2024-10-05
Confusion over relief, Socratic conspiracy, Musk steals credit for Starlink, WordPress drama, more Gubmint jobs, regime change for Lebanon, parsing "sex slave", peak obesity, she spoke to Van Gogh
etc
NC/TN Floods / Helene
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Helene rainfall boosted by human-driven climate change, studies find
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The Horrific Human Toll of Hurricane Helene - The Atlantic
Historically, storm surge—the treacherous rise of seawater as hurricane winds push waves toward shore—has been the deadliest hurricane hazard. But Helene, which did most of its killing far from the reach of the sea, is an emblem of a new trend in fatalities. From 2013 to 2022, drowning from rainfall flooding, not storm surge, was the top cause of tropical-cyclone deaths, according to data from the National Hurricane Center—and the shift is already having profound effects. For individuals, this means reassessing established wisdom about hurricane safety. And American emergency-preparedness organizations, which have spent decades working to minimize fatalities from storm surge, haven’t fully adapted to combat the new leading killer.
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Helene ravaged the NC plant that makes 60% of the country's IV fluid supply
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Pilot flying Helene rescue missions in NC threatened with arrest
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Biden admin clarifies Buttigieg video on civilian drones after Hurricane Helene | Fox News
Reached by Fox News Digital, a DOT spokesperson said civilian drone pilots are permitted and are assisting in rescue and recovery efforts, and previous "temporary flight restrictions" have since been lifted. Some X users — collectively with millions of followers — reacted adversely to a message addressed to drone pilots and with accompanying video from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared by the department earlier this week. The message and video argued the restrictions would prohibit civilian volunteers from legally searching for victims or survivors when response time matters most or capturing their own footage of the disaster. "The USDOT tweet from yesterday was referring to temporary flight restrictions that were in place but were lifted late last night," a DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital Thursday, citing the FAA.
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Contact your local emergency management officials to get information about sorting guidelines
If you are cleaning up debris from a severe storm, separate them into categories and place them curbside
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They lost everything in Helene. Now, their landlord is kicking them out
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Already did it once, which is one reason why we have an escort now. FEMA has zero jurisdiction.
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FAA Guidance: Operating Near Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts
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Waynesville, NC: "can’t start repairs without purchasing permits"
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Biden-Harris' Helene Response Has Been Way Worse Than Katrina
I was enthralled and impressed with the sheer power that was brought to bear by our military to support endangered Americans in Katrina. Nothing feels better than making a difference for your fellow Americans, and as such I (now a long-retired veteran) paid careful attention to Hurricane Helene, anticipating the same robust military and federal support. As you can imagine, I have been grossly disappointed with the delayed and inept nature of the federal response.
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Helene victims await help, but FEMA spent the money on migrants
FEMA does not conduct vehicle stops or handle road closures with armed guards -- those are done by local law enforcement.
Rumor: Funding for FEMA disaster response was diverted to support international efforts or border related issues. Fact: This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.
Rumor: FEMA will only provide $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery. Fact: This is false. One type of assistance that is often approved quickly after you apply is Serious Needs Assistance, which is $750 to help pay for essential items. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify to receive once you apply
Horseshit
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How an Uber Eats Order Unraveled a Couple’s Injury Lawsuit - The New York Times
A New Jersey couple sued Uber after a crash left them severely injured. An appeals court ruled that they had agreed to settle disputes out of court when they used the Uber Eats app.
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Getting my daily news from a dot matrix printer - Andrew Schmelyun
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is not the food on Earth? The Food of Space Travel Could Be Based on Rocks
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No evidence social media use is correlated with teen mental health problems
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when a crisis happens and we see people doing the opposite of the things we've been conditioned to believe - helping instead of rioting, aiding instead of looting, and banding together instead of succumbing to all the baser foolery we see in virtually every Hollywood disaster movie this causes the elite to panic. They panic because it quickly dispels the illusion that they and their authoritarian power structures know what's best for you little people. They panic because they see their entire livelyhood and place in society put at risk. They panic because you may realize you don't need them. As such, they will go to almost any lengths to 1) prevent people from helping each other on their own and, 2) prevent others from being able to see such things occurring.
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GTA 6 Hacker Arion Kurtaj Became a Legend Attacking Companies. Then His Rivals Attacked Him. - WSJ
Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering
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Why trolls, extremists, and others spread conspiracy theories they don't believe
- Many people like to discuss ideas they may not believe (or even like!), in an effort to understand them, and the people promoting them. This "discourse" used to be considered a pleasant passtime at worst, and at best an educational pursuit that might raise the common condition of humanity to a higher state.
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Far-right extremists flee from Telegram to SimpleX over privacy features
Musk
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X Corp loses court challenge over fine for child abuse material notice
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Elon Musk Claims Subsidizing Starlink Would Have Saved Hurricane Helene Victims
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Elon Musk claims victory after judge blocks Calif. deepfake law
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X lost a court battle after trying to claim 'Twitter ceased to exist'
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SpaceX accuses meme-stock rival of 'misinformation' over Starlink signals waiver
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Donald Trump, Elon Musk take credit for Starlink's Hurricane Helene response
The White House said FEMA already had a plan to deploy Starlink satellite systems in North Carolina
- (Sep 30 2024) FACT SHEET: UPDATE: Biden-Harris Administration’s Continued Response to Hurricane Helene | The White House
In North Carolina, 40 Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications, and an additional 140 satellites are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration. One Starlink will be deployed per county Emergency Operations Center to assist with communications.
Electric / Self Driving cars
Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation
Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts
Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising
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The Nobel-, Emmy-winning genius who became Google's star antitrust witness
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Facial Recognition Expt with Meta's Smart Glasses Is a Terrifying Vision
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159 employees are leaving Automattic as CEO’s fight with WP Engine escalates
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After losing German lawsuit, Meta says it is never getting back together with DT
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Samsung Announces Passkeys for Smart TVs and Fridges
Samsung also highlighted the expansion of Passkey, which will come to Tizen beginning with 2025 TV models, the refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ and home appliances with AI Home. Passkey will bring greater convenience and security to users, while also supporting web browser-based logins through mobile QR code scanning. Each of these features has a major role to play in keeping users more secure, developers supported, and devices offering the latest and greatest AI-powered innovations to make the most of our new AI era.
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Mozilla: A free and open internet shouldn't come at the expense of privacy
Good to see that they're taking time out from their hard work promoting the climate-incinerating "AI" grift, following on their hard work promoting the climate-incinerating cryptocurrency grift, to focus a little more on the privacy-incinerating advertising-surveillance grift (where that does not already overlap with the other two; this Venn diagram might be a circle.)
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OpenWrt One WiFi 6 router samples are now available for $89 - Liliputing
TechSuck / Geek Bait
AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World
Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO
Economicon / Business / Finance
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U.S. adds 254,000 jobs and unemployment declines, blowing away expectations
the number of not seasonally adjusted government workers soared by 918K (from 22.541 million to 23.459 million), while the number of not seasonally adjusted private sector workers plunged by 458K!
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Alphabet to invest $3.3B for two data centers in South Carolina
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Hours after FL Gov sent National Guard to open ports in his state... US dockworkers suspend ports strike until January
Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making
Trump / Right / Jan6
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The Right-Wing Plan to Make Everyone an Informant - The Atlantic
The contemporary crackdown is different in another crucial respect: Although many of the people targeted during the second Red Scare chose to withdraw from public service or public life in the face of invasive surveillance and constant suspicion, that is much harder to do in the 21st century. Today, many of us share intimate details of our personal lives online with friends, loved ones, and, often, total strangers. Whether we intend to or not, thanks to the data economy, we are all our own informants, sharing our location, reading habits, search terms, menstrual-cycle dates, online orders, and more. In exchange for using online services and social-media platforms, we make ourselves more visible to those who would become the eyes and ears of the state. If you live in a part of the country where your very person could attract unwanted attention from the state and its informants, abstaining from social media or even withdrawing from public life may not guarantee safe harbor. Sometimes, you just need to leave.
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No, Biden didn’t take FEMA relief money to use on migrants — but Trump did - The Washington Post
Donald Trump falsely accuses President Biden of redirecting disaster funds, a budget maneuver Trump himself approved in 2019.
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Trump’s False Claims About FEMA’s Response to Hurricane Helene - The New York Times
Mr. Trump’s supporters, including Elon Musk and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, have seized on the claims, parroting his talking points to undercut the administration.
External Security / Militaria / Diplomania
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This Video Game Controller Has Become the US Military’s Weapon of Choice | WIRED
Over the past several years, the US Defense Department has been gradually integrating what appear to be variants of the Freedom of Movement Control Unit (FMCU) handsets as the primary control units for a variety of advanced weapons systems, according to publicly available imagery published to the department’s Defense Visual Information Distribution System media hub.
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White House wants to use Hezbollah's weakness to elect new Lebanese president
U.S. officials say the White House wants to take advantage of Israel's massive blow to Hezbollah's leadership and infrastructure to push for an election of a new Lebanese president in the coming days. Lebanon hasn't had a president for almost two years, which has increased instability and exacerbated the political and economic crisis in the country. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, top militia commanders and other Hezbollah members were killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks, weakening the influential militia. Nasrallah blocked any effort to elect a person who was not its ally Suleiman Frangieh. With Nasrallah dead and Hezbollah at its weakest in years, the Biden administration thinks there is now an opportunity to dramatically reduce its influence on the Lebanese political system and elect a new president who is not an ally of the Shia militia, two U.S. officials said.
World
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UK Chicken Register deadline: Backyard keepers urged take 'vital' step
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EU top court sides with activist Schrems in privacy dispute with Meta
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Pedro Sánchez clings to office at a cost to Spain’s democracy
The prime minister did not invent the political fragmentation that makes the country so hard to govern. He could argue that he is adapting the political system to changed realities, especially in Catalonia. Others see a shift towards an ill-defined confederation, and tactical tinkering while the country drifts.
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Argentina's Javier Milei Accused of Plagiarising UN Speech from West Wing
Israel
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Israel was told 'you are not alone' – but year of war has left it isolated
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Yazidi woman kidnapped by IS freed from Gaza after decade in captivity | Gaza | The Guardian
A 21-year-old woman kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Iraq more than a decade ago has been freed from Gaza in an operation led by the US. The operation this week also involved Israel, Jordan and Iraq, according to officials. Silwan Sinjaree, the chief of staff of Iraq’s foreign minister, said she was freed after more than four months of efforts including several attempts that failed because of the difficult security situation resulting from Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Iraqi officials had been in contact with the woman for months and passed on her information to US officials, who arranged for her exit from Gaza with the help of Israel, according to a source familiar with the matter.
A Yazidi woman kidnapped from her home by ISIS terrorists in Iraq when she was just 11 years old has been reunited with her family after years stranded in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Iraqi and Israeli officials said Thursday. According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, she survived years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a Palestinian ISIS militant she was forced to marry, and that she was moved to Gaza several years ago.
Health / Medicine
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We may have passed peak obesity
Around the world, obesity rates have been stubbornly climbing for decades, if anything accelerating in recent years. But now newly released data finds that the US adult obesity rate fell by around two percentage points between 2020 and 2023.
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A low resting metabolic rate is associated with metabolic syndrome
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The profit-obsessed monster destroying American emergency rooms
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Canadian child dies from rabies after bat found in bedroom
marks the first domestically-acquired case of human rabies in Ontario since 1967.