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Submission + - Nations hiding censorship in cybercrime bills. UN treaty could make things worse (fire.org)

An anonymous reader writes: The likely outcome here is obvious: The treaty will streamline unfree countries’ involvement with other unfree countries’ repression and pressure freer ones into helping, too. And it can all take place confidentially, without the knowledge of the public or even those being targeted . . .

And as though existing national laws punishing political expression aren’t enough, the treaty could even incentivize governments to enact harsher penalties on expressive acts. After all, if you’d like other nations to assist you in punishing your critics on the internet, you’ll want to ensure their expression qualifies for inclusion under the treaty’s definition of “serious crimes.”

It's already happening in the UK
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...

Submission + - Evidence of the Covid origin cover-up emerging in court (telegraph.co.uk)

Bruce66423 writes: 'A British zoologist involved in risky bat coronavirus experiments in Wuhan is accused of plotting with a senior US health official to shut down the theory that Covid-19 leaked from a lab.

'Dr Peter Daszak, the former president of EcoHealth Alliance, sent bottles of wine to David Morens, thanking him for his “behind the scenes shenanigans” and promising further gifts, such as dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants, US court documents state.

'Morens, 78, a former employee at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and adviser to Dr Anthony Fauci, this week pleaded guilty to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents related to grant research funding and the Covid-19 pandemic.

'He is facing five years in jail. No charges have been brought against Dr Daszak.'

Submission + - American Airlines Changed Passengers' Flights w/o Asking and No Human Oversight (inc.com)

schwit1 writes: In recent years, American Airlines has embraced artificial intelligence. Now the new technology appears to be changing flight tickets.

Earlier this week, columnist Marc Thiessen took to social media to voice his frustration with American‘s rebooking system. He claimed the airline rebooked his connecting flight in Chicago without his knowledge when his inbound flight was delayed. “Since when do you change my itinerary without asking?” Thiessen wrote on X.

The rebooking automation appears to be part of an American Airlines system called AURA (for AUtomated ReAccommodation). The system, which initially rolled out in 2023, is meant to help passengers with their connecting flights. “Our Automated Reaccommodation tool proactively rebooks customers impacted by flight cancellations and delays, and exchanges tickets,” the company said on its site. However, the automated system appears to have negatively impacted more than one traveler.

Below Thiessen’s post, media consultant Beverly Hallberg replied that American had done the same thing to her the day before. “I had to call and switch my connecting flight back to the original itinerary, and I had enough time to do that since we were stuck on the tarmac for so long. But, like you, they didn’t ask,” she wrote on X.

https://x.com/danikkk_wqs/stat...

Comment Re:Predictions versus reality [Re:The quiet part . (Score -1) 110

Simply the Forbes link was enough to confirm this point

Nope. One link is not enough — from the very beginning I asked, that each citation consist of two links: one to the prediction being made, the other — to confirmation/discussion of it coming true. Another rule was, the two links must be at least 5 years apart.

The purpose is easy to understand. A person can privately record 20 predictions of, say, an average temperature somewhere changing from -10 to +9 degrees. Five years later one of them will have made a precise match, and Forbes will write about him. If you didn't know about his 19 other predictions, you'll be impressed... This is why I insist on the prediction to have been published — prominently — ahead of time.

you purposely ignore the arguments

Because I was not asking for arguments — I was asking for citations...

Submission + - California regulators approve rules limiting what replacement tires you can buy (kcra.com)

schwit1 writes: California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict what tires you can buy when it’s time to replace them on your car.

In a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission voted to adopt new rules that will phase out the sale of replacement tires that don’t meet certain energy efficiency standards.

“This ultimately is about protecting consumers,” said David Hochschild, the chairman of the California Energy Commission. “I see this as sheltering the public from higher costs in the long run.”

Tire manufacturers and the commission’s staff are at odds over whether this will add to the cost of living in the state. Both sides acknowledged this will no longer allow the sale of a significant portion of the tires currently sold in California.

Comment The case against Tobacco was based on "checmicals" (Score -1) 72

The case against Big Tobacco was based on the fact, that their product was actually addictive. Nicotine is not just psychologically, but chemically addictive for humans.

There is no such case against software. Against marijuana-growers — maybe, but the same actors are surprisingly quiet about that.

Facebook has been pressured earlier into spreading government propaganda and then publicly testified about this pressure. Its current troubles are much more likely to be rooted in that, than in any actual "harm to children".

Comment Re:Predictions versus reality [Re:The quiet part . (Score 0) 110

You're not paying me to be your research assistant.

Voila, asking your kind of science-deniers for scientific evidence usually ends this way.

So you have not read those IPCC documents yourself — while smugly accusing me of doing "anything at all to avoid looking at" same. Take your "L" at the exit, by your left, and don't let your tail get caught in the door.

Comment Re:Predictions versus reality [Re:The quiet part . (Score 0) 110

I've noticed that climate deniers are highly allergic to reading actual science

But you are not, are you? So it should be quite easy for you to provide the citations of nature and in the shape I've asked for: a prediction, and it materializing. Two separate links at least 5 years apart... With the evidence being, supposedly, so abundant, why is it so hard for you to satisfy my request?

1967, the first greenhouse effect model using detailed CO2 infrared spectra and incorporating convection and radiation

Great, what did it predict, that was not trivial and actually impactful, but precise?

here's an article from Forbes that does the same comparison

You're now offering a different link — instead of answering the follow-up question about the earlier ones — does this mean, you concede, that the links you posted earlier are not satisfying the simple rules I started with, and wish to withdraw them? I don't want to be accused of "moving the goal posts"...

P.S. Calling me "an idiot" or "denier" is not going to work :-)

Comment The quiet part slipped out (Score 0) 110

They not only improved the model's forecasts; they also discovered why some of the model's predictions had been off

Wow, some had been off? Ok, nice to see an acknowledgement of that.

Now, how about a successful prediction? Something reasonably precise, non-trivial and impactful, please — falsifiable, yet not falsified in due time...

If you choose to play, be sure, each citation includes two links: one to the prediction being made, and another — to it coming true within at least 20% of the predicted value (for the quantifiable ones). Crucially, the two links must be at least 5 years apart...

Submission + - X open sources its ranking algorithm, lets users see if they're 'shadowbanned' (techcrunch.com)

An anonymous reader writes: X has open-sourced the core algorithm for its For You feed, including ranking weights and filters like a Brazil 2026 election rule that limits certain accounts unless followed directly. The system predicts user actions—such as replies (+5 to +20 points), likes (+0.5), or reports (-234)—multiplies them by fixed scores, and ranks posts accordingly, with boosts for small accounts and penalties for spam or repeats. A new 'Under the Hood' tool lets eligible users check visibility labels on their posts, while VP Keith Coleman says it helps everyone verify fairness without guessing about hidden limits.

This has infuriated foreign governments by making PUBLIC any and all censorship required by governments in the open source.

"Any censorship required by governments is now clearly visible."

The censors hate this.

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