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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive ordering US Cyber Command to cease monitoring or planning for Russian incursions.

As one employee recently posted in a video on TikTok yesterday:

Hegseth just commanded Cyber security to stop looking into cyber attacks relating to Russia, so that is both on offensive and defensive, meaning that any sort of cyber attack that Russia would make to the United States Government, we are not looking out for that, we are not looking into it, all of those operations have been suddenly halted and we are not looking at any countermeasures as well as of this morning to respond to against them or to make our own advances against Russia."

Oh, great... Now what are they planning?! My crystal ball is foggy.

Some sort of disruption to somehow blame on Ukraine?

Even more than on many other crashes, I was really looking forward to seeing the actual data on this Korean crash to see what happened, but that is apparently now impossible.

On 11 January 2025, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board stated that both the CVR and FDR had stopped recording four minutes before the aircraft crashed.

On 13 January 2025, South Korea's Ministry of Transport further detailed that the CVR stopped recording at 08:58:49L before the crew declared emergency at 08:59L.

Reuters: South Korea Jeju Air jet black boxes stopped recording 4 minutes before crash, ministry says [archive.ph]
Juan Browne / blancolirio update: Missing Data! JeJu Air 737-800 UPDATE 11 Jan [youtube.com]
Denys Davydov / Pilot Blog update: Jeju Air B737 Crash | Black Boxes were not working| Major Update 3 [youtube.com]

Unfortunately, now we will probably never know what really, truly, actually happened with complete certainty. The data ends right about the time they reported the bird strike and declared an emergency. All the potentially really interesting information was not logged and recorded!

You would think that modern FDR and CVR boxes would be configured with more robust backup power supplies somehow. Apparently, on the 737-NG the data recorders are only powered from the 120/208V 400 Hz AC bus #1, not from the 24-28V DC battery power bus as you would expect!

(TL;DR: Prime Minster Trudeau has promised to step down as PM, sort-of, eventually, while just completely suspending the federal government for months to allow their party time to choose a new leader amongst themselves before facing an inevitable election.)

The current minority Liberal government in Canada and in particular their leader, Justin Trudeau are currently extremely unpopular with most Canadians. Until recently, the Liberal party has been governing with support from the farther-left New Democrat Party who have finally recently stated that they intended to discontinue propping up the ruling Liberals and assist the other parties in successfully passing a motion of non-confidence and forcing a general election.

Most of the public have been clamoring for a general election for quite some time and even those within the Liberal party have been calling on the Prime Minister to resign as head of the Liberal party. He is extremely unpopular, even to those within his own party.

Unfortunately, instead of doing what is best for the country, and what a majority of Canadians actually want by calling a federal general election, he has instead decided to have the Governor General prorogue parliament, killing all pending legislation (including the proposed tougher border measures being demanded by Trump) and suspending the functioning of the government until March 24th. This comes at a time when the incoming US president is threatening a major onslaught of actions against Canada and Canadians, including threatening 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods, among other potential perils. The federal government will now be completely absent for months during this potentially tumultuous time.

Instead, he has postponed parliament in a vain attempt to save the Liberal party from losing power, thinking that somehow bringing in a new leader will save them from electoral defeat. This, at the expense of Canadians now having no functioning government for months.

Despite his 2015 campaign promise that, “We will not resort to legislative tricks to avoid scrutiny. Stephen Harper has used prorogation to avoid difficult political circumstances. We will not.” he has just done precisely that. This, after the Liberal party boisterously chastised the previous Conservative government for pulling a similar stunt in an unsuccessful effort to save their political hides.

So, now we have no functioning federal legislative process for at least 77 days, likely longer since one of the first orders of business when parliament does resume is likely to be a successful vote of non-confidence, bringing about the fall of the current government and thus, a subsequent federal election. All this at one of the most critical, important times in recent memory, all to try to save a self-serving Liberal party from certain defeat. He even had the audacity to lament the fact that he broke his election reform campaign promise to bring ranked-choice voting to the federal election process during his resignation announcement speech. They've had the last 10 years in power to bring such changes, yet chose not to do so!

What an absolute farce! This is complete and utter madness!!

While I have never lived in that country, Jimmy Carter was the first US president that I am old enough to actually remember being in office, thus his passing at 100 years of age, (which therefore happens to be roughly twice my age,) causes one to pause and reflect a little. It somehow seems a little more poignant to me than the passing of other former presidents.

Sure, Ford was president while I was alive, but I don't remember anything about that presidency, although I do recall people still talking about Nixon's earlier shenanigans, even years after the actual nonsense occurred.

Sure, Nixon died during my lifetime, as did Regan and Ford and then Bush Sr., but Carter is somehow different to me. To some, his presidency may not have been seen to be the most "successful" by some metrics, but I truly believe he was a good man and honestly tried to do his best, do what he truly thought was best for the country during his presidency and most certainly after his presidency. I don't really see that in any of the more recent presidents that have come after him. To me, it seems like he was really the last president that actually put the good of their country ahead of all other considerations. That is probably why he has always had my respect, my highest regard.

May you rest in peace, Mr. James Earl Carter Jr. You certainly earned it.

WTF?!

There's quite the video at the top here, right now:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-67503982
More zoom:
https://youtu.be/OWVExnS4nbg

Suicide?
Accidental?
Horrible medical event?
Fear or hatred of rainbows?

So, if Twitter started yesterday with about 3000 employees after the previous mayhem and carnage, and now a majority didn't sign up for Musk's 5pm ultimatum yesterday to "click here" to commit to working in an “extremely hardcore” fashion, with “long hours at high intensity,” do they even have enough employees to continue to operate, or is this the start of the actual implosion?

What is it that the employees call themselves? Tweeps? Tweeblers? Twirps? Twitlers?

https://www.reuters.com/technology/after-elon-musks-ultimatum-twitter-employees-start-exiting-2022-11-18/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/tech/twitter-employees-ultimatum-deadline
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272140/employees-of-twitter/

Perhaps that should be the new main page poll, "How many employees do you think Twitter currently has?"

3000? 2000? 1500? 1000? 750? 500? Less / Other (please describe below) ??!

We knew this was coming, since earlier this morning it was reported that the family was gathering at Balmoral to be by her side.

Oh, great... Now we have to start putting King Charles' ugly mug on our money!

For those of us in Canada, today is the Federal General Election.

Remember to get out and vote if you haven't done so already, my fellow Canadians!

Personally, I voted in person last Monday during early polling.

As always, it was a straightforward affair, including changing my registration from being in a former riding in another province.

No line-up, no muss, no fuss... Just plain, simple voting.

As always, it was a simple paper ballot, marked with a pen or pencil. Due to COVID, you were allowed (nay, encouraged) to bring your own pen or pencil, but if you didn't, they simply supply you with one of those single-use "golf" pencils. Or, should I say, "voting" pencils!

Why is it seemingly so difficult to do this smoothly elsewhere?

Many places in the US make it as difficult as possible for many of their potential voters to actually cast a ballot. I really don't understand why folks put up with these shenanigans.

In Canada, we do things a bit differently. We simply try to make it as easy as possible for every eligible voter to cast a vote.

How hard is this??!
Taken from https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=vote&document=index&lang=e

Vote on election day

The date, hours and address of your election day poll will be available online, on your voter information card or by calling Elections Canada.

To vote on election day:

        You must be registered to vote;
        You must prove your identity and address.

After an election is called, you can also register at your local Elections Canada office or at your polling station when you go to vote.

Vote at your advance poll

Advance polls are held on the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th days before election day.

The date, hours and address of your advance poll will be available online, on your voter information card or by calling Elections Canada.

To vote at your advance poll:

        You must be registered to vote;
        You must prove your identity and home address.

After an election is called, you can also register at your local Elections Canada office or at your polling station when you go to vote.

Vote at any Elections Canada office

After an election is called, Elections Canada sets up local offices in every riding in Canada.

You can vote in person at any Elections Canada office across the country until the 6th day before election day.

To vote at an Elections Canada office, you must complete an Application for Registration and Special Ballot. Staff can help you with this form, if you'd like. You must show proof of your identity and address.

Once your special ballot application is accepted, staff will give you a special ballot voting kit. You can vote on the spot. Or, if you prefer, you can come back to the office to submit your vote later.

After an election is called, the address of Elections Canada offices will be available online or by calling Elections Canada.

Voting at an Elections Canada office means voting by special ballot.

Vote by mail

a) Vote by mail – for electors who live in Canada

If your home is in Canada, you must wait until after an election is called to apply to vote by mail.

After an election is called:

        Complete an Application for Registration and Special Ballot. The form will be available on this website, at any local Elections Canada office or by calling Elections Canada.

        Send us your completed form and proof of identity and home address. You can submit them by fax, by mail, or in person at any local Elections Canada office.

        Once your application is accepted, we will send you a special ballot voting kit by regular mail. (If you apply in person, staff will hand you the kit.) The kit explains how to mark your special ballot and mail it in.

Voting by mail means voting by special ballot.

b) Vote by mail – for electors who live outside Canada

If you're a Canadian elector, your home is outside Canada, and you meet certain eligibility criteria, you can apply now to vote by mail in a future election.

Canadians living abroad: Apply now to vote by mail in a future election

You can also get an application form by calling Elections Canada. Ask for an Application for Registration and Special Ballot for Canadian Citizens Residing Outside Canada.

        If we accept your application, we will add your name to the International Register of Electors. This is a list of Canadians temporarily living outside Canada who can vote in federal elections.
        When an election is called, we will mail a special ballot voting kit to everyone in the International Register of Electors. The kit explains how to mark your special ballot and mail it in.

Voting by mail means voting by special ballot. Learn more about voting rules for Canadians living abroad.

Important information on voting by special ballot

Voting by mail or at a local Elections Canada office means voting by special ballot.

        Anyone may vote by special ballot, but you must apply for this ballot in advance.

        Your application must be received at Elections Canada by the special ballot registration deadline: 6 p.m. on the Tuesday before election day.

        Once your application is accepted, we will give you a special ballot voting kit. This kit includes:

                a special ballot
                two envelopes (they keep your vote secret)
                instructions on how to mark and mail in your special ballot

        Your completed special ballot must arrive at Elections Canada by the election day deadline, or it will not be counted.

        Once your application to vote by special ballot has been accepted, this is the only way you can vote. You cannot vote at the advance or election day polls or apply for another special ballot.

        You may vote only once during an election, and you may vote only for a candidate running in your riding.

Learn more about voting by special ballot.

Both China and Cuba have sent teams to Italy to try to help the situation there.

What do you think the chances are that when the US' situation becomes dire, President Trump's narcissistic ego will allow the acceptance of any help from countries like China or Cuba?