2024-06-09
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Horseshit
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Preventing the Naomi Wolf Problem - by Joel J Miller
Giridharadas called for mandatory fact checking of all nonfiction publishing; others have as well. But having sat on the publisher’s side of the desk, I can say there are rarely funds for it. A good editor can catch a lot, but a full-on fact check is beyond the financial constraints of the average nonfiction book project—every one of which is a speculative enterprise.
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Homes popped up on the National Mall – showing they can be built fast and cheap
On the wide open, grassy space on the National Mall, halfway between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, a temporary village has sprouted up in recent days. Several tiny houses line the paths, and workers assemble what looks like an instant log cabin. A few manufactured homes are clustered near the Smithsonian Castle.
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Optimism is just what the doctor ordered. But what if I'm already too negative?
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Higher animal empathy in Australian pet-owners vs. non-owners and farmers
Electric / Self Driving cars
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Cameras on Your Car? Hire a Remote Driver to Get Home from the Bar
- the only reason they haven't been advertising this already is they're covering it as "self" driving for much profit? cf Amazon's "just walk out" system.
Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering
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YouTube Is Cracking Down on Gun Content and 3D-Printed Gun Makers Aren't Happy
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US lawmakers call for more scrutiny of news app NewsBreak over Chinese origins
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Misinformation poses a smaller threat to democracy than you might think
This illustrates why it is so important to have an accurate model of misinformation’s prevalence and dangers when it comes to designing interventions. If you think people are gullible, misinformation is rampant, and misinformation is the leading cause of troubling beliefs and behaviour in society, it makes sense to try to design interventions that teach people to be more paranoid about misinformation. However, if you think—as seems to be the case—that people are already highly suspicious of manipulation and low-quality misinformation is relatively rare in their information diet, you will realise there is a high chance such interventions will backfire, exacerbating problems of distrust that lie at the root of many profound epistemic problems in society.
It also illustrates why it is appropriate to hold misinformation researchers and misinformation interventions to very high standards. Even if expert classifications and research are not being used to censor, there is a risk that faulty and highly subjective assumptions will shape popular, well-funded interventions that either achieve little of value or worsen the problems they aim to fix.
Musk
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Tesla may be in trouble, but other EVs are selling just fine
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Tesla objects to $5.6B payout for lawyers who voided Musk's pay
Tesla said the legal team for Richard Tornetta, the shareholder whose lawsuit led to a January ruling voiding Musk's $56 billion pay package, should be paid as little as $13.6 million for their work, which began with a 2018 complaint. Musk's remuneration is the most ever granted to a CEO in the U.S. at least.
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Norway's oil fund to vote against Musk's $56B Tesla pay award
Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation
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Spokane Reporter OUTRAGED That Kids Are Riding Their Scooters on the Street – Twitchy
On Wednesday, in Spokane, Washington, three teens were arrested for riding their Lime scooters over a giant 'pride' flag painted on the street. Did the kids intentionally ride and brake their scooters over the flag to create skid marks? Probably. Kids have loved to create skid marks since bicycles were invented.
It is very serious and scary that governments are willing to charge children with FELONIES for the dastardly crime of creating marks on the road. The tweet from End Wokeness above continues to say that the kids could face up to 10 years in prison and that prosecutors requested they be held on $15,000 bail (but if you assault someone, they'll let you out with no bail, and if you rob a store, they may not even arrest you at all).
But the story gets even better. The next day, local news station KHQ sent intrepid reporter Adam Schwager out to the horrible scene of this crime against humanity ... where several more children were seen ALSO riding their scooters on the street and creating skid marks, including over the flag. In a reply to his own tweet, Schwager notes that the kids left skid marks elsewhere too, so the marks over the sacred 'pride' flag may have just been coincidental.
Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising
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Google cut Uncle Sam a $2M check so it could avoid a jury trial
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Google signs deal to distribute $100M to Canadian news companies
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The British Aren’t Coming. They’re Here. - The New York Times
As a historic presidential election looms, several of America’s largest and most powerful newsrooms are now being led by English journalists.
Theories abound as to the enduring appeal of British editors to American proprietors. The accent has its own worldly allure. But hard-nosed, scrappy journalism is a cherished tradition in Britain, where broadsheets and tabloids have battled it out for decades, often on budgets dwarfed by American rivals. British journalists tend to be lower paid than their American counterparts, an advantage for many news organizations already facing cutbacks. And while Fleet Street has a reputation for fuzzy ethics, that goes hand in hand with a reader-pleasing willingness to scorch sacred cows.
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Cassette tape is making a comeback thanks to a family-run company in Missouri
AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World
Economicon / Business / Finance
Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making
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MAGA trolls reacted by accusing the president of pooping in his pants.
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Chicago’s progressive mayor Brandon Johnson spent $30,000 on MAKEUP during his first year in office
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Disabled people tried to play by the rules. It cost them their federal benefits
She had no idea that buying that insurance would get her caught up in an antiquated federal rule — an “asset limit” — that snares more than 100,000 of America’s poorest disabled and elderly every year, often with dire consequences. Williams, who is disabled and doesn’t work, relied upon a little-known federal assistance program — Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, run by the Social Security Administration.
For Williams, the cash value of her policy along with the $260 she had saved in her checking account pushed her over SSI’s $2,000 limit on how much a recipient is allowed in savings and other assets. That $2,000 asset limit hasn’t changed since 1989. If it had kept up over 51 years with inflation, it would be $10,000 today.
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Real-world mileage standard for new vehicles rising to 38 mpg in 2031
Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security
Israel
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Israeli Army Forces Rescue Four Israeli Hostages Held by Hamas - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Israeli hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, were rescued from captivity in the Gaza Strip in a joint operation by the IDF, Shin Bet and Counter-Terrorism Unit, the IDF announced. The four were rescued in an operation as part of the army's extensive attack on Hamas targets in the central Gaza regions of Deir al-Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Russia Bad / Ukraine War
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Amazon violated UK sanctions by selling facial recognition tech to Russia
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How Russia is trying to disrupt the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Russia is ramping up malign disinformation campaigns against France, French President Emmanuel Macron, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. While Russia has a decades-long history of targeting the Olympic Games, the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) has observed old tactics blending with artificial intelligence (AI) in malign activity that may intensify as the 2024 Paris Opening Ceremony approaches. These operations have two principal aims:
- Denigrate the reputation of the IOC
- Create the expectation of violence breaking out in Paris at the Games