Two months before Zeran's suit, Congress had enacted the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a mostly anti-porn law that the Supreme Court would later strike down on First Amendment grounds. The law contained something else, though: a provision now best known as Section 230. //
But just how sweeping was this law?
Before Zeran, it was hard to say. The 26 words of Section 230 that give "interactive computer services" immunity were inscrutable. Debate raged about how broad or narrow the words should be seen.
But when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit issued its opinion in Zeran's case, it strongly favored AOL, expanding and strengthening the law and leaving little doubt about just how powerful this legal shield is.
"Congress recognized the threat that tort-based lawsuits pose to freedom of speech in the new and burgeoning Internet medium," the court wrote. "The imposition of tort liability on service providers for the communications of others represented, [is] for Congress, simply another form of intrusive government regulation of speech."
With that ruling, tech companies no longer had to fear getting sued for something users posted, even if the online service was put on notice about defamatory content. It helped propel tech startups into multi-trillion-dollar global behemoths. Scholars call the Zeran decision "the most important Internet law ruling ever."
Summary
I’m not sure we learned anything new from this speech. The big news, as far as I’m concerned, is the hyping of the speech as “historic” and the disappointed reaction of the pro-Russian vatniks on social media, particularly on the pro-war Russian Telegram channels. The suspension of participation in the New START Treaty isn’t particularly significant beyond the symbolism. As far as I’m concerned, the more arms control treaties ****canned, the safe we are. His critique of contemporary Western culture may be correct, but that is no reason to sympathize with him or his actions.
On the anniversary of a brutal and unprovoked invasion of a non-threatening neighbor, we deserved better.
In the past year, we’ve been treated to many speeches by Putin concerning the Ukraine war.
...
They started out bellicose and warning about the use of nuclear weapons. Over time, they’ve become more whiny and pleading. Instead of being Master of the Universe, we now have Holy Russia beset by the overwhelming forces of the West.
This change in tone and the fact that Putin is obviously afraid to attack NATO supply depots in Poland or the main rail lines moving military supplies from Poland into Ukraine leads me to believe that Putin knows something that his fan club on Twitter and Facebook don’t. That is, he is much more worried about tripping “red lines” with NATO than NATO is with him.
Financial Times @FinancialTimes
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Vladimir Putin and Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, vowed to ‘strengthen’ ties between Moscow and Beijing at a meeting in the Kremlin ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine https://on.ft.com/3YRShq3
8:30 AM · Feb 22, 2023 //
As we reported, Russia also announced they were pulling out of START.
As my colleague Streiff observed,
The biggest solid news item was Putin’s announcement that Russia would suspend its participation in the “New START” treaty signed in Prague in 2010. That treaty places a cap on the number of nuclear warheads held by the US and Russia and the delivery systems for those warheads.
I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.
Putin’s decision to “suspend” the treaty means he gets to keep the treaty in force but deny the US the ability under that treaty to carry out inspections. It’s good work if you can get it and something he would never have tried to pull on President Trump. I’m sure Biden and Blinken will go along with this bullsh**. //
Mr. President, any reaction to Putin pulling out of New START [nuclear treaty]?"
BIDEN: "I don't have time" pic.twitter.com/um4YEE3zsd
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 22, 2023
This would be the point where you’re supposed to make a statement criticizing Russia, Joe. You shouldn’t have to be told that. But he’s having to work too hard just figuring out where to stand.
That’s part of the problem — he never has time — or the ability or inclination to respond appropriately — to balloons, to Afghanistan, to the border, to much of anything that is in the best interests of the United States. Our antagonists look at who we have in “charge” and it has emboldened them all.
She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Even after NASA began using electronic computers, John Glenn requested that she personally recheck the calculations made by the new electronic computers before his flight aboard Friendship 7 – the mission on which he became the first American to orbit the Earth. She continued to work at NASA until 1986, combining her math talent with electronic computer skills. Her calculations proved critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program. //
https://youtu.be/E4j_LpKzcZQ //
A wonderful interview with Johnson where she gets to tell you her story. The interview is 22 minutes and well worth the time.
When Sheriff’s deputies in San Joaquin County, CA began investigating Samir Khan regarding an illegal internet gambling operation, they had no idea that they’d ultimately stumble into an election fraud scheme with major implications throughout California and possibly nationwide. A search warrant executed at Khan’s home in the fall of 2020 revealed a stash of 41 completed mail ballots that were not Khan’s, and over the next two years Khan registered approximately 70 people to vote at his address, with his contact information, some of whom are not US citizens and do not live in the US, and cast ballots for them.
In addition, Khan re-registered California voters through the state’s online voter registration process who did not live in his district to his address (so they could vote for him), and listed his own phone number, and email address as the contact. That way any verification emails or calls would come to him. Through loopholes in the system, those registrations were validated and those ballots were mailed to Khan’s home and either he filled them out and returned them, or pressured the voters he’d re-registered to fill it out as he instructed them to, “one for me and one for Biden.” Khan also allegedly forged signatures on his candidate nomination papers to even get on the ballot. //
Some of the anomalies the concerned citizen pointed out to the Sheriff’s Department were shared at the press conference, and they are extremely concerning. This is just one county in California, and we know that there are other countries that are probably in much worse shape. And, how many other states have similar flaws in their voter registration system?
They noticed that there were about 93 people that were registered to vote…with a birth date of 1850. There were 232 people registered to vote with the address to our local prisons. There were 4,144 people that were 90 years old and older. There were 125 people on the voter rolls that were registered to – their address comes back to nonprofit NGO’s and different businesses.
There were approximately 300 people with no first name, just a last name….
There were 110 people that were possible double voters, basically the same name, date of birth, and address, but different voter ID numbers. //
Wabash08
8 minutes ago
Investigators provide a succinct summation of the fundamental problem with 2020 election “reforms”: Voter registration is an “honor system” and “once you’re on the voter rolls, anytime an election comes around, guess what? You get mailed a ballot…”
This is true of any state dumb enough to send automatic mail in ballots to all registered voters and can easily decide presidential, statewide, congressional, state assembly, and local elections.
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Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the sculpture of Moses, has captured the attention and admiration of art lovers for centuries. But did you know that it’s all in the finger? The little finger of the statue is bent, giving the impression of tension and strength. This incredible detail is a testament to Michelangelo’s unparalleled skill as a sculptor.
In Brentwood, Tennessee, Mike Glenn, senior pastor for 32 years at Brentwood Baptist Church, wrote a blog post in January after a computer-savvy assistant joked that Glenn could be replaced by an AI machine.
“I’m not buying it,” Glenn wrote. “AI will never be able to preach a decent sermon. Why? Because the gospel is more than words. It’s the evidence of a changed life.”
Also weighing in with an online essay was the Rev. Russell Moore, formerly head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy division and now editor-in-chief of the evangelical magazine Christianity Today. He confided to his readers that his first sermon, delivered at age 12, was a well-intentioned mess.
“When listening to a sermon, what a congregation is looking for is evidence that the pastor has been with Jesus,” Glenn added. “AI will always have to – literally – take someone else’s words for it… it won’t ever be a sermon that will convince anyone to come and follow Jesus.”
“Preaching needs someone who knows the text and can convey that to the people — but it’s not just about transmitting information,” Moore wrote. “When we listen to the Word preached, we are hearing not just a word about God but a word from God.”
“Such life-altering news needs to be delivered by a human, in person,” he added. “A chatbot can research. A chatbot can write. Perhaps a chatbot can even orate. But a chatbot can’t preach.”
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Diagnostic criteria for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
All of the following criteria must be met: -
Sustained heart rate increase of ≥ 30 beats/min (or ≥ 40 beats/min if patient is aged 12–19 yr) within 10 minutes of upright posture.
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Absence of significant orthostatic hypotension (magnitude of blood pressure drop ≥ 20/10 mm Hg).
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Very frequent symptoms of orthostatic intolerance that are worse while upright, with rapid improvement upon return to a supine position. Symptoms vary between individuals, but often include lightheadedness, palpitations, tremulousness, generalized weakness, blurred vision and fatigue.
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Symptom duration ≥ 3 months.
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Absence of other conditions that could explain sinus tachycardia (Box 3).
The orthostatic tachycardia must occur in the absence of classical orthostatic hypotension, but transient initial orthostatic hypotension10 does not preclude a diagnosis of POTS.5 The patient’s heart rate should rise by at least 30 beats/min (or ≥ 40 beats/min if patient is aged 12–19 yr) in at least 2 measurements taken at least 1 minute apart (Box 2). The Canadian Cardiovascular Society statement5 set a minimum supine heart rate of 60 beats/min to prevent the diagnosis of POTS being made in a patient with a low resting heart rate that increases to a normal level on standing.
It is physiologically normal for orthostatic tachycardia to vary slightly from day to day and for diurnal variability to exist such that greater orthostatic tachycardia occurs in the morning than later in the day.11 If a clinician has a high suspicion of POTS, but a patient does not meet the criterion for orthostatic tachycardia at their initial evaluation, reassessment at a later date is prudent, preferably in the morning.
Kelly Johnson was at his office and got a call from the CIA. He was told to meet a man at a certain restaurant in downtown Georgetown. They said he would be in the back and he would have a pink carnation one his lapel. They gave him a date and time. So, Johnson showed up and sure enough there is a shady looking character sitting in booth in the back.
The guy has on a fedora and a trench coat with a pink carnation in the lapel.
So, Johnson says he goes over and sits down and the guy just stares at him for about a minute. Then he says “we will take six for 30 million.” They just stare at each other then Johnson feels something against his leg and looks down. There is a large brown paper bag under the table and when he looks up the guy is gone. So, he looks in the bag and is bundles of 100,000 dollar bills. Johnson said his first thought was “Kelly you’re a*s is dead.” Downtown Georgetown (Washington DC) brown bag with 30 million in cash.
The CIA Director was the only federal government employee who can spend unvouchered Government money.
Peters recalls; ‘I obviously can’t prove the story but Kelly told it to me when I was just starting the program. He and Bill Parks were there for a ceremony dedicating Kelly Johnson Street at Beale. My backseater Ed Bethart and I were assigned to escort them. The only time he was under control was the actual ceremony. So, Ed and I had the unbelievable pleasure of escorting them anywhere Kelly wanted to go for about nine hours. The majority of that time the four of us alone.’
Unveiled in 1956, the B-58 Hustler was in service for the U.S. Air Force between 1960 and 1970. Convair built 116 jets in total, with 86 going into operation, and 30 built as pre-production and test aircraft. The Hustler was capable of reaching speeds of 1,325 miles per hour, and could achieve a total range of 4,400 miles without refueling. Hustlers could also achieve an altitude ceiling of just under 65,000 feet. While it's possible for commercial jets to reach great heights, the majority of travel that ticketholders cruise along for is done at an altitude of roughly half this feat (35,000 feet, typically).
We identified a total of 65 studies from 19 different countries. Our meta-analyses showed that protection from past infection and any symptomatic disease was high for ancestral, alpha, beta, and delta variants, but was substantially lower for the omicron BA.1 variant. Pooled effectiveness against re-infection by the omicron BA.1 variant was 45·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 17·3–76·1) and 44·0% (26·5–65·0) against omicron BA.1 symptomatic disease. Mean pooled effectiveness was greater than 78% against severe disease (hospitalisation and death) for all variants, including omicron BA.1. Protection from re-infection from ancestral, alpha, and delta variants declined over time but remained at 78·6% (49·8–93·6) at 40 weeks. Protection against re-infection by the omicron BA.1 variant declined more rapidly and was estimated at 36·1% (24·4–51·3) at 40 weeks. On the other hand, protection against severe disease remained high for all variants, with 90·2% (69·7–97·5) for ancestral, alpha, and delta variants, and 88·9% (84·7–90·9) for omicron BA.1 at 40 weeks.
Interpretation
Protection from past infection against re-infection from pre-omicron variants was very high and remained high even after 40 weeks. Protection was substantially lower for the omicron BA.1 variant and declined more rapidly over time than protection against previous variants. Protection from severe disease was high for all variants. The immunity conferred by past infection should be weighed alongside protection from vaccination when assessing future disease burden from COVID-19, providing guidance on when individuals should be vaccinated, and designing policies that mandate vaccination for workers or restrict access, on the basis of immune status, to settings where the risk of transmission is high, such as travel and high-occupancy indoor settings.
Natural immunity acquired from a Covid infection may protect as well against severe illness as vaccines, according to science.
Immunity acquired from a Covid infection is as protective as vaccination against severe illness and death, study finds
The immunity generated from an infection was found to be “at least as high, if not higher” than that provided by two doses of an mRNA vaccine. //
Immunity acquired from a Covid infection is as protective as vaccination against severe illness and death, study finds
The immunity generated from an infection was found to be “at least as high, if not higher” than that provided by two doses of an mRNA vaccine.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02465-5/fulltext
There are so many great call signs, the top 10 list just wasn’t enough! Here are 15 more of the coolest call signs that can be heard on the aviation airwaves. ///
Atlas Air = Giant
TNT (cargo) = Nitro
Question 1: “Has anyone tried flying from Aisa to the U.S. on a straight line path?”
YES! Every day. Remember that a great circle path is the ONLY straight line between two points on the planet.
Forget about paper maps. There are several different types (projections) and they all provide a distorted view of the earth. Take a look at the globe illustrations above. The “curved” line only looks curved when you looking at it from an angle. When you look at the route from directly above, the line is straight. When flying this line in an aircraft, the nose of the jet (assuming no wind) points straight down the line, pointing at the destination. The aircraft never turns. As you pointed out, the compass and our heading move significantly as we scoot across the globe, but the aircraft remains flying the straight line. The reason for heading changes is that we are using magnetic or true north as our heading reference point. If it were possible to move magnetic north to Hong Kong and use Hong Kong as our “North” reference, we would maintain the same heading all the way Hong Kong.
You can prove this for yourself using a globe and a piece of string as I did in the article. Play with it a bit. Stretch the string in a straight line between New York and Hong Kong (or anywhere else). Looking directly above it, it should appear straight. //
Stephen Kosciesza says:
FEBRUARY 3, 2017 AT 9:54 AM
A comment, if I may, rather than a question. It’s sort of a corollary to all that you’ve said, and it looks at the picture sort of the other way round. I’ve looked at some of the questions asked; I’m not sure if this will confuse or clarify.
If you start flying exactly north or south anywhere in the world, and you keep flying straight, you’ll continue to fly north or south (at least until you get to the North or South Pole).
If you start ON THE EQUATOR, and fly exactly east or west, and you keep flying straight, you’ll continue to fly east or west.
Begin flying in any other direction–or begin flying east or west, somewhere away from the Equator–and you will have to turn gradually if you want to keep the same geographical heading (I deliberately avoid calling it the same “direction”).
So as a broad example, if you’re in the northern hemisphere and you set out flying east (or, for that matter, northeast or southeast), you have to keep bearing left in order to maintain east (or northeast or southeast).
I think a good way to picture this, in your mind or on a globe (NOT a paper map!) is to consider a trip going always east at a high latitude–i.e., one of the circles very near the North Pole. It’s easy, then, to see that from the plane’s point of view, it’s flying in a circle going left.
As another exercise, imagine that you are 50 feet from the North Pole. You face east, and start walking–always east. You’ll have to walk in a circle roughly 300 feet (more exactly, 314.15926… feet) around, constantly turning left. If you do not, you will walk east for ONE INSTANT, and then you’ll be going more and more south of east. Walk/swim the same way for long enough, and you will pass a point 50 feet from the South Pole–walking east for one instant before heading more more north.
Great Circle Map displays the shortest route between airports and calculates the distance. It draws geodesic flight paths on top of Google maps, so you can create your own route map.
Enter two or more airports to draw a route between them on the map and calculate the distance.
Enter two or more airports to draw a route between them on the map and calculate the distance.
CAPTION:
The shortest distance between two points on a globe is not always a straight line—it’s an arc called a great circle.
TYPE: Illustration
The shortest distance between two points on a globe is not always a straight line—it’s an arc called a great circle. This complicates long-distance navigation. Rather than stay on a constant heading, pilots must regularly adjust their course to stay on the arc. The great circle effect is most dramatic near the Poles.
Search for Harmonized Tariff Codes (HS Codes) for customs and duty classification of shipments
December 4, 2021
IT WAS thirty years ago, on December 4th, 1991, that Pan American World Airways ceased operations.
This is possibly, maybe, the most significant (and unfortunate) anniversary in airline history, marking the death of history’s most significant airline.
Pan Am’s firsts, bests, longests, mosts, and whatever other superlatives you might come up with, are untouched, and untouchable. Its achievements include conquest of the Pacific Ocean and launch of both the 707 and 747, the two most influential jetliners of all time. Founded and led by a visionary entrepreneur from New Jersey named Juan Trippe, the airline’s network would reach into every nook and corner of the planet, its blue globe logo among the world’s most widely recognized trademarks. It was the only airline to have its own Manhattan skyscraper — the Walter Gropius-designed Pan Am Building, soaring over Grand Central Terminal.
The carrier’s slow and ignominious decline, punctuated by the sales of its most valuable assets and — for a final coffin nail, the Lockerbie bombing — is a tale of hubris, poor management, the volatility of a deregulated airline industry, and plain old bad luck. Most agree that the final chapter began around the time of the disastrous merger with National Airlines in 1980.