Trump vows to ‘stop transgender lunacy’ as a top priority

THE ONLY LUNACY IS THOSE WHO HAVE FREAKED ABOUT THE TRANS MINORITY

By AFP
December 22, 2024

DID THEY DELIBERATELY MAKE HIS BACKGROUND 

TRANS FUSCIA 

US President-elect Donald Trump's speech at Turning Point USA's annual AmericaFest convention amounted to something of a victory lap - Copyright AFP

 Andrej ISAKOVIC,
Josh EDELSON,

 with Brian KNOWLTON in Washington

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to “stop the transgender lunacy” on day one of his presidency, as Republicans — set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House — continue their push against LGBTQ rights.

“I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools,” the president-elect said at an event for young conservatives in Phoenix, Arizona.

He also vowed to “keep men out of women’s sports,” adding that “it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

Speaking to the AmericaFest conference in a border state he easily carried in the November election, Trump further promised immediate measures against “migrant crime,” vowed to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and doubled down on his talk of restoring US control of the Panama Canal.

Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as Democratic- and Republican-controlled states have moved in opposite directions on policy such as medical treatment and what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.

Last week, when the US Congress approved its annual defense budget, it included a provision to block funding of some gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members.

In his speech Sunday, which amounted to something of a victory lap, Trump made expansive promises for his second term — and drew a dark picture of the four years preceding it, under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the latter of whom he defeated in the 2024 election.

“On January 20, the United States will turn the page forever on four long, horrible years of failure, incompetence, national decline, and we will inaugurate a new era of peace, prosperity and national greatness,” Trump said, referring to his swearing-in.

– ‘Golden age’ –

“I will end the war in Ukraine. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East, and I will prevent, I promise, World War III.”

He added: “The golden age of America is upon us.”

The president-elect has yet to explain publicly how he plans to bring a quick end to the war in Ukraine, or to bring peace to the Middle East.

But in the sort of bellicose language he sometimes used even against US allies in the past, Trump said Sunday that Panamanian authorities “haven’t treated us fairly” in their operation of the Panama Canal.

He had said earlier that fees for use of the canal — construction of which was begun by France and completed by the United States — are “ridiculous.”

And he added Sunday that if the principles behind the 1970s treaty that gave Panama full control of the canal are not followed, “then we will demand” that it be returned to the United States “in full, quickly and without question.”

Thousands of ships transit the key Central American waterway every year, making it critical to US and international commerce.

The president-elect, who regularly blames migrants from Latin America for America’s drug problems, renewed his vow to immediately begin “the largest deportation operation in American history” upon taking office, and later went further, saying he would “immediately designate the (drug) cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.”

“This criminal network operating on American soil will be dismantled, deported and destroyed,” Trump said.

During his first term in 2019, after the killing in Mexico of nine American citizens from a Mormon community, Trump vowed to apply the terrorist designation to Mexican cartels.

But he relented following a plea from then-Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports

WHAT ABOUT TRANS IN MENS SPORTS?!

Berenice Garcia, Texas Tribune
December 23, 2024

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

"Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Sunday he sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association, accusing the organization of misleading college sports fans by allowing transgender women to participate in events marketed as women's competitions.


Paxton said the NCAA violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by deceiving fans who want to support sporting events that only include athletes whose female sex was assigned at birth.

Paxton also accused the NCAA of misleading consumers by not identifying which athletes are transgender, and of “jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women” by allowing transgender athletes to participate in its sporting events.

“Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports,” Paxton said in a news release Sunday.


Paxton wants the court to limit the participation of trans athletes in NCAA competitions taking place in Texas or involving Texas teams, or to stop the organization from labeling events as women's sports if they include transgender women.

In a statement, the NCAA did not address the lawsuit’s allegations but said they would continue to support women's sports.

"The Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships," said NCAA communications director Michelle Brutlag Hosick in a statement.


Paxton’s lawsuit comes just after NCAA President Charlie Baker was grilled by lawmakers during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. Baker later said he is only aware of “less than 10” transgender athletes among the more than 500,000 athletes in NCAA schools.

Many Republicans have eagerly taken up the fight against transgender women’s participation in sports as one of their top priorities in recent years, with many candidates highlighting their opposition in political ads that aired in the leadup to the November elections.

The attention on the issue prompted some Democratic candidates to declare they did not support trans athletes in women's sports. Following President-elect Donald Trump's victory, calls for the Democratic Party to distance itself from socially progressive issues like transgender rights has grown stronger.


As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, his administration withdrew a proposed rule that would have prevented schools from outright banning transgender athletes under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, though it would have allowed for some limits. U.S. Department of Education officials said the decision came after receiving tens of thousands of comments “with a broad spectrum of opinions” about the proposed policy change and amid several legal challenges.

Last year, Texas approved a law that bars transgender athletes from participating on college teams that match their gender identity.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.


This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/22/texas-ken-paxton-ncaa-transgender-college-athletes-women-sports/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org

Wsuathletics.comwsuathletics.com/news/2023/3/28/trans-male-fencer-bobbie-hirsch-is-making-history-at-wayne-state-university.aspx

Trans male fencer Bobbie Hirsch is 'making history' at Wayne State ...

Mar 28, 2023 ... Nineteen states have laws banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the ...

Aclu.orgwww.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/four-myths-about-trans-athletes-debunked

Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked - ACLU

Apr 30, 2020 ... “For the past nine years,” explains Carroll, “transgender athletes have been able to compete on teams at NCAA member collegiates and ...

Genderjustice.uswww.genderjustice.us/get-the-facts-trans-equity-in-sports/

Get the Facts: Trans Equity in Sports - Gender Justice

When trans women compete in women's sports, there are no men competing. WOMEN HAVE FOUGHT SO HARD — AND ARE STILL FIGHTING — TO GET THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE ...

Snopes.comwww.snopes.com/fact-check/athletes-assigned-female-transitioned-mens-sports/

Are There No Athletes Assigned Female at Birth Who Transitioned ...

Jun 21, 2022 ... Chris Mosier, a triathlete and duathlete, who is also the first trans athlete to qualify to participate in Olympics trials in the gender in ...

China’s chance to step up, with the void on climate change that’s left by Trump

Published: 23 December 2024

EAF editors
The Australian National University

In Brief

A Chinese 'Green Marshall Plan' could facilitate the developing world's energy transition, stabilise China's domestic economy and rally support for the multilateral trading system. But for it to be successfully executed, it will need to be grounded in a multilateral endeavour with support from partners and financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

Achieving net zero carbon emissions globally was never going to be easy. It’s been made that much harder and more costly by US President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, ramp up US production of carbon fuels and cut American access to low-cost renewable goods and inputs to renewable energy production even further through imposts on foreign trade.

The task of cutting emissions requires reducing the carbon footprint in consumption (for example, via increased use of electric vehicles) as well as in inputs into production (via the sourcing of electricity, the processing of metals and materials manufacture).

Improving energy efficiency is a high priority in reducing the costs of decarbonisation and is best achieved through international trade in the whole range of consumer and producer goods and inputs (such as electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, processed lithium, iron and other minerals) that are necessary to achieve it. Using the strong complementarity in the new energy goods production and supply chains between China and other economies around the world is thus crucial to reducing the costs of the global energy transition.

The energy transition requires a massive transformation in production and consumption around the world over the next few decades. At the heart of that is the electrification of industrial economies with renewable power.

This industrial transformation will need vastly improved access to climate finance, ensuring both that existing funds are properly allocated and that they are utilised in a way that does not undermine climate goals. The global climate finance landscape is growing rapidly, with large amounts of financing now coming from China, but funding amounts are still insufficient to fulfil the Paris Agreement objectives.

There’s a huge gap estimated at US$5 trillion annually in both public and private sustainable financing over the coming decades.

Investment incentives need to align with climate goals. The efficacy of financial markets can be strengthened by harmonising sustainable finance taxonomies across jurisdictions and improving corporate disclosures and data sharing. China and the European Union have worked together on green finance definitions, publishing the Common Ground Taxonomy Table. Singapore has now signed on to an extension of this arrangement, the Multi-Jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy.

In this week’s lead article, noting the failure of COP29 to fill the public sustainable finance gap, Yiping Huang proposes that China initiate a Green Marshall Plan to step into the breach, elevating its contribution to investment in a zero carbon future and creating a facility for delivering its new energy technologies to the developing world.

‘China has emerged as an industry leader in the green energy sector over the past few decades, especially in the production of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, wind turbines and solar panels,’ Huang notes.

China is also an acknowledged leader in green development. Its vast supplies and low cost of green energy products are valuable resources for the world’s energy transition. ‘Just like the United States’ Marshall Plan after the Second World War, China can help green development in the Global South by providing both technological assistance and financial support’, he suggests.

The proposed Green Marshall Plan is designed to achieve two immediate goals.

The first is to facilitate the developing world’s energy transition, says Huang. While developed nations currently lack both the willingness and capability to lead global green development, China has advanced technology and vast production capacity that can help.

The second is to stabilise China’s domestic economy. The United States and European Union are raising barriers against Chinese green energy products entering their markets. This could exacerbate China’s domestic overcapacity problem and weaken economic growth if China does not find new markets for its green energy products.

A Chinese Green Marshall Plan initiative could be helpful on two counts: it would add to the pool of funds for green investment in the developing world; properly conceived and carefully executed, it would also help to push back against the intensification of American protectionism and additional costs it imposes upon energy transition, at least beyond those to the United States itself.

To succeed, in the latter purpose in particular however, it would have to be grounded in a multilateral endeavour with sign-on from other partners, like Europe, in its execution, and be facilitated with the help of multilateral financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

Funding under a program of the kind that Huang envisions would be a hybrid package consisting of commercial investment, policy lending and government aid. It would also have to be commercially viable — the increasingly low-cost green energy products produced by China make this a goal that is achievable. In addition to aid provided by governments, especially those of developed nations, national policy banks and multinational institutions would provide low-interest long-term lending to countries in the developing world. It would need to facilitate market-based investment to support the energy transition. All this requires a framework of international arrangements and agreed-upon standards that the multilateral institutions are best placed to facilitate.

A China-backed Green Marshall Plan could play a valuable role not only in supporting global green development and stabilising Chinese economic growth. It could also serve as a pillar around which to re-group the multilateral trade and investment regime.

The EAF Editorial Board is located in the Crawford School of Public Policy, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University.

COVID CHINA LAB DISINFO

What would it mean for the US to leave the World Health Organization?

Donald Trump speaks on the last day of Turning Point's four-day AmericaFest conference on Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix.

Matthew Kendrick
Dec 22, 2024
GZERO

President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors are reportedly urging him to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization on his first day in office, according to a report published Sunday in the Fnancial Times.

The US currently provides approximately 16% of the WHO’s funding, giving it outsized influence on the institution. Experts say a withdrawal would severely hamper the world’s ability to respond to public health crises like pandemics, and fight once-crippling diseases like polio and measles.

It’s not an empty threat. Trump actually initiated the process of leaving the WHO in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the organization of being controlled by China. He never followed through on the actual withdrawal, however, and Joe Biden re-established ties in 2021.

This time around, Trump has aligned himself with figures whose views on healthcare are well outside the scientific consensus. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vociferous opponent of vaccination, is tapped to lead Health and Human Services, while David Weldon, another anti-vaxxer from the fringe, is set to lead the Centers for Disease Control. Incoming Food and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Makary has also questioned the benefits of certain vaccines, like hepatitis B and COVID boosters. With advisers like these, the WHO would be smart to start planning for a pullout, even if it doesn’t happen on Jan. 20.
Trending Stories

Beijing won’t butt in on this one, of course, since they stand to gain the most from US healthcare isolationism. If Trump was worried about Chinese control of the WHO back in 2020, pulling out in 2025 would all but guarantee that Beijing steps into the void.

ACTUAL SARS COVID VIRUS CODE RELEASED BY CHINA JANUARY 2019

‘Draconian’ Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears


By AFP
December 22, 2024

A new law will require social media users in Vietnam to verify their identities - Copyright AFP/File Nhac NGUYEN

Social media users in Vietnam on platforms including Facebook and TikTok will need to verify their identities as part of strict new internet regulations that critics say further undermine freedom of expression in the communist country.

The law, which comes into force on Christmas Day, will compel tech giants operating in Vietnam to store user data, provide it to authorities on request, and remove content the government regards as “illegal” within 24 hours.

Decree 147, as it is known, builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticised by the United States, European Union and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China’s repressive censorship of the internet.

Vietnam’s hardline administration generally moves swiftly to stamp out dissent and arrest critics, especially those who find an audience on social media.

In October, blogger Duong Van Thai — who had almost 120,000 followers on YouTube, where he regularly recorded livestreams critical of the government — was jailed for 12 years on charges of publishing anti-state information.

Months earlier, leading independent journalist Huy Duc, the author of one of the most popular blogs in Vietnam — which took aim at the government on issues including media control and corruption — was arrested.

His posts “violated interests of the state”, authorities said.

Critics say that decree 147 will also expose dissidents who post anonymously to the risk of arrest.

“Many people work quietly but effectively in advancing the universal values of human rights,” Ho Chi Minh City-based blogger and rights activist Nguyen Hoang Vi told AFP.

She warned that the new decree “may encourage self-censorship, where people avoid expressing dissenting views to protect their safety — ultimately harming the overall development of democratic values” in the country.

Le Quang Tu Do, of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), told state media that decree 147 would “regulate behaviour in order to maintain social order, national security, and national sovereignty in cyberspace”.



– Game over –



Aside from the ramifications for social media firms, the new laws also include curbs on gaming for under-18s, designed to prevent addiction.

Game publishers are expected to enforce a time limit of an hour per game session and not more than 180 minutes a day for all games.

Nguyen Minh Hieu, a 17-year-old high school student in Hanoi who admits he’s addicted to gaming, told AFP that the new restrictions would be “really tough” to follow — and to enforce.

Games are “designed to be addictive” he said. “We often spend hours and hours playing match after match.”

Just over half of Vietnam’s 100 million population regularly plays such games, says data research firm Newzoo.

A large proportion of the population is also on social media, with the MIC estimating the country has around 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok.

Under the new laws, these tech titans — along with all “foreign organisations, enterprises and individuals” — must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers, and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.

They should provide it on demand to the MIC or the powerful ministry of public security.

The decree also says that only verified accounts can livestream, impacting the exploding number of people earning a living through social commerce on sites such as TikTok.

Neither Facebook parent company Meta, YouTube owner Google, nor TikTok replied to requests for comment from AFP.

Human Rights Watch is calling on the government to repeal the “draconian” new decree, which the campaign group said threatens access to information and freedom of expression.

“Vietnam’s new Decree 147 and its other cybersecurity laws neither protect the public from any genuine security concerns nor respect fundamental human rights,” said Patricia Gossman, its associate Asia director.

“Because the Vietnamese police treat any criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam as a national security matter, this decree will provide them with yet another tool to suppress dissent.”

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Not as it seems: Rise of deepfakes throughout the Crypto sector

By Dr. Tim Sandle


PublishedDecember 22, 2024


The authorisation of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States would make it easier for investors to trade in the cryptocurrency - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

 Jemal Countess

Regula, global developer of identity verification solutions, has been reviewing fraud trends in the Crypto industry. In this sector, deepfakes have become a threat, probably surpassing traditional document fraud.

Deepfakes can be used to spread disinformation and to promote crimes like fraud. It is currently a largely unregulated technology.

The survey finds that 57 percent of crypto companies have reported audio deepfake attacks, the highest among all surveyed sectors. Following this, 53 percent face video deepfake fraud, surpassing the 45 percent impacted by fake documents.

The study also shows that while the Crypto industry experiences an average loss of $440,000 from advanced fraud techniques like deepfakes, in terms of the most concentrated impact of the financial fall-out, 37 percent of firms lose over $500,000 per attack, with an average loss of $440,000.

Crypto organizations are not only more frequently targeted by deepfake fraud but also rely on unique defense strategies. According to the study:

• 57% rely on multi-factor authentication (MFA), for instance email token verification.
• 53% use biometric facial recognition.
• 37% leverage fingerprint biometrics, compared to a global average of 52%.
• 45% adopt digital document verification combined with liveness checks.

To combat some of the adverse impacts of cyberattacks and to address some of the weaknesses with standard practices, 90 percent of crypto firms are relying on live video interviews with document checks. A mix of biometric verification and online document verification remains the second most dominant choice, with 93 percent support.

As indicated above, only 37 percent of companies in the sector use fingerprint biometrics, trailing the global average of 52%. Gaps such as these potentially leave the industry vulnerable.

Is regulation the answer for tackling these trends? 39 percent of Crypto companies advocate for the establishment of a dedicated regulatory body to monitor and combat deepfake-related threats – well above the global average of 29 percent.

Commenting on this, Henry Patishman, Executive Vice President of Identity Verification Solutions at Regula states: “Crypto is facing a new frontier in fraud, where deepfake attacks have surpassed traditional threats in prevalence.”

He adds: “This shift calls for a reevaluation of identity verification – not just as an onboarding tool, but as a critical defense measure, emphasizing real-time liveness detection and robust, multi-layered security.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina’s family


By AFP
December 23, 2024

The alleged $5 billion embezzlement was linked to the Russian-backed Rooppur nuclear power plant, Bangladesh's first - Copyright AFP/File

 Abdul GONI

Bangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said Monday.

Along with Hasina, the now-former prime minster who fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August, those subject to the inquiry include her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece, Tulip Siddiq, a British lawmaker and government minister.

The allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party.

“We seek justice through our court”, Hajjaj told AFP on Monday.

Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the South Asian country’s first, which is bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 percent loan.

A statement Monday from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had “embezzled $5 billion” from the Rooppur plant via “various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia”.

It said its investigations were examining “questionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction” of the plant.

“The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering, and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds”, the commission said.

Graft allegations also include theft from a government building scheme for the homeless.

Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter on August 5 into exile in India, infuriating many Bangladeshis determined that she face trial for alleged “mass murder”.

It was not possible to contact Hasina for comment.

Siddiq has “denied any involvement in the claims” accusing her of involvement in embezzlement, according to a statement from the British prime minister’s office.

Joy, who is understood to be based in the United States, was also unavailable for comment.

\

Op-Ed: AGI — Not mad science or bad science, but way too much spin in the market

ByPaul Wallis
December 22, 2024

DIGITAL JOURNAL


A blockbuster funding round for San Francisco-based startup Databricks is another sign of hunger by investors for companies poised to cash in on generative artificial intelligence — © AFP Josep LAGO

Artificial General Intelligence is the one everybody’s scared of. This is the “human” level of AI, or better, according to some. Hype and hope are spending far too much time being seen on the same page. They’re not even in the same book yet.

The current state of testing of OpenAI’s o3 model has definitely got the chickens cackling. Testing outcomes were a mix of fab and fail. The definitive description of the outcomes is in this article in New Scientist, which you do need to read.

Every article on AI should come with a chaperone and a guy with a red flag walking about 20 paces in front, warning of its approach. The sheer opacity of this information normally doesn’t help.

“Tests were done. The AI passed or failed the tests, …etc.” is the usual format.

This uninformative blurriness is due to both sheer volume of data and the turgidity of wading through it.

Fortunately, New Scientist has condensed a lot of info into something actually readable. Please do read it, because it clarifies a lot of issues.

OK, so briefly, this is what’s happened:

OpenAI’s o3 did pretty well and outperformed its predecessors. It did very well on the benchmark test for AGI, a thing called ARC or Abstract and Reasoning Corpus (ARC).

…But it’s still not AGI. It didn’t meet multiple criteria. It failed some tests and didn’t achieve cost parameters to many people’s liking.

This is where things get picky, with good reason. The easiest example is to compare a chess computer to AGI expectations. Chess computers use “brute force”, processing millions of possible moves and choosing the best.

Ironically, that is exactly what people expect all AI in games to do, but that doesn’t even approach AGI ARC requirements. AI is supposed to reason its way through challenges.

Another problem as I see it is the inbuilt cost paradigm. Brute force is inefficient, costly and not as good in performance terms. (It’s pretty ancient and outmoded tech in processing terms, too.)

It’s reasonable enough to set a value for computing tasks, so you have a functional metric. That can hardly be the whole story, though.

If you set $20 for the cost of a task, how do you value the outcome?

In real terms, any range of tasks will have different values for outcomes. You spend $20 for a $20 task outcome, OK.

But, and it’s a big but –

You spend the same $20 for a $200,000 task outcome, are you measuring cost efficiency or not using this metric? You can see why people might get interested.

You must value the outcomes directly, not just “pass or fail”. Otherwise, you don’t even have a cost benefit analysis.

Meanwhile, it’s very debatable how much these core valuations are getting through to the market. This level of hype is too dangerous. Everybody who actually works in the AI sector is wary of the hype. Current market-level AI is nowhere near the o3 level, and o3 is nowhere near the AGI ARC level.

The market obviously doesn’t care. That’s not stopping vast amounts of dollars jumping in with or without any understanding at all of the absolute basics. It’s not stopping people replacing staff with AI.

Even if you just mindlessly assume these very early-stage AIs are capable of doing these jobs, whose money and credibility is at risk?

Irresponsibility is such fun, isn’t it? The risk levels are incredible.

The other critical point here is this:

The market will have to apply something very like ARC standards or probably better to AGI when it does arrive. These standards will need to be universal.

ARC could well be the ancestral “does this thing work or not” test vehicle for future AI.

The sales guys have been doing their jobs too well. Now is the time for the hardheads and tech heads to make a difference.

The market has been far too accepting of AI as an idea. Even the simple reality that people will have to work with perhaps millions of AIs, specialist AIs, and “niche” AIs isn’t getting much attention.

How will AGI fit into a shifting sands museum of old practices, technologies, and human perceptions? Probably very badly. The wheel was invented when there were no carts, horse attachments, or even clear ideas of what a wheel was.

See any possible wheel-like problems with AGI?

AGI needs to be idiot-proof. It must be manageable.

___________________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

MERRY XMAS

Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant


By AFP
December 22, 2024

Stellantis has struggled to get rid of inventory in the United States 

- Copyright AFP

 Bryan R. SMITH

Stellantis confirmed Saturday it was reversing a decision to lay off 1,100 workers at its Jeep plant in the US state of Ohio, following the ouster of embattled chief executive Carlos Tavares.

“No employees will be placed on indefinite layoff on January 5, 2025, due to the previously announced shift reduction. Employees are expected to return to work as scheduled after the new year,” a Stellantis spokesperson told AFP.

The decision comes as “Stellantis continues to reassess its strategy in North America,” the spokesperson added.

The automaker had announced the job cuts at the plant in Toledo, Ohio in early November, saying it was part of an effort to “regain its competitive edge” amid struggles with falling sales.

Stellantis, a 14-brand group that includes Chrysler, Peugeot and Fiat, had planned to trim operations at the Toledo South Assembly Plant from two shifts to one.

Another 400 employees were to be transferred to a “third-party service provider.”

Stellantis sales sank in the third quarter, with a 42 percent drop in North America alone. The group offered promotional deals as US dealerships struggled to reduce their inventories.

But Stellantis has significantly revised its approach since Tavares’s December 1 exit, with the new interim CEO giving guarantees to the French and Italian governments on maintaining its production and investments in both countries.

The French-Italian-American company had 258,000 employees worldwide at the end of 2003.

 

Can drinking coffee or tea help prevent head and neck cancer?

Pooled analysis of numerous studies suggests a potentially protective effect.

Wiley

In a recent analysis of data from more than a dozen studies, coffee and tea consumption was linked with lower risks of developing head and neck cancer, including cancers of the mouth and throat. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Head and neck cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide, and rates are rising in low- and middle-income countries. Many studies have assessed whether drinking coffee or tea is associated with head and neck cancer, with inconsistent results.

To provide additional insight, investigators examined data from 14 studies by different scientists associated with the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium, a collaboration of research groups around the globe. Study participants completed questionnaires about their prior consumption of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea in cups per day/week/month/year.

When investigators pooled information on 9,548 patients with head and neck cancer and 15,783 controls without cancer, they found that compared with non-coffee-drinkers, individuals who drank more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee daily had 17% lower odds of having head and neck cancer overall, 30% lower odds of having cancer of the oral cavity, and 22% lower odds of having throat cancer. Drinking 3–4 cups of caffeinated coffee was linked with a 41% lower risk of having hypopharyngeal cancer (a type of cancer at the bottom of the throat).

Drinking decaffeinated coffee was associated with 25% lower odds of oral cavity cancer. Drinking tea was linked with 29% lower odds of hypopharyngeal cancer. Also, drinking 1 cup or less of tea daily was linked with a 9% lower risk of head and neck cancer overall and a 27% lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer, but drinking more than 1 cup was associated with 38% higher odds of laryngeal cancer.

“While there has been prior research on coffee and tea consumption and reduced risk of cancer, this study highlighted their varying effects with different sub-sites of head and neck cancer, including the observation that even decaffeinated coffee had some positive impact,” said senior author Yuan-Chin Amy Lee, PhD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah School of Medicine. “Coffee and tea habits are fairly complex, and these findings support the need for more data and further studies around the impact that coffee and tea can have on reducing cancer risk.”

 

Additional information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. A free abstract of this article will be available via the CANCER Newsroom upon online publication. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com

Full Citation:
“Coffee and Tea Consumption and the Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: An Updated Pooled Analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium.” Timothy Nguyen, Alzina Koric, Chun-Pin Chang, Christine Barul, Loredana Radoi, Diego Serraino, Mark P. Purdue, Karl T. Kelsey, Michael D. McClean, Eva Negri, Valeria Edefonti, Kirsten Moysich Zuo-Feng Zhang, Hal Morgenstern, Fabio Levi, Thomas L. Vaughan, Carlo La Vecchia, Werner Garavello, Richard B. Hayes, Simone Benhamou, Stimson P. Schantz, Guo-Pei Yu, Hermann Brenner, Shu-Chun Chuang, Paolo Boffetta, Mia Hashibe, and Yuan-Chin Amy Lee. CANCER; Published Online: December 23, 2024 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35620).
URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/cncr.35620

Author Contact: Heather Simonsen, of the public affairs office at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, at heather.simonsen@hci.utah.edu

About the Journal     
CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online. Follow CANCER on X @JournalCancer and Instagram @ACSJournalCancer, and stay up to date with the American Cancer Society Journals on LinkedIn.

About Wiley      
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Journal

Cancer

DOI

10.1002/cncr.35620 

Article Title

Coffee and Tea Consumption and the Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: An Updated Pooled Analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium

Article Publication Date

23-Dec-2024

Drinking coffee may help prevent mental decline in people with atrial fibrillation

Having up to or more than five cups of coffee daily may help cognitive function in people with the irregular heart rhythm, finds a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association

News Release 19-Dec-2024

American Heart Association

Research Highlights:

• A study of more than 2,400 people with atrial fibrillation, who had an average age of 73, found that drinking more than five cups of caffeinated coffee daily was associated with better performance on an array of cognitive tests than drinking less than one cup or avoiding coffee altogether.
• Based on screening tests for cognitive impairment, heavier coffee drinkers were estimated to be 6.7 years younger in cognitive age than those who drank little or no coffee.
• People with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk for mental decline. This study indicates that current coffee drinkers with atrial fibrillation should not be discouraged from drinking coffee and might benefit from it.

DALLAS, Dec. 19, 2024 — Drinking multiple cups of coffee a day may help prevent cognitive decline in people with atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF), according to new research published on Dec. 14, 2024 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

“Many myths are around, but our study found no reason to discourage or forbid a patient with AFib from drinking coffee. Instead, say, ‘Enjoy, it may even be good for you!’” said Jürg H. Beer, M.D., senior author of the study and professor of medicine and hematology at the University of Zürich in Switzerland.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder in adults, affecting more than 5 million people in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association. The 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation noted that abstaining from caffeine to prevent heart rhythm disturbances is of no benefit to people with AFib. The guideline also notes that abstaining from coffee could reduce symptoms in patients who report that caffeine triggers or worsens their AFib symptoms, which can include rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fatigue and more.

“It is known that regular coffee consumption benefits cognitive performance among healthy people. The most frequent cardiac arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, is known to independently increase the risk of dementia,” said Massimo Barbagallo, M.D., lead author of the study and a resident in the neuro intensive care unit at the University Hospital Zürich. “Thus, the question is whether coffee might offset the increased risk of cognitive impairment in people with AFib.”

According to the U.S. federal dietary guidelines, three to five 8-ounce cups of coffee per day can be part of a healthy diet, but that only refers to plain black coffee. The American Heart Association warns that popular coffee-based drinks such as lattes and macchiatos are often high in calories, added sugar and fat. 

The Swiss Atrial Fibrillation Cohort Study (Swiss-AF) follows more than 2,400 people in Switzerland diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Patients were enrolled between 2014 and 2017, completed several cognitive tests, and reported how many cups of caffeinated coffee they drank during the last 12 months—regardless of added sweeteners, creams or flavors. Cup size was not standardized.

In this study, researchers analyzed those cognitive assessments and examined whether drinking coffee might avoid the cognitive decline that is a known hazard of AFib. Because Alzheimer’s disease and AFib are associated with systemic inflammation, researchers also analyzed markers of inflammation.

The study found:

• Overall, higher cognitive test scores were associated with higher coffee consumption.
• Specifically, scores for processing speed, visuomotor coordination and attention improved significantly by 11% among coffee consumers compared to non-consumers.
• Cognitive age was calculated to be 6.7 years younger among those who drank the most coffee compared to those who drank the least.
• Inflammatory markers were more than 20% lower in participants drinking five cups daily than in participants drinking less than one cup daily.
• Researchers did not find any interaction between age, sex and coffee consumption.

“There was a very clear and consistent “dose-response” association between drinking more coffee and doing better on several different sophisticated cognitive tests,” Beer said. “Inflammatory markers decreased with higher coffee consumption, an association that remained after considering variables such as age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, physical activity and a history of stroke.”

Researchers noted that previous studies suggest that the protective effects of regular coffee consumption against cognitive decline in the elderly may be attributed to caffeine and other active ingredients including magnesium and vitamin B3 (Niacin); or, that it may be due to coffee’s role in reducing chemicals that cause inflammation.

José A. Joglar, M.D., FAHA, chair of the 2023 joint guideline on the management of atrial fibrillation, cautioned that this observational study cannot conclude that coffee actually prevents long-term cognitive decline.

“Other studies have shown coffee has cognitive-enhancing functions across the board. This, however, is not specific to the AFib population. We cannot conclude that coffee prevents long-term cognitive decline,” said Joglar, professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Coffee does not seem to worsen AFib so there is no need to stop drinking it. However, we cannot say starting to drink coffee would prevent AFib or prevent long-term cognitive decline.”

The study's limitations include the fact that researchers measured participants’ cognitive ability and coffee consumption at the same point in time. This means that the study could not evaluate differences in cognitive decline with age, and that the reported current coffee drinking may not reflect changes in consumption over the previous years. As a cross-sectional study taking place at one point, it cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship between drinking coffee and cognitive performance. Additionally, the study may not be generalizable to other populations as it included a mostly white population in Switzerland, where people tend to drink espressos.

“To detect a relevant cognitive decline, a follow-up of at least 5-10 years is required. However, the nutritive habits including coffee consumption reported by participants reflect exposure over many years and we likely see here the results of this,” Barbagallo said.

Study details, background or design:

• The study included 2,413 people (average age 73; 27% women) with atrial fibrillation enrolled in Swiss Atrial Fibrillation Cohort Study (Swiss-AF) between 2014 and 2017. Swiss-AF is ongoing at 14 centers across all language regions in Switzerland.
• Participants had undergone at least eight years of monitoring for stroke, mini-stroke, inflammation blood markers and blood-clotting, brain imaging and repeated cognitive testing. Patients were excluded from the analysis if they had experienced only brief episodes of AFib that had resolved without treatment, or if they were unable to give informed consent.
• At enrollment, participants reported their caffeinated coffee consumption over the past year, with responses summarized as less than one cup a day, one cup a day, two- to three-cups a day, four- to five-cups a day and more than five cups a day. Size of cup or concentration of caffeine per cup was not quantified. The addition of creams, sugars or flavors was not considered.
• At enrollment, participants completed various cognitive tests measuring verbal skills, executive functioning, memory, processing speed, visual-motor coordination and attention. These were combined into an overall rating of cognitive ability called the Cognitive Construct (CoCo). Participants also completed a 30-point screening test for cognitive impairment, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, gauging visuospatial and executive functions, naming objects, memory, attention, language and abstraction abilities.
• Participants were also evaluated for depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale so researchers could evaluate whether cognitive performance had likely been altered by depression.

Co-authors, disclosures and funding sources are listed in the manuscript.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers and the Association’s overall financial information are available here.

Additional Resources:

• Multimedia is available on the right column of release link.
• View the manuscript online.
• AHA news release: Heart failure, atrial fibrillation & coronary heart disease linked to cognitive impairment (Oct. 2024)
• AHA news release: Drinking caffeinated coffee has both beneficial and harmful short-term health effects (Nov. 2021)
• AHA news release: Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking more coffee associated with decreased heart failure risk (Feb. 2021)
• AHA health information: Why Atrial Fibrillation Matters
• AHA health information: Video: Learn about AFib and your heart
• Follow AHA/ASA news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from the Journal of the American Heart Association @JAHA_AHA

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

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Journal

Journal of the American Heart Association

DOI

10.1161/JAHA.124.034365 

Article Title

Coffee Consumption Correlates With Better Cognitive Performance in Patients With a High Incidence for Stroke

 

Cryptographic protocol enables secure data sharing in the floating wind energy sector

This breakthrough seeks to foster collaboration between industry and academia, driving innovation in floating wind technologies.

IMDEA Software Institute

 

image: 

Secure communication between parties (OEMs, developers and academia) in floating wind technologies.

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Credit: Claudia Bartoli (IMDEA Software Institute) and Irene Rivera-Arreba (Norwegian University of Science and Technology).

Floating wind power offers enormous potential for deepwater offshore energy development. However, the management and secure exchange of data between stakeholders represents a key challenge for its evolution. A new cryptographic framework, proposed by researchers Claudia Bartoli (IMDEA Software) and Irene Rivera-Arreba (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU), presented at WindTech 2024 Conference, tries to solve this problem with a data sharing scheme that guarantees data integrity without compromising privacy. This breakthrough seeks to foster collaboration between industries and academia, driving innovation in floating wind technologies.

Context

Floating wind power is positioned as a promising frontier in the renewable energy sector, enabling the expansion of offshore wind power to areas of greater depth. To harness this potential, it is essential to share reliable data between parties such as companies and academics.

Access to datasets is crucial at all stages of development, from site selection to maintenance. In addition, sharing data fosters innovation, attracts investment and strengthens trust among stakeholders. However, handling large volumes of data and protecting intellectual property pose significant challenges.

The current approach relies on data certified by certification bodies (Certification Body), but these often lack critical details to optimize system performance. In response, the researchers have described a cryptographic protocol that enables the secure exchange of critical data, ensuring privacy and integrity through advanced tools such as zero-knowledge proofs.

The study

The protocol proposed by Bartoli and Rivera-Arreba has been designed to facilitate interactions between the various parties involved in offshore wind energy development. It has the potential to transform data sharing in the wind energy sector, improving collaboration between industry and academia since it ensures data integrity between parties without disclosing additional information. With the implementation of this protocol, “Through the use of techniques such as Multi Party Computation (MPC), this approach allows the analysis of encrypted data, ensuring the confidentiality of the information while sharing the results obtained by such analysis” assures Claudia, lead researcher of the article.

In addition, the system incorporates cryptographic signatures and succinct commitment schemes to reduce costs and facilitate the management of large databases. These innovations open up new possibilities to overcome current limitations in data availability without compromising data privacy.

Conclusion

The implementation of this cryptographic protocol could mark a step forward in the development of floating wind power. By enabling the confidential exchange of data, it fosters innovation and contributes to bridging the gap between privacy and availability. This breakthrough represents a promising solution to address technological and regulatory challenges on the road to a sustainable future in the renewable energy sector and paves the way for future research in this regard.

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Article Title

Secure Data Sharing Protocol for Advancing Floating Wind Energy: A Cryptographic Approach