| Time |
Event |
| 5:19a |
|
| 5:19a |
|
| 5:19a |
Sea water flowing up Thailand's main river
Due to sea-level rise, salt water increasingly flows up the Chao
Phraya, Thailand's main river, spoiling the fields that some day it
will inundate.
The salt is also causing centuries-old temple murals to fade.
At least it is possible to protect some of those temples by
moving them to high ground. But it is not feasible to move thousands
of square miles of fields to higher ground.
</li> |
| 5:19a |
Musk toured Kibbutz in Israel
Musk toured a Kibbutz in Israel that was attacked by HAMAS, to observe
the damage HAMAS did. In response, HAMAS invited Musk to tour a city
in Gaza to observer the damage that the Israeli army did.
It seems fair for a prestigious observer to observe the damage done by
Israel to Palestinians as well as the damage done by HAMAS to
Israelis.
</li> |
| 5:19a |
Michigan requirements for renewable electricity
Michigan has adopted strong requirements for renewable electricity
generation, requiring all electric generation to be carbon-free by
2040.
</li> |
| 10:34a |
Binance disregarded financial rules
Binance and its CEO pled guilty to disregarding financial rules,
such that money was sent to Iran and Syria, to ransomeware, and various
other criminals.
However, the large fine will not necessarily make this change.
At the very least, Binance (and each of its divisions even if sold to
some other company) should be required to have an independent
compliance monitor forever, and these monitors should be paid directly
by the federal government (not by Binance) using money that Binance
will pay each year as a fine. That will make it hard for Binance to
exert improper influence over them.
|
| 10:34a |
University presidents testifying before Congress
*US university presidents to testify before Congress over claims of
antisemitic protests on campuses.*
Antisemitism is a vicious attitude, just like antimuslimism, racism
and sexism. However, the right to express those attitudes is part
of freedom of speech.
Many countries other than the US have prohibited expression of those
attitudes. Whether that reduces them is not at all clear, but it certainly
infringes on freedom of speech. |
| 10:34a |
Urgent: Halt massive CO2-emitting project
US citizens: call on the Biden administration to halt massive
CO2-emitting project -- the largest LND export project ever
considered.
|
| 10:34a |
Urgent: abolish tipped minimum wage
US citizens: call on Congress to abolish the tipped minimum wage.
This means that waiters would receive the same minimum wage as other
workers, and tipping would not be de rigueur.
|
| 10:34a |
|
| 10:34a |
Unsafe "AI" "safety" pact
An international agreement about developing "artificial intelligence"
to be "safe by design" strikes me as alarmingly unsafe.
I fear that the plan presumes that AI systems will never be released
as free software -- that the software will be available only in the
form of servers controlled by some company or other, running software
that the users cannot ever obtain copies of, let alone change.
Using a server controlled by someone else to do your own computing
(which we call SaaSS, Service as a Software Substitute)
is never safe -- it is even more unsafe than running a nonfree
program.
But the people who negotiated this agreement have no concept
of that issue.
If what I hear is correct, machine-learning AI systems have already
been used to disrupt democracy. I refer to the recommendation
algorithms that many platforms use to decide what to show each user.
Reportedly these operate by machine learning and are designed to learn
how to make the platform's useds want to stay on the platform longer.
These platforms have promoted the spread of disinformation, which has
had the effect of helping violent extremists spread hatred.
|
| 10:34a |
|
| 10:34a |
Deportation over minor charges
Australia put refugees in deportation prison for many years because of
minor charges.
Australia's new plan is to treat them as dangerous
criminals, although they never were dangerous.
It appears that the wish to deport them was vindictive
rather than necessary.
|
| 10:34a |
|
| 10:34a |
|
| 10:34a |
|
| 10:34a |
Gaza humanitarian crisis
The temporary cease-fire in Gaza has not enabled humanitarian aid to
enter in sufficient quantity for the civilians of Gaza, nor permitted aid
workers and machines to enter to remove rubble of collapsed buildings.
Reportedly Israel has been brought to agree not to repeat in southern
Gaza some of the enormous war crimes it committed in northern Gaza.
But how could it avoid that, if it does fight HAMAS in the south?
|
| 10:34a |
Urgent: Expand Social Security
US citizens: phone (202) 224-3121 three times, once to ask for your
representative in Congress, then once for each of your two senators,
and say to each one something like this:
I’m a constituent, and I’m calling to ask [name of official] to
publicly speak out against the so-called fiscal commission. Social
Security and Medicare are popular and vital programs to our nation’s
economic security. Any changes to those programs should be handled
through regular order, not behind closed doors. Voters want to see
Social Security expanded, not cut!
|