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Study Quantifies Global Impact of Electricity in Dust Storms on Mars

source.wustl.edu/2023/02/study

Search over 1,500 astronomy and space news releases at www.stars-n-stuff.com/news-stories

#astronomy #space #science #news #stargazing #Mars

Image: NASA

Via @pluralistic :

updating its messenger app to deliberately drain users’ battery, just as a test.

Employee: um, that could strand people, or even get them killed, are you kidding me? No!

Facebook: such a shame. Please drop your name badge in the box to your left on your way out.

doctorow.medium.com/when-faceb

The robots aren't taking over. They're not falling in love. They're not feeling. They don't want to be alive. They're not evil masterminds. They create word patterns based off text on the internet. Is what journalists should be saying, not gee-whiz sci-fi LARPing about fancy autocorrect.

A thread worth linking to, from Eric Wemple, with gems from the of Dominion Voting Systems v Fox News. They’ve each filed motions for summary judgment, and Dominion’s is a 200 page doozy full of internal conversations at making it clear they knew the story was garbage but were desperately trying to recover after their audience reaction to calling Arizona correctly.

twitter.com/erikwemple/status/

@HunterNP note that encryption isn’t the only thing to look for; the real key is do the app makers retain any access to the account. Might be w best of intentions: routine IT service, password rescue, and such, but the two questions are: A) what happens if they get a subpoena/warrant and B) what happens if they go bankrupt, invalidating all contractual promises and transferring control to a trustee who dissects them to a pile of digital assets for the highest bidder.

Use paper.

@the_real_hal @dangillmor so ordinary people can figure out how to have accounts in multiple places, but professional self-promoters just can’t figure out how to hedge their bets? Don’t justify journalistic laziness; this is no better than the whining about being asked over and over to link to the original ruling/study/complaint in their articles. They convince themselves people don’t want whatever it is they don’t feel like doing.

@dangillmor honestly, if content creators would even just cross post! Then those of us sharing could vote with our feet. But when they post on :twitter: exclusively, that’s when we’re all truly chained to going back again and again, if only to scrape for screenshots, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Well this is where Everybody is!” No shit, why could that be? Again, not even asking for blue checks to take a blind leap and give up :twitter: all at once, just. crosspost.

@wdlindsy a strange ending line. I’d argue upwards of half a dozen countries played major roles in our last two elections, and not just obvious ones like China and Mexico. I feel like there are ways he could frame that premise to narrow it to just those two, but probably wouldn’t have the punchiness he was going for.

It was long thought #snakes could only feel vibrations through the ground.

New research finds they can not only sense airborne sound, but can likely detect human voices! 🐍👂

theconversation.com/snakes-can

(via @theconversationau) #Science #Herpetology

corporate dystopia 

@inklings @log “if had reinstated a rule, revoked by , requiring…”

@butchanarchy@kolektiva.social my drumbeat is self-policing communities that avoid getting state enforcement involved at all costs already exist. Community accountability is essentially the concepts many churches, cults, insular professional orgs, and so on already claim, but replacing rule of law w a defacto rule of social hierarchy. My acid test for abolitionist schemes is *not* splashy crimes like murder, but whether they’re going to just replicate age-old dynamics of abuse and exploitation.

@SMLP @kevinrns @forpeterssake seriously, that doesn’t even cover a family’s evacuation and lodging for a week, let alone any damages from the chemicals themselves. And how many of the residents do you think had PTO available? It’s not exactly an office hub. So EVEN if absolutely every substance turned out to be physically “harmless,” you’re still at a loss, not to mention traumatized and fearful of the safety of your water and soil going forward.

@mfreeman @forpeterssake two different time points. The $25k payout they offered in general is separate from the $1k checks offered directly to individuals.

corporate dystopia 

@inklings @log doesn’t sound like Log is letting Trump off the hook, either. I think there’s plenty of blame to go around, and obviously Trump directly caused this problem, since no broad upgrades B&B could have mandated ~2 months ago would even be done by now, practically speaking. But it is still worth noting that the issue was called to their attention and they passed up a clear opportunity to address it. Because this WILL happen again.

@forpeterssake

There's a good thread (and blog post) on the Norfolk Southern derailment by @JuliusGoat
newsie.social/@JuliusGoat@mast

Apparently the braking system was ancient and needed replacing, but the corporations successfully lobbied against a 2015 rule that would have required that the brakes be replaced.

#NorfolkSouthern #Railroad #Derailment #ChemicalSpill #Ohio

Today we are spamming the transportation secretary about #norfolksouthern #norfolksoutherndisaster — if you are in the US please join us in this fun activity.

“What are you doing to prevent this from happening again?”

“Will you make a statement on reinstating depreciated safety measures?”

“How can I find out what dangerous trains are in my area?”

Pete Buttigieg
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
United States

1 (202) 366-4000
8:30am-5:00pm EST

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