![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Let's start this with a Public Service Announcement - The Media Always Has A Message. It's up to you to figure out whether that message goes in unimpeded.
Also, see how easy someone who is already on the edge can be pushed over by what appears to be as simple as a storm. Any financial support you can give to them will be much appreciated. Also, another person approaching the edge that would appreciate some financial support.
There are going to be a lot of people like this - the storms did a lot of damage and knocked out a lot of power to a lot of homes. The weather patterns are intensifying. Things that would normally be bearable are causing trouble. That could be a Thing pointing to people affecting the environment.
A big ruling and a little vote happened this week in the United States. The big ruling is that: In Re: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL., Held: The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part [PDF]. Or, the summary version: the Chief Justice held that the individual mandate is a tax, and thus within the Congressional power to tax, although it could not be construed as an interstate commerce measure. The four more liberal justices said they would hold the act up in both cases in a concurring opinion, and the four more conservative justices savaged the reasoning, calling it overreach and disagreeing with the reasoning of Chief Justice Roberts. The Court also said that the President could not threaten states with loss of their Medicare funding if they did not go along with the changes proposed to the program as part of the Affordable Care Act. That's the big ruling. Cue conservatives turning on the Chief Justice and his interpretation, including the word "traitor". The vitriol was not limited to talk radio and right-wing commentators, either, as several Congresscritters joined in. (More civilized discussions suggest the voters are the last recourse before "Obamacare" happens.) In any case, it amounts to the conservative movement, which has long been accusing liberal justices and liberal causes of "judicial activism" is basically admitting that they wanted judicial activisim, too - just in their direction.
Before continuing, a short summary of what PPACA does and has already done.
The small vote: The House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress for not providing requested documents in the Fast and Furious scandal. Well, the ones that were present and didn't walk out of the chamber in protest over the farce. Why farce? Well, you see, what became known as the Fast and Furious scandal was actually about ATF agents trying very hard to interdict straw buyers and their guns, but the ATF couldn't find a prosecutor willing to go along with it - they all read Arizona's highly-permissive laws as making it possible for someone to buy lots of guns, ostensibly for themselves, and then to change their mind in the parking lot and start distributing them to others, all perfectly legally. So, no, the ATF did not intentionally allow guns to go into Mexico.
Finally, The Dead Pool Literary Society inducts Nora Ephron, almost better-known for her screenplays than her other published work, at 71 years of age, and the Dead Pool Actors' Guild approves the membership of Andy Griffiths, at 86 years.
Out in the world today, a step in both directions - In the United Kingdom, an anorexic woman was ordered to be fed by a jduge that declared she was not competent enough to decide whether she wanted to eat, and in British Columbia, Canada, an ALS patient was granted the ability to choose the time and method of her own death, with the consultation of a physician.
Radio Canada has stopped their shortwave broadcasts to other countries, preferring to use the Internet, which often runs into firewalls, because it's cheaper.
A German court ruled that the practice of circumcision for religious reasons on young infant men is a violation of the infant's right to physical integrity. The ruling was not binding on all doctors, and there is a backlash calling to "protect religious freedom" in the country. We think that the court is thinking that something like "Turtles all the way down" - at what point does the parental right to teach their child their religion triumph the child's right to make that decision for themselves, including any body modification that religion requires?
The bank / credit organization Barclay's admitted to systematically rigging financial markets and overcharging interest rates to their customers.
Finally, another story of a female journalist being assaulted in Egypt. Not to be blase about sexual assault, but we can hope that the government elected will be able to ensure order and the protection of everyone. The new president has a big challenge ahead of him.
Domestically, Despite all the data that says it doesn't work, Republican governors and legislators want to do things that benefit the rich and not the economy.
It should not be left to the "discretion" of a clerk whether an ordained minister with a congregation should be allowed to perform weddings, nor should the law obviously favor religions that meet and own buildings with its blessing on being able to perform the civil function of marriage.
A New York University neuroscientist suggests that our brains make emotional and unconscious connections based on ethnicity, potentially making racism and bias something that our brains do. If true, the question then is how to rework those tendencies to avoid the negative associations, or if there is a way of selectively using our "other" functions so as to make logical connections of difference without then imbuing it with emotional bias.
The North Carolina state Senate's Republican majority blocked compensation for those affected by the state's mandatory-sterilization program eonducted by a Eugenics Board in the 20th century. The modest sum of 50,000 USD was apparently too much to the group, claiming that the past could not be rewritten and that they were sorry it happened, but they did not believe in compensation for it. Essentially, "Sucks to be you."
The Department of Homeland Security suspended agreements with Arizona police and directed their Border Patrol offices to decline calls about suspected illegal immigrants from Arizona police. This comes from the Supreme Court striking down all but the ability to make checks for illegal immigrants from the Papers Please law.
In technology, if you plan on making lots of money in Open Source...prepare to be disappointed...but also to be happy that your friends are also doing well.
A maxim that one should always keep in mind: As technology advances, the technology to fool it advances as well. This is a good thing. Even if you're someone with nothing to hide. Especially if you're someone with nothing to hide.
The possibility that an RSA-encrypted device can have its private keys extracted in approximately 13 minutes of contact with the device and/or computer that has those keys. After the original article was published, RSA the company disclaimed and said the article and described attack was not as serious as reported on.
A University of Texas team built a device that could take control of a commercially available unmanned aerial vehicle and direct it to new targets...for approximately $1,000 USD. Which could make them quite interesting aerial weapons if they can be modded and then flown under different commands.
A microscopic fuel cell, composed of silicon and platinum, is able to power itself by extracting electrons from the glucose present in the body. A tiny battery to power low-power sensors, and perhaps, mechanical devices to help people. Maybe even to be able to bypass spinal cord issues...
A method by which someone can inject oxygen into the bloodstream in the case of a blockage that prevents normal lung function. Perfect for emergency situations, if the method and materials can be refined for human usage.
A nicotine addiction vaccine...that basically patrols the bloodstream and destroys nicotine before it can have an effect. That's...interesting.
Out of tech, Juniper Books, which is able to create custom covers that make murals out of bookshelves. That's awesome, especially with those murals that span multiple shelves. Of course, for those of us who actually read our books, that's not necessarily as appealing...
In opinions, the problem of how the answer to a date offering to pay always seems to be evaluated as a problem with the answering person. What's more important, however, is whether or not the person offering to pay will treat the person who declines or accepts like an actual human being. If that doesn't happen, then there's nobody that will want to go out with that guy.
Last for tonight, A plea for magic that does not follow a logical or exploitable system, but just behaves as wild magic.
A method of making clear chips that taste like potato chips.
And an app that uses a game to show the methods for solving algebraic equations. It's not so good about the whys of the rules, but it is quite good about enforcing the rules. And it might teach the next generation of exploiters who can turn their work into trillions of in-game currency, ready for RMT.
Also, see how easy someone who is already on the edge can be pushed over by what appears to be as simple as a storm. Any financial support you can give to them will be much appreciated. Also, another person approaching the edge that would appreciate some financial support.
There are going to be a lot of people like this - the storms did a lot of damage and knocked out a lot of power to a lot of homes. The weather patterns are intensifying. Things that would normally be bearable are causing trouble. That could be a Thing pointing to people affecting the environment.
A big ruling and a little vote happened this week in the United States. The big ruling is that: In Re: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT
BUSINESS ET AL. v. SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL., Held: The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part [PDF]. Or, the summary version: the Chief Justice held that the individual mandate is a tax, and thus within the Congressional power to tax, although it could not be construed as an interstate commerce measure. The four more liberal justices said they would hold the act up in both cases in a concurring opinion, and the four more conservative justices savaged the reasoning, calling it overreach and disagreeing with the reasoning of Chief Justice Roberts. The Court also said that the President could not threaten states with loss of their Medicare funding if they did not go along with the changes proposed to the program as part of the Affordable Care Act. That's the big ruling. Cue conservatives turning on the Chief Justice and his interpretation, including the word "traitor". The vitriol was not limited to talk radio and right-wing commentators, either, as several Congresscritters joined in. (More civilized discussions suggest the voters are the last recourse before "Obamacare" happens.) In any case, it amounts to the conservative movement, which has long been accusing liberal justices and liberal causes of "judicial activism" is basically admitting that they wanted judicial activisim, too - just in their direction.
Before continuing, a short summary of what PPACA does and has already done.
The small vote: The House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress for not providing requested documents in the Fast and Furious scandal. Well, the ones that were present and didn't walk out of the chamber in protest over the farce. Why farce? Well, you see, what became known as the Fast and Furious scandal was actually about ATF agents trying very hard to interdict straw buyers and their guns, but the ATF couldn't find a prosecutor willing to go along with it - they all read Arizona's highly-permissive laws as making it possible for someone to buy lots of guns, ostensibly for themselves, and then to change their mind in the parking lot and start distributing them to others, all perfectly legally. So, no, the ATF did not intentionally allow guns to go into Mexico.
Finally, The Dead Pool Literary Society inducts Nora Ephron, almost better-known for her screenplays than her other published work, at 71 years of age, and the Dead Pool Actors' Guild approves the membership of Andy Griffiths, at 86 years.
Out in the world today, a step in both directions - In the United Kingdom, an anorexic woman was ordered to be fed by a jduge that declared she was not competent enough to decide whether she wanted to eat, and in British Columbia, Canada, an ALS patient was granted the ability to choose the time and method of her own death, with the consultation of a physician.
Radio Canada has stopped their shortwave broadcasts to other countries, preferring to use the Internet, which often runs into firewalls, because it's cheaper.
A German court ruled that the practice of circumcision for religious reasons on young infant men is a violation of the infant's right to physical integrity. The ruling was not binding on all doctors, and there is a backlash calling to "protect religious freedom" in the country. We think that the court is thinking that something like "Turtles all the way down" - at what point does the parental right to teach their child their religion triumph the child's right to make that decision for themselves, including any body modification that religion requires?
The bank / credit organization Barclay's admitted to systematically rigging financial markets and overcharging interest rates to their customers.
Finally, another story of a female journalist being assaulted in Egypt. Not to be blase about sexual assault, but we can hope that the government elected will be able to ensure order and the protection of everyone. The new president has a big challenge ahead of him.
Domestically, Despite all the data that says it doesn't work, Republican governors and legislators want to do things that benefit the rich and not the economy.
It should not be left to the "discretion" of a clerk whether an ordained minister with a congregation should be allowed to perform weddings, nor should the law obviously favor religions that meet and own buildings with its blessing on being able to perform the civil function of marriage.
A New York University neuroscientist suggests that our brains make emotional and unconscious connections based on ethnicity, potentially making racism and bias something that our brains do. If true, the question then is how to rework those tendencies to avoid the negative associations, or if there is a way of selectively using our "other" functions so as to make logical connections of difference without then imbuing it with emotional bias.
The North Carolina state Senate's Republican majority blocked compensation for those affected by the state's mandatory-sterilization program eonducted by a Eugenics Board in the 20th century. The modest sum of 50,000 USD was apparently too much to the group, claiming that the past could not be rewritten and that they were sorry it happened, but they did not believe in compensation for it. Essentially, "Sucks to be you."
The Department of Homeland Security suspended agreements with Arizona police and directed their Border Patrol offices to decline calls about suspected illegal immigrants from Arizona police. This comes from the Supreme Court striking down all but the ability to make checks for illegal immigrants from the Papers Please law.
In technology, if you plan on making lots of money in Open Source...prepare to be disappointed...but also to be happy that your friends are also doing well.
A maxim that one should always keep in mind: As technology advances, the technology to fool it advances as well. This is a good thing. Even if you're someone with nothing to hide. Especially if you're someone with nothing to hide.
The possibility that an RSA-encrypted device can have its private keys extracted in approximately 13 minutes of contact with the device and/or computer that has those keys. After the original article was published, RSA the company disclaimed and said the article and described attack was not as serious as reported on.
A University of Texas team built a device that could take control of a commercially available unmanned aerial vehicle and direct it to new targets...for approximately $1,000 USD. Which could make them quite interesting aerial weapons if they can be modded and then flown under different commands.
A microscopic fuel cell, composed of silicon and platinum, is able to power itself by extracting electrons from the glucose present in the body. A tiny battery to power low-power sensors, and perhaps, mechanical devices to help people. Maybe even to be able to bypass spinal cord issues...
A method by which someone can inject oxygen into the bloodstream in the case of a blockage that prevents normal lung function. Perfect for emergency situations, if the method and materials can be refined for human usage.
A nicotine addiction vaccine...that basically patrols the bloodstream and destroys nicotine before it can have an effect. That's...interesting.
Out of tech, Juniper Books, which is able to create custom covers that make murals out of bookshelves. That's awesome, especially with those murals that span multiple shelves. Of course, for those of us who actually read our books, that's not necessarily as appealing...
In opinions, the problem of how the answer to a date offering to pay always seems to be evaluated as a problem with the answering person. What's more important, however, is whether or not the person offering to pay will treat the person who declines or accepts like an actual human being. If that doesn't happen, then there's nobody that will want to go out with that guy.
Last for tonight, A plea for magic that does not follow a logical or exploitable system, but just behaves as wild magic.
A method of making clear chips that taste like potato chips.
And an app that uses a game to show the methods for solving algebraic equations. It's not so good about the whys of the rules, but it is quite good about enforcing the rules. And it might teach the next generation of exploiters who can turn their work into trillions of in-game currency, ready for RMT.
