Gorth

Australia is not happy with Facebook... (not that I personally care, never posted a single thing there, but apparently a lot of Aussies do use Facebook) https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56920992 Facebook approved adverts targeting teenage children interested in gambling, smoking and extreme weight loss, a report says. Research by the lobby group Reset Australia created a Facebook page under the name Ozzie News Network to explore the advertising options. And it was able to create targeted ads, based on profiling by the technology giant, for as little as A$3 (£2.16). Facebook told BBC News it reviewed each ad before and after publication. Facebook approved all three Ads! "Facebook appears to use teenagers' data in the same way as adults," Reset Australia executive director Chris Cooper told the Guardian. "This opens a can of worms about just how Facebook profits from under-age data, and exactly what protection they have against inappropriate targeting." "Should a 13-year-old who lists their single status be getting targeted ads for a sugar-daddy dating service? "Should a 15-year-old profiled as interested in alcohol see ads that suggest ****tail recipes based on their parent's alcohol cabinet? "Do we want 16-year-olds to have ads about gambling or political extremism targeted at them?" I might be a relic from the past, but I think Facebook is something the world doesn't really need. But also that it may be a symptom of some underlying issues with today's society rather than the cause.

That's the weirdest description I've ever seen for accidents on powerplants with release of nuclear material into the environment (as for Russia, I'm not talking about Chernobyl, that was an Ukrainian powerplant, I'm talking about the Mayak incident in 1957, the worlds third most disastrous nuclear accent after Chernobyl and Fukushima, beating Three Mile Island by miles)

That would probably be my biggest concern with a widespread use of nuclear energy. Sure, a lot of countries can handle it responsibly (sort of, except Russia, The US, Japan etc.), but there are also a number of countries I would feel uneasy about having nuclear facilities and stockpiles of nuclear material.

I guess I just got lucky then. 200+ hours of playing and I never noticed technical issues

"Anvisa’s decision doesn’t affect a separate request from Brazilian company Uniao Quimica for emergency use authorization of Sputnik V produced locally, according to an emailed statement from Anvisa’s press office." So, it's unusable if they have to import it but not if the same product is manufactured locally. Smells "fishy"?

Because people tire easily of all the peace talk, back to something more confrontational... The love affair between Scott Morrison and China seems to be over. Regardless of whether he wants it to end or not. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/11/hong-kong-activist-welcome-to-campaign-in-exile-in-australia "Hong Kong former legislator and pro-democracy activist Ted Hui is welcome to campaign on political issues in Australia and his arrival was not a matter for China, the chair of the Australian parliament’s intelligence committee said on Thursday, angering Beijing, which warned of further damage to already strained ties between the two countries." Ok, just kidding. Scott Morrison wasn't consulted on the matter. Not his style to show any backbone. Two different takes on the sudden increase in spending on improving existing military infrastructure in Australia's north: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/28/australia-to-upgrade-military-bases-expand-wargames-with "Australia will spend $580m to upgrade four military bases in its north and expand war games with the United States, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce on Wednesday, according to extracts of the announcement seen by the Reuters news agency. An airstrip in the Northern Territory will be lengthened to support larger aircraft, firing ranges overhauled and new training facilities set up for defence personnel and US marines." Scott Morrison of course has a different version of the truth: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-28/scott-morrison-mike-pezzullo-war-conflict-china-australia/100100038 "Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied a major investment in military bases in northern Australia is aimed at sending a message to China." "At the same time, he has also defended comments made by new Defence Minister Peter Dutton that the possibility of conflict with China over Taiwan should not be "discounted". Mr Morrison was in Darwin to confirm a $747 million upgrade to defence facilities in the Northern Territory, part of $8 billion set to be spent on military infrastructure in northern Australia over the next decade. Mr Morrison said the goal of properly resourcing the Australian military was aimed at keeping peace in an "uncertain" region rather than preparing for conflict." The problem is, everyone knows Scott Morrison is a notorious liar. If little old me knows it, China probably knows it too. Doesn't require much effort by any intelligence service. Speaking of China, England dreams of ruling the waves again... maybe they have a score to settle over the breach of the agreements on Hong Kong? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/27/uks-queen-elizabeth-aircraft-carrier-to-deploy-to-japan-s-korea "Royal Navy flotilla will stop off in India and Singapore and also sail through the contested South China Sea." "The United Kingdom’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will lead a flotilla of Royal Navy ships through Asian waters on port visits to Japan and South Korea on its maiden deployment, the British embassy in Tokyo has announced, as Australia warned of threats of conflict in the region. The high-profile voyage, announced by the British embassy on Monday, is aimed at bolstering security ties in East Asia and comes amid tensions in the region as concern grows in Japan over any threat posed to neighbouring Taiwan by China, as well as increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea." ... "It will be joined by vessels from the United States and a frigate from the Netherlands and will carry out exercises with forces from Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, the UAE, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, India, Oman and South Korea, the British government said in a statement. Other foreign ships currently in Asian waters include a French amphibious carrier and two US navy aircraft carriers, one of which, the USS Ronald Reagan, is based in Japan." Lots of troops from faraway countries meeting in South East Asia An Australian perspective: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/home-affairs-boss-warns-drums-of-war-are-beating/news-story/183c411ad712c199182b4ee597fda42f "One of the Federal Government's top national security officials has warned the "drums of war" are beating amid rising tensions with China. In an Anzac Day message to staff, Home Affairs Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo said Australia must work to reduce the risk of war "but not at the cost of our precious liberty". "Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war, let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war," Mr Pezzullo said." Could it be the price of being the flea caught between two fingers maybe? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-21/us-china-preparing-war-drumbeats-conflict-australia-crosshairs/13260084 "Last year, at the 70th anniversary of China's triumph, Xi Jinping warned the Chinese people "the road ahead will not be smooth". He called on people to revive the spirit of the Korean War, to "speak to invaders in the language they know … to use war to prevent war". Simply: tell the Americans that China is not afraid, it was victorious once, and will be again."

Bad news for arms exporters and oil investors... Iran and Saudi Arabia caught in the act of having secret peace talks https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/28/mbs-us-and-riyadh-strategic-partners-with-few-differences "Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has struck a conciliatory tone towards the kingdom’s arch-nemesis, Iran, saying he sought “good” relations after reports the rivals held secret talks recently in Baghdad." Edit: The Financial Times article with more details is behind a paywall, so not going to link to it.

Are you going to hold it against me if I pull a @Gfted1 here and confess, in all honesty, that I'm probably too old to care, because I'll be dead and gone when it becomes a problem? Let youmg engineers find new solutions to new problems, not grumpy old forum residents that survived old problems Edit: Buy a SpaceX 42 rocket and ship the junk to the sun? Might help your tan. Edit2: I'm old enough to remember the old Space 1999 series. The solution to the worlds problem with radioactive waste was to store it in giant junkyards on the moon.

That's based on the assumption that those sources are going to be your only sources of energy. Even Denmark, despite getting so much electricity from alternative sources now, doesn't put all the eggs in one basket. Diversification (sp?) is important. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you could always add a few nuclear power plants to pick up the slack on rainy day and use the renewable energy when it's there (and scale the storage as needed,if possible). Not sure what the better alternatives would be? Not trying to be snarky, genuinely curious (with the caveat I don't believe oil and coal is the future for humanity).

Not sure how "tremendous" it is, but Aussies like big batteries for things like wind power on a day with no wind: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/1/16723186/elon-musk-battery-launched-south-australia The world's largest lithium-ion battery is now live in South Australia after being delivered a few weeks ago, easily beating the promise Elon Musk made of "100 days or it's free." The South Australian Government notes that for the first time, clean wind energy can be siphoned to the grid 24/7 improving the system’s reliability, whether the wind is blowing or not. The 100MW battery farm has enough storage capacity to power more than 30,000 homes. ... Of course, Australia does have a few places here and there, that are less populated, so wind farms, solar cell farms (and the batteries for temporary storage) etc. can be made less intrusive esthetically. Edit: I know from a local newspaper that the 30.000 homes is for 8 hours in case anyone wondered for how long Edit2: Which has a web page with the number... https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/huge-tesla-battery-in-south-australia-primed-for-big-upgrade-20191119-p53byo.html "The battery system's capacity will now be increased to 150 megawatts under an expansion plan put forward by French energy giant Neoen, the owner of the site, with the support of Tesla and the state and federal governments. Paired with the adjacent Hornsdale wind farm, Tesla's grid-scale battery, known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve, has helped reduce intermittency and manage increased demand during summer when the grid is under the most strain. In its first year of operation, it saved consumers more than $50 million, according to Neoen."

I left the game on my steam Wishlist for now. It sounds like it’s going to need a lot of patching to become playable. A damn shame too, as Automata is I one of my all time favourite games. Hopefully it will be patched to something of a similar standard

Miami, huh?... an actual school run by Florida Man

You don't have to have coloured skin to be the subject of violent cops in the US... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56897186 US police officers are seen mocking a 73-year-old dementia sufferer as they watch video of her shoulder going "pop" during her forcible arrest, according to footage released by her lawyer. Karen Garner was detained on 26 June last year after she walked out of a Walmart in the state of Colorado without paying for $13 of items. Her elbow was fractured and shoulder dislocated, says her attorney. An investigation has been launched into the Loveland Police Department arrest. In the footage released on Monday from the booking area of the police station on the day of the arrest, officers are seen fist-bumping one another as they review body camera video of the incident. Video from inside Ms Garner's nearby holding cell shows the frail-looking grandmother slumped handcuffed to a bench while the officers joke about the incident, says her lawyer. "Ready for the pop? Hear the pop?" one of the officers says at one point, referring to Ms Garner's shoulder. As they continue to watch the footage, the same officer says: "I love it." The Garner family hired a sound engineer to enhance audio of the officers' remarks. Their lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit against the department, alleging the officers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and "violently assaulted" Ms Garner. Attorney Sarah Schielke says her client went six hours without medical help while confused and crying in pain after an arrest that amounted to "torture". "They failed Karen Garner," Ms Schielke said in a press release. "They failed the community. And they did it all on camera." edit: for good measure The release of the footage comes amid a nationwide reckoning over police brutality, especially against African Americans, although Ms Garner is white.

Some old Rammstein. I tried to find a decent video of the concert, but the only visuals I could find was from a Russian poster and playing back on youtube in fast, fast forward. I.e. uselsess. edit: Studio version. I just happen to like Rammsteins live performances better

I thought that was what I said? Gang wars needs to be addressed and get more media attention Edit: Or rather, initiatives to prevent gang violence needs more awareness (and support, although I didn't use that word)

I'm fairly sure the grief and outrage would be the same regardless of why a son, a brother, a father (and girls too get killed in gang wars), but it's my impression that BLM's cause d'etre is people getting killed because of their skin colour, not their gang affiliation. Not going to list them, but a google search for groups against gang violence comes up with a number of initiatives against (especially youth) gang violence. Do they get the same media exposure? definitely not. I think that's more of an issue really. Not that BLM gets media attention, but that other, also very important initiatives don't.

I'm not American, but I'll give you my unsolicited thoughts anyway If you edit your sentence a tiny bit, like removing one word, you may have answered your own question "I dont know why people arent concerned with the killings of 20 African Americans in gang violence in 1 weekend , its a lot and I would be concerned if it happened in SA" The answer could be, because the killings aren't racially motivated? Maybe It's a socio-economic problem (which could be racially related), that gang violence is so bad in parts of the world? Any country ought to be worried if 20 people got killed in one weekend in gang related violence. I know Denmark was concerned a few decades ago when lots of people got killed in gang related violence (when Bandidos and Hells Angels had a go at each other over market shares of the drug market)

Sort of related, one of the short term lockdowns in Australia (I think it was the Sydney one, where the virus managed to get out of the quarantine hotels and into the community) proved beyond any doubt that the virus is alive and well as an airborne agent. First the security guard was accused of not sticking to protocols when people in the neighbor hotel room got infected (and they were at the end of their quarantine period), but then they fast forwarded the CCTV from the hotel hallway and showed nobody ever left their rooms and the guard was never close to any of the doors (i.e. he followed protocols). They are still trying to work out how the airflows in the hotel could carry the infection from one room to another.

No idea what Sweden is up to these days (@Azdeus would probably know), but my old country used to be all coal powered. My old hometown had a large coal power plant, easily recognizable in the flat coastal terrain with it's huge blocks build for the turbines and a 250m chimney which you could probably see from 30km in the completely flat landscape. Now, this is based on childhood memories (the original powerplant was built in 1965 I think, which had two shorter chimneys, so even before old greybeard here was born), but I could have sworn at some time having gotten the impression that all that coal was shipped by boat from South Africa (just musing out loud because now of the coincidence of sharing this with a South African) It's going to be demolished and torn down now, being decommissioned (first part of it, "block3 " to be shut down in 2022 , as Denmark moves more and more towards renewable energy. https://denmark.dk/innovation-and-design/clean-energy "Clean energy is a Danish passion, and in Denmark 30 percent of all energy used already comes from renewable sources. Wind energy is well-established in Denmark, which long ago decided to put the Danish climate’s constant breezes and blusters to practical use. Now Denmark produces almost twice as much wind energy per capita as the runner-up among industrialised countries in the OECD. But you may be surprised to hear that wind energy isn’t the most widely used renewable energy source in Denmark. First place actually belongs to bioenergy, followed by wind, solar and geothermal energy." Yes, Denmark is a "first world country", but I suppose this works as a proof of concept that it's doable if the will is there. Denmark once produced so much oil they would likely have been accepted by OPEC Edit: The reason I seem to remember it coming from SA was because it was controversial at the time, those guys having something down there called "apartheid", which this young schoolboy here had no clue what was, but it was apparently not the right thing to buy stuff from SA in the 60's and 70's

Or like in the case of Australia, outright owned by the coal, oil and mining industry...

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210423-how-grass-and-gel-could-make-condoms-better "From condoms that self-lubricate to ones with in-built medication that protects against STDs, the contraception of the future is already in development." ... "There are a variety of reasons for why people are resistant to using condoms – religious grounds, poor sexual education and a dislike of the way they feel. Condom breakages or slippages are relatively uncommon, but do occur – some studies estimate they occur in between 1% and 5% of cases – and this can also impact confidence and whether people use them. It has led researchers to search for ways of improving the humble condom with innovative materials and technologies in the hope that it might enable more people to use them. One promising idea for stronger condoms uses graphene – an ultrathin single layer of carbon atoms that was first identified by Nobel Prize winning scientists at the University of Manchester, UK, in 2004. Aravind Vijayaraghavan, a materials scientist at the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester, believes "the world's thinnest, lightest, strongest and best heat conductive material" could be ideal to improve the properties of condoms." That Graphene stuff sounds interesting. Not just for enjoyment purposes

Feudalism seems alive and well in Belarus... A country in need of something else? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/24/belarus-leader-to-amend-emergency-power-transfer-to-empower-son

I would say since the olympics in Berlin before WWII, it had been about anything but sport. Owens sort of showed the shortcomings of the ideology of the “superior race” and it had been a mix of commercial interests and political grandstanding since that particular Olympics (if not before, I’m not familiar with the history of the modern event before the 1930’s)

But Bruce, aren't you asking some very leading and loaded questions??? The simplistic answer is yes. But you can't really debate it out of context. Ask, how did it get to this in the first place? Plus, any conversation about the subject is going to be full of whatif's (what if Russia had joined Nato, what if Ukraine hadn't invaded Crimea, what if the EU had agree to open trade etc.) or whataboutisms (but the US does it big time, the Chinese does and the Israelis are probably the most active in cyber espionage and sabotage these days). I prefer the whatif "What if Putin hadn't picked up the pieces of the collapse of the Soviet Union?". Try to imagine a failed state like Libya or Somalia with the worlds largest nuclear arsenal and ICBM's... people may not like Putin and distrust his nationalist motives, but for all his faults, he is "rational", unlike say the Iranian leadership (or the late US leadership). Did the world get the lesser of multiple evils and should adapt and learn to live with it?