tomatolung

joined 2 years ago
[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Web use is hard to measure, but by one estimate monthly traffic from search engines has fallen by 15% in the past year. Some of the loudest complaints have come from the news media, an industry in which we acknowledge an interest. But the drought is a wider problem. Science and education sites have lost a tenth of their visitors in the past year. Reference sites are down by 15% and health sites by 31%. Some big names are being gutted: Tripadvisor.com, which recommends the best hotels or beaches, is down by a third; Webmd, which offers reassurance (or alarm) to the poorly, has fallen by half.

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As the old model buckles, the web is changing. It is becoming less open, as formerly ad-funded content is hidden from bots, behind paywalls. Content firms are reaching people through channels other than search, from email newsletters to social media and in-person events. They are pushing into audio and video, which are harder for ai to summarise than text. Big brands are striking content-licensing deals with ai companies. Plenty of other transactions and lawsuits are going on. (The Economist Group has yet to license its work for ai training, but has agreed to let Google use select articles for one of its ai services.) Hundreds of millions of small sites—the internet’s collectively invaluable long tail—lack the clout to do this.

No one should expect the web of the future to look just as it does today. ai-powered search will rightly shake up some services: business directories, for instance, face disintermediation as answer-bots field queries such as “emergency plumber” or “houses for sale”. But the evaporation of incentives to create content presents a fundamental problem. If human traffic is drying up, the web will need a new currency

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Bringing a new business model to the web is daunting; it may take a shove from regulators to get started. Yet everyone has an interest in making content-creation pay. Publishers may be the ones complaining now, but if the content tap dries up, ai companies will suffer, too. Some are more vulnerable than others. Whereas Meta can draw on data posted to its social networks and Google owns YouTube, the world’s biggest video vault, Openai relies entirely on others for its content.

If nothing changes, the risk is of a modern-day tragedy of the commons. The shared resource of the open web will be over-exploited, leading to its eventual exhaustion. If that process is not stopped, one of the great common properties of humanity could be gravely diminished. The tragedy of the web would be a tragedy for everyone.

As others have commented, the economist is presenting this as a capitalist issue that requires a monetary fix. The most ironic element to me is that one of the elements of the tragedy of the commons is that is indicates the requirement of a public interest and it's regulatory interest so the commons can work. So another way to perceive this is that we need a non-capital framework to allow the web to persist. Say perhaps like roads are created as infrastructure to allow the free movement of it's citizens in a "safe" and organized way, perhaps we should change our perspective on the utility of the we and it's content. I'm not suggesting that we copy the transportation to the internet as it obviously breaks down, but the need to think outside the capitalist box is apparent. Libraries have been funded both publicly and privately as public interest, and have the capacity to work both for and nonprofit. This adaptation need not just be 'free' market driven. Especially as we do not actually live in a free market, but I'll let others drive down that hole.

 

The nearly monthlong survey conducted in June found Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of immigration by a wide margin: 62% to 35%. And more than twice as many Americans strongly disapproved (45%) as strongly approved (21%).

It also found nearly 7 in 10 independents disapproved.

These are Trump’s worst numbers on immigration yet. But the trend has clearly been downward – especially in high-quality polling like Gallup’s.

An NPR-PBS News-Marist College poll conducted late last month, for instance, showed 59% of independents disapproved of Trump on immigration. And a Quinnipiac University poll showed 66% of independents disapproved.

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There’s a real question in all of this whether people care that much. They might disapprove of some of the more controversial aspects of Trump’s deportations, but maybe it’s not that important to them – and they might even like the ultimate results.

That’s the bet Trump seems to be making: that he can push forward on something his base really wants and possibly even tempt his political opponents to overreach by appearing to defend people who are in the country illegally.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Has there been a discussions about how bad or skewed the titles are? I sympathize with the non-editorializing, but major news sources have become painfully bad at what they title. They are necessarily editorialized by their editors to the detriment of the readers.

I would suggest an allowance to at least indicate the editorializing title in the description.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How multinational CEO's instead?

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

I first read this as plants, of the green leafy variety. Somehow I also think that is apropos of how little the Democratic caucus does. Congressional shrubs, who just sit there looking pretty.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

USA voter registration including party affiliation are public record. https://protectdemocracy.org/work/why-is-voter-registration-data-public/

Building the sort of database you suggest is a very double edge sword though. Use of personal data to persecute people is a tool of fascist. Persuading people as it is currently used by candidates and their proxies is arguably part of democratic (the arguably part is that humans don't make rational decisions due to cognitive biases, so it is not a fair choice if presented with manipulated information), but it is a way to distribute directed information in this modern age.

We need community and more engagement, not less and isolation. I empathize with the outrage response, but suggest it's worth being careful in actions that take the form of the enemy.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Does anyone know of an indirect or mirrored source, just wondering if it will go down. Obviously the way back machine, but I'm not sure if it will pull the databased side of it.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

...

The Anti-Defamation League report concludes by offering specific advice that Wikimedia reconsider its approach to sensitive topics. The recommendations include creating a pool of experts on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The experts should be verified by the foundation and should moderate disputes that arise.

The ADL appeals to the precedent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, page edits on controversial topics were scrutinized by a team of medical experts. Instead of voting by simple majority, a narrow circle of specialists made the decision.

Wikipedia editors are skeptical of these proposals. The ADL is asking too much of Wikimedia, editor Andrei believes:

“I find this solution rather odd. The Foundation's interference in the administration of language sections is very rare and hardly ever concerns the content of the articles. It just provides servers, domains, and infrastructure.”

Indeed, Wikimedia does not usually take responsibility for resolving conflicts. Despite having the power to completely replace the pool of administrators of an entire language section — which indeed happened in the cases of the Croatian, Chechen, and Chinese Wikis — the Foundation positions itself as a community of authors. It rarely issues statements to the press and regularly responds to defamation suits by citing sources. In the U.S., such lawsuits against Wikipedia almost always fall apart.

However, a lawsuit that is unfolding in India could set a precedent regarding Wikimedia's legal liability. The foundation is being sued by the local news agency Asian News International (ANI) over an article claiming ANI spreads state propaganda and fake news.

Wikimedia first responded that the foundation “does not add or correct content” and that editorial decisions are made by a “global community of users.” However, the court found Wikimedia itself to be the proper defendant.

The case is being heard in Delhi, and Wikipedians have created a page about the trial. This is a common practice on the platform, but the Delhi High Court considered it an attempt to influence the proceedings and ordered the page to be removed. Wikimedia is now challenging this decision in India's Supreme Court.

What matters in this process is not the history of a particular news outlet, but the fact that Wikimedia has been compelled to respond to the claims before a judge, says Dr. Aharoni Lir. She notes another crucial point: at the request of the court, the Foundation disclosed the details of the users who had corrected the article. ...

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

I love the tone and am happy teslas is feeling the wrath, but also dislike a percentage based chart which doesn't show Tesla's total sales in dollars or euros. The problem here is that while it's a huge impact to Tesla, it's not nearly as much of an impact as you might expect because they sell a huge majority in the US.

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I can search it, but do you have a description of what type of finance transaction are being processed this way still?

[–] tomatolung@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I think you are missing the last digit. https://share.libbyapp.com/title/11693967

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams

An explosive insider account charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Meta, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.

From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.

Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to “lean in.”

Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.

 

Surrounded by more than seven miles of coastline and sitting just 14 feet above sea level at its highest elevation, MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida juts out into Hillsborough Bay like a uvula.

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“Approximately 93% of MacDill AFB is within the 100-year floodplain,” according to a 2022 base resource management plan. “Tropical storms typically flood much of the southern and northwestern portions of MacDill, and all of the base proper would be flooded by a Category 3 or greater hurricane.”

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In the meantime, CENTCOM personnel are working out of several locations, including Raymond James Stadium and Homestead Air Reserve Base near Miami, where the Joint Operations Center will be set up, a U.S. defense official told The War Zone.

SOCOM “dispersed to three different locations,” Col. Alexandra Weiskopf, the command spokesperson, told The War Zone. “With our Washington D.C. office, we will have comms up in four different locations and there will be no degradation to our continuity of operations."

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“Space Launch Delta 45 is monitoring Hurricane Milton and will continue making preparations as weather dictates,” spokeswoman Maggie Nave told us. “Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station have entered [hurricane preparation] HURCON status, which will be adjusted based on the anticipated timing of storm impacts. At this time, tenant units have moved aircraft assets out of the local area.”

Naval Station Mayport has sent three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers underway, while those vessels unable to leave are being placed on heavy moorings, spokesman David Holmes told us. The station has shut down operations and only essential mission personnel are allowed in.

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The preparations being made for Hurricane Milton are another stark reminder of how climate is affecting the military, especially in locations like Florida prone to these natural disasters

While there are no plans to shutter places like MacDill and Tyndall, the cost to keep them operational in the face of major hurricanes like Milton will only rise.

 

France has unveiled plans to develop a new uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) that will complement the forthcoming Rafale F5 crewed fighter, as part of a new-look French Air and Space Force. The industrial side of the drone program will be headed up by Dassault Aviation, drawing upon its previous nEUROn UCAV demonstrator, which has already been used in trials with crewed combat aircraft.

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submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by tomatolung@lemmy.world to c/climate@slrpnk.net
 

Track The Tropics has been the #1 source to track the tropics 24/7 since 2013! The main goal of the site is to bring all of the important links and graphics to ONE PLACE so you can keep up to date on any threats to land during the Atlantic Hurricane Season! Hurricane Season 2024 in the Atlantic starts on June 1st and ends on November 30th. Love Spaghetti Models? Well you've come to the right place!! Remember when you're preparing for a storm: Run from the water; hide from the wind!

An interesting aggregation of lots of great sites, their graphics, and the information from around the web and world.

 

A dog saved her owner – who hurt his leg at home in rural Washington state, fell and couldn’t get up for hours – by walking to a road, sitting in the middle of it until a local sheriff’s deputy stopped, and leading the officer to him, according to authorities.

Gita’s ability to be “a good girl and true hero” in her 84-year-old owner’s moment of need after his injury at their cabin on 25 September led to her “saving his life that day”, the Stevens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“The loyalty and heroism of our furry friends never cease to amaze us,” the agency added.

 

Senior Airman Devon Word, a conventional munitions crew chief from the U.S. Air Force’s 48th Munitions Squadron, solved a perennial ammunition handling issue faced by the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., which often saw 20 mm rounds jamming while moving from the replenisher table to the ammunition loader. The frequent  jamming makes manual intervention necessary, with “15 minutes of troubleshooting per jam” required which “may also cause injury to the operator.”

In fiscal year 2023, according to the press release, there were 319 operations resulting in an average of 957 instances of jams using the replenisher table. These accounted for approximately 798 man-hours due to the need for at least four personnel during operations.

Word developed a specially designed 3D-printed insert that addressed the old design issue causing the stoppages – a gap between the rounds and the top of the replenisher table. The unit-level innovation could save the 48th FW and U.S. Air Force over 750 man-hours annually, the unit said.

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...some predictions estimate that there may be hundreds of thousands or even millions of deaths from famine in Sudan in the coming year or two.

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In my research so far into models predicting famine numbers, however, I have been surprised at the extent to which the models are not transparent. That is, when two models disagree, with one claiming very high death estimates and others predicting more limited famine (there is clearly a famine already underway in some parts of Sudan), it’s unclear what drives these differences. If the data and code were publicly available, we could compare the models, see where they differ, and then identify which of these differences are in turn responsible for the different predictions they make. So that’s what I’ve set out to do, with hopes that I will find some fellow travellers along the way.

 

​Ukraine's Troops Were Reinforced by the American M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle

November 4, 2023

Ukraine became only the second operator of the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (M1150 ABV) in the world after the USA, while their number is very small even in the US Army

The Armed Forces of Ukraine received the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle that is U.S. military mine- and explosives-clearing vehicle, based on the M1 Abrams chassis. This is seen in the video that was published by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi were he is awarding and congratulating defenders on the Day of Rocket Forces and Artillery as well as the Engineering Troops Day.

There were no separate reports on the delivery of the M1150 ABV from the US, but it is likely that it arrived together with the Abrams tanks, the batch of which was received by Ukraine no later than mid-October. And thus the Armed Forces of Ukraine became the second in the world after the USA and the first foreign operator of this vehicle (in 2021, Australia received permission to purchase, but nothing has been reported about the signing of the contract as well as its implementation at the moment).

The M1150 ABV is a new vehicle for creating passages in mine barriers, for which it combines two systems at once. The first is a a mine plow.

The second is a system for launching line charges, as implemented in the M58 MICLIC system. That is, the vehicle can blast passages in minefields about 100-150 meters long at a time.

But if the MICLIC has only the charges themselves and is based on the M113 armored personnel carrier, then the M1150 ABV is a more versatile and, most importantly, much more protected vehicle. The latter allowed it to be used in the role of a truly assault tank to defeat the enemy's protected positions.

At the same time, their number in the US army is quite small, according to Military Balance - only 149 units, although an order for 187 units was made for the ground forces during the operation in Afghanistan. Moreover, the US Army's available M1150 ABVs include an estimated 30-50 that were transferred from the US Marine Corps following the decision to withdraw the tanks from the Marines.

In view of the above, it can be concluded that the transfer of the M1150 ABV to Ukraine is a rather serious step for the USA - in view of the obvious shortage of such systems. This also means that the USA is very careful about meeting Ukraine's needs in combat systems, which are necessary to solve the tasks currently facing the Armed Forces of Ukraine - breaking through the enemy's defenses and completely liberating the temporarily occupied territories and restoring the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.

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