Giving focus stacking a try!
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/42192609
- Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk.2, Olympus 30mm Macro
- F/8 30.0mm 1/100s ISO-1000 15 frames
I'm still figuring out how to best do this, but I'm amazed at the pictures I can get! This is the JPEG straight from the camera, so no editing other than the stacking and tweaks the camera does. I almost exclusively use natural light, but I'm probably going to need to grab something for this type of thing.
Lots of fun, and if my neighbors didn't think I was crazy before, I'm sure they do now! 😂
Giving focus stacking a try!
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/42192701
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/42192609
- Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk.2, Olympus 30mm Macro
- F/8 30.0mm 1/100s ISO-1000 15 frames
I'm still figuring out how to best do this, but I'm amazed at the pictures I can get! This is the JPEG straight from the camera, so no editing other than the stacking and tweaks the camera does. I almost exclusively use natural light, but I'm probably going to need to grab something for this type of thing.
Lots of fun, and if my neighbors didn't think I was crazy before, I'm sure they do now! 😂
Join us this Friday at 15:30 UTC for our first Bonfire Install Party!
A casual peer-led session where we’ll set up Bonfire instances together, ask questions, and tackle challenges in real time.
This session will focus on deploying Bonfire using Co-op Cloud — our recommended method, especially for fresh servers. Whether you’re ready to install or just want to follow along and learn, you’re welcome.
What to expect
• Hands-on walkthrough of live deployment using Co-op Cloud
• Real-world troubleshooting and debugging — we’ll learn together
• Shared note-taking to improve our documentation and install guides
• Help shape better tools and recipes by trying them out in the wild
• A no-pressure, collaborative learning environment
What to bring
Ideally:
• A domain or subdomain
• A publicly-accessible server (VPS, dedicated, or local) with SSH access
• DNS configured for your domain
• Your curiosity and questions!
Not ready? That’s fine too — join to watch, learn, and prep for next time. No experience required.
Please note the time is 15:30 UTC, you can see what that means in your timezone using this link and add the event to your calendar using the Actions dropdown menu.
Ted Cruz can’t get all Republicans to back his fight against state AI laws
A Republican proposal to penalize states that regulate artificial intelligence can move forward without requiring approval from 60 senators, the Senate parliamentarian decided on Saturday. But the moratorium on state AI laws did not have unanimous Republican support and has reportedly been watered down in an effort to push it toward passage.In early June, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposed enforcing a 10-year moratorium on AI regulation by making states ineligible for broadband funding if they try to impose any limits on development of artificial intelligence. While the House previously approved a version of the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" with an outright 10-year ban on state AI regulation, Cruz took a different approach because of the Senate rule that limits inclusion of "extraneous matter" in budget reconciliation legislation.
Under the Senate's Byrd rule, a senator can object to a potentially extraneous budget provision. A motion to waive the Byrd rule requires a vote of 60 percent of the Senate.
As originally drafted, Cruz's backdoor ban on state AI laws would have made it impossible for states to receive money from the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program if they try to regulate AI. He tied the provision into the budget bill by proposing an extra $500 million for the broadband-deployment grant program and expanding its purpose to also subsidize construction and deployment of infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems.
I covered a lot of BEAD distributions and state- and jurisdictional-level plans, and it's safe to say this is just another way to screw poor people. That's the whole fucking point of the program: Bringing broadband to those who don't yet have access.
It's not quite rural electrification, but it's the closest we've seen since then. Interestingly, rural voters, well, voted for this. And many are poor.
Bombing Iran ought to solve that, right?
Ted Cruz can’t get all Republicans to back his fight against state AI laws
Cruz plan moves ahead but was reportedly watered down amid Republican opposition.Jon Brodkin (Ars Technica)
WhatsApp messaging app banned on all US House of Representatives devices
Memo says cybersecurity office deemed WhatsApp a high risk due to ‘lack of transparency in how it protects user data’
Firefox 140 Brings Tab Unload, Custom Search & New ESR
Firefox 140 Brings Tab Unload, Custom Search & New ESR
Firefox 140 released with tab unloading, custom search engines, and more. ESR users gain major new features like tab grouping and vertical tabs.Joey Sneddon (OMG! Ubuntu!)
Luca likes this.
T-Mobile’s satellite service officially launches in July
T-Mobile’s satellite service officially launches in July
T-Mobile’s Starlink-powered satellite service will go live at the end of July for $10 a month — whether you’re on T-Mobile or not.Allison Johnson (The Verge)
Xbox app now lets Windows Insiders launch games from Steam, Epic, and more
Xbox app now lets Windows Insiders launch games from Steam, Epic, and more
Juggling games across Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, the Xbox app, and other clients has long frustrated users. Some launchers, like GOG Galaxy, have tried to...Daniel Sims (TechSpot)
Protect Yourself From Meta’s Latest Attack on Privacy
Protect Yourself From Meta’s Latest Attack on Privacy
Researchers recently caught Meta using an egregious new tracking technique to spy on you. Exploiting a technical loophole, the company was able to have their apps snoop on users’ web browsing.Electronic Frontier Foundation
Masked men in Border Patrol vests take California father after repeatedly hitting him
Masked men in Border Patrol vests take California father after repeatedly hitting him
In graphic video that has since gone viral, some seven or more masked men wearing U.S. Border Patrol vests were seen violently detaining a father in Santa Ana, Calif., before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car on Saturday.KTLA Digital Staff (The Hill)
John Oliver on AI slop: ‘Some of this stuff is potentially very dangerous’
John Oliver on AI slop: ‘Some of this stuff is potentially very dangerous’
The Last Week Tonight host went deep on the creative bankruptcy and long-term concerns over AI images and videos flooding the internetGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
The costs of restricting abortion? More than $130 billion per year.
The costs of restricting abortion? More than $130 billion per year.
A new report quantifies the costs of rising abortion restrictions three years after Dobbs.Mother Jones
Feds seek to block WA law requiring clergy to report child abuse
The Trump Administration moved Monday to join a legal fight to overturn a new Washington law requiring religious leaders to report child abuse or neglect even when it is disclosed in confession.
𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗺 & Doom: “Brain in a box in a basement”
A decade or two ago, it was pretty common to discuss “foom & doom” scenarios, as advocated especially by Eliezer Yudkowsky. In a typical such scenario, a small team would build a system that would rocket (“foom”) from “unimpressive” to “Artificial Superintelligence” (ASI) within a very short time window (days, weeks, maybe months), involving very little compute (e.g. “brain in a box in a basement”), via recursive self-improvement. Absent some future technical breakthrough, the “Artificial Superintelligence” (ASI) would definitely be egregiously misaligned, without the slightest intrinsic interest in whether humans live or die. The Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) would be born into a world generally much like today’s, a world utterly unprepared for this new mega-mind. The extinction of humans (and every other species) would rapidly follow (“doom”). The Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) would then spend countless eons fulfilling its desires, desires which we humans would find to be bizarre and pointless.Now, I don’t endorse every word of that foom & doom scenario above—for example, I don’t think “foom” requires recursive self-improvement. But I’m in much closer agreement with that scenario than the vast majority of AI safety & alignment researchers today, who tend to see the “foom & doom” scenario above as somewhere between “extraordinarily unlikely” and “already falsified”!
Those researchers are not asking each other “is it true?”, but rather “lol, can you believe that some people used to believe that?”. Oh well. Laugh all you want. It’s still what I believe.
Conversely, from my perspective as a foom & doomer, it’s the mainstream contemporary AI alignment discourse that feels increasingly foreign and strange. How, I ask myself, do so many seemingly reasonable people wind up with such wildly, bafflingly over-optimistic beliefs as “P(doom)≲50%”??
Anyway, my main goal in these two posts is to explore how I wind up in such a different place as most other alignment researchers do today, on the question of foom & doom. I don’t particularly expect to win skeptical readers over to my side, but would at least like to convey that foom & doom is a story that hangs together and deserves a modicum of consideration.
Foom & Doom 1: “Brain in a box in a basement”
This is a two-post series on AI “foom” (this post) and “doom” (next post). A decade or two ago, it was pretty common to discuss “foom & doom” scenarios, as advocated especially by Eliezer Yudkowsky.www.greaterwrong.com
𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗺 & Doom: “Brain in a box in a basement”
A decade or two ago, it was pretty common to discuss “foom & doom” scenarios, as advocated especially by Eliezer Yudkowsky. In a typical such scenario, a small team would build a system that would rocket (“foom”) from “unimpressive” to “Artificial Superintelligence” (ASI) within a very short time window (days, weeks, maybe months), involving very little compute (e.g. “brain in a box in a basement”), via recursive self-improvement. Absent some future technical breakthrough, the “Artificial Superintelligence” (ASI) would definitely be egregiously misaligned, without the slightest intrinsic interest in whether humans live or die. The Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) would be born into a world generally much like today’s, a world utterly unprepared for this new mega-mind. The extinction of humans (and every other species) would rapidly follow (“doom”). The Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) would then spend countless eons fulfilling its desires, desires which we humans would find to be bizarre and pointless.Now, I don’t endorse every word of that foom & doom scenario above—for example, I don’t think “foom” requires recursive self-improvement. But I’m in much closer agreement with that scenario than the vast majority of AI safety & alignment researchers today, who tend to see the “foom & doom” scenario above as somewhere between “extraordinarily unlikely” and “already falsified”!
Those researchers are not asking each other “is it true?”, but rather “lol, can you believe that some people used to believe that?”. Oh well. Laugh all you want. It’s still what I believe.
Conversely, from my perspective as a foom & doomer, it’s the mainstream contemporary AI alignment discourse that feels increasingly foreign and strange. How, I ask myself, do so many seemingly reasonable people wind up with such wildly, bafflingly over-optimistic beliefs as “P(doom)≲50%”??
Anyway, my main goal in these two posts is to explore how I wind up in such a different place as most other alignment researchers do today, on the question of foom & doom. I don’t particularly expect to win skeptical readers over to my side, but would at least like to convey that foom & doom is a story that hangs together and deserves a modicum of consideration.
Foom & Doom 1: “Brain in a box in a basement”
This is a two-post series on AI “foom” (this post) and “doom” (next post). A decade or two ago, it was pretty common to discuss “foom & doom” scenarios, as advocated especially by Eliezer Yudkowsky.www.greaterwrong.com
Canadian telecom hacked by suspected China state group
Cyber threat bulletin: People's Republic of China cyber threat activity: PRC cyber actors target telecommunications companies as part of a global cyberespionage campaign - Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning Canadians of the threat posed by People’s Republic of China (PRC)Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
Canadian telecom hacked by suspected China state group
Cyber threat bulletin: People's Republic of China cyber threat activity: PRC cyber actors target telecommunications companies as part of a global cyberespionage campaign - Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning Canadians of the threat posed by People’s Republic of China (PRC)Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
Formation à la sécurité militante (basique)
Formation Sécurité Militante de base 🥷
Pour faire face à la répression et la surveillance, pourquoi pas une formation Sécurité Militante de base ? Et bien c'est possible mardi 15 juillet en ligne.
Cette formation a pour objectifs de :
- Savoir penser autour des notions de sécurité/menaces
- Savoir estimer les menaces actuelles pour un.e militant.e en France
- Savoir agir pour renforcer sa sécurité militante
Le support de la formation est disponible ici, et le contenu est aussi disponible sur le Wiki XR.
Public visé :
- Militant.e faisant de la Désobéissance Civile Non Violente (DCNV)
- La formation est utile mais pas suffisante pour un modèle de menace fort (exemple: action de désarmement)
- La formation est utile mais pas suffisante pour la coordination d’action risquée.
Tu peux t'inscrire via ce lien cryptpad.extinctionrebellion.f…
Pour participer le mardi 15 juillet, il te suffira de se connecter à cet URL : meet2.organise.earth/rooms/4xe… à 19h. Cette formation est accessible à tous et toutes quelque soit votre organisation, ou mouvement.
Siffleur Falls Trail, Kootenay Plains, Alberta
4.4 miles roundtrip (to falls only)
Easy, 475 ft elevation gain
This trail starts by crossing the N Saskatchewan river over a large pedestrian bridge. From there you will continue upstream from where the Siffleur river ends up to the main waterfall area, passing through an expansive grassland and above the canyon carved by the river. Trail may be extended well beyond the falls, I turned it into a 9.4 mile total, which I’ll post some pics for tomorrow. This trail probably doesn’t need splitting, but I’m gonna do it anyways haha.
Siffleur falls roars its way down into the canyon.
A fraction of the overall falls can be seen from this upper viewpoint. The majority is diverted behind the rock in frame.
Looking along the deep trench walls at the end of the canyon as the Siffleur river continues on.
Ways the Trump Administration Has Sabotaged America’s Broadband Future
- Corrupt BEAD Revisions Are Undermining Affordable Broadband Access
- Forcing States to Choose Between Broadband Funding and AI Regulation
- Auctioning Spectrum at the Expense of Wi-Fi
- Defunding the Digital Equity Act
4 Ways the Trump Administration Has Sabotaged America’s Broadband Future - Public Knowledge
The Trump administration's broadband policies clearly prioritize economic and political gain over the American public interest.Sara Collins (Public Knowledge)
Has anybody used an auto generator app or extension to get Microsoft points?
If so, which one works or did your account get banned?
I've included a link for an app but it appears to be a couple of years old now and might not work.
like this
Florida Republican who almost died from ectopic pregnancy blames Democrats, not abortion ban
Abortion ban nearly kills Republican with ectopic pregnancy
Kat Cammack doesn't believe Florida's abortion ban was at fault for her near-death experience, but instead blames Democrats for "fearmongering."Ryan Adamczeski (Advocate.com)
Pli da membroj pagas malpli al UEA
“Nu, bonŝance ni savis la asocion.” Tiu estas la konkludo de ĝenerala direktoro Martin Schäffer surbaze de la ekonomia rezulto de Universala Esperanto-Asocio dum la jaro 2024. La asocio laŭ li ŝparis amason da mono malpliigante la oficistaron – sed devis urĝe dungi du pliajn oficistojn por ricevi administran subvencion de EU. Unu el la dungitoj tuttempe okupiĝos pri havigo de subvencioj.
liberafolio.org/2025/06/24/pli…
Cowboy Junkies - Demon (2011)
Nella seconda metà degli anni ottanta i fratelli Timmins si fecero conoscere grazie ad una manciata di buoni dischi, tra cui gli ottimi The Caution Horses, Black Eyed Man e il superlativo The Trinity Session dell’88... Leggi e ascolta...
Cowboy Junkies - Demon (2011)
Nella seconda metà degli anni ottanta i fratelli Timmins si fecero conoscere grazie ad una manciata di buoni dischi, tra cui gli ottimi The Caution Horses, Black Eyed Man e il superlativo The Trinity Session dell’88. Negli anni successivi, per una serie di coincidenze, non ultima la mancanza di “creatività” sonora, non li ho più seguiti se non “per sentito dire”. Ora, come è successo per i R.E.M., ho ascoltato questo loro ultimo lavoro e la sorpresa è stata più che buona. Il disco in origine doveva essere una collaborazione con l’amico Vic Chesnutt ma, la sua morte avvenuta prematuramente il giorno di Natale del 2009, ne ha cambiato le sorti, facendolo diventare un tributo allo stesso artista canadese... artesuono.blogspot.com/2014/07…
Ascolta: album.link/i/1688324744
Home – Identità DigitaleSono su: Mastodon.uno - Pixelfed - Feddit
Cowboy Junkies - Demons (2011)
di Silvano Bottaro Nella seconda metà degli anni ottanta i fratelli Timmins si fecero conoscere grazie ad una manciata di buoni dischi, ...Silvano Bottaro (Blogger)
Iran says it launched attack on US forces at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base
Iran says it launched attack on US forces at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base
Iran launched a missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites. The announcement was made on state television as martial music played.Ground News
Microsoft’s new genAI model to power agents in Windows 11
Microsoft’s new genAI model to power agents in Windows 11
The small language model, which the company named Mu, can respond to natural language queries in Windows.Agam Shah (Computerworld)
Earlier today, @davew published a blog post titled WordPress and me. He talked about WordLand, his focused and fast editor for writers and bloggers. Through developing the editor, he’s discovered WordPress again.
WordPress as the OS of the open social web
I think WordPress has all that’s needed to be the OS of the open social web. We needed it and it’s always been there, and I saw something that I want to show everyone else, that the web can grow from here, we should build on everything that the WordPress community has created. It’s a lot stronger foundation that the other candidates for the basic needs of the open social web, imho.
I’ve been following Dave’s work with WordLand for the past few months, and it’s been really nice and encouraging to see him work on a product that aligns with my values. And now, Dave will get to present his tool and his ideas to others in the WordPress community! He will be talking at WordCamp Canada in October.
It should come as no surprise that someone so involved with some of the key concepts of the Open Web, like RSS, values ideals of openness and giving writers control over their content. WordLand’s approach to « what you see is what you get » is something that aligns so well with WordPress’ own ideals. It clashes with walled gardens like Twitter or Bluesky where you’re limited in length, format, content, and where you ultimately do not own your writing. It’s super motivating and empowering when someone newer to the WordPress ecosystem recognizes those shared values and the power of the platform.
Rediscovering WordPress
In his post, Dave talked about his journey of rediscovering WordPress through a new lens. The WordPress.com REST API, its endpoints and its authentication layer, gave him the tools to build the editor he needed, while still benefiting from everything the WordPress community has created in the past 22 years.
This is also what we had in mind when Automattic released Calypso 10 years ago:
Calypso is…
- Incredibly fast. It’ll charm you.
- Written purely in JavaScript, leveraging libraries like Node and React.
- 100% API-powered. Those APIs are open, and now available to every developer in the world.
Calypso and its underlying API paved the way for the first REST API endpoints that made it to WordPress itself a year later. That API then became a cornerstone of the Gutenberg project:
WordPress has always been about the user experience, and that needs to continue to evolve under newer demands. Gutenberg is an attempt at fundamentally addressing those needs, based on the idea of content blocks. It’s an attempt to improve how users interact with their content in a fundamentally visual way, while at the same time giving developers the tools to create more fulfilling experiences for the people they are helping.
WordPress.com REST API vs. WordPress REST API
On a more technical note, the folks more familiar with WordPress will wonder why WordLand uses the WordPress.com REST API, and not the core WordPress REST API.
Dave chose to use the WordPress.com API for WordLand — and that makes perfect sense for the goals of the project. It provides built-in authentication and opinionated endpoints that would otherwise need to be built on top of the core REST API, and would need to be shipped to every site that wants to use the WordLand editor. That’s simply not what WordLand was designed to do.
Perhaps more importantly, the WordPress.com REST API is just one of the many ways to interact with WordPress. That’s the beauty of WordPress: it’s open and flexible, allowing different tools and solutions to thrive. In this case, it’s nice to see how WordLand, WordPress, and WordPress.com came together to empower writers, each bringing their own strengths to the table. It’s a great example of how open tools and platforms can work hand-in-hand to create something truly special.
It’s always exciting to see new tools emerge from old foundations — and even more so when they help bring us closer to the open web we want to build. Funny enough, the WordPress.com REST API still relies on XML-RPC — a technology built by Dave 27 years ago 🙂
Go write something!
If you haven’t tried WordLand yet, go give it a try! All you need is a WordPress site, either hosted on WordPress.com or running the Jetpack plugin.
#Automattic #EN #OpenWeb #WCEH #WordLand #WordPress
Dance to Calypso
One of the hardest things to do in technology is disrupt yourself. But we’re trying our darndest, and have some cool news to introduce today. When I took on the responsibility of CEO of Autom…Matt (Matt Mullenweg)
reshared this
I think you perfectly and unconsciously summarized daves point!
> WordLand is a good editor. For some people who write in WordPress it will be a godsend, and for others, a revelation. There should be a lot of editors in this space, because there is no one editor that's good for everyone.
there is no one editor that is perfect for everyone, but WordPress makes it possible to use the one that suits your needs.
Tim Chambers reshared this.
exactly. think of wordpress as an operating system.
lots of editors. happy writers. 😉
ICE Has Deported at Least 70 U.S. Citizens
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms what immigrant advocates have long warned: ICE has deported American citizens.Between 2015 and 2020, ICE deported at least 70 people who were U.S. citizens, according to the GAO. That’s not just a bureaucratic mistake — it’s a constitutional violation.
U.S. citizens cannot be deported under civil immigration law. Yet GAO found that ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lack the records to even know how many people they may have deported in error.
In total, the watchdog found that ICE arrested 674 potential U.S. citizens, detained 121, and deported 70 — all of whom may have been legally untouchable by immigration enforcement.
And the actual number could be much higher.
“ICE does not know the extent to which its officers are taking enforcement actions against individuals who could be U.S. citizens,” the GAO concluded.
ICE Has Deported at Least 70 U.S. Citizens
GAO confirms ICE deported U.S. citizens due to systemic failures — and the agency still doesn’t know how many more it’s wrongly targetingNicolae Viorel Butler (Migrant Insider)
EU may take action against Israel if conditions in Gaza do not improve
EU may take action against Israel if conditions in Gaza do not improve
Bloc’s foreign affairs chief warns of a response unless action is taken to ‘stop the suffering’ in Gaza StripJennifer Rankin (The Guardian)
यूएस वीजा नियम: सोशल मीडिया अकाउंट्स को पब्लिक करना किया अनिवार्य, यहां पढ़ें पूरी डिटेल
India News: अमेरिकी दूतावास ने यूएस वीजा नियम में सख्ती की। F, M, J वीजा आवेदकों को अपने सोशल मीडिया अकाउंट्स पब्लिक करने होंगे। यह नियम तुरंत लागू हो गया। इसका मकसद पहचान और सुरक्षा जांच को मजबूत करना है। भारतीय छात्रों और विजिटर्स को फेसबुक, इंस्टाग्राम, एक्स जैसे प्लेटफॉर्म्स पब्लिक करने होंगे। दूतावास ने कहा, वीजा एक विशेषाधिकार है। नियमों का पालन न करने पर वीजा रद्द हो सकता है।
कौन से वीजा प्रभावित होंगे
यूएस वीजा नियम F, M, J श्रेणियों पर लागू होंगे। F वीजा कॉलेज और यूनिवर्सिटी छात्रों के लिए है। M वीजा वोकेशनल ट्रेनिंग के लिए है। J वीजा एक्सचेंज प्रोग्राम्स जैसे रिसर्चर्स, टीचर्स के लिए है। आवेदकों को सोशल मीडिया प्रोफाइल पब्लिक करना होगा। यह नियम अमेरिका में प्रवेश की पात्रता जांचने के लिए है। भारतीय छात्रों को अपने प्रोफाइल की सामग्री जांचनी होगी। पुराने पोस्ट भी स्क्रीनिंग में शामिल हो सकते हैं।
सोशल मीडिया जांच का मकसद
यूएस वीजा नियम के तहत सोशल मीडिया जांच से पारदर्शिता बढ़ेगी। अमेरिकी दूतावास ने कहा कि यह कदम राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा के लिए है। सोशल मीडिया से आवेदक की पहचान और इरादे सत्यापित होंगे। संदिग्ध गतिविधियों का पता लगेगा। यह नियम दुनियाभर के अमेरिकी वीजा कार्यालयों में लागू है। छात्रों को अपने प्रोफाइल साफ रखने की सलाह दी गई है। गलत कंटेंट से वीजा खारिज हो सकता है।
किन प्लेटफॉर्म्स को करना होगा पब्लिक
यूएस वीजा नियम के अनुसार, फेसबुक, इंस्टाग्राम, एक्स, लिंक्डइन, यूट्यूब और टिकटॉक जैसे प्लेटफॉर्म्स पब्लिक करने होंगे। अन्य प्लेटफॉर्म्स जो ऑनलाइन गतिविधि दिखाते हैं, उन्हें भी शामिल करना होगा। होमलैंड सिक्योरिटी ने कहा कि वीजा मिलने के बाद भी जांच जारी रहेगी। संदिग्ध प्रोफाइल मिलने पर वीजा रद्द हो सकता है। आवेदकों को प्रोफाइल में नाम, फोटो, शिक्षा जैसे विवरण दस्तावेजों से मिलान करने होंगे।
twitter.com/USAndIndia/status/…
आवेदकों के लिए सावधानी
नए नियमों से भारतीय छात्र और पेशेवर चिंतित हैं। उन्हें अपने सोशल मीडिया प्रोफाइल की सामग्री जांचनी होगी। विवादास्पद या अनुचित पोस्ट हटाने चाहिए। प्राइवेसी सेटिंग्स को पब्लिक करना होगा। वीजा साक्षात्कार से पहले प्रोफाइल को दस्तावेजों से मिलान करना जरूरी है। यह कदम फर्जी पहचान वालों की स्क्रीनिंग को आसान बनाएगा। आवेदक अपने भविष्य को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए सतर्क हैं।
ट्रैवल एडवाइजरी: अमेरिका ने भारत यात्रा को लेकर दी सतर्कता की सलाह, जानें क्या कहा
India News: अमेरिकी विदेश मंत्रालय ने 16 जून को ट्रैवल एडवाइजरी जारी की। भारत में बढ़ते अपराध और दुष्कर्म की घटनाओं का हवाला दिया गया। नागरिकों से सतर्कतामोहित ठाकुर (Right News India)
Shipping giant Maersk cuts ties with companies operating in Israeli settlements
Shipping giant Maersk cuts ties with companies operating in Israeli settlements
Shipping giant Maersk is divesting from companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.MEE staff (Middle East Eye)
The Dictatorship is Here. The Constitutional Crisis is Now.
The Dictatorship is Here. The Constitutional Crisis is Now.
For many of us, day to day life in the United States proceeds as it would under a usual American federal government.Heidi Li Feldman (Heidi Says)
like this
Tesla robotaxi launch: EV maker seeks to keep Texas safety data private, regulator says
Tesla told U.S. regulators that its answers to questions on the safety of its robotaxi deployment in Texas are confidential business information and should not be made public, according to a letter released on Monday.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was reviewing answers given in response to the agency's questions about the safety of its self-driving robotaxi in poor weather among numerous issues.
The agency said on Monday that Tesla was invoking a federal law that "restricts NHTSA’s ability to publicly release what the companies label as confidential." The agency added that "following an assessment of these responses and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety."
Shipping giant Maersk cuts ties with companies operating in Israeli settlements
Shipping giant Maersk cuts ties with companies operating in Israeli settlements
Shipping giant Maersk is divesting from companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.MEE staff (Middle East Eye)
Uccelli concentrici cotti per 24 ore nell'arrosto a matrioska della Francia Imperiale - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Uccelli concentrici cotti per 24 ore nell'arrosto a matrioska della Francia Imperiale - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Ispezionando la linea quasi marziale dei suoi servitori in livrea cupa dai risvolti multicolori, Grimod de La Reynière ebbe una delle sue formidabili intuizioni “Le temps… Est venu! Mio fedele esercito, attraverso valli e ripide colline voi mi avete …Jacopo (Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri)
How ranked choice voting in New York's Democratic mayoral primary works
In New York City’s version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on the ballot.
If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters — more than 50% — that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election.
If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in.
Vote tabulation is done by computer in rounds. After the first round, the candidate in last place — the candidate ranked No. 1 by the fewest amount of people — is eliminated. The computer then looks at the ballots cast by people who ranked that candidate first, to see who they ranked second. Those people’s votes are then redistributed to their second choices.
How ranked choice voting in New York's Democratic mayoral primary works
One downside of the system is it makes it tough to forecast a winner before the vote count is complete. That means people shouldn't expect to learn who won on election night.PBS News
Uber and Lyft fighting against laws to require fingerprinting for drivers, report says
Both rideshare giants are pushing back against legislation that would require fingerprinting as part of a criminal background check of drivers in the state.
Lyft’s public policy manager, Brendan Joyce, stated that the requirement relies on data from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information System, which he testified in April is “incomplete” and noted that checks “disproportionately impact and have potential discriminatory effects on communities of color.”
Uber and Lyft fighting against laws to make rideshare services safer, report says
Threats to exit markets, in-app messages to riders and applying direct pressure to lawmakers are among the rideshare companies’ lobbying tacticsJames Liddell (The Independent)
Shocking video shows dad of three US Marines ‘beaten by masked agents in parking lot’
Narciso Barranco, 48, a landscaper from Tustin in Southern California, was left bloodied and visibly shaken after being violently detained by at least seven alleged immigration officers while working outside of an IHOP on Saturday.
In one short video first posted by Santa Ana councilman Johnathan Hernandez and the social Instagram account @Santaanaproblems, alleged Customs and Border Protection agents struck Barranco in the head at least six times, thrusting his face into the concrete and kneeling on his neck, before he was forced into the back of a light-colored Chevrolet SUV using a truncheon.
Barranco’s shoulder was left dislocated, his eldest son, Alejandro, a 25-year-old Marine veteran, told the Los Angeles Times.
Alejandro Barranco, who served with the Marine Corps in Afghanistan, told the Santanero that his father was transferred to a detention facility in LA.
Sorry about the Instagram link: instagram.com/santaanaproblems…
Shocking video appears to show father of three US Marines being beaten by masked agents in parking lot
Narciso Barranco is reportedly being held in a Los Angeles detention facility after being apprehended by CBP agents while working in Santa AnaJames Liddell (The Independent)
Educação financeira poderá ser incluída como disciplina obrigatória nos ensinos fundamental e médio
Educação financeira poderá ser incluída como disciplina obrigatória nos ensinos fundamental e médio
Maurício Carvalho: educação financeira incentiva hábitos de consumo mais equilibrados A Comissão de Educação da Câmara dos Deputados aprov...testnamd (Blogger)
A Monterubbiano (FM) Armata di Pentecoste-Sciò la Pica, nei giorni 27, 28, 29 giugno e 1° luglio 2025
Dal 27 giugno al 1° luglio il borgo di Monterubbiano (FM) ospita la 60ª edizione della rievocazione storica Armata di Pentecoste - Sciò la Pica, un evento unico che coinvolge l’intera comunità. La Festa affonda le radici nel rito del Ver Sacrum, secondo cui un gruppo di Sabini seguì il volo di un picchio verde, sacro a Marte, fino all’attuale Piceno, dando origine alla civiltà picena. Il picchio è oggi simbolo delle Marche.
La manifestazione si apre con il corteo storico di oltre 250 figuranti tra musici, dame, sbandieratori e le quattro corporazioni cittadine (Artisti, Mulattieri, Bifolchi, Zappaterra) che si sfidano nella spettacolare Giostra dell’Anello, al centro dei festeggiamenti, guidati dal Capitano d’Armata.
Il programma del 60° anniversario, presentato anche al Parlamento Europeo, è ricco di appuntamenti: venerdì 27 sera spettacolo di musici e sbandieratori; sabato 28 alle 16:30 le prove ufficiali della Giostra, alle 17:30 la lettura del bando lungo le vie del borgo, alle 19:00 apertura degli stand gastronomici e alle 21:30 cerimonia di premiazione della corporazione vincitrice dell’edizione 2024, con estrazione dell’ordine di partenza.
Domenica 29 è il giorno clou: alle 10:00 Corteo storico con processione, offerta dei ceri e Messa in onore della Vergine Maria del Soccorso. Alle 16:30 prende il via la Giostra dell’Anello, due ore di pura emozione (biglietti su ciaoticket.com), seguita dalla premiazione in piazza Calzecchi Onesti. La Festa si conclude martedì 1° luglio con i pranzi delle corporazioni e, dalle 16:00, giochi popolari e baccanali nel Parco di San Rocco.
Sciò la Pica è anche un’occasione per scoprire Monterubbiano, tra scorci romantici e sapori autentici, come le celebri tagliatelle fritte, piatto tipico del borgo.
L’evento è organizzato dall’Armata di Pentecoste con il Comune, la Pro Loco “Luigi Centanni” e il sostegno di Fondazione Marche Cultura. Da quest’anno, è tappa del Grand Tour delle Marche promosso da Tipicità e ANCI. Info: canali social e www.tipicita.it
A Monterubbiano (FM) Armata di Pentecoste-Sciò la Pica, nei giorni 27, 28, 29 giugno e 1° luglio 2025 - ViaggieMiraggi
Monterubbiano celebra la 60ª edizione della rievocazione storica ARMATA DI PENTECOSTE-SCIÒ LA PICA Un fantastico tuffo nel passato A cavallo tra i mesi di giugno e luglio, nel pittoresco borgo di Monterubbiano (FM) va in scena la 60ª edizione di...Redazione (ViaggieMiraggi)
Greek man sentenced to prison for running a private torrent site 10 years ago
Greek man sentenced to prison for running a private torrent site 10 years ago
A 59-year-old living in the Greek city of Piraeus was recently sentenced by a local court to five years in prison, a €10,000 fine, and an additional...Alfonso Maruccia (TechSpot)
Bounce för flytt mellan Bluesky och Mastodon
Bounce är ett projekt som syftar till att ta fram programvara för en tjänst som gör det möjligt att ta med sig följare och följda vid en flytt mellan Mastodon och Bluesky trots att de två sociala nätverken använder sig av olika protokoll. Hela projektet lanserades på årets Fediforum av stiftelsen A New Social som också ligger bakom programvaran BridgyFed som gör det möjligt att följa Mastodonkonton från Bluesky och vice versa.
Bounce är tänkt att kunna funka med alla programvaror som använder något av protokollen ActivityPub (Fediversum) eller AT (Bluesky).
BridgyFed fungerar utmärkt när det gäller att följa konton på Bluesky från ett Mastodonkonto eller Pixelfedkonto liksom konton på Mastodon och Pixelfed för Blueskyanvändare. Dessutom möjliggör det också att det går att följa Indieweb-sajter från Fediversum eller Bluesky.
Än så länge funkar Bounce med Mastodon och Pixelfed i Fediversum. Men det har inte lanserats ännu.
Bounce: A Cross-Protocol Migration Tool
0:00 /0:05 1× Introducing: Bounce Today at FediForum, we previewed Bounce: a new tool that uses Bridgy Fed to help migrate your social graph between Mastodon and Bluesky.A New Social
महंगाई का असर: आपकी बचत को चुपके से खा रही है मुद्रास्फीति, जानें कैसे; यहां पढ़ें पूरी डिटेल
India News: महंगाई का असर आम आदमी की जेब पर पड़ रहा है। 7% वार्षिक मुद्रास्फीति से आज के 1 करोड़ रुपये 20 साल बाद सिर्फ 25.84 लाख के बराबर रहेंगे। स्कूल फीस, चिकित्सा और मासिक खर्च कई गुना बढ़ जाएंगे। रिटायरमेंट के लिए 4 करोड़ रुपये की जरूरत होगी। लोग अपनी बचत को लेकर चिंतित हैं। मुद्रास्फीति खरीदने की शक्ति को कम कर रही है।
मुद्रास्फीति का गणित
महंगाई का असर समय के साथ बढ़ता है। 7% मुद्रास्फीति से 1 करोड़ रुपये की कीमत 5 साल में 71.30 लाख, 10 साल में 50.75 लाख और 20 साल में 25.84 लाख रह जाएगी। यानी 74% मूल्य की हानि होगी। निवेश से 7-8% रिटर्न मिलने पर भी वास्तविक लाभ शून्य रहता है। लोग अपनी बचत की सुरक्षा के लिए चिंतित हैं। रिजर्व बैंक मुद्रास्फीति को नियंत्रित करने पर जोर दे रहा है।
रोजमर्रा के खर्च पर बोझ
महंगाई का असर रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी पर दिखता है। आज 1 लाख रुपये की स्कूल फीस 20 साल बाद 3.87 लाख हो जाएगी। 5 लाख की चिकित्सा लागत 19.35 लाख तक पहुंचेगी। मासिक 50 हजार का खर्च 1.93 लाख हो जाएगा। लोग अपने भविष्य की योजना बनाने में परेशान हैं। बढ़ती कीमतें उनकी बचत को निगल रही हैं। रिटायरमेंट की तैयारी के लिए ज्यादा निवेश जरूरी है।
रिटायरमेंट की चुनौती
20 साल बाद रिटायर होने वालों के लिए महंगाई का असर गंभीर है। आज 1 करोड़ रुपये पर्याप्त लगते हैं, लेकिन 20 साल बाद यह बुनियादी खर्च भी पूरा नहीं कर पाएगा। 4 करोड़ रुपये का लक्ष्य रखना होगा। लोग अपनी बचत को मुद्रास्फीति से बचाने के लिए निवेश विकल्प तलाश रहे हैं। बढ़ती कीमतें उनके सपनों पर असर डाल रही हैं। यह स्थिति चिंताजनक है।
बचत की सुरक्षा जरूरी
मुद्रास्फीति से बचने के लिए स्मार्ट निवेश जरूरी है। 7% मुद्रास्फीति हर साल बचत की कीमत घटाती है। लोग अपने पैसे को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए चिंतित हैं। कई निवेशक 7-8% रिटर्न को पर्याप्त मानते हैं, लेकिन यह मुद्रास्फीति के बराबर है। महंगाई का असर कम करने के लिए बेहतर वित्तीय योजना जरूरी है। लोग अपने भविष्य को लेकर सतर्क हो रहे हैं।
Israel, Iran agree to ceasefire in coming hours — Trump
Israel, Iran agree to ceasefire in coming hours — Trump
Officially, Iran will start the ceasefire and, upon the 12th hour, Israel will start the ceasefire and, upon the 24th hourTASS
Trump few days ago: any retaliation against the US would be detrimental to Iran.
Iran: Retaliates
Trump: Alright man that’s enough, let’s talk innit.
Tarnished by Oct. 7, Netanyahu’s legacy may be reshaped by war with Iran
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)
Now, as Israel faces another unprecedented crisis in a war with Iran, Netanyahu appears rejuvenated. With the U.S. lending its support against a threat he has devoted his life to confronting, Netanyahu is demonstrating a resurgent confidence that could signal a new turning point in his lengthy political career.Even as Iranian missiles pound Israeli cities, Netanyahu, 75, has the chance to salvage his sagging political fortunes and reshape a legacy punctured by Hamas’ attacks, a corruption trial and a history of divisive rule. If he succeeds, it will cement his reputation within Israel as a political wizard who can rise from the ashes.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-strikes-israel-netanyahu-ecebee27b2aea360c8fdaf9156ccbf32
'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community
A massive data center for Meta’s AI will likely lead to rate hikes for Louisiana customers, but Meta wants to keep the details under wraps.
Holly Ridge is a rural community bisected by US Highway 80, gridded with farmland, with a big creek—it is literally named Big Creek—running through it. It is home to rice and grain mills and an elementary school and a few houses. Soon, it will also be home to Meta’s massive, 4 million square foot AI data center hosting thousands of servers that require billions of watts of energy to power. And that energy-guzzling infrastructure will be partially paid for by Louisiana residents.
The plan is part of what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said would be “a defining year for AI.” On Threads, Zuckerberg boasted that his company was “building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan,” posting a map of Manhattan along with the data center overlaid. Zuckerberg went on to say that over the coming years, AI “will drive our core products and business, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership. Let's go build! 💪”
Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) on Threads
This will be a defining year for AI. In 2025, I expect Meta AI will be the leading assistant serving more than 1 billion people, Llama 4 will become the leading state of the art model, and we'll build an AI engineer that will start contributing incre…Threads
'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community
A massive data center for Meta’s AI will likely lead to rate hikes for Louisiana customers, but Meta wants to keep the details under wraps.Holly Ridge is a rural community bisected by US Highway 80, gridded with farmland, with a big creek—it is literally named Big Creek—running through it. It is home to rice and grain mills and an elementary school and a few houses. Soon, it will also be home to Meta’s massive, 4 million square foot AI data center hosting thousands of perpetually humming servers that require billions of watts of energy to power. And that energy-guzzling infrastructure will be partially paid for by Louisiana residents.
The plan is part of what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said would be “a defining year for AI.” On Threads, Zuckerberg boasted that his company was “building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan,” posting a map of Manhattan along with the data center overlaid. Zuckerberg went on to say that over the coming years, AI “will drive our core products and business, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership. Let's go build! 💪”
Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) on Threads
This will be a defining year for AI. In 2025, I expect Meta AI will be the leading assistant serving more than 1 billion people, Llama 4 will become the leading state of the art model, and we’ll build an AI engineer that will start contributing increasing amounts of code to our R&D efforts. To power this, Meta is building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan.Threads
What Zuckerberg did not mention is that "Let's go build" refers not only to the massive data center but also three new Meta-subsidized, gas power plants and a transmission line to fuel it serviced by Entergy Louisiana, the region’s energy monopoly.Key details about Meta’s investments with the data center remain vague, and Meta’s contracts with Entergy are largely cloaked from public scrutiny. But what is known is the $10 billion data center has been positioned as an enormous economic boon for the area—one that politicians bent over backward to facilitate—and Meta said it will invest $200 million into “local roads and water infrastructure.”
A January report from NOLA.com said that the the state had rewritten zoning laws, promised to change a law so that it no longer had to put state property up for public bidding, and rewrote what was supposed to be a tax incentive for broadband internet meant to bridge the digital divide so that it was only an incentive for data centers, all with the goal of luring in Meta.
But Entergy Louisiana’s residential customers, who live in one of the poorest regions of the state, will see their utility bills increase to pay for Meta’s energy infrastructure, according to Entergy’s application. Entergy estimates that amount will be small and will only cover a transmission line, but advocates for energy affordability say the costs could balloon depending on whether Meta agrees to finish paying for its three gas plants 15 years from now. The short-term rate increases will be debated in a public hearing before state regulators that has not yet been scheduled.
The Alliance for Affordable Energy called it a “black hole of energy use,” and said “to give perspective on how much electricity the Meta project will use: Meta’s energy needs are roughly 2.3x the power needs of Orleans Parish … it’s like building the power impact of a large city overnight in the middle of nowhere.”
404 Media reached out to Entergy for comment but did not receive a response.
By 2030, Entergy’s electricity prices are projected to increase 90 percent from where they were in 2018, although the company attributes much of that to damage to infrastructure from hurricanes. The state already has a high energy cost burden in part because of a storm damage to infrastructure, and balmy heat made worse by climate change that drives air conditioner use. The state's homes largely are not energy efficient, with many porous older buildings that don’t retain heat in the winter or remain cool in the summer.
“You don't just have high utility bills, you also have high repair costs, you have high insurance premiums, and it all contributes to housing insecurity,” said Andreanecia Morris, a member of Housing Louisiana, which is opposed to Entergy’s gas plant application. She believes Meta’s data center will make it worse. And Louisiana residents have reasons to distrust Entergy when it comes to passing off costs of new infrastructure: in 2018, the company’s New Orleans subsidiary was caught paying actors to testify on behalf of a new gas plant. “The fees for the gas plant have all been borne by the people of New Orleans,” Morris said.
In its application to build new gas plants and in public testimony, Entergy says the cost of Meta’s data center to customers will be minimal and has even suggested Meta’s presence will make their bills go down. But Meta’s commitments are temporary, many of Meta’s assurances are not binding, and crucial details about its deal with Entergy are shielded from public view, a structural issue with state energy regulators across the country.
AI data centers are being approved at a breakneck pace across the country, particularly in poorer regions where they are pitched as economic development projects to boost property tax receipts, bring in jobs and where they’re offered sizable tax breaks. Data centers typically don’t hire many people, though, with most jobs in security and janitorial work, along with temporary construction work. And the costs to the utility’s other customers can remain hidden because of a lack of scrutiny and the limited power of state energy regulators. Many data centers—like the one Meta is building in Holly Ridge—are being powered by fossil fuels. This has led to respiratory illness and other health risks and emitting greenhouse gasses that fuel climate change. In Memphis, a massive data center built to launch a chatbot for Elon Musks’ AI company is powered by smog-spewing methane turbines, in a region that leads the state for asthma rates.
“In terms of how big these new loads are, it's pretty astounding and kind of a new ball game,” said Paul Arbaje, an energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, which is opposing Entergy’s proposal to build three new gas-powered plants in Louisiana to power Meta’s data center.
Entergy Louisiana submitted a request to the state’s regulatory body to approve the construction of the new gas-powered plants that would create 2.3 gigawatts of power and cost $3.2 billion in the 1440 acre Franklin Farms megasite in Holly Ridge, an unincorporated community of Richland Parish. It is the first big data center announced since Louisiana passed large tax breaks for data centers last summer.
In its application to the public utility commission for gas plants, Entergy says that Meta has a planned investment of $5 billion in the region to build the gas plants in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where it claims in its application that the data center will employ 300-500 people with an average salary of $82,000 in what it points out is “a region of the state that has long struggled with a lack of economic development and high levels of poverty.” Meta’s official projection is that it will employ more than 500 people once the data center is operational. Entergy plans for the gas plants to be online by December 2028.
In testimony, Entergy officials refused to answer specific questions about job numbers, saying that the numbers are projections based on public statements from Meta.
A spokesperson for Louisiana’s Economic Development told 404 Media in an email that Meta “is contractually obligated to employ at least 500 full-time employees in order to receive incentive benefits.”
When asked about jobs, Meta pointed to a public facing list of its data centers, many of which the company says employ more than 300 people. A spokesperson said that the projections for the Richland Parish site are based on the scale of the 4 million square foot data center. The spokesperson said the jobs will include “engineering and other technical positions to operational roles and our onsite culinary staff.”
When asked if its job commitments are binding, the spokesperson declined to answer, saying, “We worked closely with Richland Parish and Louisiana Economic Development on mutually beneficial agreements that will support long-term growth in the area.”
Others are not as convinced. “Show me a data center that has that level of employment,” says Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy in Louisiana.
Entergy has argued the new power plants are necessary to satiate the energy need from Meta’s massive hyperscale data center, which will be Meta’s largest data center and potentially the largest data center in the United States. It amounts to a 25 percent increase in Entergy Louisiana’s current load, according to the Alliance for Affordable Energy.
Entergy requested an exemption from a state law meant to ensure that it develops energy at the lowest cost by issuing a public request for proposals, claiming in its application and testimony that this would slow them down and cause them to lose their contracts with Meta.
Meta has agreed to subsidize the first 15 years of payments for construction of the gas plants, but the plant’s construction is being financed over 30 years. At the 15 year mark, its contract with Entergy ends. At that point, Meta may decide it doesn’t need three gas plants worth of energy because computing power has become more efficient or because its AI products are not profitable enough. Louisiana residents would be stuck with the remaining bill.
“It's not that they're paying the cost, they're just paying the mortgage for the time that they're under contract,” explained Devi Glick, an electric utility analyst with Synapse Energy.
When asked about the costs for the gas plants, a Meta spokesperson said, “Meta works with our utility partners to ensure we pay for the full costs of the energy service to our data centers.” The spokesperson said that any rate increases will be reviewed by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. These applications, called rate cases, are typically submitted by energy companies based on a broad projection of new infrastructure projects and energy needs.
Meta has technically not finalized its agreement with Entergy but Glick believes the company has already invested enough in the endeavor that it is unlikely to pull out now. Other companies have been reconsidering their gamble on AI data centers: Microsoft reversed course on centers requiring a combined 2 gigawatts of energy in the U.S. and Europe. Meta swept in to take on some of the leases, according to Bloomberg.
And in the short-term, Entergy is asking residential customers to help pay for a new transmission line for the gas plants at a cost of more than $500 million, according to Entergy’s application to Louisiana’s public utility board. In its application, the energy giant said customers’ bills will only rise by $1.66 a month to offset the costs of the transmission lines. Meta, for its part, said it will pay up to $1 million a year into a fund for low-income customers. When asked about the costs of the new transmission line, a Meta spokesperson said, “Like all other new customers joining the transmission system, one of the required transmission upgrades will provide significant benefits to the broader transmission system. This transmission upgrade is further in distance from the data center, so it was not wholly assigned to Meta.”
When Entergy was questioned in public testimony on whether the new transmission line would need to be built even without Meta’s massive data center, the company declined to answer, saying the question was hypothetical.
Some details of Meta’s contract with Entergy have been made available to groups legally intervening in Entergy’s application, meaning that they can submit testimony or request data from the company. These parties include the Alliance for Affordable Energy, the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
But Meta—which will become Entergy’s largest customer by far and whose presence will impact the entire energy grid—is not required to answer questions or divulge any information to the energy board or any other parties. The Alliance for Affordable Energy and Union of Concerned Scientists attempted to make Meta a party to Entergy’s application—which would have required it to share information and submit to questioning—but a judge denied that motion on April 4.
The public utility commissions that approve energy infrastructure in most states are the main democratic lever to assure that data centers don’t negatively impact consumers. But they have no oversight over the tech companies running the data centers or the private companies that build the centers, leaving residential customers, consumer advocates and environmentalists in the dark. This is because they approve the power plants that fuel the data centers but do not have jurisdiction over the data centers themselves.
“This is kind of a relic of the past where there might be some energy service agreement between some large customer and the utility company, but it wouldn't require a whole new energy facility,” Arbaje said.
A research paper by Ari Peskoe and Eliza Martin published in March looked at 50 regulatory cases involving data centers, and found that tech companies were pushing some of the costs onto utility customers through secret contracts with the utilities. The paper found that utilities were often parroting rhetoric from AI boosting politicians—including President Biden—to suggest that pushing through permitting for AI data center infrastructure is a matter of national importance.
“The implication is that there’s no time to act differently,” the authors wrote.
In written testimony sent to the public service commission, Entergy CEO Phillip May argued that the company had to bypass a legally required request for proposals and requirement to find the cheapest energy sources for the sake of winning over Meta.
“If a prospective customer is choosing between two locations, and if that customer believes that location A can more quickly bring the facility online than location B, that customer is more likely to choose to build at location A,” he wrote.
Entergy also argues that building new gas plants will in fact lower electricity bills because Meta, as the largest customer for the gas plants, will pay a disproportionate share of energy costs. Naturally, some are skeptical that Entergy would overcharge what will be by far their largest customer to subsidize their residential customers. “They haven't shown any numbers to show how that's possible,” Burke says of this claim. Meta didn’t have a response to this specific claim when asked by 404 Media.
Some details, like how much energy Meta will really need, the details of its hiring in the area and its commitment to renewables are still cloaked in mystery.
“We can't ask discovery. We can't depose. There's no way for us to understand the agreement between them without [Meta] being at the table,” Burke said.
It’s not just Entergy. Big energy companies in other states are also pushing out costly fossil fuel infrastructure to court data centers and pushing costs onto captive residents. In Kentucky, the energy company that serves the Louisville area is proposing 2 new gas plants for hypothetical data centers that have yet to be contracted by any tech company. The company, PPL Electric Utilities, is also planning to offload the cost of new energy supply onto its residential customers just to become more competitive for data centers.
“It's one thing if rates go up so that customers can get increased reliability or better service, but customers shouldn't be on the hook to pay for new power plants to power data centers,” Cara Cooper, a coordinator with Kentuckians for Energy Democracy, which has intervened on an application for new gas plants there.
These rate increases don’t take into account the downstream effects on energy; as the supply of materials and fuel are inevitably usurped by large data center load, the cost of energy goes up to compensate, with everyday customers footing the bill, according to Glick with Synapse.
Glick says Entergy’s gas plants may not even be enough to satisfy the energy needs of Meta’s massive data center. In written testimony, Glick said that Entergy will have to either contract with a third party for more energy or build even more plants down the line to fuel Meta’s massive data center.
To fill the gap, Entergy has not ruled out lengthening the life of some of its coal plants, which it had planned to close in the next few years. The company already pushed back the deactivation date of one of its coal plants from 2028 to 2030.
The increased demand for gas power for data centers has already created a widely-reported bottleneck for gas turbines, the majority of which are built by 3 companies. One of those companies, Siemens Energy, told Politico that turbines are “selling faster than they can increase manufacturing capacity,” which the company attributed to data centers.
Most of the organizations concerned about the situation in Louisiana view Meta’s massive data center as inevitable and are trying to soften its impact by getting Entergy to utilize more renewables and make more concrete economic development promises.
Andreanecia Morris, with Housing Louisiana, believes the lack of transparency from public utility commissions is a bigger problem than just Meta. “Simply making Meta go away, isn't the point,” Morris says. “The point has to be that the Public Service Commission is held accountable.”
Burke says Entergy owns less than 200 megawatts of renewable energy in Louisiana, a fraction of the fossil fuels it is proposing to fuel Meta’s center. Entergy was approved by Louisiana’s public utility commission to build out three gigawatts of solar energy last year , but has yet to build any of it.
“They're saying one thing, but they're really putting all of their energy into the other,” Burke says.
New gas plants are hugely troubling for the climate. But ironically, advocates for affordable energy are equally concerned that the plants will lie around disused - with Louisiana residents stuck with the financing for their construction and upkeep. Generative AI has yet to prove its profitability and the computing heavy strategy of American tech companies may prove unnecessary given less resource intensive alternatives coming out of China.
“There's such a real threat in such a nascent industry that what is being built is not what is going to be needed in the long run,” said Burke. “The challenge remains that residential rate payers in the long run are being asked to finance the risk, and obviously that benefits the utilities, and it really benefits some of the most wealthy companies in the world, But it sure is risky for the folks who are living right next door.”
The Alliance for Affordable Energy expects the commission to make a decision on the plants this fall.
Want to build a gas plant? Get in line. - E&E News by POLITICO
A program in Texas shows how political enthusiasm can’t escape the limits of the supply chain.Jason Plautz (E&E News by POLITICO)
RDR2 on Fedora 42 stuck in borderless windowed, can’t force fullscreen
cross-posted from: buddyverse.one/post/161844
I’m on Fedora 42, running GNOME 48 (Wayland) with an RTX 4050 GPU. Trying to play Red Dead Redemption 2 via Steam using Proton Hotfix.The game is stuck in borderless windowed mode. I can play just fine.
There’s no tag in the system.xml.
I only changed the framerate in system.xnl to 144, which works.
Tried -fullscreen in Steam launch options — does nothing.
Can’t switch to fullscreen from in-game either, there’s no option.
Not using Gamescope. Didn’t touch anything else. No VSync changes. No other launch flags.
Is there any way to force this game into actual fullscreen under Proton?
like this
Sorella di Perfezione - Giuseppe Iannozzi - LFA Publisher - La poesia che fa emozionare
"Sorella di Perfezione" di Giuseppe Iannozzi è disponibile in tutti gli store online e nelle migliori librerie. La poesia che fa emozionare.
Il nuovissimo booktrailer sul mio canale YouTube:
**youtube.com/shorts/2iVN0u1BeHs…
Ulteriori dettagli sono disponibili sul mio blog:
“Sorella di Perfezione” di Giuseppe Iannozzi – booktrailer – LFA Publisher
Sorella di Perfezione offre al lettore poesie che trattano molteplici temi: amore, amicizia, erotismo, vita, morte, tristezza, solitudine, paranoia, ossessione, spiritualità. L’autore Giuseppe Iann…Iannozzi Giuseppe - scrittore e giornalista
Sorella di Perfezione - Giuseppe Iannozzi - LFA Publisher - La poesia che fa emozionare
"Sorella di Perfezione" di Giuseppe Iannozzi è disponibile in tutti gli store online e nelle migliori librerie. La poesia che fa emozionare.
Il nuovissimo booktrailer sul mio canale YouTube:
youtube.com/shorts/2iVN0u1BeHs
Ulteriori dettagli sono disponibili sul mio blog:
iannozzigiuseppe.wordpress.com…
“Sorella di Perfezione” di Giuseppe Iannozzi – booktrailer – LFA Publisher
Sorella di Perfezione offre al lettore poesie che trattano molteplici temi: amore, amicizia, erotismo, vita, morte, tristezza, solitudine, paranoia, ossessione, spiritualità. L’autore Giuseppe Iann…Iannozzi Giuseppe - scrittore e giornalista
First Tesla Robotaxi Ride
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
I protected them in so many ways, cared for them as if they were my own children. But to this day, is there a single statue of me on Bajor?
Musk, AI and the weaponization of "administrative error"
Musk, AI, and the Weaponization of 'Administrative Error'
The only change from Musk's departure from DOGE may be the degree to which the public pays attention, writes Eryk Salvaggio.Eryk Salvaggio (Tech Policy Press)
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