#US Global Storage as a Service

[rameshjadhav]

Brief Analysis of Storage as a Service (STaaS) Market 2022 Industry Trends and Future Growth Predictions, Forecast to 2028

The global Storage as a Service (STaaS) Market size was valued at USD 43.26 Billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 137.37 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 26.5% from 2022 to 2028.

Storage as a Service (STaaS) referred to as hosted storage is a subscription service model where a company can rent lease or rents its storage infrastructure to another company or individual to store data. As compared to building private storage infrastructure, storage as a service is cost-efficient.  Small and medium businesses, enterprises, home offices, and individuals use the cloud for multimedia storage, data backup and recovery, data repositories, and disaster recovery. The common use cases of storage as a service include shared file systems, raw storage volume, hosting applications, database management systems, disaster recovery solutions, and extract load and transform (ETL) pipelines. Block, file, and object storage are the three main types of data storage used in the industry. The demand for storage as a service is increasing owing to the several organizations around the world that generated a large amount of data. Also, the growing use of mobile devices, tablets, and other devices supports for the growth of the Storage as a Service market

Global Storage as a Service (STaaS) Market Report provides a deep insight into the market 2022, covering all its essential aspects. This spans from a macroeconomic overview of the global market to the minute micro details of the industry performance, recent trends, key market drivers and challenges, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, etc. The report provides the user with insights into the manufacturing cost, raw material prices, supply chain analysis, etc. The research report contains a comprehensive analysis of the market opportunities, import/export details, key manufacturers, market dynamics, and key regions.

Read More: https://introspectivemarketresearch.com/reports/storage-as-a-service-staas-market/

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - August 21, 2023

🌊 - Discover the Ocean's Hidden Gem Deep down in the Pacific

1. Massachusetts passed a millionaire's tax. Now, the revenue is paying for free public school lunches.

Every kid in Massachusetts will get a free lunch, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires.

A new 4% tax on the state's wealthiest residents will account for $1 billion of the state's $56 billion fiscal budget for 2024, according to state documents. A portion of those funds will be used to provide all public-school students with free weekday meals, according to State House News Service.

2. Plant-based filter removes up to 99.9% of microplastics from water

Researchers may have found an effective, green way to remove microplastics from our water using readily available plant materials. Their device was found to capture up to 99.9% of a wide variety of microplastics known to pose a health risk to humans.

3. Scientists Find A Whole New Ecosystem Hiding Beneath Earth's Seafloor

Most recently, aquanauts on board a vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute used an underwater robot to turn over slabs of volcanic crust in the deep, dark Pacific. Underneath the seafloor of this well-studied site, the international team of researchers found veins of subsurface fluids swimming with life that has never been seen before.

It's a whole new world we didn't know existed.

4. How solar has exploded in the US in just a year

Solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments in the US since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago, according to a new analysis released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Since President Joe Biden signed the IRA in August 2022, 51 solar factories have been announced or expanded in the US.

5. Researchers have identified a new pack of endangered gray wolves in California

A new pack of gray wolves has shown up in California’s Sierra Nevada, several hundred miles away from any other known population of the endangered species, wildlife officials announced Friday.

It’s a discovery to make researchers howl with delight, given that the native species was hunted to extinction in California in the 1920s. Only in the past decade or so have a few gray wolves wandered back into the state from out-of-state packs.

6. Record-Breaking Cleanup: 25,000 Pounds of Trash Removed from Pacific Garbage Patch

Ocean cleanup crews have fished out the most trash ever taken from one of the largest garbage patches in the world.

The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, saw its largest extraction earlier this month by removing about 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organization

7. The Inflation Reduction Act Took U.S. Climate Action Global

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed to promote clean energy investments in the U.S. and globally. In its first year, the IRA successfully spurred other nations to develop competitive climate plans.

Clean energy projects in 44 U.S. states driven by the IRA have generated over 170,600 jobs and $278 billion in investments, aligning with Paris Agreement goals.

---

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[thiziri]

The Princess Royal visits the United Arab Emirates.

The Princess Royal has visited Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, as President of The Mission to Seafarers (MtS).

The Mission to Seafarers (MtS) provides help and support to the 1.89 million men and women who face danger every day to keep the global economy afloat. MtS works in over 200 ports in 50 countries caring for seafarers of all ranks, nationalities and beliefs. 

Through its global network of chaplains, staff and volunteers, MtS offers practical, emotional and spiritual support to seafarers through ship visits, drop-in seafarers' centres and a range of welfare and emergency support services.

On arrival in Dubai, Her Royal Highness visited DP World’s Jebel Ali Port, the busiest port in the Middle East. Here, Her Royal Highness heard about the innovative technology being used at the port which includes electrified and automated high bay storage stacker cranes. 

The Princess Royal also saw a demonstration of container transfer from ship to shore before meeting the port’s Operations team, frontline workers and the MtS welfare team.

Following this, The Princess Royal attended a Women in Shipping and Trading Conference Panel Discussion to hear more about the importance of seafarers’ welfare with an emphasis on women in shipping and trade. 

During the visit, Her Royal Highness also opened the new Donnelly Lines facilities at Al-Minhad Air Base. 

The new HQ, welfare and accommodation facilities are named after Sergeant William ‘Billy’ Donnelly, an RAF navigator who died in UAE on 14th February 1943 after his aircraft suffered an oil leak. The facilities will support British service personnel at the Airbase. 

As President of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), The Princess Royal toured Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, the region’s largest RYA training centre, and met dedicated volunteers who have promoted sailing and other competitive non-motorised water sports to communities in the United Arab Emirates since the Club was established in 1974.

Her Royal Highness ended the day in Dubai with a dinner hosted by representatives from MtS.

© Royal UK

[princessanneftw]

The Princess Royal has visited Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, as President of The Mission to Seafarers (MtS).

The Mission to Seafarers (MtS) provides help and support to the 1.89 million men and women who face danger every day to keep the global economy afloat. MtS works in over 200 ports in 50 countries caring for seafarers of all ranks, nationalities and beliefs.

Through its global network of chaplains, staff and volunteers, MtS offers practical, emotional and spiritual support to seafarers through ship visits, drop-in seafarers' centres and a range of welfare and emergency support services.

On arrival in Dubai, Her Royal Highness visited DP World’s Jebel Ali Port, the busiest port in the Middle East. Here, Her Royal Highness heard about the innovative technology being used at the port which includes electrified and automated high bay storage stacker cranes.

The Princess Royal also saw a demonstration of container transfer from ship to shore before meeting the port’s Operations team, frontline workers and the MtS welfare team.

Following this, The Princess Royal attended a Women in Shipping and Trading Conference Panel Discussion to hear more about the importance of seafarers’ welfare with an emphasis on women in shipping and trade.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness also opened the new Donnelly Lines facilities at Al-Minhad Air Base.

The new HQ, welfare and accommodation facilities are named after Sergeant William ‘Billy’ Donnelly, an RAF navigator who died in UAE on 14th February 1943 after his aircraft suffered an oil leak. The facilities will support British service personnel at the Airbase.

As President of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), The Princess Royal toured Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, the region’s largest RYA training centre, and met dedicated volunteers who have promoted sailing and other competitive non-motorised water sports to communities in the United Arab Emirates since the Club was established in 1974.

Her Royal Highness ended the day in Dubai with a dinner hosted by representatives from MtS.

[rjzimmerman]

The Carbon Footprint of Amazon, Google, and Facebook Is Growing. (Sierra Club)

Excerpt from this story from Sierra Club:

IN MARCH The Information reported that Microsoft was in talks with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, about spending an eye-popping $100 billion on a gargantuan data center in Wisconsin dedicated to running artificial intelligence software. Code-named “Stargate,” the data center would, at full operation, consume five gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 3.7 million homes. For comparison purposes, that’s roughly the same amount of power produced by Plant Vogtle, the big nuclear power station in Georgia that cost $30 billion to build.

Stargate is in the earliest of planning stages, but the sheer scale of the proposal reflects a truth about artificial intelligence: AI is an energy hog. That’s an embarrassing about-face for the technology industry. For at least 20 years, American electricity consumption has hardly grown at all—owing in part, say computer scientists, to steady advances in energy efficiency that have percolated out of the tech industry into the larger economy. In 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration, total electricity consumption fell slightly from 2022 levels.

But according to a report published last December by Grid Strategies, a consultancy that advises on energy policy, multiple electric utilities now predict that US energy demand will rise by up to 5 percent over the next five years. One of the chief culprits responsible for the surge, say the utilities, are new data centers designed to run AI. To meet the growing demand for power, those utilities want to build new fossil fuel power plants and to dismantle climate legislation that stands in their way.

For environmentalists, this represents a giant step backward. Artificial intelligence was supposed to help us solve problems. What good are ChatGPT and its ilk if using them worsens global warming?

This is a relatively new story—the AI gold rush is still in its infancy, ChatGPT only having debuted in fall 2022. But computing’s energy demands have been growing for decades, ever since the internet became an indispensable part of daily life. Every Zoom call, Netflix binge, Google search, YouTube video, and TikTok dance is processed in a windowless, warehouse-like building filled with thousands of pieces of computer hardware. These data centers are where the internet happens, the physical manifestation of the so-called cloud—perhaps as far away from ethereality as you can get.

In the popular mind, the cloud is often thought of in the simple sense of storage. This is where we back up our photos, our videos, our Google Docs. But that’s just a small slice of it: For the past 20 years, computation itself has increasingly been outsourced to data centers. Corporations, governments, research institutions, and others have discovered that it is cheaper and more efficient to rent computing services from Big Tech.

The crucial point, writes anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate in his case study The Cloud Is Material: On the Environmental Impacts of Computation and Data Storage, is that “heat is the waste product of computation.” Data centers consume so much energy because computer chips produce large amounts of heat. Roughly 40 percent of a data center’s electricity bill is the result of just keeping things cool. And the new generation of AI software is far more processor intensive and power hungry than just about anything—with the notable exception of cryptocurrency—that has come before.

The energy cost of AI and its perverse, climate-unfriendly incentives for electric utilities are a gut check for a tech industry that likes to think of itself as changing the world for the better. Michelle Solomon, an analyst at the nonprofit think tank Energy Innovation, calls the AI power crunch “a litmus test” for a society threatened by climate change.

[usafphantom2]

Marines hit operational status with second carrier-capable F35-C unit

Todd SouthJul 31, 2024 at 04:56 PM

A West Coast Marine F-35C Lightning II squadron has achieved initial operational capability.

The Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 311, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, hit that key milestone Wednesday, 1st Lt. Madison Walls, wing spokeswoman told Marine Corps Times. The status means a unit can employ, maintain and train on the jet.

The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, unit conducted its first independent live ordnance operations July 25.

“Initial operational capability is a milestone and achievement in readiness,” said Lt. Col. Michael Fisher, commanding officer of VMFA-311 in a statement. “It’s all on the backs of the Marines out there. What they do in their day-to-day actions is what made this possible.”

The squadron, also known as the Tomcats, flew more than 900 sorties, which equals nearly 1,700 flight hours and another 800 simulator hours and 2,400 maintenance actions to reach initial operational capability, according to a service release.

“The Tomcats have a storied history that includes legends such as Ted Williams and John Glenn, and participation in every major conflict since World War II,” Maj. Gen. James Wellons, commanding general of 3rd MAW, said in the release. “Today’s Marines add another chapter to that legacy with the introduction of the F-35C and fifth-generation capabilities to VMFA-311.”

Marine Corps Cpl. Larry Casas, a fixed-wing aircraft mechanic with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 311, directs Capt. Joshua G. Falgoust, an F-35C Lightning II pilot. (Lance Cpl. Jennifer Sanchez/Marine Corps)

In 2020, the squadron deactivated its AV-8 Harrier jets and then reactivated in April 2023 with 84 Marines and one F-35, reflecting the Marine Corps’ move to fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The transition has resulted in a gradual reduction in Harriers and F/A-18 Hornets.

The Corps’ two F-35C squadrons, VMFA-311 and VMFA-314, are both stationed at Miramar.

The VMFA-314, or Black Knights, reached initial operational capability in 2020, Marine Corps Times previously reported.

The F-35C is specifically engineered for carrier-based operations, featuring heavier landing gear and enlarged, foldable wings designed to facilitate catapult launches and arrestments on aircraft carriers. The foldable wingtips also facilitate easier storage on the carrier deck.

The “C” variant holds more fuel than other versions of the single-seat jet, with nearly 20,000 pounds of internal fuel capacity for long-range flights.

“The next step for VMFA-311 is full operational capability, attained when VMFA-311 receives its complete inventory of ten F-35C aircraft, projected for fiscal year 2025,” according to the release.

The Marine Corps has used the F-35B for years. The “B” variant, built to use short runways and flat-decked amphibious assault ships, is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings.

Currently, the Corps has eight operational F-35B squadrons and two training squadrons, totaling over 100 F-35B aircraft globally.

Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.

@DefenseNews.com

[mariacallous]

On Monday, Reuters reported my discovery that Russia is building what appears to be the first deployment site for its experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik—which the United States calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall. The facility is almost complete, suggesting that the new missile may enter service with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces soon.

The site is located at a nuclear warhead storage facility, reportedly called Vologda-20, roughly 400 miles from Russia’s borders with Finland and Estonia, and contains nine fixed launch positions supported by missile-handling facilities and nuclear warhead storage bunkers. With the launch positions, missiles, and warheads all present at the same site, it’s likely that the Burevestnik will be an on-alert missile ready to launch at a moment’s notice.

There is significant hype surrounding the Burevestnik: U.S. officials have decried Russia’s development of “radiation-spewing, nuclear-powered cruise missiles” and called the system a “flying Chernobyl.” Unlike standard cruise missiles, which are powered by jet engines, the Burevestnik uses an unshielded nuclear reactor for propulsion. This gives it the ability to fly almost unlimited distances, at least in theory.

If deployed, the Burevestnik would be the first missile of its kind actually fielded. The United States explored the concept of a nuclear-powered missile in the 1950s and 1960s under the banner of Project Pluto but canceled the project due to concerns about the danger the system would pose to the United States’ own population. Such concerns were validated in 2019 when a Burevestnik exploded during a test and killed several Russian missile scientists.

The Burevestnik’s advanced propulsion system and virtually unlimited range may allow Russia to use the missile in radical new ways. In 2020, the United Kingdom’s Chief of Defense Intelligence General James Hockenhull told reporters that Moscow was testing a nuclear-powered cruise missile system with “global reach [that] would allow attack from unexpected directions” and provide a “near indefinite loiter time,” meaning the missile could fly around a designated target for long periods of time before attacking, potentially even circumnavigating the Earth.

The reference to loitering has raised concerns that Russia might launch Burevestnik missiles in a crisis, which could then cruise near U.S. and NATO targets while waiting for instructions. This would allow Moscow to strike quickly once orders are given, significantly shortening the amount of time NATO would have to react to Russian aggression. Some analysts have even speculated that Russia could fly Burevestniks over European territory as a signal before turning around and flying back, potentially intimidating NATO allies into backing down and ceding to Russian demands.

These assessments of the Burevestnik’s potential capabilities, however, are technically infeasible. Russia is unlikely to use the new missile in this way because two factors limit its capabilities and potential uses: range and visibility.

Despite claims from the Russian Ministry of Defense that the missile’s range is effectively unlimited, there are significant costs to flying one great distances or loitering for long periods of time. Missiles can generally find their location by communicating with satellites, but satellite signals can be easily jammed or spoofed. To ensure a missile can operate without relying on satellites, it is also equipped with inertial navigation, which finds the missile’s position through the process of dead reckoning. Consulting mechanical accelerometers and gyroscopes, the missile can determine its position by closely recording its speed and direction and the length of its flight.

But over time, small errors in the missile’s guidance system compound, similar to how a mechanical watch will eventually stop keeping time. Thus, having a missile fly for long periods in a loitering pattern would generate serious risk of it flying off course and missing its target.

Russia could attempt to guide its missiles remotely, but the limited range of Russian communication systems—coupled with the small problem of the curvature of the Earth—drastically restricts the area in which Russia could actively guide a missile. It is unlikely that Russia could send missiles far from home and still be able to reliably communicate with them. If Russia eventually did install remote guidance, the missiles would still be vulnerable to electronic warfare activities.

This does not mean that the Burevestnik’s extended range is useless, however. Cruise missiles are effectively disposable airplanes; like airplanes, their range is determined by fuel-efficiency factors. The altitude at which the missile flies presents an important trade-off: range versus detection. The higher a traditional jet engine-powered missile flies, the more fuel efficient it becomes; because the air is thinner, there is less drag. But cruise missiles flying at higher altitudes are also easier for radar to detect. Conversely, dropping altitude allows missiles to more easily avoid detection, but the thicker air requires jet engines to burn more fuel, significantly shortening the missiles’ range.

The major advantage of the Burevestnik’s nuclear-powered engine is that it does not need to make trade-offs between fuel efficiency and detectability. For example, whereas the United States’ Tomahawk missile, with a range of 770 to 1,550 miles, cannot reach intercontinental targets, the Burevestnik’s engine could theoretically run for days, allowing the missile to fly from its base in Russia to targets even in the United States, all while flying low to avoid radar. Despite the Burevestnik’s reactor enabling such a plan, guiding the missile accurately to the target would still be an immense challenge.

Although the Burevestnik may be more difficult to detect, it is not invisible. Cruise missiles are stealthier than other missiles because they generate strong heat signatures only at the moment of their launch. After that, the heat signature is smaller—not undetectable, but more difficult to track, especially by satellites in space that must see through an often-cloudy atmosphere. For the Burevestnik, however, this advantage dissipates the longer Russia lets it loiter. Placing the missile on in-air standby for long periods of time would give the NATO land-, sea-, air-, and space-based air-defense assets more time to detect the missile and maneuver into place to intercept it.

Russia could have attempted to mitigate this problem by making the launch system mobile, allowing it to hide where the missile originated, but it has not done so. Instead, Russia is building fixed launch sites, which will be closely watched by NATO reconnaissance capabilities for any sign of launch. This makes Burevestnik flights easier to predict and easier to track.

Because of the problems with communications and accuracy, the Burevestnik likely does not have the capability to truly surprise NATO. A better way of understanding the Burevestnik is as a straightforward way to penetrate U.S. and NATO air defenses, capable of flying more-or-less directly toward its target at extreme low altitudes.

The real problem with Burevestnik is that Russia may be compelled to launch it preemptively in a crisis because its fixed deployment site is vulnerable to attack. Moreover, the missile has a very long travel time to intercontinental targets compared to intercontinental ballistic missiles, requiring many hours rather than minutes. A Russian leader may feel pressure to launch a Burevestnik before the United States has a chance to maneuver its air defense assets into place and before the launch site can be destroyed by NATO missiles—including, for example, the conventional hypersonic missiles the United States will deploy to Germany in 2026.

Although Russian leaders may feel pressured to use the Burevestnik preemptively, there is no reason why Moscow could not be deterred from initiating a nuclear war using the missile. NATO states can try to prevent this by investing in military infrastructure that could credibly survive a Russian nuclear first strike and respond, making their targets less tempting in the first place. This means adding dispersion and redundancy into NATO defenses at sites that would be early targets, such as radar and airfields—especially in the United States, where assets have never been credibly threatened by hard-to-detect Russian systems.

The Burevestnik is not a wonder weapon, and the challenges it poses for NATO security are neither new nor unmanageable. It may seem scary on paper, but the technical infeasibility of its mission limits its threat. Much of the hype around the missile stems from Russian saber-rattling about its capabilities. In this context, perhaps one of the best things NATO can do to stay strong in a crisis is to call out this weapon for what it is—a terror weapon, not a silver bullet.

So far, the only people the Burevestnik has killed are its own designers. Combating Russian propaganda will help keep it that way.

[bensalah96]

Let’s explain some points about wars and their rules.

I’ll try to simplify it for you to understand if you don’t understand.

In need of its name is the rules of war, or international humanitarian law , this is a set of international rules that define what can and cannot be done during conflict or wars.

Which purpose of the law?

It’s to protect civilians and preserve something of humanity in armed conflicts, save lives, and alleviate suffering!

Ok, I also tell you that international courts document and investigate war crimes, and that it is possible to reach that individuals are prosecuted for committing war crimes and breaching their rules!

Do you think the question will be implemented on Israel?!

Clarifying Israel’s breaches of globally agreed rules of war

First: Beware of targeting civilians and their facilities, and protecting everything that helps them stay alive, targeting them is a crime of war!

So far, the number of killings has reached 2,136 martyrs; more than 65% of them are women and children. (citizens).

4,500 residential buildings completely destroyed by the occupation, including 12 thousand housing units, while about 113,300 thousand housing units were partially damaged, including 8190 housing units uninhabitable!

The Ministry of Education has documented that 153 schools have suffered various damage, 18 of which have gone out of service!

Second: Civilians have the right to receive the necessary assistance of food, water and treatment if one of them is harmed.

On the contrary, the opening of the crossing to enter aid was prevented, food storage centers and storage places for civilians were bombed, and water and electricity were deliberately cut off from them.

Third: Not to prejudice the medical staff and their establishment, and it is forbidden to expose the workers of the crescent or the Red Cross, the wounded and the sick, the right to medical care, whatever their affiliation.

On the contrary, the number of martyrs from health staff since the beginning of the aggression reached 37 martyrs among doctors, nurses and paramedics.

33 health care centers stopped working, while the occupation removed 23 ambulances from service by direct shelling.

Fourth: Palestinian journalists and others at the border were killed and injured, which led to the death of 16 and the injury of dozens of them, although it is forbidden to harm them and this is considered a crime and a breach of laws that emphasize the protection of journalists.

Fifth: The use of internationally banned weapons/bombs is prohibited

Israel relies on bombing civilians with internationally prohibited weapons in every war it launches on Gaza, most notably incendiary white phosphorus bombs, body dissolvings and organ failures.

This is a very simple and clear part of the world who deliberately penetrated the Israeli Zionists in the war, does the world still not know who is the aggressor, the criminal!, who is deliberately and deliberately carrying out the genocide of Palestinian civilians!, world does not realize and see or every person or country in its hands is doing something and is committed to silence is participating in the killing of all martyrs since the war began until that moment.

[entitycradle]

Future Anime Girl Gestalt

As a breakthrough in silicon nanostructure materials makes photonics and near-eye displays cheap, smart glasses become the new ubiquitous computers, replacing smartphones. The always-on display provides unique opportunities for advertisers, as does new machine learning-assisted ad targeting. In the new omnipresent augmented reality, ads become personalized, three-dimensional, interactive displays, emerging from blank rectangles in subway stations. You see your facebook friends conversing animatedly, drinking budweiser.

As smart glasses become increasingly necessary for modern life, brands are able to invade further into perceived reality. Cars shine luxuriously. The name and price of your coworker's smartwatch floats above it. Of course many modern advertisements no longer directly sell a product or service, but rather create and maintain brand identities. Large corporations advertise on everyday objects--the plate at your favorite restaurant reveals the name of a software company as you finish your food. Your brother's anger turns him super saiyan, reminding you of the new episodes. A poor neighborhood turns into an alien-inspired techno-organic nightmare.

Many companies use characters to perpetuate their brand. These characters can be personalized--the insurance company mascot that shows up on your car dashboard during a harrowing rush hour is your favorite color, features large, expressive eyes, and is covered in shaggy fur.

Of course, machine learning algorithms can be unpredictable. And ad agencies could not anticipate the omnivalent memetic power of...

...anime girls.

The algorithm customizes your pepsi soda into a fizzy anime slime girl. They customize the call to your healthcare provider to raise the pitch of the representative's voice and translate the audio to Japanese (your glasses display English subtitles). The missiles you see striking a city in Iran are ridden by pale, northrop grumman-labeled anime maids.

As more human agency is ceded to enormous, power-chugging processing centers, the connections between everyday occurrences and brand presence become more abstract. Every character on a show you're not paying attention to, every old shoe you own, every person you interact with, every grain of sand on the beach, every floater in your eye, is an anime girl.

As humans do, they adapt. Generation Glass becomes accustomed to experiencing two entirely foreign sets of sense-data: one, their local, mundane world, of humming processors and concrete and scraggly trees. The other, the networked world, where your entire visual field is painted in overlapping anime girls of various sizes and your auditory vestibular nerve is drowned in high-pitched giggling. Each girl represents some object--pomegranate, sunset, friends, love, death.

As global civilization gently deflates under the pressure of climate change post-2100, so does the capacity to manufacture complex electronics. Within the space of a generation, billions of people are reduced to creating facile, vapid illustrations of the moving, living anime girls they once knew as bigotry and tarmac. Pictures of anime girls are used to label street signs, mathematical concepts, genders, religious texts. Ironically, anime girls become more incorporated into the real world than they ever were in the Glass period, because they adorn real surfaces. A post-traumatic behavior develops, in which a person destroys objects bearing anime girl images in an attempt to, according to one individual, "let them out," or otherwise restore networked consensus reality.

Thousands of years pass. Peregrine sophists of the Fifth Yyrzoc clan uncover an underground concrete structure. In it are glyphs of a single, big-eyed, pale, skinny, large-breasted woman with bright blue hair, surrounded by female figures in blood-red uniforms who are collapsed on the ground. The sophists are able to decode this message and avoid what we would recognize as a nuclear waste storage facility. They theorize that the figures are ancient feminine gods of radiation and death. Several etchings and illustrations are published by a notable scriptorium. Years later they are largely forgotten.

[exeggcute]

good stuff from wired. it's far too easy to forget that all of the data you send and receives goes somewhere—real tangible servers that people have to build and maintain, supported by both digital and physical infrastructure with not-at-all negligible financial and environmental costs—including the post you're reading right now.

some highlights:

[The tech industry has] trained us to upload, download, stream, post, and share to infinitum. In turn, we have come to expect seamless and instant access to digital content anytime, anywhere, as if data were immaterial. [...] A typical data center spans about 100,000 square feet, but I have been inside of facilities that are the size of a small home or as large as a university campus. The average data center can consume as much electricity as a small city in order to power and cool its computing equipment, drawing energy from electrical grids that in many parts of the world are coal-fired. To maintain our expectations for constant availability without as much as a hiccup, data centers run diesel generators in a state of hot-standby to supply power in the event of an electrical grid failure. [...] The International Data Corporation, a “global provider of market intelligence” for IT professionals and executives, estimates that digital data storage capacity may have to double or triple by 2030 to meet rising global demands for data storage. By the end of this decade, some estimate that cloud infrastructures will gobble up 20 percent of the world’s energy resources. (These figures, however, are speculative, provisional, and reliant on quantification schemes that are themselves highly contested given the opacity of the privately owned infrastructures behind the cloud and the complexity of variables involved.) [...] The cloud, as I have seen it, is already broken, already breaking. There are no easy techno-fixes that can save us, because the problem we are facing is not an engineering problem, but a cultural one. We suffer from a deficit of imagination because capitalism has conditioned us to think of the digital as inexhaustive and instant, to think of ourselves as consumers rather than stewards, to think of the cloud as a service rather than a community.

[beardedmrbean]

Two men have been arrested after four females were abducted and held captive in a storage container in Pennsylvania following the witnessing of a shooting, officials say.

Davaun Carlon Jackson, 29, of East Stroudsburg and Isaiah Rogers-Keeney, 19, of Middletown were arrested by state troopers at a Walmart in Mount Pocono in Pennsylvania, at around 10.44am on Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials.

Jackson has been charged with kidnapping, rape and terroristic threats, among a string of other charges, while Rogers-Keeney is charged as an accomplice.

Their whereabouts came from a member of the public who claimed that a Ford SUV was traveling north on the freeway Route 33 with two of the victims inside.

Police said they caught up with the vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter. They found Rogers-Keeney and one of the victims inside the vehicle, and saw Jackson leaving the Walmart with a second victim.

“Troopers, along with the Pocono Mountain Regional, located the suspects’ vehicle at the Walmart in Monroe County. They waited and set up a perimeter, and when the suspects exited the Walmart, they were taken into custody,” Trooper Anthony Petroski of the Pennsylvania State Police told Local 21 News.

“Ultimately, it was discovered four females were kidnapped by two different individuals. They were bound, they were sexually assaulted, and they were threatened.”

Monroe County district attorney Mike Mancuso told WFMZ that the victims ranged from 17 to 21 years of age. Two of them had witnessed a shooting in the city of Wilkes-Barre, 6abc reported, citing court records.

After the shooting, they had been ordered into the Ford SUV, and once they were inside, saw that two other women were also in the vehicle.

The investigators believe that the men then took the women on Monday to a property in Smithfield Township owned by Jackson.

The four were then reportedly placed in a shipping container, with three bound with ropes and restrained.

Police say Jackson had threatened to kill the females, having “multiple weapons”, and that he sexually assaulted two of them.

“There was a car chase, there were kidnappings, transportation to places of isolation, threats of murder, of mayhem and sexual assaults,” Mancuso told WFMZ. “There was one minor there. The minor was 17 years old. The other ones were, the age range was, I believe 18 to 21.”

Jackson and Rogers-Keeney allegedly took the females to another property that Jackson also owns on Tuesday, where he let one of the victims have her phone back. She then called her mother, according to the district attorney.

“It was the mother of one of the victims that called the police,” Mancuso said.

The district attorney said that officials had been following Jackson before this incident occurred.

“There has been an investigation that has involved him over the course of the last several months,” Mancuso said.

He added that all of the victims, including the victim of the apparent shooting in Wilkes-Barre, are going to survive, and Monroe County is offering the four victims who were kidnapped access to mental health services.

An attorney listed for Rogers-Keeney told Newswatch 16, “The only statement I will make right now is that I have spoken with my client and that he maintains his innocence in this case.”

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[reasonsforhope]

"India’s announcement that it aims to reach net zero emissions by 2070 and to meet fifty percent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2030 is a hugely significant moment for the global fight against climate change. India is pioneering a new model of economic development that could avoid the carbon-intensive approaches that many countries have pursued in the past – and provide a blueprint for other developing economies.

The scale of transformation in India is stunning. Its economic growth has been among the highest in the world over the past two decades, lifting of millions of people out of poverty. Every year, India adds a city the size of London to its urban population, involving vast construction of new buildings, factories and transportation networks. Coal and oil have so far served as bedrocks of India’s industrial growth and modernisation, giving a rising number of Indian people access to modern energy services. This includes adding new electricity connections for 50 million citizens each year over the past decade. 

The rapid growth in fossil energy consumption has also meant India’s annual CO2 emissions have risen to become the third highest in the world. However, India’s CO2 emissions per person put it near the bottom of the world’s emitters, and they are lower still if you consider historical emissions per person. The same is true of energy consumption: the average household in India consumes a tenth as much electricity as the average household in the United States.  

India’s sheer size and its huge scope for growth means that its energy demand is set to grow by more than that of any other country in the coming decades. In a pathway to net zero emissions by 2070, we estimate that most of the growth in energy demand this decade would already have to be met with low-carbon energy sources. It therefore makes sense that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced more ambitious targets for 2030, including installing 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, reducing the emissions intensity of its economy by 45%, and reducing a billion tonnes of CO2. 

These targets are formidable, but the good news is that the clean energy transition in India is already well underway. It has overachieved its commitment made at COP 21- Paris Summit [a.k.a. 2015, at the same conference that produced the Paris Agreement] by already meeting 40% of its power capacity from non-fossil fuels- almost nine years ahead of its commitment, and the share of solar and wind in India’s energy mix have grown phenomenally. Owing to technological developments, steady policy support, and a vibrant private sector, solar power plants are cheaper to build than coal ones. Renewable electricity is growing at a faster rate in India than any other major economy, with new capacity additions on track to double by 2026...

Subsidies for petrol and diesel were removed in the early 2010s, and subsidies for electric vehicles were introduced in 2019. India’s robust energy efficiency programme has been successful in reducing energy use and emissions from buildings, transport and major industries. Government efforts to provide millions of households with fuel gas for cooking and heating are enabling a steady transition away from the use of traditional biomass such as burning wood. India is also laying the groundwork to scale up important emerging technologies such as hydrogen, battery storage, and low-carbon steel, cement and fertilisers..."

-via IEA (International Energy Agency), January 10, 2022

Note: And since that's a little old, here's an update to show that progress is still going strong:

-via Economic Times: EnergyWorld, March 10, 2023

[tamapalace]

Tamagotchi Uni Uses AWS, Amazon Web Services

The Tamagotchi Uni is the first Tamagotchi to ever connect to Wi-Fi, which enables it to receive over the area updates, programing changes, and more. How exactly is this all being done by Bandai Japan? Well Bandai has built the Tamagotchi Uni on the Amazon Web Services platform (AWS).

The details of this are actually outlined on a recent article on the Amazon Web Services blog. The blog post provided a detailed view on how Tamagotchi Uni use AWS to achieve secure and reliable connectivity and quickly deliver new content updates without leaving customers waiting.It details that Bandai Co., Ltd., the company responsible for product development and sales, adopted AWS IoT to realize the concept of globally interconnected Tamagotchi, enabling users to interact with each other.

Bandai partnered with their cloud development partner, Phoenisys, Inc., to connect and manage million of Tamagotchi devices. One of the critical features was the over the air software updates which uses the jobs feature of AWS IoT Device Management to distribute the latest firmware across all Tamagotchi devices without causing any delays to customers.

To make Tamagotchi Uni IoT-enabled, Bandai establish the three key goals, which was implementing secure connections, scaling the load-balancing resources to accommodate over 1 million connections worldwide, and optimizing operational costs. The article even features the AWS architecture for the Tamagotchi Uni, which is interesting.

AWS IoT Core is used to manage the state of each Tamagotchi Uni device, which helps retrieve distributed items and content. AWS IoT Device Management is used to index the extensive Tamagotchi Uni fleet and create dynamic groups on the state of each device, facilitating efficient over-the-air (OTA) updates. FreeRTOS is used to minimize the amount of resources and code required to implement device-to-cloud communication for efficient system development. AWS Lambda is used to process tasks, delivering new announcements, and registering assets. Amazon DynamoDB is used as a fully managed, sever less, key-value noSQL database that runs high-performance applications at any scale. Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is used for object storage service, each of these data stores are used to manage the various resources within Tamagotchi Uni. Lastly, Amazon Timestream is used to accumulate historical data of user’s actions like downloading items and additional content.

The article also details how Bandai is handling large scale firmware updates to Tamagotchi Uni devices which are executed at a rate of 1,000 units per hour which would have resulted in a delay for some devices. The team actually designed job delivery as a continuous job which automatically updates the devices under certain conditions. This is using fleet indexing that runs a query to see which devices meet the criteria for the update to be pushed out to it.

Lastly the article details how Bandai conducted system performance testing at a large-scale to emulate what it would be like after the device was released. They verified the smooth operation and performance of updates through their testing.

Be sure to check out the full article here on the Amazon AWS blog.

[jeveashley]

5 key Trends in INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

In today's ever-changing technological landscape, staying current on the latest trends is critical for both individuals and businesses. These patterns influence how we communicate, connect, and complete tasks in both our personal and professional lives. The following are five key trends in ICT that are making waves now, along with examples to demonstrate their significance.

1. CONVERGENCE

Convergence in ICT refers to the combination of various technologies to generate forms of communication and information. This trend focuses on establishing a seamless user experience by combining multiple functionalities into a single device or platform. Convergence has been a driving force in the creation of smartphones, which combine a phone, camera, music player, and internet browser in one device.

Examples:

- Smartphones: Combine various functions like calling, browsing, and photography.

- Smart TVs: Integrate television with internet browsing and streaming services.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has become an essential part of our daily lives, changing the way we communicate and share information. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram enable users to interact, create, discuss, modify, and share user-generated content. These platforms allow users to interact with a global audience, making social media an effective tool for personal and professional communication.

Examples:

- Facebook: Connects people globally and allows for sharing of updates, photos, and events.

- Twitter: Known for its microblogging feature, where users post short, concise updates.

3. MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES

The proliferation of smartphones and tablets has changed the way we access information and complete jobs. These gadgets have evolved into mini-computers capable of running a variety of apps that were previously limited to desktops. Mobile technology has permitted internet access at any time and from any location, making it important in today's fast-paced society.

Examples:

- iOS: Used in Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads.

- Android: An open-source operating system developed by Google, used by many mobile manufacturers.

4. ASSISTIVE MEDIA

Assistive media refers to technologies and services that help people with visual and reading impairments. These technologies make sure that everyone, regardless of physical restrictions, has access to and benefits from digital material. Assistive media is more than just accessibility; it is also about inclusivity.

Examples:

- Screen readers: Convert text to speech, allowing visually impaired users to interact with digital content.

- Braille displays: Provide tactile output of text for users who are blind.

5. CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud computing has transformed how we store, access, and manage data. Users can utilize remote servers hosted on the internet to store data and access apps from anywhere in the globe. This tendency has resulted in enhanced productivity, scalability, and collaboration, particularly in the corporate sphere.

Examples:

- Google Drive: Allows users to store files online and access them from any device.

- Dropbox: A cloud storage service that enables easy file sharing and backup.

These developments demonstrate ICT's dynamic nature and tremendous impact on our lives. These trends, whether they improve connectivity, enable accessibility, or revolutionize data management, are altering the future of technology in previously imagined ways. Staying educated and flexible to these trends will be critical to success in the digital age.

Passed by: JEVE ASHLEY C. SUAGA

[rjzimmerman]

Climate Workers Wanted. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

Three years ago, Alexsandra Sesepasara moved home to American Samoa, a remote chain of Pacific islands, with her family after more than a decade of military service. She took a job as a water resources engineer for the utility that provides power, cleans up trash and manages drinking water for the more than 49,000 residents of the territory.

But soon after she arrived, she realized that rising seas and worsening storms, fueled by climate change, had brought new problems to her homeland, while exacerbating old ones. Saltwater was seeping into the islands’ fresh water supply, shutting down schools and leading to boil water notices. In December, the issue caused a nearby hospital to close all nonessential services for nearly a week.

There was another problem, Sesepasara said: American Samoa didn’t have enough workers to fix its water issues.

But this summer, the American Samoa Power Authority, her employer, became one of nine entities across the country to receive funding under a $60 million federal program intended to help train workers to combat the growing challenges of climate change.

The climate jobs of the future, experts told me, may mean adjusting how we think of the jobs of the past: Electricians may need to learn to install solar panels, construction workers may need to deal with new engineering requirements and bankers may need to manage climate risk.

“This is a model of us adapting our jobs in real time to the reality and need of the moment,” said Ned Gardiner, a program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office, which is coordinating technical assistance for the grantees.

The funding comes as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which included hundreds of billions in tax incentives for clean energy and climate programs across the country.

While most of the applications NOAA received for the grant program focused on coastal resilience and protecting marine economies, the agency was open to proposals from sectors like shipping, engineering and finance, Gardiner said.

“Every job will be affected by climate change,” said Lara Skinner, founding executive director of the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University. “We look at every sector of the economy, and every sector will have to change. This isn’t some little transition.”

The tax incentives in the I.R.A. could ultimately help fund more than 6,200 projects in utility-scale clean energy and storage and almost four million jobs, according to the Climate Jobs National Resource Center, a labor organization educating workers on climate action.

NOAA’s work force program isn’t the only funding for jobs included in the I.R.A. Hundreds of millions of dollars are also available to hire employees in the National Park Service and workers to expedite clean energy projects in rural America, as well as to train a new generation of Indigenous workers through the Indian Youth Service Corps.

Last year, the Biden administration also launched the American Climate Corps to put 20,000 young Americans into jobs addressing global warming.

In the short term, there’s a lot of physical work that can be done to mitigate the climate crisis, like building more flood-resilient communities.