From the California Digital Newspaper Collection: Sacramento Daily Union 25 January 1861 https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ Pressed into the Slave Trade.— New York, December 30.—By the arrival of the steamer Canark, from Nassau, N. P., on the 24th, we have accounts of the wreck of the American ship America, on Cape Lobos, with 500 Africans on board, destined … [Read more…]
In the November 2019 Smithsonian Magazine is a fine essay The Untold Story of the Secret Mission to Seize Nazi Map Data, about HOUGHTEAM headed by U.S. Army Maj. Floyd W. Hough. It explores the exploits of Major Hough and his team and I immediately thought of the parallels between him, Maj. Duane Marvey and … [Read more…]
The Observer: Climate change deniers’ new battle front attacked Robin McKie Science editor Sat 9 Nov 2019 ‘Pernicious’ campaign is unfair on well-meaning people who want to help – expert: The battle between climate change deniers and the environment movement has entered a new, pernicious phase. That is the stark warning of one of the … [Read more…]
Few thought it would arrive so quickly. Now we’re facing consequences once viewed as fringe scenarios. New York Times By Eugene Linden Nov. 8, 2019 So far, the costs of underestimation have been enormous. New York City’s subway system did not flood in its first 108 years, but Hurricane Sandy’s 2012 storm surge caused nearly … [Read more…]
In a series of articles found on the California Digital Newspaper Archive from U.C. Riverside, here is some of the story of the capture of the American Slaver Wildfire as reported in May, 1860, well before the Civil War. Sacramento Daily Union – 19 June 1860 Capture of a Slaver off the Coast of Africa.— … [Read more…]
October 9. 2019 Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers by Matthew Taylor and Jonathan Watts “The great tragedy of the climate crisis is that seven and a half billion people must pay the price – … [Read more…]
An in-depth article in the Oct 22, 2019 Politico magazine on the emerging science of attribution: The new science fossil fuel companies fear – Researchers can now link weather events to emissions – and to the companies responsible. A string of lawsuits is about to give “attribution science” a real-life test – by ZACK COLMAN … [Read more…]
By Andrew Crane-Droesch – Washington Post – 10/21/19 … Out of the blue, in August 2018, agriculture secretary George “Sonny” Perdue announced that my agency and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture would relocate from Washington, D.C., to some yet-to-be-determined location. He claimed that this would lower costs and bring us closer to “stakeholders.” … [Read more…]
Cultural Comment by Lizzie Widdicombe, New Yorker 10/21/19 For argument’s sake, let’s imagine that Trump’s tweet was wrong, and the “Civil War like fracture in this Nation” doesn’t come to pass. Instead, he and his allies lose the 2020 election. A new Administration comes in, dedicated to helping the nation “work off” its historical crimes, … [Read more…]
From IEEE Spectrum: New Alternative to Bitcoin Uses Negligible Energy 15 Oct 2019 | 15:00 GMT New Alternative to Bitcoin Uses Negligible Energy Novel algorithms are secure like blockchains, but simpler, faster, and more energy-efficient By Charles Q. Choi A nearly zero-energy alternative to Bitcoin and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies that promises as much security but … [Read more…]