News gathered 2024-02-23
(date: 2024-02-23 14:20:05)
Jeep’s first EV will land in the US as early as July, electric Wrangler-like Recon to follow
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
The first all-electric Jeep could be delivered to US customers as soon as July. According to new CEO Antonio Filosa, production of Jeep’s first EV, the Wagoneer S SUV, is expected to begin in Q2. Deliveries could happen as soon as the third quarter. Jeep’s CEO also confirmed we may see the electric Wrangler-like Recon launch by the end of the year.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/jeeps-first-ev-soon-electric-wrangler-recon/ Save to Pocket
The CI View Hosts Freedom of Speech Day Event: A Call to Action for Students
date: 2024-02-23, from: CI View (CSCI Student Paper)
By Miriam Packard On Feb. 22nd, students at CI gathered at an event hosted by The CI View to commemorate Freedom of Speech Day. The […]
http://civiewnews.com/news/the-ci-view-hosts-freedom-of-speech-day-event-a-call-to-action-for-students/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-ci-view-hosts-freedom-of-speech-day-event-a-call-to-action-for-students Save to Pocket
California’s first Amazon ‘Dash Carts’ are at Whole Foods in San Mateo
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The San Mateo Whole Foods location is the first in California — and the sixth location in the U.S. — where Amazon is testing out a new high-tech shopping cart that scans your items as you go. When you’re done, you skip the lines and just walk out of the store with your groceries.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/californias-first-amazon-dash-carts-are-at-whole-foods-in-san-mateo/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Reddit is getting ready to go public.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/23/reddit-downplays-risks-of-developer-backlash-decentralized-social-media-in-its-ipo-filing/ Save to Pocket
Happy Feet: A New Dance Floor
date: 2024-02-23, from: CI View (CSCI Student Paper)
By Aileen Lawrence Oct. 11 students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni all gathered to celebrate the installation of CI’s new dance floor in Malibu Hall. […]
http://civiewnews.com/news/happy-feet-a-new-dance-floor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=happy-feet-a-new-dance-floor Save to Pocket
Chinese Companies Hit by US, EU Sanctions on Russia
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
London — U.S. and European Union sanctions announced Friday on hundreds of people and companies for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine included several companies from China.
While most sanctions were against Russians and Russian firms, the U.S. and EU measures also included Chinese individuals and companies based in mainland China cities as well as Hong Kong for supplying the Russian military.
The U.S. sanctions also targeted individuals and firms based in Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, while the EU also targeted individuals and entities based in India, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
They also included sanctions against Russian prison officials over the suspicious death last week in a Russian prison of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Russia’s foreign ministry denounced the sanctions as “illegal” and said it would respond by banning some EU citizens who provided military assistance to Ukraine from entering Russia.
Chinese officials did not issue an immediate response to the sanctions. But, at a regular briefing Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning commented on the expected sanctions saying China follows an “objective and impartial position on the Ukraine crisis” and has “worked actively to promote peace talks.”
She said they “have not sat idly by, still less exploited the situation for selfish gains.”
Ukrainian officials and media reports have accused Chinese companies of supplying key electronics and dual-use technologies, including drone components, to Russia’s military since its invasion of Ukraine two years ago, which Beijing has denied.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday preempted Friday’s official announcement on social media, saying, “I welcome the agreement on our 13th sanctions package against Russia. We must keep degrading Putin’s war machine. With 2000 listings in total, we keep the pressure high on the Kremlin. We are also further cutting Russia’s access to drones.”
The sanctioned individuals and companies are banned from doing business with U.S. or European firms.
But legal and political analysts disagree on the effectiveness of the sanctions.
Lawyer Mark Handley, a partner at the Philadelphia-headquartered law firm Duane Morris LLP, said being sanctioned will certainly affect their international business. “Things like international insurance companies or shipping could get very complicated once they are on the sanctions list.”
However, Pieter Cleppe, editor-in-chief for BrusselsReport.eu, told VOA, “Historical research has shown that sanctions mostly fail, especially when prolonged, as is the case with Russia. The targeted country learns to cope with them.”
He said, “While sanctions may impoverish ordinary Russians, they have failed to halt the Russian offensive, which should be the goal.”
The Yermak-McFaul International Working Group on Russian Sanctions and the Ukrainian think tank KSE Institute in January published a report showing sanctioned technology has still been reaching Russia’s military through third country intermediaries, which the EU and the U.S. hope the fresh measures will stop.
Despite the historic sanctions, Russia’s economy has been resilient as it shifted from European trade to doing more business and selling more oil to Moscow-friendly nations such as India, Brazil and China.
Junhua Zhang, senior assistant researcher at the Brussels-based European Institute for Asian Studies, said the EU’s highest expectation “is for China to align with the EU in resisting Russia’s aggression, which is unrealistic. The EU’s minimum expectation is for Chinese companies not to work for Russia, but strictly speaking, only fools would have such an expectation.”
“Just consider, [Chinese President] Xi Jinping sees Putin as his best friend, and those below him will act accordingly, a point that Europeans also recognize.”
Others argue that sanctions on Chinese firms could push Beijing to reconsider.
Aliona Hlivco, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and managing director at the London-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said sanctions against Chinese companies could prove useful in deterring Russia’s war on Ukraine. “China is currently attempting to improve relations with the West, so reinforcing China’s compliance with international norms could be opportune.”
The EU is China’s second-largest trading bloc partner after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
China Customs says China-EU bilateral trade value was $783 billion in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%.
In the same year, while Russia lost most of its European market due to sanctions, the bilateral trade between China and Russia hit a record high of $240 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.3%.
Trade between the U.S. and China in 2023 fell for the first time since 2019, by 11% to $664 billion, according to customs data, and the Commerce Department says the United States imported more goods from Mexico than China for the first time in 20 years.
https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-companies-hit-by-us-eu-sanctions-on-russia/7500429.html Save to Pocket
Friday Squid Blogging: Illex Squid and Climate Change
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-19, from: Bruce Schneier blog
There are correlations between the populations of the Illex Argentines squid and water temperatures.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.
Read my blog posting guidelines here.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/friday-squid-blogging-illex-squid-and-climate-change.html Save to Pocket
49ers’ first significant roster move this offseason costs cornerback his job
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Cornerback Isaiah Oliver got released Thursday in the 49ers’ first personnel exit after their Super Bowl loss, in which he did not take a defensive snap.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/49ers-first-significant-roster-move-this-offseason-costs-cornerback-his-job/ Save to Pocket
So many reasons to love Ellis
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The planned Village Center is poised to become a focal point and will offer neighborhood-serving retail, food, beverages and places for neighbors to gather and socialize.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/so-many-reasons-to-love-ellis/ Save to Pocket
Romance Authors Riled by ‘From Meet-Bot to AI-Do’ Writing Workshop
date: 2024-02-23, from: 404 Media Group
A chapter of the Romance Writers of America organization planned a program called “From Meet-Bot to AI-Do: Crafting Romances in the Realm of AI,” but it’s since been scrubbed from the site after backlash from authors.
https://www.404media.co/romance-authors-riled-by-from-meet-bot-to-ai-do-writing-workshop/ Save to Pocket
Fire Destroys Museum Honoring Legendary Blues Musician Mississippi John Hurt
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The three-room shack in the town of Avalon, Mississippi, was once the singer and guitarist’s home
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fire-destroys-museum-honoring-legendary-blues-musician-mississippi-john-hurt-180983839/ Save to Pocket
Private US Moon Lander ‘Alive and Well’ After Rocky Landing
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/private-us-moon-lander-alive-and-well-after-rocky-landing-/7500408.html Save to Pocket
Three charged in residential robberies of units at Victorian home in Alameda
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Donning masks and pistols, the suspects kicked in the door of the outside residence, pistol-whipped and bound the man living there before robbing him of cash and other items, according to court documents.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/three-charged-in-residential-robberies-of-units-at-victorian-home-in-alameda/ Save to Pocket
China breakthrough promises optical discs that store hundreds of terabytes
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The coasters are making a comeback … but tech won’t be commercially available for some time
Optical discs that can store up to 200 TB of data could be possible with a new technology developed in China. If commercialized, it could revive optical media as an alternative to hard disk or tape for cost-effective long-term storage.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/optical_disc_breakthrough/ Save to Pocket
San Jose bakery calls out Tesla for canceling order of thousands of pies
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
When Voahangy Rasetarinera began The Giving Pies seven years ago out of her San Jose home kitchen, her mini pies became an instant hit with Stanford University students. Then corporate buyers like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon soon starting scooping them up, too. The companies ordered pies in the hundreds to the low thousands. So when […]
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/san-jose-bakery-calls-out-tesla-for-canceling-order-of-thousands-of-pies/ Save to Pocket
CHP: Officers locate stolen construction tractor
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
California Highway Patrol officers located stolen Caterpillar construction equipment Wednesday night, according to Josh Greengard, spokesman for the CHP’s Newhall-area office. According to Greengard, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department asked the CHP’s Los Angeles Communications Center to help locate the stolen tractor originating from Pearblossom, and reported that the truck towing it was heading […]
The post <strong>CHP: Officers locate stolen construction tractor</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/chp-officers-locate-stolen-construction-tractor/ Save to Pocket
Slayings expose the dark side of Medellin’s tourist boom
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Now the surge in tourism has presented officials with a new set of dark challenges, including an uptick in sex trafficking and the killing of tourists and Colombian women after rendezvous on dating apps.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/slayings-expose-the-dark-side-of-medellins-tourist-boom/ Save to Pocket
Vice and Engadget “Content”
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Bruce Dixon: We create and produce outstanding original content true to the Vice brand. However, it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously. Moving forward, we will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/23/vice-and-engadget-content/ Save to Pocket
Apple Sports
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Apple (MacRumors): Apple today introduced Apple Sports, a free app for iPhone that gives sports fans access to real-time scores, stats, and more. Designed for speed and simplicity, the app’s personalized experience puts users’ favorite leagues and teams front and center, featuring an easy-to-use interface designed by Apple. Apple Sports is available to download now […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/23/apple-sports/ Save to Pocket
IAP Required for Insight Timer Tips
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Sarah Perez: The CEO of meditation app Insight Timer, Christopher Plowman, is frustrated. He doesn’t think the teachers who leverage his app’s marketplace to reach their students should have to share 30% of their income with Apple — its commission on in-app purchases — and for the past 12 months, Apple had also agreed. After […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/23/iap-required-for-insight-timer-tips/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Arc browser’s new AI-powered ‘pinch-to-summarize’ feature is clever.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/23/arc-browsers-new-ai-powered-pinch-to-summarize-feature-is-clever-but-often-miss-the-mark/ Save to Pocket
Swift Scripts Importing Cocoa Frameworks Broken on macOS 14
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Jesse Squires: On macOS 14 Sonoma there is a regression in Swift 5.9 which causes Swift scripts that import Cocoa frameworks to fail. […] The current workaround (also posted by @rdj) is to update the shebang, #!/usr/bin/swift, by replacing it with the following:#!/usr/bin/env DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=/System/Library/Frameworks /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin/swift Previously: Scripting Languages to Be Removed
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/23/swift-scripts-importing-cocoa-frameworks-broken-on-macos-14/ Save to Pocket
Varda capsule proves you don’t need astronauts for gravity-defying science
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Space factory startup celebrates successful re-entry
Almost drowned out by last night’s lunar landing, Varda Space Industries celebrated the re-entry and landing of the capsule from its W-1 mission in the Utah desert.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/materials_processed_in_space_return/ Save to Pocket
Travelers won’t know where they’re going on this new ‘mystery’ voyage from Windstar Cruises
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The eight-day voyage will depart from and return to Athens — but every other stop on the itinerary will be a mystery until the captain reveals it 24 hours ahead of arrival.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/travelers-wont-know-where-theyre-going-on-this-new-mystery-voyage-from-windstar-cruises/ Save to Pocket
Time for Two Parties Again
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Growing up here in Santa Barbara during the ’60s and ’70s, this area was as red as a matador’s cape, until things began to change in the ’80s and ’90s.
The post Time for Two Parties Again appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/time-for-two-parties-again/ Save to Pocket
No, RAG is probably not going to rescue the current situation
date: 2024-02-23, from: Gary Marcus blog
The thing about promises is that in Silicon Valley, accountability rarely shows up. Investors put in over $100 billion into the driverless car industry, and so far have little to show far it. Endless promises (and empty predictions) were made at essentially no cost to those who made them. So what if Elon made bad predictions year after year? Nobody cares.
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/no-rag-is-probably-not-going-to-rescue Save to Pocket
Hubble Views an Active Star-Forming Galaxy
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. While this image does not look very dramatic – we might say it looks almost serene – the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the little galaxy […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-views-an-active-star-forming-galaxy/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
I've heard a lot of good things about the Arc browser. They have a blog, but no feed linked into the blog's home page. It's important.
https://arc.net/blog Save to Pocket
Column: A new book on Blaxploitation movies celebrates it all, from Pam Grier to ‘Black Belt Jones’
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Author Odie Henderson on Blaxploitation movies: “Like anything starting underground, once it goes mainstream it’s going to be destroyed.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/column-a-new-book-on-blaxploitation-movies-celebrates-it-all-from-pam-grier-to-black-belt-jones/ Save to Pocket
Knitting Anything?
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/knitting-anything Save to Pocket
An American Spacecraft Successfully Lands on the Moon for the First Time Since 1972
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
After a tense touchdown process with last-minute changes, U.S.-based company Intuitive Machines received a signal from its uncrewed Odysseus lunar lander on Thursday evening
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-american-spacecraft-successfully-lands-on-the-moon-for-the-first-time-since-1972-180983841/ Save to Pocket
Sureño gang member convicted in Richmond mass shooting that killed three, injured seven
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Enrique Ramirez-Calmo, 29, argued in trial he made a false confession to the Father’s Day 2021 killing.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/sureno-convicted-in-richmond-mass-shooting-that-killed-three-injured-seven/ Save to Pocket
Single-family residence sells for $1.8 million in Hayward
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
A 3,653-square-foot house built in 1994 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 28700 block of Barn Rock Drive in Hayward was sold on Dec. 20, 2023, for $1,800,000, or $493 per square foot.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/single-family-residence-sells-for-1-8-million-in-hayward/ Save to Pocket
Podcast: Tesla Model 3 Performance refresh, $RIVN earnings, new EV models, and more
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the new Tesla Model 3 Performance refreshed, Rivian’s earnings, new EV models being unveiled, and more.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/podcast-tesla-model-3-performance-refresh-rivn-earnings-new-ev-models/ Save to Pocket
Tesla’s new Cybertruck wheel caps are not easy on the eyes
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla has started rolling out its new Cybertruck wheel caps, which shouldn’t fall off this time, but the solution is not easy on the eyes.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/tesla-cybertruck-wheel-caps-are-not-easy-on-the-eyes/ Save to Pocket
Visiting artist provides work for festival
date: 2024-02-23, from: Catalina Islander
With the 12th Annual Catalina Arts and Crafts Festival approaching on Easter Weekend, the posters advertising the event are popping up around town. The art used for this year’s event poster was actually done by a visiting artist at the September art festival event and the painting was done with a unique process, whereby the […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/visiting-artist-provides-work-for-festival/ Save to Pocket
White Papers
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
White Paper, “Space Data Ethics: The Next Frontier in Responsible Leadership” White Paper, “Space Data Ethics: The Next Frontier in Responsible Leadership,” prepared by the Climate and Societal Benefits Subcommittee. This is a position paper in support of a recommendation to develop the principles of space data ethics. Completed December 1, 2023. White Paper, “Enhancing […]
https://www.nasa.gov/general/white-papers/ Save to Pocket
US, China Discuss Russia-North Korea Cooperation, Says State Department
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
washington — A top U.S. official on North Korea held a video call this week with China’s envoy on Korean Peninsula affairs in which they discussed the growing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, the State Department said Friday.
The U.S. senior official for North Korea, Jung Pak, and her Chinese counterpart, Liu Xiaoming, also addressed North Korea’s “increasingly destabilizing and escalatory behavior,” the department said in a statement.
It said the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea was “in violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
Russia has long been party to U.N. sanctions on North Korea over the latter’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs but has stepped up ties with Pyongyang since invading Ukraine in 2022.
The United States has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with artillery shells and missiles used in Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang deny the accusations but vowed last year to deepen military relations.
The State Department said the video call followed a February 16 meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Munich at which they “affirmed the importance of continued communication on [North Korea] issues at all levels.”
The Kremlin on Tuesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin had given North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian Aurus limousine as a gift. On Friday, Washington imposed sanctions on the producer of the car as part of a sweeping round of sanctions against Russia over the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and to mark the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions and trade restrictions also targeted Chinese firms that the U.S. said were assisting Russia’s war.
Sino-U.S. relations have shown signs of improvement in recent months with steps to reestablish communication channels after ties sank to their lowest levels in decades.
But many points of friction remain, including U.S. sanctions on China over security and human rights issues. China said Wang told Blinken in Munich that these should be lifted.
The top U.S. official for arms control, Bonnie Jenkins, told an event on Thursday that Washington was keen for more talks with China on strategic stability and crisis management and that a more aggressive North Korea was not in Beijing’s interest.
She said she believed North Korea, which borders China, is keen to acquire fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials and other advanced technologies from its cooperation with Russia.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-china-discuss-russia-north-korea-cooperation-says-state-department/7500184.html Save to Pocket
LA’s Winter COVID Surge Ebbs
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
We’re past the post-holiday peak, according to Los Angeles County health officials.
https://laist.com/news/health/las-winter-covid-surge-ebbs Save to Pocket
U-Haul tells 67K customers that cyber-crooks drove away with their personal info
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Thieves broke into IT system using stolen login
U-Haul is alerting tens of thousands of folks that miscreants used stolen credentials to break into one of its systems and access customer records that contained some personal data.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/uhaul_data_breach/ Save to Pocket
Biden Slaps 500 New Sanctions on Russia over War, Navalny Death
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
washington — U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday announced a significant sanctions escalation against Russia, targeting its financial system and military infrastructure with over 500 new penalties, marking the largest tranche of sanctions since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
The measure was announced ahead of the invasion’s anniversary on Saturday and followed the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a penal colony in the Arctic earlier this month.
The sanctions target various sectors, including Russia’s state-owned National Payment Card System, banks, investment firms, venture capital funds and other financial institutions, its defense industry and procurement networks. They also target individuals involved in evading sanctions, in Russia and abroad, as well as prison officials who Washington believes to be linked to Navalny’s death.
Urging lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pass the $95 billion Senate-approved supplemental funding measure that includes additional military aid for Kyiv, Biden vowed to respond with further punishment for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We in the United States are going to continue to ensure that Putin pays a price for his aggression abroad and repression at home,” he said Friday. Failure to do so, he warned, would embolden further aggression in Ukraine and worldwide.
Since Moscow’s invasion, Washington and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of Russian targets. Friday’s package includes nearly 300 people and entities targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department, as well as 250 people and entities targeted by the State Department. The Commerce Department added over 90 companies to the entity list.
However, simply adding individuals and companies with no links to the United States and arguably with limited links to the world outside of Russia at large is ineffectual, said Dalibor Rohac, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Instead, the administration should better coordinate with allies to prevent existing sanctions evasion, especially for those related to oil revenue, Rohac told VOA.
“And a seizing of Russia’s sovereign assets overseas — particularly its central bank reserves,” Rohac said.
Beginning in December 2022, the U.S. and its allies imposed a $60 per barrel cap on Russian oil, limiting services such as insurance and trade finance for shipping Russian oil sold above that price.
According to a Treasury Department analysis released Friday, the cap has reduced Russia’s oil income. Over the past month, the policy forced Russia to discount its oil by $19 per barrel.
The cap, combined with a European Union ban on nearly all Russian oil imports, was designed to choke funding to Putin’s war machine. However, countries can still legally buy Moscow’s crude if it is refined elsewhere, including in Turkey and India.
“As long as Russia can continue to sell their oil, they’ll be able to continue buying missiles, and bullets and pay for soldiers,” William Browder, head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, told VOA. “As long as we allow that, then this war is never going to end.”
Earlier this week the EU also slapped Moscow with a new round of sanctions, focusing on fighting sanctions evasion by targeting companies around the world accused of providing Russia with advanced technology and military goods.
Nearly 200 people and entities, mostly from Russia, have been added to the entity list, now totaling more than 2,000 individuals and entities.
For the first time, the EU sanctions are hitting companies in mainland China suspected of helping the Kremlin. Companies from India, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong are also targeted.
Cindy Saine contributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-slaps-500-new-sanctions-on-russia-over-war-navalny-death-/7500240.html Save to Pocket
Catalina Island Marathon medal has new twist with local connection
date: 2024-02-23, from: Catalina Islander
The Catalina Island Marathon, the oldest trail marathon in California, has revealed their 2024 finisher medals, and they’re definitely something to check out. This year’s medals were designed by Robin Cassidy of Silverado Pottery, a local artist on the island. The medals feature a colorful design of ocean waves and an iconic Catalina Island sunset, […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/catalina-island-marathon-medal-has-new-twist-with-local-connection/ Save to Pocket
Rivian (RIVN) stock hits all-time low after double analyst downgrade, job cuts
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
After disappointing fourth-quarter results, Rivian (RIVN) stock earned a double downgrade, sending share prices to an all-time low. Sitting at its lowest value since going public, the EV maker looks to gain control of costs in 2024.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/rivian-rivn-stock-all-time-low-downgrade-job-cuts/ Save to Pocket
Expert To Dealers: Embrace EVs Or Lose Your Jobs
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
Analysts agree that rolling back EV policies would be unacceptable, and dealers need to do more to embrace EVs.
https://insideevs.com/news/709026/how-dealers-can-embrace-evs/ Save to Pocket
CalArtian Wins 2024 Caldecott Medal
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Author and illustrator Vashti Harrison (Film/Video MFA 14) has been named the recipient of the 2024 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children for her book “Big.”
https://scvnews.com/calartian-wins-2024-caldecott-medal/ Save to Pocket
Local water rates to increase
date: 2024-02-23, from: Catalina Islander
If you are on Catalina Island, your water bill will go up, most likely in March. That was the news from Southern California Edison representatives who spoke at the Feb. 20 Avalon City Council meeting. Background Ryan Stevenson, SCE, the water rate case manager for Catalina, told the council that Edison filed the application for […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/local-water-rates-to-increase/ Save to Pocket
Texas just got an enormous 1.1-million-panel solar farm
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Renewable developer Clearway Energy Group has completed a 452-megawatt (MW) solar farm in West Texas – and it’s huge.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/texas-just-got-an-enormous-1-1-million-panel-solar-farm/ Save to Pocket
Recreation Dept. to tighten conduct code
date: 2024-02-23, from: Catalina Islander
Community Services Manager David Hart told the City Council on Feb. 20 that they were “tightening up” the Code of Conduct for Avalon’s recreation programs. The reason: Kids are not signing up for programs for fear of being bullied. Councilmember Michael Ponce took the opportunity to express his disappointment in the community because nothing has […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/recreation-dept-to-tighten-conduct-code/ Save to Pocket
Abraham Lincoln Pardoned Joe Biden’s Great-Great-Grandfather, 160-Year-Old Records Reveal
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Historian David J. Gerleman discovered the link between the two presidents while reviewing historic documents at the National Archives
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/abraham-lincoln-pardoned-joe-bidens-great-great-grandfather-documents-reveal-180983837/ Save to Pocket
Los Padres National Forest Seeks Public Comment on OHV Grant Application
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SOLVANG, Calif.— Los Padres National Forest is proposing to submit grant applications supporting Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) management activities on national forest
The post Los Padres National Forest Seeks Public Comment on OHV Grant Application appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/los-padres-national-forest-seeks-public-comment-on-ohv-grant-application-2/ Save to Pocket
Sheriff’s Log: Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, 2024
date: 2024-02-23, from: Catalina Islander
The following is the Avalon’s Sheriff’s Stations significant incidents report for the period of Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, 2024. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Many people who are arrested do not get prosecuted in the first place and many who are prosecuted do not get convicted. […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/sheriffs-log-feb-15-to-feb-21-2024/ Save to Pocket
Milk-V Duo S is a tiny $11 computer with RISC-V and ARM processor cores
date: 2024-02-23, from: Liliputing
The Milk-V Duo S is a tiny, square-shaped single-board computer that measures just 43 x 43mm (1.7″ x 1.7″). But there’s enough room on the little computer for a 10/100 Ethernet jack, USB Type-C and Type-A ports, a microSD card reader, and two sets of expansion headers. But the most unusual thing about this small, cheap, […]
The post Milk-V Duo S is a tiny $11 computer with RISC-V and ARM processor cores appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/milk-v-duo-s-is-a-tiny-11-computer-with-risc-v-and-arm-processor-cores/ Save to Pocket
CSUN Physical Therapy Students Honored by Campanella, Dodgers Foundations
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Earlier this month, CSUN’s College of Health and Human Development recognized 10 physical therapy students for winning scholarships from the Roy and Roxie Campanella Foundation and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
https://scvnews.com/csun-physical-therapy-students-honored-by-campanella-dodgers-foundations/ Save to Pocket
Here’s Lucid’s Plan To Survive 2024 And Beyond
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
Lucid is struggling with demand for its cars, but its CEO is pushing investors to think long-term.
https://insideevs.com/news/709900/lucid-air-gravity-midsize-q4-earnings/ Save to Pocket
Mustangs Defense Comes Up Big in Win Over Jessup 72-65
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University men’s basketball team was nearly perfect down the stretch as they defeated the Jessup Warriors 72-65 Thursday night at The MacArthur Center
https://scvnews.com/mustangs-defense-comes-up-big-in-win-over-jessup-72-65/ Save to Pocket
More Giant Pandas Are Coming to the U.S. in a New Loan From China
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
China plans to send a male and a female panda to the San Diego Zoo as early as this summer, and negotiations are underway for pandas’ possible return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/more-giant-pandas-are-coming-to-the-us-in-a-new-loan-from-china-180983842/ Save to Pocket
California Students Sue, Claiming High School Paper Censorship
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/california-students-sue-claiming-high-school-paper-censorship/7500124.html Save to Pocket
Strong opposition to Netanyahu’s plan to control Gaza after war
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Netanyahu’s plan calls for freedom of action for Israel’s military across a demilitarized Gaza after the war to thwart any security threat. It says Israel would establish a buffer zone inside Gaza, which is likely to provoke U.S. objections.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/strong-opposition-to-netanyahus-plan-to-control-gaza-after-war/ Save to Pocket
San Jose State professor suspended after altercation during Gaza protest
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
University officials confirmed the professor was on leave but did not identify the person.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/san-jose-state-professor-suspended-after-altercation-during-gaza-protest/ Save to Pocket
VTA quests to seize properties jolt downtown San Jose entrepreneurs
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Two downtown San Jose entrepreneurs say a powerful transit agency’s real estate seizure odysseys have harmed their businesses.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/san-jose-real-estate-home-house-bart-transit-build-vta-economy-court/ Save to Pocket
No fare! Free bus rides raise questions of fairness, viability
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
It’s not surprising that free rides can juice ridership numbers for systems struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shift to at-home work.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/no-fare-free-bus-rides-raise-questions-of-fairness-viability/ Save to Pocket
Lady Mustangs Pull Away in 4th to Defeat Warriors 59-45
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Scoring 23 points in the final quarter, The Master’s University women’s basketball team broke open a close game to defeat the Jessup Warriors 59-45 Thursday night in The MacArthur Center
https://scvnews.com/lady-mustangs-pull-away-in-4th-to-defeat-warriors-59-45/ Save to Pocket
Should You Buy A Tesla Model Y? Owners Offer Advice After Driving One For 60,000 Miles
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
Does the world’s best-selling electric car live up to the hype?
https://insideevs.com/news/709718/tesla-model-y-owner-buying-advice-3-years-60000-miles/ Save to Pocket
Now that I have kids, I can more fully appreciate The Kid…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044047-now-that-i-have-kids Save to Pocket
More taxpayer money benefits pro sports owners amid ‘stadium construction wave’
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Elected leaders continue to shower tax revenues on stadium and arena projects with the aim of recruiting or keeping teams and boosting local economies.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/more-taxpayer-money-benefits-pro-sports-owners-amid-stadium-construction-wave/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
How to freeze-dry a website.
https://technologizer.com/home/2024/02/22/how-to-freeze-dry-a-website-technologizer/ Save to Pocket
RadWagon 4 Cargo e-bike hits $1,599 ($400 off), official Tesla EV charger at $450, and more
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Headlining today’s green deals is an eight-day flash sale on two Rad Power e-bike models, led by the RadWagon 4 Cargo e-bike for $1,599. It is joined by a rare discount on Tesla’s Wall Connector Level 2 EV Charger at $450, as well as the Pit Boss Navigator 550 Wood Pellet Grill falling to a new $200 low. Plus, all of the other best new Green Deals landing this week.
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.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/radwagon-4-cargo-e-bike-tesla-ev-charger-rare-discount-and-more/ Save to Pocket
Trump, Haley, and the Climate Primary That Wasn’t
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heatmap News
As a climate-concerned citizen, one of the most discouraging things about Donald Trump’s all-but-inevitable confirmation as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee has been thinking about parallel universes.
I don’t just mean the ones where the conservative Supreme Court has a shocking change of heart and disqualifies him from the presidential ballot, or where Nikki Haley, against all odds, manages to win her home state primary on Saturday and carry the momentum forward to clinch the Republican nomination. I’m talking about an even greater fantasy: A world in which Trump doesn’t dominate the news cycle, in which South Carolina conservatives have a real debate about the energy transition, and in which the climate conversation hasn’t been set back years by culture war-mongering and MAGAism.
Laugh, sure, but squint and you can almost see it. South Carolina, where the 2024 campaign heads this weekend, is unique among early primary states for having a conservative base that is potentially more open to climate-related issues than people in Iowa or even Nevada. Though the state tracks closely with the opinions of the average American Republican on things like risk perception of global warming and policy support for green issues like regulating CO2 and renewable energy, South Carolina voters have also elected several conservative politicians unusual in their openness toward climate issues. Senator Lindsey Graham, who’s held his office since 2003, has been described as “too green for the GOP,” once even working with then-Senator John Kerry on a climate bill that would have capped greenhouse gas emissions. Even Haley, the state’s former governor, broke with most of the 2024 Republican primary field by saying she believes human activity is causing climate change and worsening extreme weather.
Graham and Haley’s environmental records are far, far from ideal. Still, their unlikely receptiveness to at least some climate science seems to suggest a constituency with a certain level of open-mindedness about green policies. The polls appear to back this up, too: In a summer 2023 study by Conservatives for Clean Energy-South Carolina, more than seven in 10 general election voters in the Palmetto State said they support the continued development of renewable clean energy; the same number said they believe in climate change.
Again, this is only natural when you look at what’s happening in the state. The Inflation Reduction Act is expected to bring an estimated $15 billion in investment in clean energy and storage to South Carolina by 2030, in the form of things like EV battery plants, 73 solar companies, and a lithium processing facility that claims it will produce enough material to support the manufacturing of an estimated 2.4 million EVs per year — that is, 200,000 more than were sold in the U.S. in all of 2023.
South Carolina also stands out in the southeast as being particularly forward-thinking about climate resilience; it’s hard to live in the state and not have extreme weather at the top of your mind. Some 210,000 South Carolinians live in flood-prone areas, the Southern Environmental Law Center reports, and homeowners insurance is increasingly difficult to come by or afford. The state also sits squarely in the path of intensifying Atlantic hurricanes. All of this might seem incongruous with local Republican voters’ middling levels of climate concern, but as writer and professor Susan Crawford told Heatmap last year, “At the state level, certainly, you’re better off not talking about the human causes of climate change” — even as you’re quietly addressing them.
The absence of climate from the primary conversation isn’t just because of the damage that being called an environmentalist does to a Republican’s reputation in the year 2024, though. An early-season primary debate even acknowledged that the climate issue has become so big that Republicans ought to be discussing it. But because Trump is the party’s frontrunner, any conversation about climate, clean-energy jobs, or resilience was over before it could start. While Trump has hardly been shy about attacking EVs and “the green new scam,” his rants are reductive, making climate a negative buzzword rather than a policy issue that can be debated. Haley has spent her time and energy focusing on Trump’s scandals and deflecting his attacks rather than talking about what South Carolinians have to lose if Trump guts the IRA as he intends.
That’s not to say Haley is some great defender of the climate agenda; she isn’t, and needless to say, it’s never good when Rex Tillerson is the one on the right side of an issue from you, as he was when he defended the Paris Agreement against the then-U.N. ambassador’s calls to extract the U.S. from it. But the shame is that Trump has snuffed out any sort of conservative debate about the climate in South Carolina before it could even begin.
Dwelling on the would’ve- and could’ve-beens, of course, is a fool’s errand of which I’m now wholly guilty. This is the reality: Trump is queued up for another win on Saturday, one that will effectively be the nail in the coffin of the Haley campaign even if she’s vowed not to drop out of the race. Voters won’t decide the next four years of the climate agenda in the U.S. tomorrow — that happens 255 days from now, in November. That means the timeline still isn’t fixed, but boy, it sure feels that way.
https://heatmap.news/politics/trump-haley-south-carolina Save to Pocket
This Alder Lake-N mini PC has an unusual, fanless design, dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports and an exposed PCIe socket
date: 2024-02-23, from: Liliputing
Chinese PC maker CWWK’s “Magic Computer” is one of the strangest mini PCs I’ve seen in a while. Basically it’s a single-board computer with an Intel Alder Lake-N processor and enough ports and connectors to make it a pretty versatile system for networking, media, storage, or other applications. But that little board is attached to […]
The post This Alder Lake-N mini PC has an unusual, fanless design, dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports and an exposed PCIe socket appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/this-alder-lake-n-mini-pc-has-an-unusual-fanless-design-dual-2-5-gbe-lan-ports-and-an-exposed-pcie-socket/ Save to Pocket
February 22, 2024
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-22-2024-679 Save to Pocket
Nvidia set to top $2 trillion valuation in first for chipmakers
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Santa Clara chipmaker’s shares closed Thursday at a $1.96 trillion valuation.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/nvidia-set-to-top-2-trillion-valuation-in-first-for-chipmakers/ Save to Pocket
California school district’s critical race theory ban, transgender notification policy stand for now, judge rules
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Judge Eric Keen denied requests for court orders seeking to stop the Temecula Valley Unified School District from enforcing the two controversial policies. Keen did not elaborate on his ruling during the court hearing.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/temeculas-critical-race-theory-ban-transgender-policy-stand-for-now-judge-rules/ Save to Pocket
John Boston | ‘OOF…!!’ That Cursed Word Kids Never Say
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
There’s one thing to this day that I never cared about regarding my father. He lived to be just about 90 and, in all those years, he never once used the word, “OOF.” Which rhymes with “Poof” and “Woof.” The latter is dog talk. But, still. Dad was a darn specimen. Even in his last […]
The post John Boston | <strong>‘OOF…!!’ That Cursed Word Kids Never Say </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/john-boston-oof-that-cursed-word-kids-never-say/ Save to Pocket
Single family residence in Oakland sells for $1.6 million
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The spacious historic property located in the 300 block of Staten Avenue in Oakland was sold on Jan. 2, 2024. The $1,550,000 purchase price works out to $668 per square foot. The house, built in 1914, has an interior space of 2,320 square feet.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/single-family-residence-in-oakland-sells-for-1-6-million-3/ Save to Pocket
City Releases Schedule for High School Nights at The Cube
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Calling all Junior High and High School students – bring your IDs and join us for discounted ice skating at The Cube – Ice and Entertainment Center | Powered by FivePoint Valencia, located at 27745 Smyth Drive
https://scvnews.com/city-releases-schedule-for-high-school-nights-at-the-cube/ Save to Pocket
US, EU levy 100s of new sanctions on Russia over Navalny death
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
President Joe Biden said the sanctions come in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal war of conquest” and to Navalny’s death, at a gathering of U.S. governors at the White House. “We in the United States are going to continue to ensure that Putin pays a price for his aggression abroad and repression at home,” Biden said.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/us-eu-levy-100s-of-new-sanctions-on-russia-over-navalny-death/ Save to Pocket
Ron Perry | America’s Day Off
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
So it looks like it is official: The United States has just attained Third World status. All on the same day: In Pakistan the polls were closed because the “authorities” suspended mobile calls and data during a controversial election. A challenger to Vladimir Putin was “barred’ from Russia’s election. And the U.S. Supreme Court is […]
The post Ron Perry | <strong>America’s Day Off </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/ron-perry-americas-day-off/ Save to Pocket
Dr. Gene Dorio | The American Experience
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
I would like to follow up on Gary Horton’s recent column, “A Deeper Dive Into Immigration” (Feb. 7), describing the many successful immigrants from the Santa Clarita Valley who have, through hard work, established their families and contributed to our American experience. Two decades ago at a local hospital, I was asked by a doctor […]
The post Dr. Gene Dorio | <strong>The American Experience </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/dr-gene-dorio-the-american-experience/ Save to Pocket
Diana Raab Talks About Writing, Hummingbirds, and Those Who Came Before Us
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara author’s 14th book is her third memoir.
The post Diana Raab Talks About Writing, Hummingbirds, and Those Who Came Before Us appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/diana-raab-talks-about-writing-hummingbirds-and-those-who-came-before-us/ Save to Pocket
Bosco and Blue
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Sweet pups need a home!
The post Bosco and Blue appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/bosco-and-blue/ Save to Pocket
Mel Gibson, known for later antisemitic rants, almost starred in ‘Schindler’s List,’ famed agent says
date: 2024-02-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Gibson was interested in playing Oskar Schindler but Steven Spielberg rejected the idea, ensuring that the 1993 film’s legacy wouldn’t be tarnished by the actor’s later antisemitic comments.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/23/mel-gibson-known-for-later-antisemitic-rants-almost-starred-in-schindlers-list-famed-agent-says/ Save to Pocket
Don’t Buy a Snowmobile Until You’ve Seen BRP’s 2025 Lineup
date: 2024-02-23, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
For 2025, the Ski-Doo and Lynx lineups are stacked with upgrades, an anniversary edition, and even some electric models.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709761/brp-2025-snowmobiles/ Save to Pocket
Estudiantes de SB Unificado Aprenden sobre el Poder de la Narración en SBIFF
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Una excursión al Festival Internacional de Cine de Santa Bárbara (SBIFF) inspiró a los estudiantes del Distrito Unificado de SB
The post Estudiantes de SB Unificado Aprenden sobre el Poder de la Narración en SBIFF appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/estudiantes-de-sb-unificado-aprenden-sobre-el-poder-de-la-narracion-en-sbiff/ Save to Pocket
SB Unified Students Learn About the Power of Storytelling at SBIFF
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
A field trip to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) inspired SB Unified students to learn to read and
The post SB Unified Students Learn About the Power of Storytelling at SBIFF appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/sb-unified-students-learn-about-the-power-of-storytelling-at-sbiff/ Save to Pocket
Wesley Moore awards “Best Theft of a Movie” to Ryan Gosling in…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044045-wesley-moore-awards-best- Save to Pocket
Central Coast Groundwater Sustainability Agencies will use $5.5 million from DWR for Local Groundwater Conservation, Water Quality, and Sustainability Projects
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
As part of our continued partnership with local experts to make strategic investments in water supply resilience projects across the
The post Central Coast Groundwater Sustainability Agencies will use $5.5 million from DWR for Local Groundwater Conservation, Water Quality, and Sustainability Projects appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/central-coast-groundwater-sustainability-agencies-will-use-5-5-million-from-dwr-for-local-groundwater-conservation-water-quality-and-sustainability-projects/ Save to Pocket
Google Maps leads German tourists to week-long survival saga in Australian swamp
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Pair had to dodge croc on trek back to civilization
Two German tourists got more than they bargained for when they put their lives in the hands of Google Maps and blindly followed the service into the depths of the Australian jungle.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/google_maps_australian_jungle/ Save to Pocket
From A ‘Lonely Road’ To An Artist Haven: How This Music Community Helps Angelenos Feel Less Alone
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
Writer’s ’Round seeks to bring LA’s musicians together to jam, and maybe make some friends
https://laist.com/news/how-to-la/from-a-lonely-road-to-an-artist-haven-how-this-music-community-helps-angelenos-feel-less-alone Save to Pocket
UTLA Suspends Support For LAUSD Board Candidate Following Revelations Over Social Media Activity
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
Los Angeles Unified School District Board candidate Kahllid Al-Alim apologized earlier this week for pre-campaign social media posts that endorsed assigning antisemitic literature to students, and for liking “graphic content.”
https://laist.com/news/education/utla-teachers-union-kahllid-al-alim-board-district-1-endorsement Save to Pocket
ON the Beat | Savoring Traditional Opera and Non-Traditional Violinist Heroism
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Opera Santa Barbara did right by Verdi’s La Trovatore, and masterful, modern-minded violinist Liela Josefowicz heads to the Hahn.
The post ON the Beat | Savoring Traditional Opera and Non-Traditional Violinist Heroism appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/on-the-beat-savoring-traditional-opera-and-non-traditional-violinist-heroism/ Save to Pocket
See 15 Otherworldly Images From the Underwater Photographer of the Year Awards
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A hunting monkey, ‘kissing’ scorpionfish and playful dolphins feature in just a few of the 130 striking photographs distinguished with honors in the competition
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-15-otherworldly-images-from-the-underwater-photographer-of-the-year-awards-180983832/ Save to Pocket
‘Visible Mending,’ on Love, Death, and Knitting
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/visible-mending-on-love-death-and-knitting Save to Pocket
4 Charged in Transporting Suspected Iranian-Made Weapons; 2 SEALs Died in Intercepting the Ship
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA — Four foreign nationals were arrested and charged Thursday with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission.
The criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond alleges that the four defendants — who were all carrying Pakistani identification cards — were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks.
“The flow of missiles and other advanced weaponry from Iran to Houthi rebel forces in Yemen threatens the people and interests of America and our partners in the region,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a news release.
U.S. officials said that Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers was boarding the boat on January 11 and slipped into the gap created by high waves between the vessel and the SEALs’ combatant craft. As Chambers fell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped in to try to save him, according to U.S. officials familiar with what happened.
“Two Navy SEALs tragically lost their lives in the operation that thwarted the defendants charged today from allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons that the Houthis could have used to target American forces and threaten freedom of navigation and a vital artery for commerce,” Monaco said.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland pledged that the Justice Department “will use every legal authority to hold accountable those who facilitate the flow of weapons from Iran to Houthi rebel forces, Hamas, and other groups that endanger the security of the United States and our allies.”
Muhammad Pahlawan is charged with attempting to smuggle advanced missile components, including a warhead he is accused of knowing would be used by the Houthi rebels against commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. He is also charged with providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the vessel.
Pahlawan’s co-defendants — Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad — also were charged with providing false information.
Pahlawan’s attorney, Assistant Supervisory Federal Public Defender Amy Austin, said Pahlawan had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court Thursday and is scheduled to be back in court Tuesday for a detention hearing. She declined to comment on the case.
“Right now, he’s just charged with two crimes and we’re just at the very beginning stages, and so all we know is what’s in the complaint,” Austin said when reached by phone Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Navy forces boarded a small, unflagged vessel, described as a dhow, and encountered 14 people on the ship on the night of January 11, in the Arabian Sea off the Somali coast.
Navy forces searched the dhow and found what prosecutors say was Iranian-made weapons, including components for medium range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.
All 14 sailors on the dhow were brought onto the USS Lewis B. Puller after Navy forces determined the dhow was not seaworthy. They were then brought back to Virginia, where criminal charges were filed against four and material witness warrants were filed against the other 10.
According to an FBI affidavit, Navy forces were entitled to board the ship because they were conducting an authorized “flag verification” to determine the country where the dhow was registered.
The dhow was determined to be flying without a flag and was therefore deemed a “vessel without nationality” that was subject to U.S. law, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, the sailors on the dhow admitted they had departed from Iran, although at least one of the men initially insisted they departed from Pakistan.
The affidavit states that crew members had been in contact multiple times by satellite phone with a member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
https://www.voanews.com/a/charged-in-transporting-suspected-iranian-made-weapons-2-seals-died-in-intercepting-the-ship/7499969.html Save to Pocket
Volvo to sell majority of Polestar (PSNY) stake, cuts funding for next growth stage
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Volvo announced plans to sell 62.7% of its stake in EV maker Polestar (PSNY) as it looks toward the next stage of its transformation. Volvo said it will also cut off funding as the “company is well positioned for growth.”
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/volvo-sell-polestar-psny-stake-cuts-funding/ Save to Pocket
Valencia-Based Lief Labs Celebrates 15 Years
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Valencia-based Lief Labs, a premier formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer of dietary supplements which was founded in February of 2008, marked the completion of its 15th year of business with a celebratory event at Lief’s Valencia headquarters on Friday, Feb. 16.
https://scvnews.com/valencia-based-lief-labs-celebrates-15-years/ Save to Pocket
Behind the Blog: VICE’s Legacy and the Idea That ‘The Internet Is Forever’
date: 2024-02-23, from: 404 Media Group
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we reflect on VICE’s legacy, archiving, and whether the internet is really forever.
https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-vices-legacy-and-the-idea-that-the-internet-is-forever/ Save to Pocket
The week we couldn’t find Google News
date: 2024-02-23, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Sarah on Wednesday: “Where is the Google News filter?” Us: “Haha what” [continues talking about divorce on Slack] Sarah: [posts succession of screenshots] “Where is the ‘news’ filter?” Obviously it doesn’t make sense that Google News would disappear, we use that all the time, must be a bug or some crazy Sarah tech issue surely!…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/the-week-we-couldnt-find-google-news/ Save to Pocket
This Week on The Analog Antiquarian
date: 2024-02-23, from: Digital Antiquarian
The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 1: East to Asia, West to Asia
https://www.filfre.net/2024/02/this-week-on-the-analog-antiquarian/ Save to Pocket
Investing in the stock market for beginners
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
You need to invest — or at least, that’s what people say. But should you? And if so, why and how? The capital markets, often referred to as the stock…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178650/opinions/investing-in-the-stock-market-for-beginners/ Save to Pocket
New iMessage PQ3 Encryption Protocol Protects Against Post-Quantum Attacks
date: 2024-02-23, from: TidBITS blog
In the upcoming iOS 17, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4 Sonoma, and watchOS 10.4, Apple will start rolling out the PQ3 encryption protocol for iMessage conversations to protect them against attacks made possible by future quantum computers.
https://tidbits.com/2024/02/23/new-imessage-pq3-encryption-protocol-protects-against-post-quantum-attacks/ Save to Pocket
Join us for High School Nights at The Cube!
date: 2024-02-23, from: City of Santa Clarita
JOIN US FOR HIGH SCHOOL NIGHTS AT THE CUBE! Get Discounted Admission and Free Skate Rentals! Calling all Junior High and High School students – bring your IDs and join us for discounted ice skating at The Cube – Ice and Entertainment Center | Powered by FivePoint Valencia (27745 Smyth Drive). During the next three […]
The post Join us for High School Nights at The Cube! appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/02/23/join-us-for-high-school-nights-at-the-cube/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Model 3 Long Range Gets Third Price Increase In February
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
Is the manufacturer trying to discourage customers from ordering a Model 3 and redirect them to the Model Y?
https://insideevs.com/news/709849/tesla-model3-third-price-increase-february2024/ Save to Pocket
Feb. 27: City Council Expected Consider Parks Vacancy Applicants
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Santa Clarita City Council will hold a public safety meeting Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 6 p.m
https://scvnews.com/feb-27-city-council-expected-consider-parks-vacancy-applicants/ Save to Pocket
I’ve been thinking a lot about alternate families/relationships/friendships lately and this Modern…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044043-ive-been-thinking-a-lot Save to Pocket
Watch this humanoid robot work on NIO’s EV assembly line [video]
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
In a next-level automation move, Chinese EV maker NIO (NYSE: NIO) is piloting humanoid robots on its EV assembly line at one of its factories.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/humanoid-robot-nio-ev-assembly-line-video/ Save to Pocket
The Windows Photos app’s new Generative erase feature can remove unwanted items from a picture
date: 2024-02-23, from: Liliputing
Microsoft is rolling out its answer to Google’s Magic Eraser, which uses AI to let you remove unwanted people or objects from photos. The Windows version is called Generative erase, and rolling out to the Windows Photos app for members of the Windows Insider preview program. It should eventually make it way to stable versions […]
The post The Windows Photos app’s new Generative erase feature can remove unwanted items from a picture appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/the-windows-photos-apps-new-generative-erase-feature-can-remove-unwanted-items-from-a-picture/ Save to Pocket
NASA Sets Coverage for Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Launch, Docking
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for 12:04 a.m. EST, Friday, March 1, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The targeted docking time is about 7 a.m. on […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-agencys-spacex-crew-8-launch-docking/ Save to Pocket
1Password 8.10.26
date: 2024-02-23, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/1password-8-10-26/ Save to Pocket
Tangled Barn Owl Rescued from Atop a 50-Foot Palm
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Taken to Ojai Raptor Center, where bird’s condition is ‘fair to guarded.’
The post Tangled Barn Owl Rescued from Atop a 50-Foot Palm appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/23/tangled-barn-owl-rescued-from-atop-a-50-foot-palm/ Save to Pocket
Another categorial update
date: 2024-02-23, from: Logic Matters blog
It’s been a month since I last posted about the category theory project, so a quick update — and the end really is in sight! I’ve just put online another revised version of Category Theory I. Little has changed except for some more corrections of typos (with particular thanks to Georg Meyer) and a few small […]
The post Another categorial update appeared first on Logic Matters.
https://www.logicmatters.net/2024/02/23/another-categorial-update/ Save to Pocket
LockBit identity reveal a bigger letdown than Game of Thrones Season 8
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
NCA still left enough for onlookers to wonder if there’s anything more to come
The grand finale of the week of LockBit leaks was slated to expose the real identity of LockBitSupp – the alias of the gang’s public spokesperson – but the reveal has fallen short of expectations.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/lockbit_identity_reveal/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-23, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
1 out of every 20 Gazans is either dead or maimed.
Reply with a rationalization to earn a free block.
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111981718020893055 Save to Pocket
A huge study of more than 99 million people confirms the safety…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044041-a-huge-study-of-more Save to Pocket
AIs Hacking Websites
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Bruce Schneier blog
New research:
LLM Agents can Autonomously Hack Websites
Abstract: In recent years, large language models (LLMs) have become increasingly capable and can now interact with tools (i.e., call functions), read documents, and recursively call themselves. As a result, these LLMs can now function autonomously as agents. With the rise in capabilities of these agents, recent work has speculated on how LLM agents would affect cybersecurity. However, not much is known about the offensive capabilities of LLM agents.
In this work, we show that LLM agents can autonomously hack websites, performing tasks as complex as blind database schema extraction and SQL injections without human feedback. Importantly, the agent does not need to know the vulnerability beforehand. This capability is uniquely enabled by frontier models that are highly capable of tool use and leveraging extended context. Namely, we show that GPT-4 is capable of such hacks, but existing open-source models are not. Finally, we show that GPT-4 is capable of autonomously finding vulnerabilities in websites in the wild. Our findings raise questions about the widespread deployment of LLMs…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/ais-hacking-websites.html Save to Pocket
Transcript: Is Biden’s Climate Law Actually Working?
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heatmap News
This is a transcript of episode three of Shift Key: Is Biden’s Climate Law Actually Working?
ROBINSON MEYER: Hi, I’m Rob Meyer. I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News and you are listening to Shift Key, a new podcast about climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels from Heatmap. My co-host 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: Hi, I’m Robinson Meyer. I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.
JESSE JENKINS: And I’m Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University and an expert in energy systems.
MEYER: And you are listening to Shift Key, the new podcast about climate change and the energy transition from Heatmap News. On today’s show, we’re going to talk about how the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s big climate law passed in 2022, how it’s working, whether it’s working. We have new data to shine light on this extremely important question. And we also are going to do as always our upshift and downshift, our thing that gave us hope this week and our thing that maybe has us feeling a little down. So Jesse, ready?
JENKINS: I’m ready. Let’s dig in.
MEYER: Let’s get into it. In August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA. It’s the largest climate law in American history and arguably in global history. And it threw the full financial power of the US federal government behind decarbonization, directing more than $500 billion in grants and tax credits toward replacing old dirty fossil fuel infrastructure with new clean zero carbon technologies. Now, when it passed, modeling, including from the REPEAT Project, which is a collaboration of ZERO Lab at Princeton University, led by my co-host Jesse Jenkins and Evolved Energy Research, a consulting firm, suggested that the law would cut US greenhouse gas emissions 37 to 41% by 2030. And I should say this research when it came out was a big deal. You don’t have to take my word for it. The ZERO lab’s work was cited in the Guardian and the New York Times, by the Wall Street Journal, by legislators and by the White House itself.
And it wasn’t the only kind of piece of energy modeling that we used to figure out how big a deal the IRA was. There were other reports, one from an organization called the Rhodium Group and another from a nonprofit called Energy Innovation. Now those reports really, I think at the time, helped us understand just how big a deal this law was going to be. We’re now just about 18 months after the Inflation Reduction Act has been signed. And that means we’re getting to a point where we can see the impact of this legislation. We can start to see whether it’s working. And the REPEAT project, in conjunction with the Rhodium Group, MIT and Energy Innovation — all the groups that did this research last time have gone and conducted the first analysis of whether the law is working — our kind of first midstream assessment, 18 months in, of whether the IRA is actually reducing emissions and decarbonizing the economy like we hoped that it would. So that’s what we’re gonna talk about on the show. The first real analysis of whether Biden’s climate law is cutting greenhouse gas emissions, with my co-host Jesse Jenkins, one of the researchers who helped us understand its potential in the first place. So Jesse, I actually want to start by backing up slightly. And before we get into this new data that you have that talks about, you know, whether the law is working, let’s start with this: how is the IRA supposed to work?
JENKINS: The IRA is effectively putting clean energy on sale for all Americans. That’s how it’s supposed to work. It is a set of financial incentives that effectively drop the cost of just about any action you would want to take to help accelerate the clean energy transition by, you know, somewhere in the order of 20 to 50%. So it’s a little bit like you know, Black Friday shopping deals or Cyber Monday or whatever your favorite sale is. It’s, you know, using the federal purse to make it easier and a smarter financial decision for households or businesses or utilities or whoever else to just make the greener investment or purchasing decision over the dirtier one.
And it’s really quite comprehensive. It involves a set of incentives that cut across really all of the major emitting sectors of the economy. But in particular, all of our modeling from REPEAT Project and our colleagues at Energy innovation and Rhodium Group, indicated that the biggest emissions reductions over the next decade, in particular, would come from the power sector, electricity generation, and the transportation sector, particularly the uptake of electric vehicles.
These are two trends that were already underway before passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. And what we’re looking for is evidence that those trends have basically been supercharged by the incentives provided in the act.
MEYER: And luckily my understanding is that those are exactly the two sectors we have new data on today. Is that right?
JENKINS:
That’s right. So yeah, this should be a terrifying moment for any modeler — when we get to check our modeling projections against reality. But we did just that. We have data from 2023 now, courtesy of the Clean Investment Monitor Project. If you go to cleaninvestmentmonitor.org, you can check out this data yourself. This is a joint project of the MIT Center for Energy Economic Policy Research and the Rhodium Group. This is led in part by Brian Deese, who is one of the chief economic advisors to President Biden and one of the key architects of the series of laws passed in the last Congress. He was the chair of the National Economic Council and is now an innovation fellow at MIT in helping lead this project.
And what it’s doing is, it’s basically giving us as close to real time a look at the progress of the clean economy in the United States as I think we can get. It’s basically updated every quarter and it’s tracking all of the public and private investments in actuality as well as announced projects, that kind of as a leading indicator of what’s coming in the future across most of the major sectors that we’re talking about here. It’s a really helpful data set to gauge our progress. So what we did was we took that data on zero emissions vehicle adoption — so EVs and fuel cell vehicles and plug in hybrids and clean electricity capacity additions — and compared that to what each of our three modeling groups were estimating was likely to happen after passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I should add the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well, which we were modeling you know back in 2022. So now we have year end 2023 data and the question is, how well are we tracking at least in this first year out from passage of those major laws?
MEYER: I wanna talk in a second about how confident we are that the signal that we’re seeing in the data is actually the IRA or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, like how confident we are in the Bidenomics signal. But first, let’s do the moment of truth. Let’s just first get to the data. So in the power sector, what do we see?
JENKINS: What we see in the electricity sector is a new record set for zero carbon electricity generation and storage capacity additions. That’s new power plant and battery storage construction. In aggregate, we saw over 32,000 megawatts or 32 gigawatts of new zero carbon generation and storage added to the US grid in 2023. That’s about a 32% increase from the rate in 2022. And it edges out a previous record that we saw in 2021 of about 31.6 gigawatts.
So good news is we’re setting new record growth rates in total in terms of wind and solar and battery additions. Unfortunately, that does fall on the lower end of what we were projecting in most of the modeling results. We were looking for on average about 46 to 79 gigawatts. So call it, you know, 40 to 80 gigawatts on average of additions in 2023 and 2024. And we fell short of the low end of that range right at 32.3 gigawatts. And so, unless the pace accelerates substantially in 2024, we’re probably going to fall a bit behind schedule in terms of capacity additions.
MEYER: And do we have a sense of what’s driving that? Because I think that’s a very surprising finding, that we’re behind schedule in the power sector where I think people feel pretty good generally about the pace of decarbonization or I think where the common wisdom at least is that the pace of decarbonization is like proceeding apace. What’s driving this underperformance of the model?
JENKINS: So it’s really the difference between solar and wind additions. The solar sector added about 18.4 gigawatts of capacity in 2023. That’s up massively from just about 11 gigawatts in 2022. It’s about double what we had seen in 2020 which was kind of our reference when we were doing our modeling as we started the REPEAT project in 2021. And so that’s looking encouraging and in fact, is running ahead of schedule with the average pace of additions that we saw in REPEAT project results.
Batteries are growing way faster than we expected. And that helps really make the most of those solar capacity additions because solar and batteries are kind of like peanut butter and jelly, they go together quite well. And that’s because solar has this nice, regular daily fluctuation, right? From the sun rising and setting. And that pairs really well with batteries, which today in a way lithium ion batteries are best suited for, you know, only a few hours of storage. So they’ll charge for three or four hours in the middle of the day when we’ve got an abundance of sun. And then they’ll discharge in the evening to help meet the evening peak of demand when everybody’s coming home from work.
The batteries basically helped shift the solar output from the middle of the day to hit that evening peak. And that’s, that’s really helpful.
Where things are running behind schedule is really in the wind sector, where we only built about half of the peak rate, actually less than half, that we’ve seen historically in 2023. Additions of wind power in 2023 were only about 6.3 gigawatts, and that’s down from nearly 15 gigawatts in each of 2020 and 2021.
So that’s a step backwards at a time when we should be smashing new record growth rates across all of these sectors. And that’s giving me the biggest concern as we look at in the next couple of years.
MEYER: And that’s, I mean, last show we talked about offshore wind and the troubles in offshore wind and how it seems like some big offshore wind projects that we thought might be coming online in the middle of this decade might not be coming online till the end of the decade. But when we talk about wind underperforming in terms of the whole country over the past year, we’re really still talking about onshore wind. This is like big turbines in the middle of the Great Plains, not big turbines off the coast of New York, New Jersey, right?
JENKINS: That’s right. Yeah, I think I don’t think we had any significant offshore wind capacity additions coming in 2024. You know, most of that we were expecting would come in between 2026 and 2030 or 2035. So this is really a story about onshore wind, where if we look at the economics of onshore wind across the country, there’s a tremendous number of sites that look very economic given the incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
And unfortunately, we’re just not building out at the pace that would be economically justified. And that is really an indicator that there are a substantial number of other non-economic frictions or barriers to deployment of wind in particular at the pace that we want to see.
MEYER: Before we go on, I just want to make it clear—
JENKINS: Maybe it’s worth pausing and unpacking what those incentives look like. But the main one is what’s known as a production tax credit that provides a payment of tax credits for every megawatt hour of clean electricity produced over the first 10 years of operations from a new facility. And that credit is worth about $28 per megawatt hour, which is getting pretty close to the average wholesale revenue that you would get just from selling your electricity. So it’s basically doubling roughly, or maybe it’s an 80% increase, the revenues that a wind or solar facility gets during its first 10 years of operation. And that is a huge boost in terms of the return on investment that people are seeing. And so that is the incentives that the IRA expanded and extended into the long term, you can increase it even further than that, if you meet domestic content requirements or build in so-called energy communities. And so it could be an even larger incentive worth up to 20% more than that if you meet both of those requirements.
MEYER: I was going to say, the back of the envelope number I usually hear is like a 5% increase in interest rates, is like a doubling of project cost. But if you’re doubling project revenue, that actually suggests that yes, we’re seeing some big non-economic factors hold up offshore wind.
JENKINS: Yeah, so it’s definitely true that the increase in interest rates is sucking up some of what would have been the kind of financial tailwinds provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. And that’s why I’m eager to see what our new round of modeling results looks like. But the other, I think data point here is that, you know, batteries and solar are also 100% capital investments just like wind. And so interest rates would affect all of them equally in many ways. So there has to be something unique to the wind industry here that’s holding the wind sector back while solar and batteries set new growth records. I have my speculation as to what that is, I think it’s, you know, three factors and I have no idea, you know what proportion we can assign to each of them.
One of the first things that’s I think unique about the wind sector is that it was facing the full expiration of that production tax credit that I was mentioning. So prior to passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended this credit for the long term out through into the 2030’s. We’ve had this on again, off again history with the production tax credit of expirations every few years. It’s been around since 1994 but it’s not a permanent part of the tax code. And so every few years, it’s up for renewal.
But unlike the ITC, the investment tax credit that was supporting solar previously, which was also on a ramp down but was still in place when the IRA passed, the production tax credit had entirely phased out for projects that commenced construction after the end of 2021. At that point, it had been reduced to only 60% of its full value. So if you wanted to get the full value, you had to finish or start construction by the end of 2019.
And I think we can see that in the data, what that did was that pulled forward the project pipeline, the development pipeline, and encouraged everyone if they could to start their construction by the end of 2019 in order to lock in the full value of that production tax credit. And that’s why I think we saw record build outs in 2020 and 2021 because everybody was finishing projects that they commenced in 2019 in order to get the full value of the credit.
MEYER: You think the first factor here is like maybe a pipeline problem, so to speak, where a ton of projects started in the pipeline in 2019, they were completed in 2020 or 2021, and now we’re in this fallow period where the projects that started after the IRA passed aren’t complete yet, so we don’t see them showing up.
JENKINS: That’s exactly right. So that’s the first factor. So if that’s an issue, then what we would expect to see is that the project pipeline is large now and that we would see more projects coming in 2024 and 2025 that were started as the IRA was passed.
Now the other factor that’s, I think, a little bit more unique to wind is also the impacts of the supply chain disruptions that we saw around COVID, and the increase in labor costs, particularly in Western countries. And that’s because the solar sector and batteries are dominated by China and other Asian manufacturing bases. Whereas wind is really still a Western-produced technology, most of the wind manufacturing is in Europe or the United States.
That’s partly because these are such big components, wind turbines, missiles and towers and blades are massive. And so there’s less advantage of shipping them around the world. You want to build them closer to where you need them. And so we maintain more of a manufacturing base. I think something like two thirds of all of the content of wind turbines built in the US were manufactured here, whereas we only build about 5% of the solar PV modules in the US in terms of their domestic content right now. So I think that’s important because what we saw was, you know, a very different pandemic response, right, in Europe and the US versus China where China largely kept its manufacturing going for most of the pandemic. Whereas the US had, you know, these disruptions and Europe had these disruptions from lockdowns.
We had more rapid inflation, you know, labor costs were going up. And so all of that I think hit the wind industry harder than it hit batteries and solar PV. We see that in the real costs of these projects. So for the first time, we saw real cost increases for all of the technologies we’re talking about: wind, solar and batteries. But already in 2023 costs are back down for modules, solar PV modules and battery packs, but they’re still up for wind. So I think that’s an important factor too.
MEYER: It’s not only that China kept the factories going, it’s that even in the post pandemic moment— I feel like this is such an important aspect of how the global economy is working right now that hasn’t been fully understood— the US did a ton of demand support macro-economically. Not electricity demand, but I mean, we sent checks to people, we did expanded employment, we made sure the consumers kept spending. China really did so much less of that. And so China’s pathway to growing its economy to the level that it hopes to grow it right now is entirely through expanding exports and trade.
JENKINS: And so no wonder they were pumping the supply side up, right?
MEYER: All their support has gone to the supply side. And then furthermore, there’s just like this structural support to the supply side because Chinese consumers are in such poor condition, basically, that they have to export things they make is their only possibility of breaking even and growing the economy.
JENKINS: Yeah, for now, at least. I’m sure we’ll come back to talk about China’s transition soon. So I would say those two factors are hopefully transitory, right? The sort of supply shocks are fading. The inflation is ebbing and we should be rebuilding the pipeline.
The third factor is the one that keeps me up at night. And that’s just that I worry that wind is just much more difficult to site and much more transmission-dependent than solar and batteries are.
And that’s kind of a function of the physics of wind power, which is interesting. Wind speeds and solar radiation, you know, kind of vary about proportionally. The best wind sites in the country are about twice as good as the worst wind sites. And that’s true for solar too, like the best solar sites in Arizona or New Mexico have about twice the resource quality as you know, Maine or, you know, somewhere else in New England. And that makes sense because the physics of the wind is driven largely by the impacts of the sun heating different parts of the planet differentially and that moves pressure and temperature around and that drives the wind.
The big difference is that solar panels convert sunlight or insulation into electricity kind of proportionally to the resource quality. So a linearly one for one kind of relationship, whereas wind turbines convert wind speeds to wind power at the wind speed cubed. So if you double the wind speed, you get about an 8x increase in the wind power generation. And what that does is it makes wind much more site-dependent than solar, right? If you have a good wind speed site, you’re not just a little bit better than a bad wind speed site, you’re way better. And so the best, most economic, you know, attractive projects, they have to be where it’s really windy.
And that means they don’t have as much flexibility about where to build and those windy locations, you know, right up and down the middle of the Great Plains, for example, tend to be a lot further from where most people live. And so they’re also much more dependent on transmission to site those projects than solar projects, where you can kind of move around pretty freely across a broad area without really sacrificing much in terms of resource quality. And therefore you can pick a site that’s easier to build, that has less local opposition, that happens to be closer to a transmission line. Maybe you lose 3-5% of your, you know, power output by picking that easy-to-develop-site over maybe the best one around. But it’s just not that big a difference whereas for wind, it really could make or break a project.
MEYER: Last question, then I want to move on to EVs, because that’s so interesting. But how much does solar and batteries need to overperform to make up for this issue we’re seeing with wind?
JENKINS: So if wind can’t really get back on the same track as it was in 2020 and 2021 where we’re building at least 15 gigawatts a year and kind of growing steadily from there, then it’s true that solar and batteries are going to have to step up and kind of fill the gap.
And I think there’s a chance that could happen if we look at the results kind of extrapolating out a bit further beyond 2023. We in the REPEAT project are estimating about 26 gigawatts a year of solar additions between now and 2026. So 2023 through 2026, and about 15 gigawatts a year of wind. And so if wind can only do eight or seven, you would have to see solar growing at maybe 35 or 40 gigawatts a year.
And that’s actually exactly what the US Energy Information Administration is projecting for the solar sector over the next couple of years. They’re projecting that in 2024, we’ll build about 44 gigawatts of utility scale solar, of both utility and distributed solar, I should say, and about a similar amount in 2025. And so there’s a chance that we actually could see solar kind of over-performing and making up for wind being a laggard and that kind of gets us through the next couple of years. But the growth rate just has to keep smashing new records every year from here on out. And I don’t think we can really do that if we’re dependent only on solar and batteries, we need both wind and solar pulling their weight. And if the wind industry can’t pick things back up, I think we’re probably gonna fall short of the targets that we were seeing in our modeling.
[AD BREAK]
MEYER: I want to move now to the other sector that your new research looked at, which is EVs, transportation, vehicles. What is happening in the US vehicle sector?
JENKINS: Yeah, this is one where it’s funny, you know, you mentioned that I think most people have pretty good vibes about the power sector but maybe there’s some warning signs that wind is lagging. I think we’ve seen a lot of bad vibes on the EV sector as I wrote for Heatmap a while back.
MEYER: It’s nothing but bad vibes right now!
JENKINS: Yeah, it’s just all bad vibes. And yet this is the sector that is unequivocally on track, at least compared to our modeling— maybe not compared to Ford or GM’s sales growth projections— but as a sector, compared to our modeling from REPEAT project, as well as Rhodium and Energy Innovation, the EV transition is actually moving at about the pace that we expected. And that’s probably likely to be true for the next several years also, not just for 2023.
MEYER: I just wanted to pause and put a pin in this point because it shocked me when I saw the initial report and I think it is so important. In the power sector, I feel like it’s mostly good vibes right now. Like people have a sense that the power sector is decarbonizing at roughly the pace we need. That seemingly is not true! In the electric car sector, in EVs, there’s a sense that like EVs are in trouble, the transition is in danger, things aren’t going well, it’s not going as well as the Biden administration wants or thought it would. And in fact, it’s going basically at the pace we thought it would happen.
I just think this is such an important, interesting thing because it is completely the opposite of, if you’re just reading the paper, it’s completely the opposite of what you would think.
JENKINS: Yeah. And maybe this reflects just that our modeling groups were a little bit more conservative than individual car companies were in their sales growth projections. But we look at new technology adoption and we typically apply an S-curve to that adoption where they’re growing at double-digit compound annual growth rates at the beginning. But then they hit, usually, a linear phase where they’re growing at a pretty steep rate but it’s a straight line rather than continuing to bend upwards like an exponential curve. And what that means is that you would expect the annual growth rates, the percentage growth, to be declining even as the absolute sales growth is increasing because you’re building on a much bigger base, right? You know, adding 20% to a million vehicles is easier than adding 20% to 5 million vehicles, right?
MEYER: I mean, this is like a version of the Facebook problem, right? Where eventually just enough humans are Facebook users that Facebook has to find other ways to make money. It can’t just keep adding new humans every quarter.
JENKINS: Exactly. So we all modeled these uptake rates pretty similarly as this kind of S-curve where we expected growth to be strong. We expected, I think, supply chain constraints on the production side to persist a bit longer than they did in reality. So that’s an interesting divergence from at least our kind of underlying thinking at REPEAT. We thought that it would be harder to ramp up manufacturing capacity as quickly as the auto industry has.
MEYER: Huh!
JENKINS: But in general, you know, we are expecting to see what we saw. Actually it’s interesting, in 2023, we actually saw the annual growth rate go up. In 2022, the growth rate for zero-emissions vehicles, and that includes EVs and plug-in hybrids as well as fuel cells (although they’re a rounding error) went up by about 43%, 44% in 2022. And that growth rate accelerated in 2023 to 52%. So despite all the vibes about slowing growth, there’s actually no evidence of that, at least on an annual basis. 2023 grew faster in compound annual growth terms, percentage growth terms, than 2022. But we would expect that growth rate to decline. None of our modeling is expecting a 50% annual growth rate from every year. We would hit 100% sales in just a matter of a few years if that were the case.
Instead, we’re expecting the growth rate in 2024 to 2026 to be somewhere between 30 and 44% and to fall even further to somewhere between about 15 and 27% from 2027 to 2030. You know, exactly following that S-curve where the annual growth rate is declining as we hit that linear phase.
MEYER: I just want to be clear, this is in the absence of any technology-forcing policy, like new EPA rules that say you have to sell a certain number of EVs per year.
JENKINS: We do include the states that have been following California in adopting the Advanced Clean Cars to standard, which is their requirement that by 2035, 100% of vehicles need to be zero-emissions vehicles, vehicles sold, I should say in 2035 need to be zero-emissions vehicles. And so we had included at the state level, some states like that, there’s about a dozen that are following in that direction. That’s maybe 30% or so of the overall vehicle market in the US. So it’s not inconsequential, but it’s not the only thing going on. I think we all expect that 2024 will see a slowdown from 2023. But again, that’s in line with what we expected in our modeling.
What’s actually really interesting, at least from the REPEAT side, is that hybrids, both plug-in hybrids and just regular hybrid electrics, are far outselling our projections from our modeling.
MEYER: The IRA has incentives for some plug-in hybrid vehicles, but it has no incentives for regular hybrid vehicles. Is that right?
JENKINS: That’s right. Yeah, that’s right. And that’s kind of what we expected was that basically hybrids would kind of give way to EVs, and that seems to be not what we’re seeing. We’re seeing that actually, they’re kind of additive, particularly hybrids. Where last year, I think we mentioned this on an earlier show, we sold about as many hybrid electric vehicles as we did battery electric vehicles about 1.1 or 1.2 million of each of them, and that is way higher than what we expected. I think we only expected about a 1 or 2% sale share, which is about where we were in 2019.
And instead hybrid electric vehicles have just grown right alongside EV growth, and that’s encouraging from an emissions perspective because those hybrids are emitting about 40% less per mile traveled, probably, than an equivalent sized internal combustion car.
MEYER: They’re also going to then go have a long life as a used car, continuing to reduce emissions.
JENKINS: So from a climate perspective, every internal combustion engine vehicle that’s sold that’s a hybrid instead of a regular one, that’s a win.
MEYER: It is funny because I feel like on the one hand, this is surprising. And on the other hand, I can think of multiple new car consumers, like in my life, friends I know, who were buying a new car in the past two years and were EV-curious, they looked at EVs. They kind of quickly decided there were none in their price range or there were none that needed exactly what they needed them to do. And so then they bought a hybrid.
Why did they buy a hybrid? Well, because they wanted to buy an EV, and they couldn’t find one they liked. So they bought a hybrid because they felt like that was on the path of the transition, which is not really a rational consumer behavior as I think you would expect from a model. But on the other hand, kind of makes sense from a certain flavor of like, “Oh, well, I wanna help with this, but I can’t buy an EV yet, so I’m gonna buy a hybrid.”
JENKINS: Yeah, I mean that was my mental model too because I think that’s how you think about it. If you’re segmenting the market, there’s a certain amount of consumer who cares about the environment, they care about the cost of fueling their vehicle or both. And so they’re looking at a hybrid versus a plug-in hybrid versus an EV, and they’re going to fall in that range. And our expectation was that the large incentives provided for EVs would basically shift the consumer from a hybrid to the EV. But it looks like either that’s not what’s happening or there’s a larger market out there for EVs than even we anticipated, and it’s just that right now that market is still being split between hybrids and EVs.
But there’s basically twice as many consumers interested in one of those than we thought, right? Because we sold about 2.2 million hybrids and battery electric vehicles, you know, whereas we were only expecting, you know, a few 100,000 hybrids and then around that many EVs. So, you know, there’s a million extra consumers out there that we didn’t think would be there in the market in 2023. And again, my thinking was, look, a plug-in hybrid vehicle is always going to be more expensive than a battery electric or an internal combustion car because it’s just, both drivetrains crammed into the same vehicle.
MEYER: Right.
JENKINS: It’s got a pretty big battery, not as big as an EV, but it’s a pretty good size one. It has to keep the internal combustion drivetrain and add the electric motors, you know, and so it’s gonna be relative. It’s always gonna be a cost premium over an internal combustion car. Whereas a battery electric vehicle, they’re getting cheaper and cheaper every year and there’s gonna be a point before too long where even the upfront cost is lower. I think the cost of ownership is already at parity, but you’re gonna go to the dealership and it’s just gonna be cheaper to get in a battery electric car than a internal combustion car because they’re simpler to build and they have less parts and batteries are the biggest chunk of the cost and batteries keep getting cheaper year after year.
MEYER: Yeah, there’s this argument you hear from Toyota executives, which I’ve always taken as like 70% cope. Where they say, “Oh, well, actually, you know, plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids make more sense because as long as lithium and these minerals we need for the batteries are scarce, you get more emissions reductions per ton of lithium or per ounce of lithium or per ounce of cobalt, whatever, than you do with, with a plug-in hybrid or a regular hybrid than you would with a pure battery electric vehicle. Do you think that a plug-in hybrid is this range anxiety security blanket where you’re able to do a lot of your trips plug-in but, whenever you need—
JENKINS: It depends on the size of the battery. Yeah, in some ways, the plug-in hybrid is the ideal vehicle, right? If you had, you know, a 40 or 30 mile range, that covers most people’s daily commute, the all year around town, driving to pick up the kids at soccer, school or whatever. And then when you need to go on a road trip, you’ve got your gasoline engine and you can go for as long as you want. So in some ways, it’s kind of the ideal American car if you didn’t think about charging infrastructure.
But of course, as we build out the charging infrastructure and as batteries get cheaper, you know, BEVS get cheaper. I think it will make sense for more and more people to just get rid of the gas part and you don’t need the range extender. You know, we are a single car household. We have one EV only and our second car is an e-bike, for riding around town. You know, we put 20,000 miles on our car since we bought it in November of 2022. And we’ve been on many road trips and we had maybe one or two charging experiences that were suboptimal.
MEYER: [laughs]
JENKINS: But like that is such a small part of my overall driving experience on those 20,000 miles. Most of them, I just wake up in the morning and my car is full with 280 miles, 290 miles of range. That’s like enough for a week. And I never have to go to the gas station! The convenience of that so outweighs the one or two frustrating experiences in a long distance trip every year, that I think most people, once they’re in a battery electric vehicle, they don’t miss the gas at all. We’ve seen actually in recent consumer reports, trends that consumers who have bought EVs are far more likely to buy a second EV than to go back to internal combustion cars.
Toyota’s argument about lithium, I think is intellectually correct, I should say, if you think that lithium is in finite supply. But go look at lithium prices on the market right now. They’re in freefall. We are not lithium constrained, right? So, I don’t know, it’s a good, nice ex post justification for Toyota’s strategy. But basically what Toyota did was they bet big on fuel cell vehicles and they’ve lost massively. So they’re trying to recoup their position by doubling down on the one area where they do have advantage, and that’s in hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
MEYER: How would you look at this big— is Paris any good or not? Yes or no, is the IRA working?
JENKINS: I would say yes, I think that we’re still within the cone of growth for these sectors that we projected. So I don’t think there’s any evidence that we’re off, you know, way off base yet. Emissions did fall in 2023 as the economy expanded for the first time since the pandemic hit, it’s lower than what we projected in our modeling. So, you know, again, it’s early. We should have mentioned this much earlier on, but it’s hard to know— I think you alluded this actually in your setup— how much signal there is here from the IRA.
MEYER: Yeah.
JENKINS: Because we spent most of the last 18 months writing tax credit guidance and setting up new grant programs and issuing RFPs and reviewing those and most of the money hasn’t actually gotten out the door yet. And so, whatever we’re seeing now is just sort of like the early stages of influence from these policies and where the real signal is going to show up is in particularly 2025 and 2026 and 2027. When you have time to build a new factory, to install a new wind farm, to expand our charging infrastructure, and really take advantage of the credits and grant programs and others that were enacted by these laws, which are really just starting to get out the door.
MEYER: One more observation, which is, it is crazy that hybrids especially— I don’t want to keep going back to this and I feel like again, we’re just seeding topics for a future conversation— but it is crazy that hybrids are popping off during a year when gas prices did not go up.
JENKINS: Yeah!
MEYER: Because I feel like in the past, what we’ve seen is the only years where Americans don’t buy more SUVs, let’s say, than they did the previous year, is in years like 2007 or 2022, when gas prices spike to really high, you know, previously unprecedented levels. 2023, gas prices went down.
JENKINS: Maybe the memory is still in people’s minds, maybe it’s the inflation and the cost of living overall is still very salient for people. And so the ability to save some money on your gas bill is still helpful even if gas is not at its peak inflation levels.
I think the other factor is just that the upfront cost of buying a hybrid has fallen so much that for many models, it’s just like a total no brainer. I spend a few $100 more and I get a better car that has more power and less fuel consumption. You know, it just makes a ton of sense from an economic perspective.
MEYER: And I was thinking earlier that in some ways, the presence of battery electric vehicles really defangs conventional hybrids because it is no longer the “lib car.” I mean, I don’t think that cultural politics are the entire driver here, but the presence of battery electric vehicles as kind of the new “Democrat car” for lack of a more elegant way of phrasing that particular cultural idea. Okay, what I’ve learned from this is we need to do like 15 more episodes on cars and we need to do another 15 more episodes on China’s macroeconomy and green transition.
JENKINS: Alright, we got the next season lined out.
MEYER: Yeah, let’s do Upshift and Downshift. But first, let’s take a break.
[AD BREAK]
MEYER: Okay, let’s do Upshift/Downshift. Jesse, what is your downshift for the week?
JENKINS: So my downshift is one of the things that I think flew under the radar for a lot of people, is that on February 15th, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a new pipeline from Texas to Mexico that will export about 2.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas for the purposes of supplying a new liquefied natural gas plant on the Pacific coast of Mexico. You know, we talked in our first episode about the pause that the Biden administration has put on the review of new LNG export terminals in the US.
This is an export pipeline which I think falls under the same criteria of, you know, having to decide whether it’s in the public interest or not. And we just approved another 2.8 billion cubic feet of exports. That’s like a quarter of all of our LNG exports today! And this is going to go out as a pipeline, not as LNG, right. It’ll leave the US in a pipeline but it will then go to the Pacific coast of Mexico where it will supply a new $15 billion LNG terminal that is meant to supply Asian markets, right? So the ability to get the gas to the Pacific Ocean and then go from there to Asia is, you know, quite advantageous relative to the Gulf coast terminals that we’re mostly talking about in the US.
So I just thought this was really interesting, I mean, we’ve had this big debate in our first episode and across the energy sphere about the role of exports in the US economy of natural gas exports, and here’s this really massive pipeline that just kind of snuck in under most people’s radar. I almost didn’t catch it. But you know, big approval last week of a 2.8 billion cubic feet per day gas export pipeline to Mexico. What’s let you down this week?
MEYER: I feel like I’m about to use a downshift that I will have to use sparingly over the next few months. The presidential election, Jesse! I’m not sure you’ve heard about it, but there’s a presidential election in the United States of America in 2024. And it has me down. Ezra Klein published a really interesting audio essay this past week about calling for Biden to step aside and for a Democratic Convention, an open Democratic Convention later this summer to select a candidate. I think he counseled something in that, which I thought was quite wise, which was that it’s February and a lot of Democrats are acting very fatalistically about their candidate, and that’s kind of absurd.
It’s February, it’s too late to get on the primary ballot in a lot of states. But there’s still many months to go before the presidential election and nothing is written. There’s still a lot of different possibilities that could happen. It’s just that the outcome of the presidential election is not yet secure. However, at this point, I think it is important to say Biden is losing, which from a strictly climate policy lens would be a really bad thing for climate policy.
And I think what has me most worried about this presidential election and, and which I think, I hope that folks listening to this and folks who were very angry at me when I posted the Ezra Klein essay— I don’t know whether I agree with it, I’m not gonna take an advice standpoint here— I will say that what has been so noticeable about the campaign so far is the reluctance to use Biden and the reluctance to put Biden out in public. And that the way to dispel public concerns, which seem to be extremely widespread, understandably, about the president’s age, are to have the president out there a lot, talking! Showing that he can campaign, showing that he’s up to the task, and the fact that that has not happened as much over the past two weeks and the fact that the president is so unavailable— he’s done fewer press conferences than both of his predecessors— I think should give a lot of folks who are interested in US politics, even solely because of climate policy, a lot of pause.
Well, let’s turn this around, and what’s your upshift?
JENKINS: My upshift is from Jeff Stein at the Washington Post who is an economics reporter there and has been doing some really interesting on-the-ground reporting as to the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and other incentives in these climate bills on, you know, local economies around the country. And so he spent some time last week in Michigan with the United Association Union of Plumbers and pipefitters in central Michigan. So this is, you know, a union that does plumbing and HVAC technicians and welding and pipe fitting. And what he found is that the demand for union jobs there is just booming, driven largely by two massive new EV battery plants that are under construction in Michigan, driven by the Inflation Reduction Act and the incentives for domestic battery manufacturing that the law provides, that includes both direct subsidies for manufacturing EVs in the US, as well as tying some of the EV tax credits to the sourcing of domestic or North American assembled batteries.
So it’s a straight line from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to the employment boom that they’re talking about. He noted that typically this union in central Michigan has fewer than 1000 members and that these two plants alone could hire about 500 full time jobs each from their union. So the entire union would be employed building these two battery plants. And clearly that’s gonna create new jobs and new opportunities for union work and well-paid family-supporting jobs in Michigan. I think that that story is playing out across the country. That’s hopefully encouraging in the long term for the politics of the clean energy transition because when people see the clean energy transition as something that’s fueling their economic future and not just as about avoiding scary future climate outcomes, I think that has a strong amount of durability and a lot of political salience.
MEYER: I am so curious though to see whether these— I mean, unions are now, the federal government has passed a ton of policy that increases demand for union workers, and like a lot of these unions have to grow in a way they have not been asked to grow in a long time. And I’m so curious to see how that happens.
JENKINS: So, what about you, Rob? Do you have something to close us out on and keep us a little bit more positive than that electoral news?
MEYER: There’s a really interesting study that came out earlier this month in the Journal Earth’s Future by Mallory L. Barnes et al, she’s a scholar at Indiana University in Bloomington, that looked at this question that I think has kind of hung over some climate data for a long time, which is when you look at these global maps of temperature rise and how much different parts of the planet have experienced global warming, often the least amount of warming has happened in the Eastern United States. And you’ll sometimes even hear this called “a warming hole” that while the rest of the planet seems to be experiencing, you know, varying levels of global warming and especially at the poles, quite extreme levels of global warming, the Eastern US, which of course, is this extremely important area, if you’re talking about global climate policy, the Eastern US isn’t experiencing as much warming, at least compared to other places in the world.
So what this study found, the study is called “A Century of Reforestation Reduced Anthropogenic Warming in the Eastern United States.” What the study found is that basically in the Southeast US, especially, a lot of land that used to be tillage or farmland has since become reforested. And that reforestation drives local cooling and that has mitigated a lot of the global warming we’d otherwise expect to see, and that’s why recent temperatures have been cooler than we might have expected with global warming. And so the abstract says, “Ground and satellite-based observations showed that Eastern United States forests cool the land service by 1 to 2 °C annually compared to nearby grasslands and crop lands, with the strongest cooling effect during midday in the growing season when cooling is 2 to 5 °C.”
I just found that really fascinating. Of course, it raises lots of adaptation questions like should we be doing more reforestation in other places in order to generate local cooling in those places? Reforestation has, while not a silver bullet by any means, does also have climate benefits as well. You know, carbon cycle benefits. And so I just thought that was such a cool study and while it might not be kind of encouraging in the conventional sense in the same way that maybe yours was, I just found it to be so engrossing. It made me think about processes being connected to each other in ways I maybe hadn’t thought about before. I thought it was really cool.
JENKINS: That is really fascinating. Those are not small effects. Those are quite substantial. So that’s really quite interesting. I’m glad you shared that. I’ve heard a lot of conversation about urban forestation as an adaptation measure, right? Adding urban tree canopies does have appreciable impacts on local heat island effects that you see in cities, and that’s maybe an important area of adaptation policy. Some of my colleagues here at Princeton are exploring those kinds of dynamics and there’s a lot of interest there. But this is interesting. This is almost continental scale effects, right?
MEYER: Exactly.
JENKINS: Across a broad region for reforestation, not just in cities. So, wow, that’s, that’s really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
MEYER: Well, Jesse, I feel like we have so much here. There’s just like 10 different things we could talk about next week. And I know I want to talk about China, I know I want to talk more about electric vehicles, I want to talk about transportation policy, maybe reforestation.
JENKINS: Yeah, there is so much to unpack here on Shift Key. I hope you all join us again next week as we dive in again.
MEYER: Thank you for listening to Shift Key.
[AD BREAK]
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 Woodbury. Our music is by Adam Kromelow. Thanks so much for listening and see you next week.
https://heatmap.news/podcast/transcript-shift-key-episode-three-ira Save to Pocket
Public Health Ends Weekly COVID-19 Updates
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Friday 78 new cases and one additional death from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley within the last week
https://scvnews.com/public-health-ends-weekly-covid-19-updates/ Save to Pocket
Prop 65 Notice Issued to L.A. County for Chiquita Canyon Landfill
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Recently, the Department of Public Health received a Proposition 65 Notice from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control regarding the threatened illegal discharge of hazardous waste from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill
https://scvnews.com/prop-65-notice-issued-to-l-a-county-for-chiquita-canyon-landfill/ Save to Pocket
Gender-Neutral Baby Names Gain Popularity, but Traditional Names Still Rule
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
US parents get more creative when deciding what to name their children
https://www.voanews.com/a/gender-neutral-baby-names-gain-popularity-but-traditional-names-still-rule/7499777.html Save to Pocket
NASA, Intuitive Machines to Discuss Historic Moon Mission Today
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
NASA and Intuitive Machines will host a televised news conference at 5 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 23, to detail the Odysseus lander’s historic soft Moon landing. With the last-minute assistance of a NASA precision landing technology, the first CLPS, or Commercial Lunar Payload Services, mission carrying the agency’s science and technology demonstrations successfully landed on […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-intuitive-machines-to-discuss-historic-moon-mission-today/ Save to Pocket
When cost of living is a major voting bloc’s biggest concern
date: 2024-02-23, from: Marketplace Morning Report
A new AARP survey of women age 50 and up is out. They’re a large demographic — 62 million, according to AARP — and are more likely to vote than other cohorts. They’re also a swing voting bloc, and rising costs are dragging down their personal economies. We’ll also learn about new tribal gaming compacts aimed at protecting tribes’ interests and hear why one economist is watching productivity gains.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/when-cost-of-living-is-a-major-voting-blocs-biggest-concern Save to Pocket
BYD launches new Dolphin EV starting under $14K as price war with ICE cars heats up
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
BYD launched the new Dolphin Honor Edition with more performance, an improved design, and an even lower price tag. The new BYD Dolphin EV starts at $13,900 (99,800 yuan), fueling the automaker’s declared price war on ICE cars.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/byd-launches-new-dolphin-ev-14k-price-war/ Save to Pocket
The Ukraine War Blew Up the World’s Energy Economy
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heatmap News
It’s an open secret in U.S. climate policy circles that the Inflation Reduction Act got its name for purely political reasons. It’s a climate bill, after all. Calling it “Inflation Reduction Act” was just the marketing term to help sell it to a skeptical public more worried about rising prices than temperatures in August 2022.
Temperatures have only risen since, while inflation is down, and the Inflation Reduction Act had nothing to do with either. But to see why the name was more than appropriate only takes going back a further six months.
On February 24, 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In many ways, the step shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The invasion followed months of saber-rattling. It wasn’t even Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine — that happened ten years earlier, with Russia’s forceful annexation of Crimea. But Russia’s bombs raining down on Ukraine still came as a shock. February 24 was a Thursday. By Sunday morning, Germany had changed 75 years of pacifist defense strategy. Another result of the invasion: fossil energy price spikes.
Now, two years later, it has become clear that the shock of the war has changed the trajectory of global energy and climate in ways that we are only beginning to appreciate. It is also precisely where the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act enters the picture, and why history will judge the law — and its name — kindly. Let me explain.
Gas prices in Europe had already been high all winter before Russia’s invasion, in part in response to Putin’s posturing. After the invasion, they spiked. The peak happened in August 2022, in anticipation of the Russian war lasting through the coming winter and worries about the war dragging on. Drag on, of course, it did. Two years in, there’s no end to the fighting in sight. Gas prices, meanwhile, are down again to levels not seen since well before the invasion.
One key reason: demand is down. Europe’s gas demand was down almost 18% in the first year after the invasion, compared to the year before. Not all of that is good news, for the climate or otherwise. One reason for decreased gas demand had been temporarily increased coal use. Another is a sputtering European economy.
The U.S. had been relatively insulated from these extreme fluctuations. But it, too, saw gas prices spike in August 2022. The spike, to be clear, was much lower than in Europe. Gas, unlike oil, is a regional market. But the economic upshot was similar everywhere: massive inflation driven by volatility in fossil fuel prices, or “fossilflation” for short.
All of us, the global economy, and the fortunes of political leaders everywhere are at the mercy of geopolitical vagaries. Putin blows a fuse and invades Ukraine, and your gas bills spike – both types of “gas” bills, by the way: gasoline to get to work, and methane gas to heat your home. Electricity bills typically are not far behind, with gas-powered plants that can be called upon at a moment’s notice providing a necessary margin of safety during moments of peak demand. That means that they — or, by extension, Putin, in this case — set the price.
Don’t take my word for it. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unpacks the underlying drivers of inflation into three main categories: food, fuel, and everything else. Throughout the most recent U.S. spike in inflation in 2022, the energy category alone was responsible for around half of total inflation. And that’s just counting the direct effects. Indirectly, a good portion of the food price increases ever since are also due to higher energy costs. If the farmer pays more to harvest the crop, soon those commodity prices increase as well. Of course, it isn’t all fossil fuels. Putin’s invasion, for example, also impacted corn production in the Ukraine directly, by destroying crop land, preventing a timely harvest, and cutting off export routes.
There are two other climate-related factors that drive inflation — call them “climateflation” and “greenflation,” to use German economist Isabel Schnabel’s terms. Schnabel — a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, the body that sets interest rates for the 340 million people in the Eurozone — introduced all three -flationary terms in a March 2022 speech warning of “a new age of energy inflation.”
Climateflation is just what it sounds like: inflation because of unmitigated climate change. When an extreme weather event wipes out a country’s harvest of a particular crop, prices spike. One year it’s avocados, the next sugar, and more significant food staples like corn, rice, and wheat are never far behind. The long-term prescription, much like with fossilflation: get off fossil fuels.
None of that will happen overnight. That, in a sense, makes the IRA a horrible political strategy with an eye toward the next election cycle. Want to cut inflation quickly? Make gas and gasoline cheaper with direct handouts. Hello, gas tax holidays!
The problem with that policy quick fix is that it’s just that: decidedly short-term thinking. Fossil energy use will go up as a result. In fact, several U.S. states and European countries have done just that in response to Putin’s invasion. As a result, the average price paid per ton of CO 2 has gone down in 2022, after a decade of steadily rising carbon prices the world over.
The IRA famously does not establish a carbon price either, and that’s A-OK. It does establish a $900-per-ton price for methane paid by oil and gas companies, but the law is decidedly more carrots than sticks. That contrasts U.S. climate policy with what has been the primary focus of the EU, with its emissions trading system and national carbon taxes. It also addresses a more subtle type of climate-related inflation: greenflation, upward pressure on prices because of the rush to get off fossil fuels.
The good news on that front: It seems to be true that there’s plenty of the kinds of precious metals and rare earth minerals we need to power the low-carbon transition to go around. Polysilicon prices spiked for a bit, before new supply came online, and solar panel prices never budged from their decades-long, precipitous decline. Lithium, nickel, and other minerals used in batteries and other low-carbon technologies similarly rose for a bit before they, too, declined precipitously.
The post-fossil fuel transition will still take plenty of active management and proactive policy. That is where the U.S. IRA shines, and where the EU, despite its head start and overall ambitious climate policy, is playing catchup.
In May 2022, the European Union passed REPowerEU, a broad set of measures to cut off Russian gas within five years. By September of that year, the EU had cut Russian gas as a percentage of total gas piped in from abroad to under 10%, down from over 40% a year prior. Germany built three LNG import terminals in record time, and lots of other measures showed almost immediate effect.
Overall, the EU is now racing to catch up with the U.S. in the global climate race with its own set of ambitious supply-side measures in form of a broad Green Deal Industrial Plan. We should all applaud that transatlantic climate policy competition and embrace the newly rekindled green growth mindset. Done right, the planet will emerge as a winner, and so will our economies.
The IRA has not and will not cut inflation overnight. But that fight is indeed a big part of the bill’s legacy: Play the long game of tackling all three types of climate-related inflation — fossilflation, climateflation, and greenflation — at their very core, and indeed justify the law’s name.
https://heatmap.news/economy/ukraine-war-global-energy Save to Pocket
What Happens to Your Sensitive Data When a Data Broker Goes Bankrupt?
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Markup blog
Data on sensitive locations, such as abortion clinics, could be sold off, raising alarms
https://themarkup.org/privacy/2024/02/23/what-happens-to-your-sensitive-data-when-a-data-broker-goes-bankrupt Save to Pocket
curl HTTP/3 security audit
date: 2024-02-23, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog
An external security audit focused especially on curl’s HTTP/3 components and associated source code was recently concluded by Trail of Bits. In particular on the HTTP/3 related curl code that uses and interfaces the ngtcp2 and nghttp3 libraries, as that is so far the only HTTP/3 backend in curl that is not labeled as experimental. … Continue reading curl HTTP/3 security audit
https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/02/23/curl-http-3-security-audit/ Save to Pocket
Bill Miranda | Santa Clarita Unveils One Story One City Selection
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
One of my favorite passions is traveling, especially to exotic countries to explore different cultures and lifestyles – and if I can’t travel, I love to escape within the pages of a book
https://scvnews.com/bill-miranda-santa-clarita-unveils-one-story-one-city-selection/ Save to Pocket
Pluralistic: Dinkclump Linkdump; The Bezzle excerpt (Part VI) (23 Feb 2024)
date: 2024-02-23, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Dinkclump Linkdump: A rare, out-of-cycle linkdump. The Bezzle excerpt (Part VI): The thrilling conclusion! This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Dinkclump Linkdump (permalink) Some Saturday mornings, I look at the week’s blogging and realize I have a lot more links saved up than I managed to write about this week, and then I do a linkdump. There’ve been 14 of these, and this is number 15: https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/ Attentive readers will note that this isn’t Saturday. You’re right. But I’m on a book tour and every day is shatterday, because damn, it’s grueling and I’m not the spry manchild who took Little Brother on the road in 2008 – I’m a 52 year old with two artificial hips. Hence: an out-of-cycle linkdump. Come see me on tour and marvel at my verticality! https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour Best thing I read this week, hands down, was Ryan Broderick’s Garbage Day piece, “AI search is a doomsday cult”: https://www.garbageday.email/p/ai-search-doomsday-cult Broderick makes so many excellent points in this piece. First among them: AI search sucks, but that’s OK, because no one is asking for AI search. This only got more true later in the week when everyone’s favorite spicy autocomplete accidentally loaded the James Joyce module: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/chatgpt-alarms-users-by-spitting-out-shakespearean-nonsense-and-rambling/ (As Matt Webb noted, Chatbots have slid rapidly from Star Trek (computers give you useful information in a timely fashion) to Douglas Adams (computers spout hostile, impenetrable nonsense at you): https://interconnected.org/home/2024/02/21/adams But beyond the unsuitability of AI for search results and beyond the public’s yawning indifference to AI-infused search, Broderick makes a more important point: AI search is about summarizing web results so you don’t have to click links and read the pages yourself. If that’s the future of the web, who the fuck is going to write those pages that the summarizer summarizes? What is the incentive, the business-model, the rational explanation for predicting a world in which millions of us go on writing web-pages, when the gatekeepers to the web have promised to rig the game so that no one will ever visit those pages, or read what we’ve written there, or even know it was us who wrote the underlying material the summarizer just summarized? If we stop writing the web, AIs will have to summarize each other, forming an inhuman centipede of botshit-ingestion. This is bad news, because there’s pretty solid mathematical evidence that training a bot on botshit makes it absolutely useless. Or, as the authors of the paper – including the eminent cryptographer Ross Anderson – put it, “using model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects”: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.17493 This is the mathematical evidence for Jathan Sadowski’s “Hapsburg AI,” or, as the mathematicians call it, “The Curse of Recursion” (new band-name just dropped). But if you really have your heart set on living in a ruined dystopia dominated by hostile artificial life-forms, have no fear. As Hamilton Nolan writes in “Radical Capital,” a rogues gallery of worker-maiming corporations have asked a court to rule that the NLRB can’t punish them for violating labor law: https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/radical-capital Trader Joe’s, Amazon, Starbucks and SpaceX have all made this argument to various courts. If they prevail, then there will be no one in charge of enforcing federal labor law. Yes, this will let these companies go on ruining their workers’ lives, but more importantly, it will give carte blanche to every other employer in the land. At one end of this process is a boss who doesn’t want to recognize a union – and at the other end are farmers dying of heat-stroke. The right wing coalition that has put this demand before the court has all sorts of demands, from forced birth to (I kid you not), the end of recreational sex: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/02/getting-rid-of-birth-control-is-a-key-gop-agenda-item-for-the-second-trump-term That coalition is backed by ultra-rich monopolists who want wreck the nation that their rank-and-file useful idiots want to wreck your body. These are the monopoly cheerleaders who gave us the abomination that is the Pharmacy Benefit Manager – a useless intermediary that gets to screw patients and pharmacists – and then let PBMs consolidate and merge with pharmacy monopolists. One such inbred colossus is Change Healthcare, a giant PBM that is, in turn, a mere tendril of United Healthcare, which merged the company with Optum. The resulting system – held together with spit and wishful thinking – has access to the health records of a third of Americans and processes 15 billion prescriptions per day. Or rather, it did process that amount – until the all-your-eggs-in-one-badly-maintained basket strategy failed on Wednesday, and Change’s systems went down due to an unspecified “cybersecurity incident.” In the short term, this meant that tens of millions of Americans who tried to refill their prescriptions were told to either pay cash or come back later (if you don’t die first). That was the first shoe dropping. The second shoe is the medical records of a third of the country. Don’t worry, I’m sure those records are fine. After all, nothing says security like “merging several disparate legacy IT systems together while simultaneously laying off half your IT staff as surplus to requirements and an impediment to extracting a special dividend for the private equity owners who are, of course, widely recognized as the world’s greatest information security practitioners.” Look, not everything is terrible. Some computers are actually getting better. Framework’s user-serviceable, super-rugged, easy-to-repair, powerful laptops are the most exciting computers I’ve ever owned – or broken: https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/graceful-failure/#frame Now you can get one for $500! https://frame.work/blog/first-framework-laptop-16-shipments-and-a-499-framework And the next generation is turning our surprisingly well, despite all our worst efforts. My kid – now 16! – and I just launched our latest joint project, “The Sushi Chronicles,” a small website recording our idiosyncratic scores for nearly every sushi restaurant in Burbank, Glendale, Studio City and North Hollywood: https://sushichronicles.org/ This is the record of two years’ worth of Daughter-Daddy sushi nights that started as a way to get my picky eater to try new things and has turned into the highlight of my week. If you’re in the area and looking for a nice piece of fish, give it a spin (also, we belatedly realized that we’ve never reviewed our favorite place, Kuru Kuru in the CVS Plaza on North Hollywood Way – we’ll be rectifying that soon). And yes, we have a lavishly corrupt Supreme Court, but at least now everyone knows it. Glenn Haumann’s even set up a Gofundme to raise money to bribe Clarence Thomas (now deleted, alas): https://www.gofundme.com/f/pzhj4q-the-clarence-thomas-signing-bonus-fund-give-now The funds are intended as a “signing bonus” in the event that Thomas takes up John Oliver on his offer of a $2.4m luxury RV and $1m/year for life if he’ll resign from the court: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-VJrdHMug This is truly one of Oliver’s greatest bits, showcasing his mastery over the increasingly vital art of turning abstruse technical issues into entertainment that negates the performative complexity used by today’s greatest villains to hide their misdeeds behind a Shield of Boringness (h/t Dana Clare). The Bezzle is my contribution to turning abstruse scams into a high-impact technothriller that pierces that Shield of Boringness. The key to this is to master exposition, ignoring the (vastly overrated) rule that one must “show, not tell.” Good exposition is hard to do, but when it works, it’s amazing (as anyone who’s read Neal Stephenson’s 1,600-word explanation of how to eat Cap’n Crunch cereal in Cryptonomicon can attest). I wrote about this for Mary Robinette Kowal’s “My Favorite Bit” this week: https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/ Of course, an undisputed master of this form is Adam Conover, whose Adam Ruins Everything show helped invent it. Adam is joining me on stage in LA tomorrow night at Vroman’s at 5:30PM, to host me in a book-tour event for my novel The Bezzle: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle (Image: Peter Craven, CC BY 2.0) The Bezzle excerpt (Part VI) (permalink) It’s launch-week for my new novel The Bezzle, a high-tech, revenge-soaked crime thriller in which my intrepid forensic accountant Martin Hench must pit his wits against unbelievably evil (and sadly true-to-life) prison-tech grifters: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve As part of the launch, I’m serializing part of Chapter 14, a side-plot about music royalty theft and the (again, sadly true-to-life) corruption of the LA Sheriffs Deputies, who are organized into criminal gangs that murder, run drugs and intimidate with impunity: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deputy-gangs-cancer-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-scathing-re-rcna73367 Today marks the sixth and final installment of the serial, but you can hear me read more of the book. Just show up at one of the stops on my book tour! Tomorrow (Feb 24) in LA, I’m appearing on Saturday evening with AdamC onover at Vroman’s: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle< And then on Monday I’ll be in Seattle at Third Place Books with Neal Stephenson: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow From there, I’m off to Portland, Phoenix, Tucson and points further: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour Here’s part one of the serial: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease Part two: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination Part three: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/20/fore/#lawyer-up Part four: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#poacher-turned-keeper Part five: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#acab And now, the thrilling conclusion! * * * Benedetto was outraged by my face and swore he’d sue the Sheriff’s Department on my behalf. He got even angrier when I got stopped again, the following week, as I was leaving my concussion checkup at the Kaiser hospital on Sunset by a sheriff’s deputy who had me pull over in front of the big Scientology building. This deputy was a little bantam rooster of a fellow, with a shiny bald head and mirror shades and no neck. He strutted up to my car, got me out of it, ran my ID, and frisked me. “Do you know why I pulled you over, sir?” he said. He had that cop knack for making “sir” sound like “motherfucker.” “No, sir,” I said, trying it out myself. He didn’t like that and leaned in close enough for me to smell his aftershave and the scented sunscreen on his bare scalp. “I stopped you, sir, because you were using your phone while driving.” I must have looked surprised. “I personally saw you tapping at your phone screen. That is a misdemeanor, sir. Reckless driving.” He stopped as if waiting for me to respond. I made myself go mild. “Sir, I did not use my phone.” He was waiting for that. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer. “Are you telling me I didn’t see what I saw?” Mild, Marty, mild. “I don’t know what you saw, sir, but I didn’t use my phone.” He rocked back and tilted his head. Patients went by with crutches and walkers. Nurses and doctors passed in scrubs. Scientologists scurried in and out of their gigantic temple. A fruit cart man labored past us. “Well, sir, this should be simple enough to resolve.” He reached for his belt and pulled out a generic ruggedized cop-rectangle of gear, and unspooled a multiheaded cable from its side. He leaned into the rental and retrieved my phone, and squinted at its I/O port, then attached the cable to my phone. The rugged rectangle beeped. “I’m gathering forensics on your mobile device, sir,” he said. I’d figured that out already. My phone—like yours and everyone else’s—was a trove of my most intimate information, a record of all the places I’d been and people I’d spoken to and all the things I’d said to them. It was full of photos and passwords and client files and voice memos. It was more information than any judge would have granted a warrant for on a reckless-driving rap. The little man smirked as he held my phone and his gadget. I stayed mild as milk. I was running full-device encryption. I’m no computer security expert, but I spend a lot of time around them, and they’d been insistent on this point, and had made reference to this very scenario in describing why I would bother to dig around my phone’s settings to turn this on. God, my face hurt. I didn’t know how long the gadget was supposed to take, but from the cop’s increasing impatience, I could tell it was going long. Beep. The cop shaded the gadget’s little screen from the punishing LA sun with one hand and peered at it. “Sir, I need you to unlock this device, please.” My face hurt. Be mild, Marty. “I invoke my right to counsel,” I said. He pursed his lips. “Sir, if you would please enter your unlock code, we can verify whether your device is in use and we can both be on our way.” “I invoke my right to remain silent.” I said it straight into his bodycam. He sighed and looked irritated. I had known Benedetto for so long that I had once had to dial his number from a landline. I’d long ago memorized his office’s number, 1–800-LAWER4U. He’d bought it early, back before 800 numbers got expensive, and he’d had plenty of offers for it. He’d kept it. This day in history (permalink) #15yrsago Tonga Room, San Francisco’s magnificent tiki bar: doomed? https://laughingsquid.com/will-the-tonga-room-be-a-casualty-of-the-fairmont-condo-plans/ #15yrsago New Zealand’s terrible copyright law suspended, may be dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090317045724/http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/86D681292534A2CCCC25756600143FD1 #10yrsago Ukrainian president Yanukovuych flees Kiev as opposition seize the palace https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/22/ukraine-crisis-uncertainty-after-yanukovych-signs-deal-live-updates #10yrsago Cossacks horsewhip Pussy Riot at Sochi https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26265230 #10yrsago Pussy Riot use footage of cossack horsewhipping in new music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjI0KYl9gWs #10yrsago Austin cops violently crack down on scourge of anonymous jaywalking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ugqW7fFmk #5yrsago Whatsapp abused the DMCA to censor related projects from Github https://memex.craphound.com/2014/02/22/whatsapp-abused-the-dmca-to-censor-related-projects-from-github/ #5yrsago Blockbuster Gizmodo investigation reveals probable masterminds of the massive anti-Net Neutrality identity theft/astroturf campaign https://gizmodo.com/how-an-investigation-of-fake-fcc-comments-snared-a-prom-1832788658 #5yrsago This is bad: the UAE’s favorite sleazeball cybermercenaries have applied for permission to break Mozilla’s web encryption https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/cyber-mercenary-groups-shouldnt-be-trusted-your-browser-or-anywhere-else #5yrsago Google ends forced arbitration contracts for workers after googler uprising https://www.wired.com/story/google-ends-forced-arbitration-after-employee-protest/ Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: Benjamin Jolley, Glenn Haumann. 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: How I Got Scammed (https://craphound.com/news/2024/02/18/how-i-got-scammed/) Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Vroman’s (Pasadena), Feb 24 https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow The Bezzle at Powell’s (Portland) Feb 27: https://www.powells.com/book/the-bezzle-martin-hench-2-9781250865878/1-2 The Bezzle at Changing Hands (Phoenix), Feb 29: https://www.changinghands.com/event/february2024/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 Wondercon Anaheim, Mar 29-31 https://www.comic-con.org/wc/ The Bezzle at Anderson’s Books (Chicago), Apr 17 https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/event/cory-doctorow-1 Torino Biennale Tecnologia (Apr 19-21) https://www.turismotorino.org/en/experiences/events/biennale-tecnologia Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Winnipeg), May 2 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cory-doctorow-tickets-798820071337?aff=oddtdtcreator Tartu Prima Vista Literary Festival (May 5-11) https://tartu2024.ee/en/kirjandusfestival/ Media Ecology Association keynote (Amherst, NY), Jun 6-9 https://media-ecology.org/convention American Association of Law Libraries keynote (Chicago), Jul 21 https://www.aallnet.org/conference/agenda/keynote-speaker/ Recent appearances: Radioactive (KCRL) https://krcl.org/blog/grist-investigates-doctorow-seed/ The enshittification of music (Music Ally) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh20fD3XXbg Aaron Swartz (EpistemiCast) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5t9QVHSQBjIXKUiN2EvEmK Latest books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3062/Available_Feb_20th%3A_The_Bezzle_HB.html#/). “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: 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/2024/02/23/gazeteer/ Save to Pocket
New Law Requires SNAP Recipients To Balance Food On Nose Until Receiving…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044040-new-law-requires-snap-rec Save to Pocket
Lender threatens to sweep MariaDB accounts over private equity bid
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Publicity around offer breaches loan agreement, or so SEC filing alleges
MariaDB has been warned by a bank lender that it may “sweep” its accounts in retaliation for the publication of a private equity bid for the troubled database company.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/lender_threatens_to_sweep_mariadb/ Save to Pocket
Across LA, College Papers Offer Student Reporters a Connection to Campus, Community
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
washington — For years, Marc Anthony Martinez worked delivery jobs in Los Angeles and across the U.S.
One of his regular stops: the University of Southern California village. Martinez, 33, says he would drop off food deliveries and wonder what it would be like to go to school there.
“After a while I was like, ‘You know what? I write pretty good, I love traveling, why don’t I try to go into journalism and try to become a sports journalist?’” he said.
So in April 2022, Martinez enrolled in the journalism program at East Los Angeles College.
Nearly two years on, Martinez is editor in chief for the community college newspaper, Campus News.
Founded in 1945, Campus News has won several awards, including from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges SoCal conference.
But before students can publish work in Campus News, they must take the college’s Journalism 101 class.
Jean Stapleton, chairperson of the college journalism department and adviser for Campus News, provides that training.
First comes a writing test, then classes on subjects such as how to write news articles and on media ethics.
The emphasis, Martinez said, is on the responsibilities reporters will have in their careers.
Entering his second semester at the newspaper, Martinez said that the newspaper’s flexibility allows him to do his “own thing,” whether that is drafting sports stories or exploring photojournalism.
A self-proclaimed introvert, Martinez says joining the newspaper also provided opportunities to push himself outside of his comfort zone.
“That’s what I tell the other journalists, ‘Look I know its nerve wracking but it’s also part of the thrill of journalism.’ You’re pushing yourself and expanding your limits on how far you can go,” he said.
Journalism 101
In downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City College newspaper team takes a similar approach.
Sorina Szakacs, who is active with LACC’s The Collegian, says the newspaper offers classes to improve students’ reporting skills.
Szakacs, who is now studying at Columbia University in New York, graduated from LACC in 2019.
She still contributes to The Collegian as a reporter and editor, and sometimes audits the college’s journalism classes.
The classes, she said, are demanding but help students know if they are interested in pursuing a career in journalism.
“Once you’re working in the newspaper, you know what is expected of you. By the time you finish, you know if journalism is the career for you or not,” Szakacs said.
Students don’t just work on reporting and editing. They also help with distribution, loading trucks with print copies that are delivered to homes and businesses.
Szakacs recalls being on a distribution run and seeing people emerge from their houses as soon as copies are dropped off.
Residents also will often write emails and letters or call with tips and questions, which she says shows an interest in the newspaper as a part of the community.
“There is a need for it. People are waiting for it,” she said. “That’s why we write — for them.”
While The Collegian is part of the largest community college district in the nation and covers a more extensive area, Campus News focuses on more specific issues surrounding student issues and life on campus.
Martinez says he is interested in features about people on campus who might otherwise be overlooked.
“We got to find people that we don’t necessarily know that are on our campus,” he said.
He recalls approaching a student after seeing their drawings and asking if they would be open to an interview.
More recently, a student pitched a story on a group that sets up and breaks down equipment for sports games.
“That’s what makes our paper good. It shows recognition to those that need it and deserve it,” Martinez said.
He finds that features display an appreciation toward community members and help increase the visibility of Campus News. After a student or teacher is featured in the paper, they often ask for copies of the newspaper, he said.
“They’ll take a couple of copies for themselves and give it to their families, and they’ll have it. That’s what keeps our paper going,” he said.
But the student reporters sometimes run into challenges.
In May, the music department at LACC prohibited a photojournalist from covering an event for the outgoing president, telling them it was a private event.
Music department officials later said there had been a “miscommunication.”
Later that month, the sheriff’s deputies who do campus security confronted another student who was taking photos in common areas around the music building.
Coverage of the incidents reached the Los Angeles Times and the Student Press Law Center. Students also reported on it in The Collegian.
Next generation
Both community colleges offer a strong foundation in media skills, but the students are wary of the job market.
So far this year, the newspaper industry has seen a massive layoff at the Los Angeles Times in January and at other U.S. newsrooms.
Martinez and Szakacs say that because many community college students transfer to four-year universities, those who are committed to a career in journalism will find ways to adapt.
For Szakacs, the situation made her hesitant to return to Los Angeles.
Martinez says he isn’t as concerned for sports journalism or photojournalism, but that his plans may change.
Szakacs said that as times change, so, too, should the industry.
Embracing technological advancements may help provide solutions for journalism, she said.
Student journalists can be a part of that, she said. They can help fill the gap of stories that major newspapers lack resources or interest in reporting on.
“It’s not easy,” Szakacs said. “It’s never going to be easy, but that’s what it means to be a journalist.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/across-la-college-papers-offer-student-reporters-a-connection-to-campus-community-/7498866.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Who is Robert Hur, special counsel in Biden documents case?
https://apnews.com/article/who-is-robert-hur-special-counsel-biden-d715ffd26adc75f2ba740d1960936a09 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Special counsel describes Biden as ‘elderly man with a poor memory’ in eyebrow-raising report.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4456879-special-counsel-describes-biden-as-elderly-man-with-a-poor-memory-in-eye-raising-report/ Save to Pocket
Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information
date: 2024-02-23, from: Quanta Magazine
Two researchers have proved that Penrose tilings, famous patterns that never repeat, are mathematically equivalent to a kind of quantum error correction.The post Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/never-repeating-tiles-can-safeguard-quantum-information-20240223/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Cybertruck turns into a tank with massive snow tracks
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla Cybertruck is often described as a tank, but it now literally comes a lot closer to one with these massive snow tracks.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/tesla-cybertruck-turns-into-tank-massive-snow-tracks/ Save to Pocket
Elon Musk Says Rivian Execs ‘Need To Live In The Factory Or They Will Die’
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, Lucid’s “Saudi sugar daddy is the only thing keeping them alive,” according to Tesla’s CEO.
https://insideevs.com/news/709784/elon-musk-rivian-execs-live-factory-lucid-saudi-sugar-daddy/ Save to Pocket
Our Third FOIA Forum! 3/6, 2PM EST
date: 2024-02-23, from: 404 Media Group
We are hosting our third FOIA Forum at the start of March. Join the livestream, file FOIAs with us, get tips, and more.
https://www.404media.co/our-third-foia-forum-3-6-2pm-est/ Save to Pocket
INEOS Automotive unveils its first 4×4 EV, but also uses the moment to romanticize gas cars
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
During a livestream held from the Grenadier Pub in London today, young UK Automaker INEOS publicly unveiled its third model and first EV – the Fusilier. As a smaller version of its Grenadier sibling, the Fusilier will arrive with BEV and range extender options. Despite being all-electric, the Fusilier’s makers couldn’t stop talking about the potential of every other option besides electric.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/ineos-automotive-unveils-its-first-4x4-ev-but-also-uses-the-moment-to-romanticize-gas-cars/ Save to Pocket
The new Apple Sports app for iPhone is pretty good but isn’t…
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044035-the-new-apple-sports-app Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
The
other day I
asked if an
op-ed columnist at the NYT or WP would ever criticize their employer for
showing poor judgement on what to report on, esp re the election. I was
thinking of the
story
about the special
prosecutor who did something highly unethical in writing a public,
official, condemnation of someone he investigated yet decided not to
prosecute. We have judges and juries for that. Only in a police state
can a prosecutor pass judgement on an accused person. The news orgs took
the bait, I didn’t read one report on who
Robert K.
Hur is, and the ethics of what he did. Is it appropriate to quote a
person who was behaving so openly unethically, esp if you don’t disclaim
that up front. It’s not that democracy is on the ballot this year, we’re
already over the line. Our journalism is acting as if it were already
controlled by the authoritarians. Our lack of trust in journalism is our
biggest problem. How can we force journalism to start to be a
little accountable. Right now they’re the only part of our ruling
class that theoretically can’t have their choices reviewed.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/23.html#a142425 Save to Pocket
The Salt Lake Tribune’s Opinion On UTV Use Would Restrict Everyone’s Access
date: 2024-02-23, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
And it’s filled with factual inaccuracies.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709763/salt-lake-tribune-atv-utv-opinion-land-access-trail-closure/ Save to Pocket
Old enough to know besteer
date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
I came up with a motto for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign – Old Enough to Know Better.
I asked ChatGPT to draw a campaign rally with a banner that said that, but it wouldn’t do it for Joe Biden, so I changed the name to Bull Mancuso, and had him run for governor of Calif instead of president of the US.
It still couldn’t spell the banner correctly but it is pretty inspiring.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/23/140239.html?title=oldEnoughToKnowBesteer Save to Pocket
ACT garners donations, recognition
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
Autism Community Together, or ACT, is a nonprofit support group for individuals with autism and their families. With ACT now in its 20th year of operation, members of the Guam government and business communities have offered donations and thanks to…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/act-garners-donations-recognition/article_6e5209de-d20d-11ee-8b10-87c8ab46dd1a.html Save to Pocket
Spring 2024 Pathways Vacancies
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
Our next application cycle will open on February 26, 2024 for Fall 2024 opportunities. All Pathways internship vacancy announcements are posted on USAJOBS. Below are the available pathways at each NASA center. To apply for a suitable opportunity, first identify the category of work you’re interested in, and ensure you have a qualifying major (check whether it […]
https://www.nasa.gov/general/spring-2024-pathways-vacancies/ Save to Pocket
Google co-founder Brin named a defendant in wrongful death complaint
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Lawsuit accuses contractor and co-defendants of ‘pacify and delay’ tactics
Sergey Brin and two of his businesses – Google and Bayshore Global Management – are named in a lawsuit seeking damages over the death of a pilot who attempted to ferry one of Brin’s airplanes from California to his private island in Fiji.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/sergey_brin_wrongful_death_lawsuit/ Save to Pocket
Artists Reflect on Black Experience in America
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
It’s Black History Month in the United States. In Los Angeles, there is an exhibit of black artists sharing their experiences growing up in America. Genia Dulot takes us there.
https://www.voanews.com/a/artists-reflect-on-black-experience-in-america/7499591.html Save to Pocket
Bethann Hardison on breaking barriers in fashion
date: 2024-02-23, from: Marketplace Morning Report
For our Econ Extra Credit series this month, we’re watching “Invisible Beauty,” an autobiographical film exploring the life and work of model and activist Bethann Hardison. Today, “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio is in conversation with Hardison to discuss a major cultural moment — walking for designer Chester Weinberg in the ’70s — and how she helped inspire a shift in the world of modeling and fashion. But first, Reddit goes for the IPO.
Sign up for our Econ Extra Credit newsletter now.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/bethann-hardison-on-breaking-barriers-in-fashion Save to Pocket
Here’s Your First Look At The NACS Adapter Ford EV Owners Will Get For Free
date: 2024-02-23, from: Inside EVs News
It’s surprisingly similar to Tesla’s so-called Magic Dock adapter.
https://insideevs.com/news/709846/ford-nacs-adapter-first-look/ Save to Pocket
Wheel-E Podcast: E-bike licenses, electric bike insurance, more
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the prospect of electric bike licenses in California and e-bike insurance in New Jersey, Dutch police doing roadside compliance checks, new e-bike from Tern, new battery from JackRabbit, battery-swapping for electric motorcycles from Africa, and more.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/23/wheel-e-podcast-e-bike-licenses-electric-bike-insurance-more/ Save to Pocket
Counting the Americans Displaced By Disaster
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Warm weather is causing cherry blossoms to bloom early in parts of Japan • Massive thunderstorms threatened to delay a Taylor Swift concert in Sydney • It’s going to be in the 50s and cloudy this weekend in Kherson, the first major city Russia captured after it launched its war on Ukraine two years ago.
THE TOP FIVE
- Natural disasters displaced 2.5 million Americans last year
Roughly 2.5 million people were displaced from their homes due to natural disasters in 2023, according to new Census Bureau data. That number is an imprecise estimate, but it represents “some of the best available numbers on displacement,” reported The New York Times. Tracking this kind of displacement in America can be hard, but it’s gotten slightly easier over the last two years after the Census Bureau added questions about disasters to its Household Pulse Survey in 2022. This year’s results show that Louisiana saw the highest share of disaster-related displacements, followed by Hawaii and Florida. Maine was also high on the list, likely due to extreme flooding. The data also suggested fraud runs rampant in the wake of natural disasters, with more than half of those displaced saying they had encountered a potential scam offer afterward. Last year America saw 28 weather and climate disasters, each costing at least $1 billion
- Vineyard Wind has 5 turbines up and running
Vineyard Wind 1, the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S., came online at the beginning of January with one turbine sending about five megawatts of electricity to the New England grid. Now its owners say four more turbines are up and running off the Massachusetts coast, sending 68 megawatts of electricity to the grid, enough to power 30,000 homes. Nine turbines in total have been installed so far, and the 10th is in progress. Once completed, the project will consist of 62 turbines and be capable of powering 400,000 homes and businesses.
- Researchers: Planting trees won’t solve the climate crisis
New research published in the journal Science finds that we’re overestimating the cooling effect of forests by only focusing on carbon dioxide. While trees do absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, they also do other things, like absorb warmth and light that would have otherwise been reflected back into space. They can also emit compounds that, rather counterintuitively, can actually increase levels of some greenhouse gases. Taking all this into consideration, the researchers think the cooling effect of tree planting could be upto 30% lower than previous estimates. The findings are important as the world looks for ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere to limit the worst effects of global warming. “Planting trees has an intuitive appeal,” the authors said, noting that many businesses tout their tree-planting efforts as a carbon offsetting gesture. “Trees can help fight climate change, but relying on them alone won’t be enough.”
- Coal’s slowdown is slowing down
The United States has been able to drive its greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest level since the early 1990s largely by reducing the amount of energy on the grid generated by coal to a vast extent. But the steady retirement of coal plants may be slowing down, reported Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin. Only 2.3 GW of coal generating capacity are set to be shut down so far in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. While in 2025, that number is expect to jump up to 10.9 GW, the combined 13.2 GW of retired capacity pales in comparison of the more than 22 GW retired in the past two years.
Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:
- Atmospheric rivers transform Death Valley into lake
The back-to-back atmospheric rivers that have slammed the West Coast recently have helped transform the driest place in America into a temporary lake known as Lake Manly. Death Valley usually gets about 2 inches of rain over the course of an entire year, but has seen 5 inches just over the last six months, starting with Hurricane Hilary last August and exacerbated by recent torrents of rain. The six-mile-long, three-mile-wide Lake Manly has been attracting throngs of tourists, and even kayakers.
THE KICKER
“The Cybertruck’s sensibility belongs to the consequence-free world of gaming and graphical interfaces, its ballistic resistance a God Mode brought to life. It’s not militarism; it’s infantilism.” –The Wall Street Journal’s auto columnist Dan Neil reviews Tesla’s Cybertruck
https://heatmap.news/climate/displaced-data-natural-disasters Save to Pocket
Kubuntu Focus M2 Linux laptop now comes with a Core i9-14900HX processor and NVIDIA RTX 40 series graphics
date: 2024-02-23, from: Liliputing
The Kubuntu Focus M2 is a Linux laptop with an Intel Core i9 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series discrete graphics, and a choice of 15.6 inch or 17.3 inch displays (both sizes feature screens with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolutions and refresh rates up to 240 Hz. When the Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5 launched last […]
The post Kubuntu Focus M2 Linux laptop now comes with a Core i9-14900HX processor and NVIDIA RTX 40 series graphics appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/kubuntu-focus-m2-linux-laptop-now-comes-with-a-core-i9-14900hx-processor-and-nvidia-rtx-40-series-graphics/ Save to Pocket
California Distributes Stockpile Of Abortion Pills Before They Expire
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
The state purchased 250,000 misoprostol pills last year for about $100,000.
https://laist.com/news/health/california-abortion-pill-stockpile Save to Pocket
All Our Favorite Places To Eat When CicLAvia Takes Over Melrose on Sunday
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
Pizza to go, sandwiches galore, and a birthday cake perfect for the Swiftie in your life.
https://laist.com/news/food/places-to-eat-ciclavia-melrose-sunday Save to Pocket
Best Thing I Ate This Week: Venezuelan Arepas
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
Food editor Gab Chabran shares a dish that filled him with delight in the past seven days.
https://laist.com/news/food/best-thing-i-ate-this-week-venezuelan-arepas Save to Pocket
Divers Recover Bell From Wreck of American Destroyer Sunk in World War I
date: 2024-02-23, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Sixty-four American sailors died when a German torpedo hit the USS “Jacob Jones” on December 6, 1917
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/divers-recover-bell-from-underwater-wreck-of-wwi-american-destroyer-180983827/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Biden impeachment effort on the brink of collapse, because it was 100% bullshit, it never should have been given any credence by journalism.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/23/biden-impeachment-collapse-00142689 Save to Pocket
A Farewell to ®s
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/23/a-farewell-to-s/ Save to Pocket
Microsoft adds more AI to Photos in Windows 10 and 11
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Windows 10 users would probably prefer longer support instead of prettier pics
Windows Insiders cannot get enough of AI if Microsoft is to be believed, with the company rolling out AI-infused Photo updates for Windows 10 and 11.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/microsoft_adds_more_ai_to_windows/ Save to Pocket
The Plop boot managers
date: 2024-02-23, from: OS News
I wrote different boot managers. Three boot managers are available as download. The Plop Boot Manager 5, PlopKexec and the new boot manager PBM6. The new boot manager is under development. ↫ Elmar Hanlhofer I had never heard of the three Plop boot managers, written by Elmar Hanlhofer, but they seem like quite the capable tools. First, Plop Boot Manager 5 is the most complete version, but it’s also quite outdated by now, with its last release stemming from 2013. That being said, it’s incredibly feature-packed, but since it lacks EUFI support, its use case seems more focused on legacy systems. PBM6, meanwhile, is the modern version with EUFI support, but it’s not complete and is under development, with regular releases. Finally, PlopKexec is exactly what the name implies – a boot manager that uses the Linux kernel. I’ve never encountered these before, but they seem quite interesting, and if it wasn’t for how much I do not like messing with bootloaders, I’d love to give these a go. Have any of you ever used it?
https://www.osnews.com/story/138640/the-plop-boot-managers/ Save to Pocket
IMF: Ukraine needs “timely support” from donors
date: 2024-02-23, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: As Ukraine prepares to mark two years since Russia’s invasion, the International Monetary Fund says the country’s economy is holding up — but funding from the U.S. and other international backers remains essential. In Ukraine, however, delays in international funding are weighing on confidence. Plus, could menopause be considered a disability? Then, a look at the link between trade deals and panda deals.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/imf-ukraine-needs-timely-support-from-donors Save to Pocket
Hubble Views an Active Star-Forming Galaxy
date: 2024-02-23, from: NASA breaking news
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. While this image does not look very dramatic – we might say it looks almost serene – the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the […]
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-views-an-active-star-forming-galaxy/ Save to Pocket
P&B: Herman Martinus
date: 2024-02-23, from: Manu - I write blog
This is the 26th edition of People and Blogs, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Herman Martinus and his blog, herman.bearblog.dev
Herman is the creator of the super minimal blog platform bearblog.dev—it was included in my recent list of blog platforms—and he’s based in Cape Town like my long time friend Rob and they actually know each-other, something I didn’t know when I first contacted Herman to be part of the series. I love how small the web world can feel at times.
To follow this series subscribe to the newsletter. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the RSS feed.
Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?
I’m Herman, a maker and game developer living in Cape Town, South Africa. I grew up and went to school in a small town outside of Johannesburg, then went to university at the University of Pretoria where I studied Computer Science with a focus on Multimedia. This led me down the path to become a game developer, and later a maker of neat things for the Internet.
My primary hobbies currently are writing on my blog (and maintaining the platform Bear Blog), building games for the Play.date, and riding motorcycles (I live in a very beautiful part of the world and this is, in my opinion, the best way to see the landscape).
What's the story behind your blog?
I’ve always been a writer. In high school I started writing short stories, all of which have been lost to the ether, thankfully. As a young adult I started writing the kinds of things that young people full of new knowledge and self discovery generally do. I started keeping a journal around this time, about which I’ve written a few times before.
Later on, as my experience in my field grew and I felt like I had more to share with the world, I started blogging on a semi-regular basis. During this time my blog went through many different iterations. I was on Wordpress, Proseful, wrote in plain HTML for a bit, then finally built my own platform as a way of procrastinating.
What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?
I generally write about what has been on my mind lately. My partner, Emma, listens to me blab on at length about things like traffic circles, building frustration into products, and the like. This is only for a few days, generally, but sometimes spans months. Then, after I’ve thoroughly interrogated the concept it finds its way to a rough outline in my notes app where I start sifting through the thoughts in a more structured way. This is usually turned into the first draft the next day (I like to let the outline marinate overnight), edited, and published.
I also keep a Trello board of writing ideas for when I’m feeling particularly uncreative.
Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?
I am highly affected by physical spaces and sound. For a decent period of my life while I was travelling I worked out of noisy coffee shops. I’m surprised I got any work done. Now when I’m travelling I shell out the extra cash for a quiet co-working space where I can think without being interrupted by the loud Australian tourists three tables over loudly talking about how wasted they got last night.
At home we have a “day room” which has big windows overlooking Table Mountain. This provides a lot of natural light and is my favourite place to work. There is, however, a primary school across the road, and when the kids come out for recess, chaos breaks loose as they fight for school-yard dominance. For those two half hour periods, I have a set of noise cancelling headphones.
A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?
I use Bear Blog as my blogging platform of choice. Not only do I use it, but I am also the creator of it. I was very unimpressed with the options available with their infinite customizability and bloat. All I needed was a quick and easy way to get my words up on the internet. I also wanted people to be able to read them without all the cruft that surrounds modern content. So I built Bear, and it’s now loved by tens of thousands of writers worldwide.
Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?
This is an interesting question, since I’ve been considering starting another blog that is more specific to no-nonsense information about climate and environment-related technology (think geoengineering, green energy generation, and the like). And the conclusion I came to is that I’d build it in the exact same way I have with my own blog: Running on Bear, writing in a semi-casual and personal tone on technical topics, injecting my own personality where possible.
Financial question since the web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetising personal blogs?
Because I run the platform, my blog is, naturally, cost free. My blog is not meant to generate revenue and I do not intend for it to do so. However, because I regularly write about the development of the Bear Blog platform, and the trials and tribulations of building out the small web, sometimes people look at it and, maybe, start a blog. If I’m particularly lucky, they even upgrade. So while my blog is not monetised in the traditional sense, there is a small financial reward for posts that do exceedingly well.
Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?
I follow a handful of small- to medium-sized blogs, but the one I’m always the most excited to see in my RSS reader is coryzue.com
This is a blog by a maker in my city who writes about similar themes to me, but also muses existentially at times. His blog is a great read, and he would also make a good candidate for an interview.
Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?
Right now I’m just fascinated with the play.date and will be building games for the next few months. You can see a list of running projects on my blog’s project page.
This was the 26th edition of People and Blogs. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Herman. Make sure to follow his blog (RSS) and get in touch with him if you have any questions.
Awesome supporters
You can support this series on Ko-Fi and all supporters will be listed here as well as on the official site of the newsletter.
- Jamie Thingelstad (RSS)
- Piet Terheyden
- Raul Montala (RSS)
- Eleonora
- Carl Barenbrug (RSS)
- Steve Ledlow (RSS)
- Paolo Ruggeri
- Nicolas Magand (RSS)
- Rob Hope
- Chris Hannah (RSS)
- Pedro Corá (RSS)
- Jeremy Sarber (RSS)
- Colin Walker (RSS)
- Sixian Lim
- Matt Stein (RSS)
- Winnie Lim (RSS)
- Flamed (RSS)
- C Jackdaw
- Kevin Humdrum (RSS)
- Fabricio Teixeira (RSS)
- Rosalind Croad
- Frank Meeuwsen (RSS)
- Mike Walsh
- Jose Munoz (RSS)
- Markus Heurung
- Jeremy Bassetti (RSS)
- Juan Villela (RSS)
- Michael Warren (RSS)
- Chuck Grimmett (RSS)
- Robin Harford (RSS)
- Bryan Maniotakis (RSS)
- Barry Hess (RSS)
- Chris Jung (RSS)
- Khürt Williams (RSS)
- Ben Werdmuller (RSS)
- Ivan Moreale
- Cory Gibbons
- Luke Harris (RSS)
- İsmail Şevik (RSS)
- Lars-Christian Simonsen (RSS)
- Seth Werkheiser
- Cody Schultz
- Brad Barrish
- Nikita Galaiko
- Erik Blankvoort
- Jaga Santagostino
Want to support P&B?
If you like this series and want to help it grow, you can:
- support on Ko-Fi;
- post about it on your own blog and let your readers know about its existence;
- email me comments and feedback on the series;
- suggest a person to interview next. I’m especially interested in people and blogs outside the tech/web bubble.
https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/UYEQKv38hYLvHczG Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
A view into how our supposedly trustworthy journalists deal with exposing their own corruption. They don’t.
https://presswatchers.org/2024/02/the-hunter-biden-story-has-done-a-total180-but-the-msm-is-in-denial/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The truth about trump is that while he might claim a huge net worth, it’s all mortgaged, many times, fraudulently, so the banks could repossess all of it, but haven’t for fear of having it all crash, and them getting pennies on the dollar.
https://twitter.com/davewiner/status/1760978034394275908 Save to Pocket
Are you ready to back up your AI chatbot’s promises? You’d better be
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Air Canada discovered the hard way that when your AI chatbot makes a commitment, your company will be on the hook for it
Opinion I keep hearing about businesses that want to fire their call center employees and front-line staffers as fast as possible and replace them with AI. They’re upfront about it.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/opinion_column/ Save to Pocket
A path out of bloat: A Linux built for VMs
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
What Linux distros could learn from the inventor of the hypervisor
FOSDEM 2024 How hard can you cut down Linux if you know it will never run on bare metal? Further than any distro vendor we know of has tried to go.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/linux_built_for_a_vm/ Save to Pocket
Chiefs sign punter Matt Araiza, who was dropped from lawsuit in December after alleged rape
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are signing punter Matt Araiza, who was dropped from a lawsuit in December that had been filed by a woman who alleged she was raped by San Diego State football players in 2021. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/chiefs-sign-punter-matt-araiza-who-was-dropped-from-lawsuit-in-december-after-alleged-rape/ Save to Pocket
Another homeless camp cleared at Kona pool
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A homeless encampment at the Kona Aquatics Center was removed Thursday morning with police and Parks and Recreation staff performing park rules enforcement.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/another-homeless-camp-cleared-at-kona-pool/ Save to Pocket
MLB players miffed at sport’s new see-through pants, relaying concerns to league
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PEORIA, Ariz. — MLB’s new uniform reveal hasn’t gone very well. Now some of the rampant criticism has moved below the belt. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/mlb-players-miffed-at-sports-new-see-through-pants-relaying-concerns-to-league/ Save to Pocket
Funding bill to settle claims against the state advances
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The House Committee on Finance on Thursday passed an appropriations bill to cover payments for claims against the state, its officers and employees.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/funding-bill-to-settle-claims-against-the-state-advances/ Save to Pocket
HVNP seeks public input for Kilauea summit plan
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are encouraged to help develop a plan to reduce traffic congestion within the popular destination.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/hvnp-seeks-public-input-for-kilauea-summit-plan/ Save to Pocket
A US-built spacecraft lands on the moon for the first time since 1972
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>For the first time in a half-century, an American-built spacecraft has landed on the moon.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/a-us-built-spacecraft-lands-on-the-moon-for-the-first-time-since-1972/ Save to Pocket
Big Island astronomers laud success of lunar mission
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii astronomers were over the moon Thursday after a private commercial company’s spacecraft made the first successful American moon landing in more than 50 years.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/big-island-astronomers-laud-success-of-lunar-mission/ Save to Pocket
Doncic scores 41 points, pairs with Irving to help Mavs beat Suns 123-113 for 7th straight victory
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DALLAS — Luka Doncic scored 41 points, Kyrie Irving added 29 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 123-113 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to seven games in the return from the All-Star break for both teams. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/doncic-scores-41-points-pairs-with-irving-to-help-mavs-beat-suns-123-113-for-7th-straight-victory/ Save to Pocket
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 points, Thunder beat Clippers 129-107
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 129-107 on Thursday night in a matchup of Western Conference contenders. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/shai-gilgeous-alexander-scores-31-points-thunder-beat-clippers-129-107/ Save to Pocket
Police respond to report of unexploded ordnance in S. Kohala
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Police are reminding the public about steps to take when they encounter unexploded ordnance.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/police-respond-to-report-of-unexploded-ordnance-in-s-kohala/ Save to Pocket
EA Sports College Football 25 to block gamers from manually adding players who reject NIL opt-in
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Gamers will be blocked from manually adding players to EA Sports’ new college football game who decide not to accept an offer to have their name, image and likeness used in it, the video-game developer said Thursday. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/ea-sports-college-football-25-to-block-gamers-from-manually-adding-players-who-reject-nil-opt-in/ Save to Pocket
Soccer All-BIIF awards released
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) released its All-BIIF honors for boys and girls soccer on Wednesday night — with the teams who played in the HHSAA tournament dominating the selections.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/sports/soccer-all-biif-awards-released/ Save to Pocket
Manhattan DA Bragg blasts Arizona prosecutor, vows slain Queens sex worker will not be used as political pawn
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK (TNS) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday said he would do everything in his power to seek justice for Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, a sex worker bludgeoned to death in a SoHo hotel room — and would not let a grandstanding Arizona prosecutor use the slain mother as a political pawn.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/manhattan-da-bragg-blasts-arizona-prosecutor-vows-slain-queens-sex-worker-will-not-be-used-as-political-pawn/ Save to Pocket
‘Little dark secret’: DEA agent on trial accused of taking $250K in bribes from Mafia
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BUFFALO, N.Y. — The way prosecutors tell it, Joseph Bongiovanni went to work for years with a “little dark secret.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/little-dark-secret-dea-agent-on-trial-accused-of-taking-250k-in-bribes-from-mafia/ Save to Pocket
Cultural pride on display at International Night
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After months of preparation, international students are ready to showcase performances reflecting cultures from seven different countries represented at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/entertainment/cultural-pride-on-display-at-international-night/ Save to Pocket
Waiakea High DECA students attend conference
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Waiakea High School DECA students attended the 2024 Hawaii State DECA Career Development Conference that took place on Jan. 29-31 at the Hawaii Convention Center on Oahu.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/community/waiakea-high-deca-students-attend-conference/ Save to Pocket
Iran-backed Houthis prepare for long Red Sea battle with US
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Houthi militants and their Iranian backers are preparing for a lengthy confrontation with the U.S. and allies around the Red Sea regardless of how the Israel-Hamas war plays out.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/iran-backed-houthis-prepare-for-long-red-sea-battle-with-us/ Save to Pocket
What the Ukraine aid debate is really about
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Over the weekend Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio went to the Munich Security Conference to play an unpopular part — a spokesperson, at a gathering of the Western foreign policy establishment, for the populist critique of American support for Ukraine’s war effort.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/opinion/what-the-ukraine-aid-debate-is-really-about/ Save to Pocket
Manhattan district attorney is first again against Trump
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Six months ago, we suggested that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Stormy Daniels hush money criminal case against Donald Trump take a backseat to the federal and Georgia state election subversion cases and the federal pilfered document case.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/opinion/manhattan-district-attorney-is-first-again-against-trump/ Save to Pocket
Free admission Sunday at ’Imiloa
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>‘Imiloa Astronomy Center will be honoring Hawaii’s native forest birds as it celebrates its 18th birthday on Sunday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/hawaii-news/free-admission-sunday-at-imiloa/ Save to Pocket
US examined allegations of cartel ties to allies of Mexico’s president
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>American law enforcement officials spent years looking into allegations that allies of Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, met with and took millions of dollars from drug cartels after he took office, according to U.S. records and three people familiar with the matter.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/us-examined-allegations-of-cartel-ties-to-allies-of-mexicos-president/ Save to Pocket
4 charged in transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons. Two SEALs died in intercepting the ship
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p> (AP) — Four foreign nationals were charged Thursday with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/4-charged-in-transporting-suspected-iranian-made-weapons-two-seals-died-in-intercepting-the-ship/ Save to Pocket
Public invited to participate in CERT training
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Free to the general public, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency has scheduled a two-day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training course from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, at the Discovery Harbour Community Center, 94-1604 Makalii St, Naalehu.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/community/public-invited-to-participate-in-cert-training/ Save to Pocket
AT&T says its cellphone network restored after a widespread outage hit users across the US
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>AT&T said Thursday its wireless network was back after an outage knocked out cellphone service for its users across the U.S. for hours.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/att-says-its-cellphone-network-restored-after-a-widespread-outage-hit-users-across-the-us/ Save to Pocket
Biden calls Putin ‘crazy SOB’ and steps up attacks on Trump
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “crazy SOB” and took a swipe at Republican rival Donald Trump for likening himself to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died last week in a remote prison.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/biden-calls-putin-crazy-sob-and-steps-up-attacks-on-trump/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for February 23
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Veronica Claire Koizumi, 80, of Hilo, formerly of Honolulu, died Feb. 3 at Life Care Center of Hilo. Born in Hilo, she was the retired owner of the former Hale Inu Sports Bar and had worked at the former Green Door. No services. Survived by children, Carleen Haunani Medeiros, Sidney (Doreen) Medeiros, Melissa (Mike) Alidon and Jerry Koizumi Sr. of Hilo; grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews and cousins. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-23-10/ Save to Pocket
Desperate for soldiers, Ukraine weighs unpopular plan to expand the draft
date: 2024-02-23, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LYMAN, Ukraine — When the Russian army mounted a full-scale invasion two years ago, Ukrainian men zealously rushed to recruitment centers across the country to enlist, ready to die in defense of their nation.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/23/nation-world-news/desperate-for-soldiers-ukraine-weighs-unpopular-plan-to-expand-the-draft/ Save to Pocket
GDOE plans to spend ARP, Limited Gaming Fund money, ESF II exhausted
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
While the Guam Department of Education has $123.8 million left in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, Education Stabilization Fund money is exhausted and money from the Limited Gaming Fund has yet to be spent.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gdoe-plans-to-spend-arp-limited-gaming-fund-money-esf-ii-exhausted/article_dac910d4-d1f0-11ee-aae2-bffa913a603e.html Save to Pocket
Father, son plead no contest to assaulting 17-year-old
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
A father and son pleaded no contest to charges of assaulting a 17-year-old boy in Mangilao in December 2022.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/father-son-plead-no-contest-to-assaulting-17-year-old/article_f8b5abfa-d1f2-11ee-853f-53283874259b.html Save to Pocket
Evidence to be tested by FBI in infant homicide case
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
Prosecutors are looking to send DNA evidence to the FBI for testing within the next week in a murder case.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/evidence-to-be-tested-by-fbi-in-infant-homicide-case/article_7a0a266e-d201-11ee-93f1-6bc097f1203c.html Save to Pocket
Man accused of sexual assault days after turning 18
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
A man was accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman two days after his own 18th birthday
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-accused-of-sexual-assault-days-after-turning-18/article_5bfb6dd8-d204-11ee-8afd-5fba2b68cd49.html Save to Pocket
Fire reported at Eggs ’N Things
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
A fire was reported early Thursday morning at Tumon restaurant Eggs ’N Things.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/fire-reported-at-eggs-n-things/article_c684ee0c-d111-11ee-aab2-9f5f8bbe72ea.html Save to Pocket
Police investigating Dead Man’s Curve crash
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department’s Highway Patrol Division is investigating a four-car collision that sent one person to the hospital on Thursday morning.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/police-investigating-dead-mans-curve-crash/article_622a7b2a-d1e8-11ee-a397-db017d6ff3bb.html Save to Pocket
Energy credit extension, other measures pass
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
A three-month extension to long-standing energy credits is one of several measures that managed to pass the Guam Legislature this session.
https://www.postguam.com/news/energy-credit-extension-other-measures-pass/article_50aa254a-d228-11ee-8841-53ccc9630f10.html Save to Pocket
The Emerging Republican Theocracy
date: 2024-02-23, from: Robert Reich on Substack
White Christian nationalism is the creed of red America
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/republican-theocracy Save to Pocket
What on earth is a dual spiral marble clock?
date: 2024-02-23, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
This RP2040-powered clock features ball bearings climbing a spiral to show the time, with one representing the hours and the other showing the minutes rolling by.
The post What on earth is a dual spiral marble clock? appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/what-on-earth-is-a-dual-spiral-marble-clock/ Save to Pocket
Work for you? Again? After you lied about the job and stole my stuff? No thanks
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Sometimes the best form of revenge is doing nothing – very politely
On Call Taylor Swift is playing in On Call’s town tonight, creating a city-wide Friday frenzy. Here at The Register we prefer to end the working week in a gentler fashion by offering a fresh installment of On Call, the reader-contributed column in which we share stories of haters who hated IT, fakers who faked technical nous, and techies who shook it off and got the job done.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/on_call/ Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 23, 2024
date: 2024-02-23, 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 23, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/classifieds-february-2-2024-2/ Save to Pocket
IBM begins work on Power11 enablement for upcoming Linux 6.9
date: 2024-02-23, from: OS News
The first “Power11” patches were queued today into the PowerPC’s “next” Git branch ahead of the upcoming Linux 6.9 kernel cycle. The first of many IBM Power11 processor/platform enablement patches are beginning to flow out for the Linux kernel for enabling the next-generation Power processors. This shouldn’t be too surprising given that a few months ago IBM began posting “PowerPC Future” patches for the GCC compiler with speculating at the time it was for Power11 just as IBM previously called their “future” CPU target in GCC for Power10 prior to those processors officially debuting. ↫ Michael Larabel I really hope IBM learned from the POWER10 fiasco and will make sure POWER11 is properly and fully open again, because POWER9’s openness made it unique among the other options out there. Without it, there’s really no reason for an enthusiast community to developer around POWER11 as it did around POWER9, and that would be a shame. Again.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138637/ibm-begins-work-on-power11-enablement-for-upcoming-linux-6-9/ Save to Pocket
ORQUÍDEAS merece sus flores
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
El nuevo álbum de la cantante colombiana Kali Uchis merece ser escuchado.
The post ORQUÍDEAS merece sus flores appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/orquideas-merece-sus-flores/ Save to Pocket
Residente se desnuda en su nuevo álbum
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
El álbum muestra que para el cantante, las letras son más importantes que nunca.
The post Residente se desnuda en su nuevo álbum appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/residente-se-desnuda-en-su-nuevo-album/ Save to Pocket
Sigamos a las feministas mexicanas
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Las mujeres mexicanas son ejemplares en la lucha de los derechos de la mujer.
The post Sigamos a las feministas mexicanas appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/sigamos-a-las-feministas-mexicanas/ Save to Pocket
Voz Latina encendió la noche
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The post Voz Latina encendió la noche appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/voz-latina-encendio-la-noche/ Save to Pocket
Los inmigrantes no son buenos ni malos
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The post Los inmigrantes no son buenos ni malos appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/los-inmigrantes-no-son-buenos-ni-malos/ Save to Pocket
El turismo del sexo en Colombia es violento, misógino
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
La cultura colombiana se ha reducido al turismo sexual dentro de la cultura popular.
The post El turismo del sexo en Colombia es violento, misógino appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/el-turismo-del-sexo-en-colombia-es-violento-misogino/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 23)
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1998 – Worst day of record-setting 1997-98 El Nino storm season. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-23/ Save to Pocket
La religiosidad latina debe ser modernizada
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
El progreso social debería ser una fuerza unificadora, no un divisor religioso.
The post La religiosidad latina debe ser modernizada appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/la-religiosidad-latina-debe-ser-modernizada/ Save to Pocket
The problem with commodity fetishization and luxury brands
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Consumers need to be more conscientious of what their purchases entail socially.
The post The problem with commodity fetishization and luxury brands appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/the-problem-with-commodity-fetishization-and-luxury-brands/ Save to Pocket
EcoDorm cleans, furnishes sustainably
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The climate justice-oriented organization revamps used dorm items to foster equity.
The post EcoDorm cleans, furnishes sustainably appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/daily-trojan-ecodorm/ Save to Pocket
Sundays can be a space for innovation
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Sundays @ USC encourages collaboration and feedback on a wide range of projects.
The post Sundays can be a space for innovation appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/daily-trojan-sundays-usc/ Save to Pocket
Dartmouth steps out of bounds
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Unions could change the future of the NCAA.
The post Dartmouth steps out of bounds appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/dartmouth-steps-out-of-bounds/ Save to Pocket
The dangerous rhetoric in APIDA activism
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Racial tensions that stem from white supremacy are apparent and prevalent.
The post The dangerous rhetoric in APIDA activism appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/the-dangerous-rhetoric-in-apida-activism/ Save to Pocket
Women’s basketball to host Galen gala
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
In its final homestand, USC will play two top-25 teams with March on the cusp.
The post Women’s basketball to host Galen gala appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/womens-basketball-to-host-galen-gala/ Save to Pocket
Women’s golf places fourth at the Pac-12 Preview
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans, led by Amari Avery, tackled three stroke-play rounds in Hawai‘i.
The post Women’s golf places fourth at the Pac-12 Preview appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/womens-golf-places-fourth-at-the-pac-12-preview/ Save to Pocket
The Huntington celebrates the work of Sargent Claude Johnson
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The museum gives attention to a very neglected figure of the Black Renaissance.
The post The Huntington celebrates the work of Sargent Claude Johnson appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/23/the-huntington-celebrates-the-work-of-sargent-claude-johnson/ Save to Pocket
Dust Offering Up Another 100 Spots For Its Upcoming All-Electric Dirt Bike
date: 2024-02-23, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Why don’t I have more cash?
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709720/dust-moto-ev-dirt-bike-crowdfunding-alpha-1/ Save to Pocket
Meta seeks ASIC designers for ML accelerators and datacenter SoCs
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Appears to be struggling to find them, even in India, as it’s re-posted job ads
Meta wants to build accelerators and SoCs to run in its datacenters – for jobs including machine learning – but appears to be struggling to find folks to design them.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/meta_asic_design_jobs/ Save to Pocket
Bishop Diego Softball Defeats Santa Barbara 9-1 to Claim First Victory of the Season
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The Cardinals racked up a season-high 17 hits.
The post Bishop Diego Softball Defeats Santa Barbara 9-1 to Claim First Victory of the Season appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/bishop-diego-softball-defeats-santa-barbara-9-1-to-claim-first-victory-of-the-season/ Save to Pocket
NASA warns as huge solar flare threatens comms, maybe astronauts too
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
No, this was not the cause of cellular network outages that hit the USA on Thursday
NASA has warned of strong solar flares that have the potential to interrupt communications in space and down here on Earth.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/solar_flare_warning/ Save to Pocket
Webcurios 23/02/24
date: 2024-02-23, from: Web Curios blog
Reading Time: 36 minutes Gah! I have a call in 24 minutes and I am still in my pants and need to wash! Gah! Apologies, you didn’t need that image – but then again, none of us needed the sight of our elected representatives competing to see who could demonstrate the most nakedly-self-serving and venal behaviour while ostensibly pretending…https://webcurios.co.uk/webcurios-23-02-24/ Save to Pocket
Bill placing new hospital at Ypao Point passes, governor will veto
date: 2024-02-23, from: Guam Daily Post
Lawmakers have narrowly passed Bill 185-37, one of the measures competing to place a new hospital or medical campus on Guam. But with only eight senators supporting the measure and the governor stating that she would veto Bill 185, it…
https://www.postguam.com/news/bill-placing-new-hospital-at-ypao-point-passes-governor-will-veto/article_77d20af6-d210-11ee-b8fd-4b3957a0e0f4.html Save to Pocket
US Plans ‘Crushing’ Sanctions on Kremlin 2 Years After Ukraine War
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
Buenos Aires, Argentina — Two years after Russia’s war on Ukraine, the United States is doubling down pressure on the Kremlin by rolling out sanctions on Russia targeting banks and the weapons industry, as described by a senior U.S. official.
A day before the U.S. plan to announce new sanctions packages imposed on Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there’s a strong desire among the Group of 20 for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine to end.
“If you were in that room, as (Russian) Foreign Minister Lavrov was, you heard a very strong chorus coming from not just the G7 countries within the G20, but from many others as well, about the imperative of ending the Russian aggression, restoring peace,” Blinken told reporters during a press conference after attending G20 foreign ministers’ meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Some of the U.S. sanctions will target those responsible for the detention death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
“The fact that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin saw it necessary to persecute, poison, and imprison one man speaks volumes not about Russia’s strength under Putin, but its weakness,” Blinken added.
In Washington, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said during a Thursday event hosted by the Center for Security and International Studies, or CSIS, that the U.S. will impose “a crushing new package of sanctions, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them, in the next couple of days.”
Some of these sanctions will be targeted at individuals directly involved in Navalny’s death, but the vast majority are designed to further impact “Putin’s war machine” and close gaps in existing sanctions, according to Nuland.
Despite the efforts of the United States and other countries to isolate Moscow, it remains actively engaged in diplomatic activities, as demonstrated by the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at this week’s G20 ministerial meeting.
During the meeting, Lavrov held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, where they discussed “diplomatic solutions” to the Ukraine war.
U.S. officials have said they don’t see the conditions for diplomatic negotiations to end the Ukraine war, as there’s skepticism that Russia is not motivated to negotiate and that Putin would never accept an independent Ukraine.
“Two years. We are all here,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, indicating that representatives from dozens of countries and various international organizations have gathered to show solidarity with Ukraine.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-plans-crushing-sanctions-on-kremlin-2-years-after-ukraine-war/7499382.html Save to Pocket
Adding Insult to Injury: Radioactive Waste and DDT Rub Elbows off Coast of Los Angeles
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
David Valentine, the UC Santa Barbara scientist who discovered a DDT dumping ground in the waters off Catalina Island, releases a new study pointing to the disposal of radioactive waste in the Pacific Ocean.
The post Adding Insult to Injury: Radioactive Waste and DDT Rub Elbows off Coast of Los Angeles appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/adding-insult-to-injury-radioactive-waste-and-ddt-rub-elbows-off-coast-of-los-angeles/ Save to Pocket
X protests forced suspension of accounts on orders of India’s government
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Nonprofit SFLC links orders to farming protests
The global government affairs team at X (née Twitter) has suspended some accounts and posts in India after receiving executive orders to do so from the country’s government, backed by threat of penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/x_india_farmers_compulsory_takedown/ Save to Pocket
And the Oprah’s Book Club Bump Goes to … Abraham Verghese and UCSB Arts & Lectures!
date: 2024-02-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The ‘Covenant of Water’ author got a surprise guest at his Arlington appearance in Santa Barbara.
The post And the Oprah’s Book Club Bump Goes to … Abraham Verghese and UCSB Arts & Lectures! appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/and-the-oprahs-book-club-bump-goes-to-abraham-verghese-and-ucsb-arts-lectures/ Save to Pocket
Bag of potato chips in oven started fire in Cowlings and Ilium, USC says
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The fire erupted on the building’s fifth floor Tuesday night.
The post Bag of potato chips in oven started fire in Cowlings and Ilium, USC says appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/cowlings-and-ilium-fire/ Save to Pocket
February 22, 2024
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
The Alabama Supreme Court on February 16, 2024, decided that cells awaiting implantation for in vitro fertilization are children and that the accidental destruction of such an embryo falls under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. In an opinion concurring with the ruling, Chief Justice Tom Parker declared that the people of Alabama have adopted the “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” and said that “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-22-2024 Save to Pocket
Former President Trump Leading Only Republican Opponent in Her Home State
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
The two-person contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination comes this weekend to South Carolina, where former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley hopes for an upset victory in her home state over former president Donald Trump. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from the Southern state.
https://www.voanews.com/a/former-president-trump-leading-only-republican-opponent-in-her-home-state-/7499371.html Save to Pocket
USC, UCLA Saudi Student Associations host Founding Day event
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The associations held the event Feb. 17 in the Trojan Grand Ballroom to honor Saudi Founding Day, which is celebrated on Feb. 22.
The post USC, UCLA Saudi Student Associations host Founding Day event appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/daily-trojan-saudi-founding-day/ Save to Pocket
Val Verde residents file petition to shut down Chiquita Canyon Landfill
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
Tim Williams is a longtime resident of Val Verde, having lived there since 1959. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon at Hasley Canyon Park, Williams said Val Verde has faced plenty of challenges in the 60 years he’s been living in the community, but nothing compares to the issues that have been stemming from […]
The post <strong>Val Verde residents file petition to shut down Chiquita Canyon Landfill</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/val-verde-residents-file-petition-to-shut-down-chiquita-canyon-landfill/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Vice is abandoning Vice.com and laying off hundreds.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080497/vice-media-website-layoffs Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Early Access Federation for Self-Hosters.
https://docs.bsky.app/blog/self-host-federation Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Bluesky: An Open Social Web.
https://bsky.social/about/blog/02-22-2024-open-social-web Save to Pocket
Please stop pouring the wrong radioactive water into the sea, Fukushima operator told
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Goverment takes TEPCO to task for caesium absorption tower incident
Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry minister has called on the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to improve its management of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after a leak was discovered earlier this month.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/minister_fukushima_leak/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Bluesky opens up federation, letting anyone run their own server.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/22/bluesky-opens-up-federation-letting-anyone-run-their-own-server/ Save to Pocket
Why Are Americans Likely Stuck With a Biden-Trump Rematch in November?
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
washington — In an election year beset with uncertainties, one thing is clear: Americans find a November rematch between U.S. President Joe Biden and his leading Republican challenger, former U.S. President Donald Trump, even less appealing than the first time around in 2020.
A January Reuters/Ipsos poll showed most Americans do not want Biden and Trump to run again and that they are tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections.
Trump is besieged by legal woes, and both he and Biden are seen as too old, although polls show more Americans worry about Biden, who would be 81 on Election Day, than Trump, who would be 78.
So, why are Americans in this predicament?
The short answer, according to analysts, is that both Biden and Trump want another term, and they operate in a political system geared to favor incumbents.
Trump wants four more years
A second term could deliver vindication for Trump who since losing to Biden in 2020 has pushed baseless claims that the election was stolen, said Thomas Schwartz, a presidential historian with Vanderbilt University.
Trump’s critics accuse him of running not for the good of the country but to stay out of prison, something he denies. Trump faces 91 criminal charges under four indictments: for falsifying his business records in New York, for withholding classified federal government documents in Florida, and for attempting to overturn the 2020 election in two separate cases in Washington and the state of Georgia.
These indictments have not hurt his poll numbers, said Clifford Young, president of Ipsos Public Affairs in the U.S.
“Trump has a very strong connection with his base,” Young told VOA. “It’s almost unbreakable.”
Revisiting grievances that resonate with MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republicans, Trump dominated the primaries — the statewide voting processes in which voters select a party’s nominee who will compete in the general election — held so far. He is expected to handily win the rest, capitalizing on a system that amplifies the most ideologically fervent voices of the electorate.
This is particularly true in states with “closed” primaries where voters must register with a party before voting. The process shuts out independent and unaffiliated voters, and candidates win by taking on the most ideologically extreme positions.
“You have an overwhelming vote for Donald Trump among Republican primary voters,” Schwartz told VOA.
But even “open” primaries, where registered voters regardless of their political affiliation can vote for any candidate, reflect only a small share of the electorate. In U.S. elections since 2000, the average turnout rate for primary elections is 27% of registered voters, compared to 60.5% for general elections.
Biden wants four more years
Like any incumbent American president, Biden sees a second term as a vindication of his achievements, Schwartz said.
Biden secured a series of legislative wins, led the Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and presided over an economy where recession fears have eased, growth and job gains are beating expectations, and inflation is cooling.
“It is possible for Joe Biden to declare himself a successful one-term president and step aside. He just doesn’t want to,” Schwartz noted, citing Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson who decided not to run again in March of 1952 and 1968 respectively. “And the party is not strong enough to tell him to do so.”
Democrats see Biden as the best barricade against their biggest fear — another Trump administration, Schwartz said. Had Trump not been in the race, he added, they would have been more willing to challenge Biden.
“What I’m hearing is, we’re riding with Biden,” said Democratic strategist Corryn Grace Freeman.
This despite progressives’ frustration with the president’s inability to fully cancel student loan debt and his response to the Israel-Hamas war, she told VOA.
“There are many people that cannot support this president, who also don’t like Donald Trump, who just feel like the Democratic Party consistently fails us,” she said, adding that support from Blacks and Latinos “is beginning to dwindle because of how this president has shown up.”
Democrats are now stuck in an extraordinarily high-risk gamble where a potential health or other age-related incident could further discourage voters, Schwartz warned. But despite Biden’s weak poll numbers and questions about his age, there is no Plan B for Democrats.
“No viable alternative got into the race,” said Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in Governance Studies and the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at Brookings Institution. “You can’t beat something with nothing,” she told VOA.
This notion was put to the test early, during the January New Hampshire primary that Biden skipped because he had promised South Carolina Democrats that their state would host the first primary. The president was not on the New Hampshire primary ballot, but the majority of voters there wrote in his name, delivering his overwhelming victory over two longshot challengers, Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson, who were on the ballot.
System favors incumbents
Both essentially running as incumbents, Biden and Trump have huge influence over their party apparatus and resources. They also benefit from a primary system where a small number of states have outsized influence and candidate choices are locked in far in advance of the election, even if they become less popular.
The latter feature of the system is the unintended result of efforts to fix the former, said Geoffrey Cowan, a professor at the University of Southern California.
During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Cowan pushed for reform to ensure voters in all 50 states are represented, replacing a system where fewer than 20 states held primary elections and caucuses and presidential nominees were mostly selected by party leaders during their convention.
“I put together this commission which said that all delegates to the 1972 convention would have to be picked through a process open to full public participation in the calendar year of the election,” Cowan told VOA.
In mandating that primaries are held the same year, the commission did not anticipate that state rules would evolve to lock in candidates early, even if voters’ attitudes about them change, Cowan said.
Most states now require candidates who want to run in a party’s primary to register by the first week of election year. States also race to hold their primaries as early as possible, a process known as frontloading.
This means by the third week of February, it would be difficult for a candidate to launch a campaign against Biden or Trump even though there are still more than 250 days to the election. Primaries have been held in critical states such as New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, and candidacy filing deadlines have passed in many others.
Which means, unless one of them drops out and the party scrambles to nominate a replacement during the convention, Americans are stuck with either Trump, who will be the Republican nominee by championing MAGA grievances, or Biden, because he is seen as the only one who can beat Trump.
https://www.voanews.com/a/why-are-americans-likely-stuck-with-a-biden-trump-rematch-in-november-/7498770.html Save to Pocket
Why Americans Are Facing a Likely Biden-Trump Rematch
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
In an election year beset with uncertainties, one thing is clear: Americans find a November rematch between President Joe Biden and his leading Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, even less appealing than the first time around in 2020. But why are they the only choices? White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara explains.
https://www.voanews.com/a/why-americans-are-facing-a-likely-biden-trump-rematch-/7499348.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-23, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
have the motto for the Biden campaign: Old enough to know better.
Uncle Joe, sit down with a reporter you can relate to, and explain what
aging is about. How there’s good and bad that come with getting on, and
Repubs (of course) have been focusing on the bad but the journalists
aren’t getting the other side. One thing is for sure, it’s hard to put
one over on someone who’s been in politics at the highest level for as
long as President Joe has been. That’s what the “know better” part is
about. Whatever you can say about him, he knows a lot about being
president. I’ve been using this motto as my own tagline for a while. But
in the interest of protecting our democracy, I think the president
should use it for his re-election campaign. No charge. 😄
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22.html#a031907 Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-23, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Every internal modern layoff announcement contains a variation of “this will help us increase our velocity”
And every time I see that, I cant stop thinking “increase velocity to irrelevance?”
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111978620773445787 Save to Pocket
Biden Meets With Navalny’s Widow in California
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
As the United States is set to announce sanctions against Moscow following Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death, President Joe Biden met with his widow in San Francisco on Thursday. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-meets-with-navalny-s-widow-in-california/7499336.html Save to Pocket
UNRWA Chief Says Israeli Pressure, Funding Freeze Threaten Agency
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
United Nations — The head of the embattled U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees warned Thursday that it is at a “breaking point,” and its ability to assist millions of Palestinians is “seriously threatened.”
“It is with profound regret that I must now inform you that the Agency has reached breaking point, with Israel’s repeated calls to dismantle UNRWA and the freezing of funding by donors at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza,” Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly.
Without new funding, he said UNRWA’s operations across the region will be severely compromised starting in March.
The General Assembly established the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, in 1949 to assist some 700,000 Palestinian refugees displaced in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that broke out after Israel became a state in May that year.
Today, it operates not just in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, but also in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where there are large Palestinian refugee communities. Nearly 6 million Palestinians are eligible for UNRWA services, which include education and health care.
UNRWA has faced severe financial problems before, but after Israel presented information to Lazzarini last month alleging that 12 UNRWA staffers were involved in the October 7 terror attacks inside Israel, the agency faced its biggest crisis yet.
The staffers were immediately fired, and an internal investigation was launched. But in the aftermath, 16 donors, including top contributor the United States, suspended funding totaling around $450 million.
A second, independent review of UNRWA’s working methods and neutrality was ordered by the United Nations. Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is heading it up and will present her group’s final report in April. She met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday to discuss their work.
“We will specifically clarify the mechanisms, the process in place, the structures and see if they ensure the neutrality as they should to the best of the power within UNRWA, and we also will look at how they have been implemented, of course, in practice, not only they’re fit for purpose, but how they are implemented,” she told reporters.
Tensions
Israeli officials have criticized UNRWA for years, alleging that Hamas uses its schools for terrorist activities and that they promote an anti-Israel curriculum. After the October 7 allegations, the rhetoric intensified.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a visiting group of U.N. ambassadors in Jerusalem on January 31, that UNRWA was “totally infiltrated with Hamas” and its “mission has to end.”
Last week, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on social media platform X that, “UNRWA cannot be a part of Gaza’s landscape in the aftermath of Hamas.”
At the United Nations, Israel’s ambassador asserted on Tuesday, without offering any details or evidence, that 12% of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff members in Gaza are members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and that at least 236 of them “are active terrorists in these organizations’ armed wings.”
“In Gaza, Hamas is the U.N. and the U.N. is Hamas,” Ambassador Gilad Erdan told a Security Council meeting, saying Hamas had a data center and tunnels under UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.
UNRWA’s Lazzarini said in his letter that his agency does not have “counterintelligence, police, or criminal justice capacities” and relies on Israel for this, even providing the government with its staff list.
He said Israel’s calls for UNRWA’s closure are not about the agency’s neutrality but are political.
“Instead, they are about changing the long-standing political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory set by the General Assembly and the Security Council,” he said. “They seek to eliminate UNRWA’s role in protecting the rights of Palestine Refugees and acting as a witness to their continuing plight.”
Palestinians want to preserve their “right of return” as a final status issue for negotiations with Israel over a two-state solution. If the refugee agency is eliminated, some fear it could have political implications.
Lazzarini appeared to link some of Israel’s campaign against UNRWA with the International Court of Justice’s decision on January 26 to issue provisional measures ordering Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
“Since the ICJ ruling, there has been a concerted effort by some Israeli officials to deceptively conflate UNRWA with Hamas, to disrupt UNRWA’s operations, and to call for the dismantling of the Agency,” he said.
The commissioner general said that included Jerusalem’s deputy mayor taking steps to evict the agency from the headquarters it has occupied for 75 years in East Jerusalem and the tabling of a bill in the Israeli Knesset to exclude UNRWA from U.N. privileges and immunities. He said visas for international staff have been limited to only one to two months, and an Israeli bank blocked an UNRWA account.
U.N. chief Guterres has said UNRWA is critical and irreplaceable.
“There is no other organization that has a presence in Gaza that is capable of being able to respond to the needs,” he told reporters earlier this month.
Most aid going into Gaza is delivered by UNRWA.
Ambassador Vanessa Frazier of Malta was one of the diplomats who visited Israel last month. She said her government will not stop funding the agency.
“UNRWA is the backbone of the entire humanitarian system throughout Gaza,” she told reporters. “If UNRWA fails, they will not be able to just simply to take the funding from countries [to other agencies] and do deliveries.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/unrwa-chief-says-israeli-pressure-funding-freeze-threaten-agency-/7499329.html Save to Pocket
Yahoo Lays Off the Leaders of Engadget
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080215/engadget-layoffs-tech-news-blogs-editorial-restructuring Save to Pocket
Biagi Bros. posts pictures of its ten (10!) Nikola hydrogen semis
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
Just hours after Nikola announced that it had completed the first North American deliveries of its hydrogen fuel cell electric semi trucks, Biagi Bros. Logistics took to social media to post pictures of its new fleet of Nikolas. Plural.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/biagi-bros-posts-pictures-of-its-ten-10-nikola-hydrogen-semis/ Save to Pocket
Juniper sued over HPE buyout after allegedly ginning up execs’ wallets
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Material information withheld from shareholders, it’s claimed
Juniper Networks, currently in the process of being acquired by HPE, has been accused of violating US securities laws in a shareholder lawsuit.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/juniper_networks_sued_over_hpe/ Save to Pocket
Army Doctor, Black Hawk Pilot Holds Record for Longest US Spaceflight
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
pentagon — U.S. Army Colonel Frank Rubio, who holds the record for the longest U.S. spaceflight, recounted the “awesome” experience of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday during a Pentagon ceremony honoring his achievement.
“Colonel Rubio is a stellar example of someone who has made the absolute most of every opportunity,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said as she presented him with an honor known as the Army Astronaut Device. “It’s truly a privilege to have him representing the Army and the United States.”
The Army awards the astronaut device to soldiers who complete at least one mission in space. Rubio joins Colonel Anne McClain and Colonel Andrew Morgan as the only active-duty soldiers authorized to wear it.
Rubio returned to Earth late last year on a Russian spacecraft after 371 days in the International Space Station.
The doctor and Black Hawk helicopter pilot flew more than 600 hours in dangerous combat deployments in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq before joining NASA in 2017 to become an astronaut.
While becoming an astronaut is a childhood dream for many who go to space, Rubio said he fell in love with the space mission much later in life.
“It’s few things where you can say, ‘Hey, my job helps represent humanity.’ And that’s a pretty powerful thing to be a part of,” Rubio told reporters at the Pentagon.
While he now holds the record for longest spaceflight by an American, he certainly wasn’t trying to earn that title. Rubio’s six-month mission was extended to 371 days after his initial ride home sprang a leak.
His year in space led to incredible highlights, he said, from hurtling into space on top of 300 tons of rocket fuel during the launch, to spacewalks, to re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
“You essentially become a meteorite, right, and you have a plasma layer a couple of inches below you, because of the heat that’s generated. All those things were awesome,” he said in response to a question from VOA.
Rubio is the son of Salvadoran immigrants, and he credits the Army for giving him the chance to reach for the stars.
“I think it is the American Dream. It really represents the fact that we have so many opportunities, and again, I really value the fact that it’s the opportunity that’s given, not the results,” he said. “And I think if you put in the hard work, if you dedicate yourself and you sacrifice, really almost anything is possible.”
Rubio told reporters on Thursday that he hopes to continue contributing to NASA’s mission on the ground and back in space.
https://www.voanews.com/a/army-doctor-black-hawk-pilot-holds-record-for-longest-us-spaceflight-/7499313.html Save to Pocket
President Says Alabama IVF Ruling ‘Direct Result’ of Roe Decision
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/president-says-alabama-ivf-ruling-direct-result-of-roe-decision-/7499301.html Save to Pocket
New Jersey offers $50,000 bi-directional electric school bus incentive
date: 2024-02-23, from: Electrek Feed
New Jersey recently announced a $45 million, three-year pilot program to put electric school buses to work in 18 school districts – and it’s offering up to $50,000 more for buses with the ability to power the schools.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/new-jersey-offers-50000-bi-directional-electric-school-bus-incentive/ Save to Pocket
MacSymbolicator 2.6
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Mahdi Bchatnia (via Daniel Jalkut): A simple Mac app for symbolicating macOS/iOS crash reports.Supports symbolicating:.crash and .ips crash reportssample and spindump reports
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/22/macsymbolicator-2-6/ Save to Pocket
Muse Retrospective
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Adam Wiggins (via Peter Steinberger): You’ve probably seen the meme about product distribution, and I went into this venture knowing that productivity software is particularly difficult to market.[…]I’m deeply grateful to the folks inside the App Store editorial team who were rooting for us from the beginning. Getting featured here really is a game-changer. […] […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/22/muse-retrospective/ Save to Pocket
2023 Six Colors Apple Report Card
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
Jason Snell (Hacker News): John Gruber wrote: “By the end of the year, every single Mac in the lineup, save one [the Mac Pro], is arguably in the best shape that model has ever been. […] Matt Deatherage wrote: “It’s difficult to ding Apple’s Mac performance. With Apple Silicon leading the way, the Mac hardware […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/22/2023-six-colors-apple-report-card/ Save to Pocket
2023 Apple Vision Accessibility Report Card
date: 2024-02-23, from: Michael Tsai
AppleVis (via Shelly Brisbin): The 2023 Apple Vision Accessibility Report Card reveals slightly decreasing satisfaction with VoiceOver features and user experience across iOS, iPadOS and macOS compared to 2022, contrasted by mostly improved ratings for braille and low vision capabilities. While reactions to new 2023 vision accessibility features were moderately more positive with a 3.7 […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/22/2023-apple-vision-accessibility-report-card/ Save to Pocket
Apple Sports and Lock Screen Live Activities
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Daring Fireball
https://support.apple.com/en-is/guide/iphone/iph9ac289c4d/ios Save to Pocket
4 Charged in US Court With Transporting Iranian-Made Weapons
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
richmond, virginia — Four foreign nationals were charged Thursday with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons on a vessel intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission.
The criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond alleges that the four defendants — who were all carrying Pakistani identification cards — were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks.
“The flow of missiles and other advanced weaponry from Iran to Houthi rebel forces in Yemen threatens the people and interests of America and our partners in the region,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a news release.
U.S. officials said that Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers was boarding the boat on January 11 and slipped into the gap created by high waves between the vessel and the SEALs’ combatant craft. As Chambers fell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped in to try to save him, according to U.S. officials familiar with what happened.
“Two Navy SEALs tragically lost their lives in the operation that thwarted the defendants charged today from allegedly smuggling Iranian-made weapons that the Houthis could have used to target American forces and threaten freedom of navigation and a vital artery for commerce,” Monaco said.
Muhammad Pahlawan is charged with attempting to smuggle advanced missile components, including a warhead he is accused of knowing would be used by the Houthi rebels against commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. He is also charged with providing false information to U.S. Coast Guard officers during the boarding of the vessel.
Pahlawan’s co-defendants — Mohammad Mazhar, Ghufran Ullah and Izhar Muhammad — were also charged with providing false information.
Pahlawan’s attorney, Assistant Supervisory Federal Public Defender Amy Austin, said Pahlawan had an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Thursday and is scheduled to be back in court Tuesday for a detention hearing. She declined to comment on the case.
“Right now, he’s just charged with two crimes and we’re just at the very beginning stages, and so all we know is what’s in the complaint,” Austin said when reached by phone Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Navy forces boarded a small, unflagged vessel, described as a dhow, and encountered 14 people on the ship on the night of January 11, in the Arabian Sea off the Somali coast.
Navy forces searched the dhow and found what prosecutors say were Iranian-made weapons, including components for medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.
All 14 sailors on the dhow were brought onto the USS Lewis B. Puller after Navy forces determined the dhow was not seaworthy. They were then brought back to Virginia, where criminal charges were filed against four and material witness warrants were filed against the other 10.
According to an FBI affidavit, Navy forces were entitled to board the ship because they were conducting an authorized “flag verification” to determine the country where the dhow was registered.
The dhow was determined to be flying without a flag and was therefore deemed a “vessel without nationality” that was subject to U.S. law, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, the sailors on the dhow admitted they had departed from Iran, although at least one of the men initially insisted they departed from Pakistan.
The affidavit states that crew members had been in contact multiple times by satellite phone with a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
https://www.voanews.com/a/charged-in-us-court-with-transporting-iranian-made-weapons-/7499294.html Save to Pocket
Why 2024 Is a Make or Break Year for Rivian
date: 2024-02-23, from: Heatmap News
America’s most interesting electric-vehicle company is about to have the
defining year of its life.
On Wednesday, the company reported that it lost $1.58 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing its net annual losses to $5.4 billion. It announced that it is laying off about 10% of its salaried employees, but — at the same time — promised that it has a plan to achieve a small profit by the end of this year.
Rivian does not seem to be in trouble — not quite yet, at least. But the earnings made clear what electric-vehicle observers have known for a long time: Either the company will emerge from this year poised to be a winner in the EV transition, or it will find itself up against the wall.
That’s partially because Rivian has a stomach-turning number of corporate milestones coming up. Over the next 11 months, it plans to unveil an entirely new line of vehicles, shut down its factory for several weeks for cost-saving upgrades, break ground on a new $5 billion facility in Georgia, and — most importantly — turn a profit for the first time. It also expects to manufacture and deliver roughly another 60,000 vehicles to customers.
Any one of these goals would be difficult to achieve in any environment. But Rivian is going to have to execute all of them during a time defined by “economic and geopolitical uncertainties” and especially high interest rates, its CEO R.J. Scaringe told investors on Wednesday. Since 2021, Rivian’s once robust stockpile of cash has been cut in half to about $7 billion; at its current burn rate, the company will run out of money in a little more than two years.
Although Rivian’s situation is dire, it’s not experiencing anything out of the ordinary. As I’ve written before, the electric truck maker is crossing what commentators sometimes call “the EV valley of death.” This is the challenging point in a company’s life cycle where it has developed a product and scaled it up to production — thereby raising its operating expenses to eye-watering levels — but where its revenue has not yet increased too.
During this vulnerable period, a company essentially burns through its cash on hand in the hope that more customers and serious revenue will soon show up. If those customers don’t arrive, then it either needs to raise more cash … or it runs out of money and goes bankrupt.
It’s a frightening time, but once a company crosses the valley of death, it can reach an idyll. Not so long ago, Tesla found itself in something like Rivian’s position as it prepared to launch the Model 3. Seven years later, it is the most valuable automaker in the world.
Once Rivian’s revenue exceeds its costs, its problems will get easier, or at least more straightforward: Instead of fighting for its survival and watching its cash reserves dwindle, Scaringe will be able to make more strategic trade-offs. Should the company cut costs to expand its profit margin and reward investors, or should it pass the savings along to customers in the form of lower prices, thus growing its market share? Scaringe can’t make these types of decisions until his firm is safely out of the valley.
Claire McDonough, Rivian’s chief financial officer and a former J.P. Morgan director, has a plan for crossing that canyon — an aptly if strangely named “bridge to profitability” that it will attempt to build this year. Rivian’s survival, she said, will depend above all on cutting the unit costs of producing its vehicles, including by using fewer materials to make every car. Other savings will come from making more vehicles faster. That’s what makes the shutdown plan, though it might seem extreme, worth it; McDonough said those improvements alone will get the company about 80% of the way to profitability.
Another 15% will come from marketing more “software-enabled products” to Rivian drivers and by selling air-pollution credits to other carmakers, whose vehicles are not as climate-friendly. This is a tried-and-true technique; Tesla first turned a profit in 2021 by selling regulatory credits needed to comply with federal and California state-level rules to other, dirtier automakers. But that same year, Tesla also debuted an entirely new vehicle: the Model Y crossover, which quickly became its top seller in the United States. Tesla, in other words, finally started to make money by cutting costs, finding new revenue sources, and releasing new products.
New products, however, are becoming a weak point for Rivian. The company says that high interest rates will keep demand for its vehicles flat this year. It expects to make about 60,000 of them, about 20,000 fewer than what it had once anticipated. The Rivian R1S, a three-row S.U.V., has become the company’s flagship; it is selling better and is cheaper to manufacture than Rivian’s pickup, the R1T. It also costs at least $75,000, or nearly $600 a month to lease. The highest-tier models can cost $99,000. Turns out, it’s difficult to sell a lot of $70,000 trucks when even the cheapest new-car loans hover around 6%.
Rivian once had a first-to-market advantage in the electric three-row SUV market, but that may be fizzling out, too. Kia is now selling its own all-electric three-row SUV, the EV9, for $18,000 less than the R1S; in fact, the Kia EV9’s most expensive trim costs $76,000, which is only slightly more than the cheapest R1S. The Kia SUV can also charge faster than the Rivian under ideal conditions. It remains an open question how many rich suburbanites are still interested in buying Rivians, especially now that the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning are competing directly with Rivian’s pickup truck.
The company’s hopes, in other words, rest on its next product line: the R2, which it will launch on March 7. We know almost nothing about the R2 line, except that it will probably include an SUV, that it will go on sale in 2026, and that it will fall somewhere in the $45,000 to $55,000 price range. (The median new car transaction in the United States now costs $48,200.) Last year, Scaringe told me that the R2’s timing was perfect because it would fit “beautifully with what we see as this big shift” in the American EV market. In today’s market, he said, “a lot of people ask themselves, Am I gonna get an electric car? Well maybe the next one.” He better hope they’ll start buying that next one in 2026.
Even if they do, Rivian may still have to confront the problem that Tesla has changed the EV market before Rivian could get there. When the first Tesla Model 3s were delivered in 2017, the sedan was instantly one of the best EVs on the market — because it was one of the only EVs on the market. Now every automaker in the world has plans to compete at the Model 3’s price point.
Rivian’s fortunes don’t rest entirely on American consumers; it also sells vans to commercial fleet operators, as well as delivery trucks to Amazon. (Amazon owns about 17% of Rivian.) But that business can be lumpy. Rivian’s vehicle growth slowed down last quarter, for instance, almost entirely because of a near pause in sales to Amazon, which sets up fewer new vehicles in the fourth quarter. If Amazon is willing to bail out Rivian, in other words, it’s not yet clear in the data.
None of this is to say that the company’s outlook is dire. Rivian was always going to find itself at a moment like this, when its expenses exceeded its revenue by such a large amount. The automaker already has devoted fans, and many people — myself included — are interested in the R2 as a potential first EV purchase.
And the company has shown that it can make strides in a single year. Twelve months ago, I had never seen a Rivian on the road before; today, one is regularly parked on my block. The company rocketed from a standing start to become the No. 5 best-selling electric car brand in America last year. What the company has done so far is impressive. But now it must prove that it can be great.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correctly reflect Rivian’s cash burn rate.
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/rivian-earnings-r2-release Save to Pocket
Accelerating Your Project with Rapid Quote Turnaround Times
date: 2024-02-23, from: Elevated Materials, upcycled carbon fiber
In the dynamic world of manufacturing, time is often the most precious resource. For companies working with manufacturers, the time to receive a quote for a project can be a game-changer. Rapid quote turnaround times not only streamline the initial stages of a project but also set the tone for efficient production and delivery. Here,…
The post Accelerating Your Project with Rapid Quote Turnaround Times appeared first on Elevated Materials.
https://www.elevatedmaterials.com/accelerating-your-project-with-rapid-quote-turnaround-times/ Save to Pocket
Castaic Science Olympiad Team perseveres, puts up top-10 finish
date: 2024-02-23, from: The Signal
Castaic High School’s Science Olympiad Team competed at the Southern California Science Olympiad Los Angeles Regional Tournament to score ninth place in its division on Saturday. Castaic, the newest high school in the William S. Hart Union High School District, not only placed ahead of other schools in the district, but also placed ahead of […]
The post <strong>Castaic Science Olympiad Team perseveres, puts up top-10 finish</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/castaic-science-olympiad-team-perseveres-puts-up-top-10-finish/ Save to Pocket
Ex-FBI Source Accused of Lying About Bidens Returns to US Custody
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
las vegas — A former FBI informant who claims to have links to Russian intelligence and is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family was again taken into custody Thursday in Las Vegas, two days after a judge released him, his attorneys said.
Alexander Smirnov was arrested during a meeting Thursday morning at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Las Vegas. The arrest came after prosecutors appealed the judge’s ruling allowing Smirnov, 43, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, to be released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial. He is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
Attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said in a statement that they have requested an immediate hearing on his detention and will again push for his release. They said Smirnov was taken into custody on a warrant issued in California for the same charges.
The case against Smirnov was originally filed in California, where he used to live. Several sealed entries were listed in the court docket, but no additional details about his return to custody were immediately available.
A spokesman for Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who is prosecuting Smirnov, confirmed that Smirnov had been arrested again, but did not have additional comment. He is in the custody of U.S. marshals in Nevada, said Gary Schofield, the chief marshal in Las Vegas.
Prosecutors say Smirnov falsely told his FBI handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid President Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015. The claim became central to the Republican impeachment inquiry of President Biden in Congress.
Smirnov has not entered a plea to the charges, but his lawyers have said their client is presumed innocent and they look forward to defending him at trial.
As part of their push to keep him in custody, prosecutors said Smirnov told investigators after his arrest last week that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about Hunter Biden. They said Smirnov’s self-reported contact with Russian officials was recent and extensive, and said he had planned to meet with foreign intelligence contacts during an upcoming trip abroad.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts on Tuesday had said he was concerned about Smirnov’s access to money that prosecutors estimated at $6 million but noted that federal guidelines required him to fashion “the least restrictive conditions” ahead of trial. Smirnov was also ordered to stay in the area and surrender his passports.
Prosecutors quickly appealed to U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright in California.
While his identity wasn’t publicly known before the indictment, Smirnov’s claims have played a major part in the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark what is now a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Republicans pursuing investigations of the Bidens demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the unverified allegations, though they acknowledged they couldn’t confirm if they were true.
Democrats called for an end to the probe after the Smirnov indictment came down last week, while Republicans distanced the inquiry from his claims and said they would continue to “follow the facts.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/ex-fbi-source-accused-of-lying-about-bidens-returns-to-us-custody-/7499290.html Save to Pocket
Triumph Foundation: Star Shines Bright When Darkness Closes In
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Star has never been one to let a tough situation keep her down. But an unexpected injury put her resilience to the test
https://scvnews.com/triumph-foundation-star-shines-bright-when-darkness-closes-in/ Save to Pocket
Avast shells out $17M to shoo away claims it peddled people’s personal data
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A name that’s commonly shouted by pirates might be a clue, me hearties!
Avast has agreed to cough up $16.5 million after the FTC accused the antivirus vendor of selling customer information to third parties.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/avast_ftc_settlement/ Save to Pocket
Mustangs Enjoy Record-Breaking Afternoon at Golden Eagle Invitational
date: 2024-02-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University track and field teams had a record-breaking afternoon recently at the Golden Eagle Invitational in Irvine
https://scvnews.com/mustangs-enjoy-record-breaking-afternoon-at-golden-eagle-invitational/ Save to Pocket
The Dodgers Gondola Project Lives To See Another Day: Metro Board Moves Forward With Plans
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
The proposed project now heads to the L.A. City Council, Caltrans, and California State Parks for their approval. It includes more than 30 conditions the project must meet in order to break ground.
https://laist.com/news/transportation/dodgers-gondola-project-metro-board-approves-plans Save to Pocket
The Dodgers Gondola Project Lives To See Another Day: Metro Board Moves Forward With Plans
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
The proposed project now heads to the L.A. City Council, Caltrans, and California State Parks for their approval. It includes more than 30 conditions the project must meet in order to break ground.
https://laist.com/news/dodgers-gondola-project-metro-board-approves-plans Save to Pocket
Apple Sports Is Eddy Cue’s Baby
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: Daring Fireball
https://sixcolors.com/post/2024/02/apple-sports-a-free-iphone-app-to-get-you-the-score-fast/ Save to Pocket
Friday 23 February, 2024
date: 2024-02-23, from: John Naughton’s online diary
My ol’ Burgundian Home If I had a house en Bourgogne (which, alas, I don’t), I’d like one like this. And then I’d ask Randy Newman to do a variation on this for me. Quote of the Day ”My problem … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/friday-23-february-2024/39166/ Save to Pocket
US Making Plan for Palestinian State After War Ends in Gaza
date: 2024-02-23, from: VOA News USA
Although fighting in Gaza shows no sign of ending soon, the international community is looking at the day-after scenario in the Gaza Strip. The United States says it wants to see a demilitarized Palestinian state headed by a revitalized Palestinian Authority. Israel continues to reject the idea. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-making-plan-for-palestinian-state-after-war-ends-in-gaza-/7498889.html Save to Pocket
Google sends Gemini AI back to engineering to adjust its White balance
date: 2024-02-23, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Big Tech keeps poisoning the well without facing any consequences for its folly
Comment Google has suspended availability of text-to-image capabilities in its recently released Gemini multimodal foundational AI model, after it failed to accurately represent White Europeans and Americans in specific historical contexts.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/google_suspends_gemini/ Save to Pocket
GHC 9.8.2 is now available
date: 2024-02-23, from: Glasgow Haskell Compiler
GHC 9.8.2 is now available
Zubin Duggal - 2024-02-23
The GHC developers are happy to announce the availability of GHC 9.8.2. Binary distributions, source distributions, and documentation are available on the release page.
This release is primarily a bugfix release addressing many issues found in the 9.8 series. These include:
- A fix for a bug where certain warnings flags were not recognised (#24071)
- Fixes for bugs in the renamer and typechecker (#24084, #24134, #24279, #24083)
- Fixes for bugs in the simplifier and code generator (#24160, #24242, #23628, #23659, #24160, #23862, #24295, #24370)
- Fixes for some memory leaks in GHCi (#24107, #24118)
- Improvements to error messages (#21097, #16996, #11050, #24196, #24275, #23768, #23784, #23778)
- A fix for a recompilation checking bug where GHC may miss changes in transitive dependencies when deciding to relink a program (#23724).
- And many more fixes
A full accounting of changes can be found in the release notes. As some of the fixed issues do affect correctness users are encouraged to upgrade promptly.
We would like to thank Microsoft Azure, GitHub, IOG, the Zw3rk stake pool, Well-Typed, Tweag I/O, Serokell, Equinix, SimSpace, Haskell Foundation, and other anonymous contributors whose on-going financial and in-kind support has facilitated GHC maintenance and release management over the years. Finally, this release would not have been possible without the hundreds of open-source contributors whose work comprise this release.
As always, do give this release a try and open a ticket if you see anything amiss.
Enjoy!
-Zubin
http://haskell.org/ghc/blog/20240223-ghc-9.8.2-released.html Save to Pocket
pgagroal 1.6
date: 2024-02-23, from: PostgreSQL News
The pgagroal community is happy to announce version 1.6.0.
New features
- Support for CLI/JSON output
- Support for client certificates (Experimental)
- Introduce subcommand config-get
- Introduce subcommand config-set
- Add a max_connection_age setting
- Mac OS X support
pgagroal
pgagroal is a high-performance protocol-native connection pool for PostgreSQL.
Features
- High performance
- Connection pool
- Limit connections for users and databases
- Prefill support
- Remove idle connections
- Perform connection validation
- Enable / disable database access
- Graceful / fast shutdown
- Prometheus support
- Grafana 8 dashboard
- Remote management
- Authentication query support
- Failover support
- Transport Layer Security (TLS) v1.2+ support
- Daemon mode
- User vault
Learn more on our web site or GitHub. Follow on Twitter.
pgagroal is released under the 3-clause BSD license.
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/pgagroal-16-2813/ Save to Pocket
Full Circle Magazine 202
date: 2024-02-23, from: Full Circle Magazine
This month:
- Command & Conquer
- How-To : Python, Stable Diffusion and Latex
- Graphics : Inkscape
- Review : Xubuntu 23.10 and Uwuntu
- UbPorts Touch : OTA-4
- My Story : OSX To Linux Mint
- Ubuntu Games - Ginsha
plus: News, Q&A, The Daily Waddle, and more.
Other Languages
https://fullcirclemagazine.org/magazines/issue-202/ Save to Pocket
Historic Wayfarers Chapel, Damaged By Moving Ground, Leaves Dozens Of Engaged Couples In The Lurch
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The LAist
The dream wedding venue for many had to temporarily close because of damage caused by the Rancho Palos Verdes landslide complex.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/wayfarers-chapel-crumbling-weddings-canceled Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 22, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, 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.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/quick-charge-podcast-february-22-2024/ Save to Pocket
Hart district employees to begin getting layoff notices
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Bob Jensen may have said it best on Wednesday when Linda Storli asked, “Do I have a second?” “I don’t want to,” Jensen said, “but I will.” The two members of the William S. Hart Union High School District governing board, as well as the other three members, had just heard from district staff on […]
The post Hart district employees to begin getting layoff notices appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/hart-district-employees-to-begin-getting-layoff-notices/ Save to Pocket
Reddit signs AI training deal with Google – and why OpenAI’s Altman could be the winner
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
IPO docs drop showing just who has a stake in the forum
Reddit will provide content posted on its forums to Google, which will use it to train and update AI chatbots in a deal reportedly worth $60 million a year that could – oddly enough – deliver big bucks to OpenAI boss Sam Altman.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/reddit_google_license_ipo_altman/ Save to Pocket
Mercedes-Benz Delays Its EV Plans, Will Keep Making Combustion Engines
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
The company initially planned to be all-EV by 2030, but it said today that EVs will make up 50% of its sales by the end of the decade.
https://insideevs.com/news/709767/mercedes-benz-delays-ev-plans/ Save to Pocket
One Story One City
date: 2024-02-22, from: City of Santa Clarita
One Story One City By Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda One of my favorite passions is traveling, especially to exotic countries to explore different cultures and lifestyles – and if I can’t travel, I love to escape within the pages of a book. Get ready Santa Clarita and join me on this literary journey as […]
The post One Story One City appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/02/22/one-story-one-city/ Save to Pocket
When I met Strom Thurmond
date: 2024-02-22, from: Robert Reich on Substack
My conversation with him in an elevator
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-bad-was-strom-thurmond Save to Pocket
Lilbits: Bluesky now supports federation, Windows 11 prepares for WiFi 7
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
A few weeks after emerging from invite-only status, social network Bluesky has taken another major step toward doing the thing that makes it more than just a Twitter X clone: it’s opened the doors for federation. In a nutshell, that means the Bluesky network isn’t just going to be hosted on Bluesky’s servers anymore. Anyone […]
The post Lilbits: Bluesky now supports federation, Windows 11 prepares for WiFi 7 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lilbits-bluesky-now-supports-federation-windows-11-prepares-for-wifi-7/ Save to Pocket
Hyundai cuts IONIQ 5 price with rare 0% finance offer
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
In a fire sale, Hyundai is offering a rare 0% finance offer on the 2024 IONIQ 5 electric SUV. Hyundai’s new incentive could mean up to $7,800 in savings compared to a same-priced Tesla model.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/hyundai-cuts-ioniq-5-price-rare-0-finance-offer/ Save to Pocket
Coal’s Slowdown Is Slowing Down
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heatmap News
The United States has been able to drive its greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest level since the early 1990s largely by reducing the amount of energy on the grid generated by coal to a vast extent. In 2005, by far the predominant source of U.S. electricity, making up some 2.2 million gigawatt-hours of the country’s 4.3 million GWh total energy consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. In 2022, by contrast, coal generation was down to 900,000 GWh out of 4.5 million GWh generated. As a result, “U.S. emissions are 15.8% lower than 2005 levels, while power emissions are 40% lower than 2005 levels,” according to BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.
But the steady retirement of coal plants may be slowing down. Only 2.3 GW of coal generating capacity are set to be shut down so far in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. While in 2025, that number is expect to jump up to 10.9 GW, the combined 13.2 GW of retired capacity pales in comparison of the more than 22 GW retired in the past two years, according to EIA figures. Over the past decade, coal retirements have averaged about 10 GW a year, with actual retirements often outpacing forecasts.
As for the reasons behind the slowdown, some analysts think utilities and electricity markets — especially ones seeing increased demand on the East Coast — may decide to extend the life of their existing coal units to maintain reliability.
“The return of load growth, delays in bringing renewables online and a renewed focus on reliability have led utilities and other generation owners to delay and in some cases reconsider their plans for retiring coal plants altogether,” according to an S&P Global Commodities Insight note.
In the country’s largest electricity market, the PJM Interconnection, there are only six coal units set to be deactivated, and only one, Warrior Run in Maryland, set to be retired this year, with another coal-powered plant in the state, Brandon Shores, set to be retired in 2025. But even if some coal plants stay open longer than might have been expected, they may not be a boon to the coal extraction industry, which still has to deal with overall decreased demand for coal.
This week, a federal appeals court in Montana lifted a moratorium on coal leasing on federal lands. The original moratorium was enacted in 2016, and even though it’s bounced back and forth between administrations, the amount of coal produced on federal lands has fallen sharply since then. In 2014, there were around 420 million tons of coal produced on federal and native land; by 2021 — the last full year before the moratorium was put back into effect by a federal judge in 2022 — that figure had fallen to 277 million.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/why-coals-slowdown-is-slowing-down Save to Pocket
DoorDash coughs up a few bucks after California accuses it of spreading around customer info
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Food delivery giant promises to drop off $375,000, no tip
DoorDash will cough up $375,000 to settle claims it trampled California’s privacy laws by giving away customers’ info without their consent nor giving them the opportunity to opt out.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/doordash_ccpa_settlement/ Save to Pocket
GM Is Scrambling To Make PHEV Full-Size Pickup, Killed Compact EV Truck: Report
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
GM might be reexamining its EV strategy, as rumors swirl that it will create a PHEV full-sized pickup, and cancel plans for a small EV pickup.
https://insideevs.com/news/709764/pickup-ev-phev-gm-compact/ Save to Pocket
Siblings Step Dancing and Roller Skating
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/siblings-step-dancing-and-roller-skating Save to Pocket
Newhallywood gathers film lovers to watch silent film classics
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Dozens of film lovers gathered at the Newhall Family Theatre for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening to watch the 1922 “Robin Hood” film directed by Douglas Fairbanks, one of the many silent films in the Newhallywood Film Festival lineup occurring all weekend long. Those in attendance were silent film preservationists, film hobbyists, and individuals […]
The post <strong>Newhallywood gathers film lovers to watch silent film classics </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/newhallywood-gathers-film-lovers-to-watch-silent-film-classics/ Save to Pocket
NASA Instruments Will Listen for Supersonic X-59’s Quiet ‘Thump’
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is unique – it’s designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, but without causing a loud sonic boom. To confirm the X-59’s ability to fly supersonic while only producing quiet sonic “thumps,” NASA needs to be able to record these sounds from the ground. The agency recently completed tests […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-instruments-will-listen-for-supersonic-x-59s-quiet-thump/ Save to Pocket
EmulationStation-DE is now available for Android
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
EmulationStation Desktop Edition (ES-DE) is a frontend for viewing, launching, and playing video games designed for classic computers and game consoles thanks to support for emulators for dozens of different game systems. Up until recently, ES-DE was available as a free and open source app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. But now there’s also an […]
The post EmulationStation-DE is now available for Android appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/emulationstation-de-is-now-available-for-android/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Statement from President Joe Biden on Alabama Court Decision.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/02/22/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-alabama-court-decision/ Save to Pocket
Americans Paid $11 Billion To Make Drugs You Can’t Afford
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Lever News
A bombshell report reveals that taxpayers spent billions developing medicines that drugmakers say shouldn’t face Medicare price negotiations.
https://www.levernews.com/americans-paid-11-billion-to-make-drugs-you-cant-afford/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Tommy Tuberville On Alabama Embryo Decision: Great! Wait, Bad!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tommy-tubervile-alabama-supreme-court-embryos-children-ivf_n_65d78e1fe4b0cc1f2f7b1a81 Save to Pocket
Ron DeSantis Is Attacking the Greatest Food Innovation Since the Corndog
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heatmap News
In the Free State of Florida, Republicans have banned woke public investments, woke racial education, and woke books in school libraries. Now they’re trying to ban woke meat.
Legislation that would criminalize the sale of cultivated meat grown from animal cells is wending its way through the state House and Senate, even though cultivated meat is not currently for sale anywhere in Florida — or, for that matter, anywhere else. Governor Ron DeSantis, eager to start owning libs again after his fiasco of a presidential campaign, has said he’s on board with banning the new technology, even though the federal government has already signed off on meat grown in fermenters rather than feedlots as safe.
So what’s the beef?
The cattle industry has always had outsized clout in Florida politics — the term “cracker” originated with whip-wielding Florida cattlemen — and some Republicans hope to curry favor with the state’s ranchers by strangling potential competition in the cradle. But the crusade against cultivated meat is mostly just the latest skirmish in the DeSantis culture war against what he considers a progressive plot to make Americans feel guilty about the status quo.
In his only public comments about cultivated meat — sometimes described as “lab-grown meat,” although the ultimate goal is to grow it in breweries — DeSantis made it clear that his main objection to the nascent industry is that its leaders hope to limit animal agriculture’s damage to the climate and the environment. To the governor, growing meat outside an animal is just like taking “environment-social-governance” considerations into account in investment decisions or teaching “critical race theory” in the classroom, a left-wing assault on tradition.
“They really want to go after agriculture because they blame agriculture for global warming,” DeSantis said. “You need meat, OK? Like, we’re gonna have fake meat? That doesn’t work. There’s a whole ideological agenda that’s coming after a lot of our society.”
Setting aside the merits of the governor’s anti-woke crusade against “ESG,” “CRT,” and gay-themed books in public libraries, the cultivated meat and seafood entrepreneurs trying to harness capitalism and technology to disrupt a trillion-dollar industry notorious for government influence-peddling don’t see what’s left-wing about innovation or competition. They don’t want to be part of any culture war, and as the legislative ban has been moving through Tallahassee on party-line votes, they’re trying to remind Republicans that they’re supposed to be against the nanny state.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, for instance, a key supporter of the ban, actually boasts on his website that he’s “stood up to politicians who treat Floridians like children incapable of making their own choices.”
“How does banning our products promote consumer choice?” Blue Nalu CEO Lou Cooperhouse, whose San Diego startup is cultivating bluefin tuna toro, told me. “It’s un-American and un-Floridian to stifle innovation and attack free-market principles.”
It is true that cultivated meat has extraordinary potential to limit the impacts of animal agriculture, which now uses one quarter of the land on Earth and is by far the leading driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss. But even if you don’t care about the climate or the environment — or the looming public health crisis created by the overuse of antibiotics in livestock, or the tens of billions of animals who get slaughtered every year — there’s a compelling business proposition behind cultivated meat: Animal meat is inefficient. Why waste feed, land, water, energy and other resources helping livestock stay warm, poop, burp methane, have babies and do other things that don’t produce meat?
That’s why a part-time futurist named Winston Churchill, not usually considered a wokester, predicted in a 1931 essay titled “50 Years Hence” that “we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing.” But it’s now 93 years hence, and while more than 150 startups around the world have begun growing chicken cutlets, burgers, pork meatballs, salmon nigiri and even woolly mammoth meat from cells, they’re not yet doing it inexpensively enough to compete with conventional meat and seafood.
Last year, the Bay Area startups Upside Foods and Good Meat served America’s first cultivated chicken to restaurant patrons in San Francisco and Washington, but only for a limited time to a very limited number of diners. (Some journalists have tried it, too, and I can report that both companies make chicken that tastes like chicken.) For now, you can’t buy cultivated meat anywhere on Earth, and while its costs have plunged more than 99% in a decade, many skeptics doubt that it will ever get cheap enough to make a dent in the 350 million tons of animal meat that the world consumes every year. In the past few months, Wired, Bloomberg, and The New York Times have all published quasi-obituaries for the industry.
Plant-based meat, hailed five years ago as the next big thing in food, is also struggling mightily. Global sales have stopped soaring and are actually declining, and industry darling Beyond Meat’s stock price is down more than 95% from its peak. Meat substitutes have faced a flurry of attacks — some from meat-industry water-carriers, some from natural-food ideologues, and some reflecting genuine discomfort with the idea of eating so much technology — as “ultra-processed foods” with long ingredient lists.
But the problems meat substitutes are designed to address are not going away. Cattle burps (and, to a lesser extent, farts) produce methane, while manure is a major source of nitrous oxide and water pollution, and the world is on track to deforest another two Indias worth of land by 2050 to satiate humanity’s meat tooth. DeSantis may think it’s silly to blame agriculture for global warming, but overall, it generates a fourth of global greenhouse gas emissions, most of them from livestock. It’s not yet as big a problem as fossil fuels, but it is a big problem. And since meat consumption is expected to rise at least 50% by 2050, the problem is getting worse.
Meat alternatives made from plants, fungi, or animal cells can use far less land and generate far fewer emissions than meat made from slaughtered animals, which is why supporters see them as the agricultural equivalent of solar, wind, and other clean-energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Cleaner meat should receive the kind of public support that governments have long provided to cleaner energy, they argue — which has started to happen in the European Union, China and even the United States, which provided $10 million for a cultivated meat research center at Tufts University early in the Biden Administration.
Obviously, it isn’t happening in Florida. Cultivated meat lobbyists have been passing around a clip from a Chinese newspaper gloating about the Sunshine State’s restrictions, saying they will help ensure Chinese domination of the new industry. Rini Greenfield, who runs an ag-tech venture fund called Rethink Food in Miami, told me the ban would send “a clear message to technology companies to take their operations elsewhere.” In fact, every venture that testified against the bill was based in California, the state DeSantis constantly cites as the epitome of woke.
But culture wars are bad for business, no matter where you’re headquartered. The industry doesn’t want to be making Bidenburgers any more than the electric vehicle industry wanted to manufacture Obamamobiles. Today, they’re not selling to anyone, but someday, they want to sell to everyone.
https://heatmap.news/lifestyle/lab-grown-meat-florida-desantis Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Hillary Clinton warns birth control is ‘next’ after Alabama IVF ruling.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4483403-hillary-clinton-warns-birth-control-is-next-after-alabama-ivf-ruling/ Save to Pocket
Cyberattack downs pharmacies across America
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Prescription orders hit after IT supplier Change Healthcare pulls plug on systems
Updated IT provider Change Healthcare has confirmed it shut down some of its systems following a cyberattack, disrupting prescription orders and other services at pharmacies across the US.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/change_healthcare_outage/ Save to Pocket
We Did The First Independent Honda Prologue DC Fast Charge Test
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Despite conditions that were far from ideal, we approached the max 150 kW DC quick-charging rate of Honda’s all-new mid-size BEV.
https://insideevs.com/news/709750/first-dc-fast-charge-honda-prologue/ Save to Pocket
Graves of Roman Family Held Jewelry, Coins and ‘Exquisite’ Vials for Storing Mourners’ Tears
date: 2024-02-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Archaeologists in Bulgaria unearthed the remains of three individuals interred with rare treasures dating to the third century
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/graves-of-this-roman-family-held-a-valuable-medallion-and-vials-for-collecting-mourners-tears-180983826/ Save to Pocket
NASA Awards Spaceflight Development, Operations Contract
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
NASA has selected Sierra Lobo Inc. of Fremont, Ohio, to support spaceflight hardware design, development, testing, and operations at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The Space Flight Systems Development and Operations Contract III is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract featuring a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity provision with a maximum potential value of approximately $282.1 million. The […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-spaceflight-development-operations-contract/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Fetterman to Democrats criticizing Biden: ‘Get your MAGA hat.’
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4482892-fetterman-to-democrats-criticizing-biden-get-your-maga-hat/ Save to Pocket
Former US President Jimmy Carter Surpasses One Year in Hospice Care
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
chicago, illinois — A year since The Carter Center announced that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was receiving end-of-life hospice care, Carter continues to defy the odds.
He quietly celebrated his 99th birthday on October 1, and last appeared in public on November 29 to attend the funeral of his wife, Rosalynn Carter.
“He is very old and very frail,” said author Jonathan Alter, who chronicled Carter’s life in the book “His Very Best.” “When you are 99, various systems in your body start breaking down, but it’s very important to understand that he does not have any underlying health condition like heart failure or cancer.”
The Carter family’s decision to announce that the 39th president was entering hospice care has raised awareness about end-of-life care giving, which Alter compares to the decades-long efforts of the former president and first lady to remove the stigma associated with mental illness.
“They did this very intentionally to give a boost to the hospice movement,” Alter told VOA in a recent Skype interview. “I don’t think there was any expectation that he’d still be in hospice a year later, but they were very, very interested in spreading the word about hospice.”
“Once again leading by example, [the Carter family] is showing us how to embrace a stage of life that people don’t want to think about — that people don’t want to talk about,” Ben Marcantonio, interim CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, explained during an event his organization sponsored in New York’s Time Square in August, recorded live on Facebook.
“They’re showing us how hospice helps patients live life to the fullest to the end of life, and that’s why we’re gathered here today to publicly thank President Carter and his family.”
While now out of the spotlight, the global nonprofit Carter Center continues to “wage peace, fight disease and build hope” around the world. One of Jimmy Carter’s key efforts leading the center — the complete eradication of parasitic Guinea worm infections — marked a steady number of infections in the last several years.
“Thirteen human cases reported in 2023,” said Adam Weiss, director of The Carter Center’s Guinea worm eradication program. “With such few human cases, the biggest risk is about the reinfection of humans from some of the animal infections that are occurring primarily in Chad, Mali, Cameroon and Angola.”
“While nine of those 13 cases were in Chad, four of those nine cases were in one family,” explained Dr. Donald Hopkins, one of the architects of The Carter Center’s Guinea worm eradication efforts.
Hopkins encouraged Carter to take on the neglected tropical disease in the center’s early days and added that while the annual number of infections did not decrease this year, the total number of infections globally are dramatically different from where they were when the effort began in the 1980s.
“There were an estimated 3 ½ million cases, mostly in Africa, but some also in India, Pakistan and Yemen,” said Hopkins. “Having only 13 human cases now annually means that a lot fewer people are suffering.”
Middle East conflicts
In recent months, The Carter Center has called for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, which threatens to undo a pillar of Jimmy Carter’s legacy. The genesis of the center’s efforts to promote peace and democracy around the world was the success of the Camp David Peace Accords, which Carter brokered between Egypt and Israel during his presidency in the 1970s.
“This treaty between Egypt and Israel is the most successful, durable treaty of the postwar era,” Alter told VOA.
The tense and difficult negotiations Carter hosted at the Camp David Presidential Retreat for 12 days in September 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin resulted in a treaty that ended decades of conflict between Israel and one of its most powerful neighbors.
“Israel turned back hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the Sinai Peninsula and pulled the Israeli settlements in the Sinai Peninsula as they turned that land back to Egypt. In exchange for that, they received a promise from Egypt it would not attack Israel as it had four times in the previous 30 years. It was understandable why it would be durable. It was a land for peace swap,” Alter said.
But as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza strip, the Egyptian government has threatened to suspend the 45-year-old treaty.
“Given the stakes, this is a big deal and obviously very much on the mind not only of the Israelis who understand its importance, but also the United States,” Alter said.
He said it also underscores Carter’s unrealized dream of broader peace in the Middle East.
“If Jimmy Carter were just a few years younger, you can bet he would be in the region right now trying to make peace,” Alter said.
While Carter holds the records for the longest-living occupant of the White House and the longest marriage of any president and first lady in U.S. history, he marks another first this year.
The White House Historical Association unveiled its annual Christmas ornament on Wednesday, this year featuring Carter — the first time a living president is honored with an ornament.
“Both the front and reverse side of the ornament feature peace doves, symbolic of President Carter’s work for peace in the Middle East, and perhaps most significantly, the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty signed on the North Lawn of the White House on March 26, 1979,” the association describes on its website.
On the reverse side of the ornament is the Seawolf-class USS Jimmy Carter. Commissioned in 2005, it is the only submarine to be named for a living president. The globe at the center refers to Carter’s lifelong work on environmental conservation. At the base of the anchor is a garland of peanut flowers, a reminder of Carter’s years as a farmer and businessman in Plains, Georgia.
https://www.voanews.com/a/former-us-president-jimmy-carter-surpasses-one-year-in-hospice/7498654.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Substack now lets writers curate a ‘network’ of recommended publications for their subscribers.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/22/substack-now-lets-writers-curate-a-network-of-recommended-publications-for-their-subscribers/ Save to Pocket
‘The Examined Run’ and Virtue in Athletics
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/the-examined-run-and-virtue-in-athletics Save to Pocket
Google tests removing the News tab from search results
date: 2024-02-22, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
News publishers are worried — with good reason — about changes coming to Google Search. AI-generated content replacing links on some of the most valuable space on the internet, in particular, has left media types with a lot of questions, starting with “is this going to be a traffic-destroying nightmare?” The News filter disappearing from…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/why-is-the-news-tab-missing-from-some-google-search-results/ Save to Pocket
FDISK 1.3.14
date: 2024-02-22, from: FreeDOS News
Bernd has released an update to FreeDOS FDISK, the program that creates and manages partitions on fixed disks. Version 1.3.14 provides these fixes: + Fix a drive letter disagree between DOS and FDISK in cases involving multiple disks and a mix of active and non-active primary partitions. + Prevent querying LBA capabilities via INT13,41, if LBA access is disabled by the user. This caused some broken BIOS to crash the system, like BIOS version 0.9.4 of Book8088 and Xi8088. The new version has these changes: - Do not check for extra cylinders by default. DR-DOS refuses to use partitions exceeding the BIOS reported disk size, despite being valid. - Update German translation. You can find the new version at FDISK at GitHub, or in the FDISK releases.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2024/02/fdisk-1314/ Save to Pocket
Reddit: ‘We Are in the Early Stages of Monetizing Our User Base’
date: 2024-02-22, from: 404 Media Group
Reddit’s filing with the SEC makes clear that training AI with user posts is a core part of Reddit’s new business model.
https://www.404media.co/reddit-we-are-in-the-early-stages-of-monetizing-our-user-base-2/ Save to Pocket
Gridlock Has Put U.S. Strategic Advantages in the Pacific at Risk
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: RAND blog
The United States is on the verge of an enormous geostrategic blunder in the Indo-Pacific region. Congress has yet to pass funding promised last year under pacts with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. Given the island nations’ economic needs, further dithering by Washington could leave them little choice but to deepen engagement with China.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/gridlock-has-put-us-strategic-advantages-in-the-pacific.html Save to Pocket
College Briefs for Feb. 22
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Henderson named to fall 2023 dean’s list at Belmont University Kenna Henderson, of Santa Clarita, qualified for Belmont University’s fall 2023 dean’s list. Dean’s List eligibility is based on a minimum course load of 12 hours and a quality grade point average of 3.5 with no grade below a C. “The Dean’s List achievement reflects […]
The post College Briefs for Feb. 22 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/college-briefs-for-feb-22/ Save to Pocket
Kia’s US-made EV9 may not qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit at first
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Kia is plowing ahead with plans to produce its first three-row electric SUV in the US, which is slated to begin this spring. However, it’s unclear whether Kia’s new US-made EV9 will fully qualify for the $7,500 EV tax credit at first.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/kia-us-made-ev9-may-not-qualify-full-7500-tax-credit-first/ Save to Pocket
Here are 3 standout rooftop solar trends that emerged in 2023
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Here are three standout rooftop solar trends that emerged in 2023 – and how they impact consumers who want to switch to clean energy.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/rooftop-solar-trends-2023/ Save to Pocket
Rivian decimates staff to put a brake on spending
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
With only enough cash on hand to keep the lights on until 2025, loss-making automaker may soon be next casualty of the EV revolution
Amid continuing losses, Rivian is laying off 10 percent of its salaried employees and a limited number of hourly folks in an attempt to reduce its expenses. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/rivian_announces_10_layoffs_as/ Save to Pocket
Darknet Drug Dealers Arrested After Packages of Meth-Laced Adderall Repeatedly Returned to Sender
date: 2024-02-22, from: 404 Media Group
‘Professional Paper Filing Inc.’ was a fictitious name. But the return address went to a real, uninvolved business.
https://www.404media.co/darknet-drug-dealers-arrested-after-packages-of-meth-laced-adderall-repeatedly-returned-to-sender/ Save to Pocket
Meet the Creators, Part 4: Two New 2024 Total Eclipse Posters
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
Total solar eclipses reveal the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – a white, wispy halo of solar material that flows out from around the Sun. This atmosphere is breathtaking as it glows in the sky for viewers on Earth, surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. In addition to revealing this normally hidden part of […]
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/meet-the-creators-part-4-two-new-2024-total-eclipse-posters/ Save to Pocket
Plummeting Battery Prices Will Make EV Costs Equal ICE Cars By 2029: Study
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Lithium supply is projected to far exceed demand by 2032 thanks to a local production boost.
https://insideevs.com/news/709746/lower-battery-prices-to-make-ev-costs-equal-gas-cars/ Save to Pocket
The viral advice column of the week: “I Think My Husband Is…
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044038-the-viral-advice-column-o Save to Pocket
The Smithsonian’s Human Remains Task Force Calls for New Repatriation Policies
date: 2024-02-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The report provides recommendations regarding the return of human remains in the Institution’s collections
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/smithsonian-human-remains-task-force-calls-for-new-repatriation-policies-180983829/ Save to Pocket
Daily Deals (2-22-2024)
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
This week The Wirecutter put out a list of “Best Headphones for 2024,” which includes a decent range of choices at a variety of price points. While some folks would probably take issue with some of the selections, one Wirecutter pick that stood out to me were the Anker Soundcore Space A40 earbuds, which are […]
The post Daily Deals (2-22-2024) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-2-22-2024/ Save to Pocket
Authorities dismantled LockBit before it could unleash revamped variant
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
New features aimed to stamp out problems of the past
Law enforcement’s disruption of the LockBit ransomware crew comes as the criminal group was working on bringing a brand-new variant to market, research reveals.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/lockbit_dismantled_new_variant/ Save to Pocket
Duolingo
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Rupert blog
Duolingo does a great job capturing the novel delight of learning a new language. You hop on, take a short quiz, and a little green owl waves at you and hops towards a trophy. You can add friends, join group challenges, and there’s a weekly ranking system to compete with users all over the world where you have a chance to move up a league, stay stagnant, or potentially get demoted to a lower league.
Duolingo takes a “spaced repetition” approach at language learning. I like how the app serves you vocabulary in isolation as well as in different sentence contexts with different AI voices, all aimed to reinforce the words before it leaves your brain. The progress meters, streaks, and competitive nature of the app are all a part of the gamification system designed to keep you coming back. But… there’s a lot of them.
Here’s a short list of all the progress meters inside the Duolingo you’re responsible for filling up.
- Daily streak progress
- Course progress
- Lesson progress
- Daily missions for monthly reward
- Monthy achievement progress
- Weekly league ranking progress
- Weekly friend challenge progress
- Collecting gems
- Match Madness progress
- +9 other achievement categories
Slowly you realize the truth about Duolingo; it’s not a language learning platform, it’s an engagement platform. And through that engagement you might pick up some language skills. Duolingo does little in explaining how rudimentary concepts like verbs or participles work and instead lets you piece it together solely from repetition and context clues. Repetition in learning is important but without ever addressing the fundamentals of a language Duolingo reveals it’s prioritizing something else over language mechanics.
Duolingo succeeds when you log in, see an ad after every lesson, and feel like you’re making progress towards a goal so that you will log in the next day and repeat the cycle. The dopamine hits and then a surprise (!) Double XP potion shows up at the beginning of the week. The Double XP boosts your score and you secure a spot on the leaderboard. This spurs more notifications and sessions for your competitors, which serves more ads. Now the pressure’s on to avoid losing your spot on the leaderboard. Another potion shows up to get you over the mid-week slump and to stir the coals of the engagement metrics again. You can of course pay to not see ads and unlock faster dopamine hits.
And then there’s the social pressure from the cartoon bird to keep your streak alive. At first it’s motivating and cute but then turns a bit ominous and manipulative, saved only by its sense of humor.
Despite it all the engagement theatrics, Duolingo is fun. I wish I had Duolingo when I was initially learning Japanese in college (or Spanish in high school). I think along with textbook learning it would have cemented a lot of concepts for me. It’s fun to get a daily dose of something new and see the scores go up.
At one point all four members of my family were on Duolingo learning four different languages simultaneously in the same room. That was chaotic, fun, and made me genuinely excited to see my family enjoy learning another language which something I enjoy. When you’d hear a the notable ding from across the house, you’d feel a Pavlovian urge to open the app on your phone and continue learning. One-by-one in reverse age order, however, we all came to the same conclusion that the repetition and the notifications were tiresome. After using Duolingo for 100 days in a row, I uninstalled the app.
I’ve enjoyed noodling on Japanese, Piano, Spanish, German, Korean, Esperanto, and Klingon… and perhaps I will again one day, but for now it’s become another to-do during the day. The lessons were too repetitive and slow for me, a person who wants to flex a part of my existing memory and not learn from scratch. I can only hear about green tea so many times. Your experience might be different, but if I could find a “Practice Only” version of Duolingo without the engagement machine attached and a little less repetition, I think that would be the right fit for me.
https://daverupert.com/2024/02/duolingo/ Save to Pocket
NASA Invites Media to Speak with Artemis II Moon Crew, Recovery Team
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
Media are invited to speak with the four Artemis II astronauts on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Naval Base San Diego in California. The crew will fly around the Moon next year as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, marking the first astronauts to make the journey in more than 50 years. NASA and the U.S. Department […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-speak-with-artemis-ii-moon-crew-recovery-team/ Save to Pocket
38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration
date: 2024-02-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Wildlife biologists counted the birds—likely lured by the region’s mild winter temperatures—during their first aerial survey of the season
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/38000-sandhill-cranes-flock-to-nebraska-in-a-record-breaking-start-to-spring-migration-180983833/ Save to Pocket
Diary Comics, Nov. 18-23
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/welcome-to-thursday-afternoons-with Save to Pocket
US Unveils New Actions Aimed at Denting ‘Russian War Machine’
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-unveils-new-series-of-actions-aimed-at-denting-russian-war-machine/7498578.html Save to Pocket
Second IVF Provider in Alabama Pauses Some Services After Ruling on Embryos
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
montgomery, alabama — A second in vitro fertilization provider in the U.S. state of Alabama is pausing parts of its care to patients after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children.
Alabama Fertility Services said in a statement Thursday that it has “made the impossibly difficult decision to hold new IVF treatments due to the legal risk to our clinic and our embryologists.”
The decision comes a day after the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system said in a statement that it was pausing IVF treatments so it could evaluate whether its patients or doctors could face criminal charges or punitive damages.
“We are contacting patients that will be affected today to find solutions for them and we are working as hard as we can to alert our legislators as to the far reaching negative impact of this ruling on the women of Alabama,” Alabama Fertility said. “AFS will not close. We will continue to fight for our patients and the families of Alabama.”
Doctors and patients have been grappling with shock and fear this week as they try to determine what they can and can’t do after the ruling by the all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court that raises questions about the future of IVF.
Alabama Fertility Services’ decision left Gabby Goidel, who was days from an expected egg retrieval, calling clinics across the South looking for a place to continue IVF care.
“I freaked out. I started crying,” Goidel said. “I felt in an extreme limbo state,”
The Alabama ruling came down Friday, the same day Goidel began a 10-day series of injections ahead of egg retrieval, with the hopes of getting pregnant through IVF next month. She found a place in Texas that will continue her care and plans to travel there Thursday night.
Goidel experienced three miscarriages and she and her husband turned to IVF as a way of fulfilling their dream of becoming parents.
“It’s not pro-family in any way,” Goidel said of the Alabama ruling.
Dr. Michael C. Allemand, a reproductive endocrinologist at Alabama Fertility, said Wednesday that IVF is often the best treatment for patients who desperately want a child, and the ruling threatens doctors’ ability to provide that care.
“The moments that our patients are wanting to have by growing their families — Christmas mornings with grandparents, kindergarten, going in the first day of school, with little backpacks — all that stuff is what this is about. Those are the real moments that this ruling could deprive patients of,” he said.
Justices — citing language in the Alabama Constitution that the state recognizes the “rights of the unborn child” — said three couples could sue for wrongful death when their frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a storage facility.
“Unborn children are ‘children’ … without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in Friday’s majority ruling. Mitchell said the court had previously ruled that a fetus killed when a woman is pregnant is covered under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and nothing excludes “extrauterine children from the Act’s coverage.”
While the court case centered on whether embryos were covered under the wrongful death of a minor statute, some said treating the embryo as a child — rather than property — could have broader implications and call into question many of the practices of IVF.
https://www.voanews.com/a/second-ivf-provider-in-alabama-pauses-some-services-after-ruling-on-embryos/7498537.html Save to Pocket
Former US President Jimmy Carter Marks One Year in Hospice Care
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
As former President Jimmy Carter marks one year since the Carter Center announced he was entering end-of-life hospice care, some key parts of his legacy, both as president and global humanitarian, are in jeopardy. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more.
https://www.voanews.com/a/former-us-president-jimmy-carter-marks-one-year-in-hospice-care/7498561.html Save to Pocket
Intel will make chips for Microsoft
date: 2024-02-22, from: OS News
US chip company Intel will make high-end semiconductors for Microsoft, the companies announced, as it seeks to compete with TSMC and Samsung to supply the next generation of silicon used in artificial intelligence for customers around the world. Chief executive Pat Gelsinger said at a company event on Wednesday that Intel is set to “rebuild Western manufacturing at scale,” buoyed by geopolitical concerns in Washington about the need to bring leading-edge manufacturing back to the US. ↫ Michael Acton Having our entire advanced chip industry built atop one Dutch company and one company on an island China would love to invade is not exactly the recipe for a stable supply chain. I think it’s a great idea to build capacity in the US and Europe, and if Intel’s the one to do it – with lavish government funding, I might add – then so be it. We’d all love for it to be more diverse than that, but the sad reality is that building advanced chip factories is really hard and really expensive, and very few companies have both the knowledge and money to do so.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138634/intel-will-make-chips-for-microsoft/ Save to Pocket
ChatGPT designed a civilization
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
What I asked for: Imagine a version of The Sims or SimCity that had ChatGPT integrated,. You could create whole civilizations and then explore them, and if there was something you didn’t like, you could have your way. No rule of law for you! You are the law. I wonder if you could draw me a Sims-like community as ChatGPT would design it.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22/191211.html?title=chatgptDesignedACivilization Save to Pocket
“Why can’t I trigger a manual blue screen crash by injecting the magic key sequence?”
date: 2024-02-22, from: OS News
A customer was developing an automated test that required the system to suffer a blue screen crash. They configured their test systems to crash when the ScrollLock key is pressed twice while holding the Ctrl key, and they wrote a simple program that ran as administrator and injected the appropriate keystrokes. But no crash occurred. What did they do wrong? ↫ Raymond Chen Does anyone here not love a Raymond Chen mystery?
https://www.osnews.com/story/138632/why-cant-i-trigger-a-manual-blue-screen-crash-by-injecting-the-magic-key-sequence/ Save to Pocket
A Frog-tastic Leap Day
date: 2024-02-22, from: CSUN Library Blog, Cited
In this blog post, we contemplate the relationship (if any) between calendars and frogs. Read to the end to find two unique programs for students…
https://library.csun.edu/blogs/cited/2024/02/22/a-frog-tastic-leap-day/ Save to Pocket
Android prepares to only support Seamless Updates, but Samsung could still avoid it
date: 2024-02-22, from: OS News
Android introduced support for Seamless Updates quite a long time ago at this point and, while it’s seen adoption from most, Samsung stubbornly refuses to move its devices to the A/B system. Android is now moving towards a future where A/B Seamless Updates are the only supported update mechanism, but that may not be enough to stop Samsung. ↫ Ben Schoon at 9To5Google The fact Samsung hasn’t embraced Seamless Updates yet is utterly baffling. It’s better in every single way, and there’s little to no downsides one can think of. I hope this little nudge gets them to finally get their act together.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138630/android-prepares-to-only-support-seamless-updates-but-samsung-could-still-avoid-it/ Save to Pocket
OKAI Ranger e-bike 1-day sale hits $1,300 ($700 off), Jackery power stations, and more
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Headlining today’s green deals is the one-day discount on the OKAI Ranger Electric Bike for $1,300. It is joined by the Jackery home backup sale that has moved over to its Amazon storefront and is taking up to $700 off power stations, solar panels, and bundles, as well as the Velotric Go 1 Utility e-bike at $1,299. Plus, all of the other best new Green Deals landing this week.
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.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/okai-ranger-e-bike-save-jackery-power-stations-and-more/ Save to Pocket
Webb Finds Evidence for Neutron Star at Heart of Young Supernova Remnant
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a […]
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-finds-evidence-for-neutron-star-at-heart-of-young-supernova-remnant/ Save to Pocket
Why Honda Hopes The Prologue Can Avoid The Chevy Blazer EV’s Problems
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Will the Honda Prologue be prone to the same glitches as the Chevy Blazer EV? “We hope not,” says Honda.
https://insideevs.com/news/709741/blazer-prologue-software-launch-issues/ Save to Pocket
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus prepares for Moon landing
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
It slides into orbit. Now comes (another) hard part
Updated Intuitive Machines has tweaked today’s Moon landing time to 2230 UTC following the successful insertion of its Odysseus lander into lunar orbit.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/intuitive_machines_odysseus_orbit/ Save to Pocket
US silicon carbide wafers just got a big boost – here’s why it matters for EVs
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
A Michigan manufacturer of silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, a key component in EV power electronics, just got a big loan from the US Department of Energy to ramp up production.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/us-silicon-carbide-wafers/ Save to Pocket
Tesla works to slash Sentry Mode power usage by ~40%, and why that’s bigger than you think
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla is working on a software update to slash Sentry Mode power usage by ~40% – reducing “vampire drain” on parked vehicles.
It might sound like a small update that’s bigger than you think.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/tesla-works-slash-sentry-mode-power-usage/ Save to Pocket
Legendary Australian Freestyle MX Rider Jayden Archer Dead At 27
date: 2024-02-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
A top FMX athlete, he’s also remembered as a great human by those who knew him.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709754/australian-fmx-jayden-archer-obituary/ Save to Pocket
To NVMe and beyond!
date: 2024-02-22, from: RiscOS Open
Previously thought to be lightyears away, today RISC OS storage technology goes on an Open Source adventure with Woody and friends along the non-volatile memory express-way.
Collaborating together
We’re delighted to have partnered with RISCOSbits and Stader Softwareentwicklung in the development of this key new storage capability for RISC OS 5. Comprising the usual ‘stack’ arrangement of a driver (NVMeDriver) and FileCore filing system (NVMeFS), the solid state flash drives take their familiar place alongside the other media on the left of the icon bar.
http://www.riscosopen.org/news/articles/2024/02/22/to-nvme-and-beyond Save to Pocket
Get Outdoors and Join the City for a Community Hike
date: 2024-02-22, from: City of Santa Clarita
GET OUTDOORS AND JOIN THE CITY FOR A COMMUNITY HIKE!Each month will feature a different hike location! Grab your friends and family, and meet us on the trail! Each month, City staff will lead a hike at different trailheads and parks located throughout the community. Whether you want to explore the outdoors or enjoy the […]
The post Get Outdoors and Join the City for a Community Hike appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/02/22/get-outdoors-and-join-the-city-for-a-community-hike/ Save to Pocket
GM’s electric Ford Maverick pickup rival may be a pipe dream after all amid PHEV shift
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
If you were waiting on an electric GM truck similar in size to the Ford Maverick, you may be out of luck. GM is reportedly canceling plans to develop a compact electric pickup amid its shift toward plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/gm-electric-ford-maverick-rival-pipe-dream/ Save to Pocket
What did Neanderthals look like? An overview of “the evolution of Neanderthal…
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044032-what-did-neanderthals-loo Save to Pocket
Air Defense Shapes Warfighting in Ukraine
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: RAND blog
The strength of air and missile defense in Ukraine has abetted the stalemate in the ground war. Its weakness has led to immense human suffering and infrastructure damage. As the war continues, air defense could become even more salient.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/air-defense-shapes-warfighting-in-ukraine.html Save to Pocket
The Future Circular Collider
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/22/the-future-circular-collider/ Save to Pocket
Nokia brainwave turns cell towers into cash cows with backup batteries
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Lower operator energy costs or sell power back to grid for $$$
Nokia is tempting mobile network operators with a tool that it thinks will help them monetize the backup battery storage at their cell base station sites.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/nokia_cell_tower_power_grid/ Save to Pocket
FTC Fines Avast $16.5 Million For Selling Browsing Data Harvested by Antivirus
date: 2024-02-22, from: 404 Media Group
I previously revealed that Jumpshot, part of the cybersecurity company Avast, was selling products based on users’ browsing data harvested by its antivirus software. Now the FTC has issued a multimillion dollar fine in response.
https://www.404media.co/impact-ftc-fines-avast-16-5-million-for-selling-browsing-data-harvested-by-antivirus/ Save to Pocket
Xos and Winnebago partner and develop an all-electric chassis for custom-built specialty vehicles
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Commercial EV manufacturer Xos, Inc. has partnered with renowned lifestyle vehicle expert Winnebago to electrify the commercial segment further. Together, the companies have developed a fully electric chassis to support Winnebago’s specialty vehicle division, which currently offers custom builds of Class C RVs and Class A EV buses for several use cases.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/xo-winnebago-partner-develop-electric-chassis-custom-specialty-vehicles-ev/ Save to Pocket
2024 Fiat 500e For U.S. Now In Production
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
The first allocation of the model sold out in less than a week.
https://insideevs.com/news/709669/2024-fiat-500e-us-entered-production/ Save to Pocket
Shanghai from Space
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
While the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above the East China Sea, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli snapped this photo of Shanghai’s city lights and the Huangpu River flowing through downtown. Shanghai is the most populous city in China with a population of about 24.9 million. The space station serves as a unique platform for […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/shanghai-from-space/ Save to Pocket
A New Digital Archive Will Preserve Stunning Murals and Street Art in the U.K.
date: 2024-02-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Art U.K. is aiming to digitize and compile images of an ephemeral form of art
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-digital-archive-is-documenting-important-works-of-street-art-in-the-uk-180983816/ Save to Pocket
5 wind turbines just came online at Massachusetts’ first offshore wind farm
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
In another US offshore wind milestone, the first five turbines at Vineyard Wind 1 in Massachusetts have powered up.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/massachusetts-offshore-wind/ Save to Pocket
Rivian, Like Tesla, Is Opening Its Charging Network To Other EVs
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Expanding access to its Adventure Network will allow Rivian to access sweet, sweet federal funding for EV charging stations.
https://insideevs.com/news/709736/rivian-opens-charging-adventure-network/ Save to Pocket
How’s It Going Today?
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/hows-it-going-today Save to Pocket
Will A New BSA Motorcycles Factory Be Built In England In 2024?
date: 2024-02-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
It’s been a minute or two, but forward movement should reportedly begin in spring 2024.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709742/bsa-manufacturing-uk-classic-legends/ Save to Pocket
Unlocking secret ThinkPad functionality for emulating USB devices
date: 2024-02-22, from: Tilde.news
https://xairy.io/articles/thinkpad-xdci Save to Pocket
Web archive user’s $14k BigQuery bill shock after running queries on ‘free’ dataset
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Researcher makes case for default limits after arriving via Python library
A user left with a surprise bill for thousands of dollars after running queries on Google’s BigQuery data warehouse has sparked a debate about how vendors should place limits on the use of their tools.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/web_archive_user_bigquery_shock/ Save to Pocket
February 21, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-21-2024-343 Save to Pocket
Most big legacy news publishers across 10 countries are blocking OpenAI’s crawlers, report finds
date: 2024-02-22, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
With The New York Times suing Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement (a case the Times might well win, AI writer and researcher Timothy B. Lee and Cornell professor James Grimmelman argued this week), it’s a good time to take a look at how news sites in general are responding to tech companies’ use of…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/most-big-legacy-news-publishers-across-10-countries-are-blocking-openais-crawlers-report-finds/ Save to Pocket
XPeng Motors continues global expansion, announcing dealer partnerships in 5 new markets
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Chinese EV automaker XPeng Motors continues expanding its global partnerships list, announcing today five dealer networks in separate new markets to help sell its vehicles. In addition to recent plans to enter markets in Israel, XPeng will also sell EVs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, and more markets in Europe this year.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/xpeng-motors-global-expansion-announcing-dealer-partnerships-5-new-markets/ Save to Pocket
New Image/Video Prompt Injection Attacks
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Bruce Schneier blog
Simon Willison has been playing with the video processing capabilities of the new Gemini Pro 1.5 model from Google, and it’s really impressive.
Which means a lot of scary new video prompt injection attacks. And remember, given the current state of technology, prompt injection attacks are impossible to prevent in general.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/new-image-video-prompt-injection-attacks.html Save to Pocket
Electrify America’s New Indoor Charging Hub Is So Good, It Deserves To Be The Future
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
The new indoor charging concept reimagines the EV experience for the better. And I love it.
https://insideevs.com/news/709589/electrify-america-new-indoor-fast-chargers-san-francisco/ Save to Pocket
ADHD Traits Might Have Helped Hunter-Gatherers Collect More Food While Foraging, Study Suggests
date: 2024-02-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Participants who self-reported ADHD behaviors were better at an online berry-picking game than those who did not report such traits
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/adhd-traits-might-have-helped-hunter-gatherers-collect-more-food-while-foraging-study-suggests-180983824/ Save to Pocket
Belief in magic may be declining
date: 2024-02-22, from: Gary Marcus blog
No time to write today, but here is a fascinating graph, hat tip to Jeffrey Funk: Maybe, and I am just spitballing, LLMs aren’t quite the magic panacea that the industry lead us all to believe? See also this report February 13 at WSJ and this one, February 16
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/belief-in-magic-may-be-declining Save to Pocket
Nikola (NKLA) delivers first hydrogen fuel cell truck in the US, new EV trucks coming
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Nikola Corp (NKLA) announced it had delivered the first production hydrogen fuel cell truck in North America during the fourth quarter. The company said it also remains on track to deliver the first reworked battery electric trucks back to customers by the end of Q1.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/nikola-nkla-delivers-first-hydrogen-fuel-cell-truck-us/ Save to Pocket
Japanese Yakuza boss charged with nuclear trafficking by the US
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
No, this isn’t a pitch for a Godzilla sequel
A Japanese Yakuza leader is being charged with trafficking nuclear materials by US prosecutors.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/yakuza_boss_doj_nuclear_charges/ Save to Pocket
Samsung Galaxy Book4 series notebooks with Intel Meteor Lake launch globally on Feb 26
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 line of laptops are premium thin and light notebooks with 120 Hz AMOLED touchscreen displays, and Intel Meteor Lake processor with Intel Arc integrated graphics. First unveiled in December, the 14 and 16 inch laptops went on sale in South Korea in January, and now Samsung says they’re set to launch in global […]
The post Samsung Galaxy Book4 series notebooks with Intel Meteor Lake launch globally on Feb 26 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/samsung-galaxy-book4-series-notebooks-with-intel-meteor-lake-launch-globally-on-feb-26/ Save to Pocket
Apple’s Vision Pro Is Compelling… In the Future
date: 2024-02-22, from: TidBITS blog
Self-professed “sucker for gadgets” Marc Zeedar shares his experiences with the Vision Pro, which are largely positive despite some awkward interactions due to needing to wear hard contacts.
https://tidbits.com/2024/02/22/apples-vision-pro-is-compelling-in-the-future/ Save to Pocket
Wealthier, urban Americans have access to more local news
date: 2024-02-22, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Is local news readily available in your town? Do reporters still cover your school board and other municipal meetings? If you answered yes, you are likely wealthier than the average American, and you live in or near a metro area. The State of Local News Project at Northwestern University documents the changing local news landscape…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/wealther-urban-americans-have-access-to-more-local-news/ Save to Pocket
A Kickstarter campaign for a book on the art of band logos….
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044033-a-kickstarter-campaign-fo Save to Pocket
San Jose affordable homes land financing package of $100 million-plus
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
A big affordable housing project in San Jose is pushing ahead with a property purchase and a key construction financing package.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/san-jose-home-house-affordable-real-estate-loan-build-develop-economy/ Save to Pocket
Useful use of cat(1)
date: 2024-02-22, from: Tilde.news
https://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/uuoc/ Save to Pocket
Russia arrests California woman with dual US-Russian citizenship for treason after she gave $51 to Ukraine, employer says
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
Ksenia Karelina, a 33-year-old woman who lives in Los Angeles, was arrested in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for allegedly “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against Russia security.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/russia-arrests-california-woman-with-dual-us-russian-citizenship-for-treason-after-she-gave-51-to-ukraine-employer-says/ Save to Pocket
High school soccer playoffs: Wednesday’s top storylines, surprises, more
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
Los Gatos boys beat Menlo School in match for the ages. Mitty, St. Francis to meet for CCS boys, girls titles. In NCS, Dougherty Valley, Berkeley boys, San Ramon Valley, Carondelet girls among winners.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/high-school-soccer-playoffs-wednesdays-top-storylines-surprises-more/ Save to Pocket
Employees saved Musk from himself over Twitter Files
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Unfettered access to non-public info would have violated FTC order
Longtime Twitter staffers saved Elon Musk from himself, according to a letter from the US Federal Trade Commission chair.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/twitter_staffers_saved_musk/ Save to Pocket
Larry Magid: How to protect your online security
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
When criminals operate from other counties, we have to remain extra vigilant
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/larry-magid-how-to-protect-your-online-security/ Save to Pocket
Deno 1.41: smaller deno compile binaries
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Deno blog
We’ve roughly halved the size of deno compile binaries,
added official Linux ARM64 builds, continued to land Node.js
compatibility improvements, and more.
https://deno.com/blog/v1.41 Save to Pocket
Scared Strait
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: RAND blog
The foundations of the longstanding U.S. approach to Taiwan-China relations are crumbling in the face of growing Chinese military power and aggression. Washington can no longer rely on its existing policies in the hopes that what worked in the past will succeed in the future.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/scared-strait.html Save to Pocket
Competition-proofing
date: 2024-02-22, from: David Rosenthal’s blog
|
| Source |
I’ve written several times about how in pursuit of a quicker buck, VCs have largely discarded the slow process of building an IPO-ready company like Nvidia in favor of building one that will be acquired by one of the dominant monopolists. These VCs don’t support innovation. Even if their acquisition-bound companies do innovate in their short lives, their innovations are rarely tested in the market after the acuisition.
Below the fold I discuss a new paper that presents a highly detailed look at the mechanisms the dominant companies use to neutralize the threats startups could pose to their dominance.
In Coopting Disruption law professors Mark Lemley (Stanford) and Matthew Wansley (Cardozo) ask a good question:
Our economy is dominated by five aging tech giants—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Each of these firms was founded more than twenty years ago: Apple and Microsoft in the 1970s, Google and Amazon in the 1990s, and Facebook in 2004. Each of them grew by successfully commercializing a disruptive technology—personal computers (Apple), operating systems (Microsoft), online shopping (Amazon), search engines (Google), and social networks (Facebook). Each of them displaced the incumbents that came before them. But in the last twenty years, no company has commercialized a new technology in a way that threatens the tech giants. Why?The TL;DR of Lemley and Wansley’s answer to their question is:
While there are many reasons for the tech giants’ continued dominance, we think an important and overlooked one is that they have learned how to coopt disruption. They identify potentially disruptive technologies, use their money to influence the startups developing them, strategically dole out access to the resources the startups need to grow, and seek regulation that will make it harder for the startups to compete. When a threat emerges, they buy it off. And after they acquire a startup, they redirect its people and assets to their own innovation needs.They observe that:
a company that is started with the goal of being swallowed by a tech giant probably isn’t contributing much to society.
Introduction
They start by identifying the advantages and disadvantages the incumbents possess in their efforts to monetize innovations. Their list of advantages is:- “large incumbents can take advantage of economies of scale” not just in manufacturing, but also in marketing an distribution by exploiting their existing customer relationships.
- “Large incumbents can also take advantage of economies of scope. Innovation creates “involuntary spillovers”—new knowledge that has economic value beyond the specific product that the firm was developing.”
- “large incumbents can access capital at a lower cost” for example from retained earnings from their cash cows.
- “large incumbents may have another potential advantage—a longer investment time horizon” even more so now with the compression of VC time horizons.
- “their success will cannibalize their own market share” or “More generally, a monopolist has diminished incentives to introduce new products, improve product quality, or lower prices because any new sales generated replace its existing sales.” Economists call this “Arrow’s replacement effect”; more specifically: “The general lesson is, all else equal, the larger a firm’s market share and the less it is threatened by competition, the weaker its incentives to innovate. So we should expect large incumbents to not innovate much. And if they can dispense with the competitors rather than have to compete with them, they will do that.”
- “their managers prefer to deliver incremental innovations to their existing customers”. Unlike Arrow’s theory, “Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation, … focuses on the career incentives of middle managers … Incumbent managers have an incentive to deliver sustaining innovations—incremental improvements in quality to the firm’s existing products that will please its existing customers. But they have substantial disincentives to pursue projects that upset the apple cart, even if doing so would bring new customers to the firm” The fundamental problem is that “Housing an innovation project inside a firm with diverse lines of business creates conflict with those other businesses. Some firm assets—cash, cloud computing, equipment, facilities, and engineers’ time—are rivalrous and finite, so executives must be willing to fight internal constituencies to devote those resources to innovation.” Ingenuity, NASA’s wildly successful Mars helicopter is a good example, as Eric Berger reports in Before Ingenuity ever landed on Mars, scientists almost managed to kill it. It was competing for cost, weight and risk with Perseverance’s primary mission.
- “their single veto point decision-making structure encourages risk-aversion” More specifically: “Inside a large incumbent, decisions about whether to fund an innovative project must pass through one veto point. In the venture capital market, many competing investors independently decide whether to finance an innovative idea. Inside a firm, an employee with an innovative idea must pitch an idea to managers who ultimately report to one executive gate-keeper. In the venture capital market, if a would-be startup founder pitches an idea to ten VC firms, and nine of them are not persuaded, the idea gets funded.” The advantage of market-based finance over internal finance applies not just to the initiation but also the continuation of an innovation project. Inside a firm, an executive who has soured on a project can terminate it. In the venture capital market, when a startup’s initial investors grow skeptical, the company can still pitch outsiders on infusing more cash.” The authors make this important point (my emphasis): “And while economists often describe markets as efficient, there is no reason to believe individual corporate executives make efficient (or even rational) decisions. Just ask Twitter. Markets work not because private executives make good decisions but because the ones who make bad decisions get driven out. But that dynamic only works with competition.”
- “they cannot appropriately compensate employees working on innovation projects.” The reason they cannot is that: “Startups solve this problem by giving employees stock options. Every employee with significant equity knows that if the startup successfully exits, they will be rewarded. Stock in a large, diversified public company does not create similar incentives. The incentives are diluted because the value of the stock will be affected by too many variables unrelated to the success of the specific innovation project.” And that: “large firms do not recognize internal “property rights” to innovations that employees develop. If they did, employees might become reluctant to share information. But not protecting internal property rights gives innovative employees incentive to leave. If employees at a large firm found their own startup and raise venture capital to fund it, they will earn a much greater share of the profits of the innovation.”
Network effects
Nearly three decades ago W. Brian Arthur, in Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy explained how increasing returns to scale, or network effects, of technology markets typically led to them being dominated by one player. Consider a new market opened up by a technologcal development. Several startups enter, for random reasons one gets bigger then the others, network effects amplify its advantage in a feedback loop.This effect is more important now, as the the giants’ business models have evolved to become platforms:
The tech giants’ core businesses are built on platforms. A platform is an intermediary in a two-sided market. It connects users on one side of the market with users on the other side for transactions or interactions.This is precisely the mechanism Brian Arthur described, but applied to a business model that has since been enabled by the Internet.
…
Platforms tend to exhibit network effects—the addition of a new user increases the value of a platform to existing users and attracts new users.
Self-preferencing
Self-preferencing happens when a platform isn’t just a two-sided market, but one in which the platform itself is a vendor:Amazon, for example, both invites third party vendors to sell their products in its online marketplace and sells its own house brands that compete with those vendors. Amazon has a powerful advantage in that competition. It has access to data on all of its competitors—who their customers are, which products are selling well, and which prices work best. And it controls which ads consumers see when they search for a specific product. Assuming Amazon uses that information to prefer its own products to those of its competitors (either by pricing strategically or by promoting its own products in search results) – something alleged but not yet proven in a pending antitrust case – the result is to bias competition. Vendors cannot realistically protest Amazon’s self-preferencing (or just go elsewhere) because Amazon has such a dominant share in the online retail market.
Paying for defaults
The value of the default position is notorious because:Alphabet pays Apple a reported $18 billion (with a b) each year for Google to be the default search engine on iOS devices. Android and iOS together account for 99% of the U.S. mobile operating system market. Consequently, almost everyone who uses a smartphone in America is accustomed to Google search. Alphabet claims that “competition is just a click away.” But research and experience have shown that defaults can be somewhat sticky. So controlling the default position can give Alphabet (or whoever wins the Apple bid) an advantage. That said, someone has to be the default, and it might be better for consumers if the default is the search engine most users already prefer. The real problem might be the idea of paying for placement, whoever wins the bidding war.
Cloning
There are many examples of a tech giant tryng to neutralize the threat from a startup by using the threat of cloning their product to force the startup to sell itself, or of actually cloning the product and using their market power to swamp the startup. Meta’s addition of Reels to Instagram in response to Tik Tok is an obvious example. But the authors make two good points: First:Cloning is only objectionable if the tech giant wins out not by competition on the merits, but by exclusionary conduct.Second, that cloning often fails:
Google+, Google’s effort to build a social media service that combined the best of Facebook and Twitter was an abject failure. Apple’s effort to control the music world’s move to streaming by offering its own alternative to Spotify hasn’t prevented Spotify from dominating music streaming and eclipsing the once-vibrant (and Apple-dominated) market for music downloads. Meta’s effort to copy Snap, then TikTok, by introducing Stories and Reels has not proven terribly successful, and certainly has not prevented those companies from building their markets.The fact that the giants can clone a startup’s product leads the authors to ask:
If the product is cloneable, then why would you buy the company and burn cash paying off its VCs?There are two possible answers. It may be faster and easier, though likely not cheaper, to “acquihire” the startup’s talent than to recruit equivalent talent in the open market. Or it may be faster and easier, though likely not cheaper, to acquire the company and its product rather than cloning it.
Inadequate Explanation
The authors use the example of Microsoft:Microsoft enjoyed strong network effects in the 1990s as the dominant maker of operating system software – far more dominant than it is today. It cloned internet browser technology from upstarts like Netscape, and it engaged in anticompetitive conduct designed to ensure that it, not Netscape, became the browser of choice.82 But Microsoft’s victory over Netscape was short-lived. New startups – Mozilla and then Google – came out of nowhere and took the market away from it. Microsoft still benefits from network effects, and it still uses cloning and self-preferencing to send users to its Edge browser. But it doesn’t work. Microsoft employed all the tools of a dominant firm in a network market, but it still faced disruption.So these four techniques aren’t an explanation for the recent dearth of disruption.
Coopting disruption
The authors imagine themselves as a tech giant, asking what else they would do to prevent disruption, and coming up with four new techniques:- “First, you would learn as much as you can about which companies had the capability to develop disruptive innovations and try to steer them away from competing with you – perhaps by partnering with them, or perhaps by investing in them.”
- “Second, you would make sure that those companies could not access the critical resources they would need to transform their innovation into a disruptive product.”
- “Third, you would tell your government relations team to seek regulation that would build a competitive moat around your position and keep disruption out.”
- “Fourth, if one of the companies you were tracking nevertheless did start to develop a disruptive product, you would want extract that innovation—and choke off the potential competition—in an acquisition.”
- “built a powerful reconnaissance network covering emerging competitive threats by investing in startups as corporate VCs and by cultivating relationships with financial VCs.”
- “accumulated massive quantities of data that are essential for many software and AI innovations, and they dole out access to this data and to their networks selectively.”
- “asked legislators to regulate the tech industry—in a way that will buttress incumbents.”
- “repeatedly bought potentially competitive startups in a way that has flown—until a few years ago—below the antitrust radar.”
The Cisco story exemplifies how the venture capital market, as a market, is better at exploring a series of risky ideas than a firm with a single risk-averse gatekeeper. It also illustrates how the advantages of a large incumbent—in this case access to markets and existing customer relationships—can sometimes extract more market value out of a technology than a new entrant.The rapid evoluution of networking technology at the time meant that even Cisco, the largest company in the market, didn’t have the R&D resources to explore all the opportunities. They depended upon VCs to fund the initial explorations, rewarding them by paying over the odds for the successes. Their market power then got the successes deployed much faster than a startup could.
Why Is Cooption Bad?
The authors explain the harms of cooption:Our claim here is that the same dynamics that inhibit disruptive innovation by longstanding employees of large incumbents inhibit disruptive innovation by new employees from acquired startups.And, by making the innovators from the startup rich, the acquirer greatly reduces their incentives for future innovation. Andy Bechtolsheim is an outlier.
…
The tech giants win from coopting disruption even though it destroys social value. In fact, they benefit in two ways. They make faster incremental progress on the sustaining innovations that they want. They get the new code, the valuable intellectual property, and the fresh ideas of the startup. And, critically, they also kill off a competitor. They no longer have to worry about the startup actually developing the more disruptive innovation and leapfrogging them or other tech giants acquiring the startup and using its assets to compete with them.
Remedies?
Lemley and Wansley, who seem to think in fours, make a set of four proposals for how these harms might be reduced:- Unlocking Directorates — under the Clayton Act “interlocking officers and directors between companies that compete, even in part, are illegal per se – without any inquiry into whether the companies in fact restrained competition because of their overlapping interests or whether the conduct offered procompetitive benefits.” Companies with less than $4.1M in revenue are exampt, which excludes most startups; this should be revised.
- Limiting Leveraging of Data and Networks — “we would impose on incumbent tech monopolists a presumptive duty of nondiscrimination in access where the defendant (1) provides or sells data or network access to at least some unaffiliated companies and (2) refuses to provide or sell the same data or network access to the plaintiff company on comparable terms, but (3) the plaintiff does not operate a competing network or otherwise compete with the defendant in the market from which it collected the relevant data.”
- Regulating Regulation — “Done right, regulation of technology can be beneficial and even necessary to the development of that technology, minimizing the risk of harm to third parties and ensuring that the world views the technology as safe and trustworthy. But all too often regulation has become a way to insulate incumbents from competition, with predictable results.” The authors’ suggestions exemplify this difficulty, being rather vague and aspirational.
-
Blocking Cooptive Acquisitions — this is the most complex of the
four proposals, and builds on
Nascent
Competitors by C. Scott Hemphill & Tim Wu, who write:
We favor an enforcement policy that prohibits anticompetitive conduct that is reasonably capable of contributing significantly to the maintenance of the incumbent s market power. That approach implies enforcement even where the competitive significance of the nascent competitor is uncertain.
Justifying blocking mergers because of a nascent threat that might never materialize is problematic. But it is only more so than the current way anti-trust works, by projecting likely harm to consumer welfare, which also might never materialize (although it almost always does). Lemley and Wansley explain the dilemma:
antitrust enforcers need a strategy for blocking cooptive acquisitions that works within existing case law (or plausible improvements to that law) and is surgical enough to avoid chilling investment.
Some cases are obvious:
For cooptive acquisitions like Facebook/Instagram deal, we think Hemphill and Wu’s strategy makes sense. Zuckerberg’s email arguing for acquiring startups like Instagram because “they could be very disruptive to us” is a smoking gun of anticompetitive intent.
But Lemley and Wansley go further, arguing for blocking megers based the startup’s ability to innovate distruptive technology:
Of course, an approach to policing startup acquisitions based on innovation capabilities need limits. Many startups have some innovation capabilities that could have a significant effect on competition. We can cabin enforcement in three ways—by focusing on specific technologies and specific firms and by looking at the cumulative effects of multiple acquisitions.
Their examples of technologies include generative AI and virtual and augmented reality, both cases where it is already too late. The companies they identify “Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta” are all veterans of multiple acquisitions in these areas. But they argue that committing to challenge fuure mergers:
would create socially desirable incentives for startups. A startup developing one of the listed technologies would gain stronger incentives to turn its innovations into the products that its management team believed would garner the highest value on the open market—rather than the one most valuable to the tech giants. They would also gain stronger incentives to build a truly independent business and go public since an acquisition by the tech giants would be a less likely exit.
I think these would all be worthwhile steps, and I’m all in favor of
updating anti-trust law and, even better, actually enforcing the laws on
the books. But I am skeptical that the government can spot potentially
disruptive technologies before the tech giants spot and acquire them.
Especially since the government can’t be embedded in the VC industry the
way the tech giants are. Note that many of the harms Lemley and Wansley
identify happen shortly after the acquisition. Would forcing Meta to
divest Instagram at this late date restore the innovations the
acquisition killed off?
https://blog.dshr.org/2024/02/competition-proofing.html Save to Pocket
Ford leaks J3400 to CCS adapter for Tesla Superchargers
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Ford is seemingly leaked its J3400 to CCS adapter to give its EV owners access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/ford-leaks-j3400-to-ccs-adapter-for-tesla-superchargers/ Save to Pocket
Crowded Table
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/crowded-table Save to Pocket
UAW Pledges $40 Million To Organize EV Battery Workers
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, Waymo’s expansion plans get put on pause and Lotus’ EV division gets huge valuation ahead of stock market debut.
https://insideevs.com/news/709684/uaw-organize-ev-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket
A New Agenda for Low-Dimensional Topology
date: 2024-02-22, from: Quanta Magazine
This past October, dozens of mathematicians gathered in Pasadena to create the third version of “Kirby’s list” — a compendium of the most important unsolved problems in the field.The post A New Agenda for Low-Dimensional Topology first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-agenda-for-low-dimensional-topology-20240222/ Save to Pocket
Fatal vehicle collision closes down stretch of major East Bay roadway
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
The crash happened on San Pablo Avenue, and affected morning commute traffic.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/fatal-vehicle-collision-closes-down-stretch-of-major-east-bay-roadway/ Save to Pocket
Is a free-agency deadline the solution to MLB’s stalled offseason? Players are skeptical
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
Farhan Zaidi and Rob Manfred have suggested a deadline for multiyear deals. But Austin Slater, on the board of the players’ union, says that is an “automatic no.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/is-a-deadline-the-solution-to-baseballs-stalled-offseason-players-are-skeptical/ Save to Pocket
GEEKOM Mini Air12 Review: An affordable Intel N100 mini PC with DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 3 storage
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
There are more “4 inch x 4 inch” form-factor mini PCs available now than you can shake the proverbial stick at, including high-priced, high-performance models like the Simply NUC Onyx NUC13OXv9 and GEEKOM Mini IT13, as well as cheaper, more energy-efficient models like the GEEKOM Mini Air12. This little computer looks a lot like an Intel […]
The post GEEKOM Mini Air12 Review: An affordable Intel N100 mini PC with DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 3 storage appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/geekom-mini-air12-review-an-affordable-intel-n100-mini-pc-with-ddr5-memory-and-pcie-gen-3-storage/ Save to Pocket
Ukrainian police arrest father and son in suspected LockBit affiliate double act
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If they did it, it gives new meaning to quality family time. Meanwhile, key LockBit leaders remain at large
Today’s edition of the week-long LockBit leaks reveals a father-son duo was apprehended in Ukraine as part of the series of takedown-related arrests this week.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/ukrainian_police_arrest_father_and/ Save to Pocket
About these regional bank-commercial real estate concerns…
date: 2024-02-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Commercial real estate is a market that’s been sagging with lots of people still working from home. That’s been a source of consternation for regional banks with exposure to commercial real estate, like New York Community Bancorp, which Moody’s recently downgraded. But is all this anxiety actually overblown? We dig in. Plus, Japan’s stock market climbs out of a decadeslong slump, and the first online-only grocer will soon begin accepting SNAP benefits.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/about-these-regional-bank-commercial-real-estate-concerns Save to Pocket
Pose Bowl: Spacecraft Detection and Pose Estimation Challenge
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
In the Pose Bowl: Spacecraft Detection and Pose Estimation Challenge, solvers will help NASA develop algorithms that could be run on inspector (chaser) spacecraft. There are two tracks, with different associated prizes. In the Detection Track, solvers develop object detection solutions that identify the boundaries of spacecraft in an image. In the Pose Estimation Track, […]
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/stmd-prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/center-of-excellence-for-collaborative-innovation-coeci/pose-bowl-spacecraft-detection-estimation-challenge/ Save to Pocket
My Mother Got on a Bike. It Changed Her Life. “I rode…
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044030-my-mother-got-on-a Save to Pocket
Want a risk-free California home purchase? Own it for 12 years.
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
If buying a home “works out over time” – how long must you wait so a purchase isn’t a money-loser?
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/want-a-risk-free-california-home-purchase-own-it-for-12-years/ Save to Pocket
PG&E profits hop higher as revenue from electricity and gas surges
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
Excluding an array of one-time or unusual items that aren’t related to the company’s core operations, PG&E earned $2.63 billion in 2023, an increase of 12.2% compared to the prior year.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/pge-electric-gas-profit-fire-energy-economy-bay-area-san-jose-oakland/ Save to Pocket
Mercedes-Benz drastically backtracks EV plans, will build gas cars well into 2030s
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Mercedes-Benz is backtracking on its EV plans as the luxury automaker plans to continue building gas-powered cars “well into the 2030s.”
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/mercedes-backtracks-ev-plans-gas-cars-2030s/ Save to Pocket
I don’t care if you’re at a BigCo
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
I don’t care if you work at a big company or are an individual developer.
I care if you can make a contribution toward interop on the open web.
I’ve found over the years that sometimes devs at bigco’s can help enormously (eg microsoft, netscape, automattic) but more often they are harmful (apple, ibm, sun, google stand out as the worst). Sometimes companies play both roles (apple).
But i also know that bigco’s because they are big, have lots of different ideas how the world should work. And that can help.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22/151240.html?title=iDontCareIfYoureAtABigco Save to Pocket
Twitter’s big competitive advantage
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
I wrote this on Twitter this morning. Re-posted here with minimal editing. The fact that I could write it on Twitter was the point.
Twitter has one advantage over all the other social webs. no character limit.
I started typing a post on Threads which has a large character limit compared to the others, but ran out of space and decided to write it over here in twitter instead.
yes they charge me $8 a month for it, but it’s worth it.
we have to get used to the idea of paying for value, it’s how we avoid the messes of the last 20 years. esp if we can make sure we retain copies of everything we write (guaranteed by using our own writing tools, btw) which is another requirement for the new blogosphere.
btw, i’m having a blast these days. it’s like tinkerbell in peter pan. all the open web needed was people to believe it exists for it to come (back) into existence.
still diggin.
ps: i also like they have simple styling, but where are the freaking links, twitter. do I have to pay another $8 to get those??
pps: the worst character limit is bluesky, i can’t write anything there. too bad, it’s a really nice system otherwise.
ppps: it would be nice to give something like this a title so you don’t have to read pgf after pgf to try to figure out where i’m going and if you’re interested. so i gave it a title, using markdown syntax. maybe they could just support markdown. hmmm.
pppps: i asked chatgpt to draw an illustration. that light in the middle of the room is the open social web. it’s a vision of self-reliance, empowerment and cooperation. I asked for the light to be tinkerbell, but i guess they were concerned the image might belong to someone. creeping shitification.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22/151130.html?title=twittersBigCompetitiveAdvantage Save to Pocket
Severe Drought Erased Climate Progress in the Northwest in 2023
date: 2024-02-22, from: Distilled Earth blog
Power emissions rose in the region due to drier conditions and less hydro output
https://www.distilled.earth/p/severe-drought-erased-climate-progress Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Twitter's big competitive advantage.
https://twitter.com/davewiner/status/1760681139407360255 Save to Pocket
Amazon hopes to avoid labor regulation by simply abolishing national watchdogs
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Our right to exploit workers trumps your right to probe
Amazon, currently locked in a legal battle with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over the mega-souk’s treatment of workers, is arguing the watchdog is unconstitutional. And it’s not the only corporation testing that line of reasoning.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/amazon_nlrb_regulation/ Save to Pocket
Amazon seeks to avoid labor problems by abolishing national regulators
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Big Tech takes aim at Big Government
Amazon, currently fighting a legal battle with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over its treatment of workers, is arguing that the labor agency is unconstitutional. And it’s not the only company testing that line of reasoning.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/amazon_nlrb_regualtion/ Save to Pocket
What does California’s rainy season mean for water supply?
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
The vital Sierra Nevada snowpack, which normally supplies about 30% of California’s water when it melts, has rebounded somewhat from a slow start.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/californias-rainy-season-is-here-what-does-it-mean-for-water-supply/ Save to Pocket
YouTuber Puts Tesla Cybertruck’s Wade Mode To The Test, Damage Ensues
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
Some plastic pieces left the conversation but the car still drove fine after the experiment.
https://insideevs.com/news/709616/tesla-cybertruck-water-wade-mode-test-video-damage/ Save to Pocket
NASA to Continue Testing for New Artemis Moon Rocket Engines
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
NASA will conduct an RS-25 hot fire Friday, Feb. 23, moving one step closer to production of new engines that will help power the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, are set to begin the […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/stennis/nasa-to-continue-testing-for-new-artemis-moon-rocket-engines/ Save to Pocket
A list of tautological place names, including Mississippi River (Big River River),…
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044031-a-list-of-tautological-pl Save to Pocket
That’s Leadership
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
One of greatest gifts of a democratic civil society is the freedom not to think about government, to wake up and not worry about the mood of a leader.
The post That’s Leadership appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/thats-leadership/ Save to Pocket
KDE Slimbook V is a Linux laptop with Ryzen 7 7840HS and KDE Plasma 6
date: 2024-02-22, from: Liliputing
The KDE Slimbook is a thin and light laptop that comes from a partnership between Spanish PC maker Slimbook and the developers of KDE, a free and open source desktop environment for GNU/Linux distributions. The two groups have been releasing KDE Slimbook models since 2017, but the new KDE Slimbook V is a big step up from […]
The post KDE Slimbook V is a Linux laptop with Ryzen 7 7840HS and KDE Plasma 6 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/kde-slimbook-v-is-a-linux-laptop-with-ryzen-7-7840hs-and-kde-plasma-6/ Save to Pocket
Dirty Tricks?
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Who exactly are behind “SB Citizens for Democracy”?
The post Dirty Tricks? appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/dirty-tricks-2/ Save to Pocket
7 terrific Bay Area things to do this weekend, Feb. 23-25
date: 2024-02-22, from: San Jose Mercury News
From Noise Pop and “Swan Lake” to brunch spots, inspirational movies and a cider tasting room, here’s how to fill your weekend.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/22/7-terrific-bay-area-things-to-do-this-weekend-feb-23-25/ Save to Pocket
Sirota’s Signals: Yes, $13,000 Per Hour
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Lever News
Plus, the truth about your credit cards, the scourge of our distraction economy, Honest Abe’s dying wish, banning your right to cold beer, and much more.
https://www.levernews.com/sirotas-signals-yes-13-000-per-hour/ Save to Pocket
AI is going to need a global investment, just maybe not $7T, says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Maker of sometimes less than accurate AI chatbot reminds everyone not to believe everything you read on the net
FDC OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has driven a lot of hype around generative AI, but as he reminded attendees at Intel’s Foundry Direct Connect (FDC) event Wednesday, not everything you read on the internet is true.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/openai_intel_chips/ Save to Pocket
VinFast (VFS) Q4, full 2023 results: Rising revenues help offset missed delivery targets
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
After giving the public a glimpse of its Q4 2023 delivery targets last month, VinFast shared its full financial results for the previous quarter and year-over-year comparisons. Revenues are up, but the Vietnamese automaker will have to truly ramp up if it wants to reach its newly proposed delivery targets for 2024.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/vinfast-vin-q4-full-2023-results-revenues-missed-delivery-targets/ Save to Pocket
Hardened Gentoo with Full Disk Encryption on the Star Labs StarBook Mk VI
date: 2024-02-22, from: mrusme blog
A brief guide on installing Gentoo Linux with Full Disk Encryption and the hardened profile, with SELinux, on the Star Labs StarBook Mk VI.
https://xn–gckvb8fzb.com/hardened-gentoo-with-full-disk-encryption-on-the-star-labs-starbook-mk-vi/ Save to Pocket
Touratech’s Honda XL750 Transalp Comfort Seat Will See You Go That Extra Mile
date: 2024-02-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Ergonomically designed to keep your butt nice and comfy.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/709607/touratech-comfort-seat-honda-xl750-transalp/ Save to Pocket
Americans wake to widespread AT&T cellular outages
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-23, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Telco battles to fix busted connectivity as other carriers feel the effects
Final update Residents of the United States woke this morning to widespread outages of AT&T’s cellular service.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/att_outage_usa/ Save to Pocket
Americans wake to widespread cellular outages, cause unclear
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Most reports center on AT&T, which has admitted trouble; T-Mobile, Verizon deny issues
Residents of the United States woke this morning to find widespread outages in cellular service, with AT&T bearing the brunt of a seemingly nationwide issue.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/americans_wake_to_widespread_cellular/ Save to Pocket
Prologue first drive: A beginner-level EV on par with Honda’s first entry into the segment
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
Honda Motor Company sits on the cusp of delivering its first EV – the Prologue – to the US market. Developed with the help of General Motors, this all-electric SUV is a notable start to zero-emissions vehicles and should do well with fans of the Japanese brand who are new to EVs. I got to drive the Prologue in California last month and have plenty of thoughts.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/prologue-first-drive-beginner-level-ev-honda-first-entry-into-segment-suv/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Another
Beatles post. Even though they are, for me, the biggest band ever, I’ve
never been able to see the connection to the John Lennon of the early
Beatles, and the long-haired bespectacled wild John Lennon that came
later. I don’t
see
them as the same person. Not the other Beatles, they all make sense
to me. Sometimes they have longer hair or a beard or whatever, but it’s
still the same face as before. Also I have trouble figuring out which
Beatle is singing sometimes. On some songs it’s perfectly obvious,
others I have no clue. For example Norwegian Wood, Strawberry Fields and
Lucy in the Sky, that’s John of course. Right? Hey Jude, that’s clearly
Paul, as is Let it Be, Yesterday. But for years I didn’t know who sang
Lady Madonna. Martha My Dear? Paul could sing so many different kinds of
music. John, not so much. I guess. I’m still pretty unsure.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22.html#a135818 Save to Pocket
Another Beatles post
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
Even
though they are, for me, the biggest band ever, I’ve never been able to
see the connection to the John Lennon of the early Beatles, and the
long-haired bespectacled wild John Lennon that came later. I don’t
see
them as the same person. Not the other Beatles, they all make sense
to me. Sometimes they have longer hair or a beard or whatever, but it’s
still the same face as before. Also I have trouble figuring out which
Beatle is singing sometimes. On some songs it’s perfectly obvious,
others I have no clue. For example Norwegian Wood, Come Together,
Strawberry Fields and Lucy in the Sky, that’s John of course. Right? Hey
Jude, that’s clearly Paul, as is Let it Be, Yesterday. But for years I
didn’t know who sang Lady Madonna. Martha My Dear? Paul could sing so
many different kinds of music. John, not so much. I guess. I’m still
pretty unsure.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/22/135818.html?title=anotherBeatlesPost Save to Pocket
British Judges to Rule on US Extradition of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
London — British judges are set to rule whether Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, will be extradited to the United States after he launched a last-ditch legal bid this week to block the order, the latest chapter in a legal battle stretching back nearly 14 years.
U.S. prosecutors are seeking Assange’s extradition in relation to 18 federal charges relating to allegations of hacking and theft of classified material, after Wikileaks published a trove of stolen U.S. diplomatic cables and military documents in 2010 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reserved judgement
The two-day hearing at the High Court in London concluded Wednesday and the two senior judges hearing the case are expected to deliver a ruling in the coming days or weeks. “We will reserve our decision,” judge Victoria Sharp said. It is unclear when she and fellow judge Jeremy Johnson will issue their decision.
Julian Assange’s supporters staged demonstrations outside the London court and in cities across the world, with protestors marching on U.S. embassies to demand Assange’s release.
Assange was not present at the High Court due to his poor health, and he did not appear via video link.
Assange’s defense
His defense lawyers argued the extradition warrant was politically motivated and that Assange was simply doing his job as a journalist by publishing the stolen U.S. files, according to Simon Crowther, a legal adviser for the human rights group Amnesty International, which is campaigning for the extradition order to be blocked.
“Firstly, they pointed out this is something that journalists do all the time: you receive classified material as journalists from confidential sources and you publish it when it’s in the public interest, particularly when it covers issues such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, accusations of torture, extrajudicial execution,” Crowther said.
“So, Julian Assange’s lawyers were able to point to legal arguments and found legal precedent that showed that this is political action that journalists take. And as a result, they say it’s outside of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and the U.K.,” he added.
Crowther said the second argument the lawyers made is that Assange’s actions were protected under guarantees of freedom of expression.
Press freedom
Press freedom campaigners have called for the United States to drop the charges against Assange and for him to be released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in London. Rebecca Vincent, the director of campaigns at Reporters Without Borders, said Assange would not get a fair trial in the United States.
“The publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of the leaked classified documents exposed information that was in the public interest and informed journalism around the world. The prosecutor and other US officials have stated that as a foreign national, Assange will not be afforded First Amendment protections. Combined with the fact that the Espionage Act has no public interest defense, that means he cannot get a fair trial,” Vincent told VOA in a statement.
US prosecutors
U.S. prosecutors insist that Assange would receive a fair trial. In past hearings, British judges have also ruled that Assange would receive fair treatment under the U.S. judicial system.
Clair Dobbin, one of the lawyers representing the U.S. government, argued that Assange had encouraged people to steal documents, and that the published material contained unredacted names of U.S. sources, putting their lives at risk. She told the court this week that Assange had published them “indiscriminately” without redactions, and alleged that his actions were “unprecedented” and did not constitute journalism.
Assange could not therefore be “treated as akin to an ordinary journalist or Wikileaks akin to an ordinary publisher,” she said.
WikiLeaks cables
In 2010, WikiLeaks published a trove of diplomatic cables relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that had been stolen by the U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange said Manning’s leaks exposed abuses by the United States military, including potential war crimes.
Assange was first arrested in Britain in 2010 on unrelated allegations of rape and sexual assault in Sweden. He jumped bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he stayed for seven years.
Sweden later dropped the charges. However, Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in 2019 and imprisoned for breaching bail.
The British government signed an extradition order to the United States in June 2022, after successive failed legal challenges by Assange.
‘Life in danger’
Assange’s wife Stella has repeatedly claimed that the 52-year-old’s life is in danger if he is extradited to the U.S. “It’s an attack on all journalists, all over the world. It’s an attack on the truth and an attack on the public’s right to know. Julian is a political prisoner, and his life is at risk,” she told reporters outside the High Court as the hearing began this week.
In previous legal challenges, Assange’s lawyers unsuccessfully sought to block the extradition on claims that the U.S. prison system would constitute a risk to his life, potentially causing him to commit suicide.
“If he was extradited to the U.S., Julian Assange could be held in solitary confinement – prolonged solitary confinement. And that constitutes a violation of the (convention on the) prohibition of torture,” Amnesty’s Simon Crowther told VOA.
U.S. authorities have disputed the notion that Assange would inevitably be held in solitary confinement.
Prison term
If he is found guilty in the U.S., Assange’s lawyers say he could face a prison sentence of up to 175 years, but a term of 30 to 40 years was more likely. U.S. prosecutors have said he would serve no more than 63 months.
The Australian parliament last week called for Assange, who holds Australian citizenship, to be allowed to return to his homeland in a motion supported by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
If Assange wins his case at the British High Court, a full appeal hearing will be held. If his legal bid fails, the case could be taken to the European Court of Human Rights. However, Britain could seek to extradite Assange to the United States before European judges could rule on the case.
https://www.voanews.com/a/british-judges-to-rule-on-us-extradition-of-wikileaks-julian-assange/7498019.html Save to Pocket
Lectric XPeak e-bike review: Here’s why it’s the highest-value adventure bike out there
date: 2024-02-22, from: Electrek Feed
The Phoenix-based electric bike brand Lectric Ebikes is known for rolling out some of the best bang-for-your-buck electric bicycles in the US. Time after time, the company has entered new markets and broken ground with high-performing, low-cost e-bikes that send the competition into panic. And the $1,299 Lectric XPeak might just be the best example of that high-value game plan yet.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/22/lectric-xpeak-e-bike-review-heres-why-its-the-highest-value-adventure-bike-out-there/ Save to Pocket
Will SCOTUS Block a Major Air Pollution Rule?
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Heavy rain caused extreme flooding outside Rio de Janeiro • Japan is enduring record-breaking warm winter weather • It’ll be 72 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny at Peoria Stadium in Arizona for the MLB’s first spring training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.
THE TOP FIVE
- Supreme Court weighs challenge to EPA pollution rule
The Supreme Court this week has been hearing arguments
in what CNN
called
“the most significant environmental dispute at the high court this
year,” and things aren’t looking good for the Environmental Protection
Agency. Several states and energy companies want to block the EPA’s
“good neighbor” plan, which seeks to impose strict emissions limits on
industrial activities in 23 states in an effort to prevent pollution
from drifting across state lines and forming dangerous smog. Challengers
say the regulation is overreaching and want its implementation delayed.
Yesterday the court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical of the
EPA’s authority, citing the fact that lower court decisions have paused
the regulation in 12 states.
Environmental groups worry a
ruling against the EPA here could set a dangerous precedent. “The
Supreme Court — if it were to block this rule — would effectively be
saying to industry, ‘Look, any time you face costs from a regulation,
come on up and take a shot. We might block that rule for you,’” Sam
Sankar, senior vice president for programs at Earthjustice,
told
E&E News.
- Rivian to cut 10% of salaried workers
Rivian released its Q4 earnings yesterday, and the results were a mixed bag. The company saw $4.4 billion in annual revenue, up 167% from 2022, but it still lost more money per vehicle ($43,000) in Q4 than in the two quarters prior. It also forecast no growth in vehicle production for 2024, and said it will cut 10% of its staff as EV sales growth slows. “We firmly believe in the full electrification of the automotive industry, but recognize in the short-term, the challenging macro-economic conditions,” CEO RJ Scaringe said. The company is expected to unveil its smaller, more affordable R2 electric SUV in two weeks. Scaringe has called the vehicle “Rivian’s version of the Tesla Model 3.”
- America will soon get its first Stellantis EV
In more EV news, Stellantis announced that its first U.S.-bound electric vehicles have rolled off the assembly lines in Italy this week and will arrive stateside by the end of the first quarter. The first dealer allocations of the Fiat 500e models sold out in less than a week. The car is lightweight, has a range of about 150 miles, and is one of the cheapest EVs in the U.S., starting at $32,500. Globally it has sold more than 185,000 units, but Stellantis seems to know Americans like big cars, and reportedly plans to launch electric pickups, SUVs, and muscle cars.
Fiat
500eStellantis
- China’s climate targets in jeopardy as CO2 emissions rise
China’s carbon emissions increased by 12% between 2020 and 2023, putting its 2025 climate goals in jeopardy, according to analysis from Carbon Brief. One reason for the emissions uptick is that drought has reduced output from hydropower, forcing China to rely more on coal. “China has approved 218 GW of new coal power in just two years, enough to supply electricity to the whole of Brazil,” reported Reuters. But at the same time, huge amounts of renewable energy are coming online. This presents a strange contradiction: Coal plants will see less use, which could spark outcry from all the new coal plant operators, and “potential pushback against the energy transition,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. China is the world’s biggest CO2 emitter.
- ‘World’s most sustainable company’ sued for pollution
Radius Recycling, the metal recycling giant that research firm Corporate Knights last year dubbed the “world’s most sustainable company,” is being sued by an environmental group for allegedly polluting the San Francisco Bay with heavy metals and other pollutants, Reuters reported. Radius makes “some of the lowest-carbon emissions steel made in the world,” but has recently pivoted to focus more on recycling metals. The lawsuit, brought by San Francisco Baykeeper, accuses the company of failing to limit pollution from its operations. Last year Radius settled in three similar lawsuits.
THE KICKER
Sales of plug-in hybrids increased by 83% in China last year, compared with 21% growth for fully-electric battery powered vehicles.
https://heatmap.news/politics/scotus-epa-good-neighbor-pollution Save to Pocket
EU wants to make undersea internet cables more resilient
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Threat to data means submarine infrastructures should get status of ‘highest possible national significance’
The European Commission has issued recommendations to up the security and resilience of submarine data cables, but says private finance should fund projects to expand capacity, assisted by governments where necessary.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/eu_wants_to_make_undersea/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
An Approach to Paying for Everything That’s Free.
https://projectvrm.org/2024/01/28/an-approach-to-paying-for-everything-thats-free/ Save to Pocket
Cellular Outages Hit Thousands in US, AT&T Users Most Affected
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/cellular-outages-hit-thousands-in-us-at-t-users-most-affected-/7498006.html Save to Pocket
NASA Center Boosted YF-12 Supersonic Engine Research
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
Supersonic flight became a reality in October 1947, when the Bell X-1 rocket plane broke the sound barrier. NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now, NASA Glenn), which had served as the agency’s aeropropulsion leader since it was established in the 1940s, subsequently helped NASA advance the technology needed to make longer supersonic flights possible. […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-center-boosted-yf-12-supersonic-engine-research/ Save to Pocket
Good news on the emissions front
date: 2024-02-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report
In a bright spot for news on the climate crisis, new data shows that U.S. carbon emissions dipped by 1.8% last year. Most of the reduction in emissions is coming from the power sector. We’ll explore what’s driving the shift and where progress still needs to be made. Plus, Nvidia saw a 265% revenue bump from a year ago. Then, inflation and health care remain key worries for voters.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/good-news-on-the-emissions-front Save to Pocket
Volvo EX30 Winter Energy Consumption Test Leaves Much To Be Desired
date: 2024-02-22, from: Inside EVs News
The car was running pre-production software, but the real-world energy consumption was almost double the advertised figure.
https://insideevs.com/news/709666/volvo-ex30-winter-energy-consumption/ Save to Pocket
Pluralistic: The majority of censorship is self-censorship; The Bezzle excerpt (Part V) (22 Feb 2024)
date: 2024-02-22, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links The majority of censorship is self-censorship: …But the majority of self-censorship is intentionally cultivated by an outside power. The Bezzle excerpt (Part V): Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading The majority of censorship is self-censorship (permalink) I know a lot of polymaths, but Ada Palmer takes the cake: brilliant science fiction writer, brilliant historian, brilliant librettist, brilliant singer, and then some: https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#terra-ignota Palmer is a friend and a colleague. In 2018, she, Adrian Johns and I collaborated on “Censorship, Information Control, & Information Revolutions from Printing Press to Internet,” a series of grad seminars at the U Chicago History department (where Ada is a tenured prof, specializing in the Inquisition and Renaissance forbidden knowledge): https://ifk.uchicago.edu/research/faculty-fellow-projects/censorship-information-control-information-revolutions-from-printing-press/ The project had its origins in a party game that Ada and I used to play at SF conventions: Ada would describe a way that the Inquisitions’ censors attacked the printing press, and I’d find an extremely parallel maneuver from governments, the entertainment industry or other entities from the much more recent history of internet censorship battles. With the seminars, we took it to the next level. Each 3h long session featured a roster of speakers from many disciplines, explaining everything from how encryption works to how white nationalists who were radicalized in Vietnam formed an armored-car robbery gang to finance modems and Apple ][+s to link up neo-Nazis across the USA. We borrowed the structure of these sessions from science fiction conventions, home to a very specific kind of panel that doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s fantastic. It was a natural choice: after all, Ada and I know each other through science fiction. Even if you’re not an sf person, you’ve probably heard of the Hugo Awards, the most prestigious awards in the field, voted on each year by attendees of the annual World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). And even if you’re not an sf fan, you might have heard about a scandal involving the Hugo Awards, which were held last year in China, a first: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/science-fiction-authors-excluded-hugo-awards-china-rcna139134 A little background: each year’s Worldcon is run by a committee of volunteers. These volunteers put together bids to host the Worldcon, and canvass Worldcon attendees to vote in favor of their bid. For many years, a group of Chinese fans attempted to field a successful bid to host a Worldcon, and, eventually, they won. At the time, there were many concerns: about traveling to a country with a poor human rights record and a reputation for censorship, and about the logistics of customary Worldcon attendees getting visas. During this debate, many international fans pointed to the poor human rights record in the USA (which has hosted the vast majority of Worldcons since their inception), and the absolute ghastly rigmarole the US government subjects many foreign visitors to when they seek visas to come to the US for conventions. Whatever side of this debate you came down on, it couldn’t be denied that the Chinese Worldcon rang a lot of alarm-bells. Communications were spotty, and then the con was unceremoniously rescheduled for months after the original scheduled date, without any good explanation. Rumors swirled of Chinese petty officials muscling their way into the con’s administration. But the real alarm bells started clanging after the Hugo Award ceremony. Normally, after the Hugos are given out, attendees are given paper handouts tallying the nominations and votes, and those numbers are also simultaneously published online. Technically, the Hugo committee has a grace period of some weeks before this data must be published, but at every Worldcon I’ve attended over the past 30+ years, I left the Hugos with a data-sheet in my hand. Then, in early December, at the very last moment, the Hugo committee released its data – and all hell broke loose. Numerous, acclaimed works had been unilaterally “disqualified” from the ballot. Many of these were written by writers from the Chinese diaspora, but some works – like an episode of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – were seemingly unconnected to any national considerations. Readers and writers erupted in outrage, demanding to know what had happened. The Hugo administrators – Americans and Canadians who’d volunteered in those roles for many years and were widely viewed as being members in good standing of the community – were either silent or responded with rude and insulting remarks. One thing they didn’t do was explain themselves. The absence of facts left a void that rumors and speculation rushed in to fill. Stories of Chinese official censorship swirled online, and along with them, a kind of I-told-you-so: China should never have been home to a Worldcon, the country’s authoritarian national politics are fundamentally incompatible with a literary festival. As the outrage mounted and the scandal breached from the confines of science fiction fans and writers to the wider world, more details kept emerging. A damning set of internal leaks revealed that it was those long-serving American and Canadian volunteers who decided to censor the ballot. They did so out of a vague sense that the Chinese state would visit some unspecified sanction on the con if politically unpalatable works appeared on the Hugo ballot. Incredibly, they even compiled clumsy dossiers on nominees, disqualifying one nominee out of a mistaken belief that he had once visited Tibet (it was actually Nepal). There’s no evidence that the Chinese state asked these people to do this. Likewise, it wasn’t pressure from the Chinese state that caused them to throw out hundreds of ballots cast by Chinese fans, whom they believed were voting for a “slate” of works (it’s not clear if this is the case, but slate voting is permitted under Hugo rules). All this has raised many questions about the future of the Hugo Awards, and the status of the awards that were given in China. There’s widespread concern that Chinese fans involved with the con may face state retaliation due to the negative press that these shenanigans stirred up. But there’s also a lot of questions about censorship, and the nature of both state and private censorship, and the relationship between the two. These are questions that Ada is extremely well-poised to answer; indeed, they’re the subject of her book-in-progress, entitled Why We Censor: from the Inquisition to the Internet. In a magisterial essay for Reactor, Palmer stakes out her central thesis: “The majority of censorship is self-censorship, but the majority of self-censorship is intentionally cultivated by an outside power”: https://reactormag.com/tools-for-thinking-about-censorship/ States – even very powerful states – that wish to censor lack the resources to accomplish totalizing censorship of the sort depicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four. They can’t go from house to house, searching every nook and cranny for copies of forbidden literature. The only way to kill an idea is to stop people from expressing it in the first place. Convincing people to censor themselves is, “dollar for dollar and man-hour for man-hour, much cheaper and more impactful than anything else a censorious regime can do.” Ada invokes examples modern and ancient, including from her own area of specialty, the Inquisition and its treatment of Gailileo. The Inquistions didn’t set out to silence Galileo. If that had been its objective, it could have just assassinated him. This was cheap, easy and reliable! Instead, the Inquisition persecuted Galileo, in a very high-profile manner, making him and his ideas far more famous. But this isn’t some early example of Inquisitorial Streisand Effect. The point of persecuting Galileo was to convince Descartes to self-censor, which he did. He took his manuscript back from the publisher and cut the sections the Inquisition was likely to find offensive. It wasn’t just Descartes: “thousands of other major thinkers of the time wrote differently, spoke differently, chose different projects, and passed different ideas on to the next century because they self-censored after the Galileo trial.” This is direct self-censorship, where people are frightened into silencing themselves. But there’s another form of censorship, which Ada calls “middlemen censorship.” That’s when someone other than the government censors a work because they fear what the government would do if they didn’t. Think of Scholastic’s cowardly decision to pull inclusive, LGBTQ books out of its book fair selections even though no one had ordered them to do so: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/books/scholastic-book-racism-maggie-tokuda-hall.html This is a form of censorship outsourcing, and it “multiplies the manpower of a censorship system by the number of individuals within its power.” The censoring body doesn’t need to hire people to search everyone’s houses for offensive books – it can frighten editors, publishers, distributors, booksellers and librarians into suppressing the books in the first place. This outsourcing blurs the line between state and private surveillance. Think about comics. After a series of high-profile Congressional hearings about the supposed danger of comics to impressionable young minds, the comics industry undertook a regime of self-censorship, through which the private Comics Code Authority would vet comings for “dangerous” content before allowing its seal of approval to appear on the comics’ covers. Distributors and retailers refused to carry books without a CCA stamp, so publishers refused to publish books unless they could get a CCA stamp. The CCA was unaccountable, capricious – and racist. By the 60s and 70s, it became clear that comic about Black characters were subjected to much tighter scrutiny than comics featuring white heroes. The CCA would reject “a drop of sweat on the forehead of a Black astronaut as ‘too graphic’ since it ‘could be mistaken for blood.’” Every comic that got sent back by the CCA meant long, brutal reworkings by writers and illustrators to get them past the censors. The US government never censored heroes like Black Panther, but the chain of events that created the CCA “middleman censors” made sure that Black Panther appeared in far fewer comics starring Marvel’s most prominent Black character. An analysis of censorship that tries to draw a line between private and public censorship would say that the government played no role in Black Panther’s banishment to obscurity – but without Congressional action, Black Panther would never have faced censorship. This is why attempts to cleanly divide public and private censorship always break down. Many people will tell you that when Twitter or Facebook blocks content they disagree with, that’s not censorship, since censorship is government action, and these are private actors. What they mean is that Twitter and Facebook censorship doesn’t violate the First Amendment, but it’s perfectly possible to infringe on free speech without violating the US Constitution. What’s more, if the government fails to prevent monopolization of our speech forums – like social media – and also declines to offer its own public speech forums that are bound to respect the First Amendment, we can end up with government choices that produce an environment in which some ideas are suppressed wherever they might find an audience – all without violating the Constitution: https://locusmag.com/2020/01/cory-doctorow-inaction-is-a-form-of-action/ The great censorious regimes of the past – the USSR, the Inquisition – left behind vast troves of bureaucratic records, and these records are full of complaints about the censors’ lack of resources. They didn’t have the manpower, the office space, the money or the power to erase the ideas they were ordered to suppress. As Ada notes, “In the period that Spain’s Inquisition was wildly out of Rome’s control, the Roman Inquisition even printed manuals to guide its Inquisitors on how to bluff their way through pretending they were on top of what Spain was doing!” Censors have always done – and still do – their work not by wielding power, but by projecting it. Even the most powerful state actors are not powerful enough to truly censor, in the sense of confiscating every work expressing an idea and punishing everyone who creates such a work. Instead, when they rely on self-censorship, both by individuals and by intermediaries. When censors act to block one work and not another, or when they punish one transgressor while another is free to speak, it’s tempting to think that they are following some arcane ruleset that defines when enforcement is strict and when it’s weak. But the truth is, they censor erratically because they are too weak to censor comprehensively. Spectacular acts of censorship and punishment are a performance, “to change the way people act and think.” Censors “seek out actions that can cause the maximum number of people to notice and feel their presence, with a minimum of expense and manpower.” The censor can only succeed by convincing us to do their work for them. That’s why drawing a line between state censorship and private censorship is such a misleading exercise. Censorship is, and always has been, a public-private partnership. The Bezzle excerpt (Part V) (permalink) I’m out on tour with my new novel, The Bezzle, a cyberpunk revenge thriller about Marty Hench, a two-fisted forensic accountant, and a guerrilla war he wages on a prison-tech provider that treats incarcerated people as assets to be strip-mined: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#acab As part of the promotion for the book, I’ve been serializing an excerpt: Chapter 14, in which Marty takes on a side-quest to recover the stolen royalties of one-time funk star Stephon Magner (AKA Steve Soul) which were stolen by his scumbag manager and then sold on to an even scummier sample-licensing clearinghouse. Today, I bring you part five, in which Marty’s simple cross-referencing project is violently altered by an encounter with the criminal gangs of the LA Sheriffs Deputy departments, a real crime-syndicate whose reign of terror continues to this day: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-17/dozens-of-lasd-deputies-ordered-to-show-suspected-gang-tattoos-reveal-others-who-have-them I’m posting this installment en route to San Diego, where I’ll be appearing tonight at Mysterious Galaxy: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/22224Doctorow From there, it’s back to LA, where I’m appearing on Saturday evening with Adam Conover at Vroman’s: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle And then on Monday I’ll be in Seattle at Third Place Books with Neal Stephenson: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow From there, I’m off to Portland, Phoenix, Tucson and points further: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour Here’s part one of the serial: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease Part two: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination Part three: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/20/fore/#lawyer-up Part four: https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#poacher-turned-keeper And now, part five! * * * The storefront had an old break room with a first-aid kit, and a bathroom with a sink. I sponged myself clean in the mirror, ate two expired Aleves and three 200 mg expired Tylenols out of the kit. The ass was ripped most of the way out of my pants, so I moved my wallet to my front pocket, which my massage therapist had been nagging at me to do for years. I opened the door more carefully this time and limped out into the parking lot. My rental—a little red Civic—was the only car left in the parking lot, except for a rusted junker with no tires that was the perennial sentry of its farthest corner. I bipped the doors open with my fob, checked the back seat, then slid inside. I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror and winced, which pulled at my bruises and set blood oozing from my lip and cheekbone again, which made me wince harder. I was already halfway to Quasimodo and I tried to remember if there was a 7-Eleven on the route home where I could buy a couple of bags of frozen peas for the swelling. I reset the mirror and backed out of my spot. The pain was increasing. They’d have Advil at the 7-Eleven, and I’d remembered where there was one on the way back to my Airbnb. As I waited for a red light at Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevard, I watched as a homeless man labored across the road with his shopping cart. I was still watching him when I realized the light had been green for some time and had just toggled yellow. I made the turn and headed up Colorado, but I was barely a hundred yards down the road when I heard a siren blat and saw the police lights. I checked my mirrors and saw the LASD cruiser directly behind me, racing right up to my bumper, slowing only at the very last moment. The cruiser’s high beams blinked insistently and the siren whooped. I pulled over. I waited while the officer slowly got out of his car and walked to my driver’s-side window. I kept my hands at ten and two. The officer tapped my window and made a roll-down motion, so I hit the button, moving slowly, putting my hand back. I got a light in my face, squinting and thus reopening my cheekbone and lip. “Everything all right, sir?” “Yes,” I said, feeling the blood ooze down my chin. “I was beaten up,” I said, stating the obvious. “That is unfortunate,” the officer said. “License and registration.” I got my driver’s license out of my wallet and found the rental papers in the glove box and handed them over. He crunched back to his cruiser and I watched him in the side mirror. He’d left his cruiser’s headlights on and in the glare it was hard to tell, but it looked like there was another cop in the car whom he was conferring with. After a long delay, he came back. “Step out of the car, please.” I did. He turned me around and had me plant my hands on the hood, kicked my feet apart, and roughly frisked me, getting his hand inside the rent in the seat of my pants and patting my boxer shorts and giving my balls a hard squeeze. “Sir, do you know why I stopped you?” “I don’t,” I said. “You proceeded unsafely through a traffic signal. Have you been drinking, sir?” “I haven’t.” “Have you consumed any cannabis or other drugs?” “I haven’t.” He turned me around and shone his light in my eyes. “If I search your car, am I gonna find any drugs?” “No, sir.” “Because I am gonna search that car and if I do find drugs and you’ve been lying to me, this is gonna be a lot worse than it needs to be.” I didn’t dignify that with a response. My head hurt. My face hurt. My back hurt. This was a bullshit stop. I expected the deputy’s partner to get out of the cruiser while my tormentor tossed the rental car, but he stayed put. I did, too. Obviously. I wasn’t going to take off on foot. I’m a forensic accountant, not a gang kid getting fifteen minutes of fame on Cops. He spent long enough on the rental that I started to worry. Who knew what some previous driver might have shoved between the seats? But after pulling out the floor mats and tossing them onto the grassy verge beside the car, he finally stood up. “All right, sir. I’m going to go and get a breathalyzer test. You can refuse it and I will then suspend your license for twenty- four hours. I will arrest you for a suspected DUI and bring you in for a blood test. If you fail that test, you will be subject to additional criminal penalties. Do you understand me?” He had old coffee on his breath. My face hurt. “I’ll take a test.” Back to the cruiser. It had been half an hour at least. Once the breathalyzer was done—fifteen minutes, if memory served—I could go to the 7-Eleven for painkillers and frozen peas. I decided I’d add a six-pack, I was so tired. My face hurt. I knew that mouthing off to this cop wouldn’t make things go faster, quite the opposite, but as he took his leisurely time coming back to me, I was hard-pressed not to. I blew. “May I sit down?” I asked. “My face hurts.” He didn’t bother to look up from his phone. “Stay where you are, sir.” I stood. My face hurt. Time crawled. Finally, the breathalyzer beeped. He held it up and squinted at it, then used his phone to light up its face. When he did, his sleeve rode up and revealed the “998” tattoo on his forearm. Suddenly, I didn’t care so much about the pain in my face. The cop looked at me. He was an older guy, but quite a silver fox, in a Clooneyoid sort of way. Had the same smile lines at the corners of his lips and eyes. But on him, they looked mean. Dangerous. A man who would smile at you while he beat your face in. “All right, sir,” he said. “I’m going to write you a citation for reckless driving and you will be free to go.” He smiled. “Thank you for your cooperation.” It sounded like “fuck you.” Back to the cruiser again. When he was done writing, he switched off his headlights, and the bubble light inside the car lit up his partner. Heavyset. Smiling. Excellent teeth. He gave me the same look as he had just before kicking me in the ribs. I gasped involuntarily and my ribs burned. His smile got bigger. The Clooneyoid deputy returned with my ticket. I looked at it and then I realized he’d said “reckless driving”—not “dangerous driving.” This was a summons, not a citation. For a misdemeanor. Two points off my license and I’d have to go to court. Depending on the judge, I could be in for fines or even a jail sentence. Clooneyoid saw me figuring this out and he smiled, too. Everyone was having a great time tonight except for poor old Marty Hench. “See you in court, sir,” he said. I exercised extreme care on the drive to the 7-Eleven, even backing out of my parking spot and reparking so that I was perfectly centered between the white lines. The clerk didn’t bat an eye at my hamburger face. I gave myself five minutes to bury my bruises in the frozen peas before I backed out and drove the rest of the way to my Airbnb. I drove five under the limit the whole way, and when I got out of my rental, I looked long and hard up and down the street for an LA Sheriff’s Department cruiser. Hey look at this (permalink) Will GPT models choke on their own exhaust? https://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2023/06/06/will-gpt-models-choke-on-their-own-exhaust/ (h/t John Naughton) Why Flying is Miserable and Why It Doesn’t Have to Be https://lpeproject.org/blog/why-flying-is-miserable-and-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be/ The Big Idea: Cory Doctorow https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/02/21/the-big-idea-cory-doctorow-4/ This day in history (permalink) #15yrsago Parent of gamer asks his son to honor the Geneva Conventions https://memex.craphound.com/2009/02/21/parent-of-gamer-asks-his-son-to-honor-the-geneva-conventions/ #15yrsago UAE plans ban on negative economic reporting https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html #15yrsago UK’s top snoop gets finked out by her neighbours https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/22/jacqui-smith-expenses-inquiry #15yrsago Stimulus bill requires RSS feeds of how the money is spent http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rssstimulus #10yrsago Conservative western bloggers: Ukraine strongman’s pay-for-play useful idiots https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/exclusive-how-ukraine-wooed-conservative-websites #10yrsago I am a Ukrainian: powerful, viral video about Euromaidan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvds2AIiWLA #10yrsago Kansas lawmaker introduces bill to permit teachers to hit children hard enough to bruise https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/02/kansas-spanking-bill-new-legislation-allows-parents-and-teachers-to-hit-kids-harder.html #10yrsago Canadian court rules on copyright trolls: letters can go ahead, under strict supervision https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/03/defending-privacy-doesnt-pay-federal-court-issues-ruling-in-voltage-teksavvy-costs/ #10yrsago Mall cops freak out over steampunk meetup, call the real cops https://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/feb/19/steampunk-carousel-outing-cut-short-security-guard/ #10yrsago Openknit: a Reprap-inspired open source knitting machine http://openknit.org #5yrsago Beyond “more copyright”: how do we improve artists’ lives and livelihoods through policy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0294Y6Lv3Eo #5yrsago Iowa’s electricity monopolist Midamerican Energy has written a bill to let it “monopolize the sun” https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/02/20/new-bill-is-clear-attempt-by-midamerican-to-monopolize-the-sun-in-iowa/ #5yrsago Tucker Carlson thought anti-elite historian would be an easy interview, but ended up telling him “go fuck yourself” https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/20/historian-who-confronted-davos-billionaires-leaks-tucker-carlson-rant #5yrsago As sports company abandons support for “smart” basketball, Nike pushes a software update that bricks its self-tying shoes https://mashable.com/article/nike-app-connected-shoe-bricked#duGbFcvYdsqa #5yrsago The TRUE Fees Act: legislative proposal to force cable/ISP companies to advertise the true cost of their services, inclusive of surcharges https://www.vice.com/en/article/j57ddb/new-bill-would-stop-internet-service-providers-from-screwing-you-with-hidden-fees #1yrago Matt Ruff’s “Destroyer of Worlds” https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/21/the-horror-of-white-magic/#anti-lovecraftian 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: How I Got Scammed (https://craphound.com/news/2024/02/18/how-i-got-scammed/) Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego), Feb 22 https://www.mystgalaxy.com/22224Doctorow The Bezzle at Vroman’s (Pasadena), Feb 24 https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow The Bezzle at Powell’s (Portland) Feb 27: https://www.powells.com/book/the-bezzle-martin-hench-2-9781250865878/1-2 The Bezzle at Changing Hands (Phoenix), Feb 29: https://www.changinghands.com/event/february2024/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 Wondercon Anaheim, Mar 29-31 https://www.comic-con.org/wc/ The Bezzle at Anderson’s Books (Chicago), Apr 17 https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/event/cory-doctorow-1 Torino Biennale Tecnologia (Apr 19-21) https://www.turismotorino.org/en/experiences/events/biennale-tecnologia Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Winnipeg), May 2 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cory-doctorow-tickets-798820071337?aff=oddtdtcreator Tartu Prima Vista Literary Festival (May 5-11) https://tartu2024.ee/en/kirjandusfestival/ Media Ecology Association keynote (Amherst, NY), Jun 6-9 https://media-ecology.org/convention American Association of Law Libraries keynote (Chicago), Jul 21 https://www.aallnet.org/conference/agenda/keynote-speaker/ Recent appearances: Aaron Swartz (EpistemiCast) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5t9QVHSQBjIXKUiN2EvEmK Medieval Enshittification (We’re Not So Different) https://www.spreaker.com/episode/medieval-enshittification-feat-cory-doctorow–58764264 This Is Hell https://thisishell.com/interviews/1701-cory-doctorow Latest books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3062/Available_Feb_20th%3A_The_Bezzle_HB.html#/). “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: 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/2024/02/22/self-censorship/ Save to Pocket
Microsoft extends Copilot in Windows for Insiders
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Don’t want to learn how Windows works? Copilot can help you with that
Windows Insiders are set to receive more Copilot in Windows features, following an update for the Canary and Dev Channels to add extra functions for users unwilling to click through icons.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/microsoft_extends_copilot_in_windows/ Save to Pocket
Stressed Or Upset? Snoop Dogg Is Teaching Kids How To Breathe Through It
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The LAist
Bow Wizzle, voiced by rapper Snoop Dogg, teaches kids how to breathe through stress in his children’s animated series on YouTube.
https://laist.com/news/education/early-childhood-education-pre-k/snoop-dogg-mental-health-kids-breathing Save to Pocket
Another Major Hollywood Union, The IATSE, Is Heading Into Studio Negotiations. Here’s What To Know
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The LAist
IATSE represents more than 150,000 below-the-line entertainment workers, from costume designers to motion picture editors.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/iatse-studio-negotiations-what-to-know Save to Pocket
818 Till You Die? OG 213? LA, You Have Very Strong Feelings About Area Codes
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The LAist
Area codes are a badge of identity for many around Greater L.A. As we prepare for a new one this year, we find out what people think their area codes say about them.
https://laist.com/news/los-angeles-area-codes-818-626-213-downtown-sgv-san-gabriel-orange-county Save to Pocket
Japan’s Nikkei hits record high thanks to chips
date: 2024-02-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Tokyo’s main stock exchange closed at a record high on Thursday, beating a three-decade old record and largely due to semiconductor microchips. The surge comes after U.S.-based chipmaker Nvidia posted Q4 financial results that beat estimates. An Nvidia-based bounce drove tech stocks in Europe too. Also on the program: How will Albania’s controversial migration deal with Italy work?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/japans-nikkei-hits-record-high-thanks-to-chips Save to Pocket
China to Send More Pandas to US, Jump-Starting New Era of ‘Panda Diplomacy’
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
BEIJING — China’s Wildlife Conservation Association is working with the National Zoo in Washington in an arrangement that could bring more pandas back to the United States, signaling improving diplomatic relations between the two superpowers.
China has lent its beloved bears to zoos in various countries over the years as goodwill animal ambassadors and also fostered a modern Sino-U.S. “panda diplomacy” with the gesture.
“Relevant Chinese institutions have signed agreements with the Madrid Zoo in Spain and the San Diego Zoo in the United States on a new round of international cooperation in the protection of giant pandas,” said Mao Ning on Thursday, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, when addressing a query at a regular press briefing.
“They are also working with the Washington National Zoo in the United States and [Viennna Zoo] in Austria to actively negotiate and launch a new round of cooperation.”
Earlier, the Wildlife Conservation Association said on its WeChat social media account that it had reached and signed agreements for the conservation of giant pandas with several zoos.
Back in November, the National Zoo in Washington returned three pandas to China as part of a more than 50-year-old legacy, leaving Georgia’s Zoo Atlanta as the only one in the U.S. with a giant panda program.
That loan agreement for the zoo’s four pandas expires this year, which meant there would be no pandas in the U.S. for the first time since 1972 when the Chinese government presented two giant pandas as gifts to the United States after President Richard Nixon’s historic Cold War visit to China.
“We look forward to a new round of international giant panda protection cooperation with relevant countries, which will further expand scientific research results on the protection of giant pandas and other endangered species, and promote people-to-people bonds and people-to-people friendship,” Mao said.
Over the past year, China and the United States have had fraught relations over a number of global issues from regional wars, trade disputes and ongoing spying allegations. Leaders from both countries have had several round of talks over the past few months to ease tensions.
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-to-send-more-pandas-to-us-jump-starting-new-era-of-panda-diplomacy-/7497926.html Save to Pocket
Boss at one of Microsoft’s largest resellers quits, admits secret share deals
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
London Stock Exchange listed Bytes Technology Group ‘working to clarify details’ after Neil Murphy resigns
Neil Murphy, the boss of Bytes Technology Group – one of Microsoft’s largest cloud and software licensing resellers – has quit with immediate effect, at the same time admitting to making secret stock trades in the company.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/boss_ms_reseller_resigns/ Save to Pocket
A 101-Year-Old’s Fight Against Book Banning
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dan Rather’s Steady
Inspiring young 92-year-olds like me
https://steady.substack.com/p/a-101-year-olds-fight-against-book Save to Pocket
LEVER TIME: The Future Of Lever Podcasts
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Lever News
Lever founder David Sirota shares some exciting news about the future of Lever podcasts.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-time-the-future-of-lever-podcasts/ Save to Pocket
City council megaproject mulls ditching Oracle after budget balloons to £131M
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
As bankrupt local authority slashes services and hikes taxes, consultants enjoy £1k-a-day while system still can’t offer auditable accounts
Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in Europe, is considering ditching Oracle as its main ERP and HR software after a disastrous implementation has left it unable to file auditable accounts, with the budget rising from £20 million ($25 million) to £131 million ($166 million).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/europes_largest_local_authority_weighs/ Save to Pocket
Prompt engineering is a task best left to AI models
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Machine-learning boffins find open source neural nets can optimize their own queries
Large language models have given rise to the dark art of prompt engineering – a process for composing system instructions that elicit better chatbot responses.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/prompt_engineering_ai_models/ Save to Pocket
Hale Hookah co-owner pleads not guilty to drug charges
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A co-owner and manager of a downtown Hilo smoke shop has pleaded not guilty to 16 drug-related charges, 15 of them felonies.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/hawaii-news/hale-hookah-co-owner-pleads-not-guilty-to-drug-charges/ Save to Pocket
CEOs of OpenAI and Intel cite artificial intelligence’s voracious appetite for processing power
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two tech CEOs scrambling to produce more of the sophisticated chips needed for artificial intelligence met for a brainstorming session Wednesday while the booming market’s early leader reported another quarter of eye-popping growth.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/ceos-of-openai-and-intel-cite-artificial-intelligences-voracious-appetite-for-processing-power/ Save to Pocket
Biden says too many Americans are saddled with school debt as he cancels federal loans for 153,000
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CULVER CITY, Calif. — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that while a college degree was still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is often too expensive, as he announced he was canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/biden-says-too-many-americans-are-saddled-with-school-debt-as-he-cancels-federal-loans-for-153000/ Save to Pocket
House committee to hear bill allowing warrantless fireworks searches
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A bill that would allow law enforcers and firefighters to search the premises of fireworks licensees without a warrant is making its way through the state House of Representatives.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/hawaii-news/house-committee-to-hear-bill-allowing-warrantless-fireworks-searches/ Save to Pocket
OpenAI unveils AI that instantly generates eye-popping videos
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — In April, a New York startup called Runway AI unveiled technology that let people generate videos, like a cow at a birthday party or a dog chatting on a smartphone, simply by typing a sentence into a box on a computer screen.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/openai-unveils-ai-that-instantly-generates-eye-popping-videos/ Save to Pocket
Private lunar lander achieves successful orbit ahead of today’s touchdown attempt
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. — A commercial company’s lunar lander launched from Kennedy Space Center last week successfully made it into the moon’s orbit on Wednesday ahead of its attempt today to stick the landing.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/private-lunar-lander-achieves-successful-orbit-ahead-of-todays-touchdown-attempt/ Save to Pocket
Chicago Bears add Jennifer King as their 1st ever female assistant coach
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears have hired Jennifer King as their first female coach in franchise history working as an offensive assistant with running backs. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/chicago-bears-add-jennifer-king-as-their-1st-ever-female-assistant-coach/ Save to Pocket
The stretch run of the NBA season has arrived. It’s time for the playoff push
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>There’s no NBA player who is a bigger fan of harness racing than Denver’s Nikola Jokic. He owns horses, goes to tracks whenever he can and even accepted one of his MVP awards while riding around at his farm in Serbia. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/the-stretch-run-of-the-nba-season-has-arrived-its-time-for-the-playoff-push/ Save to Pocket
Alabama’s IVF ruling shows our slide toward theocracy
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>If you don’t think this country is sliding toward theocracy, you’re not paying attention.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/opinion/alabamas-ivf-ruling-shows-our-slide-toward-theocracy/ Save to Pocket
BIIF wrestlers prep for this weekend’s state championship
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A total of 135 BIIF wrestlers qualified for the Hawaii High School Interscholastic Association (HHSAA) state championship based on their performances at the Central Pacific Bank/BIIF championship last weekend in Kealakekua.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/biif-wrestlers-prep-for-this-weekends-state-championship/ Save to Pocket
Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i defeats Konawaena High 6-1
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KEA‘AU — The Kamehameha Schools - Hawai‘i baseball team defeated Konawaena High 6-1 in the leeward side’s first regular season BIIF DII matchup on Wednesday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/kamehameha-schools-hawaii-defeats-konawaena-high-6-1/ Save to Pocket
‘Rust’ movie shooting trial begins after bumpy road to prosecution
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — More than two years after Alec Baldwin fired the deadly shot, questions persist about who was responsible for the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western movie “Rust.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/rust-movie-shooting-trial-begins-after-bumpy-road-to-prosecution/ Save to Pocket
Christian Horner with Red Bull team at start of F1 testing in Bahrain despite ongoing investigation
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SAKHIR, Bahrain — Team principal Christian Horner was with Red Bull as Formula 1 preseason testing began Wednesday even as he faces an ongoing investigation by the team’s parent company into an alleged claim of misconduct. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/christian-horner-with-red-bull-team-at-start-of-f1-testing-in-bahrain-despite-ongoing-investigation/ Save to Pocket
Your Views for February 22
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>County in way of Kapoho’s success</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/opinion/your-views-for-february-22-8/ Save to Pocket
Another verdict against the con man
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In ordering defendant Donald Trump to pay New York State more than a third of a billion dollars, Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron cited exact figures of how much Trump was improperly enriched by his cheating and lying.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/opinion/another-verdict-against-the-con-man/ Save to Pocket
James Biden tells GOP lawmakers that Joe Biden had no involvement in the family’s business dealings
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden “never had any involvement” in the business dealings of other members of his family, his brother James Biden testified Wednesday as he appeared for a voluntary private interview on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/james-biden-tells-gop-lawmakers-that-joe-biden-had-no-involvement-in-the-familys-business-dealings/ Save to Pocket
‘Massive amounts of data’ could delay trial of former public official accused of killing Las Vegas reporter
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAS VEGAS — The murder trial for a former elected official accused of killing Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German is scheduled to begin next month, but attorneys may still push back the case.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/massive-amounts-of-data-could-delay-trial-of-former-public-official-accused-of-killing-las-vegas-reporter/ Save to Pocket
FuboTV files lawsuit over ESPN, Fox, Hulu, Warner Bros. Discovery sports-streaming venture
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Streaming service FuboTV has filed an antitrust lawsuit against ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu, which are planning to launch a sports-streaming venture in the fall. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/fubotv-files-lawsuit-over-espn-fox-hulu-warner-bros-discovery-sports-streaming-venture/ Save to Pocket
BIIF volleyball: HPA eager to begin season with new-look team
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WAIMEA — Chemistry. Focus. Ambition. Excitement.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/biif-volleyball-hpa-eager-to-begin-season-with-new-look-team/ Save to Pocket
In Latin America, Guards Don’t Control Prisons, Gangs Do
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Ecuador’s military was sent in to seize control of the country’s prisons last month after two major gang leaders escaped and criminal groups quickly set off a nationwide revolt that paralyzed the country.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/in-latin-america-guards-dont-control-prisons-gangs-do/ Save to Pocket
Boeing ousts head of 737 jetliner program weeks after panel blowout on a flight over Oregon
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing said Wednesday that the head of its 737 jetliner program is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight over Oregon, renewing questions about safety at the company.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/boeing-ousts-head-of-737-jetliner-program-weeks-after-panel-blowout-on-a-flight-over-oregon/ Save to Pocket
White House weighing executive actions on the border — with immigration powers used by Trump
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The White House is considering using provisions of federal immigration law repeatedly tapped by former President Donald Trump to unilaterally enact a sweeping crackdown at the southern border, according to three people familiar with the deliberations.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/white-house-weighing-executive-actions-on-the-border-with-immigration-powers-used-by-trump/ Save to Pocket
A tiny isle’s 20-year fight to reclaim its valuable domain on the internet
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The South Pacific island of Niue is one the most remote places in the world. Its closest neighbors, Tonga and American Samoa, are hundreds of miles away. The advent of the internet promised, in a small way, to make Niue and its 2,000 or so residents more connected to the rest of the world.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/a-tiny-isles-20-year-fight-to-reclaim-its-valuable-domain-on-the-internet/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for February 22
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Masao Kuniyoshi, 94, of Hilo died Feb. 2 at Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home. Born in Hilo, he was a retired Hilo Intermediate School and Pahoa School principal, U.S. Army veteran and member of Hilo Y’s Men’s Club. Private services held. No flowers or koden (monetary gifts). Survived by sons, David (Eloise) Kuniyoshi and James (Joyce Diama-Kuniyoshi) Kuniyoshi of Hilo; sister, Lurline (Richard) Ikeda of California; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-22-9/ Save to Pocket
US warns allies Russia could put a nuclear weapon into orbit this year
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>BERLIN — U.S. intelligence agencies have told their closest European allies that if Russia is going to launch a nuclear weapon into orbit, it will probably do so this year — but that it might instead launch a harmless “dummy” warhead into orbit to leave the West guessing about its capabilities.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/us-warns-allies-russia-could-put-a-nuclear-weapon-into-orbit-this-year/ Save to Pocket
Jeff Bezos’ big rocket moves into view and closer to launch
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — There’s an easy knock against the space dreams of Jeff Bezos and his rocket company, Blue Origin: In its 24th year of existence, the company has yet to launch a single thing to orbit.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/jeff-bezos-big-rocket-moves-into-view-and-closer-to-launch/ Save to Pocket
An online dump of Chinese hacking documents offers a rare window into pervasive state surveillance
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and foreigners.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/an-online-dump-of-chinese-hacking-documents-offers-a-rare-window-into-pervasive-state-surveillance/ Save to Pocket
Hawaii state and county officials seeking $1B from Legislature for Maui recovery
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii state and county officials have requested about $1 billion from the Legislature to help cover Maui wildfire recovery expenses in the near term.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/nation-world-news/hawaii-state-and-county-officials-seeking-1b-from-legislature-for-maui-recovery/ Save to Pocket
Pittsburgh Penguins loaded up for one last run. Mired in the standings, time may already be up
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>PITTSBURGH — Kyle Dubas wants to give Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins every opportunity to prove they’re worth investing in this season. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/22/sports/pittsburgh-penguins-loaded-up-for-one-last-run-mired-in-the-standings-time-may-already-be-up/ Save to Pocket
Missile Attack Reported Targeting Ship in Gulf of Aden
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/missile-attack-reported-targeting-ship-in-gulf-of-aden-/7497821.html Save to Pocket
Adelup: uphold Bill 30 veto, bill could lead to lawsuits
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
The Office of the Governor is calling on lawmakers to uphold the veto on Bill 30-37, the measure that would prohibit employment in the government of Guam for individuals convicted of official misconduct.
https://www.postguam.com/news/adelup-uphold-bill-30-veto-bill-could-lead-to-lawsuits/article_d08a84f4-d155-11ee-9e5f-c7370eabbc64.html Save to Pocket
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, openSUSE to get better installation
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Fedora, though, won’t – until at least the version after next
Installation remains a pain point for many Linux distros, but everyone is working hard on it. Some of those efforts are bearing fruit… but not all of them.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/distro_installer_news_roundup/ Save to Pocket
1 hospitalized with nonfatal injuries in 4-car Asan collision
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
One person was taken to the hospital with nonfatal injuries after a four-car collision in Asan on the portion of Route 1, or Marine Corps Drive, known as Dead Man’s Curve, according to Guam Police Department spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella,…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/1-hospitalized-with-nonfatal-injuries-in-4-car-asan-collision/article_495877c8-d12f-11ee-a693-a746ff01dd84.html Save to Pocket
Eskuelan Puengi classes, credit recovery extended to grades 9, 10
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
With a passing rate of over 75% for high school students who attend Eskuelan Puengi, Guam Department of Education officials want to recruit more ninth and 10th grade students to enroll in the night school program, but at the same…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/eskuelan-puengi-classes-credit-recovery-extended-to-grades-9-10/article_3da397b4-d12f-11ee-b3d8-b3124ff3db64.html Save to Pocket
8 GDOE 2025 Teacher of the Year semifinalists selected
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
Eight Guam Department of Education Teachers have made it to the semifinals for the 2025 Teacher of the Year, the department announced in a press release.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/8-gdoe-2025-teacher-of-the-year-semifinalists-selected/article_1e88e404-d122-11ee-bc1a-cba3af6e9079.html Save to Pocket
San Nicolas picks up delegate packet, 4 eyeing seat so far
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
Michael San Nicolas, a former Guam delegate, senator and gubernatorial candidate, has joined the roster of potential candidates eyeing the delegate’s seat this election, having picked up a packet from the Guam Election Commission on Wednesday.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/san-nicolas-picks-up-delegate-packet-4-eyeing-seat-so-far/article_551e5bac-d12c-11ee-ab65-833e4587b308.html Save to Pocket
Major rate increases proposed for the new GWA 5-year plan
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Waterworks Authority is proposing significant rate increases as part of its fourth consecutive five-year financial plan and capital improvement program, for fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/major-rate-increases-proposed-for-the-new-gwa-5-year-plan/article_a0dece32-d12c-11ee-a77e-c7a2fa4f235c.html Save to Pocket
Energy credit extension, other bills up for vote at Legislature
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
Bill 208-37, the measure that would extend long-standing energy credits, managed to make it onto the voting file Thursday. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to session Friday afternoon, when they are expected to vote on Bill 208 and various other…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/energy-credit-extension-other-bills-up-for-vote-at-legislature/article_aa0f4688-d12e-11ee-9616-af878df153ca.html Save to Pocket
Tamuning shooting suspect was released on parole, 2 years left on prior sentence
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
A man charged with aggravated murder stemming from the fatal shooting and robbery at Thai Thai Healthy Cuisine restaurant on Valentine’s Day served six years of an eight-year term in prison for prior robberies before being released on parole.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/tamuning-shooting-suspect-was-released-on-parole-2-years-left-on-prior-sentence/article_1e614184-d117-11ee-b828-839d1114e91e.html Save to Pocket
Lois Eisenberg | A Keg of Stupidity
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
The following letter was written before the Super Bowl. This “Swift” bogus conspiracy is a keg of stupidity, and the GOP’s paranoid attitude. Fox News is fueling the fire and the anti-intellectual MAGA cult drivel goes on and on by the MAGA media personalities who peddle nothing but junk to their gullible audience. The loony […]
The post Lois Eisenberg | A Keg of Stupidity appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/lois-eisenberg-a-keg-of-stupidity/ Save to Pocket
Philip Wasserman | Calling the Mad Hatter!
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Kenneth Bloomfield (letters, Feb. 18) has the wrong analogy. We aren’t living in an Orwellian “1984” America. Instead, we are living in a Lewis Carroll “Alice in Wonderland” America. Somewhere in the last decade, America went through the looking glass. Consider the evidence: A former president of the United States is now hawking his own […]
The post Philip Wasserman | Calling the Mad Hatter! appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/philip-wasserman-calling-the-mad-hatter/ Save to Pocket
Bill Miranda | One Story One City
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
One of my favorite passions is traveling, especially to exotic countries to explore different cultures and lifestyles — and if I can’t travel, I love to escape within the pages of a book. Get ready, Santa Clarita, and join me on this literary journey as the time has come to unveil this year’s Santa Clarita Public […]
The post Bill Miranda | One Story One City appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/bill-miranda-one-story-one-city/ Save to Pocket
My surprise at yesterday’s Substack response
date: 2024-02-22, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Friends, I was going to write something else for today, but I was so surprised by the response to my Office Hours Substack letter and poll yesterday that I felt the question needed more airing. It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot recently: Should Joe Biden step aside and allow Democrats to have an open convention to choose their candidate?
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/my-surprise-at-yesterdays-substack Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 22, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, 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 22, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/classifieds-february-22-2024/ Save to Pocket
Boeing-backed air taxi upstart Wisk plans to fly you across town at UberX prices by 2030
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Absence of an on-board pilot will lower costs and raise blood pressure, starting soon in Texas
Boeing-backed autonomous aircraft startup Wisk expects to be operational by the end of the decade, at which time it will provide customers with air taxi at a price point comparable to an UberX ride, according to APAC VP Catherine MacGowan.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/wisk_regulatory_challenges/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 22)
date: 2024-02-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1983 – Armed robber taken out at Alpha Beta supermarket on Lyons [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-22/ Save to Pocket
Glen Oaks Colonial Revival
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
This Montecito residence stands out for its ‘Gilded Age’ architecture.
The post Glen Oaks Colonial Revival appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/22/glen-oaks-colonial-revival/ Save to Pocket
LGBTQIA+ fitness club aims to (up)lift
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The LGBTQ+ Lifts club held its first workout session at the Hub L.A. Figueroa gym.
The post LGBTQIA+ fitness club aims to (up)lift appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/lgbtqia-fitness-club-aims-to-uplift/ Save to Pocket
Don’t be the sad gifted kid you once were
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
We need to foster mindsets of community service, not competitive self-service.
The post Don’t be the sad gifted kid you once were appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/dont-be-the-sad-gifted-kid-you-once-were/ Save to Pocket
DPS develops program for at-risk youth
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Department of Public Safety Chief Lauretta Hill discussed ongoing issues and goals in a briefing Wednesday.
The post DPS develops program for at-risk youth appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/dps-develops-program-for-at-risk-youth/ Save to Pocket
Student Health shares health tips for spring break
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Chief Campus Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman suggested using condoms, sunscreen and PrEP for spring break.
The post Student Health shares health tips for spring break appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/van-orman-shares-health-tips-for-break/ Save to Pocket
The trouble with dated media
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
“Sex and the City” asks us to consider how much tasteless content can be excused because of old age.
The post The trouble with dated media appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/the-trouble-with-dated-media/ Save to Pocket
Gould professor appointed to LA County judgeship
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Christina Legaspi plans to continue teaching at Gould while she serves as a judge.
The post Gould professor appointed to LA County judgeship appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/gould-professor-appointed-to-la-county-judgeship/ Save to Pocket
Men’s basketball heads across town for UCLA battle
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC has lost nine of its last 11 games but will aim for revenge against the Bruins.
The post Men’s basketball heads across town for UCLA battle appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/mens-basketball-heads-across-town-for-ucla-battle/ Save to Pocket
USC learns some Common sense
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The multi-hyphenate artist spoke about his wellness journey Tuesday night.
The post USC learns some Common sense appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/usc-learns-some-common-sense/ Save to Pocket
Changing the status quo requires your vote
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Frustration with politicians doesn’t mean you shouldn’t vote; voting in the primaries is your chance to show politicians what you want from them.
The post Changing the status quo requires your vote appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/changing-the-status-quo-requires-your-vote/ Save to Pocket
Courage under fire: Breaking MLB’s color barrier
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Jackie Robinson fought injustice on and off the field, despite facing immense racism.
The post Courage under fire: Breaking MLB’s color barrier appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/22/courage-under-fire-breaking-mlbs-color-barrier/ Save to Pocket
Bringing dinosaurs back to life, digitally | HackSpace #76
date: 2024-02-22, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Tom Ranson is a 3D visualisation specialist at the Natural History Museum in London who is bringing dinosaurs back to life, digitally.
The post Bringing dinosaurs back to life, digitally | HackSpace #76 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/bringing-dinosaurs-back-to-life-digitally-hackspace-76/ Save to Pocket
18K commits
date: 2024-02-22, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog
It took me 422 days to do my most recent 1,000 commits in the curl source code repository. Now at 18,001 commits. This is the most recent.
https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/02/22/18k-commits/ Save to Pocket
US Strikes Houthi Missile Sites in Yemen
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-strikes-houthi-missile-sites-in-yemen/7497776.html Save to Pocket
Google releases Gemma – LLMs small enough to run on your computer
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Your own personal chatbot awaits
Google has released a family of “open” large language models named Gemma, that are compact enough to run on a personal computer. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/google_gemma_llms/ Save to Pocket
Giant leak reveals Chinese infosec vendor I-Soon is one of Beijing’s cyber-attackers for hire
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Trove reveals RATs that can pop major OSes, campaigns against offshore and local targets
A cache of stolen documents posted to GitHub appears to reveal how a Chinese infosec vendor named I-Soon offers rent-a-hacker services for Beijing.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/i_soon_china_infosec_leak/ Save to Pocket
Do heat pumps work in the cold?
date: 2024-02-22, from: Hannah Richie at Substack
Efficiency declines with falling temperatures, but they still perform well in colder climates.
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/heat-pumps-cold Save to Pocket
February 21, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
The centerpiece of Republicans’ case for impeaching Democratic president Joe Biden is the allegation that he and his son Hunter each accepted a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma when Biden Sr. was vice president. But in the last week, that accusation has revealed quite a different problem, one that implicates Republicans.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-21-2024 Save to Pocket
Strong Leadership
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara County requires strong leadership for criminal justice reform and environmental protection, which is why I support Das’s reelection as 1st District Supervisor.
The post Strong Leadership appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/21/strong-leadership-2/ Save to Pocket
Russia Takes Center Stage in US Political Battle
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
The death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has put Russia in the center of American political discourse and has increased pressure on congressional Republicans to support Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and his main challenger, former President Donald Trump, take opposing views heading into the November U.S. election. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-takes-center-stage-in-us-political-battle/7497732.html Save to Pocket
Crowning glory of GOV.UK websites updated, sparking frontend upgrades
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
His Majesty’s Royal Cypher adopted the Tudor Crown, so a new icon was needed
Logowatch GOV.UK websites this week started implementing a major change: a new crown icon.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/logowatch_tudor_crown_gov_uk/ Save to Pocket
Artistic Truth and Dare, Under Two Roofs
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Acclaimed Los Angeles–based photographer Janna Ireland’s “True Story Index” is a major mid-career survey spread between SBMA and MCASB.
The post Artistic Truth and Dare, Under Two Roofs appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/21/artistic-truth-and-dare-under-two-roofs/ Save to Pocket
Academic Senate discusses enrollment and budget shortfall in first meeting of 2024
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
Correction: A quote from Senator Eddie Tchertchian was corrected on Feb. 22, 2024. At the first meeting of the spring semester, Academic Senate President Margarita
The post Academic Senate discusses enrollment and budget shortfall in first meeting of 2024 appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2024/02/21/academic-senate-discusses-enrollment-and-budget-shortfall-in-first-meeting-of-2024/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=academic-senate-discusses-enrollment-and-budget-shortfall-in-first-meeting-of-2024 Save to Pocket
Russia Takes Center Stage in US Political Battle
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
washington — Russia has taken center stage in American political discourse after the death of a prominent opposition figure there, putting congressional Republicans under increased pressure to support Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden has highlighted in his recent statements one of the differences between him and his challenger, former U.S. President Donald Trump.
At a recent rally, Trump said that if he were president and a NATO member fell short of its financial commitments to the security bloc, he would not protect that ally. “In fact, I would encourage them” — meaning Russia — “to do whatever the hell they want,” Trump said.
“Every president since Truman has been a rock-solid supporter of NATO, except for Donald Trump,” a stentorian male voice intones in an ad released this week by the Biden campaign. “Trump wants to walk away from NATO. He’s even given Putin and Russia the green light to attack America’s allies. … No president has ever said anything like it. It’s shameful. It’s weak. It’s dangerous. It’s un-American.”
The divide was further compounded by the death last week of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison.
Biden has been quick to lay blame and threaten stiff sanctions over the 47-year-old’s death in an Arctic penal colony, which Russian officials say was caused by “sudden death syndrome.”
“The fact of the matter is, Putin is responsible,” Biden said. “Whether he ordered it, he’s responsible for the circumstances they put that man in. And it’s a reflection of who he is. It just cannot be tolerated. I said there will be a price to pay.”
The Kremlin said Biden’s allegation is “unfounded” and “insolent,” but authorities have denied Navalny’s mother access to his body.
A different line
Trump and his Republican Party have taken a different line, with Trump saying he would not support NATO as strongly as Biden has. And, in a recent event with Fox News, he cast himself as a victim of political persecution, like Navalny.
“It’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country, too,” Trump said Tuesday night. “We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it, I’m the leading candidate. I get … I never heard of being indicted before. … I got indicted four times, I have eight or nine trials, all because of the fact that — and you know this — all because of the fact that I’m in politics.”
Trump was vague on how he’d end the war, instead saying that if he were president, Putin would never have invaded Ukraine.
Republicans have grown more vocal in questioning why they should fund the conflict. Russian forces recently captured a key Ukrainian city, Avdiivka, which the White House points to as proof that Ukrainian forces need urgent help.
In urging members of Congress to pass a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan argued it is “in our cold-blooded, national security interest to help Ukraine stand up to Putin’s vicious and brutal invasion.”
“We know from history that when dictators aren’t stopped, they keep going,” Sullivan told reporters this week in a briefing. “The cost for America rises, and the consequences get more and more severe for our NATO allies and elsewhere in the world.”
Some Republicans are confident that they will pass the stalled $95 billion aid package, most of which is for Ukraine.
“I think the slow response from Europe and the United States, of course, that hurts Ukraine,” Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick said on a recent visit to Ukraine. “And that’s why we can’t let this happen, why we’re going to get something done.”
War’s symbolism grows
Meanwhile, as Ukraine nears the second anniversary of the invasion and U.S. aid hangs in the balance, the war has taken on greater symbolic meaning.
“This has become about America,” journalist and author Peter Pomerantsev told VOA’s Russian Service via Skype. He is also a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. “Will America continue to play the role of a power that keeps its promises, that respects its alliances and that is capable of projecting strength?
“Or is America over as a serious power? That’s the question now,” he said. “It’s no longer about Russia or Ukraine. Now all eyes of the world are on America, and the way America decides will have epic consequences.”
VOA’s Rafael R. Saakyan contributed to this report from Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-takes-center-stage-in-us-political-battle/7497702.html Save to Pocket
SCV track and field preview
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Foothill League track and field begins on Thursday, as hundreds of varsity athletes will compete in their events for the next four months with plenty to be accomplished. Canyon enters the season as Foothill League champs on both the boys’ and girls’ side, but a handful of other teams are looking to dethrone the Cowboys. […]
The post <strong>SCV track and field preview </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/scv-track-and-field-preview/ Save to Pocket
April 27: Triumph Foundation’s 11th Annual Wheelchair Sports Festival
date: 2024-02-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Triumph Foundation 11Th Annual Wheelchair Sports Festival, a two-day free sporting event open to the public will be held Saturday, April 27 and 28 at the Santa Clarita Sports Complex
https://scvnews.com/april-27-triumph-foundations-11th-annual-wheelchair-sports-festival/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Threads is like a new airport, like Denver’s airport was a few years ago, and Twitter feels like the old LaGuardia. Not sure what Mastodon feels like. I’ll have to think about that. Maybe the airport in New Orleans which is called Armstrong Field now, IIRC. It used to be called MSY and it still is actually, even though the name changed. Power of standards.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/21.html#a030539 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Today’s song: “Old enough to know better.”
http://scripting.com/2024/02/21.html#a030328 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Am I the first to subscribe to the new Megnut? 😀
https://feedland.com/?feedurl=https://megnut.com/feed/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Great news, Megnut is going to start blogging again. Nice!
https://megnut.com/about/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Google apologizes for ‘missing the mark’ after Gemini generated racially diverse Nazis.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/21/24079371/google-ai-gemini-generative-inaccurate-historical Save to Pocket
Are there any gutsy NYT op-ed columnists?
date: 2024-02-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
Certainly one of the NYT columnists must have noticed that the management is playing a dangerous game with our election.
When are they going to write a column raising the question of how non-transparent the process is, and how dangerous it has become.
Might take a bit of courage to do that, and being willing to put your career on the line, for all of us.
Just asking the question, even if they fired you, seems as big an issue as the question raised by the special prosecutor re Biden’s age?
I’ve been a columnist for a somewhat major publication myself, and I promise you, if I were witnessing what’s going on at the NYT, I’d submit the column, and if they didn’t run it, I’d offer it to their competitors, and if they wouldn’t take it, I’d run it publicly on a blog, and say that they wouldn’t run it.
You can’t really witness something like this without speaking up. They gave you the platform, you should use it.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/21/024211.html?title=areThereAnyGutsyNytOpedColumnists Save to Pocket
Coming Soon: Apple Immersive Video Film With Highlights of MLS 2023 Playoffs
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/02/2024-mls-season-kicks-off-today-exclusively-on-mls-season-pass-on-apple-tv/ Save to Pocket
Republican Advice
date: 2024-02-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Our single-party county and city governance isn’t working.
The post Republican Advice appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/21/republican-advice/ Save to Pocket
San Nicolas picks up delegate packet, four eye seat so far
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
Michael San Nicolas, a former Guam delegate, senator and gubernatorial candidate, has joined the roster of potential candidates eyeing the delegate’s seat this election, having picked up a packet from the Guam Election Commission on Wednesday.
https://www.postguam.com/news/san-nicolas-picks-up-delegate-packet-four-eye-seat-so-far/article_2dffaa34-d11e-11ee-902d-93f1156d8825.html Save to Pocket
Gelsinger splits Intel in two to advance foundry vision
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Separation of church and state? More like separation of Product and Foundry
FDC Pat Gelsinger wants to make Intel the world’s second largest chip manufacturer by 2030, and that means serving businesses the x86 giant has traditionally seen as competitors.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/gelsinger_intel_split/ Save to Pocket
March 5: Latino Business Alliance Hosts Next Café con Leche
date: 2024-02-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Café con Leche from the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce Latino Business Alliance’s returns
https://scvnews.com/march-5-latino-business-alliance-hosts-next-cafe-con-leche/ Save to Pocket
CHP: LASD unit struck while assisting disabled vehicle on I-5
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
The California Highway Patrol responded to a minor collision Tuesday night that happened on Interstate 5 after a Sheriff’s Department patrol unit transporting inmates stopped to assist a motorist whose vehicle became disabled. “CHP Newhall area received reports of a traffic crash with possible injuries involving an L.A. County Sheriff’ Department vehicle (around 9:26 p.m.),” […]
The post CHP: LASD unit struck while assisting disabled vehicle on I-5 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/chp-lasd-unit-struck-while-assisting-disabled-vehicle-on-i-5/ Save to Pocket
Alleged Japanese Crime Boss Accused of Trafficking Nuclear Material
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
new york — A leader of a Japan-based crime syndicate conspired to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar in the belief that Iran would use it to make nuclear weapons, U.S. prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, and his confederates showed samples of nuclear materials that had been transported from Myanmar to Thailand to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker who had access to an Iranian general, according to federal officials. The nuclear material was seized, and samples were later found to contain uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.
“As alleged, the defendants in this case trafficked in drugs, weapons and nuclear material — going so far as to offer uranium and weapons-grade plutonium fully expecting that Iran would use it for nuclear weapons,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement. “This is an extraordinary example of the depravity of drug traffickers who operate with total disregard for human life.”
The nuclear material came from an unidentified leader of an “ethic insurgent group” in Myanmar who had been mining uranium in the country, according to prosecutors. Ebisawa had proposed that the leader sell uranium through him in order to fund a weapons purchase from the general, court documents allege.
According to prosecutors, the insurgent leader provided samples, which a U.S. federal lab found contained uranium, thorium and plutonium, and that “the isotope composition of the plutonium” was weapons-grade, meaning enough of it would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.
Ebisawa, who prosecutors allege is a leader of a Japan-based international crime syndicate, was among four people who were arrested in April 2022 in Manhattan during a DEA sting operation. He has been jailed awaiting trial and is among two defendants named in a superseding indictment. Ebisawa is charged with the international trafficking of nuclear materials, conspiracy to commit that crime, and several other counts.
An email seeking comment was sent to Ebisawa’s attorney, Evan Loren Lipton.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Ebisawa trafficked the material from Myanmar to other countries.
“He allegedly did so while believing that the material was going to be used in the development of a nuclear weapons program, and the weapons-grade plutonium he trafficked, if produced in sufficient quantities, could have been used for that purpose,” Williams said in the news release. “Even as he allegedly attempted to sell nuclear materials, Ebisawa also negotiated for the purchase of deadly weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.”
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.
https://www.voanews.com/a/alleged-japanese-crime-boss-accused-of-trafficking-nuclear-material/7497691.html Save to Pocket
Golden Valley volleyball beats Eastside
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
Golden Valley Grizzlies boys’ volleyball had some minor hiccups but still triumphed in Tuesday’s home non-league match with the Eastside Lions. The Grizzlies played solid defense, had a balanced attack and served well to close the game after a slow start in their home opener. Golden Valley won the match with scores of 25-21, 22-25, […]
The post <strong>Golden Valley volleyball beats Eastside</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/golden-valley-volleyball-beats-eastside/ Save to Pocket
Planning OKs tower, home plan, subdivision
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission on Tuesday named its new chair for 2024 and also unanimously approved several smaller changes to the city’s landscape. Planning Commissioner Tim Burkhart, who recently retired as corporate vice president for Six Flags Entertainment Corp., was named as chair of the Planning Commission for 2024. A new home in Sand […]
The post Planning OKs tower, home plan, subdivision appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/planning-oks-tower-home-plan-subdivision/ Save to Pocket
SCV Water calls new allocation ‘good news’
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
The State Water Project announced Wednesday the Department of Water Resources is raising its allocation for the 2024 water season, which is good news, according to Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency officials. The forecasted allocation for local agencies is now 15% of requested supplies, up from the 10% initial allocation announced in December. In local […]
The post SCV Water calls new allocation ‘good news’ appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/scv-water-calls-new-allocation-good-news/ Save to Pocket
Police: one hospitalized from 4-car collision on Dead Man’s Curve; roads now open
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
One civilian was taken to the hospital with non-fatal injuries after a four-car collision in the area known as Dead Man’s Curve along Route 1.
https://www.postguam.com/news/police-one-hospitalized-from-4-car-collision-on-dead-mans-curve-roads-now-open/article_0c036d8a-d12d-11ee-83a3-c30c72f31d8a.html Save to Pocket
Police: multiple car collision at Dead Man’s Curve
date: 2024-02-22, from: Guam Daily Post
Motorists can expect traffic delays north- and southbound along Route 1 by the stretch of road known as Dead Man’s Curve. The Guam Police Department is reporting that a multiple car collision occurred in the area.
https://www.postguam.com/news/police-multiple-car-collision-at-dead-mans-curve/article_545b3704-d121-11ee-ac50-a369284b5aa6.html Save to Pocket
Feb. 22: Wolf Creek Holds Fundraiser for Carousel Ranch
date: 2024-02-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Wolf Greek Restaurant and Brewing Co. will host an all day fundraiser to benefit Carousel Ranch’s “Carousel Wishes & Valentine Kisses” campaign on Thursday, Feb.
https://scvnews.com/feb-22-wolf-creek-grill-holds-fundraiser-for-carousel-ranch/ Save to Pocket
Nvidia revenue grows 265 percent with more to come as new GPUs and Ethernet near
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Jensen Huang defends colossal GPU purchases made by hyperscalers, claims they’re ‘fairly allocated’
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has claimed responsibility for hyperscalers’ decisions to extend the operating life of their server fleets, and suggested they’ve done so because they can’t improve performance by persisting with general-purpose computing and must instead adopt accelerated machines.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/nvidia_q4_fy_2024/ Save to Pocket
★ Apple Sports
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Daring Fireball
Apple Sports exemplifies why it’s a better idea to design smaller, more focused apps.
https://daringfireball.net/2024/02/apple_sports Save to Pocket
Uncovering The History And Impact Of Graffiti Writing In Los Angeles
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The LAist
Los Angeles has been a place where street art can be found everywhere, where icons are remembered through murals or statements are made through artistic expression. Each form has it’s history, but here you’ll learn about graffiti writing’s local come-up.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/la-graffiti-writing-art-politics Save to Pocket
Burkhart announces candidacy for City Council
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Signal
News release Tim Burkhart, a longtime Santa Clarita resident and current chair of the city Planning Commission, has officially announced his candidacy for Santa Clarita City Council District 1. “With a career spanning over four decades at Six Flags and extensive service as a planning commissioner, Burkhart brings a wealth of experience and a deep […]
The post Burkhart announces candidacy for City Council appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/burkhart-announces-candidacy-for-city-council/ Save to Pocket
Biden Cancels Federal Student Loans for Nearly 153,000 Borrowers
date: 2024-02-22, from: VOA News USA
CULVER CITY, Calif. — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that while a college degree was still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is often too expensive, as he announced he was canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers.
Biden, who is in the midst of a three-day campaign swing through California, made the announcement as part of a new repayment plan that offers a faster path to forgiveness, putting the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts in his reelection campaign.
“Too many Americans are still saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree,” he said from a local library before he went on to campaign-related events. Loan relief helps the greater economy, he said, because “when people have a student debt relief, they buy homes. They start businesses, they contribute. They engage.”
The administration began sending email notifications on Wednesday to some of the borrowers who will benefit from what the White House has called the SAVE program. The cancellations were originally scheduled to start in July, but last month the administration said it would be ready almost six months ahead of schedule, in February.
“Starting today, the first round of folks who are enrolled in our SAVE student loan repayment plan who have paid their loans for 10 years and borrowed $12,000 or less will have their debt cancelled,” Biden posted on social media Wednesday. “That’s 150,000 Americans and counting. And we’re pushing to relieve more.”
The first round of forgiveness from the SAVE plan will clear $1.2 billion in loans. The borrowers will get emails with a message from Biden notifying them that “all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration’s SAVE Plan.”
In his email to borrowers, Biden wrote he had heard from “countless people who have told me that relieving the burden of their student loan debt will allow them to support themselves and their families, buy their first home, start a small business, and move forward with life plans they’ve put on hold.”
More than 7.5 million people have enrolled in the new repayment plan.
He said Wednesday that it was the kind of relief “that can be life-changing for individuals and their families.”
“I’m proud to have been able to give borrowers like so many of you the relief you earned,” he said, asking the crowd gathered for his speech how many had debt forgiven. Many raised their hands.
Borrowers are eligible for cancellation if they are enrolled in the SAVE plan, originally borrowed $12,000 or less to attend college and have made at least 10 years of payments. Those who took out more than $12,000 will be eligible for cancellation but on a longer timeline. For each $1,000 borrowed beyond $12,000, it adds an additional year of payments on top of 10 years.
The maximum repayment period is capped at 20 years for those with only undergraduate loans and 25 years for those with any graduate school loans.
Biden announced the new repayment plan last year alongside a separate plan to cancel up to $20,000 in loans for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court struck down his plan for widespread forgiveness, but the repayment plan has so far escaped that level of legal scrutiny. Unlike his proposal for mass cancellation — which had never been done before — the repayment plan is a twist on existing income-based plans created by Congress more than a decade ago.
Biden said he remained steadfast in his commitment to “fix our broken student loan system,” working around the court’s ruling to find other ways to get it done.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-cancels-federal-student-loans-for-nearly-153-000-borrowers/7497646.html Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 21, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, 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.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/21/quick-charge-podcast-february-21-2024/ Save to Pocket
OpenAI’s Latest Tool Provokes A Lot Of Questions About Hollywood’s Direction
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: The LAist
The technology would in theory give smaller players the ability to make shows and films on tighter budgets.
https://laist.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/openai Save to Pocket
CSUN women’s soccer appoints new head coach Gina Brewer
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
CSUN’s athletic director Shawn Chin-Farrell has announced the hiring of Gina Brewer as the new women’s soccer head coach. Brewer comes to CSUN after spending just one year at UCLA…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178539/sports/csun-womens-soccer-appoints-new-head-coach-gina-brewer/ Save to Pocket
Git goes native
date: 2024-02-22, from: RiscOS Open
First demonstrated in the February 2023 developer fireside chat, over the last nine months, a select band of volunteers have been providing feedback on the previews of the Git client for RISC OS, watching it gain more and more functionality at every step. Today we’re able to make that a wider release, as many of the most commonly used operations are supported.
http://www.riscosopen.org/news/articles/2024/02/22/git-goes-native Save to Pocket
The Marshall Star for February 21, 2024
date: 2024-02-22, from: NASA breaking news
Marshall Center Director Holds First Media Event By Jessica Barnett NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s newest center director, Joseph Pelfrey, took to the podium Feb. 15 in the lobby of Building 4221 to host his first media event since his appointment to the position. Pelfrey, who had been serving as acting center director since August […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-february-21-2024/ Save to Pocket
Matadors women’s basketball blows lead versus Bakersfield to lose their 22nd straight game
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
CSUN (2-22, 0-14, Big West) opened the game with a 6-0 lead against the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (8-15, 5-9 Big West) on Thursday night and then went scoreless in…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178527/sports/matadors-go-cold-in-the-third-quarter-blow-lead-versus-bakersfield-to-lose-their-22nd-straight-game/ Save to Pocket
[Sponsor] Sonar Mac App for GitHub/GitLab Issues
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Daring Fireball
https://sonartasks.com?utm_source=daring-fireball&utm_campaign=FY24Q1-daringfireball&utm_content=2024-02-DF-feed-post Save to Pocket
Why Clean Energy Projects Are Stalling Out on Native Lands
date: 2024-02-22, from: Heatmap News
It’s windy in the Great Plains and it’s sunny in the Southwest. These two basic geographic facts underscore much of the green energy transition in the United States — and put many Native American tribes squarely in the middle of that process.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that “American Indian land comprises approximately 2% of U.S. land but contains an estimated 5% of all renewable energy resources,” with an especially large amount of potential solar power. Over the past few months, a spate of renewable energy projects across the country have found themselves entangled with courts, regulators, and tribal governments over how and under what circumstances they are permitted on — or even near — tribal lands.
In Oklahoma, a federal judge ordered that dozens of wind turbines be removed after ruling that the developers had violated federal law by not seeking mineral rights. In Arizona, two tribes and two nonprofits sued the Bureau of Land Management, objecting to the planned route of a massive transmission project. Tribes objected to designating an area off the Oregon coast for wind farming, and federal energy regulators announced a new policy requiring energy developers to get tribal permission prior to seeking any permits for projects on tribal lands.
“We are establishing a new policy that the Commission will not issue preliminary permits for projects proposing to use Tribal lands if the Tribe on whose lands the project is to be located opposes the permit,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a filing denying a trio of pumped-storage hydropower projects on Navajo Nation land in Arizona and New Mexico.
“Navajo Nation is in support of solar power, and the Navajo utility has developed some solar sites, which are operating right now,” George Hardeen, public relations director for the Navajo Nation leadership, told me. “But pumped storage, we’re not quite ready for that.” Just like everyone else in Arizona, New Mexico, or neighboring states, the Navajo Nation has a heavily contested relationship with its surrounding water resources. The Navajo Nation recently lost a case in the Supreme Court, where it argued the federal government had an obligation to meet its water needs under 1868 and 1849 treaties.
While the legal issues around tribal governance are distinct, the dilemmas and tradeoffs of energy development — renewable or otherwise — are not. Energy production itself is nothing new for the Navajo Nation. The now-shuttered Navajo Generating Station operated for almost 50 years with a workforce that was almost exclusively Navajo. Along with a neighboring mine, it generated tens of millions of dollars of royalty and other payments for the Navajo Nation and the neighboring Hopi Tribe.
But the competing goals of speedy renewable energy development versus
protection of the landscape become heightened on native lands.
“You’ve always had consultation requirements,” Heather Tanana, a visiting professor at the University of California-Irvine, told me. “The big change is the weight of the tribal voice in that process,” describing FERC’s policy as a “shift to actual empowerment of tribal communities who decide what is going to happen.”
FERC’s decision is consistent with a Biden administration-wide effort to empower tribes on a “nation-to-nation” basis. This effort has naturally heavily involved the Department of Interior — led for the first time by a Native American, Pueblo of Laguna member Deb Haaland — which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as a bevy of agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which play major roles in energy infrastructure.
“Having the agency take this position is consistent is what the administration has said it should do,” Tanana said. “It’s good because it shows something tangible and real, and not just good intentions that haven’t always played out well in the past.”
That’s putting it mildly. The history of energy development and Native Americans is marked by exploitation, whether the subject is the Osage murders of the 1920s, lung cancer among Navajo uranium mine workers, or the construction of dams that obliterated native fishing grounds.
“The Biden administration is very sensitive to tribal concerns,” Warigia
Bowman, a law professor at the University of Tulsa, told me. But
enforcement of the new requirements will be up to regulators and
prosecutors across the country, Bowman said.
That enforcement has been especially harsh in Osage County. Typically, landowners control both the surface and mineral rights of their land, which essentially means they can sell both the land they own and the rights to what’s underneath it. But the mineral rights on the Osage Nation Reservation are exclusively owned by the Osage Tribe and overseen by the elected Osage Minerals Council, which can lease out mineral rights. And, like many in the petroleum business, the Osage Minerals Council has lamented limitations on drilling.
“What’s special about the Osage wind case is the specifics of land ownership for the Osage,” Bowman said. “It’s unusual to have surface and mineral rights separated.”
It’s these mineral rights that have turned into a massive headache for wind developers. The energy developers Enel and Osage Wind leased over 8,000 acres in Osage County for a wind farm starting in 2010. The Osage Minerals Council sued in 2011, saying the project would block its ability to develop any resources underneath the area the developers had leased. Then the federal government sued in 2014 when construction began, arguing that the excavation for the wind turbines’ foundations constituted mining without permission.
Late last year, a federal judge ruled that the developers owed monetary damages and the “ejectment of the wind towers.” The developers estimated that complying with the injunction would cost almost $260 million.
And energy development doesn’t have to be on tribal land in order to potentially run afoul of laws and regulations mandating consultation. The Tohono O’odham Nation and San Carlos Apache Tribe, along with the nonprofit groups the Center for Biological Diversity and Archeological Southwest, sued the Bureau of Land Management seeking an injunction to stop construction of the SunZia transmission line, a decades-in-the-waiting 4,500 megawatt project that seeks to bring wind energy west from New Mexico. The project got approval from BLM last spring. The suit filed in January argued that the developers failed to adequately consult with tribes over “sacred and cultural resources in the San Pedro Valley,” even if the proposed route was on a mixture of federal, state, and private land.
“Under the [National Historic Preservation Act], agencies are required
to make a good faith effort to identify Indian tribes for consultation,”
Tory Fodder, a law professor at the University of Arizona, explained to
me in an email. “The NHPA provides fairly robust consultation mechanisms
for tribal cultural and religious sites that are not necessarily
confined to the reservation of a tribe.” Since, Fodder said, both the
Tohono O’odham Nation and the San Carlos Apache claim “ancestral
connections to the area,” they should have been consulted early
on.
The BLM and Pattern Energy both claim they were. In a response to the suit, the federal government argued that it had “engaged in lengthy, good faith consultation efforts with the Tribes and other consulting parties regarding the San Pedro Valley,” and that the route had been finalized since 2015, giving the tribes and nonprofits years to intervene.
In an emailed statement, Pattern Energy’s vice president of environmental and permitting, Natalie McCue, said: “Respecting tribal sovereignty and completing the United States’ largest clean energy project is not a binary choice. We deeply respect the Tohono O’odham Nation’s and the San Carlos Apache Tribe’s right to self-governance and to express their views on cultural protection. Given this, we were saddened by the decision to pursue legal action, especially given our commitment to open, good-faith dialogue on these vital issues.” Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for March; in the meantime, construction has been allowed to continue.
On the West Coast, there’s growing tribal opposition to the beginning of a process for offshore wind development. The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians said they were “extremely disappointed” in the Bureau Ocean Energy Management’s decision to designate two areas off the Oregon coast for wind energy development.
While the BOEM said the designation only came after “extensive engagement and feedback from the state, Tribes, local residents, ocean users, federal government partners, and other members of the public,” the Confederated Tribes contend that the areas “are within the Tribe’s ancestral territory, contain viewsheds of significant cultural and historic significance to the Tribe, and are important areas for Tribal fishing,” and that the Tribes only became aware of the designation from the Oregon Governor’s office, not the BOEM directly.
Although the stakes of the zero-carbon transition are new, the issues of sovereignty and exploitation of Native American lands are as old as the United States. “The Tribe will not stand by while a project is developed that causes it more harm than good,” the Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a release. “This is simply green colonialism.”
https://heatmap.news/climate/sunzia-lawsuit-blm Save to Pocket
Matadors go cold against Long Beach State, Elbees drown CSUN’s four-game win streak in second half
date: 2024-02-22, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
After back-to-back wins on the road against UC Santa Barbara and CSU Bakersfield, CSUN returned in the win column, winning their last four games and looking to win their fifth…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178520/sports/matadors-go-cold-against-long-beach-state-elbees-drown-csuns-four-game-win-streak-in-second-half/ Save to Pocket
Webinar recording: The GNU Name System and the road to publishing an RFC
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: nlnet feed
https://nlnet.nl/news/2024/20240222-webinar-GNS.html Save to Pocket
FOSDEM Talks: Running NLnet on NixOS & Hexmas
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: nlnet feed
https://nlnet.nl/news/2024/20240222-FOSDEM-talks.html Save to Pocket
Robust generic functions on slices
date: 2024-02-22, updated: 2024-02-22, from: Go language blog
Avoiding memory leaks in the slices package.
https://go.dev/blog/generic-slice-functions Save to Pocket
Gathering Structures
date: 2024-02-22, from: Maggie Appleton blog
https://maggieappleton.com/gathering-structures Save to Pocket