What could possibly go wrong in the land down under...

Quote:Last year, Monash University scientists created the "DishBrain" – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes. Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes.

The micro-electrode array at the heart of the DishBrain was capable both of reading activity in the brain cells, and stimulating them with electrical signals, so the research team set up a version of Pong where the brain cells were fed a moving electrical stimulus to represent which side of the "screen" the ball was on, and how far away from the paddle it was. They allowed the brain cells to act on the paddle, moving it left and right.

Then they set up a very basic-reward system, using the fact that small clusters of brain cells tend to try to minimize unpredictability in their environment. So if the paddle hit the ball, the cells would receive a nice, predictable stimulus. But if it missed, the cells would get four seconds of totally unpredictable stimulation.

It was the first time lab-grown brain cells had been used this way, being given not only a way to sense the world, but to act on it, and the results were impressive.

Impressive enough that the research – undertaken in partnership with Melbourne startup Cortical Labs – has now attracted a US$407,000 grant from Australia's National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants program.


These programmable chips, fusing biological computing with artificial intelligence, "in future may eventually surpass the performance of existing, purely silicon-based hardware," says project lead, Associate Professor Adeel Razi.

"The outcomes of such research would have significant implications across multiple fields such as, but not limited to, planning, robotics, advanced automation, brain-machine interfaces, and drug discovery, giving Australia a significant strategic advantage," he said.

The DishBrain's advanced learning capabilities, in other words, could underpin a new generation of machine learning, particularly when embodied in autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots. It could give them, says Razi, "a new type of machine intelligence that is able to learn throughout its lifetime."


The technology promises machines that can continue to learn new abilities without compromising old ones, that can adapt well to change, and that can map old knowledge onto new situations – while continually self-optimizing their use of computing power, memory and energy.

"We will be using this grant," says Razi, "to develop better AI machines that replicate the learning capacity of these biological neural networks. This will help us scale up the hardware and methods capacity to the point where they become a viable replacement for in silicon computing."

Source: Monash University

This is a news article from Sweden. I have been following this story for many years

Estonia ramp salvaged
Published 22 July 2023 at 08.47
INSIDE. Since Wednesday, the Swedish Accident Investigation Board and its Finnish and Estonian sister authorities have been at the wreck of the MS Estonia to salvage the ship's controversial boarding ramp. It is the ramp that came loose, swam away a bit and settled over a suspected blast in the bow after the Estonia was filmed by journalist Henrik Evertsson in 2019.

The Estonia disaster
Estonia's bow ramp to be salvaged
Court of Appeal increases sentences for Estonia whistleblowers
Defence Forces: We don't know what we smuggled on Estonia
Prosecutor demands tougher sentences for Estonia whistleblowers
Ingvar Carlsson: Time to tell if there was military material on the Estonia when she sank
Show all


© SHK

The railings of the then closed boarding ramp were found shortly after the accident - outside the wreck.

Henrik Evertsson's 2019 photos revealed another major damage - in the ship's side of the Estonia - which, after being broadcast in the 2020 TV documentary 'Estonia - the find that changes everything', prompted the governments of Estonia, Sweden and Finland to resume investigations of the wreck.

The idea was to investigate the new hole in the side of the ship revealed by Mr Evertsson and to investigate a damage in the bow - at the bow ramp - documented by German journalist Jutta Rabe and American contractor Greg Bemis back in 2000.

Several metallurgical analyses of the damage in the bow from 2000 showed that it bore traces of explosives, and in 2021 an analysis of the Estonia's bow visor, which was salvaged in 1994, showed that this part of the ship had also been subjected to blasting or other intense heating.

However, once the authorities dived down to the Estonia in 2021, it turned out that the ferry's bow ramp had come loose at some point after journalist Henrik Evertsson filmed the ramp in its upright position in 2019.

The ramp had not only fallen off the ship but also swam away a bit - it is unclear how - and settled just above the hole in the ship's bow discovered by Greg Bemis and Jutta Rabe in 2000, but omitted by the international investigators in the final report released by the Swedish Accident Investigation Board and its Estonian and Finnish sister authorities in 1997. The authorities were therefore unable to access the area when they investigated themselves in the new dives in 2021.

"Accessing that area for detailed investigation would require a camera to come between the ramp and the affected area," Jörgen Zachau, accident investigator and head of investigation at the Swedish Accident Investigation Board, wrote in an email to Fria Tider at the time.

In 2022, Sweden, Finland and Estonia contributed €2.5 million to finance the recovery of the ramp.

Among other things, the authorities wanted to examine previously photographed damage to the ramp in the form of a triangle that was probably formed when the ramp hit the forecourt deck before it - as claimed in the final report - fell off at the surface.

- This strengthens the hypothesis of how the sinking occurred, according to TT.

But there is also damage that points in another direction. For example, the front part of the ramp's left-hand railing has been found outside the ship, even when the ramp was closed. SKL has stated that these are the Estonia's railings, but has not attempted to explain how they could be outside the ship when they were detached from a closed bow ramp.

Several critics, including former MP Lars Ångström (MP), have argued that the railings show that someone opened the ramp after the sinking of the Estonia, entered the car deck (which is behind the ramp), and then closed the ramp behind them. According to him, the railings must have been cut away because they were bent and prevented the ramp from closing.

Neither the Armed Forces, the Accident Commission nor SKL have attempted to explain how the railings could have ended up outside the ship when the ramp was closed.

However, an explanation has been provided by the YouTube account Estoniaveckan, which is officially run by a socially engaged immigrant but in practice tends to launch various theories that are as flattering as possible to Swedish authorities. According to Estoniaveckan, the ramp may have opened and released the railings on the bottom when the ship sank, and the ramp then closed by itself when the ship hit the bottom.

In other words, the 10-tonne ramp, built in 1980, is a lively and mobile 43-year-old. It remains to be seen whether this part of the ship, which seems to be constantly ready to move up, down and sideways under its own power, will still be there when the authorities salvage it this week. Fria Tider is following the operation and will report back.
https://www.friatider.se/simkunnig-estonia-ramp-bargas

Translated with DeepL

I like this aircraft and particularly the PT-6 engine power source.  I am surprised the Airfarce considered a tail dragger and a prop plane but this bird has a good pay load and long range when considered against other small A.F. aircraft not to mention the cost per hour to operate the aircraft. Stand off missiles and good electronics can get the job done in most active 3D world engagements IMO.

Elven Shamanic - Mystical Woods - Shamanic Drumming - Ethereal Tribal Sounds



This music is inspired by imaginative mystical forest elves connecting to the mysteries of Earth, deep in the woods. It is a healing and entrancing music that features shamanic drumming, ethereal vocals, harp, and many layers of synths and special fx. There is also the sounds of birds and water to bring about an atmosphere of peace. Composed in 432 Hz.




Samaya - Serendipity (Mix) Shamanic Downtempo / Folktronica

It starts slow but builds quickly

Quote:33,300 views Premiered Jul 15, 2023 #americasuntoldstories #markgroubert #erichunley

Join Eric Hunley and Mark Groubert on "America's Untold Stories" as they interview Mikki Willis about the thought-provoking Plandemic Series, with "The Great Awakening" being the latest chapter. Dive into Willis's personal journey of disillusionment with socialist ideologies and his exploration of media misinformation. Witness the unveiling of media accountability and credibility as the conversation delves into the idea of digital rankings or report cards to highlight credibility and track falsehoods. Willis sheds light on the influence of pharmaceutical companies, intelligence operatives, and the CIA in newsrooms, emphasizing the importance of journalistic integrity and preventing false reporting. The potential involvement of actors in propaganda and their influence within the industry is also discussed. Explore the impact of media misinformation and the role of organizations like the World Health Organization, the CDC, and Bill Gates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discover how late-night talk show hosts shape the narrative and promote fear. Willis's journey into Marxism and socialism reveals the need to focus on the bigger picture beyond distractions. The series uncovers the belief that current issues are part of a larger agenda of control, with China, traders within the US, and globalist forces playing a significant role. The influence of Hollywood and the entertainment industry is examined, questioning the narratives and biases presented by the media. The importance of questioning these narratives and not blindly accepting them is emphasized. Willis shares his personal journey of leaving the left, advocating for giving individuals who speak out against the left the benefit of the doubt. Resisting compromise, maintaining integrity, and combatting corruption are emphasized to prevent unethical behavior. He advises others to never sell out and highlights the significance of taking a stand against the corrupt system. The "Plandemic" series and the insights shared shed light on disillusionment with socialism, media misinformation, the influence of organizations and individuals, Hollywood's role, and the importance of critical thinking. Join Eric Hunley and Mark Groubert on "America's Untold Stories" as they navigate through these vital topics and empower viewers to seek the truth.

“YELLOW THREE IS ON FIRE,” said the matter of fact voice transmitted over VHF comm radio #1. After checking the fire warning light on the forward instrument panel, which was supposed to illuminate if their was a fire in the engine compartment, Sky pressed the intercom to speak to his Crew chief on the left side of the aircraft.

“Chief, are we on fire,” Sky questioned ?
“Uh, dunno, let me check,” was the Chief's reply.

As Sky waited for the Chief's report and with his head turned to the left one of Yellow Flight's lift birds (called a slick) came auto-rotating into the shallow water and elephant grass very close to Sky's own aircraft. With some satisfaction Sky realized this was the bird on fire and not his 915 or Yellow 3 slick, A very large orange fire ball was burning up and through the engine cowling covering for the engine compartment just behind the particle separator of Yellow 4. As the bird settled into the water and the fuel switch was turned off the orange fireball disappeared into a bunch of grayish black smoke. .


The VHF, UHF, and Fox Mike, radios were full of what seemed like most of all the 8 ships in this flight transmitting, “We are taking fire, One !”


This was the flight's second attempt into this Landing Zone (LZ) to pick up the last remaining troops in Cambodia. The first attempt had not been successful either as they had been shot at from behind what seem like every tree until “Yellow One” finally pulled pitch and the flight departed; still without even seeing the friendly troops they were to extract.


Since Yellow 4 had been the bird on fire and not yellow 3 Sky sat at a hover while Yellow 4's aircraft commander transmitted on UHF (thinking he was on intercom) for his crew to grab their weapons and get out of their disable machine. The words he chose were a little more like, “ Grab the machine guns and let's get to F outta here” !


When he had transmitted those choice words he had not realized he was on UHF and talking to the world therefore his voice was just one more voice in a sea of voices all transmitting on the three different radios about some sort of distressing news about Yellow flight.


Yellow 4's Crew Chief and Door Gunner most likely did not hear their aircraft commander's evacuation order but even so they needed no prodding to grab their Sh*t and get away from their burning, sinking UH-1, that now sat in a Hot LZ.


( A Hot LZ is a landing zone where the bad guys try to punch holes with their weapons into whatever catches their eyes. This tends to discourage you with their many weapons and hostile actions from delaying your departure. It is also implied by their actions that you should not come back. A slick is a big target but we were young, bold, and almost bullet proof until we weren't; so there we were.)


Sky just sat at a hover waiting for Yellow 4's crew to come through the muck, waste high in the water to the perceived safety of 915 and a way out of a beautiful LZ with many bad guys wanting to shoot important pieces of their bodies off.


To help Yellow 4's crew Sky dipped 915's skids below the water while thinking if he went much lower 915 would get a tail rotor strike (thus a failure) so then they would all be stranded.


Yellow 4's crew trudged over to 915's cargo bay and once everyone was on board Sky pulled pitch to depart. He was the last aircraft out of the LZ and as of yet he had not seen or even heard anyone shooting at them.


This was a horrible mission as the slicks could not return fire into the tree line with their M-60 machine guns because no one knew where the friendlies were.


This was Cambodia and all of the first Cav's missions were flown low level at tree top level or lower usually around 90 to 100 knots. The missions were flown this way to avoid long periods of time exposed to a bad guys gun sights and aiming ability with some sort of weapon meant to cause death and destruction on one's body and bird. This tactic worked even though you could hear a slick from very far away and a whole gaggle of slicks just that much further; triple canopy or dense jungle was your friend and helped conceal you until you crashed due to an engine failure or whatever ?


As Sky rejoined the flight that was headed to LZ Bronco he was amazed to see his fellow slicks looking like some kind of WW2 B-17 war movie with the way some of the birds were riddled with gun shot holes.. There was one bird on Sky's right that had a new guy ( FNG right seater/copilot) waving at everyone through his shot out wind screen. They had taken 5 rounds in the cockpit yet no one was hit bodily.


A UH-1 could take an unbelievable amount of punishment depending on where the punishment was dished out. Birds were often times landed back at base with holes punched in their skin from nose to tail; those kind of missions usually made for one hell of a war story that night in the bunker bar. There were other times when fate would let you know just how worthless it valued your feelings with one well placed round (the dreaded Golden BB) that would send you crashing through the jungle or auto-rotating into an open field or rice paddy. The jungle could be very annoying as the trees seem to hate you invading their space so they would come through the wind screen and any other place they could find to rearrange your face and internal organs rather rudely; think of a coat hanger up a hot dogs butt for roasting to give you some idea.

There was a lot of chatter on the radios enroute to LZ Bronco about the status of the aircraft each was flying nest to.


“Ah Two, I count six hits left side of your tail boom, all clear of the tail rotor drive shaft”.


“Roger 3 you look clean on your right”. “Click click” was heard as Sky keyed his mike in response.


Radio transmissions continued with light chatter and bantering. Life was good and this war was just something they all did together. No one had been hurt and they had not left anyone in their lift flight back in the LZ screaming on the radio as they burned to death.


Being burned to death is a very bad way to die.


Sky knew they were going to go back to the same hot LZ and once again try to get the troops stranded there out but that was in the future not now.


Unfortunately President Nixon had announced to the world via a white house statement and news briefing all troops would be out of Cambodia this very day no later than 18:30 hours. Of course the North Vietnamese heard the same thing and passed the message on to their troops in Cambodia.


I could have written that message to the NVA myself. “Stay close, no contact, wait until helicopters land and begin to load their troops. Then destroy everything. If any prisoners are taken tie them to a tree, skin them alive and make them say Uncle Ho many times as they die”.


It was just a passing thought as Sky was more interested in 915s engine and transmission instruments. He scanned them constantly either directly or out of the corner of his eyes watching for the first indication that all was not well with this assortment of moving parts he affectionately called 915. This particular lift bird and Sky had gone through many combat missions together and 915 always pulled her heart out for him and the crew bringing them back to base alive.


The flight continued on in an southeasterly direction in a loose formation more or less behind the Killer Spade yellow one. It was only a 20 minute flight back to LZ Bronco where they would land and be able to shut down their aircraft and inspect for damage.

LZ Bronco


LZ Bronco was a very small fire support base with only 5 105 Howitzers. The LZ was just inside the Vietnamese border with Cambodia and was there solely to support the troops that were now some 5 clicks inside Cambodia. There were already signs that the base was being dismantled and once the flight could get the remaining troops out of Cambodia, Bronco would cease to be anything but a memory.


Bronco's radio operator could hear the now 7 lift birds and the two Snakes (Bell AH-1 Cobra gun ships) long before he got a visual on the flight. Yellow one called on Fox Mike that the flight was inbound and requested any landing information available.


“Bronco this is, Yellow flight, LZ advisory over”.


“Yellow one this is Bronco.... suggest you guys land mostly on the west side or where ever you can find a spot...not much wind but suggest a southerly approach...uh, over”.


“Roger copy that, we are 2 miles out”.

A good summary of "Why" a Democrat switched sides. The teachers union and the hypocrisy of the DNC. If you don't fall in line lockstep with "ALL" of their positions, you are the enemy. I like to understand the reasons myself.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/politics/...index.html

Quote:Shortly after her news conference, she tweeted, “I represent a blue district in the city of Atlanta so this wasn’t a political decision for me. It was a a MORAL one. I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own.”

Democrats called the flip a betrayal, pointing to the deep-blue district Mainor was elected to represent.

A two-term member, Mainor had come under fire by members of the Democratic Party this session after voting with Republicans on a number of issues, including on police budgets and an oversight commission for prosecutors.

She was the lone Democrat to vote for a failed bill on private school vouchers, which prompted a then-fellow Atlanta Democrat – State Senator Josh McLaurin – to tweet, “All I need is a name,” with a photo of a blank check for $1,000 for a primary challenger in Mainor’s district.

“The harassment and intimidation is much bigger than three votes,” said Mainor, surrounded by a handful of supporters and the state GOP chairman, at her announcement. “It’s about fear, fear of an outsider coming to the capitol working for the people she came up here to serve.”

Quote:The life-long Democrat announced her decision to join the Republican Party on Tuesday, making her the first black Republican woman to serve in the Georgia assembly. Democrats have “mutilated” and “sabotaged” the representative since her appointment in 2020, Mainor said, while Republicans have supported her.


“It was always exceptionally easy to deal with the Republicans. Everything that I wanted to do was for my community and I remember speaker pro tempore Jan Jones saying one day, ‘I want to help you since you actually want to help your community.’ That was not taken the same way from the Democrats.”

Mainor broke with fellow Democrats on several issues during her time in the legislature, including police funding and prosecutorial oversight, but it was her vocal support for school choice that led to “harassment and intimidation” from her colleagues.

Although she’s faced scrutiny from Democrats in the legislature — state senator Josh McLaurin is offering $1,000 to anyone willing to challenge Mainor — the representative said her constituents have been supportive.

“I am running on what my community wants,” she said. “What my community wants are the things that the Republicans are pushing — they just don’t know that the Democrats do not support what they want.”

Mainor’s goal hasn’t changed with her party designation: She still wants to make Georgians in the 56th district as independent as possible. Although Democrats called Mainor’s decision a “stinging betrayal” to her deep-blue district, which voted for Joe Biden by an almost 90 percent margin in the 2020 election, Mainor won her previous two elections on a school-choice platform.

“My district has the most charter schools in any other district in the state of Georgia. My district already is quite upset with the current state of the public school system,” she added.


Students in her district can’t perform simple math, Mainor said, and many teachers are resigning because they are graduating students who don’t know how to read.

Sixteen Republicans — six of whom were endorsed by teachers’ unions — in rural districts voted against Georgia’s school-choice bill in May. Mainor was the only Democrat who broke party lines to vote for the measure, which failed by four votes.

“I think my switch to the party is not only showing [my] colleagues and showing America in Georgia that we have a problem on our hands,” she said. “We are no longer beholden to the teachers union. The teachers are not the problem, it’s the teachers’ unions and the bureaucracy that they are uplifting. We can no longer be beholden to the superintendents — of course superintendents don’t want elected officials to support school choice.”

Now that Republicans have a stronger majority, the representative hopes that education will be a winning factor in the next election.

“Elected leaders are forgetting that parents are their voters,” she said.

Several blue lawmakers in Georgia who “say they are diverse and inclusive” proved to Mainor after her announcement that, “diversity and inclusion have some limits.” State democrats have attacked Mainor as a “narcissist,” and the Democratic Party of Georgia said that Mainor’s decision serves “personal political ambitions” instead of her constituents.

But Mainor says her Christian faith has allowed her to brush off the attacks.

“Politics is such a rapidly moving environment, with lots of different characters,” Mainor said. “I am very rooted in who I am. Even with this decision — the social media posts, the emails that I’m getting — people are vile. It does not bother me, you can call me anything you want. I know who I am. [My faith] has prepared me to handle the backlash because I only answer to one person. And that’s not even a person — I only answer to the Alpha and the Omega, and everything else is taken care of.”

The Democratic Party has become so radical that even their most liberal members are starting to jump ship. I won't quote the whole thing but the article mentions a few other recent political figures jumping ship before it is too late.


https://twitter.com/HikindDov/status/168...8701783040

Quote:IT’S OFFICIAL: My wife and I have switched our party affiliation from Democrat to Republican!

Ppl have long been asking, “Dov, when are you gonna leave the Democratic Party?”

Well, the time has come bc the Dems have turned their back on Jews & Israel, so it’s officially done!

Quote:After spending a lifetime as a Democrat, former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind has officially joined the Republican Party, citing the radicalism and anti-Semitism growing ever worse worse in his former party.

Hikind, the 73-year-old founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, was first elected to the NYS Assembly in 1982 and went on to serve as majority whip. He won his last election in 2014 against Republican Nachman Caller in a landslide.

In a video posted to his Twitter page this week featuring Hikind and his wife, Shani Hikind, the lawmaker of 36 years noted that not only was he a lifelong Democrat, but his parents and family had been as well.

"But that's over. That's finished," Hikind announced Thursday. "I have decided to register as a Republican."

On July 16, he appeared ready to jump ship, tweeting, "The Democratic party is dead. The radical Progressives are in full control. Its time to jump Ship. @POTUS you are responsible."

"Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has become so radicalized, so radical, run by the radicals, that people who are moderates or conservative Democrats are not welcomed in the Democratic Party," said Hikind. "And I've had enough."

Last summer, PBS raised the alarm, noting well over 1 million voters across 43 states had switched to the Republican party in 2022.

Just a heads up as it appears this all started in the last few hours and I have not looked myself (Sam's Club Still Had 50 pound bags of rice for 25 and change yesterday).

Supposedly, after India's announcement of rice export ban, prices are going up and in some places limits and major mark-ups.

Again, just an FYI

Parents Opt Out of something the school administration and activist don't want you to be able to Opt out of. Too many parents said No. So, what is their solution, no more opt out. Interesting that CAIR (leftist group) is leading the charge.

This shall be interesting.

School district bans opt-out from LGBTQ lessons because too many families opted out

https://twitter.com/CAIRNational/status/...8907911168

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/...e-too-many

Quote:An affluent liberal D.C. suburb has a simple explanation for why it won't honor parents' requests to exclude their children, some as young as 3 years old, from "storybooks" with sex workers, kink, drag, gender transitions and same-sex romance for elementary-age children: It's hard.


Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools claims it was flooded with opt-out requests when the books were introduced in the curriculum in January, giving it legal justification, on logistical grounds, to issue a blanket policy of no exceptions and no notifications.

The district didn't provide a specific number or even vague range, however, in its memorandum opposing the motion for preliminary injunction by Catholic, Muslim and Ukrainian-Orthodox parents who filed the First and Fourteenth Amendment lawsuit in May.

The July 6 amended complaint adds plaintiff Kids First, a new unincorporated association of Montgomery County parents with children in MCPS or who would be "but for" the new policy. It includes "Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Latter-day Saints, and Jews, and is open to individuals of all faiths."

MCPS spokesperson Christopher Cram told Just the News he was seeking "any information available" on the number of requests the school invoked to justify the new policy but couldn't provide anything Friday. The districts' lawyers didn't respond when asked. 

The district imposed the no-exception and no-notification policy March 23, a day after it told the media it would honor requests and issue notifications, which united parents across the religious spectrum in opposition.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a reliably liberal advocacy group on most issues, has been especially vocal and visible in challenging the policy.

"Public schools have an obligation to be inclusive and neutral," Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said at a multifaith rally Thursday. "They can't be favoring one group over another."

MCPS is the only known district nationwide to go this far, setting "a dangerous precedent for more bullying, more harassment, more intimidation for children within schools," according to Chaudry. "We can't teach children allyship and tolerance and inclusion by forcing them to assimilate" and give up "their own diverse identities."


MCPS "cannot plausibly claim that an opt-out policy that is both required by state law and was willingly followed until March 2023 could somehow harm the public interest if followed for the duration of this case," the parents' June 12 memorandum in support of a preliminary injunction states.

Maryland law requires districts to honor "family life and human sexuality" curriculum opt-outs "for any reason," and MCPS policy directs schools to "accommodate requests" from students and parents for classroom content "they believe would impose a substantial burden on their religious beliefs," the memo also states.

In addition, the storybooks go beyond "basic civility and kindness toward all," explicitly encouraging children to "question sexuality and gender identity, focus on romantic feelings, and embrace gender transitioning," the memo reads. 

Pre-kindergarten students, for example, are required to read Pride Puppy, which "promotes pride parades as family-friendly events without cautioning about the frequent nudity and sexually explicit conduct that many parents find objectionable –especially for children."