2024-01-02

etc

• The Cheesy Charm of the Clapper

• A Small Town in Japan Fiercely Defends Its Dark Skies

• How Archaeologists reconstructed the burning of Jerusalem in 586 BCE

• In search of a new job for Portugal's ancient pony breed

• Powerful Earthquake Hits Japan, Causing Tsunami and Fire  - WSJ

  • Evacuation underway after massive earthquake strikes western Japan.

  • Photos: Powerful earthquake hits Japan, residents flee some coastal areas

  • Japan's quake death toll rise to 48

  • Earthquake in Japan yesterday may have shifted land 1.3 meters

  • What a century of earthquakes has taught Japan

  • Japan's deadly earthquakes spark fires and destroy buildings – in pictures

• Fire destroys JAL plane after collision with coast guard aircraft at Haneda

  • Japan Airlines plane catches fire while landing at Tokyo airport runway

  • HN comments

  • Five killed aboard Japan earthquake relief flight in fiery collision with JAL jet liner

• Small Earthquake Strikes Maryland And Washington, D.C.

• BART transit train derails, catches fire in California's East Bay

• Winning $842 million Powerball jackpot sold in Michigan

Horseshit

• The wealthiest Californians are leaving the state. It's bad news for the economy

• The problem of thinking in straight lines

  As we grow up we are trained to think about things in a linear way. But it can leave us ill-equipped in our complex, fast moving modern world, harm our finances and even cause problems with artificial intelligence.

• Predictions for 2024

• What Will Happen in 2024

• Dave Barry 2023 Year In Review: Yes, the situation is hopeless

• The world should fear 2024: Escalation lurks on every battlefield

• Gen Alpha

• (Feb 2023) VW wouldn't help locate car with abducted child because GPS subscription expired

• Has the 'Sexlessness Epidemic' Been Overstated?

• China's Abandoned Electric Cars Pile Up After EV Boom Fueled by Subsidies

• California Pushes Electric Trucks as the Future of Freight

• Life on a 17th century pirate ship was less chaotic than you think

• 20 years later, the Y2K bug seems like a joke–because some took it seriously

  • Years before it was an issue it was addressed. Now the scammers want to be remembered for their heroism in selling "Y2K will kill us all" to all and sundry.

• Can We Imagine a World Without Work?

  • HN comments

• The MTA laser train uses high-powered lasers to clear leaves from railways

• Electric Car Models Eligible for $7,500 US Tax Credit Cut to 13

• Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna

  • HN comments

celebrity gossip

• Breaking Report: Bill Clinton Expected to Be Identified as 'Doe 36' in Unsealing of Epstein Court Filings

  • Nearly 200 names linked to Jeffrey Epstein expected to be made public

  • Jeffrey Epstein list: What to expect from court filings unsealed in New York

• Is Tom Cruise actor GOAT?

• Dave Chappelle walked off stage. Blame audience members who don't follow rules

Obit

• Prolific and Influential Jazz Musician Les McCann Dies at 88

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• Substack's Dilemma - by Margaret Atwood

  What does “Nazi” mean, or signify? Many things, but among them is “Kill all Jews.” This is not an opinion. It’s a call for actions, such as blowing up a synagogue with people inside or murdering 6 million people who are Jews. If “Nazi” does not mean this, what does it mean instead? I’d be eager to know. As it is, anyone displaying the insignia or claiming the name is in effect saying “Kill all Jews.”

  No, Substack: You can’t have both the dystopian nightmare and “Flopsy Bunny’s Very Busy Day.” You can’t have both the terms of service you have spelled out and a bunch of individial publishers who violate those terms of service. One or the other has got to go, and hiding under the sofa and pretending it isn’t happening will not make your dilemma go away. Nor will some laudable rhetoric about free speech – not when you yourselves have clearly stated that not everything is allowable, including threats of “violence” and “physical harm” to “protected classes.” So, one or the other, dear Substack. Tell us which. I am sure you mean well, but you are young and inexperienced, and did not think this through. It’s not too late! You aren’t doomed to the dystopian nightmare! You can still have “Flopsy Bunny’s Very Busy Day,” if you close your eyes tight and wish very hard.

• In a dark world, light is held by those who make it hard for the powerful to lie

Musk

• Musk's X Value Cut by Another Fidelity Writedown

• Tesla loses legal appeal in Sweden as strike hits eight weeks

Trump / War against the Right / Jan6

• Maine Democrat who removed Trump from ballot met with Biden this year

  • Secretary Of State That Kicked Trump From Maine Ballot Wants 'Better Leaders' In Power To Prevent 'Election Sabotage' | ZeroHedge

• Green Day bashes Trump during New Year’s Eve performance

  • Green Day changed one of their best-known songs to slam Donald Trump during a televised New Year's Eve perfomance

  • Elon Musk is beefing with Green Day for slamming MAGA in their latest rendition of 'American Idiot'

• Trump gaining ground among Latino voters, poll shows

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• Expired Pfizer Covid antiviral drugs set to cost Europe $2.2bn, data shows

• A year after China ended its harsh Covid policies, it's struggling to rebound

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• The Corruption of Everything - American Thinker

• Enlightenment Ideals and Belief in Progress in the Run-Up to the Industrial Revolution: A Textual Analysis

  Using textual analysis of 173,031 works printed in England between 1500 and 1900, we test whether British culture evolved to manifest a heightened belief in progress associated with science and industry. Our analysis yields three main findings. First, there was a separation in the language of science and religion beginning in the 17th century. Second, scientific volumes became more progress-oriented during the Enlightenment. Third, industrial works epecially those at the science-political economy nexus were more progress-oriented beginning in the 17th century.

• A rising number of Americans are switching religions

• ‘Interior Race Theory:’ Your Home Is Likely ‘Racist,’ White People

• Sex offender alleges civil rights violation for being denied women's underwear

• "Prophet Song" and psycho-political projection

  You see, Prophet Song is set in a near-future dystopia in which a far-right government has come to power in Ireland, and the protagonist’s husband has been abducted by the secret police on account of his trade union organising. This premise would be fine fodder for a thriller or sci-fi novel seeking only to entertain, with no pretensions to having ideas above its station. But no: Lynch takes himself very seriously indeed, and the premise isn’t just a setup on which to tell an exciting, pacy thriller - it’s political commentary, don’t you see?

• "Massive" NYPD Mobilization At JFK Airport To Protect Travelers From Pro-Palestinian Mob

  • Pro-Palestinian caravan snarls New York traffic around JFK, LaGuardia Airport

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• The Onion (ok, an Onion-affiliate site) is plagiarizing. For reals

• New FAFSA launches after a long delay — but with 'some minor issues,' Education Department says

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Flawless IPTV: Men Behind UK's Largest Pirate Service Jailed for 30 Years

• 'Steamboat Willie' is now in the public domain. What does that mean for Mickey?

  • Mickey Mouse is finally in the public domain

  • Mickey Mouse Slasher Film Trailer Drops on Day Character Enters Public Domain

• AMD CPU Use by Linux Gamers at 70%

• E621, Pornhub, and others block North Carolina residents

  • HN comments

• He wants interactive ebooks? Daring Fireball: 'Poor Charlie’s Almanack' (and the Tragic State of E-Books)

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Welcome To The Year Of The Diagonal Linux Desktop

• 16-bit Vector Normalization: Finally Putting that Math Major To Work - itch.io

• Ask HN: What 1980s/90s-era shareware did you purchase?

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• For all the hype in 2023, we still don't know what AI's long-term impact will be

• The labor force behind ChatGPT: The drama of the 'ghost workers'

• The Year That A.I. Came for Culture

Crypto con games

• Bitcoin tops $45,000 for the first time since April 2022 as crypto rally continues

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Corn, Wheat Prices Post Largest Yearly Decline In Decade As Hope For Easing Food Inflation Rises | ZeroHedge

• Global minimum tax on multinationals goes live to raise up to $220B

• Covid Slashed Consumer Choices. This Is Why They Aren't Coming Back Archive

  “Today, people would rather lose a portion of consumer demand as opposed to spending extra on too much variety,” said Inna Kuznetsova, chief executive officer of ToolsGroup, a supply-chain planning and optimization company. Macy’s president and CEO-elect, Tony Spring, told analysts in November that “the customer today does not want an endless aisle.” New items made up about 2% of products in stores in 2023 across categories such as beauty, footwear and toys, down from 5% of items in 2019, according to the market-research firm Circana.

  • "Central planning" arrived, driven my ML/AI systems that do not understand what it is to be human. See "Mac&Cheese Gummy Candy" and "Doritos Liquor".

• Is Wall Street Giving Up on Consolidation?

• The ‘wealth transfer’ from boomers won’t save Gen X and millennials.

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• U.S. oil production hit a record under Joe Biden

• A court struck down local gas bans – Seattle, other cities are getting creative

• Lauren Boebert blames district swap on Barbra Streisand

• NJ mayor says buses of migrants bound for NY are being dropped off at NJ train stations

• Biden spent 37% of 2023 at a getaway spot — in Delaware, at posh vacation sites or Camp David

• Poll: More Americans Think Foreign Policy Should Be Top US Priority for 2024

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Asian American Officials Cite Unfair Scrutiny, Lost Jobs in China Spy Tensions

• Missouri Court Claims Mark McCloskey Still Guilty of Gun Charge, despite Pardon - Slay News

  • Appellate court confirms McCloskey not entitled to have guns retuned

  In an opinion issued Tuesday, a three-judge panel wrote Mark McCloskey may have had his conviction pardoned by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, but he still pleaded guilty to the crime of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. "Therefore, since McCloskey’s guilt remains, it follows that he is not entitled to the return of the weapons,” the opinion reads.

• Vermont Attorney General's dog sniffs out electronic storage devices

  • HN comments

• Over 300,000 migrants processed at the U.S. southern border in December, a new record

• FBI alerted after gas canisters found around crash that killed 2 and injured 5 in Rochester, N.Y.

  • FBI Investigating Deadly Crash of Gas-Filled SUV at Concert

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• The Shrinking Cost of War Threatens Western Militaries

• Navy helicopters sink three Houthi rebel boats in self defense

  • U.S. Navy helicopters sink 3 Houthi militant ships

• US Aircraft Carrier Returning Home After Extended Deployment Defending Israel

  • US Pulls Back Aircraft Carrier From Mediterranean

  • US Navy says the Ford carrier strike group is finally heading home after its first full deployment was upended by war

• Iran deploys warship to Red Sea amid soaring tensions

  • Iranian Warship Alborz Enters the Red Sea, Tasnim Reports

World

• Police Injured During ‘Diversity Riot’ In London - modernity

• NHS England published heavily redacted Palantir contract as festivities began

• North Korea fertility rate plummets to estimated 1.38

• South Korea's main liberal opposition leader stabbed at event

  • South Korean opposition leader stabbed in the neck

  • South Korean opposition leader is stabbed by knife-wielding man

• Vietnam's power blackouts hit multinationals' manufacturing hubs

• Russia, China ahead in race for Bolivia's lithium

• China's Xi says 'reunification' with Taiwan is inevitable

  • Xi Jinping says China will 'surely be reunified' with Taiwan in New Year's speech

• China's Xi Is Resurrecting Mao's 'Continuous Revolution' with a Twist

• China's solar sector steams ahead of EU, US

• China's economy is in so much trouble that even Xi Jinping's admitting that businesses are having a 'tough time'

• Can Anything Stop El Salvador’s Bitcoin-Loving, Backsliding Leader?

• Venezuela’s Strongman Wonders Whether to Risk Free Elections for Sanctions

Israel

• Half of Gazans at Risk of Starving, U.N. Warns

• Israel Supreme Court Strikes Down Law Limiting Their Power

  • Israel's Supreme Court Overturns a Key Component of Netanyahu's Polarizing Judicial Overhaul

• Israel To Withdraw Some Troops From Gaza, But Signals Plan To Fight Through All 2024

  • Israel withdrawing some units from Gaza

• Hamas Fired New Year's Eve Rocket Barrage At Tel Aviv, Timed For Midnight

• Israel used Louisiana and Arkansas sourced white phosphorus in Lebanon attack

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Putin Vows Russia "Will Never Back Down" In Year-End Speech

• Russian Drones Hit Sites Linked to Ukrainian Nationalists

• Russia Kills 4 in Latest Ukraine Bombardment—and Bombs Itself

  • Russia hammers Ukraine's 2 largest cities with hypersonic missiles

  • Russia Strikes Ukrainian Cities After Putin Vow to Intensify Attacks

Health / Medicine

• Doctors report 'nightmare' surge in scabies across UK

• An Overdose Antidote Becomes a Tricky Issue at Some Nightclubs

• Queensland woman use electric car to run her son's dialysis machine in power cut

• Eating fewer calories can ward off ageing

  • HN comments

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• (Video) On Digitalisation, Sustainability and Climate Justice

• Venice to limit tourist group size to 25 to protect historic city

• In a win for the climate (and safety), urban US speed limits are dropping

  • HN comments

• Could 2024 be the year nature rights enter the political mainstream?