2024-09-05

Horseshit

• The American family who swapped Texas for Tonga to chase a World Cup dream

• Disney-obsessed couple loses lawsuit to get back into exclusive Club 33

• Lufthansa Fits Jets with Lead Weight to Balance Out First Class

• A Logo on a Prosthesis Is Like a Tattoo You Didn't Ask For

• Stuffy, unhealthy or 'just mid' – are young people over wine?

• Beluga whale alleged to be Russian 'spy' was shot, animal rights groups say

  • Whale Who Knew Too Much: Alleged Russian Spy Beluga May Have Been Shot to Death

• Frictionless sports betting and the NFL: the twin obsessions targeting young men

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• Biden administration to accuse Russia of sustained effort to influence 2024 election

  Two employees of RT, the Russian state media network, were indicted in a US court for allegedly being part of a scheme that funneled nearly $10 million to set up and direct a Tennessee-based front company to produce online content aimed at sowing divisions among Americans, according to the Justice Department. US officials also named the Social Design Agency, which the Treasury Department has already sanctioned for allegedly running fake news sites in Europe on behalf of the Russian government, three of the sources said.

  Asked for comment, an RT spokesperson did not respond to the substance of the allegations, and instead emailed mocking comments including, “2016 called and it wants its clichés back.”

• DOJ Indictment Accuses Content Company of Russian Propaganda

  A new Department of Justice indictment unsealed on Wednesday accuses a Tennessee-based content company with several high profile right-wing personalities on its roster of being part of a Russian influence operation, working to infiltrate U.S. media with the Kremlin’s propaganda.

  The indictment does not identify the company by name, “but descriptions in the indictment match those of Tennessee-based Tenet Media,” reported The Tennessean. Tenet Media’s website declares “fearless voices live here,” and describes itself as “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” Creators currently listed on the site and featuring in videos on its YouTube channel include Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen.

• Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company that Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests

  In order to carry out RT’s secret influence campaign in the United States, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva operated under covert identities at U.S. Company-1. Posing as an outside editor, Kalashnikov edited U.S. Company-1 content, monitored U.S. Company-1’s funding and hiring, and introduced Afanasyeva as a member of his purported editing team. Using the fake personas Helena Shudra and Victoria Pesti, Afanasyeva posted and directed the posting by U.S. Company-1 of hundreds of videos. Afanasyeva also collected information from and gave instructions to U.S. Company-1 staff. For example, after the March 22, 2024, terrorist attack on a music venue in Moscow, Afanasyeva asked one of U.S. Company-1’s founders to blame Ukraine and the United States for the attack, writing: “I think we can focus on the Ukraine/U.S. angle. . . . [T]he mainstream media spread fake news that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack yet ISIS itself never made such statements. All terrorists are now detained while they were heading to the border with Ukraine which makes it even more suspicious why they would want to go to Ukraine to hide.”

  U.S. Company-1 never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT. Nor did U.S. Company-1 or its two founders register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva both of Russia, are charged with conspiracy to violate FARA, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

• Is This Right-Wing Media Platform the Product of a $10M Russian Plot?

• Iran Emerges as a Top Disinformation Threat in U.S. Presidential Race - The New York Times

  With a flurry of hacks and fake websites, Iran has intensified its efforts to discredit American democracy and possibly tip the race against former President Donald Trump.

  A website called Savannah Time describes itself as “your trusted source for conservative news and perspectives in the vibrant city of Savannah.” Another site, NioThinker, wants to be “your go-to destination for insightful, progressive news.” The online outlet Westland Sun appears to cater to Muslims in suburban Detroit. None are what they appear to be. Instead, they are part of what American officials and tech company analysts say is an intensifying campaign by Iran to sway this year’s American presidential election.

Musk

• Elon Musk's attacks on Kamala Harris become more unhinged, with help from AI

• Starlink U-turns, will block X in Brazil after all

• No X in Brazil? No problem, Brazilians say

• US judge says X must face class action age bias claims over mass layoff

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Tesla cars are now used like CCTV cameras by Oakland police

• Waymo's Robot Taxis Are Almost Mainstream. Can They Now Turn a Profit?

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• The Little-Known Legend of Jesus in Japan

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• University of Austin has opened

• Will Harris-Biden act to counter Iranian agents behind anti-Israel campus protests?

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Concord is suddenly getting pulled offline just 11 days after launch

• Our Reporting Is Now Free for Everyone | Civil Eats

  We are thrilled to announce that, in honor of our 15th anniversary, two generous funders, the 11th Hour Project, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, and GRACE Communications Foundation, have provided us funding to help us remove our paywall for one year. Our reporting will now be free to everyone, everywhere.

• Yubikeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to side channel

• Admins wonder if the cloud was such a good idea after all

• NaNoWriMo Says Condemning AI Is 'Classist and Ableist'

• Snapchat is going to put ads next to messages from your friends

• The Internet Archive has lost its appeal in Hachette vs. Internet Archive

  • Internet Archive Loses Court Appeal in Fight over Online Lending Library

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Terminfo, at this point in time, is a net-negative on the terminal ecosystem

  • The "terminal ecosystem" is terminated compared to the problem set that Terminfo first faced. Today, it is once again possible to talk to a terminal directly with some notion of what it wants to hear.

• Effortlessly generate QR codes directly in OpenSCAD

• How does cosine similarity work?

• Programming the Convergent WorkSlate's spreadsheet microcassette future

  the 1983 Convergent WorkSlate, a one-of-a-kind handheld system from some misty alternate history where VisiCalc ruled the earth. Indeed, even the "software" packages Convergent shipped for it — on microcassette, which could store voice memos and data — were nothing more than cells and formulas in a worksheet. The built-in modem let you exchange data with other Workslates (or even speak over the phone to their users), and it came with a calculator desk accessory and a rudimentary terminal program, but apart from those creature comforts its built-in spreadsheet was the sole centre of your universe. And, unlike IAI and the Canon Cat, I've yet to find any backdoor (secret or otherwise) to enable anything else.

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• How much is AI hurting the planet? Big tech won't tell us

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• Small asteroid to hit Earth's atmosphere today

• Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiraling out of control

Crypto con games

• FBI: North Korea Aggressively Hacking Cryptocurrency Firms

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Nvidia suffers record $279B loss in market value as Wall St drops

  • Nvidia plunges almost 10%

  • Nvidia Gets DOJ Subpoena in Escalating Antitrust Probe

  • Nvidia plunges almost 10%, dragging basket of chip stocks to worst day

  • Nvidia denies it got subpoena from the U.S. DOJ in AI antitrust investigation

• Restaurants are catering to a growing number of solo diners

• Intel Foundry suffers setback as Broadcom tests disappoint

• Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 25 bp to 4¼%

• US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level Since January 2021

• Robinhood lets Brits lend shares for income to grow international footprint

Biden Inc

• Biden to block Nippon's acquisition of U.S. Steel

  • Biden to Block Nippon Steel's Proposed Takeover of US Steel

Trump / Right / Jan6

• Alexa's Differing Responses About Voting for Trump vs. Harris Were an 'Error'

  Amazon insists that its Alexa voice-enabled assistant does not have any political opinions — and that Alexa’s responses explaining why someone should vote for VP Kamala Harris were a mistake. On Tuesday, users on social media shared videos showing Alexa providing disparate responses to the question “Why should I vote for Donald Trump?” and “Why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” When asked about voting for Trump, Alexa replied, “I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.” But when asked about voting for Harris, Alexa in some cases gave a detailed list of reasons why someone should vote for the Democrat in November’s presidential election — including that she is a “strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment.”

• Here’s Where FBI Officials Realized What Could Be the DOJ’s Goal in Raiding Mar-a-Lago.

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Dual US and Iranian Citizen Arrested for Unlawfully Exporting US Tech to Iran

• Ex-aide to 2 New York governors accused of working as agent of China

  • Ex-aide to New York governors charged with being agent of Chinese government

• Georgia high school shooting leaves four confirmed dead and nine injured

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Navy chiefs conspired to get themselves illegal warship Wi-Fi

  • HN comments

• America Is Losing Southeast Asia

• Commander of Navy warship relieved of duty after backward rifle scope photo flap

  The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Cameron Yaste, commanding officer of the destroyer USS John McCain, was removed on Friday. The Navy said Yaste was relieved of duty “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer” that’s currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman. The statement didn’t elaborate about why Yaste was replaced. In April, a photo posted on the Navy’s social media showed Yaste in a firing stance gripping the rifle with a backward scope.

• U.S. Investors Could Bankrupt Honduras, with Biden Administration Support

• China's consul general in New York reportedly expelled

World

• Bolivia moves World Cup qualifier to even higher altitude, hoping to boost play

• Grenfell inquiry blames government, firms, fire service in final damning report

• Maduro decrees Christmas will start in October as Venezuela cracks down on dissent.

  “This year and to honor you all, to thank you all, I am going to decree the beginning of Christmas on October 1. Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!” he said. Maduro’s decree – not the first of its kind, but the earliest – comes as Venezuela grapples with the fallout from July’s presidential election, which saw Maduro claim a third term despite global skepticism

  • Christmas in Venezuela kicks off in October, President Maduro has declared

• Bus service to help Jewish Londoners feel safe

• Volkswagen could close plants in Germany as Chinese carmakers surge

Iran / Houthi

• Burning Tanker Abandoned Oil Spill Feared

• The Houthis now rule the Red Sea, America has silently admitted defeat

Israel

• Silicon Valley's Hot Talent Pipeline Is an Israeli Army Unit

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Russia built covert trade channel with India, leaks reveal

• Ukrainian drones now spray 2,500°C thermite streams right into Russian trenches

China

• China's mission to win African hearts with satellite TV

• The 'glory days' for global automakers in China are over

• China hits back at Canada EV tariffs with canola probe

Health / Medicine

• Concussion risks outweighed by benefits of amateur sport, surprise study finds

• No kidding: Researchers Say There's Something Fishy With All These Studies Showing Huge Health Benefits From Ozempic-Like Drugs

• Could Listeria Take Down the 100-Year Boar's Head Empire?

• Rise of DIY Pirated Medicine

• Air pollution harms male fertility while women face similar risk from noise

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• America's New Climate Delusion

• Britain’s reliance on coal-fired power set to end after 140 years

• California city's $550M deal with Chevron could be a model for environmentalists

• The largest dam removal in US history is complete

• UK: Petrol cars 'rationed to meet eco targets'

• In a first, Phoenix hits 100 straight days of 100-degree heat

• Physicist MV Ramana on why nuclear power is not a clean energy panacea

• Reviewing studies of degrowth: Are claims matched by data, methods and policy?

• Two states become first in US to ban use of PFAS in firefighters' gear

• Sunspots surge to 23-year high as solar maximum continues to intensify

• Why is there is so little Atlantic hurricane activity? - The Washington Post

  Eric Blake, a senior scientist at the National Hurricane Center, tweeted “Still haven’t seen a good explanation of why the Atlantic was able to produce the strongest hurricane on record in the early season (Beryl), then shut off in mid-August!” He described the situation as “Not easy to understand folks …”

• Tire-related chemical is largely responsible for salmon deaths in urban streams

• Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change