News gathered 2024-02-07

(date: 2024-02-07 21:23:34)

Residents question county Public Health report on Chiquita Canyon  

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

A consultant hired by L.A. County Public Health shared his firm’s report Wednesday on its study of air quality samples taken in and around Chiquita Canyon Landfill.   The information on a six-week study between the end of October and the middle of December was shared with the community in a Wednesday evening meeting at College […]

The post Residents question county Public Health report on Chiquita Canyon   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/residents-question-county-public-health-report-on-chiquita-canyon/ Save to Pocket

With trade rumors swirling, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson deliver in Philadelphia

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

“See Steph Curry, see Draymond. Go home, check our playoff record as a trio and what we have. Champions. I believe.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/with-trade-rumors-swirling-andrew-wiggins-and-klay-thompson-deliver-in-philadelphia/ Save to Pocket

Take A Look At Benelli’s 2024 Offerings In The US Market

date: 2024-02-08, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The TRK 702 is yet another enticing offering in the middleweight ADV segment.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707837/benelli-2024-models-us-market/ Save to Pocket

Man arrested in connection with Gilroy bank robbery

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Authorities identified the suspect as a 53-year-old resident of Garden Grove.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/man-arrested-in-connection-with-gilroy-bank-robbery/ Save to Pocket

Grass fire closes Cross Island Road

date: 2024-02-08, from: Guam Daily Post

The Guam Fire Department responded to a grass fire by Our Lady of Peace cemetery on Thursday morning.

https://www.postguam.com/news/grass-fire-closes-cross-island-road/article_7d704282-c63c-11ee-acfd-6ffdb404dd44.html Save to Pocket

Children rally for a ceasefire in Gaza

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

Nearly 400 people gathered at Oceanview Park in Santa Monica to rally for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The event was led by Palestinian-American kids and teens in…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178243/multimedia/watch/children-rally-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/ Save to Pocket

@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-02-08, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)

The only thing I don’t like about the song “Julia Take Your Man Home”  is that the line I could’ve sworn is “…and some guy he keeps saying is middle class” is apparently “…and some guy he keeps saying is made of glass”. The line is a million times funnier if you assume he’s singing “middle class”. Or am I the only one who spent all of uni hanging out with people who denounced the middle class at every turn?

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/julia-take-your-man-home.html Save to Pocket

Vikings get nine wrestlers past league finals 

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

Valencia High School wrestling coach Brian Peterson couldn’t have asked for a better start to the postseason for his Vikings.  Saturday at Camarillo High School, four Vikings earned titles at the Coastal Canyon League finals and nine total are moving on to the next stage of the individual postseason.  “We definitely performed,” Peterson said in […]

The post <strong>Vikings get nine wrestlers past league finals</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/vikings-get-nine-wrestlers-past-league-finals/ Save to Pocket

Japan’s second-ranked mobile telco to buy convenience store chain from Mitsubishi

date: 2024-02-08, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

KDDI wants to snack on data about who buys what at which of Lawson’s 14,600 stores

Japan’s second-largest convenience store will be taken private by its second-largest mobile carrier, which will operate it as a joint venture with Mitsubishi and try to cash in on a combination of shopping and location data.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/kddi_lawson_acquisition_mitsubishi/ Save to Pocket

Sulphur Springs district ‘remains committed’ to Skyline Ranch school site 

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

The Sulphur Springs Union School District wants a new school built in Skyline Ranch and is completing all of the necessary paperwork to do so, but the land has yet to be transferred to the district, according to district Superintendent Catherine Kawaguchi.  The district first discussed the new school site, meant to be built along […]

The post <strong>Sulphur Springs district ‘remains committed’ to Skyline Ranch school site</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/sulphur-springs-district-remains-committed-to-skyline-ranch-school-site/ Save to Pocket

Golden Oak hosting info session on phlebotomy class 

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

Golden Oak Adult School is offering a free information session on Monday for anyone interested in learning about the new phlebotomy class being offered at the school.  The online session is scheduled to run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and the registration form can be found at tinyurl.com/2uujywtv. Attendees will learn about the program, course […]

The post <strong>Golden Oak hosting info session on phlebotomy class</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/golden-oak-hosting-info-session-on-phlebotomy-class/ Save to Pocket

Why the 49ers use this type of formation more than anyone

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Kyle Shanahan has leaned on condensed formations in 2023 more than ever

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/why-the-49ers-use-this-type-of-formation-more-than-anyone/ Save to Pocket

US High Court to Hear Arguments on Trump’s Eligibility to Regain Presidency

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thursday to determine whether former president and likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is ineligible for the office and must be excluded from states’ ballots because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara brings this preview.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-high-court-to-hear-arguments-on-trump-s-eligibility-to-regain-presidency-/7479066.html Save to Pocket

Stars, Athletes Plan to Flock Las Vegas for Super Bowl Events

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

LOS ANGELES — Las Vegas will be flooded with so many pre- Super Bowl events that Shaquille O’Neal lowered the prices to his popular carnival-themed “Shaq’s Fun House.”

Instead of raising the rate, O’Neal decided to offer potential attendees more bang for their buck to the NBA legend’s sixth annual event planned for Friday in Sin City. He made the decision to lower the rates after purchasing an expensive suite at the Formula One that cost nearly five times more than normal to watch the racing event in Las Vegas last year.

“We’re not going to do that to the people,” said O’Neal, who said the going rate for Fun House starts at $99 but will increase as the event nears. He’ll bring back Lil Wayne, Diplo and himself under his name DJ Diesel to perform during his over-the-top festival — which features several attractions including a Ferris wheel, circus performers and premium bar.

“We could’ve done $200, $250 or $300,” said O’Neal whose event will take place XS Nightclub at the Wynn — a hotel that will host Rob Gronkowski ’s Gronk Beach in Encore on Saturday afternoon and Sports Illustrated’s The Party in XS Nightclub later that night. “But I don’t like taking advantage of people. We want to have the best party with the best rides, performers and just hanging out.”

Along with O’Neal’s event, the days leading up to the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will include concerts from some of the biggest stars including Travis Scott, Green Day, Killer Mike, Kelly Clarkson, Ice Spice, Future and David Guetta. The week will include some comedy too.

Here’s a look at some of the invite-only and public events during a busy Super Bowl week:

Fanatics Party

Michael Rubin is known for his exclusive summer bashes in the Hamptons — which bring out stars like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck and Kendall Jenner.

Now, Rubin, the founder and CEO of Fanatics, will host his invite-only daytime event at Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan the day before the Super Bowl. His event will feature performances by Travis Scott, The Chainsmokers, Ice Spice, A$AP Ferg, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Fabolous, Ludacris, Ne-Yo and Kid Laroi.

Madden Bowl

After Killer Mike collected three Grammys during his arrest-shortened night, the Atlanta-based rapper is expected to be one of the performers at the EA Sports’ The Madden Bowl.

Rock group Green Day will headline the Friday night event at House of Blues. It will also feature Big Boi of OutKast and Breland.

“Las Vegas isn’t ready for the show we’re about to bring,” Big Boi said.

In addition to the music performances, the event will include the Madden NFL 24 Championship Series in front of a live audience — where two of the world’s best players will travel to Las Vegas for their share of the $1 million prize pool and title of Ultimate Madden Bowl champion.

Kevin Hart and O’Neal’s production companies will hold a star-studded, stand-up comedy showcase.

Actor Deon Cole will host the two-night show called the All Star Comedy Jam with performances by D.L. Hughley, Earthquake, Desi Banks and Aida Rodriguez. The event will be held inside the Resorts World Theatre’ 5,000-capacity venue on Friday and Saturday night.

Gospel Celebration

Cedric the Entertainer and Tichina Arnold will help bring the gospel to Sin City.

The stars of the CBS show The Neighborhood will host the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration at the Palms Casino Resort on Wednesday night. The lineup includes some of gospel’s best from Earth, Wind & Fire, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Robin Thicke and the NFL Players Choir including Tully Banta-Cain and Bryan Scott, who played in the league.

“I want people to feel empowered walking away from this show,” Arnold said. “You should never walk way feeling drained. You should walk way feeling loved.”

CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson, a former NFL player, will receive the Lifetime of Inspiration award. He will be the sixth person to receive the honor the show’s 25-year history.

Previous recipients include Tony Dungy, Ray Lewis, Tim Brown, Troy Vincent and Deion Sanders.

Gronk Beach

Despite being retired, Rob Gronkowski keeps making his presence felt during the NFL’s championship week. 

The four-time Super Bowl winner — who views himself the “MVP of Fun” — will host a music festival called “Gronk Beach” the day before the big game. The beach-themed party will feature a performance by DJ Afrojack.

“It’s all about going there and having a good time. Just losing your mind in a great and positive way,” Gronkowski said. “You can dance free, be yourself freely and just enjoy yourself with great company around you.”

Gronkowski placed his tickets starting at $74.

Billy Idol

Instead of riding his motorcycle on Super Bowl Sunday, Billy Idol will be strolling on stage a few hours before kick off to perform during a pre-game concert.

The legendary British rocker will perform Sunday just outside Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s two best teams face off. He’s expected to perform a 35-minute set on two different stages at On Location’s Club 67 and Touchdown Club in front of nearly 9,000 guests.

Idol said he’s stoked about the setup being arranged by One Location — a premium hospitality provider of the NFL. The hospitality company offers various packages including Idol’s performance, attendance at NFL Honors and postgame field access.

Maluma & SiriusXM

Colombian superstar Maluma will take his vibrant Latin music vibes into Las Vegas with the help of SiriusXM.

Maluma will headline a special concert at The Theater at Virgin Hotels on Thursday night for SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora listeners. He’s expected to perform songs from his latest album Don Juan including Según Quién and COCO LOCO along with other fan favorites such as Hawái.

Future and David Guetta are expected to perform at the invite-only h.wood Homecoming Weekend pop up bash on Friday followed by another show with Jack Harlow and Kaytranada performer the next night at a custom venue on the Las Vegas Strip across from the Wynn.

On Saturday night, Zach Bryan will headline the Bud Light Backyard Tour.

Tiësto will headline a show at LIV at Fontainebleau on Saturday while 21 Savage and 50 Cent are expected to perform the same night.

Lil Wayne will hit the stage once again but this time with T-Pain as a co-headliner at the Alex Morgan and Dan Marino-hosted Michelob ULTRA Country Club at Topgolf on Saturday night. Bryan and Leon Bridges will perform at The Chelsea in The Cosmopolitan on Friday.

On Sunday, Guy Fieri will host his Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate, a free and family-friendly event that he expects will draw more than 10,000. Diplo will perform.

GQ will hold Super Bowl party Friday at the The Nomad Library and sports agent Leigh Steinberg will host an event Saturday morning at Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel.

https://www.voanews.com/a/stars-athletes-plan-to-flock-las-vegas-for-super-bowl-events-/7479064.html Save to Pocket

$118 Billion Bipartisan Security Agreement Fails in US Senate

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

The US Senate considered a $95 billion foreign aid bill Wednesday after Senate Republicans earlier blocked a $118 billion bipartisan agreement on border security and aid to Ukraine and Israel. VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.

https://www.voanews.com/a/billion-bipartisan-security-agreement-fails-in-us-senate/7479065.html Save to Pocket

Mayor pledges to work toward public investment in clean energy, reject fossil fuels

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Hernandez-Thorpe said other mayors must join together to fight climate change at the city level.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/mayor-pledges-to-work-toward-public-investment-in-clean-energy-reject-fossil-fuels/ Save to Pocket

County Releases Findings of Community Air Quality Impacts from Chiquita Canyon Landfill Odor Incident

date: 2024-02-08, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Los Angeles County today released findings from an independent health risk evaluation of the short, and potential long-term health impacts to nearby residents from exposure to landfill gases created by the odor incident at Chiquita Canyon Landfill

https://scvnews.com/county-releases-findings-of-community-air-quality-impacts-from-chiquita-canyon-landfill-odor-incident/ Save to Pocket

Chinese-Born Man Arrested in California for Theft of Trade Secrets

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — A Chinese-born U.S. researcher has been arrested on charges of stealing trade secrets, including technology used to detect nuclear missile launches, the Justice Department said Wednesday. 

Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, California, was arrested on Tuesday, the department said in a statement.

Gong, who became a US citizen in 2011, is accused of transferring more than 3,600 files from the research and development company where he briefly worked to personal storage devices.

The company was not identified.

According to court documents, the files included blueprints for infrared sensors used in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

The files also allegedly included blueprints for sensors designed to enable U.S. military aircraft to detect heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Gong “had previously sought to provide the People’s Republic of China with information to aid its military.”

“We know that foreign actors, including the PRC, are actively seeking to steal our technology, but we will remain vigilant against this threat by safeguarding the innovations of American businesses and researchers,” Estrada said.

According to court documents, Gong worked at the unidentified company from January 2023 to April 2023 as a circuit design manager for infrared sensors.

The Justice Department said meanwhile that two Iranians have been charged in another case involving sensitive technology.

Abolfazi Bazzazi, 79, and his son Mohammad Resa Bazzazi, 43, were indicted in New York on charges of violating export laws by conspiring between 2008 and 2019 to export equipment used in the aerospace industry to Iran.

“The Bazzazis devised an intricate scheme to evade US export laws in obtaining U.S. equipment and technology to be exported to Iran and for the Government of Iran,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.

“The defendants allegedly attempted to obtain commercial and military aircraft items from multiple U.S. companies that supply the military, aerospace and firefighting industries,” Peace said.

The Bazzazis reside in Iran and remain at large.

https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-born-man-arrested-in-california-for-theft-of-trade-secrets/7479063.html Save to Pocket

Marianne Williamson suspends presidential campaign, ending long-shot challenge to Biden

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

She won just 2% of the vote in South Carolina and about 3% in Nevada.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/marianne-williamson-suspends-presidential-campaign-ending-long-shot-challenge-to-biden/ Save to Pocket

Further Trouble in Hinton City

date: 2024-02-08, from: Gary Marcus blog

More on storage and the shallow understanding of Generative AI

https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/further-trouble-in-hinton-city Save to Pocket

Oakland police launch investigation into racist statements allegedly made by probationary officer

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Authorities said the person has been released from their duties and is no longer employed by the city.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/oakland-police-launch-investigation-into-racist-statements-allegedly-made-by-probationary-officer/ Save to Pocket

Wiggins, Thompson bounce back as Warriors drub Philadelphia 76ers

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Golden State Warriors rout Philadelphia 76ers playing without Joel Embiid

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/wiggins-thompson-bounce-back-as-warriors-drub-philadelphia-76ers/ Save to Pocket

Israel Rejects Hamas Hostage Proposal, Calling It ‘Delusional’

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

After holding talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as “delusional” a counterproposal by Hamas to a hostage deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the U.S. State Department.

https://www.voanews.com/a/israel-rejects-hamas-hostage-proposal-calling-it-delusional-/7479022.html Save to Pocket

CFB National Signing Day: Why Bay Area’s top running back chose Utah State over SEC, Big 12, Air Force and Army

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Herschel Turner signs with Aggies over a slew of other offers: “They checked all the boxes.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/cfb-national-signing-day-why-bay-areas-top-running-back-chose-utah-state-over-sec-big-12-air-force-and-army/ Save to Pocket

Mexico Overtakes China as Leading Source of Goods Imported to US

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than two decades, Mexico last year surpassed China as the leading source of goods imported to the United States. The shift reflects the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing as well as U.S. efforts to import from countries that are friendlier and closer to home.

Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department show that the value of goods imported to the United States from Mexico rose nearly 5% from 2022 to 2023, to more than $475 billion. At the same time, the value of Chinese imports imports tumbled 20% to $427 billion.

The last time that Mexican goods imported to the United States exceeded the value of China’s imports was in 2002.

Economic relations between the United States and China have severely deteriorated in recent years as Beijing has fought aggressively on trade and made ominous military gestures in the Far East.

The Trump administration began imposing tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018, arguing that Beijing’s trade practices violated global trade rules. President Joe Biden retained those tariffs after taking office in 2021, making clear that antagonism toward China would be a rare area of common ground for Democrats and Republicans.

As an alternative to offshoring production to China, which U.S. corporations had long engaged in, the Biden administration has urged companies to seek suppliers in allied countries (“friend-shoring’‘) or to return manufacturing to the United States (“reshoring’‘). Supply-chain disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic also led U.S. companies to seek supplies closer to the United States (“near-shoring’’).

Mexico has been among the beneficiaries of the growing shift away from reliance on Chinese factories. But the picture is more complicated than it might seem. Some Chinese manufacturers have established factories in Mexico to exploit the benefits of the 3-year-old U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which allows for duty-free trade in North America for many products.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said this week that the trade status gives Mexico new leverage, saying it would make it hard for the U.S. to close the two countries’ border to limit immigration, as suggested in negotiations on a border bill in the U.S. Senate.

“The negotiation is proposing closing the border,” he said. “Do you think Americans, or Mexicans, but especially the Americans, would approve that? The businesses wouldn’t take it, maybe one day, but not a week.”

Some industries — especially auto manufacturers — have set up plants on both sides of the border that depend on each for a steady supply of parts.

Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted that the biggest drops in Chinese imports were in computers and electronics and chemicals and pharmaceuticals — all politically sensitive categories.

“I don’t see the U.S. being comfortable with a rebound in those areas in 2024 and 2025,” Scissors said, predicting that the China-Mexico reversal on imports to the United States likely “is not a one-year blip.’’

Scissors suggested that the drop in U.S. reliance on Chinese goods partly reflects wariness of Beijing’s economic policies under President Xi Jinping. Xi’s draconian COVID-19 lockdowns brought significant swaths of the Chinese economy to a standstill in 2022, and his officials have raided foreign companies in apparent counterespionage investigations.

“I think it’s corporate America belatedly deciding Xi Jinping is unreliable,” he said.

Overall, the U.S. deficit in the trade of goods with the rest of the world — the gap between the value of what the United States sells and what it buys abroad — narrowed 10% last year to $1.06 trillion.

https://www.voanews.com/a/mexico-overtakes-china-as-leading-source-of-goods-imported-to-us-/7479038.html Save to Pocket

What is B-right/V release 4.5?

date: 2024-02-08, from: OS News

What if I told you there is an immensely popular operating system that you likely used it at least once, but did not realise what it was? In fact, it is so popular and important there is an IEEE standard based on it. It is uncanny how immensely popular AND immensely obscure this system is. It is scary that until today I have never even heard of its reference desktop implementation. The system is called “TRON”. ↫ Nina Kalinina This Mastodon thread is OSNews bait. Delicious.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138543/what-is-b-right-v-release-4-5/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-08, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Freshly Baked NYC Debuts Legal Weed Delivery in Long Island City, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/freshly-baked-nyc-debuts-legal-161800799.html Save to Pocket

OpenAI latest to add ‘Made by AI’ metadata to model work

date: 2024-02-08, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Content Credentials: It’s better than nothing™

Images emitted by OpenAI’s generative models will include metadata disclosing their origin, which in turn can be used by applications to alert people to the machine-made nature of that content.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/openai_is_adding_a_watermark/ Save to Pocket

Beyond the 1 MB barrier in DOS

date: 2024-02-08, from: OS News

Last month, we covered Julio Merino’s article about going from 0 to 1 MB in DOS, and now they’re back for breaking beyond that 1 MB barrier. I know I promised that this follow-up article would be about DJGPP, but before getting into that review, I realized I had to take another detour to cover three more topics. Namely: unreal mode, which I intentionally ignored to not derail the post; LOADALL, which I didn’t know about until you readers mentioned it; and DOS extenders, which I was planning to describe in the DJGPP article but they are a better fit for this one. So… strap your seat belts on and dive right in for another tour through the ancient techniques that DOS had to pull off to peek into the memory address space above the first MB. And get your hands ready because we’ll go over assembly code for a step-by-step jump into unreal mode. ↫ Julio Merino What’s amazing is that I don’t even remember having to deal with any of this while using MS-DOS back in the day. Games tended to use DOS extenders automatically (DOS/4G!), but I don’t remember if I ever had to set up any of the DOS above-640k stuff manually.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138541/beyond-the-1-mb-barrier-in-dos/ Save to Pocket

Special Counsel Completes Biden Classified Documents Investigation

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

washington — The Justice Department special counsel investigating President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents has completed his inquiry and is expected to make a report soon to Congress and the public, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers in a letter Wednesday. 

Garland did not detail the conclusions of the report from special counsel Robert Hur, but said he was committed to disclosing as much of the document as possible once the White House completes a review for potential executive privilege concerns. That process is expected to be completed by the end of the week, said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House counsel’s office. 

The yearlong investigation centered on the improper retention of classified documents by Biden from his time as a U.S. senator and as vice president. Sensitive records were found at his Delaware home and at a private office that he used in between his service in the Obama administration and becoming president. 

The resolution of the investigation arrives in a pivotal year for the president as he pursues reelection in a deeply polarized political time. Though the probe’s outcome is expected to lift a legal cloud over Biden, criticism of his handling of classified records could blunt his ability to attack Donald Trump - his presumptive opponent in November - over a pending indictment charging the former president with hoarding top-secret files at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back. 

Challenge likely

Trump and other Republicans are likely to challenge the legitimacy of the investigation by noting that it was launched by the Biden Justice Department. 

But Garland sought to insulate the department from claims of bias and conflicts of interest by last year appointing Hur, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland during the Trump administration, to handle the Biden investigation and by naming a different special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee investigations into Trump. 

While the Trump investigation resulted in dozens of felony charges against the ex-president last year, the outcome of the Biden probe is expected to be different. Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president and, unlike in the Trump investigation, no evidence has emerged to suggest that Biden engaged in comparable conduct or willfully held on to records he wasn’t supposed to have. 

Even so, the White House’s response to the discovery of classified documents early last year was delayed and incomplete. 

The White House did not disclose the Justice Department’s investigation until January 2023, when it acknowledged the discovery two months earlier of a “small number” of classified documents by Biden lawyers as they closed an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the Ivy League school. Biden has said he was surprised by the initial trove discovered by his lawyers. 

The FBI subsequently conducted a 13-hour, top-to-bottom check of his Wilmington, Delaware, home, where agents located documents with classified markings from his time as a vice president and senator and took possession of some of his handwritten notes. Biden’s personal lawyers have also revealed that they had found a document bearing classified markings while searching the Wilmington property but said they had not found others during a separate inspection of his Rehoboth Beach home. 

The looming conclusion of the investigation had been foreshadowed last fall when Biden sat for a voluntary interview at the White House with Hur’s team. Interviews of key subjects in an investigation are often done near the end. 

Justice Department regulations require Congress to be notified of any investigative steps or proposed actions by a special counsel that were rejected by department leadership. There were no such actions, Garland wrote.

https://www.voanews.com/a/special-counsel-completes-biden-classified-documents-investigation/7479021.html Save to Pocket

Bishop Diego Football Stars Sign Letters of Intent to Play at Cal Poly

date: 2024-02-08, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Seniors Misa Paiau and Tristan Fui accept full scholarships in a Signing Day ceremony on Wednesday.

The post Bishop Diego Football Stars Sign Letters of Intent to Play at Cal Poly appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/bishop-diego-football-stars-sign-letters-of-intent-to-play-at-cal-poly/ Save to Pocket

Assault in Antioch parking lot ends in gunfire, car crash

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

At least one person was injured in the collision Tuesday at East 18th Street and Hillcrest Avenue.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/assault-in-antioch-parking-lot-ends-in-gunfire-car-crash/ Save to Pocket

AG: Investigation into Biden document handling is done

date: 2024-02-08, from: San Jose Mercury News

Justice Department regulations require Congress to be notified of any investigative steps or proposed actions by a special counsel that were rejected by department leadership. There were no such actions, Garland wrote.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/07/ag-investigation-into-biden-document-handling-is-done/ Save to Pocket

The Greenfield in-browser Wayland compositor is fast enough for gaming

date: 2024-02-08, from: OS News

While there are a lot of Wayland compositors out there that aren’t too different from each other in terms of features, one of the more unique ones is Greenfield. The Greenfield Wayland compositor has been out there for a few years now as an in-browser HTML5-based solution that is continuing to prove itself capable and even fast enough for handling Linux gaming. ↫ Michael Larabel A rather genius idea for a Wayland compositor.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138539/the-greenfield-in-browser-wayland-compositor-is-fast-enough-for-gaming/ Save to Pocket

Microsoft uses giant four-page popup to push Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11

date: 2024-02-08, from: OS News

Windows 10 users started seeing full-screen pop-ups after installing a cumulative update release in May 2023. Now, the pop-up is back again on our Windows 10 PC after installing the optional update released in January 2024, and it gouges the eyes. No one expects a gigantic multi-slide advert using their PCs (web browsers are a different story). ↫ Abhishek Mishra Windows is an advertising platform first, operating system second. You should be expecting ads.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138537/microsoft-uses-giant-four-page-popup-to-push-windows-10-users-to-upgrade-to-windows-11/ Save to Pocket

My “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” Dream

date: 2024-02-08, from: Jessica Smith’s blog

A few months ago I had this funny dream, which has come back into my mind a few times since and I figure I might as well share. Basically I was back at high school, but Penny Wong was our dictatorial principal, and I was in her office getting castigated for something stupid (probably shooting my mouth off in class; that would’ve been very in-character for me at that time). Anyway, she assigned me to some cleaning detail in punishment for what I’d done, which is where I think you can see the influence of my novel coming in because that’s a pretty standard punishment in the world of that story.¹

So, there I was, miserably scrubbing windows and removing cobwebs and whatnot, when I looked into one of the buildings and saw another detention going on, an in-classroom detention, and who should I see in detention but VIVIAN, my now-partner, mucking around with some mates. But it wasn’t Vivian as I know him now, it was Vivian as I’ve seen him in photos of his high school days, packing a bit too much weight and sporting a crazy afro. So I decided to sneak away from my detention, and went up to him in class, where he turned to me with a blank, confused look in his eyes.

“You don’t know me in this universe, do you?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Uh, I mean, that’s correct, I don’t know you.” (This is exactly how he answers negative tag questions in real life; it’s so annoying.)

“Well,” I said, “in another universe, you know me very well.”

And I walked away again, leaving it at that. As I did, he kind of went back to mucking around with his mates, but it was with half an eye on me as I went, wondering what could’ve been.

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/my-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-dream.html Save to Pocket

Budget uncertainty prompts layoffs at JPL 

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

The director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena this week shared bad news with her team regarding layoffs being forced upon the rocket science facility and its contractors.  The news is expected to have at least some impact in the Santa Clarita Valley, where past reports have indicated that hundreds of JPL employees live […]

The post <strong>Budget uncertainty prompts layoffs at JPL</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/budget-uncertainty-prompts-layoffs-at-jpl/ Save to Pocket

Cool tools to boost your browser

date: 2024-02-08, from: Om Malik blog

I gave up on Google’s Chrome a long time ago and switched to Brave before it started getting flak for doing questionable things. Then Josh Miller, the co-founder of The Browser Company (whom I met during his Branch.com days), offered me a chance to try out Arc, their new, clean, and refreshing take on a …

https://om.co/2024/02/07/tools-to-boost-your-browser/ Save to Pocket

US High Court to Hear Arguments on Trump’s Eligibility to Regain Presidency

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

washington — The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thursday about whether likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is ineligible for the office and must be excluded from states’ ballots because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On that day, a mob of the former president’s supporters who believed his rhetoric that the November 2020 election was stolen stormed the Capitol to try to prevent lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden’s victory.

Earlier this week, a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s claim that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution on criminal charges in a separate election interference case, United States of America v. Trump.

That case was brought by special counsel Jack Smith in U.S. District Court in Washington, resulting in four indictments in connection with Trump’s widespread efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump is likely to also appeal this case to the Supreme Court. He maintains the various criminal and civil lawsuits brought against him are part of Biden’s “witch hunt” to eliminate a political opponent — a claim the White House and Democrats deny.

Trump v. Anderson

Trump v. Anderson, to be brought before the Supreme Court on Thursday, addresses whether Trump must be barred from participating in the Colorado primary election under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The case began as Anderson v. Griswold, filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on behalf of Norma Anderson, a former Republican lawmaker in Colorado, with five other Republican and independent voters, against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.

Both cases look at whether Trump is an insurrectionist who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power and whether under Section 3 he should be barred from holding office again.

Section 3 was written in 1866 after the end of the Civil War to keep former Confederates — officials from the 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States to protect the institution of slavery — from returning to power.

It provides: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Trump’s lawyers argue that Section 3 does not apply to presidents, that January 6 was not an insurrection, and that Trump was only exercising his free-speech rights.

In November, a Colorado judge ruled that Trump engaged in insurrection. But she ruled against blocking him from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot, finding that Section 3 did not apply to the president. That part of her ruling was appealed and later reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court.

Amicus briefs

Various scholars, election officials, lawmakers and other political figures have filed amicus — “friend of the court” — briefs to share their views in support of or against Trump.

One of them is Mark Graber, Regents professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a leading expert in constitutional law on insurrections and the 14th Amendment. His brief argues that the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling is consistent with how the legal community understood insurrection at the time Section 3 was framed, and that it correctly ruled an insurrection occurred.

“Donald Trump incited that insurrection,” Graber told VOA.

“He was told his tweets were inspiring violence against election workers. He responded by intensifying his tweets. He was told there were people in the crowd with weapons who intended to invade Congress. He responded by saying, ‘When there’s fraud, you don’t use the usual means. You fight — you fight like hell,’” he said. “A reasonable person could say given Trump’s behavior, he intended to inspire an insurrection and participate.”

In response to another central question in this case — whether the 14th Amendment applies to the president — Graber said the answer was “obvious.”

“Every member of Congress who used the phrase ‘officer of the United States’ in the 39th Congress said that the president was included,” he underscored.

Others argue that enforcement of the 14th Amendment is for Congress to determine, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who filed a brief with 26 other Republican attorneys general.

“Section 3 is not self-executing textually,” he said during a Wednesday event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. He argued that under Section 5 that provides, “Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article,” lawmakers should determine how the 14th Amendment is to be enforced.

Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter professor of law at Harvard Law School who defended Trump during his Senate impeachment trial, supports this argument.

“In the absence of congressional action, I don’t believe the 14th Amendment is self-enforcing,” he told VOA. “Otherwise, why would you need Article 5 of the 14th Amendment that explicitly gives Congress the power to make these decisions?”

A group of 25 leading historians, including Allan J. Lichtman, distinguished professor of history at American University, argued in their brief that Section 3 covers Trump and does not “require another act of Congress or a conviction” of insurrection.

Lichtman told VOA it’s clear that Section 3 is designed to guard against “not just ex-Confederates but future insurrectionists.”

“They wanted an amendment that would last in perpetuity and couldn’t be tampered with by future congresses because it’s part of the Constitution,” Lichtman said.

Legal questions aside, the American people should have the right to choose their president, not judges, said Rokita. “Voters will lose all confidence if judges decide that voters cannot even consider one of our nation’s two leading presidential candidates,” he warned.

Far-reaching impact

Although the Supreme Court will only decide on the Colorado case, the impact would be far-reaching, including for the state of Maine, whose secretary of state ruled in December that Trump should be taken off the state’s primary ballot, and pending cases in 11 other states that challenge his electoral eligibility, as well as others in the future.

The Supreme Court could uphold the Colorado ruling, which would be a devastating blow to Trump’s reelection bid. Or it could rule that Trump cannot be disqualified under Section 3 and put him back on the ballot.

The justices could also decline to make a final decision and leave it to lawmakers - for example, let Congress decide whether to certify Trump’s victory should he win in November.

Six of the nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents, including three by Trump. But since the question has almost no legal precedent, it’s difficult to predict the justices’ individual rulings based on their ideology.

It will be difficult for the justices to “contradict the historical evidence,” said Lichtman. However, given the political magnitude, the Supreme Court is likely to “take a technical off-ramp” and “punt on this issue.”

Dershowitz agreed, predicting the justices would either “say the 14th Amendment just doesn’t apply absent congressional action, or they will figure out some way of putting off the ultimate issue.”

He underscored the importance of a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court.

“A split decision would keep the country very divided,” he said. “That means we’re likely to see a narrow decision that doesn’t decide broad issues.”

It is unclear how long the Supreme Court will take to rule. In the coming months, the high court also will likely deliberate on Trump’s appeal of the election interference case prosecuted by Smith, which was rejected Tuesday by a federal appeals court.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-high-court-to-hear-arguments-on-trump-eligibility-to-regain-presidency/7478991.html Save to Pocket

Huntington Beach Librarians Begin Reviewing Kids’ Books For ‘Sexual Content’

date: 2024-02-08, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The LAist

Librarians moved books out of the children’s section Wednesday to comply with a city council resolution to restrict access to books deemed to have sexual content. Some of the books are about subjects such as puberty.

https://laist.com/news/politics/huntington-beach-library-sexual-content-review Save to Pocket

Cisco, Nvidia expand collab to push Ethernet into AI clusters

date: 2024-02-08, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

InfiniBand dominates in GPU-boosted servers while Big E gains steam

At Cisco Live in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the enterprise networking goliath announced a series of hardware and software platforms in collaboration with Nvidia tailored to everyone’s favorite buzzword these days: AL/ML.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/cisco_nvidia_expand_collab/ Save to Pocket

County Launches Homeless Services Division To Reduce Veteran Homelessness

date: 2024-02-08, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs  will officially launch its Homeless Services Division

https://scvnews.com/county-launches-homeless-services-division-to-reduce-veteran-homelessness/ Save to Pocket

Feb. 11: Anti-Racism Coalition Hosts Sunday Forum with Santa Clarita NAACP

date: 2024-02-08, from: SCV New (TV Station)

As part of its celebration of Black History Month, the Anti-Racism Coalition of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will welcome members of Santa Clarita’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to their 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, Feb. 

https://scvnews.com/feb-11-anti-racism-coalition-hosts-sunday-forum-with-santa-clarita-naacp/ Save to Pocket

Tesla improves Cybertruck handling, charging, and more in new update

date: 2024-02-08, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla has released the first major software update for the Cybertruck, and it improves the electric pickup’s handling, charging, and more.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/tesla-improves-cybertruck-handling-charging-new-update/ Save to Pocket

Journalists Criticize Tucker Carlson Over Putin Interview

date: 2024-02-08, from: VOA News USA

Washington — Former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlon’s announcement on Tuesday that he interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin has been met with disapproval from an array of journalists, some of whom say the Kremlin may use the interview for propaganda purposes.

In a video posted on the social media platform X, Carlson said he wanted to interview the longtime Russian leader because “Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they are implicated in.”

In mid-March, Russia is set to hold presidential elections, which Putin is all but guaranteed to win. Putin likely agreed to the interview with Carlson because he thinks it will help his campaign, according to Mikhail Rubin, deputy editor-in-chief of the Russian investigative outlet Proekt Media.

Carlson “needs to understand that he’s a part of the presidential election campaign, and he’s going to help [Putin], unfortunately,” Rubin told VOA.

Rubin added that Carlson’s interview is likely to be used to paint Moscow in a positive light.

“The most important is to show that Putin is open and that American journalists can work inside Russia because Russia is an open and free country,” Rubin said.

But that narrative is plainly false, said Rubin, who fled the country in 2021 for safety reasons.

“If I go to Russia, as far as I understand, I will be arrested the next day,” said Rubin, who is now based in Washington. “I’m not sure that I will ever see my father again.”

Other Russian journalists shared similar critiques on social media.

“I am like hundreds of Russian journalists who have had to go into exile to keep reporting about the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The alternative was to go to jail,” said Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats on X. Meanwhile, Carlson was “shooting from the $1,000 Ritz suite in Moscow,” she said.

Carlson also drew criticism for appearing to ignore the poor state of press freedom in Russia, which has led to the arrests of scores of reporters inside the country and forced many others into exile.

“Quite something to complain about how not enough American journalists are reporting on the Russian side of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine when two of them — Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva — are in jail right now for doing just that,” Max Seddon, Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times, said in a post on X.  

The Wall Street Journal’s Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny.

Kurmasheva, an editor at VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was jailed in October 2023 and is facing charges for failing to register as a “foreign agent” and spreading false information about the Russian military. She and her employer reject the charges.

Besides Kurmasheva and Gershkovich, at least 20 other journalists were jailed in Russia as of the end of 2023, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the interview was recorded on Tuesday.

The interview will likely be published Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Carlson said it will be uploaded live and unedited to X, where he launched a show after he was abruptly fired from the conservative channel Fox News last year.

The right-wing television personality hosted a prime-time show on Fox News from 2016 until his firing in 2023. Carlson’s departure came shortly after Fox News agreed to pay over $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false election claims, many of which Carlson himself propagated.

The Tucker Carlson Network did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

After accusing U.S. media of “fawning pep session” interviews with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carlson went on to claim that “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country in this conflict, Vladimir Putin.”

Journalists took to social media to criticize that claim, as well.

“Does Tucker really think we journalists haven’t been trying to interview President Putin every day since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine?” CNN’s Christiane Amanpour said in a post on X. “It’s absurd — we’ll continue to ask for an interview, just as we have for years now.”

Even the Kremlin fact-checked that claim from Carlson.

“No, Mr. Carlson is wrong. In fact, he cannot know this,” Peskov, the spokesperson, said, adding that the Kremlin receives many requests for interviews with Putin.

https://www.voanews.com/a/journalists-criticize-tucker-carlson-over-putin-interview/7478972.html Save to Pocket

Honda Stylo 160 Is Team Red’s New Modern Classic Scooter

date: 2024-02-08, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

You want that 160cc engine with a classic look? Say no more.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707835/honda-stylo-160-scooter-introduced/ Save to Pocket

Representing the 3rd

date: 2024-02-08, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

We are so fortunate to have Joan Hartmann as our representative; she has consistently proven herself to be honest, creative, hard-working, and responsive to all of the 3rd District.

The post Representing the 3rd appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/representing-the-3rd/ Save to Pocket

Canyon girls soccer wins in PKs, advances out of wildcard

date: 2024-02-08, from: The Signal

The Canyon Cowboys girls’ soccer season came down to the wire in the wildcard round of the CIF Division 3 playoffs on Tuesday.   The Cowboys went through two scoreless halves and a pair of overtime periods before heading to penalty kicks with the hosting Valley View Eagles. Canyon coach Leonardo Neveleff knew his team could […]

The post Canyon girls soccer wins in PKs, advances out of wildcard  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/canyon-girls-soccer-wins-in-pks-advances-out-of-wildcard/ Save to Pocket

IT suppliers hacked off with Uncle Sam’s demands in aftermath of cyberattacks

date: 2024-02-08, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Plan says to hand over keys to networks – and report intrusions within eight hours of discovery

Organizations that sell IT services to Uncle Sam are peeved at proposed changes to procurement rules that would require them to allow US government agencies full access to their systems in the event of a security incident.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/us_tech_industry_changes/ Save to Pocket

John Densmore Opens the Door on the Real Story at Santa Barbara Museum of Art

date: 2024-02-08, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The Doors drummer riffs on his new book, ‘The Doors Unhinged.’

The post John Densmore Opens the Door on the Real Story at Santa Barbara Museum of Art appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/john-densmore-opens-the-door-on-the-real-story-at-santa-barbara-museum-of-art/ Save to Pocket

Feb. 23: WEWIL Collaborative “Hosts Mastering Your Business Through Authenticity and an Open Mind”

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

WeWil Collaborative, a local organization that empowers women with professional development, growth, and connections through workshops and community, is thrilled to announce their next online workshop

https://scvnews.com/feb-23-wewil-collaborative-hosts-mastering-your-business-through-authenticity-and-an-open-mind/ Save to Pocket

Apple Vision Pro has densest display iFixit’s ever seen, and almost-OK repairability

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

You can fit more than 50 Virgin Bro pixels into a single iPhone one while angular resolution remains a little low

Teardown artists iFixit have pried open the Vision Pro and awarded the device a “pretty impressive” provisional repairability score given the device is Apple’s first foray into such gear.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/apple_vision_pro_ifixit/ Save to Pocket

Goleta Achieves Certification of Its Housing Element

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The City Council applauded and cheered when City Manager Robert Nisbet announced the good news.

The post Goleta Achieves Certification of Its Housing Element appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/goleta-achieves-certification-of-its-housing-element/ Save to Pocket

Applications for ‘The Big Idea SCV’ Closing Soon

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The re-launch of “The Big Idea SCV,” is fast approaching and applications for students is closing soon later this month. 

https://scvnews.com/applications-for-the-big-idea-scv-closing-soon/ Save to Pocket

‘The Last Daughter’ Earns ADL Award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

This Australian documentary has its North American premiere on February 13 at SBIFF.

The post ‘The Last Daughter’ Earns ADL Award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/the-last-daughter-earns-adl-award-at-santa-barbara-international-film-festival/ Save to Pocket

Theater Review | ‘Meteor Shower’

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Ojai Arts Center production of play by Steve Martin is an absurd take on couples interactions.

The post Theater Review | ‘Meteor Shower’  appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/theater-review-meteor-shower/ Save to Pocket

US Drone Strike in Iraq Kills Iran-Backed Militant Group Commander

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

Pentagon — The United States military says it carried out a drone strike on a vehicle in Baghdad, killing a leader of an Iranian-backed militant group.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, said the strike on Tuesday killed a commander of the militant group Kataib Hezbollah who was “responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.”

Two U.S. officials confirmed to VOA that the commander was operations officer Wisam Mohammad al-Saedi. Photos on social media allegedly showed his Iraqi identification card that was pulled from his body.

VOA had earlier reported the United States military was involved in an airstrike against a high-value target in the Middle East but had not identified al-Saedi by name.

Video shared on social media showed a vehicle engulfed in flames on a Baghdad highway.

The U.S. strike was in response to the almost 170 drone, rocket and missile attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East since mid-October, one of which killed three U.S. service members and wounded dozens more in northern Jordan last week.

A wave of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday pounded targets associated with Iranian-backed militias responsible for the attacks. The strikes targeted three locations in Iraq, as well as another four in Syria, and they destroyed more than 80 individual targets, ranging from command-and-control centers and intelligence hubs to missile and drone storage facilities, according to the latest U.S. assessments.

But while U.S. officials have defended the strikes as necessary following a drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers at a base in Jordan last month, Iraqi officials have voiced increased anger, summoning the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Baghdad to protest. They have charged that some of the U.S. strikes hit elements of Iraq’s own security forces.

The U.S. State Department said Monday that Iraq was not given any warning but added the U.S. strikes should not have come as a surprise.

Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said Monday the U.S. had no plans for a long-term military campaign against the militias in Iraq and Syria, but he noted the U.S. response to the killing of its service members was “not complete.”

The U.S. has about 2,500 troops in Iraq tasked with advising and assisting Iraqi security forces as they pursue the remnants of the Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

And while talks between the U.S. and Iraq are underway to eventually reduce the U.S. military footprint and transition from the counter-IS mission to what officials describe as more traditional military-to-military relationship with Baghdad, the process has been complicated by the attacks.

On Tuesday, Iranian-backed Houthi militants once again ignored U.S. calls to stop attacking international shipping lanes or face consequences, this time firing six anti-ship missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday that one of the missiles caused minor damage to the Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek owned-and-operated bulk carrier MV Star Nasia in the Gulf of Aden, while another missile landed in the water near the ship. U.S. forces shot down a third missile in the area.

There were no reported injuries, and the ship was able to continue toward its destination, CENTCOM said in a statement.

In the southern Red Sea, CENTCOM said three missiles likely targeting the Barbados-flagged, U.K.-owned cargo ship MV Morning Tide landed in the water without causing any damage.

The latest Houthi launches came as an unclassified Defense Intelligence Agency report released Tuesday confirmed that Houthi militants in Yemen were using various missiles and drones of Iranian origin in its recent attacks across the region. The report compares publicly available images of Iranian weapons to those employed by the Houthis and highlights the strengthening relationship between the Houthis and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. military said it conducted its latest self-defense strikes against two Houthi kamikaze drone boats that were laden with explosives.

CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. forces in the region, said the vessels “presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.”

The Houthis have said their Red Sea attacks are in solidarity with the people of Gaza and have vowed to continue them, despite the U.S. and British strikes.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-involved-in-strike-that-hit-high-value-target-in-iraq-official-tells-voa/7478554.html Save to Pocket

Full Belly Files | Searching for Chanterelles and Satisfaction

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Foraging for wild mushrooms with Bob Cummings and Gainey winemaker Jeff LeBard; plus, stories you may have missed.

The post Full Belly Files | Searching for Chanterelles and Satisfaction appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/full-belly-files-searching-for-chanterelles-and-satisfaction/ Save to Pocket

It’s Valen-time to Upgrade to a REAL ID

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

More than 17 million Californians now have a REAL ID, an increase of 138,835 from the previous month, according to California Department of Motor Vehicles  data

https://scvnews.com/its-valen-time-to-upgrade-to-a-real-id/ Save to Pocket

All-new electric Lancia Ypsilon shown weeks ahead of schedule

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Storied Italian car brand Lancia revealed its first new car — electric or otherwise — in over a decade, and it did so without warning, without fanfare, and weeks ahead of schedule.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/all-new-electric-lancia-ypsilon-shown-weeks-ahead-of-schedule/ Save to Pocket

Children’s Bureau Seeking Foster Families for Local Children

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption

https://scvnews.com/childrens-bureau-seeking-foster-families-for-local-children/ Save to Pocket

Why Ford Needed A Skunkworks Team To Create Its Low-Cost EV Platform

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

Creating a startup within Ford may help the automaker out-innovate Tesla and other EV newcomers.

https://insideevs.com/news/707831/ford-cheap-ev-tesla-skunkworks/ Save to Pocket

LASD official retires while under investigation

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Signal

By Signal Staff  A high-ranking captain in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who was relieved of duty on Sept. 11 pending the outcome of a criminal investigation, has retired while the investigation continues, according to LASD sources and county retirement records available online.  The captain, a Stevenson Ranch resident who was not working in […]

The post LASD official retires while under investigation appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/lasd-official-retires-while-under-investigation/ Save to Pocket

Volt Typhoon not the only Chinese crew lurking in US energy, critical networks

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Presumably American TLAs are all over Beijing’s infrastructure, too … right?

Volt Typhoon isn’t the only Chinese spying crew infiltrating computer networks in America’s energy sector and other critical organizations with the aim of wrecking equipment and causing other headaches, the US government has said.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/its_not_just_volt_typhoon/ Save to Pocket

Deputies seeks suspect in hot-prowl burglary 

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Signal

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials are investigating a report of a hot-prowl burglary after a woman reported being woken up by a man who had broken into her home, stood over her bed and put his hand over her mouth, according to the report from a 911 call.   The SCV Sheriff’s Station received the […]

The post Deputies seeks suspect in hot-prowl burglary  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/deputies-seeks-suspect-in-hot-prowl-burglary/ Save to Pocket

Wow, this drone footage of an erupting Icelandic volcano. It gets right…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043935-wow-this-drone-footage-of Save to Pocket

Lilbits: Disney’s Epic $1.5 billion bet on gaming,

date: 2024-02-07, from: Liliputing

Disney is already a behemoth in the movies & TV space, but now the company wants a slice of the gaming pie. The company has announced plans to collaborate with Epic Games to bring Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and other content and characters to Fortnite and other games and experiences powered by Epic’s Unreal […]

The post Lilbits: Disney’s Epic $1.5 billion bet on gaming, appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/lilbits-disneys-epic-1-5-billion-bet-on-gaming/ Save to Pocket

Israeli Survivors of Hamas’s October 7 Attack Tell Their Story

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Eighty neighbors were murdered, 18 were kidnapped, and their kibbutz was burned.

The post Israeli Survivors of Hamas’s October 7 Attack Tell Their Story appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/israeli-survivors-of-hamass-october-7-attack-tell-their-story/ Save to Pocket

It’s Movie Magic Time in Santa Barbara

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Santa Barbara International Film Festival is looking SPIFF-y once again.

The post It’s Movie Magic Time in Santa Barbara appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/its-movie-magic-time-in-santa-barbara/ Save to Pocket

Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Secret Sauce

date: 2024-02-07, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Programming Director Claudia Puig takes us behind the scenes of the Film Festival’s program puzzle.

The post Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Secret Sauce appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/07/santa-barbara-international-film-festivals-secret-sauce/ Save to Pocket

City shares outlook in budget talk 

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Signal

Santa Clarita kicked off the first budget study session for the 2024-25 fiscal year with a slightly more optimistic tone than last year but with a call to try and stick to the capital improvement plans in Santa Clarita 2025, as the city’s costs are expected to grow with a significant number of projects in […]

The post <strong>City shares outlook in budget talk</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/city-shares-outlook-in-budget-talk/ Save to Pocket

US Senate Rejects Border Security Measure Linked to Ukraine, Israel Aid

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-senate-rejects-border-security-measure-linked-to-ukraine-israel-aid/7478502.html Save to Pocket

Interim LAPD Chief Picked To Replace Michel Moore

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

The interim appointment of Dominic H. Choi, a longtime LAPD veteran, comes less than a month after outgoing chief Michel Moore announced his retirement.

https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/interim-lapd-chief-named Save to Pocket

Legacy Christian Academy holds grand opening for new turf

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Signal

News release   Legacy Christian Academy held a grand opening ceremony for its new athletic turf on Jan. 25. The kindergarten and first-grade students officially opened the field with a short celebration ceremony.  The new athletic turf is a state-of-the-art playing surface that will provide a safe and enjoyable place for students to participate in […]

The post Legacy Christian Academy holds grand opening for new turf appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/legacy-christian-academy-holds-grand-opening-for-new-turf/ Save to Pocket

New Research Conducted by CSUN Prof Reveals Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

A years-long study focused on the climate effects on coral reefs by California State University, Northridge marine biologists Peter Edmunds and Robert Carpenter reveals concerns for their future survival

https://scvnews.com/new-research-conducted-by-csun-prof-reveals-impacts-of-ocean-acidification-on-coral-reefs/ Save to Pocket

Many small news nonprofits feel overlooked by funders. A new coalition is giving them a voice

date: 2024-02-07, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

Here’s a question I bet you can’t answer without Googling: What’s Didelphis virginiana? And what does Didelphis virginiana have to do with local news? I couldn’t have answered either question five months ago. But last fall, when I interviewed Corinne Colbert, she introduced me to her publication, the Athens County Independent. That’s how I learned…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/many-small-news-nonprofits-feel-overlooked-by-funders-a-new-coalition-is-giving-them-a-voice/ Save to Pocket

AMD crams five compute architectures onto a single board

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

What an Arm-ful of x86, Vega graphics, XDNA AI, and FPGA circuitry

With the launch of its Embedded+ architecture yesterday, AMD effectively posed the question: Why choose one compute architecture when you can have five?…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/amd_compute_systems/ Save to Pocket

Quick Charge Podcast: February 7, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/quick-charge-podcast-february-7-2024/ Save to Pocket

“The Unspoken Racial Politics of ‘Fast Car’ at the Grammys”

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/the-unspoken-racial-politics-of-fast-car-at-the-grammys Save to Pocket

Your Guide To Coaxing Your Pooch To Poop Next Time A Once-In-A-Century Storm Hits

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

From doggie accessories to training tips before the next big storm, we’ve got you covered.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/your-guide-to-coaxing-your-pooch-to-poop-next-time-a-once-in-a-century-storm-hits Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

A university president who blogs.

https://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2024/02/05/access-education-and-practicing-freedom/ Save to Pocket

Los Angeles Museum Returns Artifacts to Ghana That Were Taken by British Forces in 1874

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Museum officials traveled to the city of Kumasi to return the objects on the 150th anniversary of their seizure

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/uclas-fowler-museum-returns-artifacts-taken-from-asante-kingdom-to-ghana-180983741/ Save to Pocket

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX, Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, SpaceX is targeting no earlier than 12:57 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, for a Falcon 9 launch of Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander to the Moon’s surface. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-spacex-intuitive-machines-first-moon-mission/ Save to Pocket

DACC Celebrates Spay and Neuter Awareness Month and Responsible Pet Owners Month

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control is excited to announce its participation in two significant awareness campaigns: Spay and Neuter Awareness Month and Responsible Pet Owners Month

https://scvnews.com/dacc-celebrates-spay-and-neuter-awareness-month-and-responsible-pet-owners-month/ Save to Pocket

Ford will unveil its all-electric Puma Gen-E later this year

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

The UK’s best-selling car is going electric. Ford said it will reveal the all-electric Puma Gen-E later this year as it expands its European EV lineup.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/ford-unveil-all-electric-puma-gen-e/ Save to Pocket

After Police Kill Unarmed Black People, Black Americans Lose Sleep, Study Finds

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

New research draws a link between unequal exposure to police violence and lack of sleep for Black adults

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-police-kill-unarmed-black-people-black-americans-lose-sleep-study-finds-180983751/ Save to Pocket

Housing Advocates Sue City Of LA Again For Denying Affordable Housing Near Single-Family Homes

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

A pro-housing group has filed a second lawsuit challenging the city’s retroactive ban of fast-tracked affordable housing in lower-density neighborhoods.

https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angles-city-ed1-yimby-law-lawsuit-wilbur-reseda-affordable-housing-single-family-mayor-bass Save to Pocket

First Look: Spaceplane Stacked and Shaken at NASA Test Facility

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

Nose-up and bathed in soft blue lights, Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane and its Shooting Star cargo module cast dramatic shadows onto the walls of NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, as members of the media got their first glimpse of the towering 55-foot-tall stack on Feb. 1. The spaceplane and its cargo […]

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/first-look-spaceplane-stacked-and-shaken-at-nasa-test-facility/ Save to Pocket

NASA Selects Agencywide Acquisition Support Services Contractor

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

NASA has selected 8(a) vendor Seventh Sense Consulting LLC of Woodbridge, Virginia, to provide acquisition support services for non-inherently governmental functions across the agency. The contractor will provide services agencywide, including document development support, procurement administrative services, acquisition policy support, procurement operations support, procurement source selection support, cost/pricing support, and contract closeout support. The latter […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-agencywide-acquisition-support-services-contractor/ Save to Pocket

ARL Letter Opposing Pro Codes Act

date: 2024-02-07, from: Association of Research Libraries News

Last Updated on February 7, 2024, 3:57 pm ET On February 7, 2024, ARL sent a letter to Senators explaining why we oppose the Pro Codes Act. Extending copyright to…

The post ARL Letter Opposing Pro Codes Act appeared first on Association of Research Libraries.

https://www.arl.org/our-priorities/advocacy-public-policy/partner-letters/copyright/arl-letter-opposing-pro-codes-act/ Save to Pocket

John Cage’s composition Organ^2/ASLSP will play continuously in a German church until…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043938-john-cages-composition-or Save to Pocket

SoCal Coastline Erodes During Heavy Storm, Delaying Trains

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

Our coastline is susceptible to erosion especially during heavy rains.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/coastal-erosive-storms-pch-train-delays Save to Pocket

2024-02-07 Apple killed music on the move, for me

date: 2024-02-07, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

2024-02-07 Apple killed music on the move, for me

I was thinking about joining the Tangara crowdfunding. It’s a kind of iPod, but better in that it is all open. Yay!

But then I realized something: Having an iPhone made listening to music such a shit show that I basically stopped and switched my entire phone-based audio entertainment to podcasts. Because podcast clients are great (at least iCatcher is) where as Apple Music is a pain. Having used iTunes when it was cool until it was unusable, and then realizing what a pain the weird AAC formats on the files were, and the DRM on some of them, preventing me from playing them on other machines I owned. I was so angry.

In a fit of hate I decided I was going to move all my pictures out of iPhotos and all my music out of iTunes and never go back. And I did. And so the Apple Music app died, and I guess no alternatives were allowed on the App Store because Apple is great like that, and so when the iPod classic I had with Rockbox installed finally died, all I was left with was podcasts on the iPhone.

And so now I don’t even know whether I want to listen to music any more while I’m on the move.

Apple killed music on the move, for me.

At home it’s a different story, of course, but Tangara is a portable music player.

I wish Tangara the best of luck.

#Apple #Copyright #DRM

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-07-tangara Save to Pocket

Electrify America set to open its first indoor EV charging station to the public this week

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

EV charging network Electrify America will soon offer the public an EV charging experience safe from the elements, where drivers can pull in, plug in, and chill out while their vehicle replenishes. This flagship indoor charging station kicks off a potential future in which you don’t have to wait in your car or outside while you charge… It also has complimentary Wi-Fi.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/electrify-america-to-open-first-indoor-ev-charging-station-to-the-public/ Save to Pocket

Tesla to restart Gigafactory Berlin production next week

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla confirmed that it plans to restart production at Gigafactory Berlin next week after shutting it down due to supply issues.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/tesla-restart-gigafactory-berlin-production-next-week/ Save to Pocket

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Introduces the New Interactive RIPA Dashboard

date: 2024-02-07, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Recently, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department introduced a dashboard about the Racial and Identity Profiling Act.  

https://scvnews.com/the-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-introduces-the-new-interactive-ripa-dashboard/ Save to Pocket

Existing telecom infrastructure can put L2 charging everywhere, FAST

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Britain’s largest telecom service provider has put forward a plan to ensure that EVs are always within range of a charger. To do that, they’re planning to retrofit their existing street cabinets into publicly accessible L2 chargers.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/existing-telecom-infrastructure-can-put-l2-charging-everywhere-fast/ Save to Pocket

Honda’s New E-Clutch: CBR650R And CB650R Get First Pricing Information

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

It’s nice to see that new tech doesn’t always have to come with a prohibitively high price tag.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707824/honda-eclutch-cbr650r-cb650r-pricing/ Save to Pocket

Half of polled infosec pros say their degree was less than useful for real-world work

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

The other half paid attention in class?

Half of infosec professionals polled by Kaspersky said any cybersecurity knowledge they picked up from their higher education is at best somewhat useful for doing their day jobs. On the other hand, half said the know-how was at least very useful. We’re a glass half-empty lot.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/kaspersky_infosec_cso/ Save to Pocket

The Marshall Star for February 7, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

NASA Administrator Announces New Marshall Space Flight Center Director NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Feb. 5 named Joseph Pelfrey director of the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center, effective immediately. Pelfrey has served as acting center director since July 2023. “Joseph is a respected leader who shares the passion for innovation and exploration at NASA Marshall. […]

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-february-7-2024/ Save to Pocket

What did the students think of the CSU strike and its quick end?

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

Last week, thousands of California State University students were left confused and disappointed after the supposed five-day strike ended after its first day. The system-wide strike took place last Monday,…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178232/news/what-did-the-students-think-of-the-csu-strike-and-its-quick-end/ Save to Pocket

Review: Cyrusher Ripple electric snowboard actually works! (mostly)

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Cyrusher, a Chinese company known for its burly electric bikes, surprised many in the snowboarding community when it announced its electric snowboard in December. Part snowboard and part snowmobile/e-skateboard/scooter, the Cyrusher Ripple mounts a jagged 3kW hub motor-wheel in a rear hole on a snowboard and puts the battery in a backpack that the rider must wear. Cyrusher states that the Ripple can go 30+ miles at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

To our surprise, they actually had some review models and sent us one that we took up to Vermont to put through the paces. Would it actually work, and more importantly, would it be a fun form of transportation?

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/review-cyrusher-ripple-electric-snowboard-actually-works-mostly/ Save to Pocket

What do Dartmouth basketball and Tennessee’s VW plant have in common?

date: 2024-02-07, from: Robert Reich on Substack

They’re both part of a sea change in labor

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/improbable-signs-of-union-ferment Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-07, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Social networks and RSS. We really should be on the case for all social media networks to support RSS feeds outbound at least (inbound nice too). And also add features to make interop really useful. I’ve enumerated them here. I am making software that builds on this feature in social networks. And yes we do have some examples of that, thinking of WordPress and competitors. I think they are perfectly good bases for social networks.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/07.html#a201729 Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-07, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I went skiing today at Belleayre. First time in five years. It was great. I’ve been working out to get ready for it, and was concerned maybe I’m finally too old, but it’s good. My body remembers how to ski. And being in shape makes the difference. No doubt at some point I will be too old for it. But not yet. And the snow was really good, for the east. Packed powder, very little ice. No lift lines. Sometimes a little crowded on the slopes but about the same as any ski area in the west. It pays to go on weekdays if you can. Here’s a trail map and some stats on the area.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/07.html#a201616 Save to Pocket

Reading Too Much into Pong Wars

date: 2024-02-07, from: TidBITS blog

https://tidbits.com/2024/02/07/reading-too-much-into-pong-wars/ Save to Pocket

A greener buzz?

date: 2024-02-07, from: Status-Q blog

When I was young, electric toothbrushes were something we laughed at.  Imagine being too lazy even to wiggle a toothbrush up and down without powered assistance! But as an adult, I discovered that most dentists now thought they were rather good, and recommended them.   Electric toothbrushes did a better job of cleaning in general, Continue Reading

https://statusq.org/archives/2024/02/07/11943/ Save to Pocket

Black History in Two Minutes (or so)

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/black-history-in-two-minutes-or-so Save to Pocket

Digitizing the Past: Videographer Archives Northridge Earthquake Footage

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

George Johnson is no stranger to earthquakes. He grew up all over the San Fernando Valley, moving from West Hills to Northridge to Mission Hills and back to Northridge again….

https://sundial.csun.edu/178141/print-editions/print-stories/digitizing-the-past-videographer-archives-northridge-earthquake-footage/ Save to Pocket

The Viral Smart Toothbrush Botnet Story Is Not Real

date: 2024-02-07, from: 404 Media Group

“FortiGuard Labs has not observed Mirai or other IoT botnets target toothbrushes or similar embedded devices.”

https://www.404media.co/the-viral-toothbrush-ddos-botnet-story-almost-certainly-isnt-real/ Save to Pocket

CGPDFService

date: 2024-02-07, from: Michael Tsai

Howard Oakley: CGPDFService turns out to be quite a small background XPC process inside the CoreGraphics framework, located on the System volume (SSV) in the path /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/CGPDFService.xpc. The executable is around 313 KB, and is currently in version and build number 1, as it shipped with the first release of Sonoma.[…]CGPDFService processes reset their user […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/07/cgpdfservice/ Save to Pocket

Inside Code Signing: Certificates

date: 2024-02-07, from: Michael Tsai

TN3161 (via Quinn): To condense this into plain English, this certificate says that “Apple certifies that this developer is associated with this public key, and the matching private key can be used to sign Mac code.” This is clearly a simplification—it doesn’t touch on the valid date range, serial number, or even how Apple identified […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/07/inside-code-signing-certificates/ Save to Pocket

Bluesky Opens to the Public

date: 2024-02-07, from: Michael Tsai

Bluesky (Hacker News): Bluesky is building an open social network where anyone can contribute, while still providing an easy-to-use experience for users. For the past year, we used invite codes to help us manage growth while we built features like moderation tooling, custom feeds, and more. Now, we’re ready for anyone to join.[…]To learn more […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/07/bluesky-opens-to-the-public/ Save to Pocket

Flickr and Facebook at 20

date: 2024-02-07, from: Michael Tsai

Flickr: To celebrate this huge milestone, we’re taking a trip down memory lane to explore all of the technological and structural moments that have shaped Flickr into what it is now. Mark Zuckerberg: 20 years ago I launched a thing. Along the way, lots of amazing people joined and we built some more awesome things. […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/07/flickr-and-facebook-at-20/ Save to Pocket

Yours Truly on ‘Big Technology’

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Daring Fireball

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/apple-mega-episode-w-daring-fireballs-john-gruber-ai/id1522960417?i=1000644472738 Save to Pocket

BYD takes 20% of Japan’s EV imports in January after launching just last year

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Watch out, Toyota. BYD continues its dominant overseas expansion after accounting for over 20% of Japan’s EV imports last month. After launching just last year, BYD is already making its presence known as Japan lags behind the auto industry’s shift to electric.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/byd-20-japans-ev-imports/ Save to Pocket

Astronaut Bruce McCandless Performs the First Untethered Spacewalk

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II approaches his maximum distance from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger in this 70mm photo from Feb. 7, 1984. While testing out the nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled back-pack device called the manned maneuvering unit (MMU) for the first time, McCandless’s fellow crewmembers aboard the reusable vehicle photographed him. The MMU allowed crews to move […]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/astronaut-bruce-mccandless-performs-the-first-untethered-spacewalk/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

In this blog post, I cover the work to make Godot on iPadOS viable.

This describes what I did get the editor and the game to play well with each other:

https://blog.la-terminal.net/making-godot-viable-on-ipados/

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111891779662435060 Save to Pocket

US says China’s Volt Typhoon is readying destructive cyberattacks

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

12 international govt agencies sound the alarm, critical infrastructure at the heart of threats

The US government today confirmed China’s Volt Typhoon crew comprised “multiple” critical infrastructure orgs’ IT networks in America – and Uncle Sam warned that the Beijing-backed spies are readying “disruptive or destructive cyberattacks” against those targets.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/us_chinas_volt_typhoon_attacks/ Save to Pocket

“The basic problem with the conservative discourse around ‘parents’ rights’ is that…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043937-the-basic-problem-with-th Save to Pocket

macOS 14.3 Sonoma Text Display Bug to Be Fixed Soon

date: 2024-02-07, from: TidBITS blog

https://tidbits.com/2024/02/07/macos-14-3-sonoma-text-display-bug-to-be-fixed-soon/ Save to Pocket

See Detailed New Images of Io From Another NASA Flyby of the Solar System’s Most Volcanic World

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The stunning views show lava flows and volcanic plumes, as scientists seek to learn what causes such volatile conditions on the moon of Jupiter

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-new-detailed-images-of-io-from-another-nasa-flyby-of-the-solar-systems-most-volcanic-world-180983748/ Save to Pocket

Why You May Soon Be Getting More Air Quality Alerts

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heatmap News

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized new air pollution rules on Wednesday, strengthening standards that had not been updated in over a decade. Somewhat counterintuitively, the change could mean that even as the air gets cleaner, you might get more air quality alerts.

As part of the rule change, the EPA updated its Air Quality Index, that colorful scale that many Americans grew intimately familiar with last summer, as wildfire smoke went from being a West Coast problem to a hazard for almost the entire country, seemingly overnight.

The AQI is both easy to interpret, with a color code that goes from a healthy green to a perilous purple, and esoteric. The colors correspond with numbers from zero to upwards of 300, and those numbers correspond with measures of five different pollutants — particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.

The Clean Air Act tasks the EPA with setting standards for each of these pollutants. If local concentrations of any one of them tick up above those protective standards, the AQI will jump from green to a more alarming color. The higher the level of pollution is, the higher the AQI and the darker the color will be.

Previously, the EPA’s annual standard for concentrations of particulate matter was 12 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). Based on epidemiological research showing that this standard did not adequately protect public health, the agency has now lowered the standard to 9 µg/m3.

Air quality has improved immensely since the 1970s when the Clean Air Act was passed, preventing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths. But thousands of people still die early, are rushed to the emergency room, develop asthma, or miss work due to air pollution.

The new AQI scale doesn’t mean you need to rethink how you make decisions about when to spend time outdoors or whether to wear a mask. But it does mean that if and when people make decisions based on the AQI, they will be more informed by the science and, in aggregate, contribute to lower all of these public health costs. The rules are expected to prevent 4,500 premature deaths per year by 2032.

All AQI scores above 300 are considered hazardous, but identifying a top value for the scale helps the EPA determine the actual score.Environmental Protection Agency

Some parts of the country could start to see more days with “moderate air quality,” the yellow category. “People who live in places that have frequent flips over nine — those will be people who have environmental justice issues or live near traffic and industries and big cities and so forth — they are going to get warned a little more,” John Bachmann, a former associate director in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation told me. “Which is a positive thing.” The agency considers moderate air quality to be “acceptable,” but there may still be a risk for people who are particularly sensitive to pollution.

Also, during major air quality events like wildfires or chemical fires, impacted areas could now be deemed “hazardous” when previously they may have been “very unhealthy,” or deemed “very unhealthy” when before they would have been simply “unhealthy.” This will affect when and how public health officials respond to these kinds of events.

“This is for everybody, not just the most exposed or the most sensitive people. So on both ends of it, this is a step in the right direction,” Bachmann said.

As part of the changes, the agency will also now require cities with more than 350,000 people to report the AQI seven days a week, up from five — a rule that’s been in place since 1999. However, the agency said that most states and cities are already doing this.

The new AQI scale will take effect in 60 days, in early April.

https://heatmap.news/sparks/air-quality-index-what-you-need-to-know Save to Pocket

Save $600 on Juiced RipRacer e-bike at $899, Snow Joe electric snow blower now $300, more

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Headlining today’s best deals is a $600 discount on Juiced Bikes’ RipRacer e-bike that returns costs to the $899 all-time low that we haven’t seen since August. It is joined by Snow Joe’s 24V 21-inch Electric Snow Blower for $300, as well as a notable sale on a few Amazon Basics rechargeable battery packs, with the 12-pack of AAA batteries leading at $14. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/juiced-ripracer-e-bike-snow-joe-snow-blower-and-more/ Save to Pocket

The World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Developer Had a Horrible 2023, and It’s America’s Fault

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heatmap News

The Danish energy developer Orsted delivered a withering verdict on its experiment trying to build wind farms in the United States: Bad. It’s lost a ton of money, the company said Wednesday, so it’s going to do less of that going forward, and take on way less risk.

That Orsted had struggled in the U.S. offshore wind market was no secret — late last year, it cancelled two projects in New Jersey — but its earnings report put some grim figures on it.

The company said that it had 9.6 billion Danish kroner worth of fees (about $1.4 billion) related to one New Jersey project, Ocean Wind 1, and had booked $4 billion of losses, most of which were due to Ocean Wind 1’s cancellation. Overall, it reported a a loss of almost $3 billion in 2023, entirely due to the fees and impairments it reported. Otherwise, the company would have had a more than $2 billion profit.

The company’s offshore wind misadventure won’t just weigh on its balance sheet or stock price. Investors, including the Danish government, will miss out on the company’s dividend for three years, through 2025. And the company’s chairman, Thomas Thune Andersen, said he would step down next month.

All this also meant that the company expects to have far less installed renewable capacity developed by the end of the decade than it had previously targeted, down to 35 to 28 gigawatts from the 50 GW it had projected as recently as last year. (It has just under 16 GW at the moment.) The company will cut its planned investment by more than half, according to Morningstar analyst Tancrede Fulop.

Orsted and other wind developers have blamed a combination of supply chain issues, high interest rates, and inflexibility in the contracts signed with state governments for the failures, delays, and cancellations of projects up and down the East Coast last year. In New York, Orsted and other developers failed to get their contracts adjusted to account for higher costs, and so were forced to cancel and, in some cases, re-bid.

The company said in a presentation to investors that it was “now focused predominantly on the Northeast,” essentially throwing in the towel on anywhere south of New York, having withdrawn from the New Jersey project and declaring that its Maryland project, Skipjack, will continue development “with minimal spend.”

The trouble wasn’t just in the United States, though — Orsted also said it was pulling out of Norway, Spain, and Portugal, while it was “deprioritising development in other markets including Japan.” It does, however, seem committed to maintaining some presence here, having submitted a new bid for Sunrise Wind, a planned wind farm off the east coast of Long Island.

In a call with analysts, the company’s chief executive Mads Nipper said that Orsted will spend far less money on projects before making the final approval to go forward with construction. The company also said that it will “pursue offtake opportunities where attractive with low pre-FID commitments and inflation protection” — in other words, bid for projects with low upfront costs and someone else around to absorb rising costs.

https://heatmap.news/sparks/orsted-earnings-bad-us-2023 Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

CJ Rossitano on Winning the SNL Ticket Lottery.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AUdOrZXhReU Save to Pocket

50 Years Ago: Skylab 4 Astronauts Return From Record-Breaking Spaceflight

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

The longest spaceflight up to that time ended on Feb. 8, 1974, when Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after their 84-day mission aboard Skylab, America’s first space station. During their stay, they carried out a challenging research program, including biomedical investigations […]

https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-skylab-4-astronauts-return-from-record-breaking-spaceflight/ Save to Pocket

Ford pulls the plug on EV strategy as losses pile up

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘Our Gen 2 vehicles won’t launch unless we can get to a profit’

The reality of electric vehicle prices has finally caught up with the venerable US automaker Ford, which said yesterday that it’s rethinking its loss-making EV strategy.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/ford_ev_strategy/ Save to Pocket

Rubble From Bone by Tom Stevenson for the London Review of Books….

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043936-rubble-from-bone-the-war Save to Pocket

Could GPT-5 revolutionize military strategy?

date: 2024-02-07, from: Gary Marcus blog

Sam Altman is a fantastic strategic thinker. Satya Nadella is a fantastic strategic thinker. Demis Hassabis is one of the greatest all-around games players of all time. ChatGPT, not so much. It’s notorious for making illegal moves in chess. How about something easier?

https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/could-gpt-5-revolutionize-military Save to Pocket

The New York Times made more than $1 billion from digital subscriptions in 2023

date: 2024-02-07, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

The New York Times ended 2023 with 10.36 million subscribers, including 9.7 digital-only subscribers, according to an end-of-year report presented to investors on Wednesday. The Times added 300,000 new digital-only subscribers in the last months of 2023, more than it added in any quarter for the previous year. The Times now makes more than twice…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/the-new-york-times-made-more-than-1-billion-from-digital-subscriptions-in-2023/ Save to Pocket

Reform the Budget Process to Strengthen U.S. Global Leadership

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: RAND blog

As the U.S. government confronts two near-peer challengers in China and Russia, along with mounting conflict in the Middle East, ensuring stability, predictability, and some measure of flexibility in the U.S. defense budget is more important than ever. Yet the U.S. budgeting system is in a state of disarray.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/reform-the-budget-process-to-strengthen-us-global-leadership.html Save to Pocket

[Sponsor] Infos

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Daring Fireball

https://www.infos-app.com/?dftxt Save to Pocket

Fisker Ocean OTA Update Brings Brake Disk Wiping But ACC Is Still Missing

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

Ocean OS 2.0 will begin rolling out to Fisker’s EV next week.

https://insideevs.com/news/707709/fisker-ocean-v2-ota-no-adaptive-cruise-control/ Save to Pocket

How to Comment on Social Media

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/how-to-comment-on-social-media Save to Pocket

A rant on ARC Search

date: 2024-02-07, from: Manu - I write blog

I was listening to the most recent Vergecast episode last night and an interview with Josh Miller, CEO of The Browser Company, makers of the ARC Browser and the new ARC Search app. I found the whole interview baffling.

Josh is rightfully complaining about the state of the web, specifically the mobile web, but the solution he’s proposing is so stupidly naive that I’m not entirely sure whether he’s just fucking with us.

His whole point is that search engines are not the best way to surface information. You search for something, you’re presented with a list of links, and you have to click through them and actively look for the thing you were searching for. The proposed solution is AI—who would have thought—that essentially googles for you, “reads” a bunch of the links, and then creates a summary page.

All this is obviously done by stripping away all the tracking and ads that are part of today’s web.

You’re smart and so you probably spotted the issue with this approach already. Firstly, without a search engine in the mix, the AI has no way to search for anything. So if the goal is to replace the traditional search engine then we’re already failing. Because we’re not replacing anything, we’re just hiding it behind some AI tool.

Maybe this is a problem that can be solved by maintaining a new dedicated index but then you just have a search engine with a different UI in front of it.

The second issue is one of trust. Should I just trust ARC Search? Who can guarantee that the sources used by ARC are not just companies that have paid ARC to be used as such? “But Manu, ARC Search doesn’t just provide the answer to your query, it also provides links to the sources.“ Well then congratulations, you just recreated an AI-nerfed SERP with fewer links and more extra layers.

Now, let’s ignore all this and imagine this approach does work. Let’s imagine we all get on board with this stupid idea of having an AI searching for you. What happens to the web as a whole? Why should I keep creating content for the web if I’m a content creator who relies on traffic to run my creative business? No one will visit my site because the relevant content will be consumed by some boring ass generated pages. And without content on the web, products like ARC Search are pointless.

What would happen, if something like this were to go mainstream, is that more and more content would go behind a paywall, kept away from AI. And for good reason.

I’m very unimpressed by this interview. I’m also very unimpressed by most AI products these days.

The problem with search is not the UI. Having an AI search for me won’t solve the issue of the sea of garbage content out there.

But hey, the product is here so let’s take it for a spin and see if it’s any good. I just downloaded ARC Search on my phone and searched for “books on Japanese aesthetics”.

This is what a “regular” search looks like inside ARC search and yes, that’s a Google search, because it obviously is.

The first thing I see is a books section with 4 suggested books and 42 more 1 click away. If I’m looking for a book, that’s probably a good enough starting point. Below that section, there are a bunch of sites, related queries, the usual stuff.

Let’s do the same thing, using this revolutionary way to browse the web powered by AI. Conveniently, ARC tells me the AI is reading 6 web pages.

There are probably 700-billion-trillion pages out there but ARC has picked 6. Why those 6? No idea. Have those 6 paid to be there? No idea. Should I just trust that those 6 are reputable sources? Yup. A couple of seconds later this is what I get:

5 books recommended to me in a somewhat compact list. Then I have 3 Top Search Results that are just the top 3 links in Google search. After that I get a completely pointless repetition of the initial list but this time with some more information and worse information density. At the end, I get a bunch of more links.

Can you tell me in what way this is better than a normal search results page? The problem with search is that it’s full of fucking spam and ads. That’s the problem with search. The solution to search is not to “reinvent the browser” or to use AI to power searches for you. The solution to search is a search engine that is aligned with the users.

I’d much rather support Kagi and Marginalia than The Browser Company.

https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/cdXJ5HNGVkqYrnRN Save to Pocket

Fairphone 5 schematics, repair, and recycling documentation is now available

date: 2024-02-07, from: Liliputing

Fairphone has been putting an emphasis on the repairability and sustainability of its phones for much of the past decade. The company has a long track record of delivering software updates for old phones, offering phones with user-replaceable batteries, and selling spare parts for users that want to perform their own repairs. Starting with the […]

The post Fairphone 5 schematics, repair, and recycling documentation is now available appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/fairphone-5-schematics-repair-and-recycling-documentation-is-now-available/ Save to Pocket

You’re not imagining things – USB memory sticks are getting worse

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

It’s all down to recommissioned kit, claim techies tasked with retrieving data from busted gear

A German data recovery specialist has confirmed what many Reg readers will have suspected: USB memory sticks are getting less reliable. The cause, as you might have guessed, is inferior memory chips, while the move to storing multiple bits per flash cell also plays a part.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/failed_usb_sticks/ Save to Pocket

These Photos Capture Every First and Last Subway Stop in New York City

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Photographer Rita Nannini traveled across 665 miles of track and snapped some 8,000 images

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-photo-book-captures-every-first-and-last-subway-stop-in-new-york-city-180983744/ Save to Pocket

Tesla appears to be preparing for a round of layoffs

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla is seemingly preparing for a round of layoffs as it asks its manager to identify critical members of their teams.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/tesla-appears-preparing-round-of-layoffs/ Save to Pocket

BMW introduces gorgeous i5 Touring, its first all-electric luxury wagon, but not in the US

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

BMW is launching its first all-electric luxury wagon, the i5 Touring, with up to 348 miles (560 km) WLTP range. The luxury BMW wagon is more advanced than ever. It’s now more sporty, has new features, and is available in an all-electric form for the first time.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/bmw-introduces-i5-touring-first-all-electric-luxury-wagon/ Save to Pocket

Apollo Go unveiled as fast, dual-motor entry-level electric scooter you can still carry

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

You may be more familiar with Apollo’s fancier electric scooters, which the Canadian company has designed largely from the ground up, eschewing traditional industry practices of compiling a hodge-podge of off-the-shelf parts. But the company’s newest model, the Apollo Go, is shedding some serious poundage in an attempt to become the best portable, entry-level scooter that still packs a punch.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/apollo-go-unveiled-as-fast-dual-motor-entry-level-electric-scooter-you-can-still-carry/ Save to Pocket

Stripe Cuts Off Platform Used by Dominatrixes

date: 2024-02-07, from: 404 Media Group

Stripe gets even more anti-sex by kicking off wishlist platform Wishtender, while AI porn sites, which are also against the payment processor’s rules, are still using it.

https://www.404media.co/stripe-cuts-off-platform-used-by-dominatrixes-wishtender/ Save to Pocket

“Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement. Podcasting is “not…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043928-wherever-you-get-your-pod Save to Pocket

Choice Hotels Across The U.S. Will Install Universal Chargers For EV Drivers

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

Hotel brands like Radisson, Cambria, and Comfort can add four or more Tesla Wall Chargers for guests, according to the deal.

https://insideevs.com/news/707693/choice-hotels-ev-chargers-united-states/ Save to Pocket

Geely Auto inks deal with ZEEKR to sell its EVs in Mexico, hints at expansion to South America

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Geely Holding Group subsidiary Geely Auto has announced a vehicle purchase agreement with fellow marque brand ZEEKR to sell its EVs and aftermarket parts in Mexico. With the agreement, Geely hopes to fast-track ZEEKR’s line of advanced new energy vehicles to Mexican consumers hungry for more sustainable alternatives to combustion models as a stepping stone to further expansions South to Latin America.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/geely-auto-inks-deal-zeekr-sell-evs-mexico-hints-expansion-south-america/ Save to Pocket

An extensive collection of vintage Japanese hotel and ryokan luggage tags. You…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043931-an-extensive-collection-o Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

“Because Android is such a sewer of scams, Google is trialing blocking all unverified apps at the Singapore level.

Every other day in Singapore, there is a story about unsophisticated users scanning QR codes to get a discount from a shop, getting tricked into installing an app which ends up draining their bank accounts.”

Via: https://www.threads.net/@davidjrainey/post/C3DB515RO88/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Article:
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/android-users-in-s-pore-to-be-blocked-from-sideloading-as-part-of-anti-scam-trial

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111891159621196612 Save to Pocket

Iran’s cyber operations in Israel a potential prelude to US election interference

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Tactics are more sophisticated and supported in greater numbers

Iran’s anti-Israel cyber operations are providing a window into the techniques the country may deploy in the run-up to the 2024 US Presidential elections, Microsoft says.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/irans_cyber_operations_in_israel/ Save to Pocket

Raspberry Pi Pico feeds Píkíta the chihuahua twice a day

date: 2024-02-07, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)

Riciery Penques’s chihuahua, Píkíta, needs feeding twice a day. He built a Raspberry Pi Pico-powered pet food dispenser to make sure she never misses a meal.

The post Raspberry Pi Pico feeds Píkíta the chihuahua twice a day appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/raspberry-pi-pico-feeds-pikita-the-chihuahua-twice-a-day/ Save to Pocket

Class Notes: Two Renewals

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ayjay blog

In my Christian Renaissance of the Twentieth Century class, we’re reading, back-to-back, passages from Jacques Maritain’s Art and Scholasticism (1920) and Karl Barth’s 1922 lecture “The Word of God and the Task of Theology” (reprinted in this excellent collection of writings by Barth, edited by Keith Johnson). It’s interesting to compare these two vital figures, […]

https://blog.ayjay.org/two-renewals/ Save to Pocket

Nuevos astronautas de Artemis se gradúan y la NASA hará la cobertura

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

Read this release in English here. La NASA rendirá homenaje a la nueva generación de candidatos a astronautas para el programa Artemis durante su acto de graduación, a las 10:30 a.m. hora del este del miércoles 5 de marzo en el Centro Espacial Johnson de la agencia en Houston. Después de completar más de dos años de […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nuevos-astronautas-de-artemis-se-graduan-y-la-nasa-hara-la-cobertura/ Save to Pocket

Woman Got Cremation Ads in the Mail After Getting Chemotherapy

date: 2024-02-07, from: 404 Media Group

“This matter has brought to light the close interplay between data brokers and data analytics firms in the digital marketing landscape.”

https://www.404media.co/woman-got-cremation-ads-in-the-mail-after-getting-chemotherapy/ Save to Pocket

Maze Proof Establishes a ‘Backbone’ for Statistical Mechanics

date: 2024-02-07, from: Quanta Magazine

The post Maze Proof Establishes a ‘Backbone’ for Statistical Mechanics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/maze-proof-establishes-a-backbone-for-statistical-mechanics-20240207/ Save to Pocket

New Artemis Generation Astronauts to Graduate, NASA Sets Coverage

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. NASA will honor the next generation of Artemis astronaut candidates to graduate at 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, March 5, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. After completing more than two years of basic training, these candidates will earn their wings and become eligible for spaceflight, including […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/new-artemis-generation-astronauts-to-graduate-nasa-sets-coverage/ Save to Pocket

For Your Processing Pleasure: The Sharpest Pictures of Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Io in a Generation

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

NASA’s Juno spacecraft just made the closest flybys of Jupiter’s moon Io that any spacecraft has carried out in more than 20 years. An instrument on this spacecraft called “JunoCam” returned spectacular, high-resolution images—and raw data are now available for you to process, enhance, and investigate. On Dec. 30th, 2023, Juno came within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of […]

https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/for-your-processing-pleasure-the-sharpest-pictures-of-jupiters-volcanic-moon-io-in-a-generation/ Save to Pocket

Authorities Search for Helicopter Carrying 5 Marines From Nevada to California

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

SAN DIEGO — Crews were searching for a Marine Corps helicopter carrying five troops from Nevada to California that was reported overdue early Wednesday, a watch commander said. 

The Marines were flying a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Creech Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. 

The five U.S. Marines were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar, the military said in a statement. 

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Miramar Air Station in San Diego is coordinating search and rescue efforts with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the Civil Air Patrol. 

The Sheriff’s Department was notified at 1 a.m. that the craft was overdue for arrival at Miramar and was last seen in the area of Pine Valley, a mountainous region about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of downtown San Diego, said Lt. Matthew Carpenter. 

Carpenter did not have any details on the type of helicopter or number of people aboard. 

Calls to Miramar were not immediately answered. 

Waves of heavy downpours hit the area throughout the night from an historic storm that has drenched California this week.

https://www.voanews.com/a/authorities-search-for-helicopter-carrying-5-marines-from-nevada-to-california-/7477953.html Save to Pocket

Tesla Increased China-Made EV Wholesale Sales In January 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

The Shanghai factory achieved its best January ever.

https://insideevs.com/news/707651/tesla-china-made-ev-wholesale-sales-january2024/ Save to Pocket

AMD Embedded+ architecture combines AMD Embedded with Versal Adaptive chips

date: 2024-02-07, from: Liliputing

AMD is launching a new platform called Ryzen Embedded+ that combines two of the chip maker’s existing technologies into a “single integrated board” for products that leverage AI features for on-device processing from sensors, cameras, and other hardware. In a nutshell, Embedded+ boards combine an AMD Ryzen Embedded processor with an AMD Versal adaptive, software-programmable […]

The post AMD Embedded+ architecture combines AMD Embedded with Versal Adaptive chips appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/amd-embedded-architecture-combines-amd-embedded-with-versal-adaptive-chips/ Save to Pocket

Pluralistic: The CHIPS Act treats the symptoms, but not the causes (07 Feb 2024)

date: 2024-02-07, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog

Today’s links The CHIPS Act treats the symptoms, but not the causes: Monopoly destroyed America’s high-tech capacity. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading The CHIPS Act treats the symptoms, but not the causes (permalink) There’s this great throwaway line in 1992’s Sneakers, where Dan Aykroyd, playing a conspiracy-addled hacker/con-man, is feverishly telling Sydney Poitier (playing an ex-CIA spook) about a 1958 meeting Eisenhower had with aliens where Ike said, “hey, look, give us your technology, and we’ll give you all the cow lips you want.” Poitier dismisses Aykroyd (“Don’t listen to this man. He’s certifiable”). We’re meant to be on Poitier’s side here, but I’ve always harbored some sympathy for Aykroyd in this scene. That’s because I often hear echoes of Aykroyd’s theory in my own explanations of the esoteric bargains and plots that produced the world we’re living in today. Of course, in my world, it’s not presidents bargaining for alien technology in exchange for cow-lips – it’s the world’s wealthy nations bargaining to drop trade restrictions on the Global South in exchange for IP laws. These bargains – which started as a series of bilateral and then multilateral agreements like NAFTA, and culminated in the WTO agreement of 1999 – were the most important step in the reordering of the world’s economy around rent-extraction, cheap labor exploitation, and a brittle supply chain that is increasingly endangered by the polycrisis of climate and its handmaidens, like zoonotic plagues, water wars, and mass refugee migration. Prior to the advent of “free trade,” the world’s rich countries fashioned debt into a whip-hand over poor, post-colonial nations. These countries had been bankrupted by their previous colonial owners, and the price of their freedom was punishing debts to the IMF and other rich-world institutions in exchange for loans to help these countries “develop.” Like all poor debtors, these countries were said to have gotten into their predicament through moral failure – they’d “lived beyond their means.” (When rich people get into debt, bankruptcy steps in to give them space to “restructure” according to their own plans. When poor people get into debt, bankruptcy strips them of nearly everything that might help them recover, brands them with a permanent scarlet letter, and subjects them to humiliating micro-management whose explicit message is that they are not competent to manage their own affairs): https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#shoppers-choice So the poor debtor nations were ordered to “deregulate.” They had to sell off their state assets, run their central banks according to the dictates of rich-world finance authorities, and reorient their production around supplying raw materials to rich countries, who would process these materials into finished goods for export back to the poor world. Naturally, poor countries were not allowed to erect “trade barriers” that might erode the capacity of this North-South transfer of high-margin goods, but this was not the era of free trade. It wasn’t the free trade era because, while the North-South transfer was largely unrestricted, the South-North transfer was subject to tight regulation in the rich world. In other words, poor countries were expected to export, say, raw ore to the USA and reimport high-tech goods, with low tariffs in both directions. But if a poor country processed that ore domestically and made its own finished goods, the US would block those goods at the border, slapping them with high tariffs that made them more expensive than Made-in-the-USA equivalents. The argument for this unidirectional trade was that the US – and other rich countries – had a strategic need to maintain their manufacturing industries as a hedge against future geopolitical events (war, but also pandemics, extreme weather) that might leave the rich world unable to provide for itself. This rationale had a key advantage: it was true. A country that manages its own central bank can create as much of its own currency as it wants, and use that money to buy anything for sale in its own currency. This may not be crucial while global markets are operating to the country’s advantage (say, while the rest of the world is “willingly” pricing its raw materials in your country’s currency), but when things go wrong – war, plague, weather – a country that can’t make things is at the rest of the world’s mercy. If you had to choose between being a poor post-colonial nation that couldn’t supply its own technological needs except by exporting raw materials to rich countries, and being a rich country that had both domestic manufacturing capacity and a steady supply of other countries’ raw materials, you would choose the second, every time. What’s not to like? Here’s what. The problem – from the perspective of America’s ultra-wealthy – was that this arrangement gave the US workforce a lot of power. As US workers unionized, they were able to extract direct concessions from their employers through collective bargaining, and they could effectively lobby for universal worker protections, including a robust welfare state – in both state and federal legislatures. The US was better off as a whole, but the richest ten percent were much poorer than they could be if only they could smash worker power. That’s where free trade comes in. Notwithstanding racist nonsense about “primitive” countries, there’s no intrinsic defect that stops the global south from doing high-tech manufacturing. If the rich world’s corporate leaders were given free rein to sideline America’s national security in favor of their own profits, they could certainly engineer the circumstances whereby poor countries would build sophisticated factories to replace the manufacturing facilities that sat behind the north’s high tariff walls. These poor-country factories could produce goods ever bit as valuable as the rich world’s shops, but without the labor, environmental and financial regulations that constrained their owners’ profits. They slavered for a business environment that let them kill workers; poison the air, land and water; and cheat the tax authorities with impunity. For this plan to work, the wealthy needed to engineer changes in both the rich world and the poor world. Obviously, they would have to get rid of the rich world’s tariff walls, which made it impossible to competitively import goods made in the global south, no matter how cheaply they were made. But free trade wasn’t just about deregulation in the north – it also required a whole slew of new, extremely onerous regulations in the global south. Corporations that relocated their manufacturing to poor – but nominally sovereign – countries needed to be sure that those countries wouldn’t try to replicate the American plan of becoming actually sovereign, by exerting control over the means of production within their borders. Recall that the American Revolution was inspired in large part by fury over the requirement to ship raw materials back to Mother England and then buy them back at huge markups after they’d been processed by English workers, to the enrichment of English aristocrats. Post-colonial America created new regulations (tariffs on goods from England), and – crucially – they also deregulated. Specifically, post-revolutionary America abolished copyrights and patents for English persons and firms. That way, American manufacturers could produce sophisticated finished goods without paying rent to England’s wealthy making those goods cheaper for American buyers, and American publishers could subsidize their editions of American authors’ books by publishing English authors on the cheap, without the obligation to share profits with English publishers or English writers. The surplus produced by ignoring the patents and copyrights of the English was divided (unequally) among American capitalists, workers, and shoppers. Wealthy Americans got richer, even as they paid their workers more and charged less for their products. This incubated a made-in-the-USA edition of the industrial revolution. It was so successful that the rest of the world – especially England – began importing American goods and literature, and then American publishers and manufacturers started to lean on their government to “respect” English claims, in order to secure bilateral protections for their inventions and books in English markets. This was good for America, but it was terrible for English manufacturers. The US – a primitive, agricultural society – “stole” their inventions until they gained so much manufacturing capacity that the English public started to prefer American goods to English ones. This was the thing that rich-world industrialists feared about free trade. Once you build your high-tech factories in the global south, what’s to stop those people from simply copying your plans – or worse, seizing your factories! – and competing with you on a global scale? Some of these countries had nominally socialist governments that claimed to explicitly elevate the public good over the interests of the wealthy. And all of these countries had the same sprinkling of sociopaths who’d gladly see a million children maimed or the land poisoned for a buck – and these “entrepreneurs” had unbeatable advantages with their countries’ political classes. For globalization to work, it wasn’t enough to deregulate the rich world – capitalists also had to regulate the poor world. Specifically, they had to get the poor world to adopt “IP” laws that would force them to willingly pay rent on things they could get for free: patents and other IP, even though it was in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term interests of both the nation and its politicians and its businesspeople. Thus, the bargain that makes me sympathetic to Dan Aykroyd: not cow lips for alien tech; but free trade for IP law. When the WTO was steaming towards passage in the late 1990s, there was (rightly) a lot of emphasis on its deregulatory provisions: weakening of labor, environmental and financial laws in the poor world, and of tariffs in the rich world. But in hindsight, we all kind of missed the main event: the TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). This actually started before the WTO treaty (it was part of the GATT, a predecessor to the WTO), but the WTO spread it to countries all over the world. Under the TRIPS, poor countries are required to honor the IP claims of rich countries, on pain of global sanction. That was the plan: instead of paying American workers to make Apple computers, say, Apple could export the “IP” for Macs and iPhones to countries like China, and these countries would produce Apple products that were “designed in California, assembled in China.” China would allow Apple to treat Chinese workers so badly that they routinely committed suicide, and would lock up or kill workers who tried to unionize. China would accept vast shipments of immortal, toxic e-waste. And China wouldn’t let its entrepreneurs copy Apple’s designs, be they software, schematics or trademarks. Apple isn’t the only company that pursued this strategy, but no company has executed it as successfully. It’s not for nothing that Steve Jobs’s hand-picked successor was Tim Cook, who oversaw the transfer of even the most exacting elements of Apple manufacturing to Chinese facilities, striking bargains with contractors like Foxconn that guaranteed that workers would be heavily – lethally! – surveilled and controlled to prevent the twin horrors of unionization and leaks. For the first two decades of the WTO era, the most obvious problems with this arrangement was wage erosion (for American workers) and leakage (for the rich). China’s “socialist” government was only too happy to help Foxconn imprison workers who demanded better wages and working conditions, but they were far more relaxed about knockoffs, be they fake iPods sold in market stalls or US trade secrets working their way into Huawei products. These were problems for the American aristocracy, whose investments depended on China disciplining both Chinese workers and Chinese businesses. For the American people, leakage was a nothingburger. Apple’s profits weren’t shared with its workforce beyond the relatively small number of tech workers at its headquarters. The vast majority of Apple employees, who flogged iPhones and scrubbed the tilework in gleaming white stores across the nation, would get the same minimal (or even minimum) wage no matter how profitable Apple grew. It wasn’t until the pandemic that the other shoe dropped for the American public. The WTO arrangement – cow lips for alien technology – had produced a global system brittle supply chains composed entirely of weakest links. A pandemic, a war, a ship stuck in the Suez Canal or Houthi paramilitaries can cripple the entire system, perhaps indefinitely. For two decades, we fought over globalization’s effect on wages. We let our corporate masters trick us into thinking that China’s “cheating” on IP was a problem for the average person. But the implications of globalization for American sovereignty and security were banished to the xenophobic right fringe, where they were mixed into the froth of Cold War 2.0 nonsense. The pandemic changed that, creating a coalition that is motivated by a complex and contradictory stew of racism, environmentalism, xenophobia, labor advocacy, patriotism, pragmatism, fear and hope. Out of that stew emerged a new American political tendency, mostly associated with Bidenomics, but also claimed in various guises by the American right, through its America First wing. That tendency’s most visible artifact is the CHIPS Act, through which the US government proposes to use policy and subsidies to bring high-tech manufacturing back to America’s shores. This week, the American Economic Liberties Project published “Reshoring and Restoring: CHIPS Implementation for a Competitive Semiconductor Industry,” a fascinating, beautifully researched and detailed analysis of the CHIPS Act and the global high-tech manufacturing market, written by Todd Achilles, Erik Peinert and Daniel Rangel: https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/reshoring-and-restoring-chips-implementation-for-a-competitive-semiconductor-industry/# Crucially, the report lays out the role that the weakening of antitrust, the dismantling of tariffs and the strengthening of IP played in the history of the current moment. The failure to enforce antitrust law allowed for monopolization at every stage of the semiconductor industry’s supply-chain. The strengthening of IP and the weakening of tariffs encouraged the resulting monopolies to chase cheap labor overseas, confident that the US government would punish host countries that allowed their domestic entrepreneurs to use American designs without permission. The result is a financialized, “capital light” semiconductor industry that has put all its eggs in one basket. For the most advanced chips (“leading-edge logic”), production works like this: American firms design a chip and send the design to Taiwan where TSMC foundry turns it into a chip. The chip is then shipped to one of a small number of companies in the poor world where they are assembled, packaged and tested (AMP) and sent to China to be integrated into a product. Obsolete foundries get a second life in the commodity chip (“mature-node chips”) market – these are the cheap chips that are shoveled into our cars and appliances and industrial systems. Both of these systems are fundamentally broken. The advanced, “leading-edge” chips rely on geopolitically uncertain, heavily concentrated foundries. These foundries can be fully captured by their customers – as when Apple prepurchases the entire production capacity of the most advanced chips, denying both domestic and offshore competitors access to the newest computation. Meanwhile, the less powerful, “mature node” chips command minuscule margins, and are often dumped into the market below cost, thanks to subsidies from countries hoping to protect their corner of the high-tech sector. This makes investment in low-power chips uncertain, leading to wild swings in cost, quality and availability of these workhorse chips. The leading-edge chipmakers – Nvidia, Broadcom, Qualcomm, AMD, etc – have fully captured their markets. They like the status quo, and the CHIPS Act won’t convince them to invest in onshore production. Why would they? 2022 was Broadcom’s best year ever, not in spite of its supply-chain problems, but because of them. Those problems let Broadcom raise prices for a captive audience of customers, who the company strong-armed into exclusivity deals that ensured they had nowhere to turn. Qualcomm also profited handsomely from shortages, because its customers end up paying Qualcomm no matter where they buy, thanks to Qualcomm ensuring that its patents are integrated into global 4G and 5G standards. That means that all standards-conforming products generate royalties for Qualcomm, and it also means that Qualcomm can decide which companies are allowed to compete with it, and which ones will be denied licenses to its patents. Both companies are under orders from the FTC to cut this out, and both companies ignore the FTC. The brittleness of mature-node and leading-edge chips is not inevitable. Advanced memory chips (DRAM) roughly comparable in complexity to leading-edge chips, while analog-to-digital chips are as easily commodified as mature-node chips, and yet each has a robust and competitive supply chain, with both onshore and offshore producers. In contrast with leading-edge manufacturers (who have been visibly indifferent to the CHIPS incentives), memory chip manufacturers responded to the CHIPS Act by committing hundreds of billions of dollars to new on-shore production facilities. Intel is a curious case: in a world of fabless leading-edge manufacturers, Intel stands out for making its own chips. But Intel is in a lot of trouble. Its advanced manufacturing plans keep foundering on cost overruns and delays. The company keeps losing money. But until recently, its management kept handing its shareholders billions in dividends and buybacks – a sign that Intel bosses assume that the US public will bail out its “national champion.” It’s not clear whether the CHIPS Act can save Intel, or whether financialization will continue to hollow out a once-dominant pioneer. The CHIPS Act won’t undo the concentration – and financialization – of the semiconductor industry. The industry has been awash in cheap money since the 2008 bailouts, and in just the past five years, US semiconductor monopolists have paid out $239b to shareholders in buybacks and dividends, enough to fund the CHIPS Act five times over. If you include Apple in that figure, the amount US corporations spent on shareholder returns instead of investing in capacity rises to $698b. Apple doesn’t want a competitive market for chips. If Apple builds its own foundry, that just frees up capacity at TSMC that its competitors can use to improve their products. The report has an enormous amount of accessible, well-organized detail on these markets, and it makes a set of key recommendations for improving the CHIPS Act and passing related legislation to ensure that the US can once again make its own microchips. These run a gamut from funding four new onshore foundries to requiring companies receiving CHIPS Act money to “dual-source” their foundries. They call for NIST and the CPO to ensure open licensing of key patents, and for aggressive policing of anti-dumping rules for cheap chips. They also seek a new law creating an “American Semiconductor Supply Chain Resiliency Fee” – a tariff on chips made offshore. Fundamentally, these recommendations seek to end the outsourcing made possible by restrictive IP regimes, to undercut Wall Street’s power to demand savings from offshoring, and to smash the market power of companies like Apple that make the brittleness of chip manufacturing into a feature, rather than a bug. This would include a return to previous antitrust rules, which limited companies’ ability to leverage patents into standards, and to previous IP rules, which limited exclusive rights chip topography and design (“mask rights”). All of this will is likely to remove the constraints that stop poor countries from doing to America the same things that postcolonial America did to England – that is, it will usher in an era in which lots of countries make their own chips and other high-tech goods without paying rent to American companies. This is good! It’s good for poor countries, who will have more autonomy to control their own technical destiny. It’s also good for the world, creating resiliency in the high-tech manufacturing sector that we’ll need as the polycrisis overwhelms various places with fire and flood and disease and war. Electrifying, solarizing and adapting the world for climate resilience is fundamentally incompatible with a brittle, highly concentrated tech sector. Pluralizing high-tech production will make America less vulnerable to the gamesmanship of other countries – and it will also make the rest of the world less vulnerable to American bullying. As Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman describe so beautifully in their 2023 book Underground Empire, the American political establishment is keenly aware of how its chokepoints over global finance and manufacturing can be leveraged to advantage the US at the rest of the world’s expense: https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/10/weaponized-interdependence/#the-other-swifties Look, I know that Eisenhower didn’t trade cow-lips for alien technology – but our political and commercial elites really did trade national resiliency away for IP laws, and it’s a bargain that screwed everyone, except the one percenters whose power and wealth have metastasized into a deadly cancer that threatens the country and the planet. (Image: Mickael Courtiade, CC BY 2.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it https://forum.defcon.org/node/248360 Taking Stock of the New Antimonopoly Movement https://lpeproject.org/blog/taking-stock-of-the-new-antimonopoly-movement/ Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_02_24/ (h/t Super Punch) This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Disney bans Segways in the parks https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4217573 #15yrsago Dubai airport clogged with cars abandoned by fleeing construction workers https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/3-000-cars-abandoned-at-dubai-airport.100423/ #10yrsago “A reason to hang him”: how mass surveillance, secret courts, confirmation bias and the FBI can ruin your life https://memex.craphound.com/2014/02/09/a-reason-to-hang-him-how-mass-surveillance-secret-courts-confirmation-bias-and-the-fbi-can-ruin-your-life/ #10yrsago Oakland’s tech startups are reportedly being gentrified out of their spaces by deep-pocketed marijuana growers https://twitter.com/chr1sa/status/1093959332461330432 5yrsago HP’s ink DRM instructs your printer to ignore the ink in your cartridge when you cancel your subscription https://www.howtogeek.com/403346/hps-ink-subscription-has-drm-that-disables-your-printer-cartridges/ #1yrago Copyright won’t solve creators’ Generative AI problem https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids 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: What kind of bubble is AI? https://craphound.com/news/2024/01/21/what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/ Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Weller Book Works (Salt Lake City), Feb 21 https://www.wellerbookworks.com/event/store-cory-doctorow-feb-21-630-pm The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow Tucson Festival of Books, Mar 9/10 https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=676 Enshittification: How the Internet Went Bad and How to Get it Back (virtual), Mar 26 https://libcal.library.ubc.ca/event/3781006 Media Ecology Association keynote, Jun 6-9 (Amherst, NY) https://media-ecology.org/convention Recent appearances: Enshittification: The Rise and Fall of Big Tech (Crash Course Economics) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7AxrFQ7jIM Generation of Lost Causes with Vass Bednar (Toronto Public Library) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rGj5VaJSDQ Low-Key Clippy (This Week In Tech) https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/963 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

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Letter to the Editor: Settler Colonialism Cannot Explain Israel. Worse, It Cannot Promote Peace

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Some of my colleagues write in their Letter to the Editor (LTE) of Nov. 15, 2023 that I am wrong to claim, in my reservations about their “Statement of Concern” (SOC), that settler colonial theory as applied to Israel is both inaccurate and dangerous. I agree with much that is in the LTE and I […]

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College hosts Interfaith America

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Interfaith America, an organization that works with both secular and religious colleges to solve challenges with interfaith cooperation, hosted listening sessions at Occidental College Jan. 25-26 “to provide neutral and welcoming spaces for reflection on campus tensions, and to promote bridge-building through facilitated dialogue,” according to an email addressed to all Occidental students. Sent Jan.16, […]

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The billion dollar solution: how the Dodgers’ historic spending spree could revive baseball

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

For generations, people have fantasized about the assembly of a super team. From the Greek gods congregating on Mount Olympus to the formation of Marvel’s Avengers, it’s safe to say that the idea of a super team in some medium has crossed most people’s minds at least once. For thousands of years, such ideas have […]

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Demystifying Raftr, the new community engagement app

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

After launching Aug. 2023, Raftr, an app used to strengthen and track community engagement in higher education, labor unions and nonprofit, boasts a 75 percent adoption rate, according to Sabrina Willison, the associate director of Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement (SLICE). However, Raftr is primarily being used by the class of 2027 who were […]

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SoCal record storm drenches college

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Feb. 4 California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that eight Southern California counties were in a state of emergency as a result of incoming storms, according to the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper outlet said the storm started Sunday afternoon, and is expected to last through Tuesday — potentially dropping at least eight inches of rain […]

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L.A. Al Fresco is here to stay

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

The city of Los Angeles launched L.A. Al Fresco in May 2020, a temporary program which allowed restaurants to have outdoor dining amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants could obtain permits for outdoor dining on sidewalks, private property and the streets next to their business. As of Feb. 1, L.A. Al Fresco is no longer temporary […]

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Eagle Rock responds to council approval of increased LAPD foot patrol

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Between Dec. 28 and Jan. 6, four small businesses along Colorado Boulevard fell victim to burglaries, prompting Council member Kevin de León to approve a $100,000 budget to enhance foot patrolling in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. Malbec Market, an Argentinian restaurant and market with locations in Eagle Rock and Pasadena, recently suffered a break-in Jan. […]

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Occidental Glee Club returns from Italy

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Three days a week, the voices of 37 students harmonize and travel through Booth Hall; but just a few weeks ago, the enchanting sound echoed through the halls of Italian churches and cathedrals, according to the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities Désirée LaVertu. Since 1906, the Glee Club has been one of Occidental’s musical […]

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Ainsley Shelsta and Lou Martineau are starting the semester strong

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

Ainsley Shelsta Following a 72-54 win against the University of La Verne Saturday Jan. 27, women’s basketball team center Ainsley Shelsta (sophomore) said that she’s confident in her team’s ability to make it to the post-season tournament, despite a previous loss to La Verne earlier in the season. Shelsta said that the game was very close but she came away […]

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Opinion: Apps like Fizz are antithetical to our community

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)

My name is at the top of this article, or maybe at the bottom but I’ll write it again, just to make it clear. My name is William White. Some of you may know me, have seen me on the Quad, or in a class. I’ve got brown hair and blue eyes and a silly […]

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MINISFORUM V3 is a 14 inch Windows tablet with Ryzen 8040, pre-orders begin in March, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Liliputing

The MINISFORUM V3 is a Windows tablet with a big, high-resolution display, support for a pressure-sensitive pen and detachable keyboard, two full-function USB4 40 Gbps ports and a third USB-C port that acts as a DisplayPort input, allowing you to use the tablet as a display for other devices. It’s also one of the first tablets announced […]

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https://liliputing.com/minisforum-v3-is-a-14-inch-windows-tablet-with-ryzen-8040-pre-orders-begin-in-q1-2024/ Save to Pocket

“What Relationships Would You Want if You Believed They Were Possible?”

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/what-relationships-would-you-want-if-you-believed-they-were-possible Save to Pocket

The Messy Truth of America’s Natural Gas Exports

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heatmap News

Late last month, Joe Biden made what has been hailed as one of the biggest climate policy decisions of the past year.

He announced that the federal government would temporarily stop approving new export terminals for liquified natural gas. The move was celebrated as a victory by climate activists and lamented by fossil-fuel companies; Donald Trump promised that, if elected, he will reverse the move.

But what will the pause really mean for the climate? Will it stop exports from rising in the near-term, and can we say with any certainty whether it will make carbon emissions go up or down? How should we even think about this decision?

In this inaugural episode of Shift Key, Heatmap’s new podcast, my co-host Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems expert and professor at Princeton University, and I unpack the president’s decision and try to figure out what — if anything — it means for the climate.

Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:

Robinson Meyer: Since this news came out, I think there’s been a lot of discussion online about whether this is necessarily the optimal choice. Could we be using that gas to do something else? How should we be managing it? And I just want to make a point before we go on that this is literally what climate policy means.

There’s a sense I see from some places, which is like, well, “Is cutting off fossil fuel exports at this very arbitrary place, the optimal policy?” And I just want to make the point that like, number one, we are not on an optimal policy pathway at all. And in the absence of a policy that I think both you and I think is very unlikely to pass, which is a globally normalized carbon price that’s imposed evenly in all jurisdictions and is priced at a level that we can attain the 1.5C or 1.6C, whatever end temperature goal we want to achieve –

Jesse Jenkins: Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and say that’s unlikely.

Meyer: Yes, in the absence of a global carbon price that is uniformly enforced across all jurisdictions, we are going to make suboptimal decisions. And not only are we going to make suboptimal decisions, but we are going to stop investing in fossil fuels below what would be economically optimal if climate change didn’t exist. That’s literally what climate change means.

And at the same time, we are going to invest above what would be economically optimal in all of these fossil fuels if you take climate change into account, because that is the signal failure of global climate policy, is that we keep plowing money into fossil fuels and under-investing in alternatives and in scaling up alternatives. We’ve underinvested in those things for at least 20 years. That’s a different show about whether we’re still doing it or how much we’re still doing it.

I just want to get into this whole discussion by saying when we talk about whether we’re fiddling knobs in the right way, or enough this way, or enough that way, or whether we’re taking all these things into account, we are never going to do this perfectly. And the whole point of climate change is at some point you just have to stop investing in the fossil fuel system.

Jenkins: Yeah, economists call this the second best policy or third best policy. I just call it “the real world.” We’re all just muddling through all the time and how we’re going to make progress or not is whether we muddled through better or worse.

So I agree, it’s theoretically helpful to think about what an economically ideal rationalized policy would be. But we’re so far from that world that I think the question is, “is this better than the alternative decision you could make about this particular thing right here?”

And hopefully, that’s the view that the Department of Energy is taking when they think about the public interest here. It’s not like, well, could we have had some more ideal climate policy that meant we were doing something else over in this other part of the economy instead of doing this?

That’s an interesting conversation to have on Twitter, but maybe not the core of the question that the DOE and the Biden administration are grappling with right here.

Find the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and elsewhere. You can access the show’s RSS feed here.

The full transcript is available here.

This episode of Shift Key was initially sponsored by …

KORE POWER: Headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with clients on every continent, KORE Power provides functional solutions that push the front line of the transition to clean energy and form the backbone of the decarbonized future worldwide. As a fully integrated provider of battery cells and clean energy technology and solutions, KORE Power drives the energy transition through direct access to superior tech, clean energy manufacturing, and unmatched support for clean energy jobs and resilient, sustainable communities worldwide. KORE Power’s manufacturing capabilities and robust portfolio of products provide the commercial, industrial, utility and defense markets with next-generation battery cells, advanced energy storage systems that scale to grid+, intuitive asset management, and EV power and charging infrastructure support. KORE Power - the future of clean energy is here.

Learn more at Korepower.com

ADVANCED ENERGY UNITED: Advanced Energy United educates, engages, and advocates for policies that allow our member companies to compete to power our economy with 100% clean energy. We work with decision makers at every level of government as well as regulators of energy markets to achieve this goal. The businesses we represent are lowering consumer costs, creating thousands of new jobs every year, and providing the full range of clean, efficient, and reliable energy and transportation solutions. The U.S. market for advanced energy products and services reached nearly $375 billion in 2022. Together, we are united in our mission to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy in the United States.

Learn more at info.advancedenergyunited.org/heatmap

Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.

https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-episode-1-lng Save to Pocket

The Ford Focus is over, and so are thousands of jobs

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Ford is laying off some 3,500 workers in Germany as the automaker ends the production of the Focus – the once crazily popular car that never managed to get off the ground with its electric version – in 2025.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/the-ford-focus-is-over-and-so-are-thousands-of-jobs/ Save to Pocket

Polestar’s incoming Phone spotted on Google Play’s list of supported devices

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

A few months after sharing initial details and images, Polestar’s flagship smartphone, developed by Meizu in China, has been spotted on Google’s API website as a device compatible with the Play Store. Details of the incoming Polestar Phone remain relatively light, but we can confirm it will run on Android and support Google Play.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/polestar-incoming-phone-spotted-on-google-plays-list-of-supported-devices/ Save to Pocket

Raspberry Pi Pico cracks BitLocker in under a minute

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Windows encryption feature defeated by $10 and a YouTube tutorial

We’re very familiar with the many projects in which Raspberry Pi hardware is used, from giving old computers a new lease of life through to running the animated displays so beloved by retailers. But cracking BitLocker? We doubt the company will be bragging too much about that particular application.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/breaking_bitlocker_pi_pico/ Save to Pocket

Tesla Semi electric truck spotted handling closed icy road

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

The California Highway Patrol has shared a video of a Tesla Semi electric truck handling a closed icy road.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/tesla-semi-electric-truck-spotted-handling-closed-icy-road/ Save to Pocket

A unified theory of fucks. “Give a fuck about yourself, about your…

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043929-a-unified-theory-of-fucks Save to Pocket

Ford is building a low-cost EV platform with some of the ‘best EV engineers’ to rival Tesla

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Ford (F) assembled a “super-talented skunk works team” to build a low-cost EV platform. The small team consisted of “some of the best EV engineers in the world,” according to Ford’s CEO Jim Farley. It will be used to launch several new software-defined electric models.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/ford-buildin-low-cost-ev-platform-tesla/ Save to Pocket

Call it “manageable”

date: 2024-02-07, from: Marketplace Morning Report

At least Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen did when describing banks with souring commercial real estate investments. Stock in New York Community Bancorp, a regional bank with commercial real estate loans, fell nearly 30% on Tuesday, and Moody’s downgraded the bank’s credit grade to “junk” status. We examine. Also on the program: why some college athletes are looking to unionize, and why people in India are lining up for work in Israel.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/call-it-manageable Save to Pocket

Some Kia EV6 And Niro EVs Get Recalled Because One Of The Driveshafts Might Break

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

In total, 1,243 cars in the United States are potentially affected by the issue.

https://insideevs.com/news/707768/kia-ev6-niro-ev-recall-drive-shaft/ Save to Pocket

NASA’s Roman to Use Rare Events to Calculate Expansion Rate of Universe

date: 2024-02-07, from: NASA breaking news

Astronomers investigating one of the most pressing mysteries of the cosmos – the rate at which the universe is expanding – are readying themselves to study this puzzle in a new way using NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Once it launches by May 2027, astronomers will mine Roman’s wide swaths of images for gravitationally […]

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/nasas-roman-to-use-rare-events-to-calculate-expansion-rate-of-universe/ Save to Pocket

A Waymo robotaxi hit a cyclist in San Francisco – here’s what happened

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

An autonomous Waymo car hit a cyclist in San Francisco yesterday – but luckily the cyclist had only minor injuries. Still, it’s bad news for urban cyclists, and for Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division, which is already having a tough time shaking off all the bad buzz from the Cruise disaster.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/a-waymo-robotaxi-hit-a-cyclist-in-san-francisco-heres-what-happened/ Save to Pocket

TSMC to build second fab in Japan, backed by local investment

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Plus: SMIC said to be building new lines to make 5nm process chips designed by Huawei

TSMC is set to build a second semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan with investment from Toyota and other local corporations. The move is being portrayed as a success for Japan’s efforts to boost chip production in the country.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/tsmc_to_build_second_fab/ Save to Pocket

Ford Plays The Long Game As EVs May Wait For ‘Breakthrough’ Moment

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

Plus, GM signs a big new deal with South Korea’s LG Chem.

https://insideevs.com/news/707779/ford-ev-costs-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket

Spanish farmers join Europe-wide protests

date: 2024-02-07, from: Marketplace Morning Report

From the BBC World Service: Spanish farmers have joined a wave of protests sweeping Europe. They’re demanding more support from the EU and their government and say they’re fed up with high costs and stringent environmental standards. Then, thousands of Indian men have lined up to apply for construction jobs in Israel, which relies heavily on migrant labor — especially since revoking Palestinian work permits since the war in Gaza.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/spanish-farmers-join-europe-wide-protests Save to Pocket

Security Researcher Allegedly Hacked Apple’s Backend, Scammed $2.5 Million

date: 2024-02-07, from: 404 Media Group

Staggeringly, Apple thanked the defendant, Noah Roskin-Frazee, in a security update less than two weeks after he was arrested.

https://www.404media.co/security-researcher-allegedly-hacked-apples-backend-scammed-2-5-million/ Save to Pocket

Volvo U.S. Plug-In Car Sales Slow Down In January 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Inside EVs News

The first month of 2024 brings a strange decrease in Volvo all-electric car sales.

https://insideevs.com/news/707635/volvo-us-plugin-car-sales-january2024/ Save to Pocket

Hundreds of workers to space out from NASA’s JPL amid budget black hole

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Launch windows do not respect political squabbling

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has confirmed that substantial budget cuts are inbound, with over 500 staffers affected – approximately 8 percent of the workforce.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/nasa_jpl_layoffs/ Save to Pocket

Podcast: Inside a Fraud Factory

date: 2024-02-07, from: 404 Media Group

This week we have fake IDs at the click of a mouse; AI audio porn; a low tech response to the wave of deepfake abuse; and the Instagram ad to investment scam pipeline. A packed episode!

https://www.404media.co/404-media-podcast-inside-a-fraud-factory-onlyfake/ Save to Pocket

Judge orders OAG employees to testify in DPHSS corruption case evidentiary hearing

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

A judge ordered employees of the Office of the Attorney General to testify about the investigation into a Department of Public Health and Social Services corruption case in an evidentiary hearing.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/judge-orders-oag-employees-to-testify-in-dphss-corruption-case-evidentiary-hearing/article_8554f4b0-c548-11ee-bd5b-93d90f5eba2b.html Save to Pocket

More audits coming, Cruz will run again

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

The Office of Public Accountability has a lot on its plate this year, including multiple audits anticipated to be released by the end of the month and the audit on the government of Guam anticipated later this year. Moreover, the…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/more-audits-coming-cruz-will-run-again/article_668de3ae-c56e-11ee-a0cd-7bf9a2fab2e7.html Save to Pocket

23 new IT positions proposed for GMH, $4M needed to staff

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

The Guam Memorial Hospital Authority information technology and communications department has not seen any change to the positions in the staffing pattern and, according to a hospital official, the creation of 23 new positions is needed to bring the department…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/23-new-it-positions-proposed-for-gmh-4m-needed-to-staff/article_6f247b18-c3f2-11ee-8df4-43435115e79d.html Save to Pocket

Sånta Rita-Sumai murder trial begins

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

About two months after he was indicted on murder charges in connection to the death of Edwin Pirando, Jamie John Nededog started trial in the Superior Court of Guam on Wednesday.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/s-nta-rita-sumai-murder-trial-begins/article_b72fde32-c561-11ee-bba9-3b3c1ff78224.html Save to Pocket

5th Susuico murder suspect pleads not guilty

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

The fifth suspect facing charges in connection to the death of Jason Susuico pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/5th-susuico-murder-suspect-pleads-not-guilty/article_8ab1e14a-c55f-11ee-9934-73f89b6da479.html Save to Pocket

Man pleads guilty to possession, intent to distribute meth found in ‘crotch area’

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

A man pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after drugs were found in his “crotch area.”

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-to-possession-intent-to-distribute-meth-found-in-crotch-area/article_1c538d7a-c4a1-11ee-bebf-17ccb1984f20.html Save to Pocket

Man pleads guilty before verdict reached

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

A man who went to trial for drug possession, resisting arrest and eluding police pleaded guilty before a verdict could be reached.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-before-verdict-reached/article_979a1012-c49c-11ee-b164-eff3fe97d65b.html Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

This article is precious, read and share.

By Jeremy Scahill, friend of the show, “Since October 7, Israel has systematically flooded the public discourse on Gaza with a stream of false, unsubstantiated, & unverifiable allegations.

My new article on Israel’s propaganda warfare and how the White House has laundered the lies“

https://theintercept.com/2024/02/07/gaza-israel-netanyahu-propaganda-lies-palestinians/

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111890537425243573 Save to Pocket

Keep Your My Wifi’s Name Out Your Fucking Mouth

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: One Foot Tsunami

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/07/keep-your-my-wifis-name-out-of-your-fucking-mouth/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

2014: Interop means that I can give you a text file, and you will have a program that can open it. Interop means you can pull into any gas station and put fuel in your car. Interop means you can give me $100 and I'll give you my Knicks ticket, and when you go to the arena, they will let you in.

http://scripting.com/2014/03/21/theWebIsMadeOfInterop.html Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

What Israel has Where civilians
bombed: live in Gaza:

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111890418317107426 Save to Pocket

Major BMW, Ford, and Chevy supplier to make its US plant ‘flexible’ for ICE and EVs

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Major German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen is investing a hefty $500 million into its transmission plant in South Carolina – all to transform it into a “flexible manufacturer of parts” for both ICE and plug-in hybrids, and for both passenger cars and large commercial vehicles by launching production of its PowerLine transmission in the US.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/major-bmw-ford-and-chevy-supplier-to-make-its-us-plant-flexible-for-ice-and-evs/ Save to Pocket

Is MV Agusta Getting Ready To Launch The Superveloce 1000?

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Let’s take a look at why this bike might just be the most important bike in MV Agusta’s stable.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707682/mv-agusta-superveloce-1000-type-approval-documents/ Save to Pocket

Where California Universities Go Quiet On Abortion, Students Fill In The Silence

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

In the absence of more consistent messaging from campus administrators, students say they feel a need to step in to inform other students about their rights.

https://laist.com/news/education/california-universities-medication-abortion-student-advocacy Save to Pocket

NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge Is Back — With A Fourth-Grade Edition!

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

The 2024 national podcasting contest for middle and high school students is open for entries. It will close on May 3.

https://laist.com/news/education/student-podcast-challenge-contest-npr-2024 Save to Pocket

Should State Government Jobs Require A College Degree? Why California Is Rethinking Its Rules

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The LAist

California is removing degree requirements from jobs, but state leaders differ about the right approach.

https://laist.com/news/education/state-government-jobs-college-degree Save to Pocket

These Pits Carved Into Rocks in Kenya Might Be Ancient Game Boards

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

An archaeologist thinks the small, carved holes were used by herders for games of mancala up to 5,000 years ago

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-carved-pits-on-a-kenyan-rock-ledge-may-be-ancient-game-boards-180983745/ Save to Pocket

Ocean Sponge Skeletons Suggest a More Significant History of Global Warming Than Originally Thought

date: 2024-02-07, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Analysis of the sea creatures’ skeletal chemistry suggests the world’s temperatures have increased by 1.7 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ocean-sponge-skeletons-suggest-a-more-significant-history-of-global-warming-than-originally-thought-180983742/ Save to Pocket

It’s a Big Week for Carbon Removal

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heatmap News

Current conditions: Winter storm warnings are in effect across parts of the American Southwest • Huge waves washed jellyfish onto the streets of Havana • It’s snowy and cold in Tokyo, where Taylor Swift is kicking off the second leg of her Eras Tour.

THE TOP FIVE

1. ‘World’s largest carbon removal plant’ will soon be up and running

One to watch for this week: A Bill Gates-backed startup called Graphyte plans to begin operations at its Arkansas carbon removal plant by Friday, E&E News reported. The facility, which has been dubbed the “world’s largest carbon removal plant,” relies on biomass matter like sawdust and farming waste that, if left to decompose, would release a lot of carbon. Graphyte wants to stop the decomposition process by drying the waste out, shaping it into bricks, and burying the bricks underground for years and years, thus keeping the carbon from ever reaching the atmosphere.

Biomass bricks that sequester carbon. Graphyte

Last year Graphyte’s CEO claimed the company’s process keeps the cost of carbon removal below $100 per ton, a key benchmark for scalability. Graphyte hopes to remove 15,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the end of 2024 and continue scaling quickly from there.

2. Republicans play ‘Opposite Day’ during LNG hearings

Americans got a good preview yesterday of the Republican Party’s fossil fuel defense strategy, reported Heatmap’s Jeva Lange. In the first of two hearings this week concerning the White House’s pause on approving new permits for facilities to export liquified natural gas, Republicans on the House Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee raised traditionally liberal talking points to undermine the Biden administration’s order. “By their topsy-turvy logic,” Lange wrote, “the administration should not pause approving new export terminals because natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, and thus our best bet for fighting climate change — an argument that is still under considerable debate in the scientific community, and coming from these folks is especially weird.” At one point an argument broke out over the meaning of the words “pause” versus “ban.” Ranking member Diana DeGette of Colorado perhaps encapsulated the hearing best in her opening round of questioning. “I can’t help sitting here thinking that the silly season has begun,” she told her colleagues.

Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:

3. UK watchdog bans ‘zero emissions’ from EV ads

Carmakers in the United Kingdom can no longer use the words “zero emissions” in ads to describe their electric vehicles. The U.K.’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), says the claim is misleading for consumers because it ignores emissions from manufacturing and charging. If carmakers want to use the term, they must find a way to explain this nuance. The precedent-setting move is part of a bigger crackdown on greenwashing – the ASA has also banned misleading ads from oil groups and airlines, the Financial Times reported. But it comes at a time when carmakers are striving to increase their EV sales to avoid hefty fines: As of this year, fully-electric cars must make up at least 22% of new cars sales in the U.K. If a company misses that target, it will be fined £15,000 for every non-compliant vehicle. So the question is how much the words “zero emissions” really matter for sales. BMW, for example, uses the term in Google ads. But a quick look at Google Trends shows “EVs” (in red) is a far more popular search term than “zero emissions” (in blue), at least in the U.K.:

Google searches for “EVs” (red) compared to “zero emissions” (blue) in the U.K. over one yearGoogle Trends

As EV options flood the market, a much more reliable way to boost sales than touting emissions reductions is by introducing cutting edge smart features, like lidar sensors, according to Bloomberg. Chinese manufacturers “are deploying lidars in order to provide features that can help differentiate their offerings from competitors.”

4. EU power-sector emissions drop as renewables take over

The European Union’s power sector is undergoing a “monumental shift” away from fossil fuels before our eyes, according to a new report from energy think-tank Ember. In 2023, wind power generation in the bloc surpassed that of gas plants for the first time. Compared to 2022, fossil fuel power generation fell by almost 20% overall, with electricity from coal plants plummeting by 26% and gas down 15%. Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector fell by 19% as a result, more than the huge reduction seen during the pandemic. Ember added that the EU’s power-sector emissions are now almost half their 2007 peak levels. “Fossil fuels are playing a smaller role than ever as a system with wind and solar as its backbone comes into view,” said Sarah Brown, Ember’s Europe program director.

Ember

5. Taylor Swift threatens legal action against man tracking her private jet emissions

Taylor Swift threatened to sue a 21-year-old college student that has been tracking her private jet activity and the resulting emissions, The Washington Post reported. Jack Sweeney uses publicly available FAA data to monitor celebrities’ flying habits and then posts about it on social media. Private jet use has been criticized by climate advocates – by one estimate, a private jet passenger emits 10 to 20 times as much carbon pollution as a commercial airline passenger. A 2022 analysis identified the globe-trotting Swift as the biggest offender among celebrities, but she insists her plane is often loaned out. Her attorneys say Sweeney’s posts have caused her to fear for her personal safety.

THE KICKER

More than 7,000 yogis have backed a petition calling for Lululemon to convert its supply chain to 100% renewable energy.

https://heatmap.news/climate/graphyte-carbon-removal-plant Save to Pocket

“Diversity is simply good business”

date: 2024-02-07, from: Marketplace Morning Report

A new national survey finds that a majority of c-suite executives say diversity initiatives are important for positive business outcomes. The findings come as recent headlines and high-profile business leaders have criticized diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) work, and the support comes from across the political spectrum. Also: new SEC oversight for firms like hedge funds and a one-stop shop for sports streaming.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/diversity-is-simply-good-business Save to Pocket

JetBrains urges swift patching of latest critical TeamCity flaw

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Cloud version is safe, but no assurances offered about possible on-prem exploits

JetBrains is encouraging all users of TeamCity (on-prem) to upgrade to the latest version following the disclosure of a critical vulnerability in the CI/CD tool.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/jetbrains_teamcity_critical_vuln/ Save to Pocket

Americans on the Coast Actually Love Offshore Wind, a New Poll Shows

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heatmap News

Last year, I got two kinds of stories about offshore wind in my inbox. One was about the industry’s struggle with inflation and higher interest rates. The other was about rampant claims that the industry was killing whales — an idea for which there is no evidence, and which was found to be spread by groups with ties to the fossil fuel industry.

But while both narratives have set the industry back to some extent, neither appears to have damaged public support for building wind farms in the ocean. Americans living on the coasts largely support offshore wind and want to see the industry continue to grow, according to a new poll.

The poll was conducted in November 2023 by Climate Nexus, a climate change strategic communications group, and Turn Forward, an offshore wind advocacy nonprofit that says it does not receive funding from wind farm developers.

A representative sample of 2,038 adults living in coastal counties along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Gulf of Mexico were asked about their views of offshore wind. More than two-thirds responded that they support offshore wind farm construction, and 63% responded favorably when asked specifically whether they supported offshore wind farms near where they lived. Nearly 60% endorsed the U.S. government selling more leases to expand the industry’s development.

Public sentiment, for the most part, was positive across party lines. The majority of Republican respondents also said they supported offshore wind, both in general (57%), and near where they live (52%).

A more polarizing question was whether respondents preferred offshore wind development to expanding offshore oil and gas, with 71% of Democrats opting for wind but only 33% of Republicans. (26% of Republicans said they had no preference.)

One of the more intriguing parts of the poll tried to suss out what people had heard and read about offshore wind, and where they were getting information about the emerging industry. Local opposition groups like Protect Our Coast New Jersey have developed large followings on Facebook, where members share their fears that wind turbines will harm marine mammals, tourism, and property values — and also argue against the basic facts of climate change. Several grassroots groups, including Protect Our Coast New Jersey, have been found to have financial relationships with fossil fuel-funded think tanks like the Caesar Rodney Institute.

Conservative outlets like Fox News have also fueled the narrative that offshore wind development is killing whales. Media Matters, a media watchdog, found that Fox has “aired at least 54 segments suggesting that offshore wind development is causing whale deaths.” A report published last year by researchers at Brown University that mapped out the networks of anti-offshore wind groups in the U.S. suggested that social networks and conservative news outlets like Fox function as “a feedback loop of opposition and misinformation.”

According to the new poll, 53% of coastal Americans have received information about offshore wind on TV news, and 48% have seen posts about it on social media. Those were the two top sources of information, followed by newspapers, family and friends, and TV ads. But even so, most respondents — 56% — said that everything they have seen, read, or heard about offshore wind has been more positive than negative.

But while the poll may be a good temperature check on public sentiment, it doesn’t necessarily change some of the headwinds that offshore wind development faces. An earlier report from Columbia University researchers found that local opposition to renewable energy projects, including offshore wind projects, is growing. The report specifically documents instances where community groups have passed laws to block projects or filed lawsuits against developers or local officials.

There are currently four lawsuits pending in federal court against Vineyard Wind, a project that is already under construction, from a group called Nantucket Residents Against Turbines. In New Jersey, at least two communities passed resolutions last year calling on state and federal officials to impose a moratorium on offshore wind projects, citing whale deaths. And last October, a group called Protect Our Coast LINY celebrated a victory when New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have greenlit placing an offshore wind transmission cable under the sand in Long Beach, which the group had been fighting.

Even if the majority of coastal citizens support an American offshore wind industry, a vocal minority can still wield a lot of power to hold it back — especially when they have the backing of fossil fuel money.

https://heatmap.news/climate/americans-love-offshore-wind-poll Save to Pocket

Teaching LLMs to Be Deceptive

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Bruce Schneier blog

Interesting research: “Sleeper Agents: Training Deceptive LLMs that Persist Through Safety Training“:

Abstract: Humans are capable of strategically deceptive behavior: behaving helpfully in most situations, but then behaving very differently in order to pursue alternative objectives when given the opportunity. If an AI system learned such a deceptive strategy, could we detect it and remove it using current state-of-the-art safety training techniques? To study this question, we construct proof-of-concept examples of deceptive behavior in large language models (LLMs). For example, we train models that write secure code when the prompt states that the year is 2023, but insert exploitable code when the stated year is 2024. We find that such backdoor behavior can be made persistent, so that it is not removed by standard safety training techniques, including supervised fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and adversarial training (eliciting unsafe behavior and then training to remove it). The backdoor behavior is most persistent in the largest models and in models trained to produce chain-of-thought reasoning about deceiving the training process, with the persistence remaining even when the chain-of-thought is distilled away. Furthermore, rather than removing backdoors, we find that adversarial training can teach models to better recognize their backdoor triggers, effectively hiding the unsafe behavior. Our results suggest that, once a model exhibits deceptive behavior, standard techniques could fail to remove such deception and create a false impression of safety…

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/teaching-llms-to-be-deceptive.html Save to Pocket

Bank boss has pay slashed after presiding over tech outages in 2023

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Singapore’s DBS wants accountability for digital dropouts

Singapore banking group DBS has slashed its CEO’s variable pay by 30 percent as an accountability measure after digital disruptions hit the organization in 2023.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/dbs_ceo_pay_docked/ Save to Pocket

@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-02-07, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)

I have a podcast about Solarpunk for writers called Solarpunk Prompts. It’s about halfway through season 2. The episode released today is called The Tower:

Displaced people are moved into a new sustainable climate-controlled tower designed to help them find community. For some it’s a dream come true, for others a culture shock. How will this setting come to life as a vision for a Solarpunk future? How can we envision a better way of living by focusing on their humanity?

https://podcast.tomasino.org/@SolarpunkPrompts/episodes/the-tower

The podcast is based around the idea of providing a new writing prompt each episode that explores some of the themes of the Solarpunk genre and activist movement. We discuss some inspirations, considerations, and various ways to tell the story.

While the subject matter is focused on writing, the audience is quite diverse. Many non-writers enjoy it simply to learn more about Solarpunk in general.

Have a listen! You can find it at the link above, or by searching in your favorite podcast app. If you don’t know what Solarpunk is at all, you might try listening to Episode 1 of Season 1 for an overview of the genre and movement, and the reasons why this podcast came into being.

Most episodes are around 10 minutes long. The Tower is our longest at just over 16 minutes.

#solarpunk #writing #podcast #hope #inspiration

https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111890023601684348 Save to Pocket

PeerJ Awards Winners at IBS 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: PeerJ blog

The 11th Biannual Conference of the International Biogeography Society, held in Prague last January, drew over 400 scientists from more than 40 countries across four continents. This truly global gathering allowed participants to present and discuss groundbreaking contributions of Biogeography to major societal challenge in the plenary symposia. Topics ranged from the impact of urban […]

https://peerj.com/blog/post/115284888826/peerj-awards-winners-at-ibs-2024/ Save to Pocket

PiStorm - The evolution of an open source Amiga accelerator

date: 2024-02-07, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-1742-pistorm-the-evolution-of-an-open-source-amiga-accelerator/ Save to Pocket

Porsche upgrades the 2025 Taycan with more range, performance, and fast charging

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Porsche’s electric sports received a major upgrade for the 2025 model year. The new Porsche Taycan features longer range, more performance, and fast charging capabilities.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/07/porsche-upgrades-2025-taycan-more-range-fast-charging/ Save to Pocket

HoRNDIS MacGyvers your Mac to get online with Androids

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Apple makes this harder every macOS release, but there are ways nonetheless

FOSS Fest  These days, Macs will only talk to Apple phones to get online out of the box, but you can get around the restrictions if you’re determined enough.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/horndis_android_mac/ Save to Pocket

Landslides Continue In Hillsides After Record-Breaking Storms Leave The Southland Saturated

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The LAist

The worst of the atmospheric storms have passed, but officials say potential landslides and other hazards will remain.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/atmospheric-river-la-storm-evacuations-damage-los-angeles-orange-riverside-san-bernardino-santa-barbara-updates Save to Pocket

@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-02-07, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)

My partner’s aunt just called him to ask if she could call him in five minutes. I feel like Lady Gaga had some words of wisdom  to impart on this topic…

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/stop-telephoning-me.html Save to Pocket

UK government plans to spend over £100M on AI … but copyright code is held up

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘Pro-innovation’ but perhaps not for the folks whose data was trained on

The UK government is to spend over £100 million ($125 million) to support regulators and researchers as it publishes its response to the AI Regulation White Paper consultation.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/uk_government_plans_ai/ Save to Pocket

Grandmother pleads no contest to manslaughter in child starvation case

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A 66-year-old Hilo woman has pleaded no contest to manslaughter for the 2016 starvation death of her 9-year-old granddaughter.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/grandmother-pleads-no-contest-to-manslaughter-in-child-starvation-case/ Save to Pocket

Officers praised for responses to incidents at two E. Hawaii schools

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A high-ranking police official is crediting school resource officers for their quick actions that kept a pair of serious incidents this week at East Hawaii public schools from getting worse.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/officers-praised-for-responses-to-incidents-at-two-e-hawaii-schools/ Save to Pocket

Council once again considers funding for Puna road study

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>State funding for a study of potential alternate traffic routes into Puna is once again on the table.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/council-once-again-considers-funding-for-puna-road-study/ Save to Pocket

Ronna McDaniel, RNC chair, plans to step down

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, has told former President Donald Trump she is planning to step down shortly after the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24, according to two people familiar with the plans.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/ronna-mcdaniel-rnc-chair-plans-to-step-down/ Save to Pocket

Two remain in custody in separate drug cases

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A Hilo judge maintained $215,000 bail Monday for a 36-year-old Mountain View woman accused of numerous drug offenses and assaulting a police officer.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/two-remain-in-custody-in-separate-drug-cases/ Save to Pocket

Bail reduced in Hilo domestic assault case

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A judge reduced bail Tuesday for a 60-year-old Hilo man accused of assaulting his former girlfriend and breaking her nose in a Puueo Street hotel room.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/bail-reduced-in-hilo-domestic-assault-case/ Save to Pocket

Make the shaka the official state gesture? Measure to be heard today aims to do exactly that

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The state Legislature will be hangin&#8217; loose today as lawmakers discuss whether to make the shaka the official &#8220;state gesture&#8221; of Hawaii.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/make-the-shaka-the-official-state-gesture-measure-to-be-heard-today-aims-to-do-exactly-that/ Save to Pocket

Trump is not immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case, US appeals court says

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; A federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump can face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, sharply rejecting the former president&#8217;s claims that he is immune from prosecution while setting the stage for additional challenges that could further delay the case.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/trump-is-not-immune-from-prosecution-in-his-2020-election-interference-case-us-appeals-court-says/ Save to Pocket

Trump fraud trial’s Judge Engoron eyeing whether CFO Allen Weisselberg lied on stand

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK &#8212; The judge presiding over Donald Trump&#8217;s civil fraud case &#8212; set to issue a potentially earth-shattering verdict against him any day &#8212; wants to know if it&#8217;s true that the former president&#8217;s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, is preparing to admit he lied on the stand.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/trump-fraud-trials-judge-engoron-eyeing-whether-cfo-allen-weisselberg-lied-on-stand/ Save to Pocket

Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley, the Michigan school shooter’s mother, guilty of manslaughter

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>PONTIAC, Mich. &#8212; A Michigan jury convicted a school shooter&#8217;s mother of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in the killings of four students in 2021, making her the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/jury-finds-jennifer-crumbley-the-michigan-school-shooters-mother-guilty-of-manslaughter/ Save to Pocket

Police: Missing California man may be on Big Island

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Hawaii Island police, in collaboration with the Belmont Police Department in California, is requesting the public&#8217;s assistance in locating 44-year-old Chritoph Litschke of Belmont, Calif. He was last seen in Belmont on June 19, 2023, but may be on Hawaii Island.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/police-missing-california-man-may-be-on-big-island/ Save to Pocket

Testifiers overwhelmingly support BAC reduction, committee vote deferred

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A parade of testifiers Tuesday urged the state House Transportation Committee to lower the legal intoxication threshold for motorists from 0.08% blood alcohol content to 0.05%.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/testifiers-overwhelmingly-support-bac-reduction-committee-vote-deferred/ Save to Pocket

Your Views for February 7

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Unusual strategy&#0010;for the homeless</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/opinion/your-views-for-february-7-8/ Save to Pocket

The right numbers: Against the odds, the economy is humming

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Good news came Friday morning with the release of the latest Department of Labor statistics showing another period of wage and job gains and low unemployment &#8212; with 3.7% as of last month, it has stayed under the 4% threshold for two years for the first time in a generation.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/opinion/the-right-numbers-against-the-odds-the-economy-is-humming/ Save to Pocket

California could legalize psychedelic therapy after rejecting ‘magic mushroom’ decriminalization

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. &#8212; A pair of California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to allow people 21 and older to consume psychedelic mushrooms under professional supervision as part of an agenda to tackle the state&#8217;s mental health and substance use crises.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/california-could-legalize-psychedelic-therapy-after-rejecting-magic-mushroom-decriminalization/ Save to Pocket

Border security and Ukraine aid collapses despite Biden’s plea for Congress to ‘show some spine’

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; A Senate deal on border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid suffered a swift and total collapse Tuesday as Republicans withdrew support despite President Joe Biden urging Congress to &#8220;show some spine&#8221; and stand up to Donald Trump.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/border-security-and-ukraine-aid-collapses-despite-bidens-plea-for-congress-to-show-some-spine/ Save to Pocket

Two Hawaii Island students given AlohaCare scholarships

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Two students from Hawaii Island have received $5,000 scholarships from AlohaCare to support their educational goals.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/community/two-hawaii-island-students-given-alohacare-scholarships/ Save to Pocket

Hilo presentation will help celebrate Black History Month

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>February is Black History Month &#8212; a time to honor and celebrate the rich heritage, achievements and contributions of Black Americans throughout history.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/community/hilo-presentation-will-help-celebrate-black-history-month/ Save to Pocket

Artist challenges viewers to confront the fragility of social fabric

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A new exhibition at the East Hawaii Cultural Center takes an unsparing look at white privilege, the mythology of American identity, and the need to move past simplistic symbols in order to understand the complexities of our fractured American landscape.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/entertainment/artist-challenges-viewers-to-confront-the-fragility-of-social-fabric/ Save to Pocket

One-man play explores father-son relationship, family and gender issues

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>One man will take the stage Thursday to tell a story about gender and family dynamics.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/entertainment/one-man-play-explores-father-son-relationship-family-and-gender-issues/ Save to Pocket

How two US presidents helped Iran

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Through the misuse of terrorist buddies, that old, old civilization that is today called Iran is out to make itself something new, the leader of the world, and is taking an early step through the attempted destruction of Israel. This could be a major goal-enhancing accomplishment, but understand that it is hardly the beginning of a destructive Iranian march helped considerably by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/opinion/how-two-us-presidents-helped-iran/ Save to Pocket

In Nevada, split contests are causing confusion. And ‘none of these candidates’ is on the ballot.

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LAS VEGAS &#8212; Nevada&#8217;s dueling presidential caucuses and primaries this week are creating confusion among voters, and those casting ballots in the first contest Tuesday have the option of supporting &#8220;none of these candidates.&#8221;</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/in-nevada-split-contests-are-causing-confusion-and-none-of-these-candidates-is-on-the-ballot/ Save to Pocket

Obituaries for February 7

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Elton Kiyoshi Endo, 73, of Hilo died Jan. 24 at home. Born in Hilo, he was a retired co-owner of the former Sewing Unlimited, U.S. Air Force veteran and member of Hilo Trap and Skeet Club. No services. No flowers or koden (monetary gifts). Survived by life partner, Marlene Tomi of Hilo; brothers, Elliot Endo of Washington state and Francis Endo of Keaau; nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-7-9/ Save to Pocket

Ethics experts back up Fulton DA in Trump conflict-of-interest dispute

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>ATLANTA &#8212; District Attorney Fani Willis does not have any conflicts that warrant her disqualification from the Fulton County election interference case, according to a group of 17 ethics experts, former prosecutors and defense attorneys.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/ethics-experts-back-up-fulton-da-in-trump-conflict-of-interest-dispute/ Save to Pocket

Lawmakers frustrated by deficiency in handling mentally ill defendants

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Some legislators openly expressed their frustrations at state mental health experts for their lack of data and specifics on how to best deal with mentally ill criminal defendants and keep them out of Hawaii&#8217;s jails and prisons during a briefing Monday at the state Capitol.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/hawaii-news/lawmakers-frustrated-by-deficiency-in-handling-mentally-ill-defendants/ Save to Pocket

House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas fails, thwarted by Republican defections

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority &#8212; for now &#8212; after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party&#8217;s plan.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/nation-world-news/house-vote-to-impeach-homeland-security-secretary-mayorkas-fails-thwarted-by-republican-defections/ Save to Pocket

NBA roundup: Kyrie Irving scores 36 in return to Brooklyn, teams with Doncic to lead Mavs past Nets

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; Kyrie Irving scored 36 points in a dazzling return to Brooklyn exactly one year after he was traded to Dallas, leading the Mavericks to a 119-107 victory over the Nets on Tuesday night. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/nba-roundup-kyrie-irving-scores-36-in-return-to-brooklyn-teams-with-doncic-to-lead-mavs-past-nets/ Save to Pocket

UH-Hilo men’s soccer ID Camp set for March

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The University of Hawai&#8217;i at Hilo Men&#8217;s Soccer program is hosting its Spring 2024 ID Camp on March 2 at the Vulcan Soccer Field.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/uh-hilo-mens-soccer-id-camp-set-for-march/ Save to Pocket

Stephen Tsai: Recruiting getting more challenging for Rainbow Warriors

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Back in the day, college football recruiting could be practical.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/stephen-tsai-recruiting-getting-more-challenging-for-rainbow-warriors/ Save to Pocket

Waiakea routs Moanalua, advances to quarterfinals

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Waiakea High&#8217;s girls varsity basketball team notched one last victory on its home court ahead of this week&#8217;s state playoffs, crushing visiting Moanalua High 61-44 on Monday night in Hilo.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/waiakea-routs-moanalua-advances-to-quarterfinals/ Save to Pocket

The Super Bowl is expected to smash betting records. Nearly 68M US adults plan to wager

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. &#8212; Nearly 68 million American adults &#8212; about 1 in 4 &#8212; plan to bet on this year&#8217;s Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the gambling industry&#8217;s national trade association. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/the-super-bowl-is-expected-to-smash-betting-records-nearly-68m-us-adults-plan-to-wager/ Save to Pocket

Judge keeps NCAA’s restrictions on NIL in place for now, denying request by Tennessee and Virginia

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A judge on Tuesday kept in place for now the NCAA&#8217;s rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation from being used as a recruiting inducement, denying a request for a temporary restraining order by the states of Tennessee and Virginia. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/judge-keeps-ncaas-restrictions-on-nil-in-place-for-now-denying-request-by-tennessee-and-virginia/ Save to Pocket

Everyone hopes the Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl won’t come down to an officiating call

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York was asked the other day what comes to mind when he thinks back to his team&#8217;s Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs four years ago, and he quipped: &#8220;I mean, I remember Nick Bosa getting held on third-and-long &#8212; and that not getting called.&#8221; </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/everyone-hopes-the-chiefs-49ers-super-bowl-wont-come-down-to-an-officiating-call/ Save to Pocket

ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery announce plans to launch sports streaming platform in the fall

date: 2024-02-07, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans on Tuesday to launch a sports streaming platform in the fall that will include offerings from at least 15 networks and all four major professional sports leagues. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/07/sports/espn-fox-warner-bros-discovery-announce-plans-to-launch-sports-streaming-platform-in-the-fall/ Save to Pocket

Contingency planning for me and curl

date: 2024-02-07, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog

This is a frequently asked question: how will I handle the situation if/when I step away from the curl project? What happens if I get run over by a bus go on a permanent holiday tomorrow? What’s the contingency plan? You would perhaps think that it could affect a few more things that I work … Continue reading Contingency planning for me and curl →

https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/02/07/contingency-planning-for-me-and-curl/ Save to Pocket

Speaker to try for reconsideration of hospital location and mining bills

date: 2024-02-07, from: Guam Daily Post

Speaker Therese Terlaje said she will attempt to place Bill 116-37, Bill 184-37 and Bill 185-37 onto the agenda for reconsideration in the upcoming session. The speaker announced her intentions on Wednesday, as the legislative Committee on Rules began to…

https://www.postguam.com/news/speaker-to-try-for-reconsideration-of-hospital-location-and-mining-bills/article_ee9521d6-c582-11ee-9c5d-af082efc0e44.html Save to Pocket

The Hole In Boeing’s Inspection Program

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Lever News

Whistleblowers and regulators say Boeing’s self-inspection program helped lead to safety problems, including a recent catastrophic door plug malfunction.

https://www.levernews.com/the-hole-in-boeings-inspection-program/ Save to Pocket

How Neuraspace aims to clean up orbital clutter with AI

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Can tech and regulations beat the great satellite landgrab?

Interview  Debris speeding along in orbit is becoming an increasing hazard for spacecraft. We can either ignore the problem and hope it resolves itself or accept there is an issue and learn to deal with it.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/neuraspace/ Save to Pocket

Office Hours: What kind of presidential candidate — and supporters — would cause opponents to fear for their lives?

date: 2024-02-07, from: Robert Reich on Substack

And what should be America’s response?

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-kind-of-presidential-candidate Save to Pocket

The spyware business is booming despite government crackdowns

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-08, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘Almost zero data being shared across the industry on this particular threat,’ we’re told

Updated  The commercial spyware economy – despite government and big tech’s efforts to crack down – appears to be booming.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/spyware_business_booming/ Save to Pocket

Classifieds – February 7, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

The post Classifieds – February 7, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/classifieds-february-7-2024/ Save to Pocket

Myths versus reality for undocumented immigrants

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Unveiling the truth behind misconceptions about the undocumented community sheds light on the undocumented struggle.

The post Myths versus reality for undocumented immigrants appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/myths-versus-reality-for-undocumented-immigrants/ Save to Pocket

We need more complex female villains

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

I am tired of women having to maintain their sanity, even in fictional stories.

The post We need more complex female villains appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/we-need-more-complex-female-villains/ Save to Pocket

Man on the Frozen Red Carpet

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Brendan Brisson is living his hockey destiny.

The post Man on the Frozen Red Carpet appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/man-on-the-frozen-red-carpet/ Save to Pocket

Not Marc, but art by Marc Jacobs

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Marc Jacobs’ doll-inspired collection may hint at a fresh attempt to inspire collections by the art and architectural world.

The post Not Marc, but art by Marc Jacobs appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/unbox-your-different-personalities-2-2/ Save to Pocket

Women’s lacrosse aims to score back-to-back Pac-12 titles

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC looks to build on last season’s success and become national title contenders.

The post Women’s lacrosse aims to score back-to-back Pac-12 titles appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/200147/ Save to Pocket

Women’s swim and dive takes a shot at history against Bruins

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC aims for an undefeated regular season in a critical showdown against UCLA.

The post Women’s swim and dive takes a shot at history against Bruins appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/womens-swim-and-dive-takes-a-shot-at-history-against-bruins/ Save to Pocket

Student drag performers embrace pageantry in ‘The Freak Show’

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

QuASA’s 14th annual drag show was a hit at Bovard Auditorium Sunday night.

The post Student drag performers embrace pageantry in ‘The Freak Show’ appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/student-drag-performers-embrace-pageantry-in-the-freak-show/ Save to Pocket

Price hosts Lunar New Year celebration

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Cultural Compass event highlighted Asian American Pacific Islander traditions.

The post Price hosts Lunar New Year celebration appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/price-hosts-lunar-new-year-celebration/ Save to Pocket

USG senate meeting moves to Zoom amid storm

date: 2024-02-07, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

President Divya Jakatdar presented on the upcoming USG presidential debate.

The post USG senate meeting moves to Zoom amid storm appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/07/usg-senate-meeting-moves-on-zoom-due-to-rain/ Save to Pocket

Alaska Airlines’ door-dropping flight was missing bolts

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Preliminary investigation confirms pilot chat was overwritten but doesn’t mention attempts to recover data

The door plug that fell out of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 last month wasn’t properly bolted into place, according to a preliminary investigation.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/alaska_airlines_doordropping_flight_lost_cvr/ Save to Pocket

IBM Japan and NTT think they can make datacenter aircon adjust to different workloads

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

They’re measuring server exhaust temperatures to detect power consumption

Datacenters make a lot of hot air, and IBM Japan and NTT Group’s in-house integrator NTT Comware think they can use it to calculate power consumption and CO₂ emissions – and maybe reduce both.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/ntt_ibm_datacenter_heat_ai/ Save to Pocket

In tech, magic becomes mundane!

date: 2024-02-07, from: Om Malik blog

Hello from somewhere over the Philippine Sea! My watch just nudged me to get up and walk around. My phone tells me that I am connected at roughly 10 Mbps. I am having a WhatsApp conversation with family members while receiving some email updates. The book I was reading on my iPhone is synced with …

https://om.co/2024/02/06/in-tech-magic-becomes-mundane-fast/ Save to Pocket

February 6, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

MAGA Republicans appear to have killed the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, after senators and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spent four months writing the border security piece of the bill that the House MAGA Republicans themselves demanded. House Republicans insisted that border security be added to the supplemental national security bill that provided additional assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and provided humanitarian aid to Gaza.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-6-2024 Save to Pocket

Nikki Haley Trounced by ‘None of These Candidates’ in Nevada Republican Primary

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

LAS VEGAS — Nikki Haley was swamped Tuesday in Nevada’s symbolic Republican presidential primary as GOP voters resoundingly picked the “none of these candidates” option on the ballot in a repudiation of the former U.N. ambassador who is the last remaining major rival to front-runner Donald Trump.

Trump, the former president, didn’t compete in the primary, which doesn’t award any delegates needed to win the GOP nomination. He’s instead focused on caucuses that will be held Thursday and will help him move closer to becoming the Republican standard-bearer.

That leaves the Republican results on Tuesday technically meaningless. But they still amount to an embarrassment for Haley, who has sought to position herself as a candidate who can genuinely compete against Trump. Instead, she became the first presidential candidate from either party to lose a race to “none of these candidates” since that option was introduced in Nevada in 1975.

Haley had said beforehand she was going to “focus on the states that are fair” and did not campaign in the western state in the weeks leading up to the caucuses. Her campaign wrote off the primary results with a reference to Nevada’s famous casino industry.

“Even Donald Trump knows that when you play penny slots the house wins,” spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said. “We didn’t bother to play a game rigged for Trump. We’re full steam ahead in South Carolina and beyond.”

Trump joked on his social media network, “Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!”

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, had announced beforehand that he would vote for “none of these candidates” on Tuesday. Several Republicans interviewed heading to the polls said they intended to do the same.

Washoe County Republican Party Chair Bruce Parks, who pushed for the GOP to hold caucuses, said that he told voters who called his office — and Trump supporters — to participate in the primary by voting for “none of these candidates” over Haley.

“They basically told us they don’t care about us,” Parks said in an interview after the race was called. “By marking ‘none of these candidates,’ we respond in kind — we don’t care about you either.”

The Associated Press declared “None of these candidates” the winner at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday based on initial vote results that showed it with a significant lead over Haley in seven counties across the state, including in the two most populous counties.

There was also a Democratic primary on Tuesday that President Joe Biden easily won against author Marianne Williamson and a handful of less-known challengers. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota was not on the ballot.

Biden issued a statement thanking Nevada voters for their support and, with an eye toward an expected matchup in November, warned that Trump is trying to divide America.

“I want to thank the voters of Nevada for sending me and Kamala Harris to the White House four years ago, and for setting us one step further on that same path again tonight. We must organize, mobilize, and vote. Because one day, when we look back, we’ll be able to say, when American democracy was a risk, we saved it — together,” Biden said.

Nevada lawmakers added “none of these candidates” as an option in all statewide races as a way post-Watergate for voters to participate but express dissatisfaction with their choices. “None” can’t win an elected office, but it came in first in primary congressional contests in 1976 and 1978. It also finished ahead of both George Bush and Edward Kennedy in Nevada’s 1980 presidential primaries.

The caucuses on Thursday are the only Nevada contest that count toward the GOP’s presidential nomination. But they were seen as especially skewed in favor of Trump because of the intense grassroots support they require from candidates and new state party rules that benefitted him further.

Trump is expected to handily win the caucuses, which should deliver him all 26 of the state’s delegates. Delegates are party members, activists and elected officials who vote at the national party conventions to formally select the party’s nominee.

“If your goal is to win the Republican nomination for president, you go where the delegates are. And it baffles me that Nikki Haley chose not to participate,” Trump’s senior campaign adviser Chris LaCivita said in an interview before the primary.

Nevada, the third state in the field after Iowa and New Hampshire, was set to hold a state-run primary election instead of party-run caucuses after Democrats controlling the Legislature changed the law to try to boost participation.

Caucuses typically require voters to show up for an in-person meeting at a certain day or time, while elections can offer more flexibility to participate, with polls open for most of the day on Election Day, along with absentee or early voting.

But Nevada Republicans chose to hold party-run caucuses instead, saying they wanted certain rules in place, like a requirement that participants show a government-issued ID.

The caucuses require a candidate to intensely organize supporters around the state to be competitive, a feat that Trump, the former president and prohibitive front-runner, was easily positioned to do.

The Nevada GOP also restricted the involvement of super PACs like the one Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was relying on to boost his now-suspended campaign. And the party barred candidates from appearing both on the primary ballot and in the caucuses.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also signed up to compete in Nevada’s primary instead of the caucuses before ending their presidential campaigns.

https://www.voanews.com/a/nikki-haley-trounced-by-none-of-these-candidates-in-nevada-republican-primary/7477375.html Save to Pocket

India to launch android into space to test crewed launch capability

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Vyommitra, your multitasking, bilingual, female space friend, will fly before the long-delayed Gaganyaan launch in 2025

India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will send a humanoid robot astronaut into this space this year, then send it back alongside actual humans in 2025 on its long-delayed Gaganyaan orbital mission.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/india_humanoid_space/ Save to Pocket

Beta’s 2024 Evo Factory Trials Bikes Are Ready For Action

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Refinements to the engine, suspension, and chassis make for more compliant machines across the board.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707673/2024-beta-evo-factory-trials-bikes/ Save to Pocket

68% of US coastal residents support offshore wind farms – here’s why

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

A poll released today reveals that a clear majority of US coastal residents support offshore wind development.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/coastal-residents-support-offshore-wind-farm-construction-poll/ Save to Pocket

Tax Agency’s Modernization Could Mean More Federal Revenue

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/tax-agency-s-modernization-could-mean-more-federal-revenue/7477356.html Save to Pocket

India probes SAP and IBM over ancient Air India ERP tender

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Procurement process in 2011 deal raises suspicions

Indian authorities want to ask IBM and SAP about potentially criminal actions that saw the two tech giants engaged for a 2011 ERP project at Air India.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/air_india_sap_ibm_investigation/ Save to Pocket

Here’s How Much You’ll Have To Pay For The New Alpinestars Supertech R10 Helmet

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The Supertech R10 represents the pinnacle of Alpinestars’ racing technology.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707672/alpinestars-supertech-r10-price-specs/ Save to Pocket

Storm Triggers Nearly 400 Mudslides During Southern California Storm

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/storm-triggers-nearly-400-mudslides-during-storm-in-us/7477335.html Save to Pocket

Annette Bening Honored as Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Annette Bening, a two-time Golden Globe winner who recently received her fifth Oscar nomination, was feted Tuesday with a raucous parade full of colorful costumes and drag performers as part of festivities honoring her as Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals 2024 Woman of the Year.

A few hours later, Benning endured a celebrity roast before attending a performance of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 175th production, “Heist Heist Baby.”

She joined a group of synchronized swimmers on stage doing swim strokes to the song “Pump Up the Jams,” a reference to her role in the swimming movie “Nyad.” Then, she cut the hair of a volunteer in an effort to give him her signature look. And then she donned a seagull costume and acted out the role of the sea bird, a reference her role in the movie version of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” squawking and waiving her arms.

“I did it all myself with no one’s help,” Benning joked, after accepting the traditional pudding pot and trying to start a speech by thanking her kindergarten teacher. Her husband, Warren Beatty, won the man of the year award in 1975.

The Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world. Since 1951, it has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.” Other winners have included Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Coolidge.

Festivities began with the parade at Harvard. Bening, wearing a brown coat, hat and sunglasses, blew kisses to the crowd, and at one point, was pecked on both cheeks by drag performers. As the parade ended, she launched into a can-can dance with several other people.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to honor Annette Bening in this milestone 175th anniversary year for the Hasty Pudding,” said Josh Hillers, the organization’s president. “Hot off her Oscars nomination for Best Actress, we’re excited to present her with the most prestigious award in the entertainment industry.”

Bening, who also has won a Screen Actors Guild Award and starred in “The Grifters” and “American Beauty,” earned her fifth Oscar nomination, this one for best actress, for playing the prickly long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad in the movie “Nyad.”

Barry Keoghan, best known for his roles in “Saltburn,” “Dunkirk,” “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “Eternals” and “The Banshees of Inisherin,” is the recipient of its 2024 Man of the Year Award. He will be honored Friday night.

https://www.voanews.com/a/annette-bening-honored-as-harvard-s-hasty-pudding-woman-of-the-year/7477337.html Save to Pocket

Schwalbe’s Green Marathon Bike Tires Are Made Out Of Recycled Materials

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Schwalbe is working towards reducing the carbon footprint of bike tires throughout their entire life cycle.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707669/schwalbe-green-marathon-tires/ Save to Pocket

Biden’s Approval Sinks in Poll, Reflecting Voters’ Economic Worries

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

A new poll says Americans are concerned over U.S. President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy, despite the administration’s touting of positive economic figures. The survey puts Biden’s approval at 38% in January and predicts a tight race with challenger Donald Trump. Anita Powell reports.

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-s-approval-sinks-in-poll-reflecting-voters-economic-worries-/7477306.html Save to Pocket

Biden Celebrates Black History Amid African Americans’ Anger Over Gaza

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden celebrated Black History Month Tuesday at the White House amid slipping support from Black voters distressed by the administration’s stance on the war in Gaza and disillusioned by what they see as a lack of progress on Biden’s racial justice agenda.

“Tonight, let’s reflect on how we make history, not erase history,” Biden said Tuesday evening, taking a jab at Republican-controlled state legislatures that have introduced bills that would limit what schools can teach about race and American Black history.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who spoke before Biden, was more direct.

“Across our nation, we have witnessed extremists try to erase our history,” she said during the White House reception with Black leaders. “They censor history textbooks and cancel history classes.”

In a statement, the White House touted legislative victories and executive orders promoting racial equity that has seen a 60% increase in Black wealth since the pandemic, record levels of entrepreneurship, and significant reductions in child poverty. They highlighted support for Black-owned businesses, expanded access to affordable housing, improved educational opportunities and efforts to address health care and educational disparities.

Yet polls suggest support for the president among Black voters is slipping. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released in January shows Biden carrying the support of just 63% of Black voters, a steep decline from the 87% he had in 2020.

Troubled by Gaza

As images of death and destruction in Gaza mobilized activists, a coalition of more than 1,000 Black faith leaders pressed Biden to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The campaign grew organically from the congregation, said the Rev. Timothy McDonald III, one of the first pastors who signed the open letter.

“They pushed us to make that statement,” said McDonald, founder of the African American Ministers Leadership Council and senior pastor of the First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Young people were saying, ‘You’re all supposed to be faith leaders, and you’re doing nothing about all of this?’” McDonald told VOA. He noted that just as with the civil rights movement, the distress and anger felt by younger parishioners quickly spread to older members of the congregation.

Community leaders say that Black Americans who support Palestinian rights see the conflict through the lens of racial justice, with the solidarity of a minority group that knows how it feels to be oppressed, displaced and deprived.

Steve Phillips, author and founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization, pointed to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 “A Time to Break Silence” speech. In it, King denounced U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War as morally unjust and said it diverted Americans’ attention from racism and poverty at home.

“There’s just so much resonance and similarity to this same kind of a moment,” Phillips told VOA.”

Responding to international and domestic pressures, Biden has shown a more sympathetic tone toward Palestinians, saying last week he sees “the trauma, the death and destruction,” and understands “the pain and passion felt by so many here in America and around the world.”

The administration says a permanent cease-fire will only benefit Hamas at this point. But it is pushing for a deal that would secure a temporary halt in fighting in return for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and release of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Waning enthusiasm

Even before the October 7 Hamas attack, there were signs of waning Black enthusiasm for Biden and frustration over the lack of progress on issues that emerged alongside the Black Lives Matter movement.

“There was a fairly high-profile announcement about efforts to look at racial justice when the president first came in. And then you never heard much follow-up after that,” Phillips said.

A bill designed to ensure that minority voters can participate equally in the electoral process, and a bill to prevent racial profiling by law enforcement have been languishing in Congress. 

Only 50% of Black adults said they approve of Biden in a December AP-NORC poll, down from 86% in July 2021. Biden’s opponent is eager to capitalize.

“Joe Biden no longer has a base,” said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the campaign of leading Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. 

“Key Democrat constituencies, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans and women, are supporting President Trump because they are sick and tired of Crooked Joe’s record-high inflation, open borders, crime and chaos,” she told VOA.

With most polls showing Biden having a comfortable lead over Trump among Black voters, the bigger threat is not Black voters shifting to Trump but low voter turnout that could sway results in the most competitive states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Disinformation

Efforts to discourage voters of color from going to the polls are being fueled by voter suppression efforts, including through social media disinformation, said Atiba Ellis, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

“This has a long history,” Ellis told VOA, pointing to intimidation in the 1860s by white supremacist groups to prevent recently freed enslaved people from participating in the political process and Jim Crow laws in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that prevented Black people from voting.

A source close to the Biden campaign, who asked not to be identified as is customary when discussing electoral strategy, said the campaign is combating disinformation with “early and substantial investments,” including $25 million in television and digital ad spending in August in top battleground states focusing on Black and Hispanic media.

“Making sure that the right and the correct information is out there,” the source said. “That’s how we can better combat the wrong information, with the right information.”

Black Americans, a group the president calls the “backbone of the Democratic Party,” number about 34.4 million and account for 14.0% of eligible voters in November, according to Pew Research Center projections.

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-celebrates-black-history-amid-african-americans-anger-over-gaza/7477327.html Save to Pocket

$118 Billion Bipartisan Security Agreement in Jeopardy in US Senate

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

U.S. President Joe Biden is calling on lawmakers to support the U.S. Senate’s $118 billion bipartisan agreement on border security that would also provide aid to Israel and Ukraine. But a growing number of Republicans say they plan to withhold their support for the measure. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.

https://www.voanews.com/a/billion-bipartisan-security-agreement-in-jeopardy-in-us-senate/7477297.html Save to Pocket

Republican senators try to outlaw rules that restrict Wall Street’s use of AI

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Everyone should be free to trust AI to make their financial decisions, without knowing if it’s also used against them

Republican senators are attempting to block the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to restrict financial investment firms’ use of AI.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/republican_sec_ai_finance/ Save to Pocket

US Considers Hamas’ Response to Proposed Hostage Deal, Says Blinken

date: 2024-02-07, from: VOA News USA

Hamas leaders have responded to a hostage deal proposal that would pause hostilities, says U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The U.S. is studying the response and will discuss it in Israel on Wednesday, says Blinken. VOA’s Cindy Saine reports from the U.S. State Department.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-considers-hamas-response-to-proposed-hostage-deal-says-blinken/7477271.html Save to Pocket

New Michelin Power And Anakee Tires Now In US Dealers

date: 2024-02-07, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The new sport, road, and adventure-touring tires are offered in a wide selection of sizes.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707664/2024-michelin-power-anakee-tires-us-dealers/ Save to Pocket

Here’s how WhatsApp plans to interoperate with other messaging apps

date: 2024-02-07, from: OS News

As noted by Wired, WhatsApp wants the messaging services it connects with to use the same Signal Protocol to encrypt messages. Meta is also open to apps using alternate encryption protocols so long as companies can prove “they reach the security standards that WhatsApp outlines in its guidance.” The third-party services will also have to sign a contract with Meta before they plug into WhatsApp, with more details about the agreement coming in March. ↫ Emma Roth at The Verge They way this should work is that these megacorporations create free and open APIs any instant messaging application can tap into. I’m not looking to bring other services into WhatsApp; I’m looking to bring all services together in one unified application that respects my platform’s conventions and integrates properly with the operating systems I use. I feel like this contractual interoperability Facebook (and Apple) is offering is not interoperability at all, and does not reflect the spirit of the Digital Markets Act.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138533/heres-how-whatsapp-plans-to-interoperate-with-other-messaging-apps/ Save to Pocket

Thou shalt follow these vintage computing commandments

date: 2024-02-07, from: OS News

Since vintage computing is supposed to be a spiritual experience, I point out that today, February 3, 2024, the Torah reading for this week is the Ten Commandments. Regardless of your religious tradition or lack thereof, I think we can all agree on these. ↫ Old Vintage Computing Research Amen.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138527/thou-shalt-follow-these-vintage-computing-commandments/ Save to Pocket

DEF CON is canceled! No, really this time – but the show will go on

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Longtime host Caesars ends relationship at short notice

It’s an annual meme that DEF CON infosec conference has been canceled, but this time it actually happened, ish.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/def_con_canceled/ Save to Pocket

Think tank funded by Big Tech argues AI’s climate impact is nothing to worry about

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Sure, datacenters consume lots of energy. But maybe they’ll invent stuff that helps

It’s well established that the tens of thousands of GPUs used to train large language models (LLMs) consume a prodigious amount of energy, leading to warnings about their potential impact on Earth’s climate.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/ai_climate_impact/ Save to Pocket

Wednesday 7 February, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: John Naughton’s online diary

The Barbican in Winter For a special friend who happens to live there. Quote of the Day “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” Louis Brandeis … Continue reading →

https://memex.naughtons.org/wednesday-7-february-2024/39103/ Save to Pocket

Quick Charge Podcast: February 6, 2024

date: 2024-02-07, from: Electrek Feed

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/quick-charge-podcast-february-6-2024/ Save to Pocket

ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Announce Super-Sports Streaming Bundle

date: 2024-02-07, updated: 2024-02-07, from: Daring Fireball

https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/02/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-forming-joint-venture-to-launch-streaming-sports-service-in-the-u-s/ Save to Pocket

Ukraine: Meinungsumfragen in Kriegszeiten

date: 2024-02-07, from: ETH Zurich, recently added

Rickard, Kit Merz, Fabien

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/658125 Save to Pocket

Best SEO spam 2024 reddit

date: 2024-02-07, from: Marginallia log

One of the great joys of working on a search engine is that you get to reverse engineer SEO spam, and overall study how it evolves over time. I’ve been noticing the search engine spam strategy of adding ‘reddit’ to page titles for a few years now, but it feels like it’s been growing a lot recently. I don’t think it’s actually working, but it’s so cute that they are trying.

https://www.marginalia.nu/log/a_100_reddit_spam/ Save to Pocket

One Voice

date: 2024-02-06, from: Dan Rather’s Steady

This morning, a federal appeals court issued a per curiam decision rejecting Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution for crimes he allegedly committed trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Described as speaking “with one voice,” the

https://steady.substack.com/p/one-voice Save to Pocket

Ford’s Developing A Cheap EV Platform To Fend Off Tesla And Chinese EVs

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

A small “skunkworks” team within Ford has been working on a low-cost EV platform for two years, Ford CEO Jim Farley said on Tuesday.

https://insideevs.com/news/707658/ford-cheap-ev-platform-farley/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-06, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

The genocide continues unabated and with a juicy 17.5 billion dollars of my tax dollars with no strings attached.

And they managed to kill 10,000 children with just a fifth of the budget.

Those additional funds are a welcome addition by Israel to blow up innocent children, their hostages, women, men and a dozen Hamas operatives.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111887221005065277 Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Stop Wearing Vision Pro Goggles While Driving Your Tesla, U.S. Says.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/technology/personaltech/apple-vision-pro-tesla.html Save to Pocket

Twitter spinout Bluesky ends invite-only phase and opens its doors to all comers

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Dorsey-backed federated social media alternative promises custom feed algos, and more

There’s no need to fret if you lost your invite code to decentralized Twitter spinoff Bluesky – the service has thrown open its doors to all comers.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/bluesky_social_media_opens/ Save to Pocket

Quail Motorcycle Gathering 2024 Date And Details Are Here

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

This year’s themes celebrate the Suzuki Hayabusa, Ducati 916, AMA, and Vespa.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707660/quail-motorcycle-gathering-2024-details/ Save to Pocket

gathio - A quick and easy way to make and share events which respects your privacy

date: 2024-02-06, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://gath.io Save to Pocket

@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)

Am writing again after a few days’ break (my first “few days’ break” since late December, so this is progress!). Still somewhat sleep-deprived and I hit a point with this scene where I’m like, “Man, where is this even going again?” Scrolled up to the scene synopsis and came to the painful realisation that it’s not up to date because it would be a duplicate of the scene, like, six scenes ago. So now I have to work out where the scene is going… 😒

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/where-is-this-scene-going.html Save to Pocket

The 2025 Porsche Taycan Gets Major Upgrades In Range, Performance And Charging

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

The Taycan Turbo S is now the quickest production car Porsche has ever sold, but charging and range may be the real wins here.

https://insideevs.com/news/707643/2025-porsche-taycan-specs/ Save to Pocket

The BMW i5 Touring Is The Electric Wagon You Want But Can’t Have

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

Unless you’re in Europe, of course. There’s also a plug-in hybrid version of the German wagon that’s a solid “nein” in the U.S.

https://insideevs.com/news/707102/bmw-i5-touring-electric-wagon-forbidden-fruit/ Save to Pocket

In a ‘monumental shift’, EU coal and gas collapse as wind and solar ascend

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Europe’s coal electricity generation tanked by 26% and gas by 15% in 2023, according to a new report from energy think tank Ember.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/eu-coal-and-gas-collapse-wind-and-solar-ascend/ Save to Pocket

Republicans Are Doing Ideological Loop-the-Loops Over LNG

date: 2024-02-06, from: Heatmap News

On Tuesday, North Dakota Republican Kelly Armstrong insisted Congress needs to put actual muscle behind all its talk of environmental justice. Freedom Caucus member Debbie Lesko of Arizona made an argument for reducing worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. South Carolina’s Jeff Duncan, who has repeatedly voted against economic assistance for Ukraine, made the case that the United States is all that stands between Kyiv and Putin.

Confused? Dizzy? Disoriented? I can hardly blame you.

This, unfortunately, is all part of the Republican Party’s fossil fuel defense strategy. In the first of two hearings on the Hill this week concerning the White House’s pause on approving new permits for facilities to export liquified natural gas, Americans got a good preview, but you can plan to see a lot more of it.

In addition to the hearings, the party will also reportedly convene an “energy week” later this month to promote the “Unlocking Domestic LNG Potential Act,” which aims to stop the Department of Energy’s “interference” in approving LNG exports and put such decisions in the hands of the more conservative-friendly Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Earlier attempts to do the same have so far failed to make it through the Democrat-controlled Senate). The gameplan appears to be straight out of The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook for a Republican presidential victory this November.

In practice, the strategy looked a lot like Republicans on the House Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee raising traditionally liberal talking points to undermine the Biden administration’s order. By their topsy-turvy logic, the administration should not pause approving new export terminals because natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, and thus our best bet for fighting climate change — an argument that is still under considerable debate in the scientific community, and coming from these folks is especially weird. It’s not every day you hear a Republican witness praise “the world’s call for cleaner energy,” as Toby Rice, the CEO of the largest U.S. natural gas producer, EQT Corp., did on Tuesday.

House Republicans kept up their Opposite Day bit by:

• Insisting Biden take into account the “environmental justice” of low-income Americans whose electricity could be affected by a hypothetical end to natural gas production — something that, to be clear, is not currently on the table. They also cited the human rights of miners in the Congo and China who toil for the minerals used in renewable energy production. While that is a concern for sure, it was hard not to feel the cynicism of the argument when Americans near LNG export terminals suffer greatly, too.


• Making the case that un-pausing LNG permitting is critical to America’s continued support of European allies in the face of Russian aggression — even when many of them have voted to block Ukrainian aid and will even do so again later today.


• Eric Cormier, a Republican witness and the senior vice president of entrepreneurship and strategic initiatives at the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, claimed investment in the export terminals is necessary because coastal Louisiana needs to rebuild from its repeated hurricanes and floods — apparently missing the irony of making such an argument in a warming world. He also dismissed the pollution caused by LNG, claiming the export terminals are not built near significant population centers, and in doing so confirmed the fears of frontline residents who say their health and livelihoods have been intentionally sacrificed for the sake of industry.


• Rice, the natural gas CEO, also claimed that the Biden administration’s LNG pause is part of an activist “playbook” of delaying and introducing uncertainty, even when delay and doubt are literally out of the fossil fuel playbook against climate change action.

Needless to say, the whole charade could make you start to feel a bit loopy, and that was even before an argument broke out over the meaning of the words “pause” versus “ban.” Republicans repeatedly used the B-word to refer to the LNG permitting pause, though Republican witness Brigham McCown, the director of the Hudson Institute’s American Energy Security Initiative, put his foot in his mouth when he claimed, “This is a ban, and I don’t think we’re going to see the pause end until after the presidential election.”

Democrats and their lone witness, lawyer Gillian Gianetti of the Natural Resources Defense Council, put on a good (if weary) face pushing back on Republicans. “The repeated references to this action as a ban, as a fan of The Princess Bride, makes me think of Inigo Montoya,” Gianetti quipped at one point: “They keep saying the word ban, but I don’t think they know what it means.”

But ranking member Diana DeGette of Colorado perhaps encapsulated the hearing best in her opening round of questioning. “I can’t help sitting here thinking that the silly season has begun,” she told her colleagues.

She’s not wrong, either. Silly season is just getting started.

https://heatmap.news/sparks/house-lng-hearing-ukraine-emissions Save to Pocket

America’s broadband bill subsidy runs out of money and halts enrollments

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Program that gets the hard-up online needs money by May

The US Federal Communications Commission will not accept new signups by folks for its subsidized internet broadband program after Thursday, as it’s running out of money to fund the initiative.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/fcc_acp_funding_shortfall/ Save to Pocket

Mozilla adds paid-for data-deletion tier to Monitor, its privacy-breach radar

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Firefox maker promises to lean on personal info brokers to scrub records

Mozilla on Tuesday expanded its free privacy-monitoring service with a paid-for tier called Mozilla Monitor Plus that will try to get data brokers to delete their copies of subscribers’ personal information.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/mozilla_monitor_data/ Save to Pocket

Ford beats Q4 earnings estimates despite EV pullback, hybrid shift

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Ford reported its fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday after the market, beating Q4 revenue and profit estimates. The automaker expects the momentum to continue in 2024 despite pulling back EV investments.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/ford-beats-q4-earnings-ev-pullback-hybrid/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Andrew Hickey says Spotify and podcasts don't mix well. I totally agree.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/quick-note-re-97981173 Save to Pocket

EU right to repair: sellers will be liable for a year after products are fixed

date: 2024-02-06, from: OS News

Europe’s right-to-repair rules will force vendors to stand by their products an extra 12 months after a repair is made, according to the terms of a new political agreement. Consumers will have a choice between repair and replacement of defective products during a liability period that sellers will be required to offer. The liability period is slated to be a minimum of two years before any extensions. The rules require spare parts to be available at reasonable prices, and product makers will be prohibited from using “contractual, hardware or software related barriers to repair, such as impeding the use of second-hand, compatible and 3D-printed spare parts by independent repairers,” the Commission said. ↫ Jon Brodkin at Ars Technica An excellent set of rules, and once again puts the EU at the forefront of consumer protection. Maybe some of it will trickle down to other places in the world.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138530/eu-right-to-repair-sellers-will-be-liable-for-a-year-after-products-are-fixed/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

This is the first pitch I’ve heard for the Apple goggles that actually makes me want to buy a pair. If there were an Apple Store nearby I probably would have already gotten it.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/06.html#a212013 Save to Pocket

Browsers are weird right now

date: 2024-02-06, from: OS News

I love this quick to-the-point summary of most of the popular browsers out there right now. I’m a Firefox user, of course, since it’s the best choice between Chrome (I’d rather choose death), Safari (not cross-platform so utterly pointless), the various Chrome skins, and Firefox (the one independent browser). Still, I’m continuously worried about Firefox’ future – specifically on platforms other than Windows or macOS – and strongly believe we need more true alternatives for a healthier browser ecosystem.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138528/browsers-are-weird-right-now/ Save to Pocket

Pluralistic: Apple to EU: “Go fuck yourself” (06 Feb 2024)

date: 2024-02-06, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog

Today’s links Apple to EU: “Go fuck yourself”: The dictionary definition of malicious compliance. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Apple to EU: “Go fuck yourself” (permalink) There’s a strain of anti-anti-monopolist that insists that they’re not pro-monopoly – they’re just realists who understand that global gigacorporations are too big to fail, too big to jail, and that governments can’t hope to rein them in. Trying to regulate a tech giant, they say, is like trying to regulate the weather. This ploy is cousins with Jay Rosen’s idea of “savvying,” defined as: “dismissing valid questions with the insider’s, ‘and this surprises you?’” https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/344825874362810369?lang=en In both cases, an apologist for corruption masquerades as a pragmatist who understands the ways of the world, unlike you, a pathetic dreamer who foolishly hopes for a better world. In both cases, the apologist provides cover for corruption, painting it as an inevitability, not a choice. “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.” The reason this foolish nonsense flies is that we are living in an age of rampant corruption and utter impunity. Companies really do get away with both literal and figurative murder. Governments really do ignore horrible crimes by the rich and powerful, and fumble what rare, few enforcement efforts they assay. Take the GDPR, Europe’s landmark privacy law. The GDPR establishes strict limitations of data-collection and processing, and provides for brutal penalties for companies that violate its rules. The immediate impact of the GDPR was a mass-extinction event for Europe’s data-brokerages and surveillance advertising companies, all of which were in obvious violation of the GDPR’s rules. But there was a curious pattern to GDPR enforcement: while smaller, EU-based companies were swiftly shuttered by its provisions, the US-based giants that conduct the most brazen, wide-ranging, illegal surveillance escaped unscathed for years and years, continuing to spy on Europeans. One (erroneous) way to look at this is as a “compliance moat” story. In that story, GDPR requires a bunch of expensive systems that only gigantic companies like Facebook and Google can afford. These compliance costs are a “capital moat” – a way to exclude smaller companies from functioning in the market. Thus, the GDPR acted as an anticompetitive wrecking ball, clearing the field for the largest companies, who get to operate without having to contend with smaller companies nipping at their heels: https://www.techdirt.com/2019/06/27/another-report-shows-gdpr-benefited-google-facebook-hurt-everyone-else/ This is wrong. Oh, compliance moats are definitely real – think of the calls for AI companies to license their training data. AI companies can easily do this – they’ll just buy training data from giant media companies – the very same companies that hope to use models to replace creative workers with algorithms. Create a new copyright over training data won’t eliminate AI – it’ll just confine AI to the largest, best capitalized companies, who will gladly provide tools to corporations hoping to fire their workforces: https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids But just because some regulations can be compliance moats, that doesn’t mean that all regulations are compliance moats. And just because some regulations are vigorously applied to small companies while leaving larger firms unscathed, it doesn’t follow that the regulation in question is a compliance moat. A harder look at what happened with the GDPR reveals a completely different dynamic at work. The reason the GDPR vaporized small surveillance companies and left the big companies untouched had nothing to do with compliance costs. The Big Tech companies don’t comply with the GDPR – they just get away with violating the GDPR. How do they get away with it? They fly Irish flags of convenience. Decades ago, Ireland started dabbling with offering tax-havens to the wealthy and mobile – they invented the duty-free store: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty-free_shop#1947%E2%80%931990:_duty_free_establishment Capturing pennies from the wealthy by helping them avoid fortunes they owed in taxes elsewhere was terribly seductive. In the years that followed, Ireland began aggressively courting the wealthy on an industrial scale, offering corporations the chance to duck their obligations to their host countries by flying an Irish flag of convenience. There are other countries who’ve tried this gambit – the “treasure islands” of the Caribbean, the English channel, and elsewhere – but Ireland is part of the EU. In the global competition to help the rich to get richer, Ireland had a killer advantage: access to the EU, the common market, and 500m affluent potential customers. The Caymans can hide your money for you, and there’s a few super-luxe stores and art-galleries in George Town where you can spend it, but it’s no Champs Elysees or Ku-Damm. But when you’re competing with other countries for the pennies of trillion-dollar tax-dodgers, any wins can be turned into a loss in an instant. After all, any corporation that is footloose enough to establish a Potemkin Headquarters in Dublin and fly the trídhathach can easily up sticks and open another Big Store HQ in some other haven that offers it a sweeter deal. This has created a global race to the bottom among tax-havens to also serve as regulatory havens – and there’s a made-in-the-EU version that sees Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and sometimes the Netherlands competing to see who can offer the most impunity for the worst crimes to the most awful corporations in the world. And that’s why Google and Facebook haven’t been extinguished by the GDPR while their rivals were. It’s not compliance moats – it’s impunity. Once a corporation attains a certain scale, it has the excess capital to spend on phony relocations that let it hop from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, chasing the loosest slots on the strip. Ireland is a made town, where the cops are all on the take, and two thirds of the data commissioner’s rulings are eventually overturned by the federal court: https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/iccl-2023-gdpr-report/ This is a problem among many federations, not just the EU. The US has its onshore-offshore tax- and regulation-havens (Delaware, South Dakota, Texas, etc), and so does Canada (Alberta), and some Swiss cantons are, frankly, batshit: https://lenews.ch/2017/11/25/swiss-fact-some-swiss-women-had-to-wait-until-1991-to-vote/ None of this is to condemn federations outright. Federations are (potentially) good! But federalism has a vulnerability: the autonomy of the federated states means that they can be played against each other by national or transnational entities, like corporations. This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to regulate powerful entities within a federation – but it means that federal regulation needs to account for the risk of jurisdiction-shopping. Enter the Digital Markets Act, a new Big Tech specific law that, among other things, bans monopoly app stores and payment processing, through which companies like Apple and Google have levied a 30% tax on the entire app market, while arrogating to themselves the right to decide which software their customers may run on their own devices: https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/07/curatorial-vig/#app-tax Apple has responded to this regulation with a gesture of contempt so naked and broad that it beggars belief. As Proton describes, Apple’s DMA plan is the very definition of malicious compliance: https://proton.me/blog/apple-dma-compliance-plan-trap Recall that the DMA is intended to curtail monopoly software distribution through app stores and mobile platforms’ insistence on using their payment processors, whose fees are sky-high. The law is intended to extinguish developer agreements that ban software creators from informing customers that they can get a better deal by initiating payments elsewhere, or by getting a service through the web instead of via an app. In response, Apple, has instituted a junk fee it calls the “Core Technology Fee”: EUR0.50/install for every installation over 1m. As Proton writes, as apps grow more popular, using third-party payment systems will grow less attractive. Apple has offered discounts on its eye-watering payment processing fees to a mere 20% for the first payment and 13% for renewals. Compare this with the normal – and far, far too high – payment processing fees the rest of the industry charges, which run 2-5%. On top of all this, Apple has lied about these new discounted rates, hiding a 3% “processing” fee in its headline figures. As Proton explains, paying 17% fees and EUR0.50 for each subscriber’s renewal makes most software businesses into money-losers. The only way to keep them afloat is to use Apple’s old, default payment system. That choice is made more attractive by Apple’s inclusion of a “scare screen” that warns you that demons will rend your soul for all eternity if you try to use an alternative payment scheme. Apple defends this scare screen by saying that it will protect users from the intrinsic unreliability of third-party processors, but as Proton points out, there are plenty of giant corporations who get to use their own payment processors with their iOS apps, because Apple decided they were too big to fuck with. Somehow, Apple can let its customers spend money with Uber, McDonald’s, Airbnb, Doordash and Amazon without terrorizing them about existential security risks – but not mom-and-pop software vendors or publishers who don’t want to hand 30% of their income over to a three-trillion-dollar company. Apple has also reserved the right to cancel any alternative app store and nuke it from Apple customers’ devices without warning, reason or liability. Those app stores also have to post a one-million euro line of credit in order to be considered for iOS. Given these terms, it’s obvious that no one is going to offer a third-party app store for iOS and if they did, no one would list their apps in it. The fuckery goes on and on. If an app developer opts into third-party payments, they can’t use Apple’s payment processing too – so any users who are scared off by the scare screen have no way to pay the app’s creators. And once an app creator opts into third party payments, they can never go back – the decision is permanent. Apple also reserves the right to change all of these policies later, for the worse (“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further” -D. Vader). They have warned developers that they might change the API for reporting external sales and revoke developers’ right to use alternative app stores at its discretion, with no penalties if that screws the developer. Apple’s contempt extends beyond app marketplaces. The DMA also obliges Apple to open its platform to third party browsers and browser engines. Every browser on iOS is actually just Safari wrapped in a cosmetic skin, because Apple bans third-party browser-engines: https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax But, as Mozilla puts it, Apple’s plan for this is “as painful as possible”: https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/26/24052067/mozilla-apple-ios-browser-rules-firefox For one thing, Apple will only allow European customers to run alternative browser engines. That means that Firefox will have to “build and maintain two separate browser implementations — a burden Apple themselves will not have to bear.” (One wonders how Apple will treat Americans living in the EU, whose Apple accounts still have US billing addresses – these people will still be entitled to the browser choice that Apple is grudgingly extending to Europeans.) All of this sends a strong signal that Apple is planning to run the same playbook with the DMA that Google and Facebook used on the GDPR: ignore the law, use lawyerly bullshit to chaff regulators, and hope that European federalism has sufficiently deep cracks that it can hide in them when the enforcers come to call. But Apple is about to get a nasty shock. For one thing, the DMA allows wronged parties to start their search for justice in the European federal court system – bypassing the Irish regulators and courts. For another, there is a global movement to check corporate power, and because the tech companies do the same kinds of fuckery in every territory, regulators are able to collaborate across borders to take them down. Take Apple’s app store monopoly. The best reference on this is the report published by the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s Digital Markets Unit: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63f61bc0d3bf7f62e8c34a02/Mobile_Ecosystems_Final_Report_amended_2.pdf The devastating case that the DMU report was key to crafting the DMA – but it also inspired a US law aimed at forcing app markets open: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2710 And a Japanese enforcement action: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-to-crack-down-on-Apple-and-Google-app-store-monopolies And action in South Korea: https://www.reuters.com/technology/skorea-considers-505-mln-fine-against-google-apple-over-app-market-practices-2023-10-06/ These enforcers gather for annual meetings – I spoke at one in London, convened by the Competition and Markets Authority – where they compare notes, form coalitions, and plan strategy: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077 This is where the savvying breaks down. Yes, Apple is big enough to run circles around Japan, or South Korea, or the UK. But when those countries join forces with the EU, the USA and other countries that are fed up to the eyeballs with Apple’s bullshit, the company is in serious danger. It’s true that Apple has convinced a bunch of its customers that buying a phone from a multi-trillion-dollar corporation makes you a member of an oppressed religious minority: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones Some of those self-avowed members of the “Cult of Mac” are willing to take the company’s pronouncements at face value and will dutifully repeat Apple’s claims to be “protecting” its customers. But even that credulity has its breaking point – Apple can only poison the well so many times before people stop drinking from it. Remember when the company announced a miraculous reversal to its war on right to repair, later revealed to be a bald-faced lie? https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently Or when Apple claimed to be protecting phone users’ privacy, which was also a lie? https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar The savvy will see Apple lying (again) and say, “this surprises you?” No, it doesn’t surprise me, but it pisses me off – and I’m not the only one, and Apple’s insulting lies are getting less effective by the day. (Image: Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil from Brazil, CC BY 2.0; Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0; modified) Hey look at this (permalink) Today in SuperMax Clubbing https://www.jwz.org/blog/2024/02/today-in-supermax-clubbing/ The Dirty Business of Clean Blood https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-dirty-business-of-clean-blood Antisocial Innovation https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4520979 This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Virus writers profiled https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/magazine/the-virus-underground.html #20yrsago Open WiFi ethics https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-2-8-04-the-ethicist-wi-fi-fairness.html #15yrsago Neil Gaiman on the humble button https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQC0QVXa33o #10yrsago Verizon support rep admits anti-Netflix throttling https://web.archive.org/web/20140205145403/https://davesblog.com/blog/2014/02/05/verizon-using-recent-net-neutrality-victory-to-wage-war-against-netflix/ #10yrsago Seattle cop fired for harassing photographer https://www.thestranger.com/blogs/2014/02/03/18816445/sheriff-fires-cop-who-threatened-to-arrest-me-for-taking-photos-of-cops #10yrsago Parents of Buddhist student sue “Bible Belt” Louisiana school over forced prayer, religious discrimination https://action.aclu.org/petition/end_discrimination_negreet_high #5yrsago Juul’s strategy for success: target children, steadily ramp up nicotine levels https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/6/623 #5yrsago Swedes are entitled to six months’ leave to start a business, look after a sick relative, or study https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190206-swedens-surprising-rule-for-time-off #5yrsago Leak reveals that hundreds of bounty hunters have had access to super-fine-grained mobile location data for years https://www.vice.com/en/article/43z3dn/hundreds-bounty-hunters-att-tmobile-sprint-customer-location-data-years #1yrago The Collective Intelligence Institute https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/07/full-stack-luddites/#subsidiarity Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/), Slashdot (https://slashdot.org/). 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: My Marshall McLuhan Lecture on enshittification from Berlin’s transmediale conference https://craphound.com/news/2024/02/05/my-marshall-mcluhan-lecture-on-enshittification-from-berlins-transmediale-conference/ Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Weller Book Works (Salt Lake City), Feb 21 https://www.wellerbookworks.com/event/store-cory-doctorow-feb-21-630-pm The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow Tucson Festival of Books, Mar 9/10 https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=676 Enshittification: How the Internet Went Bad and How to Get it Back (virtual), Mar 26 https://libcal.library.ubc.ca/event/3781006 Media Ecology Association keynote, Jun 6-9 (Amherst, NY) https://media-ecology.org/convention Recent appearances: Enshittification: The Rise and Fall of Big Tech (Crash Course Economics) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7AxrFQ7jIM Generation of Lost Causes with Vass Bednar (Toronto Public Library) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rGj5VaJSDQ Low-Key Clippy (This Week In Tech) https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/963 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/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/ Save to Pocket

2024 Indian Roadmaster Elite Is Here To Paint The Town Red

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

This limited-edition model marks Indian’s first use of that iconic shade of red since the brand’s revival.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707653/indian-roadmaster-elite-2024-edition/ Save to Pocket

Toyota Steps Up Investment For Three-Row Electric SUV Built In Kentucky

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

The plant gets another $1.3 billion and a new battery assembly line.

https://insideevs.com/news/707647/toyota-boosts-investment-kentucky-plant-for-bevs/ Save to Pocket

AYANEO Pocket S handheld Game Console has a 1440p display, Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 processor, and up to 16GB of RAM

date: 2024-02-06, from: Liliputing

The AYANEO Pocket S is a handheld game console powered with a 6 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel IPS LCD touchscreen display, built-in game controllers, and support for up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. What sets it apart from most AYANEO handhelds is that instead of an AMD processor, the AYANEO Pocket S […]

The post AYANEO Pocket S handheld Game Console has a 1440p display, Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 processor, and up to 16GB of RAM appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/ayaneo-pocket-s-handheld-game-console-has-a-1440p-display-snapdragon-g3x-gen-2-processor-and-up-to-16gb-of-ram/ Save to Pocket

Police Find Ancient Teenager’s Body, Preserved in Irish Bog for 2,500 Years

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Nicknamed the “Bellaghy Boy,” he was likely between 13 and 17 when he died around 500 B.C.E.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-bog-in-northern-ireland-preserved-this-teenagers-body-for-2500-years-180983734/ Save to Pocket

Build Distribution for Maintaining the Famous GCC 4.7

date: 2024-02-06, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-2690-build-distribution-for-maintaining-the-famous-gcc-4-7/ Save to Pocket

BYD is launching newly developed smart driving ADAS tech next month

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Chinese EV leader BYD is launching its new in-house smart driving tech next month. According to local reports, the advanced ADAS feature will roll out by the end of March.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/byd-launching-smart-driving-tech/ Save to Pocket

Bluesky is opening up to the public this week. Hot take: I…

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043927-bluesky-is-opening-up-to Save to Pocket

Transcript: The Messy Truth of America’s Natural Gas Exports

date: 2024-02-06, from: Heatmap News

This is a transcript of episode one of Shift Key: The Messy Truth About America’s Natural Gas Exports.

Robinson Meyer: Hi. I’m Rob Meyer, I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News. And you are listening to the first episode of Shift Key, a new podcast about climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels from Heatmap. My cohost, Jesse Jenkins will join us in a second and we’ll get on with the show, but first, a word from our sponsor.

[AD BREAK]

Meyer: Hello. I’m Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.

Jesse Jenkins: And I’m Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems professor and climate policy expert at Princeton University.

Meyer: And you are listening to the first episode of Shift Key, a new podcast about climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels from Jesse and me, brought to you by Heatmap News. On today’s episode, we are going to talk about the President’s decision last month to pause approvals for new export terminals for liquefied natural gas. I think it’s been the biggest climate story of the past few weeks. It, as you have already heard, is quite complicated. We’re also going to talk about our upshifts and downshifts for the week. So let’s get into it!

Last month, Jesse, the Biden administration temporarily stopped approving new liquefied natural gas export terminals. They said this was going to allow the energy department to study the effects they would have on the climate, that exporting liquefied natural gas would have on the climate, and it was basically taken kind of immediately as a victory for climate activists. The President said in a statement that, “During this period we will take a hard look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment. This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time.”

You have written about, or you’ve tweeted about, this pause. I have written a little about it. I think it’s kind of worth flagging that there is something weird about this whole policy discussion. The announcement is that the President has decided to pause new approvals from the energy department of new export terminals of liquefied natural gas. It is not clear what terminals exactly we’re talking about. Because there are some terminals that are already operating, there are some that are under construction—those have already been approved, those aren’t affected by this announcement at all. And then there’s like, some number of terminals in the pipeline. What’s even at the heart of this discussion? What did the President actually do, Jesse, and what terminals are we actually talking about? Because I think there’s tons of numbers floating around about the effect that this pause will have or not have—what is the scale of even the export infrastructure that we’re talking about?

Jenkins: Yeah so it’s important to get our heads around the scale of LNG, or liquefied natural gas exports already, which have really surged in just a few years’ time to a pretty significant scale. So already, existing export terminals in the U.S. can export about, or can consume about, 10% of all U.S. natural gas production, as of 2023. So that’s a big chunk. One tenth of all the gas that we’ve produced in the country can be shipped out of these existing export terminals. That’s up from zero as recently as 2016. So this is all very recent construction. And already under construction are another set of terminals that have their permits approved, are unaffected by this recent decision by the President. Those would basically double our current export capacity. They would be able to consume about 11% more of 2023 gas production. And then beyond those ones which already have their financing lined up and are under construction, there’s a bunch of additional terminals that have already been approved as well, but haven’t quite lined up the financing and long-term offtake or buyer agreements they need to turn a shovel and get started. Those, if all completed, and there’s no guarantee that they would finish, but if all completed, that would almost be equivalent to total U.S. current exports again, so another 9% of all U.S. gas production.

So, what we’re talking about here is the next tranche of terminals that are seeking approval now, but haven’t lined up their permits from both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy. They are charged by Congress both with determining the environmental impact and also whether these terminals are in the public interest. Any exports of natural gas have to be approved as “in the public interest.” We’ll come back a bit later to how exactly we think about that term. So what this pause is doing is basically saying, “Hey, we’ve added a ton of terminals very quickly. We’ve got a lot more in the pipeline, coming up soon. And we have yet more terminals asking for approval. Maybe we should pause and rethink whether or not that scale of export is in the public interest.” And the biggest terminal that is at sort of the heart of this debate right now is—I’m going to reveal my lack of Louisiana French here—but, Calcasieu Pass or CP2. So this is the second and very large expansion of an existing terminal in Louisiana on the Gulf Coast near the Texas border. So this is a big terminal that already exists. The new one would be, I think the largest yet. It’s about a 10 billion dollar project. And it itself, that single facility, could consume about 3% of all U.S. gas production today.

Meyer: I think that’s a very important point, just to go back to what you were saying earlier, which is there’s a set of export terminals already operating—today those consume about 10% of U.S. natural gas. We are locked in to roughly double that, to more than double that, without anything related to this decision.

Jenkins: And we could even triple it.

Meyer: And we could even triple it basically if everything that already has approvals is built. And that’s not necessarily likely. When you talk to energy analysts, they’re like, “Projects get approved here that will never actually get built or secure the financing.” But we could triple it. And so to some degree, this whole discussion—maybe this is a very poor way to frame it—but we are talking about an increase in LNG export capacity that is so far down the road. And also, so removed in some ways, from what’s actually concretely going to happen in the economy—like, what is already locked in—that in some ways it just gives perspective to the whole conversation. Because we are not talking about whether there’s going to be more LNG in 2027. The U.S. is going to be exporting a huge amount more—potentially double—the amount of LNG that it’s exporting now in 2027 or in 2030. We are talking about how many additional LNG terminals on top of that that the U.S. builds, which presumably would then be operating for several decades to come, right? Operating through the 2030s, through the 2040s. This is a question almost about where U.S. LNG export capacity is going to top out and not about will we be exporting more gas in 2027 than we are now, because we know that we absolutely will be exporting more gas in 2027.

Jenkins: That’s really important context for this, because if you hear some of the public debate about it, or some of the reaction from the oil industry, or the gas industry or others, they’re trying to pin this as if Biden is saying, “No more LNG. We’re not going to do LNG exports.” As if it were affecting our current exports, or we’re going to cancel projects already under construction. The reality is that that’s not true at all. And I think the way you framed it is good. Really the question isn’t “Are we going to be able to secure our allies in Europe right now during their current effort to shift away from Russian natural gas?” It’s not, “Are we going to be surging exports?” We will. It’s “What do we want the U.S.’s contribution to the global energy supply mix to look like in the 2030s and 2040s, when the facilities that are currently being permitted would be online and operating?” ’Cause they’re going to operate for at least 20 years to pay back their investors, at least that’s what they want to do if they don’t want to become stranded assets.

Meyer: It’s kind of worth backing up here for a second and giving context about just how much has changed in the world of LNG, even in the past decade. Less than a decade ago, in 2016 was when the U.S. started exporting liquefied natural gas. From that moment, from when we started exporting LNG, to now, we have gone from obviously having no LNG export industry, to having the world’s largest LNG export industry—surpassing Australia and Qatar, which were previously the two biggest LNG exporters worldwide. I wonder if you could just talk a second about how did we even get to this place, where the U.S. is not only exporting liquefied natural gas but determining the world’s supply of liquefied natural gas, and where these export decisions and export approval decisions made by the federal government have an incredibly important role in determining just how much LNG there will be worldwide?

Jenkins: Yeah it’s actually really remarkable. The whole story of the U.S. gas industry over the last couple decades has been as transformative as the story around how cheap solar P.V. and batteries have gotten, for example. When I started studying energy topics, first got turned on to these issues in the mid 2000s, I started researching these topics and the context for LNG at that point was that the U.S.’s supply of natural gas had peaked and was declining. And we were net importers of gas, and were discussing permits and approvals for LNG import terminals around the country, including one proposed for Coos Bay, Oregon, where I was going to school at the University of Oregon. One import terminal is built in Everett, outside of Boston. But other than that terminal, what happened instead is that we didn’t build any of those import terminals, and the ones that had started as import terminals, flipped the script and started to become export terminals instead. What changed between 2005 and 2016 was the shale gas revolution. It was just starting to take off around the time when we were talking about imports, that companies like Mitchell Energy had figured out how to use directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing to unlock all of this natural gas that was stuck in tight pores within shale formations all across the country. That transformed us from a net importer to a net exporter of both natural gas and oil over the course of about a decade. So, huge reversal. From the time President Obama was thinking about these terminals in his administration, when we were mostly thinking about imports, by the end of his administration they were approving the first export terminals that then were built under the Trump administration, and here we are now.

Meyer: I think it’s important because, first of all, this is a kind of forgotten chapter of U.S. energy policy—like the 2006 energy bill which still shapes a ton of energy policy in the U.S., most notably because it revamped how fuel mileage standards worked, but a whole idea, a whole animating idea behind that law was that the U.S. was about to run out of natural gas, which it had had in kind of limitless supply for decades before that, and we had to figure out what we going to do about that. But then I think at the same time, there’s this other point that comes out of that too, which is that in this announcement that’s going to pause export terminal approvals, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said that the last study of how LNG affects the climate, of how U.S. LNG exports specifically affect the climate, was conducted in 2018. And 2018 is like 5 years ago now, I guess 6 years ago now, which is long enough that it does make sense to go back and study that. But if you think about it being conducted in 2018, and the industry had only really started in 2016, I think it does actually reveal just how outdated that study may be, and just how much has changed in such a short period of time.

Jenkins: Yeah, it’s almost like maybe we want to pause and take stock of how fast this is moving and think about where we want it to go from here. I think that’s one of the most compelling arguments, to take stock of what’s happened. Because this has been a very rapid change in the U.S.’s role in the global energy supply mix, in the certain geopolitical implications of that, in the implications for the American economy, both on the supply side, the role of gas producers and shippers and the revenues that that brings in. But also just as importantly, the impact on U.S. natural gas prices, and the impact on consumers and industries that depend on natural gas here, which have also been all of a sudden dramatically affected by global markets now, because we’re tied to, in a much bigger way, the impacts of global demand for LNG here in the U.S.

Meyer: Before we move on and talk about what this means broadly, I want to bring up another facet of this discussion, and another facet of this debate. I think the Biden administration decision—one subtext of all of the news about it—is that it caught activists a little bit by surprise. Climate activists had begun campaigning around the LNG export terminal issue, and they had begun lobbying Biden to do it, but he did it very, I think earlier than was expected, and he did it before there was full mobilization around this idea. And that’s quite interesting. I think it’s interesting because it reveals how the Biden administration is thinking about this, and thinking about its relationship with activists. I think it’s interesting because it reveals how eager the administration is to cater to climate activists and to cater to what it sees as interests that particularly motivate young voters. But it also means that some ideas that activists used have just, never went through a cycle of getting talked about or covered. I just want to talk briefly about this idea that I think activists have particularly focused on in campaigning against these terminals, and this is this idea of leakage. The claim that activists have made, and the claim that the left-aligned climate movement has made is that liquified natural gas is not only bad for the climate, it’s actually worse for the climate than coal. When energy experts tend to think about natural gas, they’re like, “Well, it’s bad if it replaces renewables but it’s good if it replaces coal.” And the claim that the climate movement has made is basically, “No no no. It’s actually worse than coal.”

There’s been a lot of citations of this one study by Robert Howarth who is a professor at Cornell. The study has not been peer-reviewed to my knowledge, it has also not been published in a major scientific journal, or in a scientific journal. In fact, the version if you find it online, is basically a PDF. What he claims in the study, which I should say is not what the conventional take on LNG has been, is that if you count up all the leakage, all the places across the natural gas systems—the pipelines, the storage containers, the tankers—if you count all the places where methane leaks out of the system, then natural gas, and especially liquified natural gas, is worse than coal. It’s 30% worse. And if you move LNG across the ocean on particularly old tankers that are very leaky, than natural gas is not only 30% worse than coal, it’s three times worse than coal for the climate. And this set of claims about leakage is interesting because I would say, first of all, it’s a very hard set of claims to reconcile with what the conventional energy accounting is on leakage. But number two, Bill McKibben wrote about it for The New Yorker, it’s kind of permeated the discourse without a lot of interrogation of whether it is true per se. And that isn’t to say that it has to be true for the Biden administration to have made the correct decision here, but it is an extremely important piece of the messaging and the rhetoric around this decision that has not really been interrogated at all yet.

Jenkins: Yeah and there is a wider range of literature on this which Howarth has contributed to over the years in peer-reviewed journals, but is not of course the only one looking at this question and the sort of wider range of literature shows a bit of a different picture. I took a look at the working paper from Howarth. There is a story you can tell if you add it up in a certain way, that there are some shipments of LNG that have very high leakage rates that could be on par with or worse than coal-fired power, that it might displace on the other end. But it is contained to certain circumstances, like you mentioned the really old tankers, that don’t capture the gas that boils off as liquified natural gas is shipped and gets hot enough to start to evaporate, turn back into a gas. We should probably mention, to keep LNG liquid, you have to cool it to minus several hundred degrees in order to keep it in a liquid state and make it dense enough to ship on these tankers. And so that takes a lot of energy, but it also means that some of it boils off, effectively, as it gets above that liquefied point as it ships. Older tankers will vent that to the atmosphere as methane, and methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, particularly on short time horizons. It doesn’t live in the atmosphere as long as CO2, because it’s photodegraded in the atmosphere by sunlight, and breaks down into its constituent parts over time. So the potency of methane relative to CO2 really depends on what time period you’re looking at. So in the scientific literature there’s two shorthands for this that are commonly used. One is the global warming potential over a twenty year period, and the other is the global warming potential over a hundred year period, so GWP20 and GWP100. Basically what that does is tries to integrate the total warming impact that methane emissions or other non-CO2 greenhouse gases have over that time period and then compare it to the amount of impact that a ton of CO2 would have. CO2 is very different from the other greenhouse gases because it’s basically permanent, once it’s up in the atmosphere, it will stay there for centuries, because the processes that pull CO2 out of the atmosphere are very slow. It’s, you know, weathering of rocks on geologic time scales, a little bit of absorption in the oceans each year on net, and so it takes a very long time for CO2 to come out of the atmosphere. For human purposes, it’s effectively permanent.

So if you care a lot about short term impacts, over the next ten or fifteen or twenty years—and you might care a lot about that if you think we’re close to certain irreversible tipping points in the climate system, then you care a lot more about methane than you do about CO2. But if you think that what really matters is the long term total concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, because that’s what’s going to drive long term equilibrium warming impacts—the flip side of methane not lasting very long, is if we cut it, it will very quickly affect temperature. So it’s a much more direct kind of thermostat knob to turn on than CO2. It’s closer to true that methane is a flow problem and CO2 is a stock problem, so it’s about the cumulative amount of CO2, versus about the annual emissions of methane. Say we focus on CO2 now, and then we cut methane in ten to fifteen years, that will have a very immediate impact on warming circa 2050. Whereas if we focus on methane now and let CO2 accumulate, that’ll have a near-term impact, in the 2030s and 40s, but it will potentially lead to greater warming in the long term. So it’s a really complicated picture. Where you come out on the coal versus gas side of things really hinges a lot on whether you’re looking at this near-term impact or this centuries-scale impact. And whether you’re assuming that we are using very old leaky container ships for LNG shipment, or the more modern ones that don’t let all that energy in that methane get wasted, they capture that methane on board, and use it to power the engines and cooling equipment that keeps the LNG liquid throughout the shipment. And Howarth’s paper actually looks at that too, and shows that for modern tankers, the impact is much smaller than for the worst case scenario.

Meyer: This question about the 20-year versus 100-year horizon, this is the actual disagreement at the heart of the Howarth paper. Is this right, that basically everyone knows that these LNG systems are somewhat leaky—it’s that if you’re looking at a 100-year timescale, you care less about those leaks because the methane that leaks out is degraded by the time you get to year 25 or year 50, and that warming potential that the leaked methane contributed is kind of gone. But if you look at a 20-year timescale, you care a lot because of the greater role that leaky methane plays on short timescales. Is that right?

Jenkins: I think that’s one. I think there’s three things that you have to do in order to come up with the numbers that Howarth does. One is, you have to focus on the 20-year potential. Two is, you have to focus on worst-case leakage scenarios rather than more optimistic scenarios or more forward-looking scenarios that reflect the fact that all of these new exports are going to be carried on modern ships that don’t allow that gas to be wasted. They consume it and use it as their fuel instead of diesel. So that has a much more modest emissions impact. And then also that we’re not going to be significantly reducing methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain, which is the current policy of the Biden administration, right? With the methane fee that was established by the Inflation Reduction Act and passed by Congress last session, and methane regulations that were finalized at the EPA under the Biden administration in December, both of which should significantly reduce methane leaks across the U.S. side of that supply chain. So if you look at, say, 2030, when CP2 might be coming online, by that point, if those policies work as intended, U.S. leakage rates should be much lower than they are now, and the modern ships that are built to carry LNG from these new terminals that we’re building now, will avoid those significant shipment-related leakage that gives you the worst case picture.

Those are two big pieces: the 20 year versus 100 year potential, and your pessimism or optimism about leakage. There’s a third piece, which I think we can get into a little bit later, which is what scenarios you assume about what all of that U.S. LNG displaces on the global stage. And if part of that is displacing other people’s natural gas production, which is very likely, then the leakage is very true on both sides of the pond, right? There is leakage in Russia which is actually huge—one of the worst in the world. There’s leakage in other gas producing regions that if we might be displacing, and if you count that on 20-year timescales, it’s also very large. And so the offsetting effect of displacing other production is also quite relevant, and I didn’t see that taken into account in Howarth’s work.

[AD BREAK]

Meyer: Since this news came out, I think there’s been a lot of discussion online that says, you know, about whether this is necessarily the optimal choice. Whether this is necessarily, could we be using that gas to do something else? How should we be managing it? And I just want to make a point before we go on that This is literally what climate policy means. There’s a sense I see from some places, which is like, well, “Is cutting off fossil fuel exports at this very arbitrary place, the optimal policy?” And I just want to make the point that like, number one, we are not on an optimal policy pathway at all. And in the absence of a policy that I think both you and I think is very unlikely to pass, which is a globally normalized carbon price that’s imposed evenly in all jurisdictions and is priced at a level that we can attain the 1.5C or 1.6C, whatever end temperature goal we want to achieve—

Jenkins: Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and say that’s unlikely.

Meyer: Yes, in the absence of a global carbon price that is uniformly enforced across all jurisdictions, we are going to make suboptimal decisions. And not only are we gonna make suboptimal decisions, but we are going to stop investing in fossil fuels below what would be economically optimal if climate change didn’t exist. That’s literally what climate change means. And at the same time, we are going to invest above what would be economically optimal in all of these fossil fuels if you take climate change into account, because that is the signal failure of global climate policy, is that we keep plowing money into fossil fuels and under-investing in alternatives and in scaling up alternatives. We’ve underinvested in those things for at least twenty years. That’s a different show about whether we’re still doing it or how much we’re still doing it. I just want to get into this whole discussion by saying when we talk about whether we’re fiddling knobs in the right way, or enough this way, or enough that way, or whether we’re taking all these things into account, we are never going to do this perfectly. And the whole point of climate change is at some point you just have to stop investing in the fossil fuel system.

Jenkins: Yeah, economists call this the second best policy or third best policy. I just call it “the real world.” We’re all just muddling through all the time and that’s how we’re going to make progress or not is whether we muddled through better or worse. So I agree, it’s theoretically helpful to think about what an economically ideal rationalized policy would be. But we’re so far from that world that I think the question is, “is this better than the alternative decision you could make about this particular thing right here?” And hopefully, that’s the view that the Department of Energy is taking when they think about the public interest here. It’s not like, “Well, could we have had some more ideal climate policy that meant we were doing something else over in this other part of the economy instead of doing this?” That’s an interesting conversation to have on Twitter, but maybe not the core of the question that the DOE and the Biden administration are grappling with right here.

Meyer: Yeah. So I think at the heart of this whole thing, including at the heart of this question of what’s in the public interest, is this question of trade-offs. Because when we export liquefied natural gas in the U.S., we’re making a series of trade-offs about how the U.S. energy system should work, and how American consumers and Americans living among energy infrastructure should interact with that energy system, and we’re also making a series of trade-offs about how the world should power itself, and what kind of fuels the world should use. At the most basic level there’s this question of, you know, if you export liquefied natural gas and countries burn it instead of coal, that’s good. And if you export liquefied natural gas and countries burn it instead of building renewables, that’s bad. That is the most basic calculation here. But it is actually very, very hard to know which of those two paths you’re taking as you continue to increase LNG export capacity across the U.S. and as you export every additional ton of liquefied natural gas.

Jenkins: Yeah that’s right and it’s even more complicated, because what you basically have are similar but counter-acting and opposite effects on both sides of the trade equation. So whatever’s happening abroad in terms of natural gas displacing something there, we’re having the opposite effect here, which is that our natural gas prices go up, and we’re consuming less natural gas, so something is substituting for natural gas here, and is that coal or is that renewables? And it’s sort of the flip-side of the coin. So let’s sort of unpack that. There’s a really useful if simplistic framework for this that you’d learn in a Micro Econ 202 class, which is global trade, or the trade of a fungible good between two different regions—the underpinning of all of the modern economy, one part of the world can produce something cheaper than another part of the world, so it makes sense for the place that has the lower cost of supply to export it to the place with the higher cost of supply. The exporting region wins because it gets to sell more of its product at a higher price, and the importing region wins because it gets to consume more of that product at a lower price than if it tried to produce it domestically. So this is sort of the basic framework for trade, and economists would describe this using these concepts of elasticities of supply and demand, which describes basically what happens when you either change demand to prices, or when you change prices to demand.

The basic concept is: we’re going to be exporting a lot more of our North American natural gas supplies. That effectively acts as a big demand increase in the North American context, in the U.S. Already we’re exporting 10% of all gas production, again it could double or even triple with current permits that are already approved. Alright, so what does economics tell us about what happens when demand increases? Well, if you want to produce more, it’s going to come at a higher price. So if we want to get more supply to meet that demand, prices in North America and the U.S. are going to go up for natural gas to induce some of that new supply. So now, we’re exporting more, but U.S. prices for gas are higher, so what does that do for consumption of natural gas? Well, if prices rise, basic economics will tell us that consumers will want to consume less, all else equal. So we’re going to shift away from natural gas in the U.S. as a response to that higher price.

Meyer: So if we were to build more LNG export terminals domestically, the most likely outcome is we burn less natural gas in the U.S., right?

Jenkins: That’s right. We pay a higher price for gas and therefore we burn less of it here, and so the question is, what substitutes for that demand destruction? Why are we lowering our consumption? And there’s three ingredients to that. One is that we could just use less of it. Our major industries like plastics that consume a lot of natural gas to make ethane and ethaline for plastic—they are just less competitive in the global economy, so they consume less, and that could be one form. The other could be that we switch in the electricity sector where gas is often the marginal supplier and kind of swings back and forth depending on price. We could substitute either coal or renewables in some combination to reduce our use of natural gas in the electricity sector. So some combination of those three things: lower consumption, greater renewable energy supply, and greater coal supply is what’s going to drive down consumption of gas in the U.S. And obviously those three things have very different implications for U.S. emissions. With coal, often having been the direct substitute for gas in electricity markets—and we often see this very direct inverse relationship between gas and coal shares as the gas price goes up or down. So in the near term I would expect, if gas prices go up in the U.S., we would see all else equal, more coal-fired power generation, in the long term maybe more renewables additions, because renewables are also more economically attractive the higher the gas price is. I see that a lot in the long-term modeling we do.

I want to unpack another piece of this which is that because demand for gas declines, the increase in U.S. gas production or supply is not as large as the increase in exports. So that’s important to keep in mind. Say we build this facility, it’s enough to consume 3% of U.S. natural gas supply today—that doesn’t mean that U.S. natural gas supply goes up by 3%, because some of that additional exports is going to come from the reduction in consumption, so freeing up current supply to export. Then some of it, a portion of it, is going to come from increased natural gas production in the U.S. But the sort of ratios there depend on what you assume about how relatively responsive supply and demand are to changes in prices. If you assume they’re equally responsive, then it’s a 50/50 split—basically half of the supply of exports comes from reducing consumption, and half of the new exports comes from increasing supply. Could be some other ratio if you assume, as I think is fair, that supply tends to be more responsive to price than consumers. So that’s interesting because if you care about leakage rates, that’s important. The best case scenario is, the reduction in consumption comes from more renewables, and then the increase in supply is smaller than you thought and therefore has less methane leakage than it would otherwise have if you count it one for one as all new exports are coming from new supply.

So I can easily construct a story here, with very plausible assumptions, where increasing LNG exports in the U.S. is a net increase or decrease in U.S. emissions, depending on which of those scenarios you sort of concoct. And in either case it’s in the order of plus or minus one percentage point of 2005 emissions, if we’re accounting for all of the currently pending permits that could be affected by this decision. So it’s a nontrivial amount, but it’s not huge, so the U.S. picture is ambiguous.

If we look at the rest of the world equation, it’s the exact opposite. We’re going to increase supply in the global stage, so that’s going to lower prices. So how do producers and consumers respond to lower prices? Well, the consumer side is going to increase its consumption, and some of that is going to be new energy consumption that wouldn’t otherwise have been economic—people are just going to consume more energy for industry and heating and overall economic welfare. Some of that is also going to substitute for other energy supply that would’ve been provided. That could be renewables or coal in industry and electricity. And again, whether you think that LNG exports are displacing coal or renewables is a huge factor in the global climate calculus. But those lower prices are also going to disincentivize producers elsewhere in the world, whether it’s in Russia or Algeria or Qatar, to reduce their production of natural gas, too. And the leakage rates that go along with that will also fall—so methane emissions overseas will fall, and that also offsets some of the impact here.

Meyer: In other words, because the U.S. is about to regulate methane emissions, assuming the U.S. does regulate methane emissions—which basically means assuming a Biden administration wins a second term—the U.S. is about to have basically cleaner natural gas than anywhere else.

Jenkins: Anywhere but Qatar and the Middle East.

Meyer: Yeah, and so if the effect of the U.S. exporting some natural gas—exporting more LNG—is that it reduces natural gas extraction in, like, Kazakhstan, which is an extremely leaky system, then that could be good from a leak basis. If what you care about is leaks on a 20-year time frame, you can actually construct a world where the U.S. should export a lot of LNG because we really care about reducing leaks globally.

Jenkins: That’s right, yeah. And so on the global stage, again, I can come up with a story where it’s a net increase or decrease of a few tens of millions of tons of emissions. So it’s just a very ambiguous picture from a climate perspective. It’s not quite as cut and dried as a simple equation would give you.

Meyer: Let me just ask a question right out that I think gets at the discussion we just had, which is that do you think we can say with any confidence that cutting off U.S. LNG exports at a certain point—especially at the point that the Biden administration will have to use at least as a minimum, which is roughly double what our current export capacity is—do you think we can say with any confidence that that is going to increase emissions globally? Or even do you think we can say with any confidence that it’s going to decrease emissions globally? Is there any way to talk confidently about what this will do to greenhouse gas emissions globally as a result?

Jenkins: I think if we look at just the individual facility question, just one incremental increase or decrease in U.S. exports, I don’t think there’s any confidence. I think you can easily say it’s a slight benefit for the global climate, I think you can easily say it’s a slight negative for the global climate, I think my prior is that it’s probably relatively neutral. It’s not very good or very bad. So that’s where I sort of come out, if you’re just thinking about a single facility. But I think the other perspective to keep in mind is, what is the aggregate supply that we’re putting on the global stage mean? And how consistent is that or not consistent with a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and confront climate change? So remember, ostensibly, the world all agreed at the Paris Climate Summit to try to reduce emissions and keep global warming in aggregate to less than 2C and try to target aspirationally 1.5C. If you believe that the world is committed to that goal, then there’s a great paper on this exact question by Shuting Yang, Sara Hastings-Simon, and Arvind Ravikumar, on whether or not we have enough carbon budget effectively left to export the LNG that we’re planning. What they conclude is that in the near-term, pre-2035, there’s probably a reasonable case that LNG, where it substitutes for coal in, say, Pakistan or India or other LNG-importing countries, is a net benefit for the global climate in the very short term.

What they find, and I’ll just quote the abstract here, “We find that the long-term planned LNG expansion is not compatible with Paris climate targets of 1.5C and 2C. Here the potential for emissions reductions from LNG through coal-to-gas switching is limited by—” the fact that, to paraphrase, if we’re going to be on that 2C world, we’ll have already phased out all of the coal or stopped building new coal that could be displaced by LNG in the later half of the 2030s. So at that point, what we’ll be doing as the U.S. is either stranding a bunch of assets, if the world really is serious about that 2C goal, or we’ll be basically committing to lock in more emissions than we can afford under a 2C world.

They also, though, say that we should keep in mind that we are not on track for a 2C world. So while the world is aspirationally pushing in that direction, the current trajectory is more like a 3C trajectory, where it’s likely that emerging economies will be depending on coal through the 2030s and 2040s. And in that case, they argue that U.S. LNG could be thought of as an insurance policy, to make some incremental progress on emissions, and also we should say improve air quality in emerging economies where coal-fired generation and industry is a huge polluter that causes significant loss of life and health effects. Then in that world it sort of maybe is a net benefit. So I come out of it as sort of like, what world do you think we’re living in and where do you think we’re going? Do you act as if we’re in the world that we observe around us right now? Or do you act as if we’re going to move onto the trajectory that we all say—the world has said we care about, a world where we are desperately trying to reduce emissions to a level that holds climate change below 2C.

Meyer: It’s actually kind of an unusual problem to encounter in climate policy, but one that I wonder if we’re going to keep hitting as we get deeper and deeper into the transition. There’s a lot of things that you can do to fight climate change. They are both the things you should do anyway, and insurance against a 3C or 4C world. Insurance against a catastrophically warming world. What is interesting about LNG export, is that it doesn’t have that quality. Like, build a lot more solar. If you’re considering whether we should just build double, triple, quadruple U.S. current solar capacity, the answer is basically always yes. That’s going to both cut off these extreme catastrophic risks that the world experiences with extremely catastrophic levels of global warming, in line with 3C, 4C warming. And also it’s going to get us closer to accomplishing this 1.5C, 1.6C, at an optimal, or the best-we-can-get world, right?

Jenkins: Yup.

Meyer: LNG does not work like that. There’s a very unusual decision we have to make around it, which is: do you aim for the world we want to hit, which is 1.5C, 1.6C, as close to our current level of warming as possible, get to net zero as soon as we can—a world that the U.N., that the Paris agreement, that all the countries globally have committed to and say they want to hit—but a track that at the same time they’re manifestly not on? Or do you want to say, well actually what we want to do is buy insurance against 3C? But it’s a very weird insurance product, because it says like, “well you won’t—”

Jenkins: It’s sort of an admission of failure.

Meyer: Yeah, exactly. It’s almost like you if you were to buy—

Jenkins: A short!

Meyer: Yeah.

Jenkins: You’re shorting the Paris Agreement, effectively. You’re saying I don’t believe that the world is going to get its act together and cut emissions fast enough to comply with our nominal targets, so I’m going to buy a short, which is that we should export more LNG.

Meyer: It’s like if there were a form of life insurance that required you to amputate a couple fingers or maybe, like, a forearm. Or the way this life insurance works is that you can never be rich. So you know your family won’t be destitute after you die, but at the same time, well enjoy living your life, you know you are losing a forearm right?

Jenkins: That’s a grim analogy!

Meyer: It’s a grim analogy but I think it’s such an unusual decision. It’s really not a kind of decision we encounter a lot in other policy spaces.

Jenkins: Yeah, and so I think the question for the U.S. when you’re thinking about what do we do from a climate perspective is, “Do we act in the world over the things that we have influence over?” Right? Which is not what China and India and Pakistan decide to do. Really, we can indirectly influence that. But what we have direct influence over are decisions about U.S. energy production and our economy and U.S. policy. And so the question is, do we use our U.S. policy decisions and the things that we have direct influence over to operate as if the world is going to align itself with our ostensible targets? And with the targets that we’ve set for the country itself, which is to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and to get on track to net zero by 2050?

Or do we say, you know what, we’ll do that for our domestic economy, we’ll make sure that we cut our own emissions. But as far as exports go, that’s not our responsibility, that’s up to the global stage, and what they demand and as long as the world is demanding more gas, or oil or coal from the U.S., we’ll supply it, because that signifies that, you know, they’re making decisions that aren’t consistent with that world, and we might as well supply it instead of somebody else. I think that’s the calculus, right? It’s which world do you operate in? You can easily make the, again, the realist take, which is like, well, what’s the point of giving up our exports, especially if they’re marginally cleaner than other people’s exports, if the demand is still out there, and it’s gonna be just satisfied by Russia or by somebody else?

But it also is an admission that we just don’t believe that the world is going to do what we are committed to doing. I think you have to ask yourself, like, would we have more influence over the rest of the world if we actually acted as if we believed it? And not just over our domestic emissions, but over our exports? This is particularly relevant for countries like Australia. They talk about this all the time, where their domestic emissions are like one tenth of the amount of emissions that go out the door, or on the ships with their coal and LNG exports. So they’re a huge net exporter of energy, you know, and so it’s like, a much more central part of the debate in Australia is like, well, what is their responsibility as a global climate actor? Do they only have to meet their domestic climate goals, or do they also have to take some responsibility for their energy exports? We just really haven’t been having that conversation at the same level in the US. And maybe that’s exactly the point of, you know, forcing this issue right now.

Meyer: There’s another side of that though, which is, let’s say we bet against the world’s ability to hit its own climate targets, we build these export terminals. We are like, “Well, we’re going to try to hit our targets. But if you want to buy gas, that’s fine.” If the world then hits its targets, if the world keeps to its Paris Agreement goals, then we’re the one stuck with the stranded assets!

Jenkins: That’s true!

Meyer: Then suddenly, there’s all these rusty LNG terminals sitting around the Gulf Coast that didn’t need to be built. And that’s a hit to our economy. And so I think there’s like, to some degree, the view where we say, “We’re just going to let the world be the world, and we’re going to do the best we can. But if the world wants to buy our natural gas, then we’re happy to sell it” is actually not the most selfish way of looking at this. Because if you were to fully, because you have to think about whether there’s actually going to be that demand there in order to figure out whether this even makes sense as an investment. Not that I mean, by the way—as a policy question, this isn’t really a question about whether this, these makes sense as an investment, because that’s presumably up to, because the only thing the government has been asked to do is figure out whether they’re in the public interest, that’s more a question about investors. Still, I don’t think we want all this rusty construction that never got used sitting around in the Gulf Coast, because we bet against the world and we bet wrong.

Jenkins: Yeah. I mean, that’s, I think, essentially, the question that the investors have to grapple with. And there’s certainly a bear case and a bull case. This is why a lot of these terminals that have been approved, don’t yet have enough contracted demand to actually get the banks lined up and go start construction. So I think there is really an open question about whether the demand will even be there for these projects. In the end the case that the folks pushing back on the Biden administration would make right now is, “Well, that’s up to the private sector, you shouldn’t be meddling with that, you know, if there’s demand for it, there’s demand for it, let the private sector decide.”

I think that’s somewhat fair, because if we aren’t putting public money behind these projects, the way we do for, say, for clean energy projects that are getting subsidies from the U.S. for construction, then it’s more of a private sector question. On the other hand, at the local level, there is a lot of public support—packages here, there’s basically tax abatements for all of these projects to encourage them to site in Louisiana instead of Texas or Mississippi or whatever. So the states sort of fight over it, and at the local level, one of the things I was really struck by in the reporting that Heatmap put up recently talking to residents near CP2 and these other terminals was, just the level of tax abatements that have been provided for existing terminals mean that they’re paying nothing into the local economies, public coffers. They don’t pay local, local or state taxes. And so the communities that are bearing the toxic and polluting impacts of these facilities in their backyards are not getting any sort of public compensation for that. That is an important question at the local level.

Meyer: I think it’s important to bring in this perspective, too, because this is a whole other argument that exists about the whole other way of even understanding this decision, which is that there’s an entire set of activists who are engaged on this issue who care about the climate, but that is not actually their main argument they make. What they argue is that “These terminals go into our communities, or people from the Gulf Coast. These terminals go into our communities, they’re extremely pollution intensive. They give our kids asthma. Our communities, because of how close they are to fossil fuel extraction, and because of all these different sites, smell like rotten eggs all the time, it smells bad. Cancer rates are very high. We don’t want this infrastructure here. And so it’s not in our public interest to have it.”

And when you factor in the tax abatements that gets even worse, right? I think this is like a whole other argument against these LNG terminals, that they are extremely pollution intensive. And what I should say is, it’s a very bio-diverse area of the country. You know, people don’t think about the Gulf Coast as being bio-diverse, but by the way, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, some of the most biodiverse areas of the continental United States. Setting aside biodiversity, it’s bad to have a big, cancerous, carcinogenic, hyper-polluting, smelly piece of infrastructure next to your town. And that’s a whole other case against these terminals. And that’s been a whole other nexus of how people have argued about them to the Biden administration. I think that’s totally valid.

I think what’s interesting is that that actually suggests another kind of trade-off, right? Because if, and I don’t want to be too academic about this, but like, if a country in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia is deciding whether to burn coal, or to burn imported U.S. liquid natural gas, and we don’t make that liquid natural gas available, so they burn coal instead—that’s like bad for all the people who live around that coal plant. Right? Now they have asthma, now they have heart disease, and they’re interacting, not with natural gas air pollution, which is bad but cleaner than coal. They’re interacting with coal, which produces one of the worst kinds of power-related air pollution that there is and is responsible for early deaths and stunted births and stunted growth and heart disease and lung disease worldwide, and is the main driver of global air pollution problems. I think what’s interesting is like, how do you balance, if you’re the Biden administration, these local concerns in the Gulf Coast, around the local air pollution effects and local water pollution effects of an LNG terminal, with this trade off that maybe that means people around the world have to encounter more coal pollution? Conventional toxic air pollution from coal? Ultimately, I think you say, “Well, look, folks in the Gulf Coast, those are Biden’s constituents, those are Americans. And so we should rank their desire to avoid pollution higher.” I think that lens is one that if we were to bring to other aspects of foreign policy, or even other aspects of climate policy, would be seen and depicted as really noxious ways to understand foreign policy, and a really bad way to think about the world and an unethical way to think about the world. And that’s just like another one of these trade-offs. That’s kind of inherent in where you draw the line that I think is really, really difficult. Very interesting.

Jenkins: Yeah. And it all comes back to this question of the public interest, who is the public that you’re interested in?

Meyer: Right.

Jenkins: And it’s not clear in statute, what that means. So until the Supreme Court overthrows the Chevron Doctrine, which we’ll talk about in another podcast, the current law of the land is that the agencies need to interpret what that means and figure out how to decide what’s in the public interest. So we’ll see what happens. But I think this does raise this big question, right, who is the public that you’re interested in here, if you’re the Biden administration, or the Department of Energy? And you know what we’ve seen here is that there are some pretty clear winners and losers domestically. To sum up, the winners are gas producers and owners of LNG pipelines that shipped to the terminals and the terminals that ship this gas overseas. Those are the winners.

They get more money for their product, they sell more of their product, they make more profit. And, you know, if you’re just looking at sort of the U.S. national accounts, right, our GDP, like that’s on the positive side of the ledger. But of course, we should also keep in mind that there are particular people who benefit from that, right? It’s a particular class and group of people in the U.S. that exclusively benefit basically, from that side of the equation.

On the other side of the equation, and I think at the end of the day, this is the part that the Biden administration will lean into, because it’s the strongest case and the most broadly popular case against the terminals, if they decide to, you know, justify their decision here more aggressively. And that’s that anyone in the U.S., any business or household or industry that consumes natural gas, is going to be paying a higher price if we are going to export more to the world, because that’s a big increase in demand for U.S. supply. And when demand goes up, prices go up. Even more concerning, I think, is that the U.S. will see much more volatile natural gas prices, the more we link our markets to the global stage. We see this in the oil markets all the time, right?

We are a net exporter of oil, we are physically energy secure, right? That long-sought goal of energy independence, we’ve achieved it. If there was a conflict of war that sort of broke out tomorrow, we could meet all of our domestic needs, without any trouble. That said, when a crazy dictator on the other side of the world—thanks Vlad—you know, decides to invade his neighbor right in an unprovoked war, and causes a huge global conflict and disruption of energy supplies, prices at the pump in Princeton, and you know, Des Moines and Denver, that goes up overnight. Because oil is a globally traded fungible commodity. And if demand in Europe spikes, people are willing to pay a huge amount because supply from Russia is disrupted, that’s gonna affect the prices that we have to pay even for the gas and oil that we produce here in the United States. And that has not been the case, historically, right? We’ve been a separate market for gas. While oil has been globally traded, we have been isolated in North America, because gas is so much harder to ship around the world than oil is.

Well with LNG, it’s, you know, it costs more to ship but it becomes easy to ship it as a liquid just like oil. And if we are now you know, going to be shipping something like a third of all of our supply overseas, if there’s a conflict or weather-related disaster that knocks out supply somewhere around the world, or a big increase in demand, you know, because of a cold weather event, or you know, in the case of Japan, after Fukushima, they shut down all their nuclear plants and had a huge increase in demand for LNG overnight, like any of those kinds of global conflicts or crises that are totally out of our control, will immediately increase natural gas prices across the United States. Not by as much as the global price, there’s always going to be a wedge between the two because of shipping costs, but it will drive up prices. And that’s exactly what we saw in 2022, when prices in the U.S. tripled, because of the demand for LNG in Europe and Asia and elsewhere. So that’s the clear loser side, it’s like households trying to heat themselves in the winter, and in a year when there’s some conflict on the other side of the world that drives up their heating prices, they have no control over. And any U.S. industries that depend on cheap gas to be globally competitive, and might lose market share, you know, might have to lay off people, you know, might not contribute as much to our economy on that side of the ledger.

Meyer: And this is not like a minor consideration either, right? Like this is actually a significant piece of macroeconomic policymaking. This would have a major effect on the U.S. macroeconomy, because cheap natural gas and cheap electricity are not like rounding errors on how the current U.S. economy is structured. Over the past decade and a half, they have become major traits of the U.S. economy and major determinants of U.S. global competitiveness. And that’s not to say, by the way, that it should be cheap forever. I think what’s going to happen over time is that we replace that cheap U.S. natural gas as an input into electricity with cheap renewables and cheap zero carbon electricity. But increasing U.S. natural gas costs and increasing U.S. electricity costs is not a minor thing. That is actually a very significant piece of macroeconomic policymaking and would matter quite a bit to a lot of industries that have nothing to do with fossil fuels.

Jenkins: That’s right. And I should say, this was a question that the Obama administration looked at, I think in circa 2016 or 2014, that was looked at under the Trump administration. So they have done these analyses in the past. And the conclusion, which is sort of basic economics is like on net, there are gains from trade here to be had, you know, because we’re going to be selling or producing more gas and selling it at a higher price and earning more profits for gas producers that offsets these other negative impacts.

But I think again, it raises the question of who is the public that you care about? Do you just care about the aggregate GDP? Or do you care about more about certain constituents or industries more than others, right? Do you care that about household costs more than you care about, you know, the profit of LNG companies? Or stockholders and gas producers? That’s just a subjective question, right? There’s no objective answer there. There are winners and losers in every trade decision on both sides of the ledger, right? Both in the importing and exporting countries.

Meyer: And do you care about commodity exports or higher manufacturing exports? There’s a lot here.

Jenkins: Yeah, maybe you might want to pause and think about it. And that’s where I come out after spending a week thinking about it myself. It’s like, yeah, there’s a lot to unpack here. And things are changing rapidly, right? The global geopolitical situation is not at all the same as it was six years ago, or four years ago, the climate situation is not really the same as it was, you know, six years ago or four years ago. And, you know, the U.S. economy is shifting in important ways, too. So maybe you want to pause and think about how far you want to go here. That I think is the best case for the Biden administration’s decision. It’s just like, Whoa, this is moving real fast. Let’s slow down. And think about all of the myriad implications of this decision on consumers, on local populations in Louisiana, on you know, globally competitive businesses and industries that depend on cheap gas and electricity, on our role in the global economy and geopolitics and security as a big exporter of LNG. I mean, these are all relevant pieces of the equation. And there isn’t really a clear cut answer here.

[AD BREAK]

Jenkins: All right, Rob. So what has you excited this week? What is your upshift for the week?

Meyer: I think my upshift for the week is unusually vehicle-related. And it is that the EIA came out with a finding this week that hybrids, plug in hybrids, and battery electric vehicles were 16.3% of new car sales last year. That’s obviously not where we need to be. But it represents significant growth from last year, or rather from 2020, when hybrids, plug in hybrids and battery vehicles were 12.9% of sales. It continues to grow. I think two interesting things is that hybrids and fully electric vehicles are kind of growing at roughly the same rate, battery electric may be catching up. It’s good news for a lot of reasons. I mean, does it reflect that the battery electric market is where we would want it to be? Not necessarily but I think it’s good news because it shows that especially as tailpipe regulations as the EPA prepares to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from light duty vehicles, from light duty cars and trucks, that there’s a lot of potential there to increase the BEV and hybrid share. And especially that consumers are recognizing that well, if they’re not ready to buy an electric vehicle yet they should buy a hybrid, which is something that a lot of consumers I know who bought new cars recently have gone through.

Jenkins: Yeah, I think actually what was surprising there was the hybrid portion of that picture. I think we were all expecting battery electric sales to increase, and you know, the question is how much. I think that it reached about, just pure battery electric vehicles, top 7% of all U.S. sales. But what was surprising is the hybrid share, which was basically flat for the last several years, at around 5% of the market, soared to over 7.5% of the market, over 1.1 million hybrids sold in 2023, about exactly the same amount of total vehicles as battery electric vehicles. So there’s been some reporting that like you know, people are choosing hybrids as EV demand slows, but that’s actually not the case. It’s that instead of just EVs growing, we have EVs growing at a 50% Share, annual increase, and all of a sudden hybrids are back in the game! With the release of a lot of new models that don’t really cost any more than the conventional versions. It almost makes me wonder why we even sell the conventional versions of some of these cars.

But I recently saw that the Hyundai Tucson hybrid cost about $600 more than the equivalent trim of the internal combustion version. And it’s just a better car, like it’s got 50% better fuel economy, it’s faster, it’s got more horsepower. It’s quieter when you’re driving around the city, like why do they even sell the other one? And so that’s sort of why I think we’re seeing hybrid sales go up, it’s just if you’re gonna buy an internal combustion engine car, the better internal combustion engine car, it happens to be a hybrid now, and it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg more. And it pays itself back in just a matter of months in fuel costs.

Meyer: Jesse, what’s your upshift for the week?

Jenkins: So my upshift on a little more personal note, I just began a new teaching semester here at Princeton, and I’m teaching my favorite class, which is the Introduction to the Electricity Sector. We cover engineering, economics and regulation. And it’s a really fun class. This is the fifth year I’ve been teaching it here at Princeton. I helped teach it with my adviser at MIT for several years and kind of adapted it when I got here to Princeton.

And it’s really running nice and smoothly now. The fifth time’s the charm, right? So this year, it’s been fun, it’s running smoothly, we have a big excited class. And what I really love about the class is the mix of students in it, we have about half undergraduates and half graduate students. And you know, maybe half of the students are from engineering disciplines. But it really spans the entire university. We’ve got, you know, engineering students that are interested in the electricity sector, we’ve got policy students from the School of Public and International Affairs, we have science and humanities and economics and political science students. And so it’s just a really interesting mix. And I think it reflects just how inherently interdisciplinary and also inherently important the electricity sector is. You know, I always find it exciting to see students from all these different backgrounds deciding they want to spend this semester with me, learning about electricity regulation, and thermodynamics and microeconomics principles. So it’s gonna be a fun one.

Meyer: Yeah, that’s sweet. What’s your downshift?

Jenkins: So my downshift was news that I read this week, it was broken by the Guardian, that the U.S. oil lobby, the American Petroleum Institute, just took out like an eight figure media buy, to spread the idea that fossil fuels are vital to global energy security—not, you know, coincidental timing around the debates over LNG. So we can expect the airwaves and the paid advertising in the newspaper and everything to just be flooded with ads, making the case that because the world is in crisis, and conflict, and there’s a war in the Middle East, and there’s war in Ukraine, that that makes U.S. oil and gas supplies so much more important for the global security situation. Obviously they’re gonna make the most compelling case they can for their industry, that’s their job. But I think the thing that makes me most angry or frustrated about this, the reason that’s my downshift, is that it ignores the part of the story where the U.S. is totally vulnerable to these conflicts, too.

We talked about that earlier that, you know, when there’s a war, say, Houthis interdite trade through the Suez Canal, and that disrupts all kinds of oil shipments from the Middle East to Europe, like that isn’t just contained in Europe, that spills over and infects the price of the pump, and the cost of heating homes right here in the U.S. immediately. So this idea that, you know, the oil and gas industry is so good for security, it may be true for sort of global geopolitics and like helping our allies overseas. But it doesn’t mean that the U.S. economy is secure by any means. We are totally vulnerable to these conflicts around the world. And we will be until we sever our reliance on globally traded commodities like oil and LNG.

And the only way to do that, of course, is to accelerate the Clean Energy Transition, to accelerate the growth of EVs, and of heat pumps and renewable energy, that are capital investments. Once you make them, you’re no longer dependent on what happens on the other side of the world. And, you know, they’re not running the ad campaign making that point.

Meyer: Well, I’m not going to claim that that’s an upshift. But I do think that this is kind of interesting in the light of the LNG decision, because my understanding is that that campaign was locked in before the LNG decision was even made. And the Biden administration I have to say while it has presided over, of course, the U.S. drilling more oil and natural gas than it ever has before, in not only U.S. history, but the U.S. is drilling more oil and natural gas than any country ever before has.

Jenkins: Yeah, we’re now the Saudi Arabia of oil.

Meyer: Well, without the ability to control it, but yeah. But I think at the same time, what this shows is that, like, the oil industry isn’t gonna give credit for that either. Chevron just this week announced that it was going to expand capacity again this year. And I think that there is this kind of like realpolitik way of looking at this, which is like, “Look, if the oil and gas industry is going to run these giant ad campaigns against Democratic administrations, no matter what Democratic officials actually do, then by all means Democratic administrations should like try to slow the growth of those industries.”

I mean, that’s a very, very, like sociopathic way of looking at it. But like, if there is this very tough question, that’s like, “Should the U.S. do this? Who would it be bad for, who would it be good for, and the primary beneficiaries of such a policy would be the fossil fuel industry itself and not U.S. consumers? Then why should Biden not pause LNG exports, right?”

My downshift for the week, speaking of capital goods, speaking of big investments, was that Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve really made it seem like the Fed isn’t going to cut rates in March, which is actually quite worrying me at this point. Interest rates are at their highest point in more than 20 years. That’s really decreasing investment in renewables and in the kind of big clean electricity and clean energy investments that we need to fight climate change.

Jenkins: It also makes EVs more expensive to lease.

Meyer: Yeah, it’s just bad for the transition all around. I understand the Feds’ desire to make sure that it finishes fighting inflation. But I think inflation has been pretty much under control for the past six months. And I’m worried that although we have this very booming economy right now that like, it’s a little unstable, and keeping rates too high could kill it. And I’m also just worried that we’re not, that a lot of great investments and a lot of great investment that’s already happened from American companies and in technologies and infrastructure that could be built here in the U.S., is not going to happen or companies are going to die because capital is so expensive right now. So, that’s my downshift for the week. Y

Jenkins: You heard it here, folks, Robinson Meyer launching his campaign for Fed Chair. You got my vote.

Meyer: Okay. Well, this has been great. And, Jesse, I’ll see you here next week. And thanks so much! This was fun.

Jenkins: Okay, That’s a wrap.

Meyer: Shift Key is a production of Heatmap News. The podcast was edited by Jillian Goodman, our Editor in Chief is Nico Lauricella, multimedia editing and audio engineering by Jacob Lambert and Nick Woodberry. Our music is by Adam Kromelow. Thanks so much for listening. And see you next week.

https://heatmap.news/transcript-the-messy-truth-of-americas-natural-gas-exports Save to Pocket

Meta to try ‘cutting edge’ AI detection on its platforms - asking people to add labels

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Will apply ‘penalties if they fail to do so’

Meta is building tools to detect, identify, and label AI-generated images shared via its social media platforms. It is also testing large language models to automatically moderate content online.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/meta_ai_label/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Tesla Strikes Deal with Choice Hotels to Install Thousands of EV Chargers.

https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-strikes-deal-with-choice-hotels-to-install-thousands-of-ev-chargers/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-06, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Kevin https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@keelo and Adam have released their VisionOS support for Godot in the immersive world!

Example:

https://github.com/kevinw/GodotVisionExample

Godot Vision Library:

https://github.com/kevinw/GodotVision

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111886350132340378 Save to Pocket

Do We Need a Category 6 Designation for Hurricanes?

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Global warming is leading to more intense storms well above the threshold for Category 5 hurricanes, scientists write in a new paper

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/do-we-need-a-new-category-for-hurricane-winds-180983746/ Save to Pocket

How to Be Ready to Rumble

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

Earthquakes can happen anywhere, at any place and time, so many people in Southern California keep go-bags with safety essentials. California State University, Northridge, has protocols and emergency systems in…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178138/print-editions/print-stories/how-to-be-ready-to-rumble/ Save to Pocket

Spectacular JWST Photos Adorn New USPS Stamps

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/spectacular-jwst-photos-adorn-new-usps-stamps Save to Pocket

Daily Deals (2-06-2024)

date: 2024-02-06, from: Liliputing

Best Buy is running a 24-hour flash sale with discounts on a wide range of products today, including laptops, tablets, and more. One stand-out deal? You can pick up a pair of Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones for $200. That’s not exactly cheap, but it’s one of the lowest prices I’ve seen for these highly rated wireless […]

The post Daily Deals (2-06-2024) appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-2-06-2024/ Save to Pocket

2024-02-03 Wieder im Wallis

date: 2024-02-06, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

2024-02-03 Wieder im Wallis

Hier oben ist der Schnee nicht schlecht. #Pictures

The next day we went running but it was so steep that we rarely did run. It was more of a speed hike. 😅

We went skiing again. The view from Cry d’Er is amazing if you ignore the people, buildings, cables and masts that I conveniently cut off in these pictures.

We went down to the valley floor and walked from Salgesch to Sierre (and ate Raclette, there).

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-03-wallis Save to Pocket

Polestar Is Discounting Its Cars By Up To $7,500. Is It Enough?

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

Interestingly, the Polestar 2 Single Motor and Dual Motor now retail for the same price.

https://insideevs.com/news/707434/polestar-2-discount/ Save to Pocket

I Was Wrong About Plug-in Hybrids

date: 2024-02-06, from: Heatmap News

When my sister’s long-lived Scion met a sudden, destructive end last month, she was ready to take the leap into electric. She tried one plug-in hybrid she could find in Topeka, Kansas — an old Chevy Volt — before rejecting it in favor of a gently used Nissan Leaf.

Across town, my parents had been car-shopping, too. And while they thought about a plug-in hybrid as a way to dip their toes into electrification, they found only one on the nearby lots — a used car the dealer tried to sell above MSRP because, well, they could. Mom and dad wound up with a traditional hybrid Hyundai crossover instead.

Such struggles are no surprise. The PHEV has become an uncommon sight as most automakers have introduced fully electrified vehicles and, increasingly, left the plug-in hybrid behind. However, as full EVs have run into headwinds, the PHEV might be due for a comeback. Five years after giving up on plug-in hybrids to go all-electric, General Motors now says it will start making them again.

This is good news for a country that, frankly, needs a starter EV.

I admit it: Five years ago, when GM ditched hybrids to go fully electric, I was glad. Yes, the Chevy Volt had shifted lots of people to electrified driving. But the plug-in hybrid is a paragon of “jack of all trades, master of none.”

With electric car components jammed in alongside its traditional hoses and belts, a PHEV is never going to be a great gasoline car. And because it must contain all the parts for petroleum propulsion, a plug-in hybrid can fit only a small battery with a limited range. The new Toyota Prius Prime PHEV can deliver up to 44 miles of electric driving, and that meager figure is a major leap from the around 25 miles of the previous model. The soon-to-be-axed Subaru Crosstrek PHEV delivers only 17 all-electric miles, and costs thousands more than a normal gas version.

From a climate perspective, PHEVs also looked like an easy way out for carmakers who should have been fully electrifying their lineups instead — a way for brands like Toyota to call their cars “electrified” without actually building battery EVs. It was a half-measure, a “stepping stone,” in a world that needs to completely turn over its car fleet.

For drivers, though, the core argument for the PHEV has always been a compelling one. Its battery range is limited, yes, but the electric miles are probably enough to accomplish a commute or local errands. Local electric driving drastically cuts one’s gasoline budget. On longer trips, there’s no need for the range anxiety that comes with a true EV since the gas engine has your back.

Yet PHEVs struggled to catch on fully during their first wave. A decade ago, when precious few mainstream EVs were on sale, plug-in hybrids accounted for about half of electrified U.S. car sales. About five years ago, when mass-market EVs like the Tesla Model 3 and Y arrived — and the Chevy Volt departed the scene — things changed. By 2023, PHEVs made up only 20 percent, meaning Americans bought four times as many pure EVs as plug-in hybrids.

Perhaps the America of five years ago simply was not yet familiar enough with electric driving to understand the benefits a plug-in hybrid could deliver. Buyers who were truly bullish on electric, like me, jumped right past the hybrid and bought a full EV. The fact that plug-in hybrids cost a lot more while delivering a pittance of electric miles didn’t help.

But that was then. In 2024, the legacy car companies sound far less enthusiastic about their plans to electrify completely. While EV demand is not cratering, as some apocalyptic headlines would suggest, it is possible that electric cars are entering a holding pattern, or at least a gap year or two. Drivers willing to buy a pricey new EV have mostly done so. Millions more are biding their time, waiting for better charging infrastructure where they live, a wave of truly affordable EVs, or some other factor to push them toward pure electric.

These people need a starter EV — something to get their feet wet in electrified driving that isn’t a $40,000 new car. Now that a handful of decent electrics have been on the market for several years, a used full EV could fill that role. That’s especially true for families that have a combustion vehicle or hybrid as their other car, and can drive a used Chevy Bolt or Nissan Leaf around town without having to worry so much about its diminishing battery.

Still, most Americans want their car to do everything, including a long road trip if necessary. They should consider the PHEV. In parts of the country without a lot of charging infrastructure, the plug-in hybrid would make an ideal beginner EV, given the security of the gas engine to ease one’s range anxiety.

But with the automakers having gone full electric in the past few years, plug-in hybrids are few and far between. Toyota, which has been dragging its feet about pure EVs, makes plug-in hybrid versions of the RAV4 and the Prius. The Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid is Jeep’s signature electrified effort so far. BMW, Kia, Hyundai, and others offer PHEV variants of some of their vehicles (though that’s no guarantee you’ll find the one you want at your local dealership, given their niche status.) PHEV sales lag behind both ordinary hybrids and full electric vehicles.

With General Motors ready to revive its plug-in hybrid line, perhaps the technology is due to catch its second wind just as weary buyers look for a more comfortable way to start driving on electrons. As with full battery EVs, it comes down to price and range. If Chevy can cook up a Volt 2.0 that impresses on both fronts, then the PHEV may finally find its footing in the U.S.

https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/phevs-2024-plug-in-hybrids Save to Pocket

The most popular news podcasts share the mic

date: 2024-02-06, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

The hosts of the most popular news podcasts hardly ever fly solo. A new report from the Pew Research Center finds news podcasts are more likely than other types of top podcasts to feature guests. Only about 15% of the top-ranked podcasts — which Pew defined here as appearing in the top 200 of either…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/the-most-popular-news-podcasts-share-the-mic/ Save to Pocket

“Ineptitude bordering on cruelty”: A roundup of recent news and takes on The Messenger

date: 2024-02-06, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

It’s been less than a week since The Messenger shut down, having “[burned] through $50 million in just eight months by pursuing obviously terrible ideas for a news site.” Details about the site in its final days — plus, of course, takes — continue to emerge. For your files! (And don’t worry, if you loved The Messenger,…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/ineptitude-bordering-on-cruelty-a-roundup-of-recent-news-on-the-messenger/ Save to Pocket

Flying car company XPeng reportedly considering ditching LiDAR for pure vision in new EV

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

A Chinese auto blogger on Weibo has posted spy images of what could very well be our first public look at XPeng’s new EV sedan, codenamed “F57,” and rumored to officially debut as the P8…. or P9. Camo’d images show a slim but roomy sedan with a unique rear that reportedly has LiDAR but perhaps won’t for now. Check it out below.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/car-company-xpeng-reportedly-ditching-lidar-pure-vision-new-ev/ Save to Pocket

Toyota to invest $1.3B to build EVs at its Kentucky plant

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Toyota just announced a $1.3 billion investment in its Kentucky factory to build EVs, including its three-row electric SUV for the US market. 

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/toyota-invest-evs-kentucky/ Save to Pocket

Ferrari is testing Tesla Model S Plaid ahead of its first EV

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Ferrari is testing a Tesla Model S Plaid ahead of launching its own first all-electric supercar, which should be coming in the next two years.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/ferrari-testing-tesla-model-s-plaid-ahead-first-ev/ Save to Pocket

Hurricanes Are Too Fast for Category 5. Climate change might necessitate a…

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043925-hurricanes-are-too-fast-f Save to Pocket

Verizon says 63K employees’ info fell into the wrong hands – an insider this time

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Telco says it’s a private matter, data ‘not shared externally’

Verizon is notifying more than 63,000 people, mostly current employees, that an insider, accidentally or otherwise, had inappropriate access to their personal data.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/verizon_internal_privacy_breach/ Save to Pocket

Super73 RX electric motorbike $3,000, Renogy Phoenix Elite power station now $250, and more

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Headlining today’s best deals is a return of the Super73 RX Electric Motorbike to its all-time $3,000 low, along with the standard R model at $2,799. It is joined by a Renogy flash sale that is taking $300 off the Phoenix Elite Portable Solar Generator for $250, as well as one-day sale on Greenworks’ 60V 16-inch Cordless Electric Chainsaw at $196. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/super73-rx-electric-motorbike-renogy-phoenix-elite-power-station-and-more/ Save to Pocket

Volvo puts EC230 Electric excavator out to stud in France

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

The headline-grabbing EC230 Electric excavator from Volvo CE has officially begun work on a stud farm with Bouygues Travaux Publics Régions France. The job site is part of a larger project that aims to deliver on the promise of an emissions-free construction industry.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/volvo-puts-ec230-electric-excavator-out-to-stud-in-france/ Save to Pocket

Kia has a plan to guarantee EV resale value overseas, like the EV6 and EV9

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Kia plans to fight falling EV resale prices in Australia with a new guaranteed future value program. New electric models, including the EV6 and Kia EV9, will be part of the plan.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/kia-plan-guarantee-ev-resale-value/ Save to Pocket

Sega Dreamcast Homebrew with GCC

date: 2024-02-06, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-2634-sega-dreamcast-homebrew-with-gcc/ Save to Pocket

KallistiOS is a pro-grade development system for consoles

date: 2024-02-06, from: Tilde.news

Comments

http://gamedev.allusion.net/softprj/kos/ Save to Pocket

This Medieval Sword Spent 1,000 Years at the Bottom of a Polish River

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Construction crews stumbled upon the weapon while dredging the Vistula River in Włocławek

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-medieval-sword-spent-1000-years-at-the-bottom-of-a-polish-river-180983684/ Save to Pocket

Apple Vision Pro is creating a new generation of glassholes

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

They’re back – and more oblivious than ever

Comment  If you’ve paid any attention to social media in the past four days, it’s likely you haven’t been able to escape the torrent of photos and videos of people wearing Apple’s new $3,499 headset in public, tapping away at empty space in front of them, rudely waving at cars, or sporting a pair while driving a Tesla.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/apple_vision_pro_glassholes/ Save to Pocket

Swift Tricks

date: 2024-02-06, from: Michael Tsai

André Jorgensen: Generic typealias can be used to simplify param types etctypealias Parser<A> = (String) -> [(A, String)] […] func parse<A>(stringToParse: String, parser: Parser) […] Finding Elements of Specific Type in Swift extension Array { func whereType<T>() -> [T] { compactMap { $0 as? T } // The function “compactMap(” in Swift is incredibly useful. […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/06/swift-tricks/ Save to Pocket

Pkl Programming Language

date: 2024-02-06, from: Michael Tsai

Apple (via Hacker News): We are delighted to announce the open source first release of Pkl (pronounced Pickle), a programming language for producing configuration. […] We created Pkl because we think that configuration is best expressed as a blend between a static language and a general-purpose programming language. We want to take the best of […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/06/pkl-programming-language/ Save to Pocket

Teatotaller Cafe v. Instagram

date: 2024-02-06, from: Michael Tsai

Annie Ropeik (2020): The owner of the Teatotaller café in Somersworth is taking on Facebook at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.[…]Owner Emmett Soldati markets them all on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. He says it was a blow to his business when, in 2018, Teatotaller’s Instagram account – with more than 2,000 followers – […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/06/teatotaller-cafe-v-instagram/ Save to Pocket

Ruling in Vizio Lawsuit May Strengthen the GPL

date: 2024-02-06, from: Michael Tsai

Luis Villa (via Hacker News): In October of 2021 the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) decided to launch what is believed to be the first significant open source lawsuit based in contract rather than in copyright. Critically, the SFC’s case argued that anyone who benefits from the General Public License (GPL), not just the authors of […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/06/ruling-in-vizio-lawsuit-may-strengthen-the-gpl/ Save to Pocket

CSU faculty members dissatisfied with the tentative agreement that ended historic strike

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

A systemwide California State University faculty strike that was expected to last five days ended after just one. Now, some faculty members from across the CSU system are dissatisfied with…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178205/news/csu-faculty-members-dissatisfied-with-the-tentative-agreement-that-ended-historic-strike/ Save to Pocket

I could watch Pong Wars allllllll daaaaaaaay. Here’s the source code if…

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043924-i-could-watch-pong-wars Save to Pocket

Clownfish Can ‘Count’ Stripes on Other Fish to Identify Intruders, Study Suggests

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Notoriously aggressive, common clownfish may be using basic mathematics to determine if another fish is a friend or foe

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/clownfish-can-count-stripes-on-other-fish-to-identify-intruders-study-suggests-180983726/ Save to Pocket

IBM pitches bite-sized $135k LinuxONE box for smaller biz types

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Fancy a mainframe that runs Linux? You’ll need deep pockets

IBM has pushed out a new member of its LinuxONE enterprise-grade Linux lineup that it hopes will appeal to small and medium-sized businesses, but the price tag is unlikely to recommend it to many buyers in this market.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/ibm_pitches_135k_linuxone_box/ Save to Pocket

You Should Recharge Your EV After Every Trip, Even If It’s A Short One. Here’s Why

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

But even if you can’t, it’s probably going to be fine.

https://insideevs.com/news/707538/recharge-ev-after-every-trip-video/ Save to Pocket

Husqvarna’s new electric demolition robot will smash up your house

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Designed to handle indoor demolition work in confined spaces, Husqvarna’s new DXR 95 electric demolition robot is small enough to fit in a standard work van, and tough enough to manage steep 30° inclines.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/husqvarnas-new-electric-demolition-robot-will-smash-up-your-house/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Trump has no immunity from prosecution in Jan. 6 trial, appeals court rules.

https://wapo.st/3SOmuph Save to Pocket

GMK NucBox K8 is a mini PC with an overclocked Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, USB4, and dual 2.5 GbE ports

date: 2024-02-06, from: Liliputing

Mini PC maker GMK has unveiled its first system powered by an AMD Ryzen 8040 series processor. The GMK NucBox K8 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor and features support for up to 64GB of DDR5-5600 memory, two PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, up to three 4K displays, dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports. The […]

The post GMK NucBox K8 is a mini PC with an overclocked Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, USB4, and dual 2.5 GbE ports appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/gmk-nucbox-k8-is-a-mini-pc-with-an-overclocked-ryzen-7-8845hs-processor-usb4-and-dual-2-5-gbe-ports/ Save to Pocket

What Happens When You Off Road A Honda Monkey?

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Gnarly hill climbing with nine entire horsepower is a fine idea, right?

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707631/honda-monkey-offroad-riding-video/ Save to Pocket

Public Finance Initiative Problems? The Challenges of Long-Term Defence Acquisition in a Rapidly Changing World

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: RAND blog

Future-proofing defense equipment acquisition remains a perplexing and wicked problem for policymakers, but one that merits ever greater attention. Acquisition decisionmakers would benefit from greater use of robust decisionmaking tools and methods to help them identify options that could increase the UK’s operational (and financial) resilience for multiple different futures.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/public-finance-initiative-problems-the-challenges-of.html Save to Pocket

Chinese Coathanger malware hung out to dry by Dutch defense department

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Attack happened in 2023 using a bespoke backdoor, confirming year-old suspicions

Dutch authorities are lifting the curtain on an attempted cyberattack last year at its Ministry of Defense (MoD), blaming Chinese state-sponsored attackers for the espionage-focused intrusion.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/dutch_defense_china_cyberattack/ Save to Pocket

Hertz (HTZ) blames EVs for Q4 earnings miss as stock price rises anyways

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Car rental company Hertz (HTZ) missed Q4 earnings expectations, blaming “headwinds” with its EV fleet. Hertz believes reducing the number of EVs in its fleet will improve profitability.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/hertz-htz-evs-q4-earnings-miss-stock-rises/ Save to Pocket

Tesla signs deal to bring chargers to thousands of hotels

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla has signed a deal with Choice Hotels International to bring chargers to thousands of additional hotels.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/tesla-signs-deal-bring-chargers-thousands-hotels/ Save to Pocket

Documents about the NSA’s Banning of Furby Toys in the 1990s

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Bruce Schneier blog

Via a FOIA request, we have documents from the NSA about their banning of Furby toys.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/documents-about-the-nsas-banning-of-furby-toys-in-the-1990s.html Save to Pocket

BYD YangWang U7 Is A 1,287 HP Mercedes EQS Rival

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

BYD’s luxury division YangWang aims to emulate the role that Lexus plays for Toyota.

https://insideevs.com/news/707610/byd-yangwang-u7-range-revealed-china/ Save to Pocket

There’s a new translation of the first volume of Karl Marx’s Capital…

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043916-theres-a-new-translation- Save to Pocket

Tangara is an open source, iPod-inspired portable music player (crowdfunding)

date: 2024-02-06, from: Liliputing

If you have a smartphone then you have a portable music player in your pocket, which is probably one of the reasons why the Apple iPod and similar devices have fallen by the wayside in recent years. But sometimes you don’t want the distractions of a modern, internet-connected device with a touchscreen color display, so there […]

The post Tangara is an open source, iPod-inspired portable music player (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/tangara-is-an-open-source-ipod-inspired-portable-music-player-crowdfunding-soon/ Save to Pocket

SAP hits brakes on Tesla company car deal

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Despite EV commitment, German giant tells Musk marque to buzz off

German software giant SAP has reportedly elected not to buy new electric cars from Tesla, the EV manufacturer led by Elon Musk.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/sap_tesla_company_cars/ Save to Pocket

White House warns that Chinese EVs could collect your data and send it back to China

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

The US-China trade war heats up as the Biden administration has signaled a warning that electric vehicles from China could pose a “significant national security risk” in that the huge amount of data they collect could be sent to China.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/white-house-warns-that-chinese-evs-could-collect-your-data-and-send-it-back-to-china/ Save to Pocket

‘Neural Network’ Fake ID Site Goes Dark After 404 Media Investigation

date: 2024-02-06, from: 404 Media Group

OnlyFake said it used “neural networks” as part of its automated fake ID generation service. The site has gone offline after 404 Media tested and exposed the service.

https://www.404media.co/onlyfake-neural-network-fake-id-site-goes-dark-after-404-media-investigation/ Save to Pocket

This Artist Used Microsoft Paint to Create Art Into Her 90s

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/this-artist-used-microsoft-paint-to-create-art-into-her-90s Save to Pocket

Toyota: We Make Hybrids Because Customers Want Them

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

The automaker has been criticized for being a laggard in the EV-only game, but it might have the last laugh.

https://insideevs.com/news/707483/toyota-hybrids-customers-want-them/ Save to Pocket

Continuous startup jobs

date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Rupert blog

Two years of working on Luro full time has taught me a lot about #startuplife. While I could probably fill a book with what I’ve learned so far, the biggest takeaway is you’re always busy if you’re on a small team. Here’s a list of jobs that you always need to be doing when creating a company…

• Planning new features
• Building new features
• Marketing new features
• Updating old features
• Managing technical debt
• Establishing processes
• Documenting everything
• Hopping on calls
• Getting feedback
• Contacting existing customers
• Acquiring new customers
• Improving onboarding
• Assuring quality
• Filling out enterprise software acquisition forms
• Evaluating software tools for internal use
• Tracking competitors
• Building culture
• Hiring people
• Managing people
• Meeting payroll
• Providing health insurance
• Pitching VCs
• Creating FOMO
• Casting vision
• Investor updates
• Emailing lawyers
• Accounting and taxes

Not enough that we should overly glamorize entrepreneurs, but it’s a lot. Especially, when you’re also tasked with building the darn thing. My list doesn’t even get into the all the nuance of all the required systems and processes you need to build either. That’s a whole other post.

Thanks to Greg Storey for previewing an early mouthblog of this post.

https://daverupert.com/2024/02/startup-jobs/ Save to Pocket

EquiLend back in the saddle as ransom payment rumors swirl

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Still no word on how the intruders broke in or the full extent of any possible data compromise

Global securities finance tech company EquiLend’s systems are now back online after announcing a disruptive ransomware attack nearly two weeks ago.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/equilend_back_in_action_as/ Save to Pocket

Tesla is controversially starting to advertise on Elon Musk’s X

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla has expanded its advertising effort and it is even now controversially starting to advertise on Elon Musk’s X.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/tesla-controversially-advertise-elon-musk-x/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I’m reading Liz Cheney’s book, and forgot something I had guessed during the insurrection. While it was going on Trump was calling Congresspeople saying if you stop the count I’ll call off the attack. In other words, trade your life for a vote. I suspected it before, but they have testimony that verifies it.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/06.html#a153201 Save to Pocket

Volvo’s first electric minivan, the EM90, officially rolls off the assembly line

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

The first all-electric Volvo EM90 officially rolled off the assembly line on Tuesday. Volvo’s EM90 is the brand’s first electric minivan, complete with a “Scandinavian living room” interior.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/volvo-em90-officially-first-electric-minivan/ Save to Pocket

MOVIES VS. CAPITALISM: Cradle Will Rock (w/ Harvey Kaye)

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Lever News

The MVC team discuss the 1999 historical dramedy about the demise of the Federal Theatre Project.

https://www.levernews.com/movies-vs-capitalism-cradle-will-rock-w-harvey-kaye/ Save to Pocket

Bollinger Motors’ B4 chassis cab EV gets IRS approval for up to $40,000 in federal tax credits

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Two years after pivoting its business strategy toward the development of commercial EVs, Bollinger Motors has earned IRS approval for federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, offering fleet customers potential tax credits up to 40,000 per vehicle.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/bollinger-motors-b4-chassis-cab-ev-irs-approval-40000-federal-tax-credits/ Save to Pocket

You could have heard a pin drop: Virgin Galactic reports itself to the FAA

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Everything’s fine, but a fastening fell off when it shouldn’t have

Updated  Virgin Galactic has reported itself to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after discovering a detached alignment pin from the mechanism used to keep its suborbital spaceplane attached to the mothership aircraft.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/virgin_galactic_report_faa/ Save to Pocket

How Quora Died. “The once-beloved forum is now home to a never-ending…

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/02/0043919-how-quora-died-the-once-b Save to Pocket

FOSDEM 2024: you too could have made curl

date: 2024-02-06, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog

This is the video recording of my talk with this title, done at February 4, 2024 10:00 in the K1.105 room at FOSDEM 2024. The room can hold some 800 people but there were a few hundred seats still unoccupied. Several people I met up with later have insisted that 10 am on a Sunday … Continue reading FOSDEM 2024: you too could have made curl →

https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/02/06/fosdem-2024-you-too-could-have-made-curl/ Save to Pocket

Sub-$22,000 Hyundai Casper EV Heads To Europe Because Of Course It Does

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

Hey, carmakers! Americans want cheap EVs, too, you know?

https://insideevs.com/news/707496/hyundai-casper-ev-europe/ Save to Pocket

Waveshare’s PoE HAT is the first for Raspberry Pi 5

date: 2024-02-06, from: Jeff Geerling blog

Waveshare’s PoE HAT is the first for Raspberry Pi 5

        <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><img src="https://www.jeffgeerling.com/sites/default/files/images/pi-5-poe-hat-waveshare.jpeg" width="700" height="auto" class="insert-image" alt="Pi 5 PoE HAT Waveshare F"></p>

Power over Ethernet lets you run both power and networking to certain devices through one Ethernet cable. It’s extremely convenient, especially if you have a managed PoE switch, because you get the following benefits:

• A single cable for power + Ethernet (no need for separate power adapters)
• No need to have electrical service near every device
• Simple remote power on/off capability (assuming you have a managed switch)
• Centralized power management (e.g. one UPS in a rack room covering all powered devices)

I have used the Raspberry Pi PoE and PoE+ HATs for years now, allowing me to have 4 or 5 Raspberry Pi per 1U of rack space, with all wiring on the front side. I also use PoE for cameras around my house, though there are dozens of use cases where PoE makes sense.

The Raspberry Pi, since it only requires 3-10W of power, is an ideal candidate for PoE, assuming you can find a HAT for it.

  <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Jeff Geerling</span></span>

February 6, 2024

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/waveshares-poe-hat-first-raspberry-pi-5 Save to Pocket

AI-Generated Grandma Porn Is Flooding the Internet

date: 2024-02-06, from: 404 Media Group

Hundreds of AI GILF erotica are flooding Xvideos and Manyvids.

https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-grandma-porn-is-flooding-the-internet/ Save to Pocket

Ford, Cummins and others break with industry to support strong EPA truck rule

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

The EPA is currently finalizing new rules to limit truck emissions, and a group of manufacturers including Ford, Cummins, BorgWarner and Eaton has broken with the industry to support the upcoming “Phase 3” heavy duty emissions rules, while the rest of the industry, led by Volvo and Daimler, continues to lobby against them.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/ford-cummins-and-others-break-with-industry-to-support-strong-epa-truck-rule/ Save to Pocket

One Foot Tsunami Is Not a Fast Food Restaurant Chain. Yet.

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-07, from: One Foot Tsunami

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/06/one-foot-tsunami-is-not-a-fast-food-restaurant-chain-yet/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Bluesky opens to the public.

https://wapo.st/3SxgQ9I Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-06, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Oh blue sky is open to the public now.

My profile over there: https://bsky.app/profile/migueldeicaza.bsky.social

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111885099027103023 Save to Pocket

Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields

date: 2024-02-06, from: Quanta Magazine

The post Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/radio-maps-may-reveal-the-universes-biggest-magnetic-fields-20240206/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

A Major Polling Firm Has Signed Up to Help Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Campaign.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/02/john-zogby-robert-kennedy-jr-spoiler-polling/ Save to Pocket

The regional bank stock ick

date: 2024-02-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report

Stock in New York Community Bank plunged last week after it said it was setting aside additional funds as a cushion in case some of its commercial real estate loans went bad. The value of commercial office space is falling as more people work from home, and investors are still skittish. Plus, Canada extends a ban on noncitizen housing purchases. And we’ll hear how one flour mill is rebuilding a year after the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-regional-bank-stock-ick Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I asked ChatGPT to draw a “social network for writers.” ❤️

http://scripting.com/2024/02/06.html#a144521 Save to Pocket

Sixthreezero launches the electric trike everyone says they actually want

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Some things are constant in the universe. Entropy always tends towards disorder. Taxes always come around. And any article I write about electric trikes invariably draws out all the armchair automotive engineers who chime in with the well-practiced “they should just put the two wheels in the front because it’s more stable!” comments.

Well here you go, everyone. The bicycle company Sixthreezero has done it. Meet the creatively named Sixthreezero Two Front Wheel Electric Bike.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/sixthreezero-launches-the-electric-trike-everyone-says-they-actually-want/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I’m doing some writing about writing and finding the phrase “RSS, Atom and RFD” too cumbersome. Most people don’t care and see the distinctions as unnecessary. But I want to be accurate, and recognize that while RSS is the most-used kind of feed, there are others, and our software works with them. I’m trying this construction: “RSS-compatible.” I think that expresses the most important point, the choice of format is up to you, but now, by 2024, they all work pretty much the same way.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/06.html#a143830 Save to Pocket

Hertz Still Hurts From EV Investment, Backtracks On Polestar Buying

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

Plus, Pete Buttigieg is annoyed with Apple Vision Pro idiots and Aptera’s solar-powered cars will soon hit the road.

https://insideevs.com/news/707460/hertz-tesla-polestar-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket

Japan stumps up more cash for Kioxia and Western Digital to make memory chips

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Pair still looking to merge after SK hynix blocked deal

Japan is set to provide more subsidies for chip companies Kioxia and Western Digital to boost memory production. The move follows reports that a cancelled merger between the two could be on again.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/japan_western_digital_kioxia_subsidy/ Save to Pocket

Turns out, Europeans love big ol’ SUVs as much as Americans do

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Regulators hate them, saying all the popularity of massive, heavy SUVs runs counter to environmental targets. Paris even slapped some hefty fines on SUVs parking in the city. But European consumers are showing nothing but love for the SUV, in all shapes and sizes. In a new milestone, SUV sales took the market lead at 51%.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/turns-out-europeans-love-big-ol-suvs-as-much-as-americans-do/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Good morning. The main static server I mentioned yesterday has been relocated to a fresh, new and apparently healthy server to perform its past duties. We’re off to a good start this Tuesday morning.

http://scripting.com/2024/02/06.html#a140936 Save to Pocket

Tesla Model 3 Long Range Gets A $1000 Price Increase

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

The entry-level Model 3 maintains its price for now.

https://insideevs.com/news/707452/tesla-model3-lr-price-increased-1000usd/ Save to Pocket

New Husqvarna Grand Pather E-Bike Is A City Commuter With An MTB Heart

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

It’s rocking the Yamaha PWX3 motor and premium components from Shimano.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707471/husqvarna-grand-pather-ebike/ Save to Pocket

Phone Spy Tool Pitched for ‘Riot Detection’ in NYC

date: 2024-02-06, from: 404 Media Group

404 Media recently exposed Patternz, a global phone spy tool that tracks movements and interests through advertising data. Other internal documents now show the technology was marketed as a way to detect riots.

https://www.404media.co/patternz-phone-spy-tool-pitched-for-riot-detection-in-nyc/ Save to Pocket

US DOL recovers more than $500K from Ian Construction

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than half a million dollars in back wages and liquidated damages for 139 employees of a federal construction contractor on Guam found to have violated federal laws, the agency announced in a…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/us-dol-recovers-more-than-500k-from-ian-construction/article_2a5981aa-c4a0-11ee-a260-e3fe013e4085.html Save to Pocket

GMH releases mold report findings, hospital’s corrective action plan

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

Results from the indoor air quality evaluation, airborne mold spore tests and microbial survey of the hospital have been released by Guam Memorial Hospital, which also laid out a two-year plan to address the mold.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gmh-releases-mold-report-findings-hospital-s-corrective-action-plan/article_af59ea24-c30c-11ee-9e1d-b314bdd1f4e9.html Save to Pocket

AG petitions US Supreme Court to review decision on abortion ban

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

As indicated late last year in a filing at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Guam Office of the Attorney General has now filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ag-petitions-us-supreme-court-to-review-decision-on-abortion-ban/article_553c95fe-c47f-11ee-822f-9350a43fa20a.html Save to Pocket

Guam EPA: 9 polluted beaches

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

The public should be advised of nine beaches that were found to be polluted above accepted bacteriological standards, the Guam Environmental Protection Agency announced in a press release.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/guam-epa-9-polluted-beaches/article_3174944a-c3db-11ee-a002-ab387e946b46.html Save to Pocket

Leon Guerrero joins 21 other governors in amicus brief on abortion medication access

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has joined 21 other governors nationwide in filing an amicus curiae brief on Jan. 30 with the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Food and Drug Administration, et al. v. Alliance for…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/leon-guerrero-joins-21-other-governors-in-amicus-brief-on-abortion-medication-access/article_e265b128-c401-11ee-827f-f79b4aba60cf.html Save to Pocket

Man, 37, accused of raping 16-year-old girl

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

A man was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl since 2020.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-37-accused-of-raping-16-year-old-girl/article_27e6f6c2-c3de-11ee-a9e8-4793ba16792f.html Save to Pocket

Suspect accused of sexually assaulting boy

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

A 64-year-old man was accused of making “sexual advances” toward a 12-year-old boy since September.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/suspect-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-boy/article_e3799132-c493-11ee-ada8-0bc760ee5410.html Save to Pocket

GFD: Woman, 65, is taken to hospital for smoke inhalation

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

A 65-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after a structure fire in Dededo Tuesday morning.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gfd-woman-65-is-taken-to-hospital-for-smoke-inhalation/article_471895ac-c49a-11ee-abc0-e33528c93d46.html Save to Pocket

Baby Phoenix case: Santa Clara County sees spike in removals of at-risk kids from troubled homes amid reforms

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

At Tuesday’s Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor’s hearing, Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Sylvia Arenas are expected to grill the leaders of the child welfare agencies over reforms intended to balance family preservation with children’s safety.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/baby-phoenix-case-santa-clara-county-sees-spike-in-removals-of-at-risk-kids-from-troubled-homes-amid-reforms/ Save to Pocket

49ers’ Trent Williams gets his Super Bowl moment after nearly joining Chiefs

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

Left tackle Trent Willliams enters his first Super Bowl as a 49ers’ mainstay, just three years after nearly joining the Kansas City Chiefs.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/49ers-trent-williams-gets-his-super-bowl-moment-after-nearly-joining-chiefs/ Save to Pocket

Opinion: Digital intelligence is key to fighting opioid epidemic

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

A $26 billion settlement fund can provide the means and opportunity for communities to expand high-tech investigations.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/opinion-whats-missing-in-the-opioid-epidemic-fight/ Save to Pocket

Double trouble replay for Fortinet as it reissues critical FortiSIEM vulns

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

So good it posted them twice

Updated  Fortinet’s FortiSIEM product is vulnerable to two maximum-severity security vulnerabilities that allow for remote code execution, and it recently told the world about this again*.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/fortinet_fortisiem_vulns/ Save to Pocket

The California Storm’s Massive Bill

date: 2024-02-06, from: Heatmap News

Current conditions: More than a foot of snow fell in the Sierra mountains • It’s 47 degrees Fahrenheit on Italy’s Mount Terminillo, where a popular ski resort is closed due to lack of snow • January was the 9th straight warmest month on record.

THE TOP FIVE

1. California storm causes $11 billion in damage

The storm that dropped huge amounts of rain on Southern California Sunday and Monday caused at least $11 billion in damages and economic losses, according to Accuweather. Dangerous winds, flooding, and landslides pummeled the region, hitting Los Angeles and its surrounding neighborhoods particularly hard. The University of California at Los Angeles recorded an incredible 12 inches of rain over 24 hours. Landslides swept through high-income communities including Beverly Hills, burying cars and forcing residents to evacuate. Bloomberg noted that insurance policies rarely cover damages from floods or mudslides. President Biden has promised to provide federal aid.

2. Researchers say world already surpassed 1.5 degrees in warming

A new study suggests the planet has already warmed by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. In fact, the researchers say humans have raised the global temperature by 1.7 degrees Celsius, or about 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Much of the scientific community puts current warming at about 1.2 degrees Celsius, so this new calculation has climate experts in a tizzy.

The research hinges on observations from six sea sponges in the Caribbean Sea. These sponges are very old, and their skeletons contain what The New York Times calls “chemical fingerprints” of the ocean temperatures going back to 1700, long before we started measuring in the 1850s. The findings suggest global warming began about 40 years earlier than previously thought, which means the preindustrial base line level to which we compare temperatures today is flawed. The authors say current warming is half a degree Celsius higher than the most common estimates.

Not everyone agrees. Some critics say data from a single location should not upend global temperature assessments. Others slam the authors for confusing the public. “It is the date of the reference period that matters rather than whether it is labelled pre-industrial or not,” said Yadvinder Malhi FRS, professor of ecosystem science at the University of Oxford. “The period 1850-1900 is a period of relatively reliable global data when industrial era human-caused climate change was likely negligible.” Climate scientist Michael Mann said the research doesn’t “pass the smell test.”

3. EU reportedly backs down on farming emissions cuts

Farmers across the European Union have been protesting for weeks against a plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector, and it looks like their efforts paid off: A new plan for cutting the bloc’s emissions by 90% by 2040, set to be unveiled today, nixes the call for a 30% reduction in gases like methane and nitrogen, which are linked to farming, the Financial Times reported. The conflict stems from farmers’ concerns that policymakers are ignoring them, and with European Parliament elections just a few months away, center-right politicians are trying to win over every vote they can. But there will be consequences: The agricultural sector is projected to be “the biggest emitter by 2040 unless the EU takes action,” Bloomberg reported. The uproar demonstrates the challenges politicians face in rolling out new green policies without losing support from key demographics.

4. Hundreds missing after Chile fires

Destroyed houses after the forest fires on February 4, 2024 in Vina del Mar, ChileClaudio Santana/Getty Images

At least 123 people are dead and hundreds more missing in Chile after massive fires left several cities in the Valparaiso region charred. Thousands of homes are destroyed. South America has faced immense heat and enduring drought in recent months, and the vegetation is dangerously dry. “Climate change has made droughts more common,” said Edward Mitchard, a forests expert at the University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences in Scotland. “And that’s especially happened in South America this year.”

5. Waffle House is getting EV chargers

A Waffle House restaurant in Lakeland, Tennessee, will become the first restaurant to get EnviroSpark DC fast EV chargers as part of the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. NEVI provides funding for states to “strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and to establish an interconnected network.” Ideally drivers won’t have to go more than 50 miles without access to a charging point, and while most chargers are located at gas stations or convenience stores, Waffle House restaurants could be a good option in the southeast considering their prevalence:

WaffleHouse.com

They also tick some of the other boxes: They’re open 24/7, have bathrooms, shelter, and food and beverages. Electrek reported that EnviroSpark plans to work with Waffle House again in the future.

THE KICKER

“Grandmothers are now at the vanguard of today’s climate movement.” — Nathaniel Stinnett, founder of the Environmental Voter Project, on the rise of the “climate grannies”

https://heatmap.news/climate/sea-sponges-global-warming Save to Pocket

What does it take for a makeup brand to make it?

date: 2024-02-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report

It’s earnings week for big beauty brands: affordable E.l.f. Beauty and luxury brand Estée Lauder, which recently announced thousands of job cuts. But plenty of companies and entrepreneurs are throwing their hat into the cosmetics ring, and Gen Z is forcing many to evolve. Also, President Xi Jinping is set to talk with financial advisors about China’s stock market, and Lyft unveils a pay transparency play for drivers.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/what-does-it-take-for-a-makeup-brand-to-make-it Save to Pocket

Editorial: Elect McNerney, Cabaldon to new East Bay state Senate seats

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

Voters in eastern Contra Costa and Alameda counties this year will find themselves in unfamiliar districts.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/editorial-elect-mcnerney-cabaldon-to-new-east-bay-state-senate-seats/ Save to Pocket

Why it’s important to turn on Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

Apple has rolled out an update to its operating system this week with a feature called Stolen Device Protection. It makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings, and users are being urged to turn it on immediately. The software update for iPhones and iPads addresses a vulnerability that thieves have discovered and exploited: allowing them to lock victims out of their Apple accounts, delete their photos and other files from their iCloud accounts and empty their bank accounts by accessing passwords kept in the Keychain password manager.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/how-to-tech-why-its-important-to-turn-on-apples-new-stolen-device-protection/ Save to Pocket

Kristof: What can we possibly say to the suffering children of Gaza?

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

Biden excoriates Russia for bombing civilians in Ukraine even as we supply bombs that can wipe out neighborhoods in Gaza.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/kristof-what-can-we-possibly-say-to-the-children-of-gaza/ Save to Pocket

Europe: Plug-In Car Sales Exceeded 3 Million In 2023

date: 2024-02-06, from: Inside EVs News

The market expanded only slightly compared to 2022.

https://insideevs.com/news/707425/europe-plugin-car-sales-december2023/ Save to Pocket

Another Full Day Of Rain Is Forecast For Southern California. Officials Urge Vigilance

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The LAist

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called Monday “a tough day for the city.” Concerns are high that we haven’t seen the last of the damage or danger.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/atmospheric-river-la-storm-evacuations-damage-los-angeles-orange-riverside-san-bernardino-santa-barbara Save to Pocket

Three Students Just Deciphered the First Passages of a 2,000-Year-Old Scroll Burned in Vesuvius’ Eruption

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The trio used artificial intelligence to decode sections of the text, which appear to be a philosophical exploration of pleasure

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/three-students-decipher-first-passages-2000-year-old-scroll-burned-vesuvius-eruption-180983738/ Save to Pocket

The Moon Is Shrinking, Causing Moonquakes at a Potential NASA Landing Site, Study Finds

date: 2024-02-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Though the risk to astronauts is low, the shaking could cause landslides and impact potential long-term settlements at the lunar south pole

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-moon-is-shrinking-causing-moonquakes-at-a-potential-nasa-landing-site-study-finds-180983737/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

We used to listen to Saturday Night Fever when I was in Madison in the mid 70s. Listening to the music now, so many years later, I can relive the wonderful feelings of those days.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihs-vT9T3Q Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

I like it when developers are straight about their motivations and responsibilities. I try to do the same.

https://inessential.com/2024/02/04/why_netnewswire_isnt_available_for_vision_pro Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

I’ve actually been enjoying Nets games now that they’re over the “win now” philosophy. Last nights game with the Warriors was excellent.

https://nypost.com/2024/02/06/sports/mikal-bridges-cam-thomas-discovering-chemistry-in-nets-lineup/ Save to Pocket

Northern California cannabis grower to pay $750,000 for violating state water, wildlife regulations

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

State officials said a Humboldt County cannabis operation took water from streams and damaged wetlands for years without authorization. The owner called the fine extreme and unfair but agreed to pay and restore wetlands.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/cannabis-grower-to-pay-750000-for-violating-state-water-wildlife-regulations/ Save to Pocket

Oracle partner gets multimillion top-up after Edinburgh Uni disaster

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

More changes required in wake of ERP go-live that left staff and suppliers waiting for payment

Scotland’s University of Edinburgh has awarded systems integrator and support company Inoapps an additional £3.6 million ($4.5 million) contract fee for “changes in requirements and additional work” following a troubled implementation of Oracle that left staff and suppliers paid late.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/oracle_partner_gets_35_million/ Save to Pocket

McDonald’s adds bagel sandwiches to its menu

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

The fast food chain has added bagel sandwiches with various proteins to its offerings of breakfast items.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/mcdonalds-adds-bagel-sandwiches-to-its-menu/ Save to Pocket

3 people saved from tree after SUV is washed down Southern California creek

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

The family had attempted to drive across a road when it was covered by fast-moving water from Cajon Creek, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/sketchiest-rescue-saves-3-stuck-in-tree-in-devore-after-suv-is-washed-into-creek/ Save to Pocket

California woman sentenced to 7 years in prison for role as secretary for Mexican Mafia shot-caller

date: 2024-02-06, from: San Jose Mercury News

Deshannon served as a secretary to Seferino Gonzalez, an imprisoned shot caller of the Michael Lerma Cell of the Mexican Mafia.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/06/la-verne-woman-sentenced-to-7-years-in-prison-for-her-role-as-secretary-for-mexican-mafia-shot-caller/ Save to Pocket

Ola Electric Unleashes S1 X Scooter With Bigger Battery, Extended Range

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Ola is also offering extended warranty programs for added peace of mind.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707470/ola-electric-s1x-4kwh-variant/ Save to Pocket

GitOps pioneer Weaveworks unravels after funding fabric frays

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Company burned through $61.6M in investment

Former cloud native darling Weaveworks has announced that it is closing its doors after failing to get acquired and suffering from a “volatile” cash position.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/weaveworks_folds/ Save to Pocket

The ‘Do Nothing’ Strategy

date: 2024-02-06, from: Dan Rather’s Steady

Since the security of the U.S.-Mexico border is a top issue for many Americans, the Republican Party is betting that their strategy will win the day … or at least the presidential election. But it isn’t much of a plan. The strategy: Do nothing. The reason: Because Donald Trump said so.

https://steady.substack.com/p/the-do-nothing-strategy Save to Pocket

Turkey, Syria mark one-year anniversary of devastating earthquakes

date: 2024-02-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report

From the BBC World Service: A year after the catastrophic earthquakes that killed more than 50,000, aid agencies are warning that major rebuilding still needs to be done. In the worst hit parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria, businesses are making some progress with some help from the U.S. government. However, Save the Children says one-third of those displaced by the disaster are still homeless.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/turkey-syria-mark-one-year-anniversary-of-devastating-earthquakes Save to Pocket

@Ayjay blog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Ayjay blog)

Terry Teachout and the Last of the Conservative Critics | The Nation: But Teachout, whose natural inclination was toward equanimity and collegiality, perhaps never fully confronted the politics of his conservative peers. Unlike Didion and Wills, Teachout never stopped writing for National Review. His review of a biography of Graham Greene ran in the magazine […]

https://blog.ayjay.org/45992-2/ Save to Pocket

Singer-Songwriter Toby Keith Dies After Battling Stomach Cancer

date: 2024-02-06, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/singer-songwriter-toby-keith-dies-after-battling-stomach-cancer/7472869.html Save to Pocket

Pilar Schiavo | Navigating Economic Uncertainty

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

Prior to serving in the state Assembly, I was a small business owner. Running my own small business while being a single mom was tough.  With so much economic uncertainty, putting food on the table, filling up my car, and paying for health care was incredibly difficult. Growing up with parents who were small business […]

The post Pilar Schiavo | Navigating Economic Uncertainty appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/pilar-schiavo-navigating-economic-uncertainty/ Save to Pocket

Rick Barker | Perfect, Except for …

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

In re: Our View, “Rising Crime: It’s Not Your Imagination,” Feb. 3. Overall GREAT editorial by The Signal Editorial Board. However, they certainly could have left the following out: “It’s not even the criminals’ fault. After all, if there are no consequences for bad behavior, why change?”  Excuse me … but personally, and I think […]

The post Rick Barker | Perfect, Except for … appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/rick-barker-perfect-except-for/ Save to Pocket

Thomas Oatway | Biden Saved the Economy

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

Since the election of Joe Biden in 2020 we have seen the media attack his record. Fox News and other hard-right media outlets have revised history with lies about the actual performance of the Biden administration.  Looking back at the COVID crisis that he inherited from Donald Trump, we were told that the federal payments […]

The post Thomas Oatway | Biden Saved the Economy appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/thomas-oatway-biden-saved-the-economy/ Save to Pocket

Rob Kerchner | A High Price for ‘Weaksauce Wokey’

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

So it turns out that America’s weaksauce wokey affirmative action (now-ex) president lobbied Harvard to keep their own weaksauce wokey affirmative action (now-ex) president. She only had six months on the job, and Harvard has paid for it dearly. Barack Obama had eight years, and America is still paying for it. Dearly. Rob Kerchner    […]

The post Rob Kerchner | A High Price for ‘Weaksauce Wokey’ appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/rob-kerchner-a-high-price-for-weaksauce-wokey/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Just thought of a place in San Jose I used to like, apparently closed in 2017.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/by-th-bucket-bar-and-grill-santa-clara Save to Pocket

KDE 6 misses boat to make it into Kubuntu 24.04

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘Noble Numbat’ users will face a major post-install upgrade, which isn’t ideal

The next major release of KDE Plasma is getting close, but not close enough for the next major Ubuntu release.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/no_kde6_for_noble/ Save to Pocket

Grounded cognition: physical activities and learning computing

date: 2024-02-06, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)

Everyone who has taught children before will know the excited gleam in their eyes when the lessons include something to interact with physically. Whether it’s printed and painstakingly laminated flashcards, laser-cut models, or robots, learners’ motivation to engage with the topic will increase along with the noise levels in the classroom. However, these hands-on activities…

The post Grounded cognition: physical activities and learning computing appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/grounded-cognition/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Goofy 'God's Army' convoy on Texas border shows Trump's MAGA movement is just one long con.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/02/05/take-back-border-convoy-texas-republican-immigration-invasion-act/72451333007/ Save to Pocket

Lines of code – how to not measure code quality and developer efficiency

date: 2024-02-06, from: Chris Heilmann

Lately I have a person who pings me daily asking how many lines of code I have written today. The first time was on the weekend. My answer was “none, as weekends I concentrate on not doing computer things with my partner” which is an excellent idea. However, lines of code are often seen as […]

https://christianheilmann.com/2024/02/06/lines-of-code-how-to-not-measure-code-quality-and-developer-efficiency/ Save to Pocket

New kids on the ransomware block in 2023: Akira and 8Base lead dozens of newbies

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

How good are your takedowns when fresh gangs are linked to previous ops, though?

At least 25 new ransomware gangs emerged in 2023, with Akira and 8Base proving the most “successful,” research reveals.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/akira_and_8base_new_ransomware_research/ Save to Pocket

Friends and foes: The Chiefs’ Kelce, 49ers’ Kittle ready to match up again in the Super Bowl

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. &#8212; The Chiefs&#8217; Travis Kelce and the 49ers&#8217; George Kittle are best of friends when they are off the field.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/sports/friends-and-foes-the-chiefs-kelce-49ers-kittle-ready-to-match-up-again-in-the-super-bowl/ Save to Pocket

’Riders rally late in second half to advance in HHSAA tournament

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KEALAKEHE &#8212; With 15 minutes left in the second half, Kealakehe boys soccer was facing a massive hurdle.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/sports/riders-rally-late-in-second-half-to-advance-in-hhsaa-tournament/ Save to Pocket

Witt and Royals agree on an 11-year deal worth more than $288.7M guaranteed, AP sources say

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. &#8212; The Kansas City Royals agreed with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on an 11-year deal worth more than $288.7 million guaranteed, two people familiar with the contract told The Associated Press on Monday, locking up one of baseball&#8217;s young stars as the club tries to turn around its fortunes and persuade a weary fanbase to invest in a new stadium.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/sports/witt-and-royals-agree-on-an-11-year-deal-worth-more-than-288-7m-guaranteed-ap-sources-say/ Save to Pocket

Kevin Harlan, daughter Olivia will make Super Bowl history by calling, covering game

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LAS VEGAS &#8212; The Super Bowl will be a broadcasting family affair.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/sports/kevin-harlan-daughter-olivia-will-make-super-bowl-history-by-calling-covering-game/ Save to Pocket

The NFL long had shunned Las Vegas. Now the city will host the league’s biggest game

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LAS VEGAS &#8212; A meeting scheduled in the 1980s between the NFL and sportsbook directors sparked hope in Las Vegas that their relationship would soon take a much more positive turn after decades during which the league kept the city at arm&#8217;s length.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/the-nfl-long-had-shunned-las-vegas-now-the-city-will-host-the-leagues-biggest-game/ Save to Pocket

Hearing today on BAC bill

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The state of Hawaii could crack down on drinking and driving with a bill that would lower the blood alcohol content limit to 0.05%.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/hawaii-news/hearing-today-on-bac-bill/ Save to Pocket

Some Americans have become saddled with credit card debt as rent and everyday prices remain high

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; While the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/some-americans-have-become-saddled-with-credit-card-debt-as-rent-and-everyday-prices-remain-high/ Save to Pocket

How two sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>In the summer of 2020, Gerard Magliocca, like many during the coronavirus pandemic, found himself stuck inside with time on his hands.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/how-two-sentences-in-the-constitution-rose-from-obscurity-to-ensnare-donald-trump/ Save to Pocket

Kona judge calls HMSA contracts ‘unconscionable’

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A Kailua-Kona judge on Friday ruled that contract terms and conditions the state&#8217;s largest health insurer imposes on doctors and patients are &#8220;unconscionable&#8221; and &#8220;unenforceable.&#8221;</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/hawaii-news/kona-judge-calls-hmsa-contracts-unconscionable/ Save to Pocket

Journey: Inspiring youth for 20 years

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Twenty years ago, a journey began.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/opinion/journey-inspiring-youth-for-20-years/ Save to Pocket

Could Taylor Swift be the biggest election influencer of them all?

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>There is a long history in the United States of presidential candidates receiving important celebrity endorsements that many argue have tipped the tide from one candidate to another.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/opinion/could-taylor-swift-be-the-biggest-election-influencer-of-them-all/ Save to Pocket

Your Views for February 6

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Hilo wall event was&#0010;&#8216;an amazing success&#8217;</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/opinion/your-views-for-february-6-5/ Save to Pocket

Obituaries for February 6

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Reginald Franklin Gomes, 85, of Kailua-Kona died Jan. 18 at home. Born in Hilo, he was a pipe fitter, for Royal Construction, Kiewit Pacific, Goodfellow Brothers and Isemoto Contractors, member of Hawaii Laborers Union, NRA, Kona Horseshoe Pitchers Club and St. Michael&#8217;s Catholic Church, and Hawaii Army National Guard veteran. Visitation 9:15-10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9 at St. Michael&#8217;s Catholic Church in Kailua-Kona. Mass at 10 a.m. Burial to follow at Kona Memorial Park in Holualoa. Casual attire; flowers welcome. Survived by sons, Stanley Gomes and Benjamin Palani (Robyn Scott) Gomes of Kailua-Kona; daughters, Wendy (Michael) Martinez of Kapaa, Kauai, Linda (James) Taketa and Cindy (Stanford) Santiago of Kailua-Kona; brother, Roland Gomes of Nevada; sister, Joshlyn LaBarr of Oregon; sisters-in-law, Gloria Gomes and Mary Gomes of California; 11 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-6-7/ Save to Pocket

Better equipment and communications are among Maui police recommendations after Lahaina wildfire

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>HONOLULU &#8212; Nearly six months after a wildfire destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, the Maui Police Department said Monday it is working on improving its response to future tragedies, including by obtaining better equipment and stationing a high-ranking officer in the island&#8217;s communications center during emergencies.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/hawaii-news/better-equipment-and-communications-are-among-maui-police-recommendations-after-lahaina-wildfire/ Save to Pocket

RFK Jr. courts Las Vegas voters as alternative to Trump vs. Biden

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Independent presidential candidate and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a wide-ranging campaign speech to Las Vegas Valley supporters Sunday at Area 15.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/rfk-jr-courts-las-vegas-voters-as-alternative-to-trump-vs-biden/ Save to Pocket

Ketamine therapy for mental health a ‘wild West’ for doctors and patients

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>In late 2022, Sarah Gutilla&#8217;s treatment-resistant depression had grown so severe, she was actively contemplating suicide. Raised in foster care, the 34-year-old&#8217;s childhood was marked by physical violence, sexual abuse, and drug use, leaving her with life-threatening mental scars.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/ketamine-therapy-for-mental-health-a-wild-west-for-doctors-and-patients/ Save to Pocket

Historic storm sends debris through LA’s Hollywood Hills and leaves 1.1 million without power

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LOS ANGELES &#8212; A storm of historic proportions dumped a record amount of rain over parts of Los Angeles on Monday, sending mud and boulders down hillsides dotted with multimillion-dollar homes while people living in homeless encampments in many parts of the city scrambled for safety.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/historic-storm-sends-debris-through-las-hollywood-hills-and-leaves-1-1-million-without-power/ Save to Pocket

No verdict after first day of deliberations in trial of Michigan school shooter’s mom

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>PONTIAC, Mich. &#8212; A Michigan jury went home Monday after a full day of deliberations in a novel trial against a school shooter&#8217;s mother who could go to prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of four students in 2021.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/no-verdict-after-first-day-of-deliberations-in-trial-of-michigan-school-shooters-mom/ Save to Pocket

Adams’ longtime friend had illegally made campaign funds

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK &#8212; Dwayne Montgomery, a former NYPD inspector and longtime friend of Mayor Eric Adams, admitted as part of a guilty plea Monday that he helped orchestrate a scheme to funnel illegal donations into the mayor&#8217;s 2021 campaign coffers.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/adams-longtime-friend-had-illegally-made-campaign-funds/ Save to Pocket

Senate Republicans back away from border policy bill, leaving aid for Ukraine in doubt

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Facing a torrent of criticism from conservatives, Senate Republicans on Monday distanced themselves from a bipartisan proposal intended to clamp down on illegal border crossings, signaling a likely defeat in Congress that would leave leaders with no clear path to approve wartime aid for Ukraine.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/senate-republicans-back-away-from-border-policy-bill-leaving-aid-for-ukraine-in-doubt/ Save to Pocket

CDC opens office in Tokyo as US seeks to shore up political allies

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is opening its first regional office in a developed nation, with the post in Japan set to enhance its work with allies on disease monitoring amid rising geopolitical tensions with China.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/nation-world-news/cdc-opens-office-in-tokyo-as-us-seeks-to-shore-up-political-allies/ Save to Pocket

Let’s Talk Food: Mardi Gras is next Tuesday

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Fat Tuesday is next Tuesday, the last hooray for indulging in rich food before the penitential season of Lent. We immediately think of the parades, bead throwing and great food happening at that time in New Orleans, but its earliest origins occurred in Rome, with the holiday called Saturnalia, dedicated to Saturn, the Roman god of the harvest.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/community/lets-talk-food-mardi-gras-is-next-tuesday/ Save to Pocket

Police investigate incident at Pahoa High & Intermediate

date: 2024-02-06, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Police are investigating an incident that occurred this morning at Pahoa High &#038; Intermediate School that left a 12-year-old student hospitalized.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/06/hawaii-news/police-investigate-incident-at-pahoa-high-intermediate/ Save to Pocket

Take A Look At Indian Motorcycle’s 2024 Factory Racing Team

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Indian is keen on asserting dominance in KOTB, SHNC, and AFT SuperTwins.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707467/2024-indian-factory-racing-team-announcement/ Save to Pocket

TV’s Big Dark (Money) Secret

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Lever News

As political ads blanket our screens like never before, the broadcast and tech lobbies are reaping the benefits of protecting the secrets of their dark money benefactors.

https://www.levernews.com/tvs-big-dark-money-secret/ Save to Pocket

EU repair rights bill tells manufacturers to fix up or ship out

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Provisional deal will mean companies cannot ‘hinder repair’

The European Parliament has reached a provisional deal on EU regulations to strengthen consumers’ right to repair.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/european_parliament_repair_rights/ Save to Pocket

No immunity for Trump

date: 2024-02-06, from: Robert Reich on Substack

But how to stop him from running out the the clock?

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-trump-from-running-out Save to Pocket

We made something massive and strange for the Pi Towers lobby

date: 2024-02-06, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)

We wanted a big project for the lobby at Pi Towers: something large and visually impactful. Our Maker in Residence thought designing something that needs 576 glass crystals was the way to go.

The post We made something massive and strange for the Pi Towers lobby appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/we-made-something-massive-and-strange-for-the-pi-towers-lobby/ Save to Pocket

Delegate seeks federal assistance on double session

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

Guam Del. James Moylan is seeking assistance from leadership at the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help address concerns over the double session taking place at John F. Kennedy High School.

https://www.postguam.com/news/delegate-seeks-federal-assistance-on-double-session/article_4bf16336-c4a1-11ee-9009-4f050241dbda.html Save to Pocket

Classifieds – February 6, 2024

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

The post Classifieds – February 6, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/classifieds-february-6-2024/ Save to Pocket

AI models just love escalating conflict to all-out nuclear war

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘We have it! Let’s use it’ proclaims the most warlike GPT-4-Base

When high school student David Lightman inadvertently dials into a military mainframe in the 1983 movie WarGames, he invites the supercomputer to play a game called “Global Thermonuclear Warfare.” Spoiler: This turns out not to be a very good idea.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/ai_models_warfare/ Save to Pocket

February 5, 2024

date: 2024-02-06, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

It’s been an exceedingly weird 24 hours. Last night the Senate released the text of the national security supplemental bill on which a bipartisan team of negotiators has been working for four months. Negotiators were working on adding a border component to an urgent measure to fund aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza, since extremist House Republicans said they would not pass such a measure until Congress also addressed what they insisted was a crisis at the U.S. border.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-5-2024 Save to Pocket

Today in SCV History (Feb. 6)

date: 2024-02-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)

1988 – Saugus Speedway owners demolish historic Bonelli Ranch House [story

https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-6/ Save to Pocket

One of LA’s wettest days damages 11 campus buildings

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Rain and flooding caused classes and tests to be canceled or moved to Zoom.

The post One of LA’s wettest days damages 11 campus buildings appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/one-of-las-wettest-days-damages-11-campus-buildings/ Save to Pocket

You can choose a different Greek life

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Professional and cultural Greek organizations offer another option for students.

The post You can choose a different Greek life appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/you-can-choose-a-different-greek-life/ Save to Pocket

Lawmakers propose bill to install speed controllers on vehicles

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The legislation could affect the safety of transit routes near campus.

The post Lawmakers propose bill to install speed controllers on vehicles appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/lawmakers-propose-bill-to-install-speed-controllers-on-vehicles/ Save to Pocket

A guide to the best record stores around LA

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Here is a comprehensive list to dive into the city’s local crate-digging scene.

The post A guide to the best record stores around LA appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/a-guide-to-the-best-record-stores-around-la/ Save to Pocket

Examining the games industry job crisis

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC has a unique relationship with the games industry, and is therefore disproportionately affected by the persistent layoffs.

The post Examining the games industry job crisis appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/the-k-pop-ification-of-the-gaming-industry-2-2-2/ Save to Pocket

Big Ten Bites: Women’s hoops nears end in Pac-12

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC’s team might benefit the most from the school’s move to the Big Ten.

The post Big Ten Bites: Women’s hoops nears end in Pac-12 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/big-ten-bites-womens-hoops-nears-end-in-pac-12/ Save to Pocket

Women’s basketball rolling in road kills

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Freshman phenom JuJu Watkins was on her beat in USC’s weekend wins.

The post Women’s basketball rolling in road kills appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/womens-basketball-weekend-littered-with-road-kills/ Save to Pocket

Acceptance rate expected to drop to 9.2%

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The University accepted 7% of early action applicants for the Class of 2028.

The post Acceptance rate expected to drop to 9.2% appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/acceptance-rate-expected-to-drop-to-9-2/ Save to Pocket

Men’s tennis continues blazing start

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC improved to a perfect 4-0 with a strong win over UNLV at Marks Stadium.

The post Men’s tennis continues blazing start appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/mens-tennis-continues-blazing-start/ Save to Pocket

Founding director of USC Computer Science Games program sued for sexual harassment

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

A viral video exposed professor emeritus Michael Zyda following escorts on X.

The post Founding director of USC Computer Science Games program sued for sexual harassment appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/founding-director-of-usc-games-sued-for-sexual-harassment/ Save to Pocket

Women’s water polo tournament defense slips away

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC failed to defend the Triton Invitational and missed out on a placement despite strong performances.

The post Women’s water polo tournament defense slips away appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/womens-water-polo-tournament-defense-slips-away/ Save to Pocket

We need more tax resources for international students

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Many international students struggle with obtaining requirements and paperwork to receive compensation for their work.

The post We need more tax resources for international students appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/06/we-need-more-tax-resources-for-international-students/ Save to Pocket

CERN seeks €20B to build a bigger, faster, particle accelerator

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

The Future Circular Collider, if built, will be three times the size of the LHC

CERN wants to build a next-generation particle accelerator that could cost up to €20 billion.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/cern_dark_matter_accelerator_proposal/ Save to Pocket

Funding Dan to improve curl tests

date: 2024-02-06, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog

A few weeks ago I mentioned how we fund Stefan’s work on improving HTTP(/3) in curl. Now, in similar spirit we are funding Dan Fandrich to work on further improving test infrastructure. Dan has worked fiercely on the introduction of parallel tests over the recent year or so and this is work that builds on … Continue reading Funding Dan to improve curl tests →

https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/02/06/funding-dan-to-improve-curl-tests/ Save to Pocket

Vote for the Topic of the February 2024 Plus Post

date: 2024-02-06, from: Computer ads from the Past

If you are a paid subscriber, voting is open for one week

https://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/vote-for-the-topic-of-the-february Save to Pocket

Matadors’ comeback falls short against Tritons

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

A furious second half rally by the Matadors (2-19, 0-11 Big West) fell short in heartbreaking fashion as they were edged by the UC San Diego Tritons (10-12, 6-5 Big…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178199/sports/matadors-comeback-falls-short-against-tritons/ Save to Pocket

Matadors snap five-game losing streak with win against UC Riverside

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

On the verge of extending their losing streak to six games, the CSUN Matadors (14-9, 5-6 Big West) came back to beat UC Riverside (8-15, 3-8 Big West) 76-70, at…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178190/sports/__matadors_snap_five-game_losing_streak_with_win_against_uc_riverside/ Save to Pocket

Microsoft brings its cloudy virtual desktops on-prem to AzureStack HCI

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Just in time to cash in on VMware and Citrix uncertainty

Microsoft has announced that its Azure Virtual Desktop offering is available on-prem.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/azure_virtual_desktops_azurestack_hci/ Save to Pocket

Hydrocycle Concept Seeks To Reshape The Future Of Two-Wheeled Mobility

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

A consortium of German and Czech companies hope to have a working prototype by 2025.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707463/hydrocycle-concept-german-czech-project/ Save to Pocket

Centennial, mum on plans, shares glimpse of mall vision 

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

While the city has identified this spring as the first public discussion for the future of the Town Center Specific Plan, on Thursday, Centennial, the Dallas-based developer that owns the Valencia mall, shared a few recent examples of properties that share in the property’s potential.  “We do feel confident in saying that Valencia Town Center […]

The post Centennial, mum on plans, shares glimpse of mall vision  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/centennial-mum-on-plans-shares-glimpse-of-mall-vision/ Save to Pocket

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong acquitted of stock manipulation charges

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

What a surprise, said no one

Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong was acquitted of stock manipulation charges related to a 2015 company merger in Seoul Central District Court on Monday.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/samsung_lee_merger_acquittal/ Save to Pocket

More Strikes Against US forces Follow Wave of US Airstrikes

date: 2024-02-06, from: VOA News USA

Iranian-backed militants in the Middle East were not deterred by U.S. strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the weekend, launching three attacks in Syria and causing the U.S. to conduct at least two self-defense strikes in Yemen. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb reports.

https://www.voanews.com/a/more-strikes-against-us-forces-follow-wave-of-us-airstrikes/7472699.html Save to Pocket

US Republicans Spar Over Border Security Bill Linked to Ukraine, Israel Aid

date: 2024-02-06, from: VOA News USA

After months of negotiations, U.S. senators will vote on a $118 billion bipartisan agreement on border security and aid to Ukraine and Israel later this week. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, even if the bill passes the Democratic-majority U.S. Senate, it has little chance of passage in the Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-republicans-spar-over-border-security-bill-linked-to-ukraine-israel-aid-/7472698.html Save to Pocket

An established AI player is in nasty trouble – in this market? What? Why?

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Australia’s Appen boasted of clients including Amazon and Microsoft. Then work dried up, Gen AI arrived, and Google bailed

AI is so hot right now, and assumed to be the future of everything. But troubles at an Australian AI developer show the field is not all sunshine and roses.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/appen_new_ceo/ Save to Pocket

California Drenched by Second “Atmospheric River” in One Week

date: 2024-02-06, from: VOA News USA

An unusually powerful series of storms are striking California. Matt Dibble has our story from Oakland, California.

https://www.voanews.com/a/california-drenched-by-second-atmospheric-river-in-one-week/7472697.html Save to Pocket

Usual situation

date: 2024-02-06, from: Jirka’s blog

During years I noticed a strange phenomena: if I have became used to something then it suddenly changes or ceases to exist. The obvious examples are the Psion PDA (they decided to quit teh PDA market just after I bought the Series 5), the PowerPC at the Apple (well, they released the OS Tiger just after I finally familiarised withthe Jaguar and they announced their switch to the Intel just a feew weeks after I finally decided to get the iMac), then Palm (I so much wanted the WebPad!), the Linux version of the Intel Compute stick or the nVidia Shield tablets (I’m sorry but I had two).

http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20240206-0440_Usual_situation Save to Pocket

On the SGI now

date: 2024-02-06, from: Jirka’s blog

The frequency of use of my once the main desktop (the SGI O2, 2005-2019) was terrible in the 2023 and it wasn’t better in this January. This is not good because this machine this easier to use than almost anything, prevents distraction caused by social networks, an e-mail and even by the most of WWW pages (nothing of that stuff works here these days).

http://jirka.1-2-8.net/20240206-0440_On_the_SGI_now Save to Pocket

U.S. labor department recovers more than $500k from Ian Construction

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than half a million dollars in back wages and liquidated damages for 139 employees of a federal construction contractor on Guam found to have violated federal laws, the agency announced.

https://www.postguam.com/news/u-s-labor-department-recovers-more-than-500k-from-ian-construction/article_ed09c85c-c498-11ee-82e0-43f351981e70.html Save to Pocket

Roy Lee, Candidate for 1st District Supervisor, Calls Out Supervisor Das Williams for Cannabis Contributions

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Lee criticizes incumbent Supervisor Williams for “breaking his promise” and accepting donations from the cannabis industry.

The post Roy Lee, Candidate for 1st District Supervisor, Calls Out Supervisor Das Williams for Cannabis Contributions appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/roy-lee-candidate-for-1st-district-supervisor-calls-out-supervisor-das-williams-for-cannabis-contributions/ Save to Pocket

Expo Park

date: 2024-02-06, from: Transiting Los Angeles

Just across from the USC campus, Expo Park is home to some of the city’s most popular museums and sports venues. Check out our guide to everything the park has to offer.

https://transitinglosangeles.com/2024/02/05/expo-park/ Save to Pocket

KTM Pulls The Covers Off The 2024 RC 200 In The Asian Market

date: 2024-02-06, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

It gets updated styling and two Ready To Race colorways.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/707461/2024-ktm-rc200-unveiled-asian-market/ Save to Pocket

No Deaths, Injuries, or Rescues from February Storm in Santa Barbara County

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The worst of the wind and rain is in the rearview, but a flood watch remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon.

The post No Deaths, Injuries, or Rescues from February Storm in Santa Barbara County appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/no-deaths-injuries-or-rescues-from-february-storm-in-santa-barbara-county/ Save to Pocket

GMH releases mold report findings, hospital’s corrective action plan

date: 2024-02-06, from: Guam Daily Post

Results from the indoor air quality, airborne mold spore tests and microbial survey of the hospital have been released by the Guam Memorial Hospital, which also laid out a two-year plan to address the mold.

https://www.postguam.com/news/gmh-releases-mold-report-findings-hospital-s-corrective-action-plan/article_e9f02938-c496-11ee-8315-2f0f93f95f85.html Save to Pocket

Blues Traveler to perform at COC May 9

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

News release  The Grammy-Award-winning band is kicking off its 2024 tour in May, including a stop at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons.  Blues Traveler’s “Spring 2024 Kick-Off Tour” will feature songs from their 15th full-length studio album “Traveler’s Soul” as well as a smattering of the band’s singles, including […]

The post Blues Traveler to perform at COC May 9 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/blues-traveler-to-perform-at-coc-may-9/ Save to Pocket

Supervisors to look at homeless count improvements 

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled Tuesday to discuss improvements to the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count as well as vote on approving a settlement regarding a traffic collision in the Santa Clarita Valley involving a sheriff’s deputy.  The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority conducted its annual homeless count across L.A. County […]

The post <strong>Supervisors to look at homeless count improvements</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/supervisors-to-look-at-homeless-count-improvements/ Save to Pocket

Space reimagined: Saugus district unveils new Charles Helmers building 

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

Jack Frizado said he really likes his new classroom at Charles Helmers Elementary School.  A fifth grader, Frizado, who turned 11 on Sunday, was one of many Huskies to join in with their parents, teachers and school and district officials to cut the ribbon on Thursday afternoon, officially opening the new two-story building.  “It’s amazing,” […]

The post <strong>Space reimagined: Saugus district unveils new Charles Helmers building</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/space-reimagined-saugus-district-unveils-new-charles-helmers-building/ Save to Pocket

Fostering Youth Independence thanks community for helping to exceed fundraising goal

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

News release  The year-end fundraising campaign for Fostering Youth Independence exceeded its goal thanks to the generosity of the Santa Clarita community, the organization announced, as it also revealed the impact that FYI made supporting 100 local foster youth during 2023.   Together with funds from its matching donor team, FYI received a total of $64,543, […]

The post Fostering Youth Independence thanks community for helping to exceed fundraising goal appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/fostering-youth-independence-thanks-community-for-helping-to-exceed-fundraising-goal/ Save to Pocket

Soaring to space: Emblem Academy welcomes ISS astronauts to SCV 

date: 2024-02-06, from: The Signal

Shannon King couldn’t contain her excitement.  As the event coordinator at Emblem Academy in the Saugus Union School District, King, also a sixth-grade teacher at the school, was tasked with getting the Eagles ready to soar to space on Monday.  Emblem Academy was one of two lucky schools chosen by NASA to speak with astronauts […]

The post <strong>Soaring to space: Emblem Academy welcomes ISS astronauts to SCV</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/02/soaring-to-space-emblem-academy-welcomes-iss-astronauts-to-scv/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

What's really in Biden's bipartisan immigration deal.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/05/biden-bipartisan-immigration-deal-00139558 Save to Pocket

US research body sues chip tech company Japan’s government plans to buy

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

The stakes are high because the disputed items - photoresists – are essential for EUV lithography

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY RF) is suing a subsidiary of Japan’s JSR Corporation over claims that photoresist materials developed by the foundation were commercialized and patented illegally.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/us_research_body_sues_inpria/ Save to Pocket

Bulk, Scale Issues

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Please give a minute to a proposal in Carpinteria that needs to be brought down in scale and size.

The post Bulk, Scale Issues appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/bulk-scale-issues/ Save to Pocket

As Warming Stokes Storms, Some Want Bigger Hurricane Scale: Category 6?

date: 2024-02-06, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/as-warming-stokes-storms-some-want-bigger-hurricane-scale-category-6-/7472644.html Save to Pocket

Attorney General Bonta Issues Consumer Alert on Price Gouging Following State of Emergency Declaration in Southern California in Light of Powerful Winter Storm

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert following the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency

The post Attorney General Bonta Issues Consumer Alert on Price Gouging Following State of Emergency Declaration in Southern California in Light of Powerful Winter Storm appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/attorney-general-bonta-issues-consumer-alert-on-price-gouging-following-state-of-emergency-declaration-in-southern-california-in-light-of-powerful-winter-storm/ Save to Pocket

Evacuation Warnings and Orders Lifted for Residents; Red Cross Closes Emergency Shelters

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

VENTURA/SANTA BARBARA, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 – Due to local Evacuation Orders and Warnings being lifted and residents being able to return

The post Evacuation Warnings and Orders Lifted for Residents; Red Cross Closes Emergency Shelters appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/evacuation-warnings-and-orders-lifted-for-residents-red-cross-closes-emergency-shelters/ Save to Pocket

Lowery, Harper Propel Mustangs to Victory Over Warriors

date: 2024-02-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Kaleb Lowery and Ty Harper each scored 25 as The Master’s University defeated Life Pacific 100-78 Saturday night in men’s basketball

https://scvnews.com/lowery-harper-propel-mustangs-to-victory-over-warriors/ Save to Pocket

Santa Barbara County Proclaims Local Emergency due to February 2024 Storms

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

(SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA.) –  On February 4, 2024, Santa Barbara County proclaimed a local emergency due to the February 2024

The post Santa Barbara County Proclaims Local Emergency due to February 2024 Storms appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/santa-barbara-county-proclaims-local-emergency-due-to-february-2024-storms/ Save to Pocket

Quick Charge Podcast: February 5, 2024

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/05/quick-charge-podcast-february-5-2024/ Save to Pocket

Art Censorship

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

As a long-time member of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, I am horrified by the action of canceling an art show that was years in the planning and firing the curator.

The post Art Censorship appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/art-censorship/ Save to Pocket

Singapore finally deletes its COVID-era contact tracing data

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Except for the data used for a controversial murder investigation. That stays. Forever

Singapore’s government announced on Monday it had deleted almost all the personal data collected from its COVID tracking systems – TraceTogether (TT) and SafeEntry (SE) – as of February 1. Almost.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/06/singapore_deletes_c19_data/ Save to Pocket

CoraQuest

date: 2024-02-06, from: Dave Rupert blog

CoraQuest is a “family cooperative dungeon crawler” created by adorable dad-daughter duo Dan and Cora Hughes from Huddersfield, UK. Feeling the boredom of pandemic lockdown, Dan and Cora (8yo) decided to design a board game and put it on Kickstarter. I’ve wanted an easy “Dungeons and Dragons for Kids” game for a long time and this hits all the marks. It’s imaginative, tactile, visual, and it has a simple ruleset that kids can easily grok. I backed it the minute I saw it.

CoraQuest comes with ~9 or so premade adventures so parents can run a one-shot without much preparation. The dungeon is a stack of 9x9 tiles with special story cards mixed in that map to story beats in the premade adventure. I embellish a bit and give the bad guys names like “Gerald” and “Geoffrey”. Add some funny voices and it’s a guaranteed good time for kids. My son and his friends played for two hours the other day and the kids didn’t even think about devices. That is worth the price of admission alone.

There’s other aspects that make this game great like how you can upload drawings to design your own heroes and enemies, there’s narrated quests to offload that responsibility, but to me the best part is my kids love it and ask for it. The infectious laughter of Dan and Cora has infected our house and young Cora is a role model that I often point to and tell my kids they can make a cool game everyone loves if you set your mind to it. I love the game so much I’ve bought the expansion as well as a short story book that takes place in the CoraQuest fantasy universe.

If you’re looking for a game to play with your kids and their friends, I highly recommend CoraQuest.

https://daverupert.com/2024/02/coraquest/ Save to Pocket

Feb. 6: SCV Water Regular Board Meeting

date: 2024-02-06, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency regular board meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m., at the Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant boardroom, located at 27234 Bouquet Canyon Road in Santa Clarita

https://scvnews.com/feb-6-scv-water-regular-board-meeting/ Save to Pocket

Starship nabs another $90M in funding to expand autonomous delivery robot service globally

date: 2024-02-06, from: Electrek Feed

Veteran autonomous delivery robot developer Starship Technologies announced it had raised an additional $90 million in funding to help expand its micro-logistics service to additional territories around the globe.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/02/05/starship-90m-funding-expand-autonomous-delivery-robot-service-globally/ Save to Pocket

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Improves Lives and Neighborhoods

date: 2024-02-06, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Santa Barbara, CA, February 5, 2024 –  The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) turns “low-income housing” preconceived bias

The post The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Improves Lives and Neighborhoods appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/02/05/the-housing-authority-of-the-city-of-santa-barbara-improves-lives-and-neighborhoods/ Save to Pocket

“Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Anil Dash blog

https://anildash.com/2024/02/06/wherever-you-get-podcasts/ Save to Pocket

Go 1.22 is released!

date: 2024-02-06, updated: 2024-02-06, from: Go language blog

Go 1.22 enhances for loops, brings new standard library functionality and improves performance.

https://go.dev/blog/go1.22 Save to Pocket

CloudNativePG 1.22.1, 1.21.3 and 1.20.6 Released!

date: 2024-02-06, from: PostgreSQL News

The CloudNativePG Community The CloudNativePG Community is excited to announce a new update for the *CloudNativePG Operator, now available for the supported 1.22, 1.21, and 1.20 versions.

Key enhancements in all supported minor releases are:

• Customize ephemeral volume storage for a PostgreSQL cluster using a claim template
• Introduce the pgadmin4 command in the cnpg plugin for kubectl to swiftly set up a demonstration-only interface for PgAdmin4. This is the most popular GUI for PostgreSQL, facilitating easy connection to a designated Postgres Cluster
• Add support for PostgreSQL’s ident map file configuration

Versions 1.22.1, 1.21.3 and 1.20.6 are patch releases that include essential bug fixes, addressing issues such as:

• Prevention of an unrecoverable problem with pg_rewind caused by postgresql.auto.conf being read-only due to the disabled alter system option
• Reduction of the risk of disk space shortage when using the import facility of the initdb bootstrap method

With this update, version 1.20 has reached End-of-Life (EOL). Version 1.20.6 marks the final release for the 1.20 minor version.

We highly recommend updating the operator at your earliest convenience to benefit from these improvements and bug fixes.

For a detailed list of changes, please refer to the following release notes:

• release notes for 1.22.1
• release notes for 1.21.3
• release notes for 1.20.6

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to your seamless experience with the updated CloudNativePG Operator.

About CloudNativePg

CloudNativePG is an open source Kubernetes Operator for PostgreSQL workloads that orchestrates the full life cycle of a PostgreSQL cluster, from bootstrapping and configuration, through high availability and connection routing, to backups and disaster recovery. CloudNativePG relies on PostgreSQL’s native streaming replication to distribute data across pods, nodes, and zones, using standard Kubernetes patterns. Replicas can be scaled up and down in a Kubernetes native manner, and the operator automatically and safely reconfigure replication as appropriate. CloudNativePG is a project originally created and supported by EDB.

https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/cloudnativepg-1221-1213-and-1206-released-2805/ Save to Pocket

Swiss PGDay 2024: Announcement and CfS

date: 2024-02-06, from: PostgreSQL News

We are pleased to announce the Swiss PGDay 2024, which will take place on Thursday, 27 June and Friday, 28 June 2024 at the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland, Campus Rapperswil (near Zurich).

The conference will last two days with two parallel tracks. Presentations will be mainly in English, but also in German (and there will be at least one presentation in English in each time slot).

A social event will be organized at the end of the first day of the conference to encourage networking in the community.

The call for speakers is open until 8 April 2024. We expect the schedule to be available by the end of April 2024.

There will be a lightning talk session. Lightning talks will be registered during the conference.

You can also submit a poster description until 15 May 2024. The posters will be shown in the exhibition area. Poster submitters are encouraged to present in a lightning talk session as well.

Attendee registration will open in early February 2024 and the call for sponsors will be announced at around the same time.

For updated information on Swiss PGDay, visit the website or follow us on Mastodon.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Rapperswil!

Best regards,
Swiss PGDay Organizing Committee

This is a community conference following the PostgreSQL Community Conference Recognition Guidelines. “PGDay” is a registered trademark of PostgreSQL Europe, used with their permission.

https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/swiss-pgday-2024-announcement-and-cfs-2803/ Save to Pocket

ISR Roundtable 2023: The future of preserving the integrity of the scholarly record together

date: 2024-02-06, from: Crossref Blog

Metadata about research objects and the relationships between them form the basis of the scholarly record: rich metadata has the potential to provide a richer context for scholarly output, and in particular, can provide trust signals to indicate integrity. Information on who authored a research work, who funded it, which other research works it cites, and whether it was updated, can act as signals of trustworthiness. Crossref provides foundational infrastructure to connect and preserve these records, but the creation of these records is an ongoing and complex community effort. Crossref has always shown a deep commitment to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record in an open and scalable manner.

Given the increasing concerns in the community about matters of research integrity and integrity of the scholarly record (ISR), we at Crossref have been engaging with community members to understand what developments are needed. In 2022, we organised a roundtable discussion to talk about our role and the applicability of Crossref’s services in preserving and assessing the integrity of the scholarly record. We’ve acted on much of that feedback since, and so in October 2023, we organised a follow-up event, once more gathering representatives of publishers, research integrity experts, policy-makers, academic institutions, funders, and researchers (the full list of participants can be found in the appendix). This post aims to offer insight into the discussions at this event and the next steps. The objective of this event was to take the conversation forward by:

• Sharing the progress made by Crossref on matters related to ISR since the last roundtable event.
• Sharing information about how metadata contributes to the Research Nexus, and can act as trust markers for research outputs.
• Apprising the community about the latest membership trends and examples of activities that we see, such as title transfer disputes, unregistered DOIs, requests for deleting records, and sneaked references .
• Building upon the ideas discussed during the 2022 roundtable event to progress the conversation about issues related to ISR.
• Learning from the participants about their experiences of pursuing research integrity initiatives.
• Last but no less importantly, hearing from the participants their perspectives on strategies for preserving the integrity of the scholarly record, and opportunities for collaborating to leverage metadata to assess the integrity of the scholarly record.

The event was kicked off by Ed Pentz, who spoke to the participants about how integrity is key to Crossref’s mission, and Crossref’s vision of the Research Nexus. Next, Amanda Bartell, the Head of Member Experience at Crossref, shared the recent developments and trends in community behaviour. She expanded upon the actions taken by Crossref as part of its ISR program since the last roundtable event, which include:

• Acquisition and opening of the Retraction Watch database, which makes it easier to access information on retractions and corrections.
• Increased participation in the Global Equitable Membership (GEM) program, enabling a wider section of the community to provide and access trust signals.
• Newer developments around metadata that act as trust signals: e.g. 120K grants or awards now have a Crossref DOI, and the planned transition of the Open Funder Registry into ROR.
• Recruitment of a Community Manager to focus on working with publishers and editors, including on ISR (that’s me!), and recruitment of a Technical Community Manager to enable greater use of our APIs.

Amanda highlighted that all Crossref members should be using ROR IDs to provide affiliations for authors (along with ORCID iDs) in their Crossref metadata. She also shared some latest examples of community behaviours that we have seen, such as requests from authors to delete records of works that were published without their permission, title ownership disputes between publishers, and the recent instance of sneaked references.

Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, and Lena Stoll, Product Manager at Crossref, were next, and they spoke about the future of the Retraction Watch database, and about the Crossmark service. After this, some of the other roundtable participants shared initiatives that they have undertaken that support ISR:

• Jodi Schneider from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign spoke about NISO’s CREC Working Group that has created a Recommended Practice that should be followed by relevant stakeholders for communicating retracted research (Crossref’s Director of Product Rachael Lammey was the co-chair of that group).
• Kihong Kim from the Korean Council of Science Editors shared information about the workshops that the Council has organised for researchers on publishing in journals.
• Alberto Martín-Martín from Universidad de Granada presented his thoughts on how to reconcile the publishing system and the institutional view of tracking research outputs.
• Bianca Kramer from Sesame Science spoke about her analysis of and the implications of sneaked references, duplicate references, and missing references for citation integrity.
• Joris van Rossum from STM Solutions spoke about the STM Integrity Hub and the integrity tools that are being developed in collaboration with some publishers.

Some of the most valuable reflections stemmed from discussions in small groups on these three key questions:

1. What value do you see in the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record in the way you operate? How do you contribute to it? How can it support you to achieve your own goals?
2. Are you aware of Crossref services? What are the barriers to more uptake? What are the challenges and opportunities?
3. What information is essential and nice to have for you in the scholarly records to support trust signalling and ascertaining trustworthiness?

As groups shared their discussions, a few themes became apparent that I would like to elaborate on further.

What is “complete”?

Given the prompt to talk about the value of completeness of the scholarly record, an immediate reaction at most tables was: how much metadata qualifies as “complete” metadata? Can the scholarly record be considered complete if some publishers or journals do not use Crossref? What is the optimum level of metadata that should be deposited by members - should a minimum data standard be defined by disciplines, or should there be standard data requirements for all? The composition of metadata appears to change over time, too, as the processes change and our ability to record their facets increases. While there were spirited discussions about what constitutes a complete scholarly record, everyone agreed that “completeness” of metadata, as much as is possible, should be the aim. Unambiguous and consistent standards may help with this, for example, the Metadata 20/20 community creation of principles and best practices, and potentially also using a set of recognition standards and reproducibility badges.

Global participation is equally important for a truly “complete” scholarly record. In order to enable as many in the scholarly community as possible to participate in Crossref services and metadata, Crossref launched the Global Equitable Membership (GEM) program in 2023. Under this initiative, membership and content registration fees are waived off for members from the least economically advantaged countries. We are seeing first signs that this initiative meaningfully lowers the barriers to participation for organisations based in those countries, and allows the global community to contribute towards the building of a comprehensive research ecosystem.

At the end of the day, it is important to recognize that rich metadata is crucial because it can be used for all kinds of analysis, which in turn can drive decision-making. Even if some of the metadata components are sporadically missing, that could be acceptable, because every piece of data counts!

Corrections and Retractions

Similar to last year, retractions and corrections continued to be a topic of great interest in this year’s roundtable. This was not surprising given their relevance as trust indicators as well as the recent development with the acquisition of the Retraction Watch database by Crossref. Having heard from Ivan about the Retraction Watch taxonomy of reasons for retractions and the metadata included in the database, participants expressed the need to investigate this taxonomy as a community standard. While the Retraction Watch taxonomy is not widely known, we at Crossref are working to map the Crossmark taxonomy with the Retraction Watch taxonomy, which will enable complete integration of the Retraction Watch database with the Crossref database.

It would also be useful to add more information to retraction notices. Having more information about the reasons for retraction will not only destigmatize retractions, but certain additional information, such as submission dates for those outputs, might help with ethical investigations to determine whether manuscripts were being submitted to multiple publishers simultaneously.

On the topic of retractions, another aspect that came up in the room was about incentives for researchers to publish as much and as quickly as possible. If researchers indulge in unethical publishing practices due to this pressure to publish, that is hugely detrimental to the cause of research integrity and to the progress of scientific research in general. However, there is a distinction to be made between the integrity of the research and the integrity of the scholarly record - unethical research and publishing practices, including but not limited to data falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism, affect research integrity while integrity of the scholarly record is affected by unavailability of metadata, outdated metadata, incomplete metadata records, and incorrect metadata (e.g. as seen in the case of sneaked references).

There was a lot of discussion about Crossmark, a cross-platform service provided by Crossref that allows readers to discover whether an item has been updated, corrected, or retracted just by clicking a button that is standardised across publication platforms. While most participants acknowledged its importance, they also pointed out that its uptake has been limited and publishers do not use it as much, perhaps because it is difficult to implement and there’s a matter of providing more clarity about it to the readers. There were suggestions to add a notification system to Crossmark such that every time a published output is retracted, a notification goes out. This seemed of particular interest to funders, whose grievance was that they are usually the last to find out when research that they have funded is retracted. They would welcome notifications that would alert them to such events.

We already have plans to consult with the community more specifically about what changes they’d like to see to Crossmark that will enable them to implement it easily and use it more frequently. Take a look at this thread on our community forum and add your thoughts for our next steps on Crossmark.

The importance of education

There was an overwhelming sentiment that there was a need for collective arbitration of research integrity issues. However, everyone recognized that this is not a role for Crossref. We can act as a “trust broker” by bridging different metadata and identifiers that otherwise might not interact, creating a network of research outputs whose credibility can be verified by others. Many participants called for Crossref to increase its efforts in educating community members about the importance of metadata and how different pieces can be linked together to make meaningful connections.

Research practices vary between countries, and between institutions. Correspondingly, the metadata being provided by diverse Crossref members may also vary. There is an opportunity here for the global research community to work together to increase awareness about ethical standards, so that a lack of specific metadata or its variances (e.g. unusually formatted metadata, or non-standard metadata fields) may not be construed as “lower quality” metadata. Many felt that the greatest need for education about metadata is for the academic community – although individual researchers contribute a wealth of metadata associated with any published research output, they do not necessarily understand how metadata contributes to the completeness of the scholarly record. There is a further opportunity to talk to the academic community about how different metadata components link together to form a rich network, supporting visibility and confidence in their work. A greater awareness about these topics is likely to encourage researchers to provide more metadata and identifiers.

While most participants at the roundtable event agreed about the need for this conversation and the educational opportunities here, if Crossref were to lead these efforts, it would represent, in some eyes, a diversion from its mission. We do have several initiatives already to support our communities. As part of the Crossref Ambassadors program, volunteers from the international scholarly community who believe in Crossref’s mission liaise with our team to conduct training in their communities about using Crossref services and, generally, about the importance of metadata. In 2023, we also launched a new online public forum, the PLACE, in collaboration with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). This forum is a place where new publishers can connect with these organisations and learn about best practices in scholarly publishing via discussion posts and by asking questions, as they get started. Another initiative that is designed to help new Crossref members is the “Managed Member Journey”: as members join and move through the various stages of membership, key information is shared with them during each of these stages in the form of triggered automated emails, web pages, and webinars.

While Crossref’s direct interactions with researchers are limited, we welcome the community’s recognition of the need to raise awareness about these matters. We have started engaging more closely with the reporters of metadata issues, in many cases investigators and ‘sleuths’ in the area of research integrity, and plan some closer collaborations with this group in 2024. We are open to supporting community efforts to inform other stakeholders about the importance and uses of metadata.

Incentives for the community

Another theme that was heard repeatedly was “incentives”: incentives for researchers to contribute to a “complete” scholarly record, incentives for publishers to improve metadata, and incentives for everyone to report on and register retractions.

As I mentioned before, a shared sentiment is that researchers may not be aware of the value of rich metadata. While more publications, increased citations, and greater grant funding are some examples of incentives that are part of the current academic settings, the right incentives probably do not exist for researchers to provide complete metadata. With the diverse set of participants present at this meeting, some groups also discussed how the current research assessment system can change to incorporate other metrics, perhaps those based on open science and open data.

What could be the incentives for publishers to improve the metadata collected and deposited by them? One suggestion was that clearly defined benefits of rich metadata can incentivise publishers. Being aware of what funders are mandating, can be another incentive. On the same note, funders will benefit from knowing what metadata is being provided by publishers. This metadata is available through our open API, and nine key checks on members’ activity are available through our public Participation Reports.

Retractions featured again in the discussion on the topic of incentives. As shared by Ivan, retractions are on the rise every year, with about 43k retractions currently in the Retraction Watch database. On the other hand, retractions registered in Crossmark at the time of the meeting numbered just 14k and have recently jumped up to 25k thanks to Hindawi/Wiley’s dedication to good open metadata. Besides the fact that the uptake of Crossmark by Crossref members is limited, another reason for the low number of retractions being registered is the associated stigma. Corrections and errata are usually conflated with retractions, and all these terms, which represent different kinds of updates that may happen to a published item, have a stigma associated with them in the academic community. There is a need to destigmatize retractions, and perhaps incentivize them by noting that these updates are essential to uphold the integrity of the scholarly record and to highlight the publishers that are showing leadership in addressing the issues openly through up-to-date Crossref metadata.

What metadata is nice to have in the scholarly record?

We asked everyone what information they think is essential as well as “nice to have” in the scholarly record to support trust signalling, and we heard a range of answers. Peer review information was recognized to be important. This would include data on who the peer reviewers were and standard peer review terminology that has been published by NISO. More generally, as much metadata as possible about the main actors of the peer review process was considered important - such as designating who the corresponding author is, and who the handling editor or the decision-making editor was.

As special issues led by guest editors in journals have been brought to the attention of late due to the uncovering of irregularities in some of them, one of the first suggestions in this context was more metadata about special issues. Participants thought that it would be useful to collect and distribute information on handling/guest editors of special issues, peer reviewers, as well as submission and acceptance dates. Recently, COPE has released guidance on “best practices for guest-edited collections” , highlighting that this topic looms at the forefront for the scholarly information industry.

Adding information on ethical approvals provided by institutional review boards would add more nuance to the research outputs. Metadata about clinical trials helps to add transparency to research in a field, where reproducibility is of primary importance. Conflicts of interest are another factor that could be a cause of concern if not reported accurately; these declarations were mentioned by the participants as important for signalling trust.

Recognizing that it is the relationships in the metadata that add context to research output, participants echoed that better interlinking between preprints and their published versions is required. To aid with all of this, it has been suggested that a complete list of all metadata that can be deposited with Crossref be made available in a simple format, so that members have more visibility about all the possibilities that exist for providing metadata.

Next steps

We asked all participants if the discussions prompted them to plan to take any actions in the near future. Several attendees reflected that the discussion encouraged them to go back and review the metadata that they are depositing with Crossref, and how they can make more use of the data openly available from Crossref. We also heard how some found training opportunities therein - discussion points from the event could be included in workshops for affiliated researchers, and in COPE guidance for members. As encouraged by members of the NISO’s CREC Working Group, some participants were looking to respond in the (then open) consultations of the draft Recommended Practice, NISO RP-45-202X, Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CREC). One message resonated loud and clear: preserving the integrity of the scholarly record cannot be a lone endeavour and has to be a community effort. Attendees expressed their commitment to continue these conversations, with the next most opportune time being at the STM week. Everyone recognised that collaboration in this space is the need of the hour: facilitating information and data sharing across all the players in the ecosystem would be crucial to progressing this topic. As Bianca Kramer declared during her presentation, “I am committed to using only open data in my research, as access to data is important for the community to detect problems at scale”.

At our end, we are looking to act on suggestions that are specific to Crossref:

Consultation with the community about Crossmark

One of the first things that we are doing in early 2024 is to consult with our community about the developments needed in the Crossmark service. Our key aim with this exercise would be to understand how we can enable a more effective uptake of this service so that Crossref members can easily fulfil their obligation of keeping their records updated. We are keen to understand what we can do to help our members to send us metadata about updates to an output, and how we can help downstream services that use this data. Insights from this consultation will also help inform how the Retraction Watch data can be most effectively integrated into Crossmark and communicated to users. Please visit the discussion and add your thoughts here: https://community.crossref.org/t/communicating-post-publication-updates-inviting-feedback-on-the-next-steps-for-crossmark/.

Development of resources for using our API

As there is clearly no dearth of metadata components that the community thinks would be “nice to have” for signalling trust, it is equally important to equip users and downstream service providers to be able to access the rich metadata that is available with Crossref. This rich metadata opens up new avenues for the development of services and resources that can benefit the scholarly community. On account of this, we plan to prioritise development of resources for using Crossref APIs. These efforts would include making available workbooks with a variety of API use cases - ranging from how to use basic API queries, to how to use APIs for obtaining grant information or for obtaining citation data and so on, as well as retrieving corrections, retractions, and update information, especially when the Retraction Watch dataset merges in with the rest of the Crossref metadata.

Working group to facilitate community efforts for preserving ISR

We are looking to set up a working group that will facilitate the various stakeholders in the scholarly ecosystem to work together towards preserving the integrity of the scholarly record. One direction for the group could be to consider the role and impact of Crossref metadata in ISR. Another area of focus will be to enrich information about retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern. Raising industry-wide awareness about the current concerns in upholding the integrity of the scholarly record, and how comprehensive metadata can act as markers of trust about research output, would be another focal point.

Continued community outreach

We will continue our efforts to engage with the community on the very important issues surrounding ISR. We are particularly keen to redouble our efforts to include more funders and institutions in these conversations. Preserving the integrity of the scholarly record needs to be a truly inclusive effort and will benefit from diverse voices in the community. With that in mind, consulting with the community in Asia is next on our radar.

We look forward to working with the community further on this important topic - if you are keen to participate in these discussions and want to contribute towards preserving the integrity of the scholarly record, we would love to hear from you. Please write to us at feedback@crossref.org if you have any suggestions on this topic.

Appendix: Participant list

https://www.crossref.org/blog/frankfurt-isr-roundtable-event-2023/ Save to Pocket

A Reflection on Student Leadership

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

In the two years that I have been a Social Director for Ricketts Hovse, I have had more than a few opportunities to explore undergraduate student-administration relationships at Caltech and where they have broken down. I have watched my peers in student leadership be ignored and shut down by members of administration.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/reflection-on-student-leadership/ Save to Pocket

Caltech’s Core Problem

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

The class that plagued me the most during last Fall term was Ch 21a, Physical Chemistry, which is an introduction to Quantum Mechanics for chemistry-related majors. My freshman and sophomore years were honestly pretty rough, but these were all supposed to build my skills as a science student here. As a Junior, I was hoping to excel in courses directly related to my major.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/caltech-core-problem/ Save to Pocket

If This is to End in Fire…

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

I am a big believer in destiny, that commander of events that places people where they need to be exactly when they need to.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/if-this-is-to-end-in-fire/ Save to Pocket

Local Happenings in Pasadena

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

Hey Caltech! For the first installment of the Off-Campus Events Newsletter, we’ve got a play,

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/local-happenings-in-pasadena/ Save to Pocket

Lunar New Year

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

As the beginning of February comes back around, you may notice an increase in red or dragon imagery on campus or around Pasadena; Lunar New Year is approaching on the 10th, a celebration of a new year timed by the lunar calendar instead of solar calendar.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/lunar-new-year/ Save to Pocket

Man vs. Mannion

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

Full House Cantonese Restaurant in Chinatown – Well Known Chinatown Restaurant Serves a Good Meal But Needs Some Work If It Wants To Shine Again

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/man-vs-mannion/ Save to Pocket

Meet the Humans of Red Door: Barista Minzhi

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

Lovely to meet you, Minzhi! If I may begin, how did you come to join Caltech’s cherished scarlet-doored café?

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/meet-the-humans-of-red-door/ Save to Pocket

Page House’s Mural Saga Continues

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

Each undergraduate house has a unique culture. Pretty much every Caltech student ever would agree. Parts of what makes house cultures unique, since they are so intertwined with their physical spaces, are the murals in each house.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/page-house-mural-sage-continues/ Save to Pocket

President, Provost, VPSA Convene Faculty Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Admissions Policy

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

In the wake of a petition to President Thomas Rosenbaum signed by more than 140 faculty members, the Institute has moved to form a committee for evaluating current admissions standards as predictors of success at Caltech.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/president-provost-vpsa-convene-faculty/ Save to Pocket

Question the Quails

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

Hey Caltech! For the first installment of the Off-Campus Events Newsletter, we’ve got a play,

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/question-the-quails/ Save to Pocket

Sinister Six Thirty

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

To remind readers where we left off in the previous episode, Elizabeth Zott — female chemist in the 1950s who mastered out of her UCLA Ph.D. program and became a lab technician at Hastings — is now working in Dr. Calvin Evans laboratory.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/sinister-six-thirsty/ Save to Pocket

Title IX Case Delays Are Not Isolated Occurrences

date: 2024-02-06, from: The California Tech (Caltech student paper)

In the January 16th issue, the Tech reported on a 16-month-long Title IX Case regarding a hidden camera incident. Since then, more students have contacted the Tech to share their experiences with Caltech’s Title IX Office. In the interest of privacy, their identities will not be disclosed. Students who filed Title IX complaints will be referred to as complainants, and the subjects of the complaints will be referred to as respondents.

https://tech.caltech.edu/2024/02/06/title-ix-case-delays-are-not-isolated-occurences/ Save to Pocket