Lurker > Antifar

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-69011124

As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship's hull.

The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore's once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the dark waters of Maryland's Patapsco River, seven weeks after its collapse left six people on the bridge dead and the Dali marooned.

Authorities - and the crew - hope that the demolition will mark the beginning of the end of a long process that has left the 21 men on board trapped and cut off from the world, thousands of miles from their homes.

But for now, it remains unclear when they will be able to return home.

The Dali - a 948ft (289m) container ship - was at the start of a 27-day journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending thousands of tonnes of steel and cement into the Patapsco. It left the ship stranded under a massive expanse of shredded metal.

A preliminary NTSB report found that two electrical blackouts disabled equipment ahead of the incident, and noted that the ship lost power twice in the 10 hours leading up to the crash.

The crew, made up of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan national, has been unable to disembark because of visa restrictions, a lack of required shore passes and parallel ongoing investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FBI.

On Monday, the crew remained on board even as authorities used small explosive charges to deliberately "cut" an expanse of the bridge lying on the ship's bow.

Ahead of the controlled demolition, US Coast Guard Admiral Shannon Gilreath said that the crew would remain below deck with a fire crew at the ready.

"They're part of the ship. They are necessary to keep the ship staffed and operational," Adm Gilreath said. "They're the best responders on board the ship themselves."
...
Among those who have been in touch with the crew is Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center, a non-profit organisation that works to protect the rights of mariners.

According to Mr Messick, the crew has been left largely without communication with the outside world for "a couple of weeks" after their mobile phones were confiscated by the FBI as part of the investigation.

"They can't do any online banking. They can't pay their bills at home. They don't have any of their data or anyone's contact information, so they're really isolated right now," Mr Messick said. "They just can't reach out to the folks they need to, or even look at pictures of their children before they go to sleep. It's really a sad situation."

Cry more

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/gop-sen-mitt-romney-says-biden-pardoned-trump-rcna152420

Romney, a vocal critic of Trump, said, I think its a terrible fault for our country to see people attacking our legal system thats an enormous mistake. I think its also demeaning for people to quite apparently try and run for vice president by donning a red tie and standing outside the courthouse. It's just I'd have felt awkward.

The Utah Republican argued that Biden should have pardoned Trump when the Justice Department announced charges against him and that the president made an enormous error by not pressuring New York prosecutors to drop their case against Trump. (Presidents can pardon only in federal cases.)

"He should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from going forward, Romney said, referring to Biden. It was a win-win for Donald Trump.

Pressed by Ruhle whether that is Bidens job to pardon Trump, Romney said he believes that Biden should have taken a cue from former President Lyndon B. Johnson, saying that the president could have stepped in and urged New York prosecutors to drop the case.

I have been around for a while. If LBJ had been president, and he didnt want something like this to happen, hed have been all over that prosecutor saying, You better not bring that forward or Im gonna drive you out of office, he said.

Ruhle then noted that Romney supports having separate but equal branches of government.

I do. ... You may disagree with this, but had I been President Biden, when the Justice Department brought on indictments, I would have immediately pardoned him. I'd have pardoned President Trump. Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy.

One of the dumber Republicans

Mrs. Dalloway for me

Apparently it's pretty common in the chain restaurant industry for nationally imposed deals like this to be loss leaders and bad news for individual franchises in higher cost areas. A lot of Subways went under because of $5 footlongs

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f0e37182.jpg

Why'd they have to do that, man?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iweMZu-DC4c

Foppe posted...

Is it better that they start to hire Wagner and becomes Russia allied?

"if I don't help my friend do a crime, some other asshole will" is not a convincing argument, imo.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

You can tell me this is not cool until I get tired, does that change where I live?

Are you okay?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/microsoft-s-ai-investment-imperils-climate-goal-as-emissions-jump-30?embedded-checkout=true

When Microsoft Corp. pledged four years ago to remove more carbon than it emits by the end of the decade, it was one of the most ambitious and comprehensive plans to tackle climate change. Now the software giant's relentless push to be the global leader in artificial intelligence is putting that goal in peril.

The Seattle-based companys total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020, according to the latest sustainability report published Wednesday. That makes getting to below zero by 2030 even harder than it was when it announced its carbon-negative goal.

Now to meet its goals, the software giant will have to make serious progress very quickly in gaining access to green steel and concrete and less carbon-intensive chips, said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Green. In 2020, we unveiled what we called our carbon moonshot. That was before the explosion in artificial intelligence, he said. So in many ways the moon is five times as far away as it was in 2020, if you just think of our own forecast for the expansion of AI and its electrical needs.

Microsofts predicament is one of the first concrete examples of how the pursuit of AI is colliding with efforts to cut emissions. Choosing to capitalize on its early lead in the new market for generative AI has made Microsoft the most valuable company in the world, but its leaders also acknowledge keeping up with demand will mean investing more heavily in polluting assets.

AI products are power hungry and data-processing heavy. That first increases the workload of existing centers, which increases energy use. But such is the demand that, to keep up, Microsoft has to also build new data centers. That requires carbon-intensive cement, steel and microchips.

Well at least they have a good purpose in mind for all that new tech.

MedeaLysistrata posted...

I like the notion that I have made a category error but it's the national philosophy that I don't know for certain, and this seething judgment that I won't read anyway

Are you having a mental health crisis?

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/

Update: I was thinking of the album Marquee Moon by Television

They're from around the same time and scene as Talking Heads, I feel like their name starts with an M ("Midnight Moon" is what came to mind, but that's not it). They weren't very popular but are one of those indie/niche bands that's very fondly regarded by critics. And the name just completely eludes me

The most likely outcome of this feels like Americans buying gas-powered vehicles instead

https://bsky.app/profile/cooperlund.bsky.social/post/3kshi6o2dol2j

What's the kicker's excuse, did he get patted on the helmet too hard after making an extra point?

He's a weird guy

https://www.wunc.org/education/2024-05-13/dei-unc-chapel-hill-trustees-vote-redirect-funding-police

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees has voted to divert $2.3 million away from diversity, equity and inclusion programs and into public safety.
The unanimous vote occurred at a special Board of Trustees meeting Monday morning. It is unclear if the diversion of funds would lead to layoffs.
Marty Kotis is vice chair of the boards budget and finance committee, which initially introduced and passed the flex cut amendment. Without citing specific examples, he called DEI programs discriminatory and divisive.
I think that DEI in a lot of peoples minds is divisiveness, exclusion and indoctrination, Kotis said. We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.
According to the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Diversity and Inclusion, their mission is to create and sustain a diverse, inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and alumni.
Kotis and other board members said it was important to have additional funding for public safety to protect the campus from groups that disrupt the universitys operations.
Many members specifically mentioned recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. Last month, police detained more than 30 people at an encampment where protesters removed the U.S. flag and replaced it with a Palestinian one.
When you destroy property or you take down the U.S flag and you have to put up gates around it that costs money, Kotis said. Its imperative that we have the proper resources for law enforcement to protect the campus.
Several people, including Chapel Hill and Carrboro town council members, have condemned the universitys police response to campus demonstrations.
UNC administration created an environment that inevitably resulted in an escalation of force, including the use of pepper spray against its own students, reads a letter signed by a majority of town council members. This use of aggressive police tactics against students and community members invites aggressive responses, and only serves to escalate an already tense situation.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-13/tesla-rehires-some-supercharger-workers-weeks-after-musk-s-culling

Heavy_D_Forever posted...

who cry over jokes

Is it the jokes they were upset about, or the serious things

thronedfire2 posted...

and Jerry will probably be whining about it in a day or two

Yeah there has probably never been a target you could be more certain of feeling slighted by college kids walking out on him than Jerry Seinfeld.

Say what you will about "from the river to the sea," it's less genocidal than the things Republican senators are saying: https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-lindsey-graham-suggests-nuking-gaza-calls-hiroshima-the-right-decision/

VFalcone posted...

The universities receive funding from Israel and the students are protesting that.

Other way around; universities have massive financial investments through their endowment funds.

The approach mirrors that of anti-apartheid protesters in the 80s, who sought to pressure their universities into divesting from South Africa.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/ccdcaea8.jpg

New yawk

Cool stuff. I know there have been rumors of Canadian expansion for the NWSL as well.

I wouldn't be caught dead in Albany

https://bsky.app/profile/illumi.me/post/3ks5kxjnj322z

It's more lucrative for him to bite his tongue about racism than to do otherwise.

conduit posted...

The generational shift will be damning to Israel in the coming decades. The older generations still get all their propaganda from the legacy media, but younger generations are seeing the true face of Israel and once seen it can never be unseen. The current generation won't forget. They'll always see Israel now as a genocidal racist apartheid state that has complete contempt for international law.

I think this thread does a good job of explaining the generational gap: https://bsky.app/profile/notalawyer.bsky.social/post/3ks46zkp4nk2q

If you were of a certain age at 9/11, you basically hold it as a given principle that routine state violence and terrorism hold separate moral weights. And younger generations don't make that distinction.

Fenriswolf posted...

Israel's far right national security minister:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a2dc4bb3.jpg

Setting aside for a moment the humanitarian concerns that should be at the forefront of decision making, at some point doesn't Biden have to recognize that this is an unreliable ally at best? The US can be the lone voice at the Un opposing Palestinian statehood, and Israel will return the favor by angling to get Trump elected again.

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/crime/2024/05/07/dea-agent-fatal-crash/73542632007/

Attorneys for a Drug Enforcement Agency agent who struck and killed a Salem woman riding her bicycle in March 2023 argued Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that he had shown a plausible defense for immunity and should be allowed to continue, and seek dismissal of, his criminal case in federal court.

Prosecutors say Landis acknowledged he ran a stop sign at High and Leslie streets SE and had no lights or siren on when he hit Marganne Allen while she was riding her bike home from work on March 28, 2023.

Allen, 53, died at nearby Salem Health hospital.

Landis, 38, did not face immediate charges, and the case was transferred from Salem Police to Keizer Police due to a potential conflict of interest. Months later, the Marion County District Attorney's Office charged Landis with criminally negligent homicide.

Landis' attorneys argue he is entitled to use the federal defense of immunity under the Supremacy Clause because he was actively surveilling a "dangerous fentanyl supplier" while on duty, and his case was taken out of local circuit court and into federal court.
...
Marion County prosecutors said Landis was not in danger or responding to an emergency at the time of the crash. There were no plans to arrest an individual being surveilled that day or to immediately stop a drug deal, prosecutors said. Other agents were ahead of him.

https://bsky.app/profile/nytimes.com/post/3ks5jylcxg22s

I've seen it described by one critic I trust as "Metroid meets Outer Wilds" which sounds cool

Anyways you should keep this in mind come October when there's a refinery shut down and gas prices go up just before the election.

Doesn't seem great

The best time to do this was months ago, but right now is the second best time.

Pothead was right there

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/health/tandem-insulin-pump-app-recall/index.html

https://youtu.be/xqXAW2snGMI?si=B2TsCzmTlNTZOCrd

Her fault for asking cops to do something they don't want to.

Google Hague Invasion Act

Takes by Serious People like this one
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/opinion/aileen-cannon-trump-documents-case.html

Aged a lot worse than simple "oh the Trump appointee is gonna tank the case" analysis.

Where else will college kids find some libertarian on drugs telling them to buy bitcoin?
https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/ohio-state-university/ohio-state-speaker-says-he-took-psychedelic-drugs-to-write-bitcoin-commencement-speech/

https://apnews.com/article/hochul-black-kids-bronx-computer-comment-e0c3c69b1ebf9639d8f9e402096f8446

Hey, thank you for sharing a bunch of accounts committed to white nationalism and their posts on the website for white nationalists.

emblem-man posted...

Yep. We (liberals, progressives, etc.) shouldn't give up policing demographics to the right.

I don't think you can "professionalize" your way to a progressice police force. The institution is one of welding state violence against out-groups to keep in-groups safe

Sabotage in this is in reference to Netanyahus comments:
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-04-30-2024-f5e14fd176d69f9c4e23b48f3ab5af6a

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam.