| Time |
Event |
| 1:04p |
Bear cubs starve: no salmon, JPN
Global heating
has eliminated most of the salmon population in northern Japan this
year, and that has eliminated most bear cubs born there this year.
|
| 1:04p |
Polar winter-ice: 1m sq km lower than ever
*Antarctic sea ice shrinks to
lowest annual maximum
level on record.*
|
| 1:19p |
Invasive species: lionfish
Lionfish, with
toxic barbs,
are taking over the reefs of the Caribbean
and nearby marine areas, and wiping out most other species.
Some fishermen now mainly catch lionfish, but it is hard to do that
without getting stung.
Is it possible to design a trap that would open a door to a large
chamber, then squeeze the water out leaving only the lionfish in the
trap?
Are there any ideas for biological control? It is hard to make
sure that those systems don't get out of hand.
|
| 11:34p |
Attempted ban on participation of Banned Books Week
A Republican-dominated school district in North Carolina tried to ban
schools from participating in the American Library Association's annual
Banned Books Week, but backed down in response to press coverage.
|
| 11:34p |
|
| 11:34p |
"Contextual advertising"
We have imagined "contextual advertising" as a simple system that
sited advertisements based on the subject matter of what users are
looking at. In fact, these systems make sophisticated use of whatever
other data it can get about a user.
The conclusion I reach is that we should require systems not to be
able to get any other data about individuals and not to require people
to non nonfree software.
The Uber example is telling. Uber places ads based on where someone
is traveling to. It can do that because it runs nonfree software (a
cr&helip;app) in the customer's computer. It also uses whatever it
knows about that particular customer (whom it has identified on each
trip).
We should not allow companies to require (or pressure) customers to
use systems that make them vulnerable to tracking. Privacy is a human
right, and businesses are not entitled to human rights. So it is
justified to regulate business practices simply to prevent businesses
from deducing too much about humans.
|
| 11:34p |
Line 5 pipeline
The old and damaged Line 5 pipeline crosses the Great Lakes,
and if it breaks it could pollute the drinking water for
a substantial part of North America's population.
The danger of pollution from any rupture of the Line 5 pipeline is
very important, and may be a reason to shut down that pipeline and
remove it. By contrast, what a religion says about the lake is of
anthropological interest.
|
| 11:34p |
|
| 11:34p |
Methane release from breakup of Pangaea
The breakup of the super-continent Pangaea 55 million years ago
released large amounts of methane that caused 5C of global heating.
Many species went extinct.
|
| 11:34p |
|
| 11:34p |
|
| 11:34p |
Volume loss of Swiss glaciers
*Swiss glaciers lose 10% of their volume in two years.*
This effect is not in itself a disaster, but it is a sign
that disasters will be coming rapidly from now on.
|
| 11:34p |
|
| 11:34p |
Extremist Satanic cult
The FBI discovered a right-wing extremist Satanic cult that entraps
children as young as 8 and adolescents as old as 17, making them
make videos of porn or self-wounding. The leader faces trial.
These deeds are horrible. If the FBI caught a gang which does that,
it has done good service. At the same time, I must recall that the
FBI has a history of leading hapless helpless, mentally weak people to
go through motions of fantasy terrorism, for which they face real
trial and real imprisonment. I wish I could be sure that the FBI has caught
a real abuser rather than manufacturing one.
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| 11:34p |
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