2025-12-03

etc

• From Muck to Mauve: the creation of modern dyes from coal tar

• Deep dive into the grounding of 6000 Airbus Planes

  The vulnerability appears tied to how (software version) L104’s new protections interact with corrupted internal data following a radiation‑induced upset in the ELAC B hardware. Airbus’s AOT describes a worst-case scenario in which, under certain failure preconditions and exposure to extreme solar activity, the combination of ELAC B hardware and L104 software could generate uncommanded elevator deflections large enough to threaten structural integrity.

Horseshit

• Giving men a common antidepressant could help tackle domestic violence

• Leaf blowers are the latest thing dividing Americans

  • Thought we did that 20yr ago? if you can hear their leaf blower, they can hear your rifles.

• Wool from 'gay' sheep used to create couture fashion | New York Post

  Wool from sheep that “prefer same-sex partners” debuted at a New York fashion show earlier this month. On Nov. 13, a collection of knitwear by Los Angeles-based designer Michael Schmidt, called “I Wool Survive,” features garments created with wool from the world’s “first flock of gay sheep” in Germany.

• The myth of the $140k poverty line

• The race to create a perfect lie detector, and the dangers of succeeding

• Russian Porsche owners' cars immobilised across country

  Drivers have complained that their vehicles have suddenly locked up, lost power and refused to start, as owners and dealerships warn of a growing wave of failures that has left hundreds of vehicles stuck in place. The nationwide meltdown hit Porsche models built since 2013, which are all fitted with the brand's factory VTS satellite-security unit. The vehicles have been 'bricked' with their engines immobilised, due to connections with the satellite system being lost. Rolf dealership service director Yulia Trushkova said 'all models and all engine types' are impacted. The company does not rule out that the malfunction may have been caused 'deliberately', according to sources in Moscow - with suspicions cast towards the West.

  • Lesson: do not buy a car with remote controls that you cannot disable.

• D-Wave Announces Formation of U.S. Government Business Unit

• The Math at the Heart of Reality

• Faberge egg, set with 4,500 diamonds, sells in London for world record £22.9M

• More AI lovers, fewer one-night stands: the data behind generation Z's sex lives

• Some people still drive stick

  We live in an age of self-driving cars, and some people still drive stick. The rate of progress and invention will accelerate, and yet the inertia of society will remain. On one hand, I'm relieved that the world won't change all at once. On the other, I'm disappointed that we've built the tools for a better world, but may choose not to use them.

  • What is "better" for you may not be better for everyone. Do not presume to tell others what their life should be.

Epstein

• Statement from the American Economic Association

  The American Economic Association (AEA) has accepted Lawrence H. Summers' voluntary resignation from membership and, pursuant to the AEA's Policies, Procedures, and Code of Professional Conduct, has imposed a lifetime ban on his membership. In addition, effective immediately, the AEA has imposed a lifetime prohibition on Mr. Summers' attending, speaking at, or otherwise participating in AEA-sponsored events or activities, including serving in any editorial or refereeing capacity for AEA journals. The AEA condemns Mr. Summers' conduct, as reflected in publicly reported communications, as fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession.

  • Academic society bans Larry Summers for life over close ties to Jeffrey Epstein

Obit

• Claude the albino alligator in Cal Academy passed away at age 30

  • Cal Academy announces beloved Claude the albino alligator has died at 30 - ABC7 San Francisco

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• Lost generation of news consumers – Survey shows how teens dislike news media

• Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy

  • Its amusing to try to imagine what might induce this outlet to write a kind word about Thiel.

Musk

• Tesla hints at new camera upgrade, casting doubt on Full Self-Driving promises

• Grok Says It Would Kill Every Jewish Person on the Planet to Save Elon Musk

• Elon Musk's Foundation Grows to $14B, but Gives Little to Outsiders

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Nvidia announces new open AI models and tools for autonomous driving research

• Don't Fear Self-Driving Cars. They Save Lives.

• The batteries powering the fastest racing EVs

• The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course

• Waymo hits a dog in San Francisco, reigniting safety debate

Robot uprising / Humanioid Helpers

• Are Humanoid Robots Ready for the Real World?

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• America's elite colleges have an extra-time-on-tests problem

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Mozilla's latest quagmire

  Mozilla used to be above this sort of behavior. It might be hard to believe for my younger readers, but Mozilla took on Internet Explorer that was just as entrenched as Chrome is now, and they kicked proverbial posterior! They did because they offered a better browser that respected the people who used it, and gave them agency in their browsing experience. This is why their latest moves feel so hostile. Mozilla team: hand to heart, you can do it again. But it starts with not alienating your remaining evangelists; the people who actively choose and recommend you over alternatives. If you think switching costs for new people are high, wait till you hear about how difficult it is once they’ve churned.

• Users scramble as critical open source project left to die • The Register

  Kubernetes is retiring its popular Ingress NGINX controller. Ingress NGINX goes to that big bit farm in the sky in March 2026.

  • Sub-project: this is not used without the Kubernates system, and not by all users of Kuberbnates.

• Netflix Offers Mostly Cash for Warner Brothers

  • Warner Bros Discovery gets mostly cash offer from Netflix

• Warner Bros. Empire Hangs in the Balance as Second Round Bids Arrive

• Samsung Launches Galaxy Z TriFold Smartphone with 10-Inch Display

  • Samsung reveals its tri-fold phone – and its desktop mode

  • Samsung Debuts Its First Trifold Months Ahead of Folding iPhone

• Decreasing Certificate Lifetimes to 45 Days

• Steam on Linux Use Easily Hits an All-Time High in November

• Samsung and SK Hynix - two of the three major DRAM manufacturers - issued a big fat "nope" when asked if they were planning to increase production beyond work already in the pipeline.

• OpenAI Completed Its Conversion. A New Ballot Initiative Seeks to Reverse It

• Canonical Now Offering Ubuntu Pro for WSL

• Amazon Prime Video removes controversial AI anime dubs

• The Enshittification of Plex Is Kicking Off, Starting with Free Roku Users

• Zig quits GitHub, says Microsoft's AI obsession has ruined the service

• Saudi Fund to Own Almost All of Electronic Arts After Buyout

• Hackers breach texting service used by New York state, sending many scam texts

• Kohler Can Access Data from Toilet Camera It Describes as "End-to-End Encrypted"

  Kohler is referring to as E2EE here is simply HTTPS encryption between the app and the server, something that has been basic security practice for two decades now, plus encryption at rest.

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• Silicon Valley Builds Amazon and Gmail Copycats to Train A.I. Agents

• Ukraine developing independent AI system with Google open technology

• Rockstar co-founder compares AI to 'mad cow disease'

• OpenAI just made another circular deal

• How much do you think this kind of "keep us in the news" coverage costs...

  • OpenAI's Altman Declares 'Code Red' to Improve ChatGPT

  • OpenAI's Sam Altman declares 'code red' after rivals make advances

  • OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google catches up in AI race

  • OpenAI Declares 'Code Red' as Google Threatens AI Lead

  • Sam Altman declares 'code red' to improve ChatGPT amid rising competition

  • Sam Altman issues 'code red' at OpenAI as ChatGPT contends with rivals

• Coders Love This AI Startup (Cursor). Can It Last?

• The Hater's Guide to Nvidia

• The Rise of AI Denialism

  So why has the public latched onto the narrative that AI is stalling, that the output is slop, and that the AI boom is just another tech bubble that lacks justifiable use-cases? I believe it’s because society is collectively entering the first stage of grief — denial — over the very scary possibility that we humans may soon lose cognitive supremacy to artificial systems.

  • Religion. They're not "asking questions", they're denying the Revelation, because they're Stupid. See also any other "denialism"

• Whatever legitimate places AI has, inside an OS ain't one

• An independent effort says AI is the secret to topple 2-party power in Congress

• Study Finds AI Wildlife Videos Creates a Disconnect Between People and Animals

• Intimate Advertising, the Next Frontier in AI Manipulation

• The Argument for Letting AI Burn It All Down

• Anthropic in Advanced Talks to Buy Bun

• The AI boom has all 4 classic bubble signs

• Amazon to use Nvidia tech in AI chips, roll out new servers

• Nvidia CFO admits the $100B OpenAI megadeal 'still' isn't signed

• AI Can Steal Crypto Now

• When the Boss Is Always Right, the AI Will Be Wrong

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• Blue Origin Plans to Beat SpaceX to the Moon

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Amazon Offers Test of 'Ultrafast' Delivery in Two US Cities

• UK pension funds dump US equities on fears of AI bubble

• Nvidia: Too Many Red Flags – Ratings Downgrade

• Meta's Instagram orders employees back to the office 5 days a week

• US Apartment rents drop further, with vacancies at record high

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• Social Security wants about 15M fewer visits in its field offices

• Energy Department Renames NREL 'National Lab of the Rockies'

• TSA Imposes $45 Fee for Travelers Without Real ID Starting February 2026

• Administration Wants to Exclude 'Pornographic Activity' from 'No Tax on Tips'

• Thousands of U.S. trucking schools could lose accreditation under DOT crackdown

  The DOT announced Monday it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 trucking schools and trainers unless they can comply with federal requirements within 30 days, and warned another 4,000 schools and trainers that they could face similar action.

  • Duffy Purges 3,000 Trucking Schools In Sweeping Crackdown On Migrant CDL Crisis | ZeroHedge

  "This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain. Under Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways. Their negligence endangered every family on America's roadways, and it ends today," Duffy stated, adding, "Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses." On X, Duffy quoted an AP News story that said as many as 44% of the 16,000 truck driving schools nationwide face immediate closure. He said, "The days of a 'Wild Wild West' trucking industry are over under the Trump administration."

• Sunset Section 230 and Unleash the First Amendment

• Bill to disallow dual citizenship proposed

• Supreme Court weighs fight between music industry, ISPs

  • Supreme Court dubious of billion-dollar judgment for copyright infringement

  • Supreme Court leans toward internet service providers in copyright battle

  • Supreme Court: Can ISPs Be Liable for Piracy by Doing Nothing?

Trump

• Trump Administration to Take Equity Stake in Former Intel CEO's Chip Startup

• Michael and Susan Dell Pledge $6 Billion for Child Investment Accounts - The New York Times

  Michael and Susan Dell announced on Tuesday that they would deposit $250 in individual investment accounts for 25 million children, an amount totaling $6.25 billion. It is one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever to go directly to Americans. The money expands the number of children who will receive seed money for the investment accounts, known as “Trump accounts.” The federal government will give $1,000 to babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. The Dells’ gift extends to children up to 10 years old, though it limits eligibility to those who live in a ZIP code where the median household income is below $150,000.

  • Dells donate $6.25B to encourage families to claim 'Trump Accounts'

• Honduran ex-president released from US prison after Trump pardon

  • Trump pardons Honduran ex-president who was convicted of drug crimes

Democrats

• PUC finalizes plans to push natural gas out of Colorado home heating

Left Angst

• Trump: Pro-Crypto or Pro-Crime?

• America has the tools to heal division: we need to relearn them

  We’ve mistaken expression for impact, conflating social media dust-ups with actual power. We’ve neglected the unglamorous work that holds societies together: governing, problem-solving, and cooperating across differences. My research shows that real change happens not in viral TikToks but in drab meeting rooms — the phones-down, notebooks-out work of local governance. It’s there that we make progress and bridge divides. The good news is that we already have the necessary tools embedded in our federal system and our communities. What’s needed now is the will to step off our soapboxes and into the weeds of civic life.

  A recent YouGov survey for Stanford’s Hoover Institution found that 64 percent of Americans have never tried to influence a local decision, and only 20 percent would act even if they saw a harmful one coming. Yet while few show up in person, millions engage online. While only one in five of Americans say they’ve shared their views online in the past year, countless others take those views in — and we know they are influenced and polarized by them.

• From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, why California's job market is taking a hit

  • AI and Right Wing economic warfare. $20/hr minimum wage and other stupid laws making business impossible are not even considered as causes.

• Pete Hegseth Needs to Go–Now

• “The campaign to make Richard Nixon great again”

• Doge Isn't Dead. Here's What Its Operatives Are Doing Now

• MAGA and the Country Aesthetic - The New York Times

  after the second Trump win, what I noticed was there was a big cowboy trend that took off. Denim is big. Western culture is big. “S.N.L.” this season had a musical act in a hayloft. Realtree coming in and dominating the sweatshirt world.

  Ahmad: Just for people who might not know: What is Realtree?

  Keegin: Oh, it’s hunting camouflage.

  • Realtree has been selling colorful non camo patterns for over a decade now; in fact im not sure they have any actual camo left in the line.

• First time since 1988, the U.S. is not officially commemorating World AIDS Day

  • Presidential HIV council warns proposed cuts could reverse decades of progress

• Debunking the Left’s Wild New Hoax About Trump’s MRI – PJ Media

  It is almost laughable to listen to these same people push conspiracy theories about Trump’s health after they previously rationalized why Joe Biden, who was in his early eighties during his term, supposedly never received a basic PSA screening, which is a standard part of routine bloodwork for men in that age bracket. I had one myself this year, and I’m only 45. But we’re expected to believe Biden never got one? Give me a break. In fact, even left-leaning medical experts have said that Biden’s prostate cancer was almost certainly kept quiet for years. So when the Left tries to cast Trump’s transparency as some medical cover-up, they’re revealing not just their ignorance about medicine, but also the depths of their hypocrisy. They were content to swallow Biden’s “no news is good news” strategy, but now they want to turn routine presidential health care into a scandal. Sorry, folks — Trump’s perfectly normal results are public and official. The same couldn't be said of Joe Biden, whose handlers spent years covering up his cognitive decline and other health problems.

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Coast Guard admiral, DEA administrator defend strikes on alleged drug boats: "We're going to apply every single tool"

  "Cocaine is getting more expensive. And I think what it is — not only more expensive in the U.S., but we're seeing it become more expensive at first stops. So more expensive in Puerto Rico, more expensive in the Dominican, more expensive once it lands in Guatemala and Honduras and Central America." Cole said the DEA has seen an increase in the price of cocaine of 30% to 45% per kilogram.

• Come read vets explain their dealings with Afghan "allies" to illustrate why they shouldn't be in America | Not the Bee

World

• India orders phone makers to preload devices with state-owned cyber safety app

  • India demands smartphone makers install a government app on every handset

  • Apple to resist India order to preload state-run app as political outcry builds

  • Apple refuses Indias order to preload state cyber safety app

  • Indian order to preload state-owned app on smartphones sparks political outcry

• Twelve more prisoners released in error, with two still missing

• Age of the 'scam state': how an illicit industry took root in south-East Asia

• London Mayor urged to ban ads promoting cars and flights

• The New German War Machine

• Europe's Green Energy Rush Slashed Emissions – and Crippled the Economy

• South Korea police say 120k home cameras hacked for 'sexploitation' footage

• Jury trials scrapped for crimes with sentences of less than three years

  • Trial by jury is a right that needs protecting

• Police detain former EU foreign policy chief F. Mogherini in anti-fraud probe

• "We have nothing to hide"- Why the Dutch don't mind you peering into their homes

• Dutch study finds teen cybercrime is mostly just a phase

• For Europe's Leaders, It's Prosper or Perish

• UK ministers aim to ban cryptocurrency political donations over anonymity risks

• Macron proposes ‘labelling’ for ‘reliable’ news outlets.

Iran / Houthi

• Iranian MPs decry lack of observance of female dress code

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Band of brothers: how the war crushed a cohort of young Ukrainians

• ECB refuses to provide backstop for €140B Ukraine loan

• Russia's War Drones Still Using Starlink Despite Pentagon Crackdown

China

• Young Adults in China pay pretend to work companies

• China floods the world with gasoline cars it can't sell at home

• Hong Kong Contractors Used Unsafe Netting at Fire Site, Officials Say - The New York Times

  To fool inspectors, netting that met the standards was installed at the base of the scaffolding, where samples are usually taken. The findings emerged as the death toll from Wednesday’s blaze rose to 151, with the police still combing the towers for bodies and evidence of identification. More than 40 people were still missing. The work of locating and identifying remains would take another three weeks, officials said. In a sign of how intensely the fires had raged, the police said that some bodies were so severely burned that they had been reduced to ashes, and they acknowledged that they might not be able to recover the remains of all the missing people.

  in October, after a separate fire involving scaffolding netting in the Central district set off official scrutiny, those individuals grew worried that the unsafe netting would be found in random inspections, Mr. Woo said. They then bought 115 rolls of netting that complied with the standards and installed it at the base of each building’s scaffolding in what investigators believe was an attempt to disguise the inferior material above. This netting was 100 Hong Kong dollars, or $13, nearly twice as expensive as the noncompliant netting.

  Over the weekend, officials invoked a new national security law to warn citizens not to use the tragedy to fuel discontent. The Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong issued a statement to warn that it would take action against “those with ulterior motives” who tried to use the tragedy to destabilize national security. The South China Morning Post reported that the authorities had arrested a man who had called for the establishment of an independent inquiry on the blaze and holding government officials responsible. The police did not respond to requests for comment.

• China’s Shijian spacecraft separate after pioneering geosynchronous orbit refueling tests.

  China’s experimental Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 satellites have separated in geosynchronous orbit after being docked for months conducting apparent low-profile on-orbit refueling tests. Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 performed rendezvous and proximity operations during the first half of the year before apparently docking in late June or early July, when the pair became virtually indistinguishable when viewed from the ground, likely marking the start of planned refueling tests, according to independent satellite-tracking analyses.

Health / Medicine

• Man unexpectedly cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

• New FDA-approved glasses can slow nearsightedness in kids

• Why Healthcare Is in a Death Spiral: Follow the Money

  Insurers simply have no path forward other than as payment administrators. Look for massive consolidation, starting with the individual Blues. The government has been resistant, but now it's a choice of merger or bankruptcy. In 2028 probably only Coventry, United, and Centene will be left standing, no more blues. Look for policy to evolve into a high-dollar, deductible, roll-over Health Savings Account (HSA) with income-based subsidies paired with a government subsidized catastrophic care program. At least until the young and disaffected elect a socialist.

• Report: Nitrous oxide found effective as major depression treatment.

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• US FDA memo links at least 10 child deaths to Covid vaccines

  COVID-19 vaccinations probably contributed to the deaths of at least 10 children who died of heart inflammation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief medical and scientific officer Vinay Prasad told agency staffers. "These deaths are related to vaccination (likely/probable/possible attribution made by staff)," Prasad wrote in a Friday memo seen by Reuters. "This is a profound revelation. For the first time, the U.S. FDA will acknowledge that COVID-19 vaccines have killed American children."

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• New research reveals the hidden organism behind Lake Erie's toxic blooms

• Devastating toxic spill tests whether African countries will stand up to China

• It's No Dodo, but This Newly Discovered Bird Could Share the Same Fate

• A theoretical upper limit for offshore wind energy extraction

• Hole in Antarctic ozone layer shrinks to smallest since 2019, scientists say

• Sharks and Rays Gain Protections from Wildlife Trade

• 'Those who eat Chilean salmon can't imagine how much human blood it carries'