| Time |
Event |
| 8:16p |
|
| 8:16p |
NLRB cannot punish Starbucks
*The NLRB has brought 100 cases against [Starbucks] over anti-union
activities — but it cannot punish the company.* |
| 8:16p |
Isolated barge in Portland a firetrap
Firefighters are suing to prevent the UK government from putting any refugees
in the isolated barge in Portland, claiming it is a firetrap. |
| 8:16p |
Eviction by London landlords
The UK government will warn London cops that evictions by London landlords
are likely to be illegal, and perhaps even criminal.
Cops have been told to refuse to support the eviction, and arrest landlords
who try certain illegal methods.
Hooray!
|
| 8:16p |
Anti-abortion links to judge
An appeals court judge who ruled especially harshly against
mifepristone has corrupt links, through gifts to his wife, with the anti-abortion organization that pushed the case.
Clarence Thomas's personal corruption
sets a corrupt example through all of right-wing US judges. |
| 8:16p |
|
| 8:16p |
AI programs as friends and counselors
A founder of DeepMind says that AI programs will be good friends and
counselors for human beings.
Is your idea of a good friend and counselor one that reports on
everything about you to manipulative large companies and governments
too? Not mine!
It is interesting that the interviewer presumes that AI-driven cars
will be "autonomous" and that they will drive better than the ones
humans drive. They are not at all autonomous — they depend on
internet connections — and San Francisco already knows how badly they
mess up in driving.
Perhaps they will drive well someday, when they understand as much
about driving as humans do. But that is beyond today's technology.
|
| 8:16p |
AI-controlled armed drones
The US airforce is testing versions of future AI-controlled armed drones
to be used in air combat alongside human fighter pilots.
I hope the article errs in saying that this AI is similar to the
erroneously labeled "AI" that operates today's bullshit generator
language models, because if that is accurate we have no telling who it
might fire at.
One of the dangers of AI-controlled devices that can do things with
real physical effects — even if not armed — is that it may make
clever inventions that could be fatal in ways that the AI would not
understand, and that no human would be asked to check. This AI is
already demonstrating that sort of creativity which is also potential
danger. I recommend reading the book The Two Faces of Tomorrow, by
James Hogan. See libgen.rs. |
| 8:16p |
Guantanamo judge rules on sticking food in prisoner's colon
The judge in a Guantanamo "military tribunal" ruled that sticking food up
a prisoner's colon was nothing but torture — and that this torture invalidates
his testimony.
These "military tribunals" are meant to pass for valid trials without
meeting the criteria. Thanks to Judge Acosta, they are a little
closer to being treated as real trials. |
| 8:16p |
|
| 8:16p |
Ohio thugs shot a woman dead
Two Ohio thugs noted a woman leaving a store and reportedly shoplifting,
and instead of arranging to arrest her, they shot her dead.
If she had stolen something necessary for her life, or for her
children's life, I would have said that the poor have a right to steal
necessities like that. But that point was not applicable if she was
stealing alcoholic drinks. She did not have a right to steal
alcoholic drinks.
But that does not mean it was a grave crime either.
Meanwhile, even though her petty theft was apparently unjustified, it was no
justification for killing her.
I disagree with the article's assumption: that we non-pregnant members
of society are less worthy of rights that are those members who are
pregnant. Reproducing is not a special virtue, especially now in the
days when overpopulation is likely to kill enough people to reduce the
population drastically through suffering.
But that detail doesn't affect the overall moral conclusion much.
Pregnant or not, mother or not, the thugs killed that woman because
they saw an opportunity, and that morally makes them murderers. |
| 8:16p |
Choosing officials by lot
The idea of choosing officials by lot, as ancient Athens chose some officials,
may be interesting.
But the officials chosen this way were usually members of a panel. No
one of them had a large amount of power individually. That reduces
the possible downside from random choice.
Also, the system assumes that these officials would be chosen from people
who would be basically civic-minded. In the US today, many of the potential
lottery choices would be fascists inclined to use their positions to threaten
sabotage. We could not expect that to work. |
| 8:16p |
|
| 8:16p |
Taking control away from "social media" sites
Calling for taking control away from "social media" sites over what
will be recommended to users.
Users should be able to choose the recommendation engines they use,
and not just among a limited list. They should be free develop new
recommendation engines.
This does not necessary mean people, once they know about more
options, will choose wisely. The author says she saw an iMonster, and
instead of feeling revulsed, she concluded she wanted one! |
| 8:16p |
China concealed news of spread of disease in 2020
In January 2020, Wuhan doctors knew that a new disease was spreading fast.
China ordered them to conceal this bad news.
In my view, whether this outburst was due to a lab leak or to contact
with wild animals was a secondary detail, since neither one would
have been culpable. The secrecy about facts was culpable. |
| 8:16p |
|
| 8:16p |
Urgent: Stop sabotaging of US military in effort to sabotage abortion
US citizens: call on Senator Tuberville to stop sabotaging the US military
in an effort to sabotage abortion. |
| 8:16p |
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