2024-01-08

• Our Jan6 Journal is up! Extracts from personal logs for the week of Jan 6 2021; the prequel to these Daily News pages.

Cool

• 3 months: NASA SVS | The 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipses: Map and Data

  • 2024 Total Eclipse - NASA Science

etc

• Japan earthquake: Woman in 90s found alive under rubble five days later

  • Number of Missing in Japan Quake Jumps to Over 300

• Defending against hypothetical moon life during Apollo 11

  In 1969, after successfully bringing men back from landing on the moon, the astronauts, spacecraft, and all the samples from the moon surface were quarantined for 21 days. This was to account for the possibility that they were carrying hostile moon germs.

  We know now that the moon is sterile. We didn’t always know this. That was one of the things we hoped to find out from the Apollo 11 program, which was the first time not only that people would visit another celestial body, but that material from another celestial body would be brought back in a relatively pristine fashion to earth. The possibilities were huge.

• Greece reopens 2,400-year-old palace where Alexander the Great was crowned

• Is this new information? "references in newspapers" nope. Transatlantic slavery continued for years after 1867, historian finds

  Dr Hannah Durkin, an historian and former Newcastle University lecturer, has unearthed evidence that two slave ships landed in Cuba in 1872. One vessel, flying the Portuguese flag, had 200 captives aged from 10 to 40, and the second is believed to have been a US ship with 630 prisoners packed into its hold. Durkin said she found references in US newspapers from that year to the landings of these ships. “It shows how recently the slave trade ended. The thefts of people’s lives have been written out of history and haven’t been recorded.”

• Winter storms dump snow on both US coasts as icy roads make for hazardous travel

Horseshit

• Online scammers coerced teen to self-isolate and sent threats to his family

• The culture that was East German

  We find that former East Germans have substantially more self-control than West Germans and provide evidence for government surveillance as a possible underlying mechanism. We thereby demonstrate that institutional factors can shape people’s self-control. Moreover, we find that self-control increases linearly with age. In contrast to previous findings for children, there is no gender gap in adult self-control and family background does not predict self-control.

  • People trained to live in fear are easier to control. looks at the Modern American Teenager

• Ignorant, Incompetent or Just Plain Stupid? - Slow thoughts

  stupidity has nothing to do with intelligence, it’s simply a measure of one’s willingness to accept the fundamental facts of life, sometimes even at the cost of one’s own life. As in: deep down I might know that it makes sense to wear a mask during a pandemic, but I’m still hell-bent on proving that it doesn’t. Seen this way, stupidity seems to have some important common denominator with religious faith; which is all about willing oneself to believe.

• Airbnb Was Supposed to Save Capitalism. Instead, It Just Devolved into Garbage

• High EV Prices, Charging Worries Push US Car Buyers to Hybrids - Bloomberg

• Fearless Predictions for 2024 - Gumlegs’s Newsletter

  JUNE: After a flood of Amazon Prime subscribers' complaints about being inundated by unordered, shoddy merchandise, the SEC reveals the company changed its name last year to Spamazon. Apple announces its new iCan't app, a subscription service designed specifically to attract Microsoft enthusiasts. It does nothing … badly. California's Governor Nuisance formally cedes state law enforcement to China.

• Kohler's voice-controlled bidet seat turns your toilet into a smart-throne

• The Great Marijuana Experiment: A Tale of Two Drug Wars

• Scholars now argue that early nomadic empires were the architects of modernity

• Why Tech Needs a Rational, Humanistic "Third Way"

• Why America hates its children

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• Computing, You Have Blood on Your Hands! | January 2024 | Communications of the ACM

  "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," goes an old children's rhyme. That rhyme's end must now be revised to "and words can hurt me too." Consider hate speech. ... hate speech is prevalent across the Internet, and it has consequences.

  It is time for all computing professionals to accept responsibility for computing's current state. To use Star Wars metaphors, we once considered computing as the "Rebels," but it turns out that computing is the "Empire." Admitting we have a problem is a necessary first step toward addressing the problems computing has created.

  • sfalphageek @ IP:

  It takes a special combination of arrogance and stupidity for CompSci people to think like this - and I say this as a member of ACM myself. Just because you helped come up with one small piece of the printing press doesn't give you any special insight into what's worth printing. We're technicians, not Platonic priest-kings.

• Amid surging anti-Semitism, Australia bans Nazi salute, symbols

  • Australia outlaws Nazi salute and hate symbols

Musk

• Saturday Night Drive-By: Citing Anonymous Sources, WSJ Smears Musk As Drug Abuser | ZeroHedge

  • Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX - WSJ

  • internet comment, they forgot "nazi" i guess:

  far right reactionary terrorist incel propaganda is OK, but drugs are BAD

  • Elon Musk’s Drug Use Concerns Tesla, SpaceX Leaders, WSJ Says - Bloomberg

  • Elon Musk says '3 years of random testing' found no traces of drug use as he fires back at bombshell WSJ report

Trump / War against the Right / Jan6

• Jan. 6 rioters prosecuted ‘far too broadly’: Bill Barr.

• January 6, 2021 Was Not an Insurrection.

• ZeroHedge Debate: Was January 6 A Manufactured Crisis?

• After Shooting Ashli Babbitt, Capitol Police Lt. Made False Radio Report: Lawsuit | ZeroHedge

  Within a minute after firing the fatal bullet that struck Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd broadcast a radio report claiming shots were being fired at him in the Speaker’s Lobby and he was “prepared to fire back,” a federal lawsuit alleges.

• Do presidents have immunity from the law? Trump case to separate 'official acts' from crimes

• Trump Says He’ll Show Up for Court Hearing on Presidential Immunity

• Liz Cheney: "Have to be prepared" to defeat Trump at ballot box

  • Liz Cheney Says Trump 'Ought To Be Disqualified' As GOP Nears Iowa Caucuses

• Meghan McCain Blasts ‘Piece of Sh*t’ Trump for Mocking Her Dad’s Injuries

  • 'Piece Of S**t': Meghan McCain Rips Trump For Mocking Her Late Father

  • Meghan McCain blasts Trump after he said John McCain failed.

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• (June 2022) How True Name helps transgender people make a name for themselves | Mastercard Newsroom

• Mega-Study Finds That Minorities Don’t Receive Harsher Criminal Punishments, But That Academics Said So Anyway.

• John Burns: Dublin tech guru ousted from board over Gaza 'genocide' blog post

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• Bill Ackman goes scorched earth on MIT and Business Insider after ‘attacks on my family.’

  • Last night, no one at MIT had a good night's sleep

• The Misguided War on the SAT - The New York Times

  After the Covid pandemic made it difficult for high school students to take the SAT and ACT, dozens of selective colleges dropped their requirement that applicants do so. Colleges described the move as temporary, but nearly all have since stuck to a test-optional policy.

  Research has increasingly shown that standardized test scores contain real information, helping to predict college grades, chances of graduation and post-college success. Test scores are more reliable than high school grades, partly because of grade inflation in recent years.

• (1926) Gifted Children, by Leta Hollingworth

• Sharing your science in an opinion piece can boost your career

• Robert Maxwell was largely responsible for how scientific journal system evolved

  • Robert Maxwell - Wikipedia

  Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected Mossad spy, fraudster and father of convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.

  In 1991, Maxwell was forced to sell Pergamon and Maxwell Directories to Elsevier for £440 million to cover his debts

  A bugged version of the intelligence spy software PROMIS was sold in the mid-1980s for Soviet government use, with Maxwell as a conduit.

• The immediate victims of the con would rather act as if the con never happened. Instead, they’re mad at the outsiders who showed them that they were being fooled

  The sorts of people who will cheat on their research are likely to be the same sorts of people who will instigate lawsuits, start media campaigns, and attack in other ways. These are researchers who’ve already shown a lack of scruple and a willingness to risk their careers; in short, they’re loose cannons, scary people, so it can seem like the safest strategy to not try to upset them too much, not trap them into a corner where they’ll fight like trapped rats.

  • HN comments

• Popular science has failed

  most people don't like science; they just like "cool" images. Hence, a popular biologist's post about genetic influences on IQ can just have an image of the double helix and attract readers, whereas a sociologist's post about the Flynn effect or the statistics indicating that having elder siblings can negatively affect your IQ, are barely noticed. There are simply no "cool" images for such posts. But the main reason is, or could be, that some information can only be really understood by experts, and often not even by them. It may sound elitistic, but it is not. You can't really grasp General Relativity without a hard background in Differential Geometry.

  As of 2024, popular science has failed to make the people more enlightened, and has only given us crude "sciency" (i.e. biological/neuroscientific) parodies of explanations of sociopolitical issues, and bold idiots less willing than ever to question their opinions because they are "backed by science".

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Disney Admits Defeat in YouTube Battle over 'Steamboat Willie'

  • Disney backs down from 'Steamboat Willie' YouTube copyright claim

• Higher fees, more ads: streaming cashes in by using the old tactics of cable TV

• European Union set to revise cookie law, admits cookie banners are annoying

• 'Oppenheimer' Dominates Golden Globes, 'Poor Things' Upsets 'Barbie' in Comedy

• Largest U.S. radio company Audacy files for bankruptcy protection

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Old ways, updated: Usenet over NNCP | www.complete.org

• The History of Windows Millennium

• Why Probabilistic Linkage is More Accurate than Fuzzy Matching For Data Deduplication

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• The New York Times Launches a Strong Case Against Microsoft and OpenAI

  • HN comments

• Artificial Intelligence’s Threat to Democracy | Foreign Affairs

  the technology won’t introduce fundamentally new risks in the 2024 election - bad actors have used cyberthreats and disinformation for years to try to undermine the American electoral process - it will intensify existing risks. Generative AI in the hands of adversaries could threaten each part of the electoral process, including the registration of voters, the casting of votes, and the reporting of results. In large part, responsibility for meeting this threat will fall to the country’s state and local election officials. For nearly 250 years, these officials have protected the electoral process from foreign adversaries, wars, natural disasters, pandemics, and disruptive technologies.

  But these officials need support, especially because of the intense pressure they have faced since the 2020 election and the baseless allegations of voter fraud that followed it.

  • Since 2020 was the only election in the last 3 decades that was totally without fraud (we're constantly reminded), and there's already concern about the integrity of the upcoming... One might think the parties would be interested securing the next election by pursuing the "low hanging fruit," like over-registrations of voters, mail in ballots, and other practices that tend to reduce confidence in the election results. Verify the machine's code and hardware in public, etc.

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• Vulcan Centaur rocket 'go' for historic Jan. 8 moon launch

• That rocket with tiny amounts of human ashes that the Navajo Nation is bitching about will launch on schedule.

• Peregrine mission, to launch Monday, will aid humans' return to moon - UPI.com

  The Vulcan rocket is to make its first flight, carrying the Peregrine commercial lunar lander for Astrobotic. The Peregrine robotic lander, which will carry experiments, scientific instruments and other payloads, also will carry two prototype satellites for Amazon's Kuiper broadband constellation.

  • That sure seems like a lot in one load. Who is insuring this launch?

• Vulcan Rocket Blasts Off on First U.S. Moon Lander Mission in Over 50 years

• US Vulcan rocket launches on Moon mission

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Mexican debt, Wall Street's new darling

• The Woman Shaking Up the $50 Billion Instant-Ramen Industry - WSJ

• Rent Is So Expensive for Gen Zers Almost One-Third Are Living with Their Parents

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• From Insurrection to Satire: Biden’s Valley Forge Speech Fails to Cement the Trump-Dictator Narrative: I would not be surprised if future historians singled out Joe Biden’s Valley Forge speech as the moment his campaign began its final retreat into senile collapse.

  • “Joe Biden’s Jan 6 speech raises some interesting problems. What does he really want to achieve by declaring his foes outlaws?

  A clear, resounding electoral defeat in 2024 would consign Trump to the dustbin of history and endorse Joe Biden and his policies. Yet ironically, by doing everything to ensure his opponents cannot run against him, Biden is disabling the one tool that can resolve the challenge democratically and peacefully. If the Democrats win the match next year by default it can only guarantee the insurrection, rather than fading, will continue.

• Facing Housing Shortages, Cities Try Cramming More Units on Lots

• US appeals court prevents California from banning guns in most public places | Reuters

• National Park Service Plans to Remove William Penn Statue from the Site of His Philadelphia Home – Twitchy

• Congress secures 'topline' 2024 spending deal as shutdown deadline looms

• DeSantis Won’t Loom as Large Over Florida Legislative Session This Year

  • DeSantis dismisses rumors he would drop of presidential race after caucus

  • DeSantis predicts 'really nasty election' if GOP only focuses on Trump

• Rep. Elise Stefanik Declines To Commit To Certifying 2024 Election

  • Republican Elise Stefanik declines to commit to certifying 2024 election

  • Elise Stefanik Echoes Trump’s Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’ Rhetoric, Won’t Commit to Certifying 2024 Election

  • Stefanik declines to commit to certifying 2024 election results

• Lauren Boebert Can Run From Her District, But She Can’t Outrun Her Past

  • Lauren Boebert denies allegations that she punched ex-husband in restaurant

  • Lauren Boebert's ex-husband called the authorities after a physical confrontation between the two, report says

  • Police looking into alleged physical altercation between Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband

  • Lauren Boebert’s Ex Called The Cops After Physical Fight in Public on Saturday Night

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Hyundai and Kia thefts soar more than 1000% since 2020

• Biden is asking for Mexican help to stop the record surge of migrants. Here's what Mexico wants in return.

  • The US sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement

  • The U.S. sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Defense Secretary Austin Scandal Is Even Worse Than We Thought.

  • White House Wasn't Aware For Days That Defense Secretary Austin Was Hospitalized

  • Pentagon 2nd in command was not informed of defense secretary's hospitalization

  Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, assumed the top role on Jan. 2, a not unusual transfer of power that sometimes occurs purely for operational reasons. She did not learn of Austin's hospitalization until Jan. 4, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico at the time.

  When Hicks learned of Austin's hospitalization, she "immediately engaged staff on the drafting of a public statement and congressional outreach. She also began to make contingency plans to return to Washington, D.C., on Friday. However, she was informed that afternoon that the secretary was preparing to resume full communications capability and the associated operational responsibilities on Friday," the official said.

  • Lloyd Austin first went into hospital on 22 December – Pentagon

  • Officials rankled over delayed reports of Austin's hospitalization

  • Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized after mystery operation

  • The Pentagon adds new details about Austin's secretive hospital stay and the delay in telling Biden

  • Pressure Builds on Pentagon to Explain Timeline of Austin’s Hospitalization

  • Deputy Defense Secretary Didn’t Know Lloyd Austin Was Hospitalized When She Filled In for Him

  • Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's Hospitalization Deepens Mystery of His Absence

  • Defense Secretary Austin’s Mysterious Hospital Stay Is a Mess

  • Russian media says he's still in hospital:

    • Pentagon Says Austin Remaining in Hospital, No Specific Date for His Release

    • US defense chief still working remotely from hospital

World

• NHS to investigate Palantir influencer campaign as possible contract breach

• Taiwan Prepares for Contentious Presidential Election

• North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Is Turning 40. Maybe.

• Bangladesh’s Leader Headed to Fourth Term in Vote Marred by Crackdown

  • Bangladesh PM Hasina secures fourth straight term

  • Bangladesh leader extends her rule in election boycotted by opposition

  • Sheikh Hasina wins fifth term in Bangladesh amid turnout controversy

Israel

• Will Hamas release more hostages? US family fears time is running out

• Aljazeera Reporter Wael Dahdouh's Son killed by a targeted airstrike

  Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh is mourning his son, Hamza Dahdouh, who has been killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted his car in southern Gaza. In October, Israeli forces killed Wael’s wife, other son, daughter and grandson.

  • Sympathies for they losses; however a reporter should've had enough awareness to realize living in a war zone while reporting for the enemy isn't healthy, and got they family out.

• Hezbollah Strikes Israel Intel Base With 60+ Rockets As "Initial Response" To Hamas Leader Assassination

• Israel dropped 65,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in 89 days

• Blinken warns Palestinians ‘must not be pressed to leave Gaza’

• U.S., Middle East Partners Start Talks on Next Chapter for Gaza

• Blinken Visiting UAE, Saudi Arabia Amid Push to Curb Spread of Israeli-Hamas War

• Israel-Hamas War: Israel’s Military Says It Struck Hezbollah Positions in Lebanon

• Israeli police kill four-year-old girl after checkpoint ‘ram attack’

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Russia hacked webcams to aid missile, drone strikes on Kyiv

China

• China feels the country isn't patriotic enough. A new law aims to change that

• Shadow bank Zhongzhi files for bankruptcy as China's debt and property crisis deepens

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Flowers Are Evolving to Have Less Sex - The New York Times

  As the number of bees and other pollinators falls, field pansies are adapting by fertilizing their own seeds, a new study found.

• Road to Removal: A blueprint for removing billions of tons of atmospheric CO2

• Dartmouth ‘climate justice’ protestors arraigned on charges of criminal trespassing.

• U.S. LNG Growth Sparks Climate Activism Uproar

• Fairness and kindness are not weaknesses - Gerry McGovern

  The poorest 50% of people cause only 12% of CO2 but will experience 75% of relative income loss due to climate change, while owning just 2% of world wealth. Meanwhile, the top 10% belch 48% of total CO2, own 76% of everything, and will experience only 3% of relative income loss due to the destruction they cause. Why are we allowing the greedy and cruel destroy our environment?

• Elusive 'alligator'-like creature found in treetops of Mexico is a new species

• 'De-extinction' plan to reintroduce Dodo bird to Mauritius

• The World Has Already Ended

  it’s already too late to return to the Holocene. The Anthropocene is here to stay, and the sixth mass extinction has only just begun. The main question now is whether humans will go extinct, but that depends on what we do next. Our best shot at saving the human race is to stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible and return to local living, where communities grow their own food and create their own products. This would require a radical transformation of global society where every industry that doesn’t contribute to people’s basic needs would be sidelined, and 90% of people would work on farms, as they did over two centuries ago.

  • HN comments