2024-08-05
Cool
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Comet caught strangely zigzagging its way through space | Mashable
He compares the solar wind to a river constantly flowing away from the sun. "The ion tail is basically caught up in that river," Hsieh told Mashable. "You see a straight tail most of the time, but then every so often, you'll have this bit of a hiccup in the sun — these coronal mass ejection events — where it'll just kind of send a particularly large or denser bunch of material outward." Coronal mass ejections, or plasma spewed from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, involve enormous solar explosions. Through a solar telescope, the ejection looks like a fan of gas flying into space. NASA likens these ejections to cannonballs hurtling in a single direction, only affecting a targeted area. "If this hits the comet, then it will cause a disruption to this nice flowing river," Hsieh said, "like a rock suddenly came loose, and the flow of the river suddenly got a little bit faster, but momentarily."
etc
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Dispatches from the farm upstate - lcamtuf’s thing
Rural jurisdiction is funny too: you no longer have to deal with city planning departments or HOAs, but it’s not the bargain you might be hoping for. You probably need a permission straight from the state capital to build a septic system or dig a well — and if you’re unlucky, you might get a visit from the feds, too. The much-politicized Sackett v. EPA decision involved a family who bought an unassuming rural plot to build a single-family home — and ended up getting pulled into a decade-long fight with the federal government. The fight was about regulatory power, not the (near-zero) impact of what the Sacketts wanted to do. When the family finally prevailed, half the country gave them cross looks.
Horseshit
LimpLicks
Musk
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Did Elon Musk Suspend Pro-Kamala Group to Help Trump Win? | The New Republic
Elon Musk, a self-declared “free speech absolutist,” has been accused of suspending the account of a group organizing voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris. Leaders of the newly formed Democratic outreach group “White Dudes for Harris” hit back at technocrat Musk after the group’s X (formerly Twitter) account was temporarily suspended Monday night, following a wildly successful fundraiser earlier that evening.
The group’s account was restored by Tuesday morning. It’s not clear that Musk was involved in the account’s suspension, but Rocketto and Nellis aren’t all that crazy to think that the X CEO might be behind it.
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Elon Musk PAC being investigated by Michigan secretary of state
Electric / Self Driving cars
Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts
Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising
TechSuck / Geek Bait
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Intel tacks two years onto Raptor Lake CPU warranty after voltage crash fiasco
Intel also admitted there were some manufacturing defects with early Raptor Lake batches, which stems from oxidized vias. The biz claimed this is a minor issue unrelated to the elevated voltage problem and the upcoming microcode patch, noting it was actually addressed in early 2023. However, Intel admitted the affected chips weren't fully removed from its supply chain until early 2024, which means retailers could have still been selling defective oxidized CPUs into this year.
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Sometimes the rabbit hole opens into a grand canyon: Python: A fitting curve that boings into place
AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World
Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO
Crypto con games
Economicon / Business / Finance
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Fears US economy headed towards recession spark jitters across global markets
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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger's Dream Job Takes a Nightmarish Turn
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One State's Anti-Gift-Card Fraud Law Could Impact U.S. Retailers
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Berkshire halves Apple stake, boosts cash to $277B as it gets 'defensive'
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Housebuilding is a route to bigger, better homes for all, not just the rich
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The food delivery bubble is bursting – and maybe that's not a bad thing
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Dumpster diving: As Americans worry about inflation, planet, some look to trash
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There goes another brilliant business idea. "DumpsterDash" Combining sanitation services, recycling, and "surprise me" value meals for the people bored with deciding what to order. We just drive the buffet truck by your house and you take what you want. Coulda been a $20 billion IPO. Alas.
Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making
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FBI, CISA remind US voters that DDoS attacks can't touch election systems
The joint PSA said that the security of voting systems or adjacent infrastructure would not be affected should a DDoS attack target them, and the most significant impact that could potentially manifest would be related to the access of information.
Things like voter look-up tools and "unofficial election night reporting" were included as examples of services that could be made unavailable. But you're only getting your political news from trusted sources anyway, right?
They also said those who launch DDoS attacks may falsely claim the disruption they cause is tantamount to a compromise of election systems – all in a bid to undermine public confidence in the democratic process. "The FBI and CISA have no reporting to suggest a DDoS attack has ever prevented an eligible voter from casting a ballot, compromised the integrity of any ballots cast, or disrupted the ability to tabulate votes or transmit election results in a timely manner."
There are, of course, several instances of individuals in the US trying to interfere with their own country's voters, urging them to vote in one way or another.
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CrowdStrike taking down polling locations in AZ last week is totally different because that was a single point of failure tonker stomp, not a "DDoS attack". Wouldn't want to undermine public confidence in the democratic process. Also: "urging individuals to vote one way or another" == election interference now?
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(Jul 21 2024) CrowdStrike global tech outage snarls early voting in Arizona — with GOP convention travelers delayed
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Wyoming offers to sell land to Grand Teton park – or it could go to developers
Harris / TBA 2024 / Democrats Demonstrate "Our Democracy"
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Could Black Gay Men Be Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Weapon?
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Jimmy Carter hopes to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris
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Inside the Harris campaign’s outreach plan for Republican voters
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Tell HN: I'll match your donation to the Harris campaign, up to $1M total | Hacker News
I ordinarily wouldn't post something like this to HN, but given endorsements/contributions from eg Elon, a16z, etc this feels like it has become a hacker's issue whether we like it or not. I've never been outspoken about my political views, and I've never donated to a presidential campaign before. But this election feels super-high-stakes, and I feel compelled to do something. I don’t think I'm the only one
- I'm tempted to come up with a similar "donate to Trump" post there just to see how many seconds it lasts. I can't afford to donate anything but I suspect it would not be an issue.
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Harris’s Brother-in-Law Tony West, an Uber Executive, is a Key Adviser - The New York Times
Tony West, her brother-in-law and the chief legal officer at Uber, was with Ms. Harris in the vice president’s residence when she received the news, and he spent the afternoon helping her reach out to would-be supporters. At various points he peeled away to a nearby anteroom to call his own network of donors and business contacts, after which the two relatives compared notes, someone familiar with the matter said. Since that Sunday, Mr. West has emerged as a major force behind Ms. Harris’s campaign and its record-setting fund-raising, but also as a concern for some progressives who want her to take a hard line against big business. He is expected to remain involved in the final 92 days of the race, with Uber announcing on Friday that Mr. West would soon take an unpaid leave of absence to focus on the White House run.
Regardless, Mr. West’s proximity to his sister-in-law is viewed with suspicion by influential voices on the left, who believe the key to defeating former President Donald J. Trump is a full-throated embrace of liberal populism. Some progressives, upset that Ms. Harris in recent days has dialed back liberal stances she took during her 2020 campaign on health care and the environment, are worried that Mr. West could discourage populist positions on business issues including antitrust enforcement, data privacy and labor rights. There is no direct evidence that Mr. West has shaped Ms. Harris’s positions on any particular policy. In fact, she supported efforts in California to classify gig workers as employees, which would have been a blow to Uber.
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Harris interviewing possible vice presidential running mates, with decision soon
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Kamala Harris VP Pick Leaked by Incompetent Philly City Staffer – RedState
Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick was leaked on Friday due to an incompetent staffer not understanding how to schedule posts on social media. In a move that will no doubt rankle the Harris campaign, a video promoting Josh Shapiro as the choice was pushed out by the X account owned by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. It was immediately apparent that the post was meant to be scheduled for early next week when Harris is set to join Parker and others in the city to officially announce the VP pick.
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Pity, if true. So many people were pulling for BootyJuice. The jokes would have flowed forth so easily.
Biden Inc
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Nancy Pelosi suggests adding Biden to Mount Rushmore: 'Such a consequential president' | Fox News
CBS journalist Lesley Stahl asked Pelosi, D-Calif., about reports claiming she led efforts to remove Biden from the presidential ticket following his disastrous debate against former President Trump. Pelosi denied leading any charge to oust Biden and instead remarked how he was at "the top of his game" before making his decision to leave the race. She suggested the choice was worthy of Biden joining the presidents on Mount Rushmore.
"He was in a good place to make whatever decision – the top of his game," Pelosi said. "Such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president of the United States." Stahl asked, "Are you really saying that he belongs up there on Mount Rushmore? Lincoln and Joe Biden?" "Well, you got Teddy Roosevelt up there, and he's wonderful," Pelosi clarified. "I don't say take him down. But you can add Biden."
Trump / Right / Jan6
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Harris rejects Trump's idea to debate her on FOX with live audience
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Judge rejects Trump effort to dismiss 2020 federal election subversion case
Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling is the first substantive order since the case was returned to her Friday following a landmark US supreme court opinion in July that conferred broad immunity for former presidents and narrowed special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump. In their motion to dismiss the indictment, defense lawyers argued that Trump was mistreated because he was prosecuted even though others who have challenged election results have avoided criminal charges. Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential race, also suggested that President Joe Biden and the US justice department launched a prosecution to prevent him from winning re-election.
But Chutkan rejected both arguments, saying Trump was not charged simply for challenging election results – but instead for “knowingly making false statements in furtherance of criminal conspiracies and for obstruction of election certification proceedings”. She also said that his lawyers had misread news media articles that they had cited in arguing that the prosecution was political in nature. “After reviewing [the] defendant’s evidence and arguments, the court cannot conclude that he has carried his burden to establish either actual vindictiveness or the presumption of it, and so finds no basis for dismissing this case on those grounds,” Chutkan wrote in her order. Also Saturday, she scheduled a 16 August status conference to discuss next steps in the case.
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Trump congratulates Putin for Biden's historic prisoner swap | Salon.com
During a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, Donald Trump took a break from his extended comments on Kamala Harris being a "low IQ individual" and her perceived agenda to stop people from saying "Merry Christmas" to heap praise, once again, on the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Congratulating Putin for this week's historic prisoner swap trumpeted by the Biden Administration, which brought home three Americans detained in Russia: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, Trump gave full credit to Putin for having made "yet another great deal," receiving a response of almost total silence from the crowd, which he elsewhere commented on as not being as packed as he would have liked.
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is blaming former President Trump for the latest negative jobs report — nearly a full term after he left office. "Donald Trump failed Americans as president, costing our economy millions of jobs, and bringing us to the brink of recession," Harris for President spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.
External Security / Militaria / Diplomania
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The Untold Story of How US Spies Sabotaged Soviet Technology
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As Ukrainian Defenses Collapse, What Can US Patriots Learn From The Conflict? - Alt-Market.us
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Top US general in the Middle East as US & Israel prepare for possible Iran attack
The U.S. general in charge of American forces in the Middle East arrived in the region on Saturday as preparations continue for a possible attack against Israel from Iran in retaliation for the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, two U.S. officials said. Gen. Michael Kurilla's trip to the region was planned before the recent escalation between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah but he is expected to use the trip to try to mobilize the same international and regional coalition that defended Israel against an attack from Iran on Apr. 13, a U.S. official said. Three U.S. and Israeli officials said they expect Iran to attack Israel as early as Monday.
World
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Indians are powering global scam hubs. It's not out of choice
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Sprouts Spotted by the Stump of the Sycamore Gap Tree - The New York Times
Vandals last year chopped down the famed tree, which had stood on Hadrian’s Wall in England for nearly 200 years.
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Protests over election results in Venezuela aren't losing steam
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After Southport: the rage against the throng - spiked
Something extraordinary happened in the UK this week: the murder of three working-class girls was turned into a moral panic about working-class communities. Ruthlessly, with something approaching relish, the media elites dragged the public gaze from the frenzied stabbing of girls in a seaside town to the supposed frothing bigotries of the seaside town itself. In elite circles, angst over the evil visited on the children of Southport gave way to a foreboding over what lurks within Southport. In those terraced houses, with their white working-class inhabitants, so susceptible to online lies, so given to racial animus. These people want us to fear not the wicked individuals who terrorise our towns, but the towns themselves.
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How Britain ignored its ethnic conflict – this week's riots won't be the last
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Renewed anti-government protests have left nearly 100 dead in Bangladesh
Iran / Houthi
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Missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hits container ship in first attack in 2 weeks
The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict. The rebels separately claimed to have shot down another U.S. military spy drone, without offering evidence.
Israel
Russia Bad / Ukraine War
China
Health / Medicine
Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp
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Hotez Calls for Police Deployment against "Anti-Vaxxers" ⋆ Brownstone Institute
Social media went a little bonkers last week when an interview of Texas Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Peter Hotez began circulating with the Big Pharma insider calling for the United Nations and NATO to deploy security forces against “anti-vaxxers” in the United States.