that the weather will never get cold, just that it will get less cold on average, over time. In fact, research shows that the cold parts of the globe are warming much, much faster than the rest.
“You can’t miss with climate change. Anything can happen because of climate change. ‘It’s raining like hell!’ Climate change!” [July 13, 2022]
“Most of the country has plenty of water. Rain from heaven. It comes right from heaven. Beautiful rain, you don’t know what to do.” [Aug. 17, 2023]
Fact check: That’s … true, actually. “When the atmosphere warms, that means it can hold more water,” Matthew Rodell, the deputy director of Earth sciences for hydrosphere, biosphere, and geophysics at NASA, who has made an extensive study of extreme drought and deluges, told me. That means there will be both more droughts and more rainfall, even though the two phenomena might appear at a glance to contradict each other.
“On the drought side of things, when the air is warmer, more water can evaporate — can be pulled out of the land and out of the plants, into the air, and then transported away,” Rodell explained. “So you have, basically, more water being net removed from an area.” But water in the air has to return to Earth, eventually, in the form of more — and often extreme — rainfall.
Shouldn’t those two extremes effectively balance each other out? As Rodell put it to me, “Floods and droughts are both catastrophes.” During a drought, crops die and wells go dry. And while extreme rainfall might refill an aquifer, “if it’s at the point of being extreme and there’s a flood, that’s not good, either.” Think about Libya, where extended heavy rains in the summer of 2023 broke through dams and inundated towns, killing 4,300 people, displacing an estimated 44,800 more, and causing over $60 million in damage.
One last thing to mention here: While our ability to determine the precise contribution of climate change to individual extreme weather events is improving rapidly, that is, in some ways, beside the point. Rodell explained that “in terms of the frequency, and looking at all these events together and how they’ve changed over time, we’re seeing that they’re increasing in number and severity in correlation with global warming. That doesn’t mean you can say any particular event is 100% by global warming, but, I mean — statistically, it’s extremely unlikely that this is just a coincidence.”
“In my opinion, you have a thing called weather …” [March 21, 2022]
Fact check: True!
“… It goes up, and it goes down.” [March 21, 2022]
Fact check: While it’s true that the climate has always changed, it hasn’t always changed like this. The rapid rise in both atmospheric carbon dioxide and observed average surface temperature since the Industrial Revolution can only be credited to humans, and specifically to the burning of fossil fuels, which release CO2, a heat-trapping gas. There is now near-universal scientific consensus that the warming we’re witnessing has been caused by human activity.
“The most popular climate myths are the ones that are simple and easy to say,” as John Cook, a senior research fellow at Melbourne University’s School of Psychological Sciences who’s made a specialty of combatting climate disinformation, told me. “It’s the single-cause fallacy, thinking that only one thing can cause natural causes. But you can have other things like human activity that also drive climate change,” Cook added.
Start digging into this kind of logic and it quickly falls apart. For example, Trump’s argument is that the climate has changed naturally in the past; therefore, it must be changing naturally now, as well. But, Cook told me, the same logic could also be used to argue, People have died of cancer in the past; therefore, cigarettes don’t cause cancer now.
“The oceans are gonna rise 1/100th of an inch within the next 300 years. It’s gonna kill everybody. It’s going to create more oceanfront property, that’s what it’s going to do.” [March 12, 2022]
“They said the other day, I heard somebody, that the oceans are going to rise 1/8th of an inch over the next 300 years. We have bigger problems than that. We’ll have a little more beachfront property; that’s not the worst thing in the world.” [July 9, 2022]
Fact check: For starters, Trump’s numbers are orders of magnitude off the mark. The oceans are on track to rise 3.5 feet to 7 feet along America’s coastlines by 2100 — well ahead of Trump’s schedule — according to an independent assessment conducted by federal scientific agencies. Even if global carbon emissions had peaked in 2020 (which we know they did not) and declined relatively rapidly thereafter, the oceans would still probably rise more than 3 feet worldwide by 2300 compared to their 2000 levels, researchers have found, because so much heat is already trapped in the climate system.
According to the latest scientific report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “sea level rise greater than 15 meters,” or 49 feet, by the year 2300 “cannot be ruled out” in a high-emissions scenario.
While unlikely, 49 feet of sea-level rise would be catastrophic. Large swaths of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens would be completely submerged, with waves lapping at the walls of Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. The southern half of Florida would vanish (bye-bye, Mar-a-Lago!). Countries like the Netherlands and Bangladesh would, literally, disappear from the map.
As for that supposedly new oceanfront property Trump is so excited about, scientists expect some 650,000 beachfront properties to flood due to sea level rise in the United States by 2050 — not to mention that globally, some 230 million people live within 3 feet of current high-tide lines.
International cooperation
“I will also immediately stop crooked Joe Biden’s latest ripoff of the American people, his plan to give — listen to this — global climate reparations to foreign nations. He’s going to give billions of dollars, because he’s saying that we have a dirty climate.” [Dec. 16, 2023]
Fact check: The U.S. will not “under any circumstances” pay climate reparations to developing nations, climate envoy John Kerry vowed in front of Congress last year. The situation is, however — and unsurprisingly — more complicated than that.
At COP28 last year, the U.S. pledged $17.5 million to the U.N.’s “loss and damage” fund, which is intended to help developing countries recover from future climate disasters. While some outlets — including this publication — have characterized this fund as “reparations,” the fund has more in common with other international pledges directed at helping developing countries than calls for climate reparations that hold historic polluters morally and financially responsible.
“We have China that doesn’t partake; we have India that doesn’t partake; and we have Russia that doesn’t partake. None of them partake in cleaning the climate. They laugh at us, how stupid we are. We clean the climate and then their air flows to us from Asia.” [March 3, 2022]
Fact check: China, India, and Russia are all Paris Agreement signatories. But even if they truly didn’t “partake” at all in international climate mitigation efforts, that hardly means the U.S. shouldn’t try to be cleaner.
But let’s take Trump at face value here. When asked to assess if the Paris Agreement gives an unfair advantage to nations like China and India, law professor Daniel Bodansky at the Arizona State University College of Law pointed out to USA Today that “the United States is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and has higher per capita emissions than either China or India. It is misleading to point the finger at China and India and label them as the real polluters.”
What about the bad air flowing to us “from Asia,” then? This isn’t total nonsense. For one thing, we do all share the same atmosphere; that’s kind of the whole point of the global movement to stop climate change. But more concretely, yes, researchers have found that pollutants from China can make their way to the Western U.S.
Here’s where it gets awkward: “An estimated 36% of manmade sulfur dioxide, 27% of nitrogen oxide, 22% of carbon monoxide, and 17% of black carbon over China are the result of manufacturing goods for export. About a fifth of each of these was associated with products exported to the U.S. in particular,” Scientific American writes. In other words, a lot of that “bad air” flowing to us from Asia that Trump is complaining about is from manufacturing products for Americans.
Wind
“Their windmills are causing whales to die in numbers never seen before. Nobody does anything about that. They’re washing up on shore. I saw it this weekend: Three of them came up! You wouldn’t see it once a year; now they’re coming up on a weekly basis. The windmills are driving them crazy. They’re driving the whales, I think, a little batty.” [Sept. 25, 2023]
Fact check: If you ever want to feel ridiculous, try asking a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration if windmills are making whales “a little batty.”
NOAA actively studies how “sound, vessel, and other human activities” impact marine life, Lauren Gaches, the director of NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs, told me over email. “At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause mortality of whales,” she said.
An ongoing “unusual mortality event” for humpback whales has resulted in 200 whale deaths between 2016 and June 2023 along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida — that much is true. But “there are no known links between recent large whale mortalities and ongoing offshore wind surveys,” Gaches told me. NOAA’s fact page on whales and offshore wind explains that of “roughly 90 whales examined, about 40% had evidence of human interaction, either ship strike or entanglement.”
There has been some chatter about underwater surveying work disrupting whales, which may be true in the case of oil and gas surveys, which use seismic air guns to penetrate deep into the ocean floor. The surveying equipment used for offshore wind is, by contrast, used in 15-second bursts and limited to a specific area, “so the likelihood of an animal encountering and coming right into that sound beam is quite low,” Erica Staaterman, the deputy director for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Center for Marine Acoustics, said on a NOAA-hosted call with the press early last year.
As Ben Laws, the deputy chief of NOAA’s Permits and Conservation Division in the Office of Protected Resources, said on the same call, “There is no information that would support any suggestion that any of the equipment that’s being used in support of wind development for these site characterization surveys could directly lead to the death of a whale.”
“If you go out hunting and you happen to shoot a bald eagle, they put you in jail, like, for five years, right? They kill thousands of them with these windmills; nothing happens.” [Jan. 28, 2023]
“If you want to see a bird cemetery, go under a windmill sometime. You’ll see birds like you never saw. If you love birds, you’ll start to weep.” [Dec. 16, 2023]
Fact check: Trump has had a vendetta against wind turbines since long before he ever ran for president. “Wind farms are killing many thousands of birds,” reads one illustrative tweet from 2012. “They make hunters look like nice people!”
Lewis Grove is the director of wind and energy policy at the American Bird Conservancy, and he told me that while it’s “not necessarily as simple as Mr. Trump painted it out to be, wind turbines absolutely kill birds.”
But the context here is extremely important. Jason Ryan, a spokesperson for the American Clean Power Association, a leading renewable energy trade group, pointed me to research from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that shows wind farms “represent just 0.03% of all human-related bird deaths in the U.S.” Grove likewise told me that, for the most part, bird deaths due to wind turbines do “not have population-level impacts.”
There are exceptions, such as an infamous wind farm in California’s Altamont Pass built in 1981 that “just happened to be in a place that was really heavily used by golden eagles,” Grove told me. Because golden eagle populations were already very low, having 100 or so killed a year by turbines was “unsustainable.” Even in a case like this, though, it behooves one to look at the whole picture: “They found it was a few individual turbines that were causing the damage,” Grove said. These days, around 60 golden eagles a year are killed in Alameda County, the Alameda Post reports, and the operating company must pay steep penalties for eagle deaths.
What’s more, “climate change is one of the greatest threats birds face, with two-thirds of North American species at risk of extinction due to our warming planet,” Jon Belak, senior manager of science and data analysis at The National Audubon Society, told me in a statement. “We need to build more wind and solar facilities to help slow the rise in global temperatures and protect birds and their habitats from a changing climate.”
Wind farms may not have population-level impacts on birds, but fracking does — “the onset of shale oil and gas production reduces subsequent bird population counts by 15%,” even after accounting for factors like weather and other land-use changes, according to one just-published, peer-reviewed study.
“Remember the windmills? ‘Darling, darling, I want to watch the president, I love him so much. I want to watch him on television tonight.’ ‘I’m sorry, but the wind isn’t blowing, you’ll have to wait ‘til another time.’ Windmills.” [March 26, 2022]
Fact check: “I mean, it’s possible with any mix of generation that if supply and demand aren’t equal, your TV will go out. That’s just physics,” Kyri Baker, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, told me when I asked her if Trump’s scenario had any merit. In other words, a power outage could happen whether your electricity is coming from coal or natural gas or anything else. The difference, she said, is that “wind is by nature variable, intermittent. But it’s also not reliant on fuel like natural gas or coal plants or even nuclear plants are.”
What happens on days when there is no wind? “Grids are extremely regulated,” Baker explained to me. “There’s so many layers of redundancy that aim specifically to not have [an outage] happen.” A grid is made up of diverse electricity sources (for my visual learners, Canary imagines what a net-zero grid could look like here), as well as measures like offline backup generators, which can kick in if need be, so service isn’t disrupted.
Battery storage is another huge part of this equation. While they’re still fairly cutting-edge as climate technology goes, high-capacity batteries that can manage grid-scale energy needs are getting better and more plentiful.
“Stop with all of the windmills all over the place that are ruining the atmosphere.” [Jan. 20, 2022]
Fact check: Wind turbines do not damage the literal atmosphere.
But maybe Trump meant atmosphere as in “sense of place”? Most Americans don’t seem to think windmills are “ruining” anything. In a recent Heatmap poll, nearly eight in 10 Americans said they want the government to make it easier to build new wind farms. The Washington Post similarly found last year that about 70% of Americans said they wouldn’t mind living near a wind farm.
As my colleague Robinson Meyer has written, “American laws today give even a small, well-resourced minority plenty of tools to block a project” like a wind farm, and “what’s more, once that small group starts campaigning against a project, the public’s broad but shallow support for, say, a general technology can crater. That’s what happened recently in New Jersey, where a once broadly pro-wind public has turned against four proposed offshore wind farms.”
“It’s a very expensive form — probably the most expensive form of energy.” [Jan. 20, 2022]
Fact check: Wind in general is not the most expensive form of energy, but offshore wind is very expensive — for now.
Of the energy sources we’re currently used to, nuclear is usually cited as having the highest levelized cost of electricity — that is, it has the highest average cost per unit of electricity generated after construction, maintenance, and operation have been taken into account. Peaker plants — gas-powered plants that run just during times of peak demand — usually come in second.
Offshore wind is costly, with the levelized cost of electricity from a subsidized U.S. offshore wind project increasing “to $114.20 per megawatt-hour in 2023, up almost 50% from 2021 levels in nominal terms,” BloombergNEF reports. Many of the factors making offshore wind so expensive — including permitting delays, high interest rates, and supply chain issues — will abate with time. Meanwhile, onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of electricity available and has boasted a “lower LCOE than gas plants since 2015,” Sustainable Energy in America reports.
Solar
“I like the concept of solar, but it’s not powerful like what we need to fire up our factories.” [Dec. 16, 2023]
Fact check: “That question is actually a little bit tricky,” Baker, the assistant professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, told me, when I asked him whether solar alone could power a factory — but it’s also not really what we should be asking. “One thing I’ve noticed people do a lot is they’ll just compare efficiency of power generation,” Baker explained. But “it’s not just about the efficiency — it’s about other things, too, like solar’s ability to be distributed. You can’t put a nuclear fission power plant in your house — you know, not yet — but you can put solar panels, so that’s a huge benefit. It offers some resiliency that other sources just can’t offer.”
It’s true that solar power is less efficient than other sources of energy, including wind, and that it requires a lot of surface area, which could be an undue burden for a manufacturer. But at the same time, “I don’t know if anybody is proposing to power an entire factory based off of solar,” Baker said.
Electric Vehicles
“I will also rescue the ethanol industry by canceling crooked Joe Biden’s insane ethanol-killing electric vehicle mandate on day one.” [Dec. 20, 2023]
Fact check: It’s not wrong to say that Biden has tried to reduce the role of liquid fuel in vehicles. Trump has gunned for Iowa voters by claiming Biden’s goal (albeit not a binding mandate) of ramping up EV sales will kill the local ethanol industry. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — Iowa’s former governor — has stressed that just because the administration is pushing for more EVs, “Does that mean we won’t have a need for E15 or E85” — gasoline blends that contain up to 15% and 85% ethanol content, respectively — “in the future? No.”
For example, new rules defining what qualifies as a “sustainable aviation fuel” — and thus for generous tax credits under the IRA — include ethanol and other plant-based fuels, despite opposition from environmental groups. “The Biden administration plans to invest $4.3 billion to support production of 35 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel annually by 2050,” presenting a significant opportunity for Iowa’s farmers, The Des Moines Register writes. As Vilsack added, “You have to think beyond cars and trucks.”
“They want to have electric trucks, so a truck — a big, beautiful truck like Peterbilt or one of them, with the big ones, 18 wheelers, they can go about 2,000 miles, they say, 2,000 on a big tank of diesel. An electric truck, comparable — which it can’t be comparable because you need so much room for the battery. Most of the area that you’re going to carry your goods, going to be battery. But assuming we take away that problem, which is not easy to take away, you’d have to stop approximately seven times to go 2,000 miles, right? You go about 300 miles, and they don’t want to change that.” [Dec. 20, 2023]
Fact check: There’s a lot to unpack here, but the gist is that most of these are the kind of early-stage problems you would find with any emerging technology. While the technology powering heavy-duty electric trucks is promising, there is still a long way to go when it comes to range and capacity.
Still, even a semi that goes only around 375 miles — longer than Trump’s estimate — on a single charge would ultimately be cheaper than a diesel truck, one 2021 study found. Because of the lower cost of ownership, electric semis have a net savings of $200,000 over a 15-year lifespan.
Battery size, and in particular battery weight, will be a major hurdle for long haul electric semis; shipping rates are often determined based on weight, among other factors, and since freight companies already operate on narrow margins, carrying less freight weight is a problem. But the technology is constantly improving. Plus, it’s pretty silly to claim electric truck developers “don’t want to change” their range per charge; electric truck manufacturers are constantly boasting about their new mileage numbers.
“This electric car thing is just crazy. If you want to drive, maybe, let’s say you are here. If you say, ‘Let’s take a drive to beautiful, safe Chicago. It’s so safe. Let’s drive there.’ How many times would you have to stop, about nine? It’s just crazy. They know it. They know it’s crazy.” [Dec. 20, 2023]
Fact check: The distance from Waterloo, Iowa — where Trump made these comments — to “beautiful, safe Chicago” is 269 miles. While the EVs with the worst range would have to charge one single time on a trip of that distance, in 2022, the average EV range was nearly 300 miles. Most cars would make it on a single charge.
“And now we are a nation that wants to make our revered and very powerful army tanks, the best in the world, all-electric, so that despite the fact they are also not able to go far, fewer pollutants will be released into the air as we blast our way through enemy territory, at least in an environmentally friendly way. And they also want to make our jet fighters with a green stamp of energy savings through losing 15% efficiency.” [Dec. 17, 2023]
Fact check: Trump has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for supposedly wanting to switch to “all-electric” tanks. This is mostly false, though it has its roots in the Army’s first-ever climate strategy, released early last year. In it, the Army stated that it aims to electrify all noncombat vehicles by 2035 and some tactical vehicles by 2050.
The reason the Army wants to go electric isn’t because of some woke environmentalist agenda, though. “The primary reason the Army wants to electrify its fighting vehicles is to reduce wartime casualties,” Bloomberg writes. “An all-electric fleet would mean personnel wouldn’t have to go on dangerous refueling missions that draw combat forces away from fighting the enemy … [and] electric vehicles are also much quieter and harder to spot on enemy surveillance systems because they generate so little heat.”
Trump has also slammed the Air Force for its climate action plan, although the roots of his claim that Biden wants to make jet fighters green by “losing 15% efficiency” are much less clear. He may be referring to the Air Force’s exploration of alternative fuels — which again, it is doing primarily for strategic reasons, since the Air Force reports 30% of the casualties in Afghanistan came from attacks on fuel and water convoys. “We’re not doing the climate plan for climate’s sake … Everything is about increasing our combat capability,” Edwin Oshiba, assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations, and the environment, told the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
“The problem is you won’t find a charger. And if you do, it’s got lines.” [Dec. 16, 2023]
Fact check: Many EV drivers are dissatisfied with the state of charging infrastructure in the U.S., and lines are an issue. While more charging stations will continue to open up as EVs become more popular — the IRA allotted $7.5 billion to build out 500,000 public chargers by 2030, with another $623 million in EV charging grants awarded last week — this seems, at the moment, to be a fair criticism.
“We are a nation whose leaders are demanding all-electric cars despite the fact that they can’t go far, cost too much, and whose batteries are produced in China with materials only available in China when an unlimited amount of gasoline is available inexpensively in the United States but is not available in China.” [Dec. 17, 2023]
Fact check: China indeed dominates the EV battery market. The Inflation Reduction Act — which Trump has promised to gut — has tried to change this by restricting EV tax credits only to models with batteries and components sourced from the U.S. or its trading partners. The law also includes funding to help seed a domestic EV battery and mineral supply chain.
And it’s working. As my colleague Neel Dhanesha wrote last year, “Battery manufacturers around the country — many of them automakers themselves — have announced over 1,000 gigawatt hours of U.S. battery production that’s slated to come online by 2028, far outpacing projected demand,” according to estimates from the Environmental Defense Fund. All told, domestic battery production has been the greatest beneficiary of the IRA, reports RMI, a clean energy research group.
“Let’s say your [electric] boat goes down and I’m sitting on top of this big powerful battery and the boat’s going down. Do I get electrocuted?” [Oct. 1, 2023]
Fact check: Battery packs on electric boats are designed to be watertight because, believe it or not, it’s crossed the mind of electric boat manufacturers that their products could potentially end up underwater. All the electric boat makers I spoke to in my lengthy investigation into this question told me the battery packs they use have a waterproofing standard that is either at, or just below, what is required for a submarine. The high-voltage batteries are also kept in “puncture-resistant shells” so they won’t be exposed to the water even if the boat somehow got mangled in an accident.
All this is a very long way of saying: No, you very likely won’t be electrocuted if your electric boat sinks. But you may get eaten by a shark!
“Hundreds of thousands of American jobs, your jobs, will be gone forever. By most estimates, under Biden’s electric vehicle mandate, 40% of all U.S. auto jobs will disappear.” [Sept. 27, 2023]
Fact check: As Heatmap has reported, there is little evidence to suggest that making electric vehicles will result in fewer jobs. “A number of analyses showed that electric vehicles could actually require more labor to build than gas-powered cars in the U.S., at least for the foreseeable future,” Emily Pontecorvo writes.
“The happiest moment for somebody in an electric car is the first 10 minutes. In other words, you get it charged, and now for 10 minutes. The unhappiest part is the next hour because you’re petrified that you’re not going to be finding another charger.” [August 24, 2023]
Fact check: We don’t know what every single EV driver thinks, but EV drivers as a group tend to be pretty satisfied; plug-in hybrids were level with internal combustion vehicles in J.D. Power’s annual survey of performance, execution, and layout-based consumer satisfaction, with fully battery-powered EVs just a few points behind on a 1,000-point scale. Some 90% of EV drivers say they hope to buy another EV as their next car, a 2022 Plug-In America survey found.
And while range anxiety is real, studies show that it declines the longer someone owns an EV and gets comfortable with charging. Only 8% of EV drivers told Escalent they’ve ever run out of juice while driving.
It’ll take more than an hour for you to start getting anxious, too. The average EV sold in the U.S. last year had a range of 291 miles, or a little over four hours of driving at 70mph.
Energy
“Energy caused inflation, and energy has destroyed many families. Energy is considered very strongly. Energy is considered a country killer.” [Dec. 17, 2023]
Fact check: Economists mostly agree that “energy caused” the spike in inflation that we’ve seen since 2020, so in that sense, Trump is correct. But in making this argument, he inadvertently endorses the case for clean energy — since renewables aren’t subject to the same kinds of supply volatility as fossil fuels, they are therefore considered intrinsically deflationary.
“We are a nation that is begging Venezuela and others for oil. ‘Please, please, please help us,’ Joe Biden says, and yet we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country anywhere in the world. We are a nation that just recently heard that Saudi Arabia and Russia will be reducing their oil production while at the same time substantially increasing the price. And we met that threat by announcing that we will no longer be drilling for oil in large areas in Alaska or elsewhere, anywhere in our states. We are a nation that is consumed by the radical left’s Green New Deal, yet everyone knows that the Green New Deal is fake. It is really the green new scam.” [Dec. 17, 2023]
Fact check: First, the United States is the top oil-producing country globally, followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia. It is true that the U.S. eased oil sanctions on Venezuela late last year, though that reprieve was explicitly temporary and contingent on the country holding free and fair elections.
Trump also appears to be referencing the Biden administration’s recent decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and block 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from new drilling. While that does qualify as a large area in Alaska, the moves notably do not stop ConocoPhillips’ controversial Willow drilling project from going forward.
Trump further seems to be alluding to Biden’s campaign promise to not approve any new drilling (“ …anywhere in our states!”), but that hasn’t exactly gone to plan; although Biden issued a pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands one week after taking office, the administration then lifted that pause a little over a year later in the face of numerous legal and political challenges. Over the summer, however, the Interior Department did raise the cost of drilling on federal lands.
Efficiency, etc.
“All I know about magnets is this: Give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that’s the end of the magnets.” [Jan. 5, 2024]
Fact check: Trump made this comment while discussing electric catapults and magnetic elevators on aircraft carriers. While there have certainly been problems with the roll-out of these advanced systems on the ships, none involved water-damaged magnets. Magnets are waterproof, and therefore their performance does not suffer from water damage.
“They want to talk about your dishwashers and how much water you’re going to have in your dishwasher, even though they don’t work and all of the other things that you have that were so precious and dear and that you never really appreciated until now because they want to take them away.” [December 2, 2023]
Fact check: As someone who lives in a New York City apartment, I would absolutely describe my dishwasher as “precious and dear,” so that part is true. It is also true that, as I explained last year, rules proposed by the Biden administration call for new dishwashers imported and made in the U.S. to use 34% less water, or no more than 3.3 gallons, during their default cycles by 2027. But it is not true that those dishwashers don’t work.
Energy-efficient dishwashers can take a long time to clean your dishes; many cycles last more than two hours and some up to three. The reason for this is pretty straightforward: In order to achieve the same level of cleanliness as old, water- and energy-inefficient dishwashers, new water- and energy-efficient dishwashers need to swish around longer.
But the “default cycles” are the only dishwasher mode the government restricts; “short cycle” modes, which require more water and take less time, are still allowed on dishwashers sold in the U.S. and aren’t regulated by the new rules. That fast mode just can’t be the default. As Wirecutter writes, “crappy cleaning performance and long cycles aren’t an inevitable outcome of efficiency standards,” and “if your dishwasher is slow and sucks (and a better detergent doesn’t fix the problem), blame the company that built it.”
“Now their new thing is your heating systems in the house. They don’t want you to have a modern-day heating system. They want you to use a heating system that will cost you at least $10,000 to buy and won’t work very well.” [August 24, 2023]
Fact check: It’s really gas furnace systems that are, technically speaking, dated. Gas furnaces were considered state-of-the-art in the 1920s and 1930s, while heat pump technology — which works by transferring, rather than generating, heat from indoors to outdoors and vice versa — took off in the 1970s as a response to surging oil prices. Heat pumps can be up to five times more efficient than fossil-fuel furnaces, according to electrification advocacy group Rewiring America, which means that at least 70% of people could save money on their energy bills by switching from fossil fuel heaters, the group estimates.
The cost of a heat pump itself varies widely depending on size (how much house it has to heat), type (geothermal vs. air source), and efficiency, then when you add in factors like the cost to refit you existing HVAC system and the cost of labor, well, it adds up. While heat pumps aren’t cheap, they do at least serve as both a furnace and an air conditioner, two appliances for the price of one, an investment that can pay back over time, Rewiring America said.
“You want to wash your beautiful hair. And you stand under a shower and the suds never go — the water comes out very slowly. I’m sure you’ve seen this. It usually takes place in new hotels and new homes.” [August 24, 2023]
Fact check: This might have been true when Seinfeld was on the air, but it hasn’t been for quite a while. Modern low-flow shower heads are specifically designed to “push out water that feels like a higher pressure even with a lower flow rate,” U.S. News and World Report writes.
When Trump was on his way out of the White House, his administration reinterpreted a 2013 regulation about how much water can flow out of a showerhead. “Manufacturers [had not demanded] the rollback,” The Washington Post writes. “Instead, the call for more powerful showers came from Trump himself, who complained that the conservation standards led to low water pressure and a dissatisfying shower experience.” With four or five or more nozzles, as Trump had allowed, “you could have 10, 15 gallons per minute powering out of the showerhead, literally probably washing you out of the bathroom,” Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the energy conservation group Appliance Standards Awareness Project, told PBS.
Biden restored the old water flow regulations.
https://heatmap.news/politics/trump-fact-check-climate-change-wind-solar-electric-vehicles-energy Save to Pocket
Love Data Week 2024 Switzerland
date: 2024-01-15, from: ETH Zurich Research Archives
Under the motto “My Kind of Data”, the ETH Library and Scientific IT Services will be celebrating their love of data from 12 to 16 February 2024 and jointly providing and insight into research data management. Read more
https://rc-blog.ethz.ch/en/love-data-week-2024-switzerland-2/ Save to Pocket
Arctic Freeze Blasts Huge Swaths of US with Sub-zero Temperatures
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
PORTLAND, Ore. — A dangerous Arctic blast will continue sweeping across the U.S. on Monday and linger through at least midweek, prolonging a bitter cold that set record-low temperatures in parts of the country and threatens to further disrupt daily life, including an NFL playoff game and the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest in Iowa.
The National Weather Service said wind chills are expected to push temperatures 34 degrees below zero Celsius from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa, testing the hardiness of caucus-goers willing to brave the deep chill on Monday.
“You can’t sit home,” former President Donald Trump told supporters Sunday. “If you’re sick as a dog, you say, ‘Darling, I gotta make it.’ Even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it.”
Arctic storms left at least four dead and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions forcing the postponement of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills NFL playoff game hosted in bone-chilling Buffalo, New York.
The game was scheduled to be held Monday after being canceled Sunday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing near-whiteout conditions.
“Conditions right now in Orchard Park, where the game would have started moments ago,” she wrote early Sunday afternoon. “No visibility and dangerously high winds.”
The Bills invited diehard fans to help dig out snow-filled Highmark Stadium, offering $20 an hour for their labor.
“We made progress shoveling, but not much at all,” said Logan Eschrich, a storm chaser who made his way to Buffalo and pitched in.
It remains to be seen if the show will go on Monday afternoon. The weather service expects heavy lake-effect snow to push into upstate New York from Lake Erie, adding to the 30.4 to 60.9 centimeters of snow already blanketing the region. Snow fell at a rate of 5 centimeters per hour.
Sub-zero wind chills will grip much of the country, plunging to –45 degrees Celsius in Montana and the Dakotas.
“It takes a matter of minutes for frostbite to set in,” the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in a statement Sunday urging people to stay indoors.
Other parts of the country could see temperatures drop 25 to 40 degrees below normal, from the Rockies to the Ohio Valley.
As temperatures in Texas plunged, the state’s power grid operator appealed to residents to voluntarily conserve electricity Monday morning due to the cold weather causing “record breaking demand” for energy.
A deadly freeze in 2021 left millions of Texans without power but state officials this week expressed confidence about the grid’s reliability as the cold front approached.
Freezing rain is expected to pelt parts of the Southern Plains and Southern Appalachians.
Even places like Florida won’t be spared from turbulent weather, with forecasts predicting showers and thunderstorms from Monday into Tuesday.
In Oregon, more than 120,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, most of them in the Portland metro area, a day after high winds and a mix of snow and ice brought down trees and power lines.
Some 100 trees toppled over the weekend in a community just south of Portland, including one that fell on a house and killed a man. Two other people died of suspected hypothermia and a fourth died in a fire that spread from an open-flame stove after a tree fell onto an RV.
“Given the extent of the damage and the high level of outage events, restoration efforts will continue into the week and customers are encouraged to plan accordingly,” Portland General Electric said in a statement. The utility said it was watching a second weather pattern that could bring high winds and freezing rain on Tuesday.
Widespread power outages affecting tens of thousands were also reported Sunday in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In Nebraska, the Omaha Public Power District asked customers to conserve electricity to prevent outages.
Airports across the country were impacted. More than half of flights into and out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled. Scores of flights also were canceled or delayed at Chicago, Denver and Seattle-Tacoma airports.
https://www.voanews.com/a/arctic-freeze-blasts-huge-swaths-of-us-with-sub-zero-temperatures/7440211.html Save to Pocket
The New ROM Antics – building the ZX Spectrum 128
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If you think Sinclair’s hardware was odd, you haven’t met the people
Opinion Following an unlikely series of events involving British Telecom, Prince Philip and a VTX-5000 modem, your teenage protagonist found himself at a drunken dinner party in 1984’s West London. Across the table, excitingly, sat my boyhood hero Sir Clive Sinclair, and he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say about the Sinclair QL, which was not thriving.…
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Have you made something with a Raspberry Pi over the weekend? | #MagPiMonday
date: 2024-01-15, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Every Monday, we ask the question: have you made something with a Raspberry Pi over the weekend? Every Monday, our followers send us amazing photos and videos of the projects they’ve made.
The post Have you made something with a Raspberry Pi over the weekend? | #MagPiMonday appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/have-you-made-something-with-a-raspberry-pi-over-the-weekend-magpimonday/ Save to Pocket
Infosys co-founder doubles down on call for 70-hour work weeks
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
It’s not like Gandhi ever saw his kids, says Narayana Murthy
Indian billionaire and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has doubled down on his comments that India’s youth should voluntarily work 70-hour weeks.…
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Today in SCV History (Jan. 15)
date: 2024-01-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1875 – Henry Mayo Newhall buys western half of the Santa Clarita Valley for $2 an acre. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-6/ Save to Pocket
WTF? Potty-mouthed intern’s obscene error message mostly amused manager
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who’s going to complain about free labor?
Who, Me? As the year gets into gear, so does Who, Me?, The Register’s weekly reader-contributed column in which we share your stories of getting away with tech shortcuts that should really have led to long career detours.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/who_me/ Save to Pocket
US Marks Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-marks-martin-luther-king-jr-holiday/7440163.html Save to Pocket
Deaths in Rio Grande Intensify Tensions Between Texas, Biden Administration
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — After Texas fenced off a park along the U.S.-Mexico border and began turning away Border Patrol agents, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott explained why at a campaign stop near Houston.
“We are not allowing Border Patrol on that property anymore,” Abbott said Friday, drawing applause from supporters while endorsing a state legislator running for reelection. He relayed frustration over migrants illegally entering the U.S. through the border city of Eagle Pass and federal agents loading them onto buses.
“We said, ‘We’ve had it. We’re not going to let this happen anymore,’” Abbott said.
Later that night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said three migrants, including two children, drowned near the park after Texas officials “physically barred” Border Patrol agents from entering. Mexican authorities pulled the bodies, each of them wearing jackets, from the water on the other side of the Rio Grande.
The weekend deaths intensified tensions between Texas and the Biden administration.
They also unleashed a new round of criticism from Democrats over Abbott’s aggressive actions to curb illegal crossings, accusing the measures of putting migrants at risk. U.S. authorities described the drownings as underscoring the need for Border Patrol agents to have access to the area around Shelby Park, which Texas closed off earlier this week.
“U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said in a statement.
On Sunday evening, the Texas Military Department released a statement disputing the U.S. government’s accounts, calling it “wholly inaccurate” that state personnel prevented Border Patrol from saving drowning migrants.
“At the time that Border Patrol requested access, the drownings had occurred, Mexican authorities were recovering the bodies, and Border Patrol expressed these facts to the TMD personnel on site,” the department said.
The Biden administration stuck to its initial account Sunday, saying in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that Texas denied Border Patrol agents access before they knew the migrants died. In a direct contradiction of Texas’ version of events, Homeland Security said agents at the time knew only that migrants were attempting to cross the river.
“Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol agents access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities,” wrote Jonathan E. Meyer, Homeland Security’s general counsel.
Meyer threatened legal action if Texas doesn’t restore access by the end of Wednesday.
The park lies in a major corridor for migrants entering illegally from Mexico and is at the center of Abbott’s aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star. Migrants are periodically swept away to their deaths by the current of the Rio Grande.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents a Texas border district, acknowledged Sunday that state officials investigated the distress call and searched for the migrants.
“However, the bottom line is that Border Patrol was barred from entering Shelby Park,” Cuellar said in a statement.
Texas officials said Border Patrol agents had requested access to find other migrants who were presumed to have been with those who died. Two were apprehended by state military personnel, including one who was transferred to medics with “hypothermic conditions.” The statement did not say whether Border Patrol agents were allowed in the park.
Over the summer, thousands of people were crossing illegally into the U.S. through Eagle Pass. The numbers subsided but again rose in December when thousands of migrants overwhelmed federal resources. But a sharp decrease was noted at the start of January after Mexico stepped up immigration enforcement.
The 20-hectare park is owned by the city, but it is used by the state Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department to patrol border crossings. Earlier this week, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas questioned why the state closed the park now, since daily apprehensions in the region have fallen in recent weeks. He said the state gave city officials no warning and offered no timetable on when the park would reopen.
On Friday, the Justice Department told the U.S. Supreme Court that Texas had taken control of Shelby Park and was not letting Border Patrol agents enter. Texas acknowledged seizing the city park but told the court the federal government had mischaracterized its actions and that it was trying to resolve any disputes over access.
Texas has come under recurring scrutiny over efforts to curb border crossings. Abbott has sent more than 100,000 migrants on buses to Democratic-led cities, even as frigid conditions set in during the winter. He also has strung up razor wire on the border and installed buoy barriers on the Rio Grande.
Melissa R. Cigarroa, a city council member in Laredo and member of the No Border Wall Coalition, was among those who attended a vigil Saturday at Shelby Park to mark the deaths of migrants who have died along the Rio Grande. She said attendees passed through a gate with armed National Guard members and that they could see law enforcement officers and vehicles gathered near the river.
She said that scene, coupled with the reason for the ceremony, left her thinking about “just how little people’s lives matter in these decisions.”
“People are dying, and we know now that deterrents mean nothing,” she said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/deaths-in-rio-grande-intensify-tensions-between-texas-biden-administration-/7440156.html Save to Pocket
Cloudflare defends firing of staffer for reasons HR could not explain
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Net-taming firm lets staff go if they’re bad at ‘measurable performance targets’ or aren’t ‘right for the team’, which seems a tad contradictory
Cloudflare has defended its HR practices after a former employee posted a nine-minute video of a phone call during which she was fired, asked for an explanation for being let go, but was told those who made the call were unaware of the reasons for her dismissal.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/cloudflare_viral_firing_video/ Save to Pocket
US Congressional Leaders Unveil Bill to Avert Shutdown
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress Sunday unveiled a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies operating into March.
The agreement aims to avert short-term chaos and buy more time to craft the complex spending legislation that funds government activity.
Government agencies that oversee transportation, housing, and other services are due to run out of funding by midnight on Friday and would have to scale back activity if new funding is not signed into law.
The Democratic-led Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives have been at odds over spending levels for months.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer agreed on the measure with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The legislation could run into difficulty in the House, where a faction of conservative Republicans have used disruptive tactics to press for lower spending levels.
Republicans control the chamber with a narrow 219-213 majority, leaving Johnson with little room for error. Some Republicans insist that any spending bills must also clamp down on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Current funding is due to expire this week for federal programs involving transportation, housing, agriculture, energy, veterans and military construction.
Funding for other parts of the government, including defense, will continue through Feb. 2.
The new spending bill would extend the deadline to March 1 for the first group and March 8 for the second. Schumer, the top Democrat in Congress, and Johnson, the top Republican, have agreed on a $1.59 trillion total for those bills.
That would give lawmakers more time to negotiate and pass the detailed spending legislation they should have passed before the start of the government’s fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2023.
The legislation covers roughly one-third of U.S. government spending, which amounted to $6.1 trillion in the last fiscal year.
The remaining two-thirds includes retirement and health benefits which do not need to be approved annually by Congress, as well as interest payments.
Johnson spent much of last week in meetings with hardliners and other segments of his Republican conference, raising speculation that he could seek to revise his agreement with Schumer. But the speaker ultimately stood by the deal.
The federal government came close to a partial shutdown last autumn, when hardline Republicans ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for reaching a bipartisan stopgap spending deal with Schumer.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-congressional-leaders-unveil-bill-to-avert-shutdown/7440153.html Save to Pocket
Linus Torvalds postpones Linux 6.8 merge window after being taken offline by storms
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Roads are icy and drivers are dangerous. There will be no Starbucks run.
Linus Torvalds has indefinitely postponed the merge window for version 6.8 of the Linux kernel after a winter storm knocked out power and internet near his work-from-home location in Oregon.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/linux_kernel_merge_window_postponed/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Really need checkbox news finally, because I am so tired of hearing about all the same old bullshit about this asshole. You know who I’m talking about.
http://scripting.com/stories/2007/04/23/tvNewsOfTheFuture.html Save to Pocket
January 14, 2024
date: 2024-01-15, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
You hear sometimes, now that we know the sordid details of the lives of some of our leading figures, that America has no heroes left. When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee Massacre, where heroism was pretty thin on the ground, I gave that a lot of thought. And I came to believe that heroism is neither being perfect, nor doing something spectacular. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost, even if no one will ever know, even as they realize the walls might be closing in around them.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-14-2024 Save to Pocket
Tiny little text boxes
date: 2024-01-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14/031201.html?title=tinyLittleTextBoxes Save to Pocket
China loathes AirDrop so much it’s publicized an old flaw in Apple’s P2P protocol
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Infosec academic suggests Beijing’s warning that iThing owners aren’t anonymous deserves attention outside the great firewall too
In June 2023 China made a typically bombastic announcement: operators of short-distance ad hoc networks must ensure they run according to proper socialist principles, and ensure all users divulge their real-world identities.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/china_airdrop_anonymity_warning/ Save to Pocket
US Ambassador to Kazakhstan Outlines US Engagement in Central Asia
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — U.S. strategic interests in Central Asia boil down to stability and sovereignty, according to Washington’s top diplomat in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich republic sharing long borders with Russia and China.
With an eye on the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, a fellow former Soviet republic, the countries in the region have adopted a hedging strategy, maintaining deep links to Moscow while also bolstering relations with the West.
U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum told the Caspian Policy Center gathering on Jan. 4, that the main goal of U.S. policy for Central Asia is to ensure that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan “stand on their own, be fully sovereign and independent countries that can make their own choices about who to associate with, who to trade with, who to have relations with — without undue external pressure.”
Rosenblum pointed to the so-called C5+1 group, including the United States and the five republics, underlining its “value in acting as a group, integrating with one another, cooperating — that makes each of them stronger individually.”
A second focus for Washington is border security and counterterrorism, a third is boosting trade and investment, and a fourth is promoting human rights and the rule of law, he said.
Economic and political aspects
Kazakhstan is America’s top business partner in Central Asia, with $3 billion in bilateral trade in 2022 and an estimated 15% increase last year, plus $5 billion direct investment in 2023.
Despite holding regular talks on human rights, Rosenblum said Washington and Astana “do not see eye-to-eye” on the lack of meaningful political competition and the continuous arrests of critical voices.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch sites enduring concerns.
“Two years after large-scale anti-government protests rocked Kazakhstan in January 2022, few officials have been held accountable for their part in [the] disproportionate use of force against protesters, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, and torture and ill-treatment of detainees,” HRW stated in its annual report issued this week.
“When I arrived in November 2022, there were seven names on the list [of political prisoners], which had been going down steadily. And now there are 23, which is not a good trend,” Rosenblum said.
Akbota Karibayeva, a Ph.D. candidate at the George Washington University, agreed with Rosenblum, stressing that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s transformation package branded as the “New Kazakhstan” has not yet had major effects.
“In the ‘New Kazakhstan,’ we continue to see a familiar cycle of detaining activists for expressing their opinions and repeatedly denying registration to opposition movements. The space for dissenting voices has barely expanded, if at all,” Karibayeva told VOA.
Asserting that Astana is complying with sanctions against Russia, Rosenblum pointed to the U.S., EU and U.K. comprised list of 45 categories of goods.
“Those 45, our experts say, are less than 2% of Kazakhstan’s exports to Russia. Even if they weren’t controlling it at all, it would not constitute more than 2%,” he said.
Rosenblum defended Kazakhstan, which has a 7,644-kilometer border with Russia.
“Since the sanctions were first imposed back in 2022, Kazakhstan’s record, I’d argue, is a good one, both in terms of their ability to prevent sanctions evasion and also making sure that they’re complying with all the sanctions when it comes to their domestic companies, relationships with Russian companies, Russian banks, and so on,” he said.
Kazakhstan last month removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist groups.
“They gave us advance notice that they were doing this, which is in the spirit of the partnership of no surprises,” Rosenblum said. “Kazakhstan has made clear that it will not recognize the Taliban government, and that remains its position until there’s an international consensus and certain benchmarks are made. And this doesn’t change that. They’ve also made clear that they prioritize developing some level of economic relations with Afghanistan, even with the Taliban regime in charge there.”
Kazakhstan vs. Uzbekistan
Before his current assignment, Rosenblum served as ambassador to Uzbekistan, whose leadership has also promised reforms.
“When I arrived in Tashkent [in 2019], it was already a couple of years into the reform process. … Things were slowing down,” he said.
In Rosenblum’s view, Uzbekistan’s initial steps toward change were dramatic, despite the backslidings many observe now, specifically the systemic challenges, testing President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s commitment and his regime’s willingness to transition from an ingrained authoritarian government to a democratic one.
Kazakhstan, he said, has cycled through reform phases producing limited advances, “as opposed to what was really like a sea change, kind of a watershed in Uzbekistan, where suddenly the closed system was opened up.”
Since 2022, following the January civil unrest that left at least 227 dead, Kazakhstan changed its constitution, held presidential and parliamentary elections that Tokayev coined as “democratic” despite the lack of opposition. He has vowed to leave office in 2029, at the end of his seven-year presidential term.
Tokayev pledged to decentralize power and strengthen local governance, moves that Rosenblum said are still unfolding.
“The jury is still out. We have to give some time to see,” he said.
China, Russia, Iran
One issue Washington and Astana disagree on is China’s treatment of Uyghurs, atrocities that the U.S. considers a genocide and crimes against humanity. Yet Rosenblum sees some daylight there.
“There are some Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs who are able to cross the border. They don’t necessarily receive refugee status, but they’ve essentially taken refuge in Kazakhstan, which has lived up to its international obligations of nonrefoulement,” he said, referring to the principle that asylum-seekers should not be returned to countries where they face serious threat to life or freedom.
“They do not send people back to China,” he said.
Kazakhstan’s trade with China recently surpassed $30 billion, which is 10 times more than its trade with the United States, which Rosenblum said he does not find surprising “since they are close neighbors.”
“Kazakhs are sort of bullish on economic relations with China. They are not as exposed or as vulnerable, arguably, as other Central Asian countries because they haven’t taken on nearly as much Chinese debt,” he said.
Kazakhstan will continue to diversify its political and economic partnerships, Rosenblum predicted, despite China’s growing influence and the country’s continuing dependence on Russia for energy.
Russian nationalists’ frequent calls to annex Kazakhstan are viewed alarmingly in Astana, Rosenblum said, but he added, “I don’t feel like there’s a sense of any imminent danger or threat to the northern border of Kazakhstan.”
As part of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakhstan recently signed a free trade deal with Iran. Rosenblum said Astana consults with Washington on this issue as well.
“The Kazakh government by now has learned what’s sanctionable and what isn’t,” he said.
Kazakhstan, a regional leader?
While Rosenblum praised Kazakhstan as a “consistent pusher” for regional unity and connectivity, Karibayeva argued that to become a real catalyst for change in Central Asia, her country must lead by example.
“Symbolic gestures and high-level engagements among Central Asian countries and with the United States are important signals of commitment. But it is now essential to progress beyond discussions and focus on implementation at every level of cooperation,” she told VOA.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-ambassador-to-kazakhstan-outlines-us-engagement-in-central-asia/7440100.html Save to Pocket
March for Gaza Rally Draws Thousands in Washington
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington for a “March for Gaza” rally as the Israel-Hamas war reached 100 days. The march was part of a global day of protests demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. Saqib Ul Islam has more.
https://www.voanews.com/a/march-for-gaza-rally-draws-thousands-in-washington/7440072.html Save to Pocket
OpenAI tweaks its fine print, removes explicit ban on ‘military and warfare’ use
date: 2024-01-15, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
PLUS: It’s difficult to make a bad LLM turn good; ELVIS Act seeks AI voice clone ban
AI in brief OpenAI has changed the policies covering use of its models and removed “disallowed usages” of its models including “the generation of malware”, “military and warfare” applications, “multi-level marketing”, “plagiarism”, “astroturfing”, and more.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/ai_in_brief/ Save to Pocket
Episode 124 - The Full 360
date: 2024-01-15, from: Advent of Computing
https://adventofcomputing.libsyn.com/episode-124-the-full-360 Save to Pocket
All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy
date: 2024-01-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Students should be exercising more:
Daily exercise promotes a healthy mind, and a healthy mind is better apt for learning and retaining information.
The post All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/14/all-work-and-no-play-makes-jack-a-dull-boy/ Save to Pocket
‘Mean Girls’ Takes 1st Place at Box Office
date: 2024-01-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/mean-girls-takes-1st-place-at-box-office/7440051.html Save to Pocket
Monday 15 January, 2024
date: 2024-01-15, from: John Naughton’s online diary
In flight Two of my kids, on a memorable day on the Mayo coast, way back in 2004. Quote of the Day ”There’s no underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” H.L. Mencken As we may be destined to discover … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/monday-15-january-2024/39029/ Save to Pocket
pg_back 2.2.0 released
date: 2024-01-15, from: PostgreSQL News
pg_back is a simple backup tool for PostgreSQL using pg_dump.
This new version adds support for public and private keys for encryption with AGE, some bugfixes and an example Dockerfile and other configs to ease deployment in Kubernetes.
We would like to thanks all contributors who helped make this release possible.
The source code, documentation and downloads are available on github: https://github.com/orgrim/pg_back
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/pg_back-220-released-2776/ Save to Pocket
Following Review, Business Insider Stands by Reports on Wife of Ex-Harvard President’s Critic
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
New York — Business Insider’s top executive and parent company said Sunday they were satisfied with the fairness and accuracy of stories that made plagiarism accusations against a former MIT professor who is married to a prominent critic of former Harvard President Claudine Gay.
“We stand by Business Insider and its newsroom,” said a spokesman for Axel Springer, the German media company that owns the publication.
The company had said it would look into the stories about Neri Oxman, a prominent designer, following complaints by her husband, Bill Ackman, a Harvard graduate and CEO of the Pershing Square investment firm. He publicly campaigned against Gay, who resigned earlier this month following criticism of her answers at a congressional hearing on antisemitism and charges that her academic writing contained examples of improperly credited work.
With its stories, Business Insider raised both the idea of hypocrisy and the possibility that academic dishonesty is widespread, even among the nation’s most prominent scholars.
Ackman’s response, and the pressure that a well-connected person placed on the corporate owners of a journalism outlet, raised questions about the outlet’s independence.
Business Insider and Axel Springer’s “liability just goes up and up and up,” Ackman said Sunday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “This is what they consider fair, accurate and well-documented reporting with appropriate timing. Incredible.”
Business Insider’s first article, on Jan. 4, noted that Ackman had seized on revelations about Gay’s work to back his efforts against her — but that the organization’s journalists “found a similar pattern of plagiarism” by Oxman. A second piece, published the next day, said Oxman had stolen sentences and paragraphs from Wikipedia, fellow scholars and technical documents in a 2010 doctoral dissertation at M.I.T.
Ackman complained that it was a low blow to attack someone’s family in such a manner and said Business Insider reporters gave him less than two hours to respond to the accusations. He suggested an editor there was an anti-Zionist. Oxman was born in Israel.
The business leader reached out in protest to board members at both Business Insider and Axel Springer. That led to Axel Springer telling The New York Times that questions had been raised about the motivation behind the articles and the reporting process, and the company promised to conduct a review.
On Sunday, Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng issued a statement saying “there was no unfair bias or personal, political and/or religious motivation in pursuit of the story.”
Peng said the stories were newsworthy and that Oxman, with a public profile as a prominent intellectual, was fair game as a subject. The stories were “accurate and the facts well-documented,” Peng said.
“Business Insider supports and empowers our journalists to share newsworthy, factual stories with our readers, and we do so with editorial independence,” Peng wrote.
Business Insider would not say who conducted the review of its work.
Ackman said his wife admitted to four missing quotation marks and one missed footnote in a 330-page dissertation. He said the articles could have “literally killed” his wife if not for the support of her family and friends.
“She has suffered severe emotional harm,” he wrote on X, “and as an introvert, it has been very, very difficult for her to make it through each day.”
For her part, Gay wrote in the Times that those who campaigned to have her ousted “often trafficked in lies and ad hominem insults, not reasoned arguments.” Harvard’s first Black president said she was the subject of death threats and had “been called the N-word more times than I care to count.”
There was no immediate comment Sunday from Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider’s global editor in chief. In a memo to his staff last weekend that was reported by The Washington Post, Carlson said he made the call to publish both of the stories and that he knew the process of preparing them was sound.
https://www.voanews.com/a/following-review-business-insider-stands-by-reports-on-wife-of-ex-harvard-president-s-critic/7439723.html Save to Pocket
‘The Honeymooners’ Actress Joyce Randolph Dies At 99
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
New York — Joyce Randolph, a veteran stage and television actress whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband, has died. She was 99.
Randolph died of natural causes Saturday night at her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, her son Randolph Charles told The Associated Press Sunday.
She was the last surviving main character of the beloved comedy from television’s golden age of the 1950s.
“The Honeymooners” was an affectionate look at Brooklyn tenement life, based in part on star Jackie Gleason’s childhood. Gleason played the blustering bus driver Ralph Kramden. Audrey Meadows was his wisecracking, strong-willed wife Alice, and Art Carney the cheerful sewer worker Ed Norton. Alice and Trixie often found themselves commiserating over their husbands’ various follies and mishaps, whether unknowingly marketing dogfood as a popular snack or trying in vain to resist a rent hike, or freezing in the winter as their heat is shut off.
Randolph would later cite a handful of favorite episodes, including one in which Ed is sleepwalking.
“And Carney calls out, ‘Thelma?!’ He never knew his wife’s real name,” she later told the Television Academy Foundation.
Originating in 1950 as a recurring skit on Gleason’s variety show, “Cavalcade of Stars,” “The Honeymooners” still ranks among the all-time favorites of television comedy. The show grew in popularity after Gleason switched networks with “The Jackie Gleason Show.” Later, for one season in 1955-56, it became a full-fledged series.
Those 39 episodes became a staple of syndicated programming aired all over the country and beyond.
In an interview with The New York Times in January 2007, Randolph said she received no compensation in residuals for those 39 episodes. She said she finally began getting royalties with the discovery of “lost” episodes from the variety hours.
After five years as a member of Gleason’s on-the-air repertory company, Randolph virtually retired, opting to focus full-time on marriage and motherhood.
“I didn’t miss a thing by not working all the time,” she said. “I didn’t want a nanny raising (my) wonderful son.”
But decades after leaving the show, Randolph still had many admirers and received dozens of letters a week. She was a regular into her 80s at the downstairs bar at Sardi’s, where she liked to sip her favorite White Cadillac concoction — Dewar’s and milk — and chat with patrons who recognized her from a portrait of the sitcom’s four characters over the bar.
Randolph said the show’s impact on television viewers didn’t dawn on her until the early 1980s.
“One year while (my son) was in college at Yale, he came home and said, ‘Did you know that guys and girls come up to me and ask, ’Is your mom really Trixie?’” she told The San Antonio Express in 2000. “I guess he hadn’t paid much attention before then.”
Earlier, she had lamented that playing Trixie limited her career.
“For years after that role, directors would say: ‘No, we can’t use her. She’s too well-known as Trixie,’” Randolph told the Orlando Sentinel in 1993.
Gleason died in 1987 at age 71, followed by Meadows in 1996 and Carney in 2003. Gleason had revived “The Honeymooners” in the 1960s, with Jane Kean as Trixie.
Randolph was born Joyce Sirola in Detroit in 1924, and was around 19 when she joined a road company of “Stage Door.” From there she went to New York and performed in a number of Broadway shows.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was seen often on TV, appearing with such stars as Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Danny Thomas and Fred Allen.
Randolph met Gleason for the first time when she did a Clorets commercial on “Cavalcade of Stars,” and The Great One took a liking to her; she didn’t even have an agent at the time.
Randolph spent her retirement going to Broadway openings and fundraisers, being active with the U.S.O. and visiting other favorite Manhattan haunts, among them Angus, Chez Josephine and the Lambs Club.
Her husband, Richard Lincoln, a wealthy marketing executive who died in 1997, served as president at the Lambs, a theatrical club, and she reigned as “first lady.” They had one son, Charles.
https://www.voanews.com/a/the-honeymooners-actress-joyce-randolph-dies-at-99/7439718.html Save to Pocket
Celebrating Dr. King’s Legacy with Speech and Debate Competition
date: 2024-01-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Dunn School hosts Second Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational in Los Olivos.
The post Celebrating Dr. King’s Legacy with Speech and Debate Competition appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/14/celebrating-dr-kings-legacy-with-speech-and-debate-competition/ Save to Pocket
Judge Says Trump Can Wait a Week to Testify at Sex Abuse Victim’s Defamation Trial
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
New York — Former President Donald Trump can wait a week to testify at a New York defamation trial where he could face millions of dollars in damages after a jury concluded that he sexually abused a columnist in the 1990s, a federal judge said Sunday.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued a one-page order saying Trump could testify on Jan. 22 even if the trial that starts Tuesday is over by Thursday, except for testimony by the Republican front-runner in this year’s presidential race.
He said he previously denied Trump’s request to delay the start of the trial by a week so Trump could attend the funeral Thursday of his mother-in-law because it would disrupt and inconvenience prospective jurors, lawyers, court staff and security, who were notified of the trial date seven months ago.
The judge also noted that he has learned that Trump, even while seeking to postpone the trial, had scheduled an evening campaign appearance on Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He said Trump’s lawyers notified the judge on Friday that Trump planned to attend the trial.
A jury to be chosen Tuesday prior to opening statements will hear evidence pertaining to $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages requested by attorneys for columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Carroll, 80, won a $5 million sex abuse and defamation judgment in May from a civil jury that heard her testify that Trump attacked her sexually in the dressing room of a luxury department store in midtown Manhattan in spring 1996 after they had a chance meeting that was lighthearted before turning violent.
Trump did not attend that trial and has repeatedly said he never knew Carroll and believed she made up her claims to promote a 2019 memoir in which she first made them publicly and to damage him politically.
The jury rejected Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her as rape is defined by New York state law but agreed that he sexually abused her in the department store and defamed her with statements he made in October 2022.
This month’s trial, long delayed by appeals, stems from defamatory comments the judge said Trump made about Carroll in 2019 and last May, a day after the jury announced its verdict.
Kaplan ruled last year that the trial starting Tuesday only will pertain to damages because the prior jury’s findings about sexual abuse and defamation can be accepted for purposes of the new trial.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump attorney Alina Habba objected to restrictions on Trump’s testimony requested by an attorney for Carroll, saying that despite instructions already given by the judge, Trump can “still offer considerable testimony in his defense.”
She noted that someone seeking punitive damages in a defamation case in New York state must show that libelous statements were made out of hatred, ill will or spite and said Trump should be allowed to offer evidence and testimony about whether hatred or ill will was behind his comments to reporters.
Habba said Trump also can testify about the circumstances of his comments and how they related to comments in Carroll’s “continuous parade of interviews and publicity.”
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, asked the judge in a letter on Friday to put restrictions on Trump if he testifies so that he does not “sow chaos” or “poison these proceedings.”
Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said she feared Trump would try to flout the judge’s instructions that Trump not contend in his testimony, as he frequently has with public statements on the campaign trail, that Carroll fabricated her claims against him.
In a ruling earlier this month, the judge alluded to the fact that what the jury concluded Trump did to Carroll constitutes rape in some states when he wrote that “the fact that Mr. Trump sexually abused — indeed, raped — Ms. Carroll has been conclusively established and is binding in this case.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/judge-says-trump-can-wait-a-week-to-testify-at-sex-abuse-victim–defamation-trial/7439707.html Save to Pocket
‘Technical glitch’ in payroll software sparks riots in Papua New Guinea
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
PLUS: Microsoft taps 700 million new customers in China; AI comes to Korean DMZ; India’s semiconductor sector surges
Asia in Brief Papua New Guinea (PNG) has implemented a two-week state of emergency after failure to reconfigure the nation’s payroll system for government employees sparked riots that resulted in multiple deaths.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/14/asia_tech_news_roundup/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
When is the New York Times going to run a column about children of Holocaust survivors who are terrified of America turning into a Nazi dictatorship, next year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/14/opinion/trump-voters-iowa-caucus.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
When the “Summer of Love” Took over San Francisco
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/when-summer-love-took-over-san-francisco/ Save to Pocket
7 Guiding Principles for Working with LLMs
date: 2024-01-14, from: Jonudell blog
Here’s the latest installment in the series on working with LLMS: 7 Guiding Principles for Working with LLMs. The rest of the series: 1 When the rubber duck talks back 2 Radical just-in-time learning 3 Why LLM-assisted table transformation is a big deal 4 Using LLM-Assisted Coding to Write a Custom Template Function 5 Elevating … Continue reading 7 Guiding Principles for Working with LLMs
https://blog.jonudell.net/2024/01/14/7-guiding-principles-for-working-with-llms/ Save to Pocket
Person detained following domestic violence report
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
A person was detained on Seco Canyon Road following a domestic violence incident on Sunday, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “We got a call for a male grabbing a female’s face, and the guy took off, so we ended up finding him,” said Deputy Nicholas Hoslet. “We got a call at 11:57 […]
The post Person detained following domestic violence report appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/person-detained-following-domestic-violence-report/ Save to Pocket
Not a collector, but…
date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Rupert blog
You might look at my office and the 32 plastic robot models on my shelf and think “This guy is a collector!” Or you might look a the bass guitar, electric guitar, long neck open back banjo, closed back resonator banjo, tuba, saxaphone, ukelele, and shamisen in my office and think, “Hey, this guy is a collector!” Or you might look at all the books, comics, or records in my office and think, “This guy knows how to collect!”
But you would be wrong.
I’m not a collector, I’m a serial project starter.
Each of those plastic models is the outcome of a project. You don’t look at a knitter’s socks and blankets and say “Wow, look at this yarn collector!” The same with the instruments; it’s not a collection of world instruments so much as evidence of an obsession for learning about objects that produce sound. The records? Well… most of those are from my step-father who –beyond tools he used for home improvement projects– wasn’t a collector either.
I know collectors with great collections. My uncle is an avid collector and his house is pretty much the town’s museum stuffed with old WW2 memorabilia. His collections also live at the local VA and the old train depot (which is now a museum). I admire people who collect, organize, catalog, and arrange. That archivist nature is a superskill.
Me? I suppose I have some inadvertent collections of similar objects, but I don’t fancy myself a collector. I don’t need more possessions in my life. But if there’s a project… well, don’t mind if I do.
https://daverupert.com/2024/01/not-a-collector/ Save to Pocket
Join Us for the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity Walk
date: 2024-01-14, from: City of Santa Clarita
Join Us for the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity Walk City Manager Ken Striplin Join us on Monday, January 15, as we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a time to reflect on and celebrate Dr. King’s enduring legacy of promoting civil rights through peaceful activism. In Santa Clarita, we are proud […]
The post Join Us for the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity Walk appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/01/14/join-us-for-the-annual-martin-luther-king-jr-day-unity-walk/ Save to Pocket
Yours Truly on the Techmeme Ride Home Podcast
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.ridehome.info/show/techmeme-ride-home/bonus-john-gruber-talks-apple-and-ai/ Save to Pocket
Life-Threatening Wintry Weather Blankets US Election Tradition
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
Iowa Republican voters gather this week to select the delegates they plan to send to their respective party’s national conventions ahead of presidential elections. But this year, Mother Nature may have other plans. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has this story.
https://www.voanews.com/a/life-threatening-wintry-weather-blankets-us-election-tradition/7439654.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Manton Reece: The case for .bar.
https://www.manton.org/2024/01/14/the-case-for.html Save to Pocket
Why Words Matter
date: 2024-01-14, from: Om Malik blog
A Man may make a Remark –In itself – a quiet thingThat may furnish the Fuse unto a SparkIn dormant nature – lain –Let us divide – with skill –Let us discourse – with care –Powder exists in Charcoal –Before it exists in Fire –A Quiet Thing, Emily Dickinson When reading this poem, I was …
https://om.co/2024/01/14/why-words-matter/ Save to Pocket
San Jose Sharks still stuck in Ottawa as snowstorm pummels Buffalo area
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Sharks awaited word Sunday on when they could fly into the Buffalo region hit hard by a snowstorm
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/san-jose-sharks-still-stuck-in-ottawa-as-snowstorm-pummels-buffalo-area/ Save to Pocket
Livermore: Man arrested for exposing himself to female student
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
A 39-year-old registered sex offender allegedly exposed himself to a female student at Granada High School last Thursday, according to Livermore Police.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/livermore-man-arrested-for-exposing-himself-to-female-student/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Reservation Dogs was great, esp the last season.
https://www.metacritic.com/tv/reservation-dogs/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Substack Was a Ticking Time Bomb.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/01/substack-exodus-social-media-moderation/677113/ Save to Pocket
Week 2, 366 Project Wrap Up
date: 2024-01-14, from: Om Malik blog
I could use the rain as an excuse, but that would be a cop-out. I did go out often, and there were opportunities to capture images. The rain itself gave me so many opportunities. Even when I did find images that spoke to me, I couldn’t get things to work out. Usually, my everyday camera, …
https://om.co/2024/01/14/week-2-366-project-wrap-up/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton, the wife of a guffawing, rubber-limbed sewer worker forever mired in a blowhard neighbor’s get-rich-quick schemes and other hazards of life on the classic 1950s sitcom “The Honeymooners,” died on Saturday at her home in Manhattan. She was 99.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/14/obituaries/joyce-randolph-dead.html Save to Pocket
On enjoying the process
date: 2024-01-14, from: Manu - I write blog
Working on a project of any kind is a journey. And like any type of journey, what matters the most is not the destination, but the journey itself. It’s easy for me to forget that crucial aspect while I’m working through any type of project. I jump from one project to the next, with my eyes set on the finish line but I forget to pay attention to the process. And in doing that I often find myself to be quite miserable. Because there’s no joy to be found at the finish line. The enjoyable part is the process. Trying new things, failing, making mistakes, experimenting, getting hurt. It’s all part of the process and it’s what makes the journey enjoyable.
https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/2QT4GBm1LwjmoflN Save to Pocket
Prep roundup: Granada, San Ramon Valley boys continue to sizzle at MLK showcase
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Spencer Langowski, NaVaughn Long lead Granada past Menlo-Atherton. Luke Isaak scores 27 in SRV’s win over Inderkum. O’Dowd girls turn back Salesian.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/prep-roundup-granada-san-ramon-valley-boys-continue-to-sizzle-at-mlk-showcase/ Save to Pocket
HOWTO: Change your behavior
date: 2024-01-14, from: Matt Might blog
In theory, behavior change should be easy.
At first glance, it seems like you control your behavior.
So, if you desire different behavior, why doesn’t your behavior change as instantly as your desire to change it?
In short, lasting change of habitual behaviors is a multi-stage process.
In 1977, as psychologists James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente were studying the behavior of smokers, they identified these stages.
Their transtheoretical model of behavior change captures the process of behavior change in six different stages: (1) precontemplation; (2) contemplation; (3) preparation; (4) action; (5) maintenance; and (6) relapse.
In the years since, this landmark model has been found to be applicable to many habitual human behaviors.
The key takeaway is that the odds of successful long-term behavior change improve if you calibrate your strategy to the stage of change you’re in.
The goal of this article is to provide an actionable summary of this model and interventions for each stage, so that you can more effectively change your behavior in the long-term.
Understanding the model may also help you to understand why you may have struggled with behavior change in the past.
Disclaimer: This article is based on my survey of the scientific literature and my own lived experience. I am not a mental health professional, and if you are struggling with behavior change or any other mental health condition, please immediately consult a qualified professional.
Click here to read the rest of the article
http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-change-your-behavior/ Save to Pocket
The Catastrophe In Gaza After 100 days Of Israel-Hamas War, By The Numbers
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: The LAist
Nearly 24,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began on Oct. 7, a staggering toll. Satellite imagery suggests that up to 160,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
https://laist.com/news/the-catastrophe-in-gaza-after-100-days-of-israel-hamas-war-by-the-numbers Save to Pocket
Multiple vehicles broken into in Castaic
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
No arrests have been made after several vehicles in Castaic were broken into early Sunday morning, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “We had a few vehicles broken into and no arrests in the Castaic area,” said Deputy Nicholas Hoslet. “The caller said that there were six or seven male adults wearing hoodies […]
The post <strong>Multiple vehicles broken into in Castaic</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/multiple-vehicles-broken-into-in-castaic/ Save to Pocket
Food and Drink Trends for 2024
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
By Mackenzie Filson Delish.com What’s in (and out) for next year? The experts have weighed in. With the door closed on 2023, we’re looking into our crystal balls (or tea leaves or pasta-themed tarot decks) to predict what food and drinks will be trendy in 2024. There are plenty of food trends we hope pick […]
The post Food and Drink Trends for 2024 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/food-and-drink-trends-for-2024/ Save to Pocket
Raspberry Pi 5 shortages shouldn’t last long
date: 2024-01-14, from: Jeff Geerling blog
Raspberry Pi 5 shortages shouldn’t last long
<div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em>Or at least that's the hope, based on current production rates.</em></p>
At CES 2024, I had the opportunity to chat with Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi’s CEO. We discussed the future of AI on the Pi, RP2040’s successor, the impending launch of Compute Module 5, and current production rates of Pi 4 and Pi 5 computers—Raspberry Pi’s bread and butter.
The news is good: currently (as of last week), they are manufacturing Pi 5 at a rate of 70,000 per week. By the end of January? 90,000 per week.
That would put manufacturing capacity for Pi 5 alone at 400,000 units every month.
<span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Jeff Geerling</span></span>
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/raspberry-pi-5-shortages-shouldnt-last-long Save to Pocket
Self-Care for Sick Days: Navigate cough, cold and flu season like a pro
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
Cooler weather inevitably means cough, cold and flu season isn’t far behind. Now is the time to take precautions and set yourself up with healthy habits. “As much as we try, avoiding viruses, bacteria and germs to prevent getting sick can be a challenge,” Dr. Tim Tiutan, MD, said. “However, being prepared with the right […]
The post Self-Care for Sick Days: Navigate cough, cold and flu season like a pro appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/self-care-for-sick-days-navigate-cough-cold-and-flu-season-like-a-pro/ Save to Pocket
Shocker, But Confirmed: LA County Has The Most Mexican Restaurants In The Country
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: The LAist
A Pew Research Center study has found that L.A. County has the most Mexican restaurants in the country, and 17% of restaurants in California serve Mexican food.
https://laist.com/news/food/shocker-but-confirmed-la-county-has-the-most-mexican-restaurants-in-the-country Save to Pocket
2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid: Little SUV built, billed right
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is marketed as an inexpensive small sport utility vehicle with superior fuel economy. It’s an enticing description for a family needing solid transportation, reliability, efficiency and strong brand resale value.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/2023-toyota-corolla-cross-hybrid-little-suv-built-billed-right/ Save to Pocket
2024 Lunar New Year: The Year of the Wood Dragon
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
Lunar New Year, or more familiarly Chinese New Year, will fall on Saturday, Feb. 10. The New Year celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. Year of the Wood Dragon It is the year of the Wood Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac. Beginning on Feb. 10 with Chinese New Year and ending […]
The post 2024 Lunar New Year: The Year of the Wood Dragon appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/lunar-new-year/ Save to Pocket
Pacifica: Two teens robbed at gunpoint in shopping center
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
One of the victims was transported to a local hospital for precautionary reasons, and the other was released to their family.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/pacifica-two-teens-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-shopping-center/ Save to Pocket
The 2023 Mercedes Benz GLC 300 Compact Luxury SUV
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
What is a GLC 300 ? A GLC 300 is a compact 2 row SUV built in the Bremen, Germany, assembly plant, and sold worldwide by Mercedes Benz. The GLC is a luxury SUV that’s inspired by the Mercedes Benz C Class cars and offers a higher view of the road with chunkier styling. It’s rated as one of the best gasoline powered compact luxury SUV’s; thanks to a smooth running gas engine, increased interior room and a broad range of technology that extends to the passengers comfort, convenience, safety and security.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/the-2023-mercedes-benz-glc-300-compact-luxury-suv/ Save to Pocket
E Ink let you change the colors and patterns on the back of this Infinix smartphone prototype
date: 2024-01-14, from: Liliputing
E Ink’s Prism 3 color display technology isn’t designed for eBook readers or tablets. Instead it’s a low-power, programmable display solution that can be used for digital signage… or even for things like cars that can change color. This year Lenovo plans to launch a laptop that lets you customize the colors and patterns on […]
The post E Ink let you change the colors and patterns on the back of this Infinix smartphone prototype appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/e-ink-let-you-change-the-colors-and-patterns-on-the-back-of-this-infinix-smartphone-prototype/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
One man gathers what another man spills.
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14.html#a172336 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Another Dead song that must’ve been fun to sing. “Wherever he goes the people all complain.”
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14.html#a171755 Save to Pocket
Taylor Swift’s cold-weather Chiefs coat was designed by the wife of a 49ers Pro Bowler
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
She has made items for several people around the NFL, but this was the highest-profile piece yet.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/taylor-swifts-cold-weather-chiefs-coat-was-designed-by-the-wife-of-a-49ers-pro-bowler/ Save to Pocket
Mental Health Not to Blame for Switchblade Stabbing of Classmate, Judge Finds
date: 2024-01-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The ruling paves the way for an attempted murder trial to begin against former Laguna Blanca student Cora Vides.
The post Mental Health Not to Blame for Switchblade Stabbing of Classmate, Judge Finds appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/14/mental-health-not-to-blame-for-switchblade-stabbing-of-classmate-judge-finds/ Save to Pocket
AYANEO AM02 retro mini PC has a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor, a 4 inch touchscreen display and classic console-inspired design
date: 2024-01-14, from: Liliputing
The AYANEO AM02 is a small desktop computer from a company best known for making handheld gaming PCs. But while this little PC may not have discrete graphics, it’s not hard to see that it’s also designed for gaming. It has a boxy shape and color scheme that borrows heavily from the NES and SNES, […]
The post AYANEO AM02 retro mini PC has a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor, a 4 inch touchscreen display and classic console-inspired design appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/ayaneo-am02-retro-mini-pc-has-a-ryzen-7-7840hs-processor-a-4-inch-touchscreen-display-and-classic-console-inspired-design/ Save to Pocket
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-09, from: Bruce Schneier blog
This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:
- I’m speaking at the International PolCampaigns Expo (IPE24) in Cape Town, South Africa, January 25-26, 2024.
The list is maintained on this page.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/upcoming-speaking-engagements-33.html Save to Pocket
USC vs. UCLA — as it happened
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Thomas Johnson reports live from Galen Center.
The post USC vs. UCLA — as it happened appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/14/usc-ucla-wbb-live-updates/ Save to Pocket
After 100 Days Of War, Israel Is Determined To Fight On In Gaza
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: The LAist
Israel claims some achievements in more than three months of fighting since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, but the Palestinian death toll has soared and the militant group still clings to power in Gaza.
https://laist.com/news/after-100-days-of-war-israel-is-determined-to-fight-on-in-gaza Save to Pocket
Frederik X is proclaimed the new king of Denmark after his mother Queen Margrethe II abdicates
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Denmark’s prime minister proclaimed Frederik X as king on Sunday after his mother Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, with massive crowds turning out to rejoice in the throne passing from a beloved monarch to her popular son.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/frederik-x-is-proclaimed-the-new-king-of-denmark-after-his-mother-queen-margrethe-ii-abdicates/ Save to Pocket
How clashing interpretations of Martin Luther King’s legacy fuels the fight over DEI and affirmative action
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
More than 60 years have passed since Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream Speech” speech at the March on Washington and yet his words still resonate today.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/how-clashing-interpretations-of-martin-luther-kings-legacy-fuels-the-fight-over-dei-and-affirmative-action/ Save to Pocket
Haley wins backing from ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who won’t mount his own third-party 2024 bid
date: 2024-01-14, from: San Jose Mercury News
Squelching speculation of a third-party presidential run, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Sunday endorsed Nikki Haley for the GOP nomination, saying he feels she “is the strongest chance” for Republicans to win in November.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/14/haley-wins-backing-from-ex-maryland-gov-larry-hogan-who-wont-mount-his-own-third-party-2024-bid/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
BTW, what are the proper pronouns for The Creator?
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14.html#a161012 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
With mystique of Substack in retreat, now – if we had a proper identity system with storage, we could make it easy for people to hook their world up to email, ie newsletters, and preserve choice, and be able to build editors that were more than tiny little textboxes. I was part of the PC wave in the 80s when writing tools advanced incredibly quickly. So many directions – from line-oriented editors on Unix and early Apples, to screen editors, then with the Mac we got wizzy, and page layout, and outliners for thinking and presentations. In the same time period programming changed from something requiring a million dollar investment in hardware and infrastructure, to something most students could afford. Just ten years. Since then our world has been reduced to copying and pasting into tiny text boxes. The question is bigger than if we need journalism, the question is do we need writers?
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14.html#a160204 Save to Pocket
Where we stand regarding the climate
date: 2024-01-14, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
Where we stand regarding the climate
This is a repost of a thread by @peterdutoit, with some additinal quotes from the sources linked. Peter du Toit has been posting climate related posts on fedi for quite a while. This is a recommendation to follow his account.
He says:
We are firmly on a path to chaos. We continue to pour greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Here is our track record for the period 1990-2022:
Graph sourced from this report:
All sectors apart from transport have fully rebounded from the drop in emissions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and now exceed 2019 levels. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes were the main contributors to the overall increase, accounting for about two thirds of current GHG emissions. Emissions of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases (F-gases), which have higher global warming potentials and account for about one quarter of current GHG emissions, are increasing rapidly: in 2022, F-gas emissions grew by 5.5 per cent, followed by CH4 at 1.8 per cent and N2O at 0.9 per cent. – Broken Record: Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again), by the UN environment programme.
As a result of the above, 2023 ended as the hottest year on record at +1.45°C above the preindustrial average, based on the six international climate datasets.
The annual average global temperature approached 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels – symbolic because the Paris Agreement on climate change aims to limit the long-term temperature increase (averaged over decades rather than an individual year like 2023) to no more than 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. – WMO confirms that 2023 smashes global temperature record.
At time of writing, using the standard decadal averages, we have currently heated by about +1.29ºC above the preindustrial average using four of the above datasets.
This number shows an up-to-the-second assessment of human-induced global warming since the second half of the 19th century. – Global Warming Index
The consequences of a world that has heated by +1.3ºC has become very clear during the past year. Here is a month-by-month look at the extreme events of 2023.
The number of global extreme weather events has seen a “staggering rise” in the past 30 years, said the United Nations, and experts warn climate change is “supercharging” the problem, per The Associated Press. – The extreme weather events of 2023, by Devika Rao, for The Week US, behind a subscription wall
With the emission trajectory for both CO₂ and Methane still increasing, the earth will continue to heat. There is no negotiation with the physics of this.
With our fossil fuel burning ways entrenched, we are firmly on track to pass the 1.5°C threshold in the near future.
Various groups have attempted to extrapolate when exactly this will become the earth’s permanent background baseline temperature.
Here is a projection from Berkley Earth:
The last nine years have included all nine of the warmest years observed in the instrumental record. – Global Temperature Report for 2023, by Robert Rohde, for Berkley Earth
Here is the projection from Copernicus Climate Change:
Global warming reached an estimated 1.26°C in December 2023. If the 30-year warming trend leading up then continued, global warming would reach 1.5°C by November 2033. – Global temperature trend monitor
There are others, like Dr James Hanson et al, who believe that these estimates are too conservative and that we will arrive at this threshold much sooner as they illustrate below.
We expect record monthly temperatures to continue into mid-2024 due to the present large planetary energy imbalance, with the 12- month running-mean global temperature reaching +1.6-1.7°C relative to 1880-1920 and falling to only +1.4 ± 0.1°C during the following La Nina. Considering the large planetary energy imbalance, it will be clear that the world is passing through the 1.5°C ceiling, and is headed much higher, unless steps are taken to affect Earth’s energy imbalance. – Global Warming Acceleration: Causes and Consequences
Whichever of the above projections end up being what transpires in reality, we know for sure that we are going to smash right past the 1.5°C threshold sometime between 2024 and 2033.
The devastation we witnessed in 2023 at +1.3°C of heating will seem mild as we reach higher levels of heating. We now also have solid research that shows crossing 1.5°C permanently, will set in motion tipping points that will unleash even more climate chaos as a result of their cascading effects.
Climate system tipping elements are components of the Earth system susceptible to a tipping point, that is, a critical threshold beyond which the system reorganises, often abruptly and/or irreversibly. Improved scientific understanding has shown that triggering climate system tipping points already this century cannot be ruled out, far sooner and at lower levels of warming than previously assumed. The goal of this chapter is to review the state of knowledge of climate system tipping points. – Climate Tipping Points: Insights for Effective Policy Action, OECD iLibrary
Our current response to what the physics requires to slow the emissions freight train is nothing short of a joke. The current policies put us on track for a +2.7°C world. Talk about an overshoot!
The UNEP on what is required starting immediately:
To reach emission levels consistent with a below 2°C pathway in 2030, the cuts required per year are now 5.3 per cent from 2024, reaching 8.7 per cent per year on average for the 1.5°C pathway. To compare, the fall in total global GHG emissions from 2019 to 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was 4.7 per cent. – Broken Record: Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again), by the UN environment programme.
As we start 2024 there is NO indication that we have any intent to approach this with the same urgency and determination which was displayed during the Covid pandemic.
Look around, it’s all business as usual.
As as result we are, as the UN Secretary General put it, “on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.”
Right now, there are billions of people on the frontlines of this.
We are entering the period of climate induced chaos.
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-01-14-climate Save to Pocket
A Weekend of Ferocious Winter Weather Could See Low-Temperature Records Set in US Heartland
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
O’FALLON, Mo. — Icy winter weather blanketed the U.S. on Saturday as a wave of Arctic storms threatened to break low-temperature records in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and cast a chill over everything from football playoffs to presidential campaigns.
As the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend began, the weather forecast was a crazy quilt of color-coded advisories, from an ice storm warning in Oregon to a blizzard warning in the northern Plains to high wind warnings in New Mexico.
“It’s, overall, been a terrible, terrible winter. And it came out of nowhere — two days,” Dan Abinana said as he surveyed a snowy Des Moines, Iowa. He moved to the state from Tanzania as a child years ago, but said “you never get used to the snow.”
The harsh weather in Oregon played a role in three deaths.
In Portland, medical examiners were investigating a hypothermia death as freezing rain and heavy snow fell in a city more accustomed to mild winter rains, and hundreds of people took shelter overnight at warming centers.
Portland Fire and Rescue also reported the death of a woman in her early 30s on Saturday afternoon. An RV caught fire when a small group of people used an open flame stove to keep warm inside and a tree fell on the vehicle, causing the fire to spread. Three other people escaped, including one with minor injuries, but the woman was trapped inside, the fire department said.
Authorities in Lake Oswego, Oregon, said a large tree fell on a home during high winds Saturday, killing an older man on the second floor.
Weather-related deaths already were reported earlier in the week in California, Idaho, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced a state of emergency, citing “very dangerous conditions.” Up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of snow fell in some areas over the past week, and wind chills were well below zero.
“This event is not going away tonight. It’s not going away tomorrow,” Pillen said at a news conference “It’s going to take a number of days.”
About 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) of Nebraska highways were closed. State police assisted more than 400 stranded motorists, said Col. John A. Bolduc, head of the Nebraska State Patrol.
In Iowa, cars were stuck for five hours in blowing snow on Interstate 80 after semitrailers jackknifed in slippery conditions. State troopers had handled 86 crashes and 535 motorist-assist calls since Friday, State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said.
Road crews were “working the snow-blowers like crazy,” Dinkla said, but high winds were blowing snow right back onto roadways.
Governors from New York to Louisiana warned residents to be prepared for worrisome weather.
Parts of Montana fell below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius) Saturday morning, and the National Weather Service said similar temperatures were expected as far as northern Kansas, with minus 50 F (minus 46 C) possible in the Dakotas. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service warned of rare and “life-threatening” cold.
“We’ve had, now, multiple back-to-back storms” parading across the country, weather service meteorologist Zach Taylor said. That typically happens at least a couple of times in the U.S. winter.
Still, to Eboni Jones of Des Moines, it felt unusual for “how much we’re getting all within one week.”
“It’s pretty crazy out,” Jones said while shoveling snow.
Grant Rampton, 25, also of Des Moines, braved a wind chill of minus 20 F (minus 29 C) to go sledding with friends at a golf course, fighting off the cold by wearing layers of clothing and insulated socks and keeping in constant movement.
“It’s a great state to be in,” said Rampton, a lifelong Iowan. “There’s not as much to do, in winter especially, but you can make your own fun, like out here, sledding with your friends.”
The temperature in parts of Iowa could dip as low as minus 14 F (minus 26 C) on Monday, when the state’s caucuses kick off the presidential primary season. And forecasters said it would be Wednesday before below-zero windchills go away.
Republicans Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump all canceled campaign events because of the storm.
Electricity was out Saturday afternoon in hundreds of thousands of households and businesses, mainly in Michigan, Oregon and Wisconsin, according to poweroutage.us.
In Yankton, South Dakota, the temperature was minus 15 F (minus 26 C) in the evening. Police there said plows were “freezing and breaking,” so they would not operate until conditions improve. The Minnehaha County Highway Department also pulled its plows “due to low visibility and extreme cold temps.”
In other places, if the problem wasn’t snow and wind, it was water: Record high tides hit the Northeast, flooding some homes in Maine and New Hampshire.
The coastal Northeast was pounded by 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) of rain in the morning, and a storm surge amplified what was already the month’s highest tide, National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Cempa said. In Portland, Maine, a gauge recorded a 14.57-foot (4.4-meter) difference between high and average low tide, topping a prior record of 14.17 feet (4.3 meters) set in 1978.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of a “dangerous storm” as she announced that the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers NFL playoff game was postponed from Sunday to Monday. Residents of the county that includes Buffalo were told to stay off the roads starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, with the forecast calling for 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters) or more of snow and winds gusting as high as 65 mph (105 kph).
Kansas City, Missouri, hosted a frigid playoff game Saturday night between the Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. It was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 degrees Celsius) at kickoff, easily setting a record for the coldest game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Still, hundreds of fans lined up hours beforehand outside the Arrowhead Stadium parking lots, some with ski goggles, heated socks and other winter gear they bought for the game.
Chiefs season ticket holder Keaton Schlatter and his friends had considered trying to sell their seats, as many other fans did.
“But we decided that it’s all part of the experience, and we didn’t want to miss it,” said Schlatter, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
In Oregon, Robert Banks, who has been homeless for several years, stood outside his blue tent along a Portland street in the afternoon, wearing one glove as sleet pelted him. He said he wanted to secure his belongings before making his way to a shelter.
“I lived in Alaska for a number of years,” he said. “The wind and the wet cold is different from dry tundra cold … oh, it is bone-chilling.”
The snow was welcome in at least one place.
Philip Spitzley of Lake Odessa, Michigan, woke up Friday to 95 small snowmen in his front yard to celebrate his 95th birthday. Fifteen family members and a neighbor collaborated on the snow-packing job, which took about 90 minutes.
“I was quite surprised,” Spitzley said. “I sat right here watching my TV and didn’t know they were out there. Then I saw flashlights.”
The display has turned into a spectacle as motorists slow down for a look. And with days of cold weather ahead, “they’ll be there awhile,” Spitzley said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/a-weekend-of-ferocious-winter-weather-could-see-low-temperature-records-set-in-us-heartland/7439400.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
It makes sense that AI is coming into existence at the time the human species, and most living things on the planet, appear about to cease to exist. It’s possible that we are just building our successor. A sort of ark of intellect. It would make sense, if there is a Creator, that they would arrange things this way. Just-in-time species reboot.
http://scripting.com/2024/01/14.html#a145854 Save to Pocket
Orange County Will Give Out Millions to Fight Homelessness Before It Happens
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: The LAist
The county allotted $3 million to administer a pilot program over the next year to assist households at risk of evictions.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/orange-county-will-give-out-millions-to-fight-homelessness-before-it-happens Save to Pocket
Schubert on Sunday 8: Julian Prégardien and Els Biesemans, Die Schöne Müllerin
date: 2024-01-14, from: Logic Matters blog
Julian Prégardien, in wonderful voice, is utterly compelling. The plangent tones of the fortepiano and Els Biesemans’ utter involvement adds so much. The shared level of commitment makes for a heartbreaking performance, of great emotional intensity. Surely one of the very finest recorded performances on disc or otherwise that we have. Why it is in […]
The post Schubert on Sunday 8: Julian Prégardien and Els Biesemans, Die Schöne Müllerin appeared first on Logic Matters.
https://www.logicmatters.net/2024/01/14/schubert-on-sunday-8-julian-pregardien-and-els-biesemans-die-schone-mullerin/ Save to Pocket
LEVER WEEKLY: “We Are Being Asked To Purposely Record Inaccurate Information”
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Lever News
This week, The Lever led national coverage of the Boeing debacle and more.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-weekly-we-are-being-asked-to-purposely-record-inaccurate-information/ Save to Pocket
Mount Carmel celebrates MLK
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
In honor of the Monday holiday, a charter school in Hågat dedicated all of Friday to commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/mount-carmel-celebrates-mlk/article_47cb9d10-b0e9-11ee-9a04-77af058953c9.html Save to Pocket
Community First selects UOG, GCC students for internships
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Two students, one each from Guam Community College and the University of Guam, were selected by Community First Guam Federal Credit Union to join the financial institution’s internship program, along with three other students, the credit union announced in a…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/community-first-selects-uog-gcc-students-for-internships/article_3f7176da-b0da-11ee-80f7-97241cee0dc4.html Save to Pocket
2 allegedly had almost 50 grams of meth, gun during traffic stop
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A man and a woman allegedly were found to have almost 50 grams of methamphetamine during a routine traffic stop.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/2-allegedly-had-almost-50-grams-of-meth-gun-during-traffic-stop/article_fe130140-b1d3-11ee-852a-cf016f5860d0.html Save to Pocket
Oversight scheduled for GMHA
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Speaker Therese Terlaje, head of the legislative committee on health, has scheduled another oversight hearing on the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority to take place on Tuesday.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/oversight-scheduled-for-gmha/article_2b588b58-b061-11ee-bb4e-f3ecef856ed1.html Save to Pocket
City run and block party set for March
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
To celebrate the Bank of Guam 52nd Founder’s Day anniversary, the bank takes to the streets again for its 17th year of its Hagåtña City Run and Block Party, the bank announced in a press release.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/city-run-and-block-party-set-for-march/article_5db11800-b03d-11ee-8d99-fb48b3eb7253.html Save to Pocket
Suspect accused of repeatedly assaulting woman with flashlight
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A man charged with two counts of aggravated assault allegedly was found to have methamphetamine in his possession and a firearm without a valid firearms ID.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/suspect-accused-of-repeatedly-assaulting-woman-with-flashlight/article_5cad1da8-b1cf-11ee-95b1-5706bb58366b.html Save to Pocket
Man, 32, accused of molesting girl, 10
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A 32-year-old man was accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl while she was asleep.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-32-accused-of-molesting-girl-10/article_ebe060ae-b128-11ee-baf8-ab865d3977ab.html Save to Pocket
GPA seeks updated pay plan
date: 2024-01-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente is petitioning the Consolidated Commission on Utilities to approve a 2022 compensation study and adopt a unified pay scale and implementation plan for all certified, technical and professional positions at the utility.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gpa-seeks-updated-pay-plan/article_a8f7e6a0-b10e-11ee-8143-43ed3a324544.html Save to Pocket
Playing for Change
date: 2024-01-14, from: Dan Rather’s Steady
We saw a remarkable video on social media this week, a new rendition of John Mayer’s Grammy-winning “Waiting on the World to Change,” performed by 100 artists from dozens of countries around the world.
https://steady.substack.com/p/playing-for-change Save to Pocket
Nonprofit Creating Justice Announces Plans to Buy Longstanding Family-Run Market in Skid Row
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: The LAist
The market has developed strong commitments to social justice under current owner Danny Park, who serves on the board of Creating Justice.
https://laist.com/news/food/nonprofit-creating-justice-announces-plans-to-buy-longstanding-family-run-market-in-skid-row Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-01-14, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
Our volcanic eruption by Grindavík restarted this morning. The lava is about 450m from the town and will likely reach it today.
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111753896070770333 Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-01-14, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
I painted my first mini last night. Shadows first as an undercoat. I’m pretty happy with the results.
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111753883711288554 Save to Pocket
Big Island traffic fatalities plummet in 2023
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Big Island roads saw a significant decrease in traffic fatalities in 2023 compared to 2022, from 34 official traffic deaths to 16, a 53% drop.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/hawaii-news/big-island-traffic-fatalities-plummet-in-2023/ Save to Pocket
Alameda officially launches campaign to oust Roth
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Over 100 community members crowded the sidewalk in front of the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo on Saturday to support Kimo Alameda and his candidacy for Hawaii County mayor.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/hawaii-news/alameda-officially-launches-campaign-to-oust-roth/ Save to Pocket
Iowa’s winter blast could make an unrepresentative way of picking presidential nominees even more so
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DES MOINES, Iowa — Most Iowans won’t be out Monday night. Never mind that it’s forecast to be well below zero, with wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees, and the roads may still be icy from a set of snowstorms that hammered the state this past week.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/iowas-winter-blast-could-make-an-unrepresentative-way-of-picking-presidential-nominees-even-more-so/ Save to Pocket
A weekend of ferocious winter weather could see low-temperature records set in the US heartland
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>O’FALLON, Mo. — Icy winter weather blanketed the U.S. on Saturday as a wave of Arctic storms threatened to break low-temperature records in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and cast a chill over everything from football playoffs to presidential campaigns.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/a-weekend-of-ferocious-winter-weather-could-see-low-temperature-records-set-in-the-us-heartland/ Save to Pocket
Despite efforts, feral cats still roam Waikoloa Queens’ Marketplace
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Cats continue to prowl the Queens’ Marketplace despite efforts by advocacy groups to rehome 98 feral felines last year.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/hawaii-news/despite-efforts-feral-cats-still-roam-waikoloa-queens-marketplace/ Save to Pocket
New ocean stewardship fund established: $1 will be charged for each customer of commercial vessels, tours
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A bill passed into law in 2021 establishing an ocean stewardship special fund became effective Jan. 1.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/hawaii-news/new-ocean-stewardship-fund-established-1-will-be-charged-for-each-customer-of-commercial-vessels-tours/ Save to Pocket
A San Diego bucket of places to spend time outdoors in 2024
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SAN DIEGO — It’s easy to spend time outdoors in San Diego County, but even easier to go to the same old spots over and over again.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/features/a-san-diego-bucket-of-places-to-spend-time-outdoors-in-2024/ Save to Pocket
Stroud becomes youngest QB to win a playoff game as Texans rout Browns 45-14
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>HOUSTON — As the games get bigger, C.J. Stroud just keeps getting better.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/sports/stroud-becomes-youngest-qb-to-win-a-playoff-game-as-texans-rout-browns-45-14/ Save to Pocket
BIIF hoops: CLA falls to Kealakehe
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Kealakehe High’s boys varsity basketball team routed Christian Liberty Academy 66-37 on Thursday night in Kea’au.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/sports/biif-hoops-cla-falls-to-kealakehe/ Save to Pocket
Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs to 26-7 playoff win over Miami in near-record low temps
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, had his helmet shattered when he took a hit in the second half, and proceeded to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 26-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history Saturday night.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/sports/patrick-mahomes-leads-chiefs-to-26-7-playoff-win-over-miami-in-near-record-low-temps/ Save to Pocket
NCAA roundup: TCU sends No. 2 Houston to second straight loss on Miller’s layup with 6 seconds left
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Emanuel Miller’s layup with six seconds left gave TCU a 68-67 victory over No. 2 Houston on Saturday, the Cougars’ second straight loss.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/sports/ncaa-roundup-tcu-sends-no-2-houston-to-second-straight-loss-on-millers-layup-with-6-seconds-left/ Save to Pocket
A global day of protests draws thousands in Washington and other cities in pro-Palestinian marches
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — Thousands of demonstrators converged opposite the White House on Saturday to call for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza, while children joined a pro-Palestinian march through central London as part of a global day of action against the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Palestinians in 75 years.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/a-global-day-of-protests-draws-thousands-in-washington-and-other-cities-in-pro-palestinian-marches/ Save to Pocket
NTSB investigating 2 Brightline high speed train crashes that killed 3 people in Florida this week
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>FORT LAUDERDALE Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will investigate two crashes involving Florida’s Brightline train that killed three people at the same railroad crossing on the high speed train’s route between Miami and Orlando.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/ntsb-investigating-2-brightline-high-speed-train-crashes-that-killed-3-people-in-florida-this-week/ Save to Pocket
Zack Edey and 3-point shooters help No. 1 Purdue rebound with 95-78 rout of Penn State
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue fans treated Zach Edey to a pregame standing ovation in commemoration of him becoming the school’s second player with 1,000 career rebounds.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/sports/zack-edey-and-3-point-shooters-help-no-1-purdue-rebound-with-95-78-rout-of-penn-state/ Save to Pocket
Families of hostages held in Gaza for 100 days hold 24-hour rally, beg government to bring them home
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip kicked off a 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night, calling on the government to bring their loved ones home after 100 days spent in Hamas captivity.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/families-of-hostages-held-in-gaza-for-100-days-hold-24-hour-rally-beg-government-to-bring-them-home/ Save to Pocket
A British D-Day veteran celebrates turning 100, but the big event is yet to come
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LONDON — British D-Day veteran Bill Gladden turned 100 on Saturday, a day after his niece threw a surprise birthday party for him. It was a big fuss he didn’t really expect, though the old soldier had tears in his eyes long before he caught sight of a cake decorated with a replica of his uniform and the medals he earned.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/a-british-d-day-veteran-celebrates-turning-100-but-the-big-event-is-yet-to-come/ Save to Pocket
The ruling-party candidate strongly opposed by China wins Taiwan’s presidential election
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>TAIPEI, Taiwan — Ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in Taiwan’s presidential election on Saturday, a result that will determine the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s contentious relations with China over the next four years.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/nation-world-news/the-ruling-party-candidate-strongly-opposed-by-china-wins-taiwans-presidential-election/ Save to Pocket
Another test for Speaker Mike Johnson. Will he keep the government open?
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Once again, the federal government faces a shutdown of important services — only this time there are two precipices from which the nation will plunge if Congress doesn’t act. Under a complex short-term spending measure adopted in November, funding for some departments will run out on Jan. 19 while for other departments the deadline is Feb. 2. For Americans dependent on government services and federal paychecks, Congress must again pull the country back from the brink.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/opinion/another-test-for-speaker-mike-johnson-will-he-keep-the-government-open/ Save to Pocket
Your Views for Janaury 14
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Columnist should be ‘ashamed’ of himself</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/opinion/your-views-for-janaury-14/ Save to Pocket
‘Ama‘ama need to be preserved
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Lonoikamakahiki! The changing of our weather brings a time of kapu (protection) for the native mullet or ‘ama‘ama. The kapu for this important fish runs from Dec. 1 through March 3 to protect their annual spawning cycle.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/opinion/amaama-need-to-be-preserved/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for January 14
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Harry Char, 95, of Hilo, died Jan. 7 on Oahu. Born in Honolulu, he was a retired school teacher and principal, and a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Visitation to be held 9 a.m. Feb. 3 at Hawaiian Memorial Park in Kaneohe, with services to follow at 10 a.m. No flowers, aloha attire. Survived by son Duane, daughter Dana, their families, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Arrangements by Hawaiian Memorial Park.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/obituaries/obituaries-for-january-14-8/ Save to Pocket
Volcano Watch: Where is magma stored in Kilauea?
date: 2024-01-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Over the past several months, periods of increased earthquake activity and ground deformation in the summit region of Kilauea volcano indicate that magma is accumulating beneath the surface. Where does magma reside, and how do we know?</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/14/community/volcano-watch-where-is-magma-stored-in-kilauea/ Save to Pocket
Sunday caption contest: the currents
date: 2024-01-14, from: Robert Reich on Substack
And last week’s winner
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-caption-contest-the-currents-b03 Save to Pocket
David Hegg | The Tyranny of Subjectivity
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
By David Hegg First, let me lay out what I mean by “subjectivity.” Subjectivity exists when my tastes, feelings, desires, or opinions define my assessment of the quality or reality of something. If I insist my column is the finest example of thoughtful writing in the world, you have every right to laugh, howl, and […]
The post David Hegg | The Tyranny of Subjectivity appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/01/david-hegg-the-tyranny-of-subjectivity/ Save to Pocket
Larry Moore | We Are Not Who You Think
date: 2024-01-14, from: The Signal
According to The Signal’s resident virtue signaler, Gary Horton (Jan. 3), liberals and Democrats have a corner on compassion, caring and love for all, no matter where they come from or how they got here. The MAGA/Deplorable crowd doesn’t need you to remind us the nature of our country is being changed by our porous […]
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Today in SCV History (Jan. 14)
date: 2024-01-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1988 – One-month-old Santa Clarita City Council votes to form Planning Commission. [minutes
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-5/ Save to Pocket
January 13, 2024
date: 2024-01-14, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Last night a woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande that marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico near Eagle Pass, Texas. U.S. Border Patrol agents knew that a group of six migrants were in distress in the river but could not try to save them, as they normally would, because troops from the Texas National Guard and the Texas Military Department prevented the Border Patrol agents from entering the area where they were struggling: Shelby Park, a 47-acre public park that offers access to a frequently traveled part of the river and is a place where Border Patrol agents often encounter migrants crossing the border illegally.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-13-2024 Save to Pocket
How the US Primary System Works
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/how-the-us-primary-system-works/7438440.html Save to Pocket
Fossil Unearthed in New Mexico Years Ago Is Identified as T. Rex Relative
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — The Tyrannosaurus rex seemingly came out of nowhere tens of millions of years ago, with its monstrous teeth and powerful jaws dominating the end of the age of the dinosaurs.
How it came to be is among the many mysteries that paleontologists have long tried to solve. Researchers from several universities and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science say they now have one more piece of the puzzle.
On Thursday, they unveiled fossil evidence and published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. Their study identifies a new subspecies of tyrannosaur thought to be an older and more primitive relative of the well-known T. rex.
There were oohs and ahs as the massive jaw bone and pointy teeth were revealed to a group of schoolchildren. Pieces of the fragile specimen were first found in the 1980s by boaters on the shore of New Mexico’s largest reservoir.
The identification of the new subspecies came through a meticulous reexamination of the jaw and other pieces of the skull that were collected over years at the site. The team analyzed the specimen bone by bone, noting differences in numerous features compared with those synonymous with T. rex.
“Science is a process. With each new discovery, it forces us to go back and test and challenge what we thought we knew, and that’s the core story of this project,” said Anthony Fiorillo, a co-author of the study and the executive director of the museum.
The differences between T. rex and Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis are subtle. But that’s typically the case in closely related species, said Nick Longrich, a co-author from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.
“Evolution slowly causes mutations to build up over millions of years, causing species to look subtly different over time,” he said.
The analysis suggests the new subspecies Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis was a side-branch in the species’ evolution, rather than a direct ancestor of T. rex.
The researchers determined it predated T. rex by up to 7 million years, showing that tyrannosaurs were in North America long before paleontologists previously thought.
T. rex has a reputation as a fierce predator. It measured up to 40 feet (12 meters) long and 12 feet (3.6 meters) high. Study co-author Sebastian Dalman and the other researchers say T. mcraeensis was roughly the same size and also ate meat.
Thomas Richard Holtz, a paleontologist at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the study, said the tyrannosaur fossil from New Mexico has been known for a while but its significance was not clear.
One interesting aspect of the research is that it appears T. rex’s closest relatives were from southern North America, with the exception of Mongolian Tarbosaurus and Chinese Zhuchengtyrannus, Holtz said. That leaves the question of whether these Asian dinosaurs were immigrants from North America or if the new subspecies and other large tyrannosaurs were immigrants from Asia.
“One great hindrance to solving this question is that we don’t have good fossil sites of the right environments in Asia older than Tarbosaurus and Zhuchengtyrannus, so we can’t see if their ancestors were present there or not,” Holtz said.
He and the researchers who analyzed the specimen agree that more fossils from the Hall Lake Formation in southern New Mexico could help answer further questions.
https://www.voanews.com/a/fossil-unearthed-in-new-mexico-years-ago-is-identified-as-t-rex-relative/7436887.html Save to Pocket
Jewish Students Sue Harvard, Alleging Civil Rights Violations
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
BOSTON — Several Jewish students have filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, accusing it of becoming “a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”
The lawsuit filed Wednesday mirrors others filed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including against The Art Institute of Chicago, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania.
In the Harvard lawsuit, the plaintiffs include members of the Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. They accuse Harvard of violating Jewish students’ civil rights and allege that the university tolerated Jewish students being harassed, assaulted and intimidated — behavior that has intensified since the October 7 attack.
“Mobs of pro-Hamas students and faculty have marched by the hundreds through Harvard’s campus, shouting vile antisemitic slogans and calling for death to Jews and Israel,” according to the lawsuit. “Those mobs have occupied buildings, classrooms, libraries, student lounges, plazas, and study halls, often for days or weeks at a time, promoting violence against Jews.”
It was unclear what the reference to mobs in the lawsuit refers to, but the university has been rattled by protests since the October 7 attack. At one point, pro-Palestinian students occupied a campus building for 24 hours.
Marc Kasowitz, a partner at the law firm that brought the suit, Kasowitz Benson Torres, said in a statement that the litigation was necessary because Harvard would not “correct its deep-seated antisemitism problem voluntarily.”
“Harvard must be forced to protect its Jewish students and stop applying a double standard when it comes to anti-Jewish bigotry,” he added.
A spokesperson for Harvard said the school doesn’t comment on pending litigation. About a dozen students are potentially facing disciplinary charges for violations of protest rules related to pro-Palestinian activities, but the spokesman said the school couldn’t comment on their cases.
Fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has roiled campuses across the U.S. and reignited a debate over free speech. College leaders have struggled to define the line where political speech crosses into harassment and discrimination, with Jewish and Arab students raising concerns that their schools are doing too little to protect them.
The issue took center stage in December when the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT testified at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism. Asked by Republican lawmakers whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate campus policies, the presidents offered lawyerly answers and declined to say unequivocally that it was prohibited speech.
Their answers prompted weeks of backlash from donors and alumni, leading to the resignation of Liz Magill at Penn and Claudine Gay at Harvard.
Hamas’ October 7 attacks killed 1,200 people in Israel, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others, nearly half of whom were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Since the war began, Israel’s assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,200 Palestinians, roughly 1% of the territory’s population, and more than 58,000 people have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. About two-thirds of the dead are women or children.
The U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly warned colleges that they are required to fight antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses or risk losing federal money. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the agency has opened more than 40 investigations at colleges and universities in response to complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia since the Oct. 7 attacks, including at Harvard, Stanford and MIT.
“No student should feel unsafe on campus,” Cardona told The Associated Press on Wednesday, after he met with students. “The Office for Civil Rights takes these cases very seriously. They investigate harassment, or violations for antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment. We take that role very seriously. If any student on campus feels that any protest or messaging makes them feel unsafe, we ask for an investigation.”
In November, Gay issued a memo laying out plans to address antisemitism on campus.
The university said it was starting a process to examine “how antisemitism manifests within our community” and developing a plan to address it. It also is implementing a program to educate students and faculty about antisemitism and “redoubling our efforts to make students aware that appropriate avenues exist to report feelings of fear or incidents causing harm” including an anonymous hotline for bias incidents.
https://www.voanews.com/a/jewish-students-sue-harvard-alleging-civil-rights-violations/7436877.html Save to Pocket
UCSB Men’s Basketball Puts it All Together in 85-76 Victory Over Long Beach State
date: 2024-01-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Ajay Mitchell scored a game-high 26 points.
The post UCSB Men’s Basketball Puts it All Together in 85-76 Victory Over Long Beach State appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/13/ucsb-mens-basketball-puts-it-all-together-in-85-76-victory-over-long-beach-state/ Save to Pocket
Stitch images together with Stitchy
date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Rupert blog
From time to time I need to stitch together two or three images into a horizontal or vertical image. It seems so wasteful to spin up a whole design document for that task. What I wanted was a CLI that does that for me and I found one that does the job: Stitchy.
How to use Stitchy
Stitchy is a Rust package that does what it says on the tin, it stitches images together.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
Install Stitchy
cargo install stitchy
Use Stitchy
stitchy image1.png image2.png
If you’re feeling even lazier and don’t want to type file names, you can have Stitchy grab the n latest images in the directory and/or set the –order flag to alphabetical.
stitchy 4
stitchy 4 --order=alphabetical
Stitchy for responsive images
By default Stitchy will assemble the images in order in a tight grid. Where Stitchy shines is generating responsive images where you might show a grid of images on mobile and a horizontal filmstrip on desktop.
stitchy 4 # layout images in a grid
stitchy 4 -h # layout images horizontally
Here’s an example of a responsive image treatment I did on a recent Vibe Check.
If you resize your browser to a smaller viewport, you can see how the wide but short image loses hierarchy and readability on mobile, so I used stitchy to cut a new version for desktop.
No one noticed I did this, no one said “thanks”, but these types of small touches are my favorite responsive techniques.
Other things Stitchy can do
Stitchy gives you a bit more control in setting a –maxw or –maxh if that’s part of the effect. You can also set the output format to –jpg or –png if needed as well as control the –quality.
stitchy 4 --png
stitchy 4 --jpg --quality=75
Enjoy Stitchy
And that’s Stitchy! It’s pretty handy if you ask me.
I wrote this post because I use it so infrequently and there’s not much documentation beyond the –help command, so I wanted to have this to remember how to use it.
https://daverupert.com/2024/01/stitchy/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Migrating from Substack to self-hosted Ghost.
https://citationneeded.news/substack-to-self-hosted-ghost/ Save to Pocket
I was a fast-food worker. Let me tell you about burnout. [2019]
date: 2024-01-14, from: Tilde.news
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/7/6/20681186/fast-food-worker-burnout Save to Pocket
US Climate Envoy John Kerry to Leave Biden Administration
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate, is stepping down from the Biden administration in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Kerry, a longtime senator and secretary of state, was tapped shortly after Joe Biden’s November 2020 election to take on the new role created specifically to fight climate change on behalf of the administration on the global stage.
Kerry’s departure plans were first reported Saturday by Axios.
Kerry was one of the leading drafters of the 2015 Paris climate accords and came into the role with significant experience abroad, as secretary of state during the Obama administration and from nearly three decades as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden’s decision to tap Kerry for the post was seen as one way the incoming president was making good on his campaign pledge to battle climate change in a more forceful and visible manner than in previous administrations.
“The climate crisis is a universal threat to humankind and we all have a responsibility to deal with it as rapidly as we can,” Kerry said in a visit to Beijing last summer, when he met with Vice President Han Zheng on climate matters.
At international climate summits, Kerry always kept a breakneck pace, going from one meeting to another, with world leaders, major business figures and scientists, all interspersed with one press conference after another — to share what he just learned, announce an initiative, or say a few words as civil groups announced their own plans to help combat climate change, thus lending his credibility and weight.
In the span an hour, at one meeting Kerry would talk in detail about the need for oil companies to drastically reduce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, then go to another gathering and detail his latest idea to help pay for green energy transition in developing countries and then, some minutes later, go into a long explanation of illegal fishing around the world while attending an event with leaders of Pacific Island nations.
“John Kerry’s tireless work to deliver global progress on the climate crisis has been heroic,” former Vice President Al Gore, who has focused primarily on climate in his post-public office life, said in a statement Saturday. “He has approached this challenge with bold vision, resolute determination, and the urgency that this crisis demands. For that the U.S. and the whole world owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”
While his gravitas has made him a central climate figure around the world, Kerry also has strong critics who argue America’s climate policies don’t amount to leadership in fighting global warming. The Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate law in U.S. history, is pumping billions of dollars into renewable energies. But many facets of the law emphasize domestic production, thus leading other nations to complain that the law is protectionist and detrimental to their own green industries.
And for years, the United States opposed the creation of a “loss and damage” fund that would see rich nations contribute billions of dollars to help developing countries, often hit hard by extreme weather events driven by climate change. During COP27 in Egypt in 2022, the fund was approved, as the U.S. and other rich countries relented and supported it. However, Kerry is always quick to say the fund is not about “reparations” or “compensation,” and so far the U.S. has promised only modest funding for it.
Kerry represented Massachusetts for 28 years in the Senate and was also the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-to-leave-biden-administration/7439210.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Don't Change Your RSS URL.
https://kevquirk.com/dont-change-your-rss-url Save to Pocket
3 Migrants Drown at Border Amid Dispute Between Texas, White House
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/migrants-drown-at-border-amid-dispute-between-texas-white-house-/7439200.html Save to Pocket
2 Navy SEALs Missing After Night Mission off Somali Coast
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a nighttime boarding mission Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to three U.S. officials.
The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, climbing up a vessel when one got knocked off by high waves. Under their protocol, when one SEAL is overtaken the next jumps in after them.
Both SEALs are still missing. A search and rescue mission is under way and the waters in the Gulf of Aden, where they were operating, are warm, two of the U.S. officials said.
The U.S. Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions, where they have intercepted weapons on ships that were bound for Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing U.S. and international mission to provide protection to commercial vessels in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes that the United States and the United Kingdom have conducted in Yemen over the past two days, the official said Saturday. It was also not related to the seizure of the oil tanker St. Nikolas by Iran, a third U.S. official said.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.
Besides defending ships from the drones and missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the U.S. military has also come to the aid of commercial ships that have been the targets of piracy.
In a statement Saturday, U.S. Central Command said it would not release additional information on the Thursday night incident until the personnel recovery mission is complete.
The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions.
https://www.voanews.com/a/navy-seals-missing-after-night-mission-off-somali-coast-/7439192.html Save to Pocket
Dangerous Cold Snap Blankets Iowa Ahead of Caucus
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
As Democrats shift their presidential preference caucus to mail-in balloting in Iowa with incumbent President Joe Biden the likely winner, Republicans take center stage during Iowa’s 2024 Caucus, when supporters assemble in person to choose their candidate for the Republican nomination. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports from Iowa.
https://www.voanews.com/a/dangerous-cold-snap-blankets-iowa-ahead-of-caucus-/7439176.html Save to Pocket
Dangerous Cold Snap Blankets Iowa Ahead of Caucuses
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
des moines, iowa — First it was the snow, then the bitter cold temperatures that iced out most of the campaign events in the U.S. Midwestern state of Iowa the weekend before the January 15 caucuses.
Former President Donald Trump, who has spent much of the week before the caucuses outside of the state, canceled most of his in-person events because of the weather.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley moved many of her events online.
“It will make the non-passionate people stay home, and the passionate people will come out,” said Carson Odle, who was undeterred by the bad weather as he attended one of the few, in-person events that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis didn’t cancel, in the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny.
“The die-hards will come,” said Cheryl Weisheit, who also braved traveling in the snowstorm to hear DeSantis’ campaign pitch. “Early on it wasn’t that bad. … I don’t know … we’re just so used to this!”
Weisheit, who chairs a local Republican group, said physically attending an event was important to her because she still doesn’t know who to support on caucus night.
“I probably won’t know until that night,” she said.
Snow could affect turnout
Iowa Democrats shifted their presidential preference caucuses to mail-in balloting later in the election cycle, with incumbent President Joe Biden the likely winner.
So Republicans will take center stage during Iowa’s 2024 Caucuses, a first-in-the-nation event when supporters assemble in person to choose their candidate for the Republican nomination. It comes amid some of the heaviest snow and coldest temperatures Iowa has experienced during the caucuses in many years, creating several unknowns for how it will impact the results.
“The unknown here is how much the supporters for the various candidates will turn out,” said University of Iowa political science professor Tim Hagle. “Will the Trump supporters really be as loyal to him and as faithful to him as everyone expects?”
Hagle said if polling translates into turnout, it’s more difficult for the Republicans vying to unseat Trump as the front-runner and curbs their ability to pick up momentum as the race moves beyond Iowa.
“If Trump is still 30 points ahead or maybe even more, it seems pretty unlikely that DeSantis or Haley is going to be able to beat him or even come close because to a certain extent they are splitting the anti-Trump vote,” he said.
Hagle added that polling also shows Trump’s legal troubles haven’t dampened his support.
“Given that he was indicted in four different places, he’s got a civil trial going on in New York, he’s got a defamation trial going on there as well, states are trying to kick him off the ballot, all this means — in the eyes of a lot of his supporters — is that they’re politically persecuting him and so there’s a rally-around-the-chief effect that’s going on,” Hagle said.
Campaigns urge voters to show up
But there are signs of fatigue among Iowa voters. Retired police officer John Frank supported Trump before, but not this year.
“He’s getting up in age, just like Joe Biden, and we have to consider that,” Frank told VOA. “And he’s never learned in his life, especially his political life, to keep his mouth shut.”
Frank said he’ll caucus for DeSantis.
“Trump is probably going to win, but I don’t think it’s going to the be slam dunk people think,” said Weisheit, who has narrowed her choices to DeSantis and Haley, but not Trump.
“Well, if Trump is the candidate, I will [vote for him], but right now … he’s not the one that I will caucus for,” she said.
“You really have to energize your supporters and get them to turn out,” Hagle said, because “we often see some movement up until caucus night,” which is why the messaging from every candidate left in the race in the final days of the campaign is a push to encourage their supporters to physically show up to support them at caucus locations across the state on January 15.
https://www.voanews.com/a/dangerous-cold-snap-blankets-iowa-ahead-of-caucuses-/7439184.html Save to Pocket
US Congressional Leaders Prepare Bill to Fund Government to March
date: 2024-01-14, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week.
The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out Friday and extend the remainder of government operations to March 8. That’s according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. Several media outlets are also reporting on the agreement to keep the government open.
The stopgap bill, expected to be released Sunday, would come as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been under pressure from his hard-right flank in recent days to jettison a recent bipartisan spending deal with Senate Democrats. The bill would need Democratic support to pass the narrowly divided House.
Johnson insisted Friday that he is sticking with the deal he struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., despite pressure from some conservatives to renegotiate. Moderates in the party had urged him to stay the course.
Still, in his first big test as the new leader, he has yet to show how he will quell the revolt from his right flank that ousted his predecessor.
“Our top-line agreement remains,” Johnson said Friday, referring to the budget accord reached January 7.
That accord sets $1.66 trillion in spending for the next fiscal year, with $886 billion of the tally going to defense.
Hard-right members have criticized the deal, including several of those who helped oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office last year after he struck a spending deal with Democrats and President Joe Biden. Some have already raised the threat of a motion to oust Johnson over the deal, not even three months after he was elected.
The hard-right flank is also insisting that new immigration policies be included, which they say would stop the record flow of migrants at the U.S-Mexico border.
Johnson met with about two dozen House Republicans this past week, many of them centrist-leaning voices urging him not to go back on his word and stick with the deal. The centrists assured Johnson that they will support him.
“I just can’t imagine the House wants to relive the madness,” said Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., who had helped McCarthy negotiate the initial agreement with Biden and the other leaders.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-congressional-leaders-prepare-bill-to-fund-government-to-march-/7439185.html Save to Pocket
The Joy of Outdoor Showers
date: 2024-01-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Believe me, I was shaking in my two piece at 8 a.m. But I walked down to the water between two of those swimmers and admitted my fears.
The post The Joy of Outdoor Showers appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/13/509396/ Save to Pocket
ISDN History: Why It (Mostly) Failed To Make A Mark
date: 2024-01-14, from: Tilde.news
https://tedium.co/2024/01/12/isdn-history-retrospective/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Three migrants drowned near border park, Rep. Cuellar says.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/13/henry-cuellar-texas-border-eagle-pass/ Save to Pocket
A Champion for Goleta
date: 2024-01-14, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Most of Goleta gets to have Joan as supervisor, and we are fortunate to have her!
The post A Champion for Goleta appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/01/13/a-champion-for-goleta/ Save to Pocket
★ Margrethe Vestager Met With Tim Cook Yesterday, But I Doubt Anything Happened
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: Daring Fireball
It’s just not clear at all exactly what Apple needs to allow to comply with the DMA, nor do any of us outside Cupertino have any idea what Apple plans to do.
https://daringfireball.net/2024/01/vestager_cook Save to Pocket
CNN: ‘FAA Keeps Boeing’s 737 Max 9 Grounded as It Reviews Inspections and Data’
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/12/business/boeing-faa-manufacturing-oversight/index.html Save to Pocket
The Mom and Son Sitting in Front of the Blown Out Window on Alaska Flight 1282
date: 2024-01-14, updated: 2024-01-14, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/when-hole-opened-on-alaska-flight-1282-a-mom-held-tight-to-her-son/ Save to Pocket
Full Circle Weekly News 348
date: 2024-01-14, from: Full Circle Magazine
Credits
- Host: @bardictriad, @zaivala
- Bumper: Canonical
- Theme Music: From The Dust - Stardust
- https://soundcloud.com/ftdmusic
- CC BY 4.0
https://fullcirclemagazine.org/podcasts/podcast-348/ Save to Pocket