John Mashey
@johnmashey.bsky.social
1.4K followers 2.2K following 1.6K posts
Semi-retired computer scientist, ancient UNIXer, "Big Data" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mashey Last 20 yrs: chasing anti-science disinfo, esp. on climate or tobacco, helping defend scientists. Supporter of UCSF, CSLDF, NCSE, CSI, member AAAS, AGU.
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johnmashey.bsky.social
AI1/ Emergent behaviors of “scheming” and even outright deception were just covered by The Economist:
www.economist.com/science-and-...
(Paywall, may be able to try for free, but in any case, read on for a lecture this week on exactly this topic and link to (open access) technical paper cited.)
AI models can learn to conceal information from their users
This makes it harder to ensure that they remain transparent
www.economist.com
johnmashey.bsky.social
Or children who read Stars and Stripes, not knowing it was antifa.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
johnmashey.bsky.social
Antifa: During WW II, Dad was an Army Captain, served in N Africa, Mom was an Army 1st Lt, served last year of European war in England. They accumulated a big trunk of Stars and Stripes, which I read as kid ... not realizing all must have been antifa.
johnmashey.bsky.social
2/ On the other hand, the old Bell System actually had contingency plans for all sorts of disasters and could apply USA-scale resources when needed… sort of like the way FEMA is supposed to work.
Example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Ne...
1975 New York Telephone exchange fire - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
johnmashey.bsky.social
1/ I recall weird parallel from my old Bell Labs days. Older gear tended to fail often enough in same ways that telco repair people stayed in practice fixing problems. Of course we kept improving reliability with new tech… which meant that failures were far less frequent (good!) but also unfamiliar.
Reposted by John Mashey
peterbrannen.bsky.social
Just remembered this jaw-dropping graph by @oceansclimatecu.bsky.social showing the rate of change in CO2 during the previous two deglaciations of the Pleistocene (which, as a fun aside, featured ~400 feet of sea level rise) as compared with today
johnmashey.bsky.social
Antifa: During WW II, Dad was an Army Captain, served in N Africa, Mom was an Army 1st Lt, served last year of European war in England. They accumulated a big trunk of Stars and Stripes, which I read as kid ... not realizing all must have been antifa.
Reposted by John Mashey
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
The MMR shot is safe and effective, and there is no credible evidence otherwise.

Breaking MMR into three shots means 3x more copays at the doctor’s office, 3x more hours of missed work, 3x more bummed out kiddos, and probably more than 3x as many kids who aren’t fully vaccinated.
Reposted by John Mashey
volts.wtf
The historically volatile Texas grid was entirely stable this summer, despite extreme temperatures. Grid operators never once had to ask Texans to conserve energy or shut off their air conditioners.

Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.
Solar and batteries had a record-setting, grid-stabilizing summer in…
Solar has set 17 power generation records in Texas so far this year, shoring up the grid alongside batteries as some gas plant developers step back.
www.canarymedia.com
Reposted by John Mashey
noupside.bsky.social
The Macedonian Teenagers, all grown up! 10 yrs later it turns out that tapping the right wing rage machine remains extraordinarily lucrative! Who could’ve guessed?

(I wrote a book about it lol and researched some of this guy’s prior art)

Meanwhile, the capacity for investigations has diminished.
jsweetli.bsky.social
NEW: A MAGA X account often shared by Senator Mike Lee and House Republicans like Nancy Mace--that often alleges Democrats encourage voting fraud-- is run by a man who not only has never stepped foot in the US, he also illegally donated to an American campaign.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
The Viral MAGA Accounts Run by a Man Who Has Never Been to America
Two influential MAGA social media accounts are run by Rumen Naumovski, a Macedonian who may have illegally donated to a U.S. election.
www.rollingstone.com
Reposted by John Mashey
rbreich.bsky.social
Remember this as Trump goes on about being "tough on crime."

@publiccitizen.bsky.social
johnmashey.bsky.social
Even RFK Jr’s gang knows it would be hard to outright ban vaccines for M M and R, so this is yet another step towards the clear goal of ending vaccinations:
bsky.app/profile/john...
johnmashey.bsky.social
I strongly recommend fine documentary “A Shot in the Arm” on vaccine hesitancy & its (often well-paid) promoters, incl RFK, Jr.
www.pbs.org/video/shot-i...
Watch whole thing, but especially:
34:32-onward RFK, Jr
43:45-50:27 Samoa deaths: he denies/evades involvement, video records contradict.
Shot in the Arm
Explore vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of COVID-19.
www.pbs.org
Reposted by John Mashey
johnconorryan.bsky.social
25! years ago, the team I was on helped expose the emergence of the telecom bubble.
And now this.
Circular revenues AI <==> chipmakers; immense capex spending on data centers; costs rising faster than revenues.
Smoke. Fire.
rbreich.bsky.social
Data centers are receiving billions in state tax exemptions.

These centers, many owned by Big Tech giants, are driving up electric bills and sucking up huge amounts of water.

AI is boosting the stock portfolios of the richest Americans while everyone else pays the price.
Reposted by John Mashey
cfoh.bsky.social
This administration is totally fine with more Americans getting cancer from water contaminants if it means corporations and their wealthy friends might keep a penny or two more. Insane.

The #EPA is now the Exploitation & Profiteering Agency.

www.newsweek.com/epa-drinking...
EPA moves to roll back drinking water standards
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to roll back regulatory standards for three types of PFAS chemicals in drinking water systems.
www.newsweek.com
Reposted by John Mashey
kateweb.bsky.social
6Music is celebrating Ada Lovelace and women in STEM today - find out more about Ada Lovelace Day and some of the events being held this year: findingada.com/worldwide-ev... #ALD #AdaLovelaceDay
Reposted by John Mashey
csldf.org
While climate scientists have been under attack for years, they are facing an increasing onslaught of politically motivated attacks in the current "post-truth" political environment. Check out our Pocket Guide to Handling Political Harassment & Legal Intimidation: www.csldf.org/resource/poc...
A Pocket Guide for Scientists: Handling Political Harassment and Legal Intimidation - Climate Science Legal Defense Fund
We produced this guide to educate scientists about the legal risks they may face from politically-motivated attacks.
www.csldf.org
Reposted by John Mashey
volts.wtf
"Energy dominance," you say?

As of this year, *China is exporting more clean-energy technology than the US is exporting the dirty stuff*.

The future is green energy & China, not the US, is set to dominate it.
China Is Beating the US in the Battle for Energy Export Dominance
China’s exports of clean energy technology hit a record in August, with $20 billion shipped globally.
www.bloomberg.com
Reposted by John Mashey
djzaber.bsky.social
🧪 Denmark bans pesticide ingredients that break down into Trichloroacetic acid, a PFAS and reproductive toxin.
djzaber.bsky.social
"DEPA has prohibited the use of six active ingredients—fluazinam, fluopyram, diflufenican, mefentrifluconazole, taufluvalinate, and flonicamid."
They "break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a type of PFAS that easily contaminates groundwater."

www.food-safety.com/articles/105...
Denmark Bans Pesticides Containing Problematic PFAS Ingredients
Denmark has banned 23 pesticides containing six active ingredients known to break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) that easily contaminates water...
www.food-safety.com
Reposted by John Mashey
themorrancave.bsky.social
Those influencing Trump education policy aren't shy about wanting to eradicate public schools.

Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org

“I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
www.propublica.org
Reposted by John Mashey
sarahtaber.bsky.social
Here's a handy video on how millionaires like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are EXACTLY the kind of person the farm bailouts are for.

pls pardon the clickbait thumbnail, it does have real math in it

youtu.be/3kEr0jb6zhU
johnmashey.bsky.social
But it might be worth doing to put stake in the ground. It can be really short: just request all documents and emails involved in assessing and rejecting this grant.
www.energy.gov/lm/freedom-i...
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests
www.energy.gov
Reposted by John Mashey
petergleick.bsky.social
The other point, of course, is that if the National Academy HAD done a review, they would have blistered Koonin's DOE report as a piece of garbage. That's why the Trump government didn't ask the National Academy to do a review.
johnmashey.bsky.social
Good idea, do it soon, but don’t hold your breath. I did a bunch of FOiAs ~15 years ago, and got answers from people who did serious digging, but often took year+.
To some extent, FOIA is an unfunded mandate, not exactly highest priority, even in well-staffed group. Now??
Reposted by John Mashey
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Defending the highway to the NC Outer Banks is problematic: “It’s the overwash of sand that built these islands in the first place and allows them to persist," Moore said. "By blocking that process to defend roadways and buildings, we’re starving these islands of the lifeline they need to exist.”
Why efforts to protect Highway 12 could be making flooding worse
A UNC-led study says decades of road protection efforts may be accelerating erosion and putting the Outer Banks at greater risk.
www.wral.com