#News articles

[jackdawsfavorite]

Humans used recorded* whale calls to have a mutual conversation with a humpback whale! We aren’t totally sure what we were saying other than a greeting, but the whale approached, responded, and, “consistently matched the interval variations between each playback call,” for 20 minutes.

*and analyzed, they weren’t just firing off at complete random

All the investment seems to be oriented towards eventually having language analysis abilities that we can use to communicate with aliens —the team responsible is even called Whale-SETI— but my ass is like, “Who cares?? We don’t even know if there’s anyone within reach out there! The whales are right here!!”

[in-sufficientdata]

[remove paywall link]

“A few of us had noticed the prevalence of unnatural writing that showed clear signs of being AI-generated, and we managed to replicate similar ‘styles’ using ChatGPT,” Ilyas Lebleu, a founding member of WikiProject AI Cleanup, told me in an email. “Discovering some common AI catchphrases allowed us to quickly spot some of the most egregious examples of generated articles, which we quickly wanted to formalize into an organized project to compile our findings and techniques.” In many cases, WikiProject AI Cleanup finds AI-generated content on Wikipedia with the same methods others have used to find AI-generated content in scientific journals and Google Books, namely by searching for phrases commonly used by ChatGPT. One egregious example is this Wikipedia article about the Chester Mental Health Center, which in November of 2023 included the phrase “As of my last knowledge update in January 2022,” referring to the last time the large language model was updated.  Other instances are harder to detect. Lebleu and another WikiProject AI Cleanup founding member who goes by Queen of Hearts told me that the most “impressive” examples they found of AI-generated content on Wikipedia so far is an article about the Ottoman fortress of Amberlisihar.

[...]

“One small detail, the fortress never existed,” Lebleu said. Aside from a few tangential facts mentioned in the article, like that Mehmed the Conqueror, or Mehmed II, was a real person, everything else in the article is fake. “The entire thing was an AI-generated hoax, with well-formatted citations referencing completely nonexistent works.” Fake citations, Lebleu said, are a more “pernicious” issue because they might stay undetected for months. Even if someone was using an LLM trained on a corpus of data relevant to the Wikipedia article, it could generate text that reads well and with correctly formatted citations of real sources, it still wouldn’t be able to correctly match a citation to a specific claim made in a specific body of work.

[long-anti-covid]

article date: July 26, 2024

"Historically, when we're talking about COVID vaccines, we're talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor. "Now we're targeting annual vaccines for COVID-19 that is similar to flu. It's a reformulation based on what's circulating, and this is why we're talking about an annual campaign rather than a booster," he continued.

[woo-sustainability]

Something I just read. Would be a good idea to contact your congressperson about this

[ruinconstellation]

Justice Murray Sinclair was a lawyer, judge, inquiry commissioner, elder, and senator. He was called to the bar in 1980, and in 1988 became a provincial court judge, the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba and only the second in Canada. From 2010 to 2015 he led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, then after retirement in 2016 he was appointed senator. He also led inquiries into killings by police, preventable deaths of children, and systemic racism in policing.

Justice Sinclair was a companion of the Order of Canada and was invested in the Order of Manitoba. He also received the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division). These are amongst the highest honours attainable by civilians in the province of Manitoba and the country of Canada.

Following his death on November 4, 2024, he was spoken of with honour by the Canadian Governor-General, Prime Minister, and Assembly of First Nations National Chief.

Sources: CBC, The Globe & Mail.

[psychicbluebirdmiracle]

‘Coyote Vs. Acme’: With Pic’s Fate In Limbo At Warners, Phil Lord Observes, “How Funny It Would Be For This To End With A Congressional Hearing”

Oh my gosh it actually would tho can yall imagine XD

[brazilspill]

How Rediscovering A ‘4-Legged Snake’ Fossil From Brazil Sparked A Global Controversy

[sewersoul]

Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a resolution on Wednesday that will force a vote in Congress to block billions of dollars in offensive American weapons sales to Israel ― a significant escalation by the Vermont independent as the Biden administration continues to arm the country in its expanding military campaigns that most of the international community has decried.

…

Once the Senate reconvenes in November, the Foreign Relations Committee will have five calendar days to consider the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, as permitted by the AECA for foreign military sales to NATO and non-NATO allies like Israel. After that, Sanders can force a floor vote on a motion to discharge the resolution from committee and open it up for final passage. The vote only requires a simple majority, and the resolution’s privileged status prevents lawmakers from trying to amend or filibuster the legislation.

If the Senate passes the resolution, it would still have to be approved by the House and signed by Biden, who could veto the measure. Given the president’s unchanged public position on arming Israel with no red line, it’s unlikely that Sanders’ resolution will successfully block the weapons transfer.

A June CBS poll revealed that a whopping 77% of Democrats and 61% of Americans overall want the U.S. to implement an arms embargo to Israel. The decision to move forward with sending Israel billions of dollars in weapons would go directly against what most Americans want, according to Josh Ruebner, policy director for the Institute for Middle East Understanding.

[americanivoryblog]

Election 2024 - The American Dream Is Being Lost; Even Among Our Own Citizens

I'm an independent. I've thought about my vote this year and I don't know if I will.

Trump:

-Good for economics/money (Whether you like him or not, he knows how money works)

-He's good for peace among nations and international affairs….he understands America's value/brand.

-Trump is Pro-Life. But, under the circumstances, if the woman is raped or the mother or the child is going to have complications; I do believe the woman has a choice.

But, I'm for legal immigration and I'm against not allowing honest human beings across the world to use America as a refuge away from danger; a safe haven.

I also disagree with the dissolution of Social Security. America's population is stagnant. The population isn't increasing enough equal to the money made by individuals to say people don't need it. And the population isn't decreasing enough to not afford it.

The States in America have enough tax money and profits from gambling alone to afford it. And If people need help with finances until they get themselves on their feet, they should get it. If they need a break from life while dealing with mental health issues, they should get financial help.

If people go through the process for financial help legally and honestly without abusing the system they should get it.

The American Dream ironically due to the direction of penalizing Capitalism and a decline in societal values, morals and selection of who should be rich and who doesn't deserve it is putting the American Dream at risk....which leads me to Biden.

Biden:

-I don't like the path he is setting for people, their futures, their families, education and peace - both within American Communities and Internationally.

-I'm completely against his new proposal of increasing the Capital Gains Tax. If people find a way to financial freedom. Allow it. The Capital Gain Tax is fine the way it is. He's determining who doesn't deserve the American Dream and if they get it, penalize them.

-I'm against his social-class warfare he's creating; in a way which determines who does deserve the American Dream vs. if they get the American Dream, penalize them.

-I'm against him not holding colleges accountable and liable for not helping ALL students of race, religion and politics to get a job in the field they studied.

-I'm against him not holding colleges accountable and allowing college's to allow students and people not of the campus or enrolled at the college to protest on matters that they are completely not only un-educated about; but matters that are encouraging division and enticing violence. This breaks the law of peaceful protests, especially if it is intentional to get or encourage a violent reaction. In the end, taking the luxury of our Freedoms for granted.

It should not be wrong to support your country with an American Flag or frowned upon. The Freedoms this country was founded on, has not been at risk of invasion in over 100 years, the closest anyone has come is Pearl Harbor and 9/11. 2 events on 2 days....there hasn't been years of risk of invasion like most countries in the world.

-He's terrible with foreign affairs.

-He refuses to take a strong position on anything. He can't take a stand and call what is yellow is yellow and what is purple is purple.

On both sides, there is too much allowance for generalizations among people, race, religion, populations, social classes, politics, governance and nations. For example, just because I'm white, doesn't mean I like every white person; if I'm treated poorly by someone, am I supposed to like them? So the thinking and reasoning of just because I'm white, I like every white person is a generalization. And a historical example, yet an extreme example - just because Germany was ran by Nazi's doesn't mean there were no German citizens who were against the Nazi's. There were Germans who wanted out; and if they went against the Nazi party they were murdered.

It's an extreme example, but my point is - You can't generalize people, race, religion, populations, social classes, politics, governance and nations.

(Note: What astonishes me with these college kids who claim to be Hamas supporters; if they showed support for Hamas in Hamas controlled territories/sanctions, but Hamas found out they're American. There's a high chance they'd be murdered or held hostage - for just being an American.

There is some dis-connect with these "Pro-Palestinian" supporters at these college campus' not understanding, that they are representing Hamas in these protests.

And I'm certain that these protestors don't recognize, that there are most likely Palestinians who do not want to be associated with Hamas.

This is the misunderstood pro-active movement being a vehicle for a generalization.)

Generalizations are dangerous; the entire point of disagreement is to come to a sound conclusion and decision. And this country, we have lacked that for decades. The constitution and amendments were based on disagreement to come to a sound conclusion. Laws in which we still live by, that were made based off the Mayflower Compact; the first governance order in America to allow peace is still supposed to be upheld.

There are different factions among people, race, religion, populations, social classes, politics, governance and nations.….and if people aren't educated to understand factions and operations to have disagreements with the goal of a sound conclusion….You will NEVER get a unified nation….It will always be division….even to its form into government as saying well they're Republican or they're Democrat…..no, you can't generalize like that….there are Far Right, Far Lefts, Right, Lefts and Moderates in each and believe it or not there are Rights, Lefts and Moderates who do agree on things and want to make sound decisions; but what does the media cover and promote?

The generalization of division simply made as Republican vs. Democrat.

It's absolutely ridiculous and completely uneducated.

America is the place of refuge, the melting pot. An idea and dream to not only be safe, but a land of opportunity. That is being lost. The American dream, even among our own nation and home grown citizens is being lost. The sense of ownership especially with land and homes; the ownership to be part of the American dream is disappearing. Especially when people can't afford homes and land anymore.

And the media, whether left, right or moderate outlets refuse to educate the people about anything and continually allow generalizations to encourage decision making.

It is all re-active reporting with an agenda "that appears" to encourage pro-active decision making for the future, thus making people feel they are making a difference while it is simply re-active reporting with an agenda to create the upcoming future.

People don't realize, that the media is simply pre-programmed. Do not think for one second that the media (whether left, right or moderate) hasn't planned the programming for future reporting ahead of time for that week or even, maybe that month. Literally in the guide of your cable television; you can see each outlet now labeling their shows as Episode 1, 2 and so on.

And all the while the journalism is absolutely terrible; simply just keywords to keep a viewer watching while reporting limited information for a controlled perspective without giving the audience truth among both sides to allow the viewer the free will to make their own decision and come to their own conclusion.

This is not journalism. This is not un-biased reporting. Honestly, it should be illegal.

And I truly believe, if the media took the initiative to recognize this. People would be empowered to attempt to be unified, rather than being empowered by differences.

Media outlets focusing on Trump's trial as a priority while ignoring real conversation American's should be having and being aware of true issues that effect the future without an un-biased opinion should be a priority. America is going to enter a fragile state.

There is no pro-active reporting without agendas. The Daily Show worked in the early 2000's to make jokes of political ridiculousness; it was popular and worked then....And tension in America is so tight, the jokes are out.

I just read an article on Jerry Seinfeld and within so many words, due to the current state - it is hard to be a comedian...people need comedy. But, tensions are too high and everything is offensive.

So, whether its the media or the politicians. You just can't generalize everything. Life is complicated, but you have to call the color what it is.

I'm not defending anyone who comes to your yard sees the dandelions there yellow, believes that your dandelions are purple while they're in your yard trying to convince you the dandelions are purple....when they're yellow.

I can't get behind that.

[arianatwycross]

For Jily Week 2023, I have conjured up a little fic that starts off with a dash of angst!

Headlines

James is a famous musican, on a once in a lifetime world tour. Lily is the girl he left behind to pursue it. Except they were only just friends, weren't they?

[jackdawsfavorite]

Brainless animal appears able to learn from experience. The things we think we know.

[booloocrew-blog]

The beauty of matching news articles

[thingsreadinthedark]

Such a great read!

I’m excited about the return of Ms Naomi Osaka! Fun times ahead for the champion! 🏆

[woo-sustainability]

For some reason I can’t reblog this post??? OP doesn’t have me blocked, the person I’m trying to reblog it from doesn’t have me blocked, I just. Can’t reblog this post. But my friends can. My main can. It’s just a me problem.

First link: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-buc-ees-in-mebane?source=direct_link&

Second link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/mebane-mayor-provides-buc-ee-s-update/ar-BB1pZPGR

Third link: https://7directionsofservice.com/

And here’s a link to the post from OP

[voice-of-illogical-sense]

[psychicbluebirdmiracle]

Why Deleting and Destroying Finished Movies Like Coyote vs Acme Should Be a Crime | MZS | Roger Ebert

I love how absolutely brutal this author is towards hbo max🥲