A general heat wave in south-east Asia, stretching from Bangladesh to the Philippines, is killing people and destroying crops. It is clear that our global heating activities are part of the …
Surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sitta volunteered to work in Gaza, and has testified about Israeli attacks he has seen. French senators invited him to speak to them, but Germany has banned him from entering anywhere in the Schengen zone. Did Germany present any basis claimed to …
Uniformed thugs let loose on protesters at Emory university went on a violent rampage against students and faculty — a gas-them-beat-them-and-frame-them operation. The thugs that mauled protesters ought to go to jail. The university presidents that invited them to do that should resign.
We think loneliness is in our heads, but its source lies in the ruin of civil society. In 2019, I found that the Tech Model Railroad Club (famously associated with early computer hackers) was almost dead. A few years before members had been vigorously developing it. I told Professor Sussman, and he told me that several years before, most incoming MIT …
A four-legged robot with a flamethrower is now available for anyone to purchase in the US. Supposedly it is not intended for war. Maybe that means it is intended for criminal gangs?
Torres Strait Islanders, who live on islands between Australia and New Guinea, are suing about the damage that sea-level rise will do to their homes if we don't curb global heating in 20 years.
Chatbots can lead people to suicide. What should we make of that? It seems that chatbots can build, with susceptible people, various sorts of self-reinforcing loops of conversation, such that both get stuck in the loop together. Of course, this happens to people in interactions with other people. Getting out of them is a challenge.
Council of Europe human rights watchdog condemns UK's Rwanda bill. Various countries are trying to make it difficult for people to ask for asylum there. Sending them to another place to wait for years while their cases are considered is a popular method, which has been used by Australia, the UK and the US. It is an injustice regardless of details. But that's not the only …
[2/3] … the greenhouse pollution they emit, or shut down. The article is not clear about exactly which kinds of pollution this covers. Does it include all particulates? Does it include toxic chemicals? Does it include the fallout that consists of uranium naturally present in coal? The coal industry continues demanding to be given billions for development of "carbon capture and storage", but when it sees a demand to start using that everywhere 15 years from now, it wants to fight. That …