If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office and the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office have been exposed as doing their best to team up with social media companies‚ non-profits‚ as well as the US government to advance online censorship. This‚ yet another case of “cooperation” (aka‚ collusion) between government and private entities to stifle speech disapproved of by federal and some state authorities has emerged from several public records‚ brought to the public’s attention by the Gavel Project. The official purpose of several initiatives was to counter “misinformation” using monitoring and reporting whatever the two offices decided qualified; another was to censor content on social platforms‚ while plans also included restricting discourse to the point of banning users from county-run accounts. “Online harassment” was another target‚ and Maricopa County took it upon itself to “identify” – and then report to law enforcement. One striking example of the mindset behind all this is a draft of a speech County Recorder Stephen Richer delivered to Maricopa Community Colleges. As reports note‚ Richer is hoping to be reelected this year‚ while back in September 2021‚ he complained that “lies and disinformation” are undermining “the entire election system.” “And it is in this respect‚ that the Constitution today is in some ways a thorn in the side of my office. Specifically the First Amendment‚” Richer said – before declaring himself “a huge fan of the Constitution.” When his office was earlier in the month asked to‚ essentially‚ “make it make sense” – they didn’t‚ stating only that Richer “stands by his speech (…) especially the part where he says he’s ‘a huge fan of the Constitution’.” And while there was no denying the fact that the official expressed these sentiments‚ more revelations from the documents – including the banning of users from official social media accounts – are now described by Maricopa County as drafts that were “never implemented.” Even those willing to take the county’s word at face value might be surprised to learn what some of those “never implemented” plans included. One was‚ opponents might say‚ to spread their own propaganda. Like so: “(Partnering) with influencers in our community and across the country who share our desire to spread accurate information about elections and combat disinformation.” This document‚ titled‚ “Building a Partnership of Election Fact Ambassadors‚” is believed to have been drafted around the 2022 midterm elections. Earlier‚ now former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs‚ a Democrat‚ “worked with social media companies and censorship nonprofits to track election information online and combat it when they deemed necessary‚” say reports citing the public records. “We’ve heard feedback from elections authorities that they need better tools to track potential voter interference content on Facebook‚” Facebook told her office in a September 2019 email‚ adding: “In response to this feedback‚ we are building a dashboard that will track this content in each state – and we’d like to share those dashboards with the respective elections authorities. These Dashboards will allow for keyword searches of public content on Facebook in each state – and will be able to be customized to each state’s needs.” Hobbs welcomed this development as “great news.” The post Maricopa County and Arizona State Collaborate To Surveil Social Media and Censor “Misinformation” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Yet another leaked document has emerged revealing details from the European Union policy regarding the implementation of the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation. (That’s “chat control” – ultimately designed to allow for bulk scanning of all private communications under the guise of looking for illegal content.) The latest leak‚ again first published by the Contexte website‚ is a working document from the current (Belgian) EU Presidency that concerns draft methodology and criteria for the risk categorization of services. Things are moving fast over in Brussels‚ at least on this issue – the draft was published on April 10 to member delegations and was to be discussed as soon as five days later by the Law Enforcement Working Party. But the direction things are moving‚ according to long-time “chat control” opponent and member of the European Parliament (MEP) Patrick Breyer‚ is towards “doubling down” on‚ by various means‚ control and/or suppress what he calls “services that allow people to protect themselves.” Read the document here. Those would be privacy-focused encrypted services‚ and messaging apps‚ which‚ under the methodology presented in the document‚ would receive lower risk scale scores if people can use them without an account‚ or with pseudonyms‚ VPNs‚ TOR‚ encryption‚ cryptocurrencies – in other words‚ in ways that make surveillance and tracking difficult or impossible. That’s not something the EU likes at all‚ and so the plan is to be able (and even likely) to slap those with low scores with orders to scan all content. However‚ those who are not focused on private chats but “predominantly engage in public communication” (i.e.‚ are already open to surveillance and data collection‚ so that detection orders leading to full scanning are not really necessary) will receive better scores. The EU’s logic here is consistent since those who do not harvest user data are automatically slated to have lower scores. Another thing the EU dislikes is decentralized content sharing (such as P2P-based platforms). That’s because‚ as Breyer‚ a German lawyer and member of the Pirate Party remarks‚ P2P renders attempts at server-site scanning useless. Such a methodology demonizes services like torrenting (P2P) platforms‚ TOR‚ ProtonMail‚ and the like‚ he said. “This leaked paper reveals most EU government’s push to mass surveillance and undermining encryption on services essential to citizens‚ NGOs‚ lawyers‚ etc.‚” the MEP stated. “In contrast‚ the European Parliament’s approach would only permit the interception of conversations by people connected to child sexual abuse‚ while mandating many more safety-by-design measures than the Council only mentions in this paper without making them mandatory‚” Breyer added and concluded: “We Pirates will not stop fighting for our fundamental right to digital privacy of correspondence and secure encryption.” The post Leak: EU Governments Impose Bulk Scanning Orders on Encrypted Messaging Services appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Worldcoin‚ a digital ID project based on biometrics‚ namely‚ eyeball scanning‚ co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman‚ is eying (no pun) partnerships not only with OpenAI‚ but also PayPal‚ reports say. However‚ these movements are not accompanied by any clarity for now‚ an example of this being another Worldcoin co-founder and its CEO Alex Blania refusing to make a direct announcement regarding the deal with OpenAI. Blania at the same time confirmed that the company (specifically‚ Tools for Humanity‚ the main Worldcoin developer) is talking to PayPal – but the payments transactions giant is currently not commenting on any of this. The general trend‚ albeit on a much smaller scale (despite the grandiose ambitions) seems to be the tried-and-tested Big Tech path of acquisitions or collaborations in a particular space in order to consolidate the grip on a market. Reports note that Tools for Humanity previously started working with Okta‚ an identity and access management company‚ while just this April‚ it bought Ottr Finance‚ a startup developing digital wallets. This is happening as Worldcoin is facing pushback from regulators in multiple countries around the world‚ who are mostly concerned about the enrollment standards (such as age verification) and data storage policies the controversial company has in place. Worldcoin’s stated effort is to have “every person in the world” in its ID service‚ where the transactional nature of the thing is users giving up the sensitive biometric data contained in the irises of their eyes in exchange for what some might call “cryptocurrency change.” The ultimate goal is to create the biggest “human identity and financial network” in the world‚ and the promise is‚ no surprise there – that this can and will be done while at the same time “preserving privacy.” But it is precisely privacy fears that are underpinning the scrutiny over Worldcoin’s operations‚ and so its plans have been hitting some snags in places as far apart as Hong Kong and Spain‚ Malaysia‚ and Portugal. However‚ Blania has shared that Worldcoin is taking a “proactive” approach in dealing with regulators‚ that is – it is hoping that compromising on some features will render the operation as a whole sustainable. The post OpenAI CEO’s Eyeball-Scanning Digital ID Project‚ Worldcoin‚ Hopes To Partner With OpenAI and Has Had Conversations With PayPal appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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You can have soft or hard-boiled eggs pretty much everywhere on the planet‚ but you cannot make them at the highest point on Earth above sea level. This might not be a pressing concern of yours‚ but the laws behind this fact affect the preparation of both food and drinks in many places around the world. There’s no way around those laws‚ because in this house and in this universe we obey the laws of thermodynamics – and you never bet against thermodynamics.So what’s Everest got against eggs&;#63; Well‚ the problem here is the atmospheric pressure. At sea level‚ water boils at 100°C (or 212°F). That is the boiling point – but the boiling point is not a point at all. When subjected to varying pressures‚ the point is a line. The higher you are above sea level‚ the lower the temperature necessary to bring water to a boil.You can use a calculator to work out the exact boiling point at your location‚ but as a handy approximation‚ for every 300 meters (990 feet) of elevation the boiling temperature drops by 1°C (or 1.8°F). The town of La Rinconada is the highest permanent inhabited settlement in the world at an altitude of about 5‚052 meters (16‚600 feet). There‚ the water boils at 82.8°C (or 181°F). Still good enough for eggs but that’s below the ideal temperature to make coffee – although you can still make it.The top of mount Everest is significantly higher than La Rinconada. It is 8‚849 meters (29‚031 feet) above sea-level‚ with about one-third of the atmospheric pressure. Consequently‚ the boiling temperature for water up there drops to 68°C (or 154°F). This is still hot enough to cause severe burns‚ but it is no longer hot enough to cook an egg completely.Both the white and yolk are made of different substances‚ and the proteins coagulate at different temperatures. The white is made of up to 54 percent ovalbumin and that doesn’t coagulate until 80°C (176°F)‚ the yolk needs at least 70°C (158°F) to solidify. The temperature of the boiling water won’t be enough to give you a nice boiled egg.If you are on top of mount Everest and you are really desperate for a boiled egg‚ the only solution is to bow down to thermodynamics and use a pressure cooker. That cooking method will raise the boiling point by virtue of increasing the pressure inside the cooker. As we said‚ you can’t win against thermodynamics – you can only do as it says.  All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current. 

Birds of prey are some of the most impressive species to fly across Earth’s habitats. From the super speedy peregrine falcon to silent owls and majestic eagles‚ these birds have captured imaginations across the world. But do you actually know the difference between a falcon and a hawk&;#63; What is a falcon&;#63;Falcons are small to medium-sized birds in the family Falconidae‚ which has around 60 species. The most famous member of the falcons is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)‚ the fastest bird species in the world that can reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) an hour. To achieve these mind-bending speeds they have sharp pointed wings that fold back against their bodies.One of the biggest differences between hawks and falcons is their size and subtle differences in appearance.  While it varies between species‚ falcons are usually smaller with pointed wings‚ writes the Audubon‚ and they have a more rounded beak shape compared to a hawk.The kestrel has the nickname the &;quot;windhover&;quot; due to its incredible ability to hover in mid-air while looking for prey.Image credit: © Jonathan Eisen via iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0)True falcons belong to the genus Falco‚ which contains around 40 species. Six of these species reside in North America‚ including the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)‚ Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)‚ and Merlin (Falco columbarius). Falcons typically nest on cliff ledges‚ in holes in tree trunks‚ or on the side of buildings including churches and cathedral steeples. What is a hawk&;#63;The family Accipitridae contains the hawks‚ eagles‚ and some of their relatives. There are around 234 species in this family. Unlike falcons‚ which have a largely similar build between species‚ the Accipitridae family has an enormous amount of variation across the species‚ which include the golden eagle‚ the sparrowhawk‚ and the buzzard. To narrow it down further‚ true hawks are in the genus Accipiter which includes species like the Eurasian goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and the sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus).Hawks tend to be larger than falcons‚ with shorter wings. They can be found on all the continents apart from Antarctica. While some species do nest on cliffs like falcons‚ the hawk family are more likely to be found nesting in trees. Eurasian Goshawk.Image credit: © Luigi Andena via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)The confusionThe relationship between Accipitridae and Falconidae is a little confusing‚ especially when it comes to common names in different countries. For example‚ the peregrine falcon has been called the duck hawk in the USA for many years. Another reason for this confusion is because of the widespread overlapping ranges between many of these species‚ which makes them difficult to distinguish especially from a distance. With anything like this‚ practise makes perfect and there are many guides online to help you learn the subtle difference between each species. 

American scientists from the Center for Hearing Loss in Washington have solved the mystery of a strange phenomenon wherein individuals‚ while traversing the woods‚ hear their name being called despite the absence of any nearby individuals. Dubbed “voices in the forest‚” this phenomenon has often been attributed to mysticism‚ with many associating such occurrences with ghosts and other supernatural entities. However‚ Live Science reveals that there exists a wholly scientific explanation for this perplexing occurrence: auditory pareidolia. Auditory pareidolia denotes a form of perceptual illusion wherein individuals perceive familiar voices or words in natural sounds‚ such as the rustling of leaves‚ swaying grass‚ or the melody of birdsong. This phenomenon arises when the brain attempts to interpret unfamiliar sounds by matching them with familiar patterns stored within its vast database of sounds and words. Audiologists elucidate that this cognitive process can sometimes lead the brain to select an incorrect template‚ resulting in the erroneous perception of non-existent voices. “Think of your brain as having this big database of patterns. All the words that you know‚ and you’ve ever heard in your life are in there‚” Neil Bauman‚ an audiologist and CEO of the Center for Hearing Loss Help based in Washington‚ told Live Science. “It chooses what it thinks is the best pattern. That best pattern may not be right at all. In fact‚ it could be way out.” Experts note that in most cases‚ auditory pareidolia is not a cause for concern. However‚ if a person begins to hear voices or other sounds in complete silence‚ this may be a sign of a more serious illness and requires referral to a specialist. The post Voices in the forest: a mystical phenomenon with a scientific explanation appeared first on Anomalien.com.