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taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-12-geochemical-surveys-reveal-ancient-copper.html

upstart writes:Lawmakers stripped language that would keep the Trump administration from wielding unprecedented authority to surveil Americans.:

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AnonTechie writes:

upstart writes:They may one day deliver drugs within the human body:

owl writes:http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/12/storm-cloud-approaching-rapidl.html

upstart writes:Sega considering Netflix-like game subscription service:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

upstart writes:The Oropouche virus is spreading to new places:

upstart writes:Google suggests fixes to its search monopoly:

upstart writes:Ireland wanted to build data centres for the AI boom. Now they fear blackouts:

upstart writes:Ultra-thin diamond wafers for electronics made using sticky tape:

upstart writes:Why childhood vaccines are a public health success story:

owl writes:https://crookedtimber.org/2024/11/11/occasional-paper-four-hidden-species-of-portuguese-man-o-war/

AnonTechie writes:

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/12/watch-carnivorous-squirrels-chow-down-on-tasty-voles/

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-12-purple-diamond-maser-day-amplify.html

taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-12-south-florida-beachfront-faster.html

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/12/buying-a-tv-in-2025-expect-lower-prices-more-ads-and-an-os-war/

owl writes:https://hackaday.com/2024/12/18/why-did-early-cd-rom-drives-rely-on-awkward-plastic-caddies/

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

fliptop writes:Just two decades ago, China had little capacity to make cars, and owning one was considered novel. Today, China produces and exports more cars than any other country in the world:

An Anonymous Coward writes:Years ago, a lady in New York randomly received the automobile license plate number NCC-1701, an identifier well known to Star Trek fans.Around 2020, she began losing eyesight, stopped driving, sold her car and surrendered her license plates.Later people began buying novelty license plates with this ID, placing them on their cars, and, when these people got OCR issued tickets for traffic violations, the bills got sent to this poor woman. Hundreds of them.The issue seems to have been resolved, but it does raise the question of how much trust we can put in automated identification systems and automated traffic fines.The YAHOO story about this can be found here.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.

fliptop writes:An Idaho mine will be the only US source of the key mineral antimony after 18 years of permitting:

JoeMerchant writes:https://defence-blog.com/russia-follows-ukraine-in-creating-drone-forces/Russia plans to create a new branch of its military dedicated to unmanned systems, the "Unmanned Systems Forces," by the third quarter of 2025.The announcement was made by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, signaling an intensified focus on drone warfare amid rapidly evolving military technologies."In accordance with the directive of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, it is proposed to form a new branch of the military-the Unmanned Systems Forces. With your approval, we will complete its establishment by the third quarter of next year," Belousov said during a defense briefing.-------Meanwhile: https://breakingdefense.com/2024/09/russia-should-know-better-than-to-put-an-anti-satellite-nuke-in-space-norad-chief-says/Belousov highlighted the extensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by Russian forces, stating that over 3,500 drones are deployed daily and that this number "continues to grow." According to the Russian Defense Ministry, their air defense systems have intercepted more than 27,000 drones in 2024 alone, underscoring the growing role of UAVs in modern conflict.Russia's move to formalize its drone operations into a separate branch comes in the wake of Ukraine's pioneering efforts in this domain. In the summer of 2023, Ukraine became the first country to establish an independent military branch dedicated to drone systems, the Unmanned Systems Forces. This initiative has been pivotal in Ukraine's defense strategy, reflecting the technological advancements and challenges posed by its ongoing war with Russian forces.Ukraine's early adoption of an unmanned systems branch demonstrated the strategic advantages of a specialized force, particularly in countering traditional military tactics and enhancing reconnaissance, targeting, and precision strikes. The effectiveness of such forces has likely influenced Russia's decision to create its own equivalent.For Russia, this move not only reflects its acknowledgment of the success of unmanned systems in Ukraine but also its aim to maintain technological parity in an increasingly competitive field.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.

taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-12-gravitational-memory-effect-core-collapse.html

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

taylorvich writes:https://gizmodo.com/the-famous-bering-land-bridge-was-more-like-a-swamp-geologists-say-2000539043

upstart writes:Engineering the Impossible: Scientists Solve 200-Year-Old Polymer Puzzle:

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upstart writes:Airborne observations identify major source of US landfill methane emissions:

Frosty Piss writes:https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd605e48q1vo

upstart writes:Worthy of a Science Fiction Movie: NASA's Juno Probe Captures an Image of a Dolphin on Jupiter's Surface:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

fliptop writes:Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAi employee, helped gather and organize the enormous amounts of internet data used to train the startup's ChatGPT chatbot:

owl writes:https://embeddedartistry.com/blog/2024/11/04/reclaim-your-data-freeing-a-wi-fi-sensor-from-the-cloud/

As you will all be aware there has been much happening behind the scenes at SoylentNews. This is an update on activities which you possibly haven't noticed.Administrative DocumentsIt has been necessary to redraft many of the documents for the original site which no longer refer to the correct business entity behind the new site. In most cases they are merely reprints of the original documents with typographical and grammatical corrections along with minor changes to reflect the company name. However, some are new documents (e.g. the new Bylaws, and how to successfully complete a bank transfer to our account if you wish to do so in preference to using either Stripe or Paypal etc). I would welcome any necessary corrections that you identify in them.BylawsThe Bylaws were written over many months with community contributions throughout. They affect how the business is managed from a legal aspect but not how the day-to-day activity is controlled. They were adopted by the Board and they were submitted to the relevant Federal and State organisations that control the creation and operation of such things when Soylent Phoenix was created. The Bylaws are significant to you in a couple of ways. Firstly, there are no shareholders/stakeholders on the Board - you own this site. Secondly, in the future any major changes to the operation of this site will require at a minimum a consultation with the community and possibly a formal vote to authorise the adoption of the proposed change. You now have a much louder voice in how this site will be run. Nevertheless, that does not mean that every minor change requires full community approval; the decision will ultimately rest with the Board.If you wish to read the Bylaws they can be found at Soylent Phoenix - Bylaws (as submitted for Company Registration). Details of the current voluntary Board members can also be found there. The Board will require a confirmatory election by the community where other community members will also have an opportunity to be elected rather than the existing Board members. However, the voting software that was to be used to manage the vote became unavailable when audioguy left the site. I am still looking for replacement software that is reliable enough to ensure a free and fair vote. I would welcome any suggestions that you may have.Tax StatusFor those US members of our community who can benefit from it we are registered as an IRC Section 501(c)(3) company which means that subscriptions and donations are tax deductible for those lucky people. Subscriptions and donations can be made by Stripe or Paypal, but additionally now also by direct bank transfer either inside the USA or internationally.Soylent Phoenix PolicyThe Policy statement is for the most part a copy of the original statement but there are some differences. One is the inclusion of a policy statement regarding doxxing which I hope is self-explanatory. The second relates to the removal from view of persistent spamming. Removal of spam content has always been part of the site policy since its inception but it is both reaffirmed and clarified by the latest statement. Software is under development to assist with this function which will also give the community increased oversight of how such things are managed.Definitions and Common TermsTo support the Soylent Phoenix Policy statement there is also a new document called Definitions and Common Terms. This is necessary because some community members seem to be confused over certain definitions as they apply to this (and the previous) site. I have searched through numerous Metas issued over the last decade and extracted the approved essential elements so that they can be viewed in one place. I will continue to update this document as needs dictate.Transfer of AssetsIn May of this year NCommander announced that the funds had run dry and he asked for community support while the change between companies was taking place. The community responded brilliantly and you donated enough to keep the site operational for around another 6 months. Those of you with a sharp brain will realise that the pot was empty again in late Oct . The 2 treasurers acting on behalf of their respective Boards ensured that money from the new company was used to pay the final bills as they came in. I am grateful to both of them for their work in doing this and to both Boards for working cooperatively. It was also to our benefit. NCommander agreed to gift all the assets from SoylentNews PBC to Soylent Phoenix in their totality. It was a generous gesture and much appreciated. The terms of this agreement are available for your perusal at the Transfer of Assets Agreement.DRAFT - Discussion PolicyThere is one document that is presented in Draft format and I would welcome your comments. Again it results from apparent 'confusion' over what is permitted in a journal and what is not. Essentially, journals have little to no staff control. They belong to the person who creates the journal. The Discussion Policy is an attempt to state the purpose and function of all discussions on this site as clearly as is possible. It is important to realise that this is a statement of what is already agreed and has been the policy since 2014. I would like your comments regarding its clarity and not whether you agree with what some people write in their journals. The latter would need a change of policy and would have to be addressed ultimately by the Board and the community.HardwareThe move of all data from Akamai/Linode servers was completed several weeks ago. It was carried out in stages and Linode staff were very helpful. The account was closed when the work was finished. It removes a significant expenditure from our running costs.SoftwareThe site is now functional but if you experience anything unusual or unexpected please let us know so that it can be investigated to ensure it is nothing amiss in the software that we are using.There is still software being developed by kolie, (with occasional help from NCommander), and a new member of the Dev/Sysadmin Team - that is Robc (Robc207 - 3408). Welcome!Some of the software under development, in addition to the spam management software that I have already mentioned, includes improved security hardening of the site and additional administrative tools. You should remember that although quite a bit of work has been carried out on the community's UI, there has been very little work on the administrative software - which still looks and behaves as it did when it was first written almost 30 years ago.We are also actively seeking a secure way to enable ACs to rejoin the community in main page discussions. This is a significant problem but there are several ideas that are being developed and tested to see if it is a practical proposition.Joining a TeamIf anyone wishes to assist in the running of this site then please do not hesitate to contact any of the staff. In particular, we are currently looking for someone (1 or 2 people) to manage the mediawiki. This is a very light task (a couple of hours per month at most) but at the moment almost every task is being shared among a very small group of people. Having someone to take responsibility for the mediawiki would free others up to enable them to do more of their primary role. I am not asking for someone to write the wiki contents (although if that is a job that you fancy then please step forward) but someone to control wiki access and do a little bit of wiki housekeeping.Anonymous Coward Contributions to this DiscussionIt is a fact that if this discussion were to be open to ACs on the front pages it would quickly become a focus for Spam from a very small group of people. Therefore, the contents of this Meta will be reproduced as a journal belonging to "AC Friendly" [https://soylentnews.org/~AC+Friendly/journal/] and ACs will be welcome to comment there. Valid points of discussion will be copied across to the front page story under the username of "AC Friendly". If an AC wishes to respond to a specific comment then please link to that comment in the first line of your own comment. Spam in that journal will be treated appropriately.Finally...It doesn't matter what religion you follow or what your beliefs are, the time is approaching when many people celebrate a notable festival of some kind and the end of the current year. The team at SoylentNews send their very best wishes to the community and to those close to them over the holiday period.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.

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taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-12-neanderthal-human-interbreeding-years-reveals.html

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

owl writes:https://kevinboone.me/dx7.html