Israel hits Syrian weapons depot
US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from app stores Jan. 19
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The chair and top Democrat on a U.S. House of Representatives committee on China told the CEOs of Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab on Friday they must be ready to remove TikTok from their U.S. app stores on Jan. 19.
Last week, a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States or face a ban. Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican and chair of the committee, and the top Democrat on the committee, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, separately urged TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to sell the short-video app used by 170 million Americans.
"Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok’s American users from the Chinese Communist Party. We urge TikTok to immediately execute a qualified divestiture," the lawmakers wrote.
Apple, Alphabet and TikTok did not immediately comment. On Monday, ByteDance and TikTok made an emergency bid to temporarily block the law pending a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The DOJ said on Wednesday if the ban takes effect on Jan. 19, it would "not directly prohibit the continued use of TikTok" by Apple or Google users who have already downloaded TikTok. But it conceded the prohibitions on providing support "will eventually be to render the application unworkable."
TikTok said in response on Thursday the law, absent a court order, means TikTok will disappear from mobile app stores on Jan. 19 and "be unavailable to the half of the country that does not already use the app." It warned ending support services will "cripple the platform in the United States and make it totally unusable."
ByteDance and TikTok noted President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to prevent a ban on TikTok.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley said in an interview he hopes ByteDance will sell TikTok because the law leaves no wiggle room. "The statute is what the statute is," Hawley said. "The main issue is it's subject to Chinese oversight, Beijing oversight - that's the problem."
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-lawmakers-tell-apple-google-be-ready-remove-tiktok-app-stores-jan-19-2024-12-13/
Trainee firefighter who failed exam 'became a woman because the pass mark was lower' - and was successful
A trainee firefighter has been accused of jumping the queue to qualify after they failed to pass the physical exam as a man and then said they were changing gender to 'take advantage of lower pass marks' required by female candidates.
The candidate, known as David, initially failed to pass the exam as a man by not achieving a high enough score.
But shortly after receiving the news, it has been claimed the firefighter then announced they were changing gender.
According to the rules in Spain, a woman can qualify by achieving a lower score in the physical tests because of the strength differences between sexes.
It comes as Spain introduced its Trans Law last year, which allows anyone to legally change gender without medical evaluation or justification on psychological grounds.
The Times reported another candidate, Raul Asenjo, initially qualified to become a firefighter.
However, when David moved from 201st place to 101st in the ranking of candidates, Mr Asenjo was bumped down and no longer made the cut.
Now, the newspaper reported Mr Asenjo is considering taking legal action against Madrid Council which is responsible for recruitment.
Mr Asenjo, 21, claims he lost out on the chance to become a firefighter once David said they were changing sex.
Mr Asenjo said in a statement released to Spanish media: 'I was candidate 126, the last one in the list to qualify. However, I have been moved to position 127 so out of the running as the result of the allegedly unfair and fraudulent use of the rules by one of the candidates who has been moved from position 201 to 101.'
'This candidate has claimed his status as a woman with the sole purpose of benefiting from more flexible rules [for women] and as such they advance 100 people in the selection process.'
Mr Asenjo also claims before changing sex, David had been part of an anti-feminist misogynist group for Men Who Go Their Own Way — a community which advocates for men to separate themselves from women and society.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14184149/Trainee-firefighter-failed-exam-woman-pass.html
Melania Trump Christmas vs. Jill Biden Christmas
SYRIA: Greek Orthodox Christians beheaded, shot in the Valley of the Christians
Two Greek Orthodox Christians in Wadi al-Nasara (Valley of the Christians) were murdered in their home during a reported "burglary."
Samaan Satme and Helena Khashouf from the village al-Jamasliyye in Syria's Homs province were brutally murdered in their home.
Although the murder was initially reported as a burglary gone wrong, it later emerged that Samaan was beheaded and Helena shot, indicating that there were other motives.
Murdered on December 13, their funeral procession began the next day in the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, Haba.
According to local reports, "random murders" in Homs and the coast continue, often fitting the pattern of assailants entering a house to murder the victims.
At the same time, a video is circulating on social media of a Lebanese Christian woman in Syria saying her brother living in Latakia with her mother was attacked by neighbours upon rebels' arrival, telling him: "You're Christians, leave the house, we don't want you here!"
Turkish-backed jihadist forces launched an offensive in northern Syria on November 27, and by the end of the month had captured Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial capital. As the rebels moved south, capturing Hama and Homs, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was in Moscow and not Damascus, which was ultimately captured on December 8.
Mitsotakis to visit Beirut on Monday
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit Lebanon on Monday, December 13, he announced during the conference titled "Post-Junta Era 1974–2024: 50 Years of Greek Foreign Policy."
The trip to Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, was initially scheduled for December 6 but was postponed due to a malfunction in the government aircraft. As previously announced, the primary purpose of the visit is to support the reorganisation of Lebanon’s armed forces through technical assistance from Athens.
Mitsotakis is also scheduled to meet with his Lebanese counterpart, Najib Mikati and the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri. During these meetings, he is expected to reiterate Greece’s readiness to assist in strengthening Lebanon’s state institutions, including its armed forces.
Additionally, he is expected to engage with members of the Greek community in Lebanon.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2024/12/16/shot-syrias-valley-of-the-christians/
The supercomputer simulates multiverses / timelines. They should get the wording right.
If you can Quantum simulate our Universe and split it into to theoretical timelines that would be a helluva drug.
Tulsi Gabbard describes Turkey's Erdogan
Adorable seven-year-old girl 'killed by migrant' two months after he was released from jail (silence from BLM)
A Venezuelan migrant that could have been deported over two months ago was charged with a late-night drunk driving crash in Texas that killed a young girl.
Chacin, 41, was charged with intoxicated manslaughter, a felony punishable by at least two years in prison, for the December 1 crash in north Houston that killed seven-year-old Ivory Smith.
However, this was not the illegal migrant's first run-in with the law; Chacin had already spent 113 days in jail earlier this year for assaulting a family member.
Chacin was arrested for that assault in June and when he was released on September 24, he was put on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold, court records showed.
However, those records also shockingly indicate that the ICE hold was lifted for some reason, allowing him to walk free - and then allegedly drive drunk.
DailyMail.com approached ICE for comment on why this release happened.
Fox 26 Houston, the outlet that broke this story, couldn't get an answer out of ICE's Houston office on what led the immigration hold being lifted.
The Houston division did however lodge an immigration detainer against Chacin with the Harris County Jail on December 4, three days after the crash that killed Ivory and seriously injured her mother.
However, the agency offered no additional information beyond that.
Andy Kahan, a crime victim advocate based in Houston, was outraged that ICE didn't immediately take custody of Chacin back in September.
'Why was that hold lifted when he discharged his sentence? If he had kept that hold on him, no ifs, ands or buts, you have a 7-year-old girl who would be alive today and a mother who wasn't seriously injured,' he told Fox 26.
Ivory's family said that her mother, Christina Quainoo, is out of the hospital and still recovering from her injuries.
The family released a statement to the media, which mourned Ivory and slammed the immigration system for failing 'to keep dangerous individuals off our streets'.
'It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the heartbreaking loss of 7-year-old Ivory Giselle Smith. Her life, filled with innocence and joy, was taken far too soon due to the reckless actions of an individual who chose to drive under the influence,' the statement began.
'Ivory’s mother, Christina, continues to endure immense physical and emotional pain as she recovers from the devastating accident,' it continued.
'Also, Ivory's dad, Keion Smith, as he continues to get through the hours and days trying to be strong for the family.
'How can a system allow such leniency, where a person with such a record is given a chance to walk free and re-offend?'
The family also set up a GoFundMe page in the wake of the crash. The fundraiser has attracted more than 480 donations totaling over $31,000.
The family hopes to raise $35,000 to support Christina's road to recovery and their effort to get justice for Ivory.
Ivory's aunt, Sharonda Collins, told ABC13 that the mother and daughter were on their way back home when they were struck by Chacin's car.
Following the devastating accident, Collins said Christina will need to relearn to how to walk with physical therapy.
'It's always the person drinking and driving that walks away, and families are left with this. Laws need to change. I'm gonna fight to get those laws changed for Ivory,' Collins said.
The family reportedly didn't want Chacin to receive bond, but against their wishes, his bond was set at $150,000.
He is currently behind bars at the Harris County Jail awaiting his next court date. It is unclear if he has entered a plea at this time.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14187283/seven-year-old-girl-killed-migrant-released-texas-jail.html
The Bop to the Top Tour displayed a picture of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione and the crowd cheered and sang “He could be the one. He could be the one.”
OpenAI whistleblower found dead at 26 in San Francisco apartment
A former OpenAI employee, Suchir Balaji, was recently found dead in his San Francisco apartment, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In October, the 26-year-old AI researcher raised concerns about OpenAI breaking copyright law when he was interviewed by The New York Times.
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has identified the decedent as Suchir Balaji, 26, of San Francisco. The manner of death has been determined to be suicide,” said a spokesperson in a statement to TechCrunch. “The OCME has notified the next-of-kin and has no further comment or reports for publication at this time.”
After nearly four years working at OpenAI, Balaji quit the company when he realized the technology would bring more harm than good to society, he told The New York Times. Balaji’s main concern was the way OpenAI allegedly used copyright data, and he believed its practices were damaging to the internet.
“We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news today and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said an OpenAI spokesperson in an email to TechCrunch.
Balaji was found dead in his Buchanan Street apartment on November 26, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department told TechCrunch. Officers and medics were called to his residence in the city’s Lower Haight district to perform a wellness check on the former OpenAI researcher. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation, according to police.
“I was at OpenAI for nearly 4 years and worked on ChatGPT for the last 1.5 of them,” said Balaji in a tweet from October. “I initially didn’t know much about copyright, fair use, etc. but became curious after seeing all the lawsuits filed against GenAI companies. When I tried to understand the issue better, I eventually came to the conclusion that fair use seems like a pretty implausible defense for a lot of generative AI products, for the basic reason that they can create substitutes that compete with the data they’re trained on.”
Balaji’s death was first reported by the San Jose Mercury News.
OpenAI and Microsoft are currently involved with several ongoing lawsuits from newspapers and media publishers, including the New York Times, who claim the generative AI startup has broken copyright law.
On November 25, one day before police found Balaji’s body, a court filing named the former OpenAI employee in a copyright lawsuit brought against the startup. As part of a good faith compromise, OpenAI agreed to search Balaji’s custodial file related to the copyright concerns he had recently raised.
Several former OpenAI employees have raised concerns about the startup’s safety culture, but Balaji was one of the few who took issue with the data that OpenAI trained its models on. In a blog post from October, the former OpenAI researcher wrote that he didn’t believe ChatGPT was a fair use of its training data; however, similar arguments could be made for many generative AI products, he said.
Before working at OpenAI, the 26-year-old researcher studied computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. During college, he interned at OpenAI and Scale AI, the former of which he would go on to work for.
Balaji worked on WebGPT during his early days at OpenAI, a fine-tuned version of GPT-3 that could search the web. It was an early version of SearchGPT, which OpenAI released earlier this year. Later on, Balaji worked on the pretraining team for GPT-4, reasoning team with o1, and post-training for ChatGPT, according to his LinkedIn.
Several of Balaji’s former peers and colleagues in the AI world took to social media to mourn his loss.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/13/openai-whistleblower-found-dead-in-san-francisco-apartment/
Anyone can confirm this further? Same shit different pile apparently.
Iranian singer arrested after performing concert without hijab
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was arrested on Saturday after performing a YouTube concert without wearing a hijab, her lawyer told local media.
"As of noon today, we did not know about the situation of my client, Parastoo Ahmadi," her lawyer Milad Panahipour said. "Unfortunately we learned that she was arrested today in Mazandaran province."
Local media also reported that two of Ahmadi's musicians - Ehsan Birghidar and Sohail Faqih Nasiri - were arrested.
The news comes after Ahmadi performed the concert on Wednesday in defiance of Iran's strict morality laws for women. Alongside the mandatory hijab law, women are also not free to sing publicly in Iran.
In the introduction to her performance, Ahmadi said: "I want to sing for the people I love. This is a right that I could not ignore; singing for the land that I love dearly."
Ahmadi performed without an audience but broadcast the concert live on her YouTube channel. Despite being filtered by Iran's restricted access to YouTube, it was viewed 74,000 times in the 12 hours after the performance.
Following the concert's widespread sharing online, her home was raided by security agents and she was summoned to the Tehran Security Prosecutor's Office for questioning.
Iranian authorities announced that Ahmadi would be tried immediately after the concert was broadcast.
Women continue to protest against the restrictive gendered morality laws in the country since the 'Women, Life, Freedom' emerged in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/12/14/iranian-singer-parastoo-ahmadi-arrested-after-performing-concert-without-hijab