As it Burns

 Whenever I watch kids play pickup sports, their first step is to set up the ground rules.

They have to establish the boundaries between what is in-bounds and what is out-of-bounds. They use whatever is at hand — bushes, trees, logs, rocks, or trash..

Then there are the rules about how the game is to be played, what is legal and what is not, how scoring and ultimately winning is to be determined.

I’ve watched kids argue over those rules for so long that the actual game, once it gets underway, almost seems like an afterthought. 

Nevertheless, most of the time they play within the agreed-upon rules.

Such is and should be the state of human affairs from childhood on. We encourage childish games to train for “real life.” For example, professional sports leagues, one of our main forms of entertaining ourselves while the actual world burns, employ elaborate ground rules.

Meanwhile, what about those who conduct the bloody conflicts around the world? What are their rules?

This morning, the horrible war in the Middle East is on “pause.” Both sides are holding their fire while a handful of innocents are reunited with their families. 

But angry fingers get itchy. When the pause ends, the slaughter of innocents will resume, even though the “rules of war” will no doubt be followed by the good guys. In the process, I hear that stocks on Wall Street are up, money is being made. Maybe Bob Dylan got it right. The “Masters of War” get their share.

So let me ask you this. What are we to tell our children?

HEADLINES:

• US Hopeful Americans Will Be Released in Future Hostage Groups (Bloomberg)

• Biden’s resistance to cease-fire could alienate youth voters in 2024 (WP)

• How Biden Might Recover (Atlantic)

• Courts Strike Down Gun Control Measures in Two States (NYT)

• Judge rejects attempt to enshrine abortion rights on Nevada ballot (The Hill)

• Exposure to widely used insecticides decreases sperm concentration, study finds (Guardian)

• New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993, according to a legal summons. Adams has denied the allegations, saying he doesn't remember meeting the woman who is seeking $5 million in relief. A flurry of new accusations have been made public as people hurry to file before New York’s Adult Survivors Act expires today. [AP]

• The world’s biggest iceberg is on the move (CNN)

• Russia is starting to make its superiority in electronic warfare count (Economist)

• Afghan embassy in India shuts down citing lack of support, Taliban pressure (Reuters)

• Far-right protesters burn and loot in Dublin in worst violence ‘in decades’ (WP)

• Long a Bastion of Liberalism, the Netherlands Takes a Sharp Right Turn (NYT)

• Oakland’s unprecedented triple exodus is a unique sporting tragedy (Guardian)

• What is OpenAI Project Q*? AGI Superintelligence Explained (Tech.co)

• Sam Altman and the OpenAI power struggle, explained (CBS)

• The Week When AI Got High on Its Own Supply (Gizmodo)

• OpenAI turmoil exposes threat to Microsoft’s investment (Financial Times)

• The Fight for the Soul of A.I. (NYT)

• Family On Tropical Cruise Almost Getting Tired Of All The Unforgettable Memories (The Onion)

The Day Before Tomorrow

Everybody understands that holidays can be emotional times, for better or worse. They can be especially loaded for those who have suffered a loss, are recently divorced, or are lonely and isolated without a solution at hand.

They also can be times of unrestrained joy, especially for children who may be largely unaware of the concerns that cloud the minds of the adults in their lives. 

American folklore makes a big deal of the importance of family at holidays, but we all know that family too can be a mixed bag. Family histories at holidays include stressful conversations, anxiety swings and fierce political disagreements.

This last fear — of political fights — is so deep that there is a constant stream of nervous jokes and advice columns in the media surrounding family holiday get-togethers on ways to try and minimize rifts.

Why do we fear disagreeing so much? Maybe what we fear the most is losing each other, whatever our flaws and differences, forever.

I sometimes wish as the patriarch of a large family, that I had a great and original font of knowledge and wisdom to impart at times like this — for my own relatives and by extension for everyone else.

But I don’t.

On the bad news front (I’m a journalist), I can affirm that we will indeed all have to lose one another eventually. It’s called death.

But until then, as other, wiser people before me have noted, we are all part of the larger human family, cousins if you will.

Meanwhile, yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is unknowable. So all there is is today, and if you are able make today matter in some small way that brings a larger meaning and a glimmer of hopefulness either for you or for someone else, do it.

There might be one other thing. Even after death, we don’t really lose one another, not completely.

Because we still appear in each other’s dreams.

HEADLINES:

• Israel-Hamas war updates: 24 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza released (CNBC)

• A much-needed truce between Israel and Hamas (Financial Times)

• The Gaza Strip is the "most dangerous place in the world to be a child," the head of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said. (Reuters)

• Israeli army arrests al-Shifa Hospital director, other doctors in Gaza (Al Jazeera)

• Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (ABC)

• Judge on Trump NY Fraud Case Receives ‘Serious and Credible’ Death Threats From MAGA (Rolling Stone)

• For Election Workers, Fentanyl-Laced Letters Signal a Challenging Year (NYT)

• Head of DeSantis PAC resigns as internal tensions explode (Axios)

• In a political shift to the far right, anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch election (AP)

• India is seeing a massive aviation boom (Economist)

• Russia Flooding NATO Border With Refugees May Have a Darker Purpose (Newsweek)

• Why Xi Jinping sounds friendlier to America (Economist)

• Nearly 40% of conventional baby food contains toxic pesticides, US study finds (Guardian)

• Air pollution from coal-fired plants is much more deadly than originally thought, study finds (CNN)

• OpenAI staff reportedly warned the board about an AI breakthrough that could threaten humanity before Sam Altman was ousted (Fortune)

• Sam Altman’s Second Coming Sparks New Fears of the AI Apocalypse (Wired)

• Why it’s important to remember that AI isn’t human (Vox)

• What the OpenAI drama means for AI progress — and safety (Nature)

• The OpenAI Mess Is About One Big Thing (Atlantic)

• The Future of AI: Self-Learning Machines Could Replace Current Artificial Neural Networks (SciTechDaily)

• OpenAI and X: Promises of populist technology, shaped by a single man (WP)

• hild Decides To Become Vegetarian After Forming Close Friendship With Roasted Turkey Leg (The Onion)

 

Dawn

 

Persistence

 (This essay is from two years ago.)

If you were to ask me the one trait that characterizes the best investigative reporters, it would be something resembling stubbornness. To get the kinds of stories others miss requires an unwillingness to give up just because the process becomes difficult or the path twisted.

By the same token, these reporters often encounter additional resistance inside their own media organizations, because the stories can take a long time, consume resources, and raise all sorts of internal concerns including legal issues.

So staying the course requires a certain type of individual, one that seems to be becoming more scarce in today’s media environment. There still are great stories being produced here and there but they are rarer now.

But this Thanksgiving I’m grateful for the ones who remain.

***

Like many older people, the pandemic enforced an unwanted disruption of my so-called “golden years.” I couldn’t go anywhere or see anyone and the only color that readily comes to mind for the year 2020 and the first part of 2021 is “gray.”

Some of that gloom has lifted now, as in measured steps I am getting out a bit and seeing a few people now and then.

But the world has changed and I am no longer as sure how to navigate it as I was in the past. I no longer live where I lived for 17 years, work where I worked for 7 years, or own a car.

So I have to adapt. One day recently I decided to walk a mile southeast through the hills to the pharmacy where a prescription was waiting for me. I was uncertain of the route, and the normally reliable Google seemed uncertain as well.

I’d never walked the route before and it was challenging. Google claimed the walk should take me about 18 minutes but in the end with many course corrections it required an hour and a half. Along the way, I’d gotten unceremoniously booted out of a construction site I’d inadvertently stumbled onto and barely avoided getting hit by a bicyclist on what I’d presumed was a walking path.

The bicyclist, at least, was apologetic. For which I was grateful, since I figure pedestrians must have become scarce during the worst of the pandemic.

Afterward, I called Lyft for the ride home.

HEADLINES:

• Israel and Hamas agree to hostage deal, four-day pause in fighting in Gaza (Axios)

• Netanyahu says war against Hamas will not stop after cease-fire (AP)

• The pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is starting to tell (Guardian)

• Israel-Gaza war: only a two-state solution can bring real peace, China president says in first public speech on conflict (South China Morning Post)

• A Gaza journalist regarded as a giant in the Palestinian media industry was killed by Israeli bombing in Gaza City, the latest in a growing series of journalist deaths in the region. [HuffPost]

• AC-130 Strikes Iranian-Backed Militants Following Missile Attack (DoD)

• A Paradigm Shift in America’s Asia Policy (Foreign Affairs)

• Federal appeals court deals a blow to Voting Rights Act (AP)

• Dangerous weather in forecast for Thanksgiving travel (ABC)

• Border Patrol sending migrants to unofficial camps in California's desert, locals say (NPR)

• Democrats’ border problem is getting real (WP)

• Trump’s Dire Words Raise New Fears About His Authoritarian Bent (NYT)

• A Supreme Court case about stocks could help make Trump’s authoritarian dreams reality (Vox)

• The (second) exile of Marjorie Taylor Greene — The MAGA favorite is on the outs with most of her Republican colleagues and adrift now that her ally is no longer speaker. (MSNBC)

• Biden can’t spin his way to re-election (Financial Times)

• EPA considers approving fruit pesticide despite risks to children, records show (Guardian)

• Facing pressure in India, Netflix and Amazon back down on daring films (WP)

• All the Newspapers’ Men (New Yorker)

• Renting alone is too expensive for Gen Z (Axios)

• 60 years after JFK's assassination, the agent who tried to save him opens up (NPR)

• Why Can’t We Quit “The Morning Show”? (New Yorker)

• Army ants use collective intelligence to build bridges. Robots could learn from them (NPR)

• Sam Altman returns as OpenAI CEO in chaotic win for Microsoft (Bloomberg)

• How Sam Altman Ran Afoul of the Keepers of the AI Faith (Nation)

• OpenAI’s turmoil is about more than Sam Altman (CNN)

• OpenAI’s Board Approached Anthropic About Merger (The Information)

• The Mystery at the Heart of the OpenAI Chaos (Wired)

• OpenAI drama explains the human penchant for risk-taking (WP)

• OpenAI’s future hangs in balance amid stand-off between staff and board (Financial Times)

• Will AI Render Programming Obsolete? (MIT)

• The Long Shadow of Steve Jobs Looms Over the Turmoil at OpenAI (NYT)

• Teacher Forms Strong Bond With Things That Do Standardized Tests (The Onion)

56 Years Later...

 Heading into next year’s election, several factors remind me of the situation 14 political cycles ago in 1968. Like now, it was a tumultuous time.

We had an incumbent Democrat in the White House (LBJ) who had proved to be effective at winning important legislative victories (the Civil Rights Act), but who faced growing opposition to America’s involvement in an unpopular war overseas (Vietnam).

The Republican challenger (Nixon) was a figure deeply feared and despised by progressives, but the rising anti-war sentiment among the young (my generation) opened up deep fissures within the Democratic camp.

Challengers to LBJ soon emerged from the left (Eugene McCarthy, RFK, George McGovern) and after a poor showing in the first primary, LBJ chose to withdraw from the race for re-election. 

This set off a mad dash for the Democratic nomination, which ultimately was decided by party insiders, who selected a weak option, the incumbent V-P Hubert Humphrey over the anti-war candidates.

And how did that work out? Nixon won, and the country subsequently suffered one of its worst political crises ever with the Watergate scandal.

I’m not yet predicting or advocating that Biden will or should withdraw his candidacy, necessarily, but it seems a definite possibility that he may have to eventually given his low approval ratings and the tragic situation in the Middle East.

Should history repeat itself a la 1968, that could saddle our country and the future of democracy with Donald Trump.

On the other hand, if Biden does pull out sooner rather than later, that could help Democrats get a stronger candidate, like Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer into the fight against Trump — and give our children and grandchildren a better chance to preserve their democratic future.

HEADLINES:

• Israeli forces battle militants around another Gaza hospital as babies evacuated to Egypt (AP)

• Israel says soldier executed, foreign hostages held at Gaza's Shifa hospital (Reuters)

• Between Israelis and Palestinians, a Lethal Psychological Chasm Grows (NYT)

• Is it time for America's elder statesmen to retire? (BBC)

• Mullen on Blinken’s reaction to Biden calling Xi a dictator: ‘Wincing is accurate’ (The Hill)

• Many former Trump aides say he shouldn’t be president. Will it matter? (WP)

• Trump visits Texas near US-Mexico border as he escalates anti-immigrant rhetoric (CNN)

• Vulgarities, insults, baseless attacks: Trump backers follow his lead (WP)

• The Supreme Court’s new ‘code’ does nothing to enhance ethics (The Hill)

• The White House May Condemn Musk, but the Government Is Addicted to Him (NYT)

• Why Americans feel gloomy about the economy despite falling inflation and low unemployment  (AP)

• Radical libertarian Javier Milei seizes victory in Argentina presidential election (Financial Times)

• More than 400,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan following crackdown on migrants (ABC)

• Royal Navy nuclear submarine sinks towards ‘danger zone’ (Telegraph)

• NASA will take your name to space in a “Message in a Bottle.” (WP)

• When people move out, wildlife moves in: 10 abandoned places reclaimed by nature (CNN)

• The War in Gaza Is Also Unfolding on Instagram (NYT)

• Amazon aims to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people by 2025 with its new ‘AI Ready’ commitment (AMZN)

• Sam Altman joins Microsoft as OpenAI names its third CEO in 3 days (CNN)

• A timeline of Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI and Microsoft appointment (Reuters)

• The Winners and Losers of OpenAI’s Wild Weekend (NYT)

• Brilliant but Dangerous Move. It Could Change the Future of A.I. Forever (Inc.)

• OpenAI in chaos as nearly all employees threaten to quit to join Altman at Microsoft (WP)

• The “Next Wave” of AI Is Here (Brownstone)

• AI is making the world’s biggest banks much smarter (WP)

• Loud Man Not Even Drunk (The Onion)

Biden's Youth Problem

With the next presidential election still a year out, the polls show that at least one key demographic — young voters — is not all that keen on Joe Biden.

Curious as to why that is the case, on Sunday I convened my own little focus group to seek some answers.

The East Bay freeway was clogged for reasons that were unclear, so my trip into the city took twice as long as usual, but it was well worth it.

Our group met in a cafe in Noe Valley, one of San Francisco’s many bustling neighborhoods.

My lively 20-something companions are well-educated, progressive urbanites who somewhat reluctantly voted for Biden in 2020. (Their first choice was Bernie Sanders.)

Sunday, they were full of anecdotes about the past week’s events, from the APAC meeting to Biden’s visit, the China summit and the noisy antiwar protests. They were especially impressed by all of the graffiti that had appeared.

When I asked them about Biden, they universally said they were disappointed in his performance in office.

One key reason is the student loan mess. Biden had promised to do something about it and he tried, but ultimately he failed.

Another key problem they cited was the president’s handling of immigration. They were all concerned he has not done enough about the crisis at the border.

But the biggest complaint they voiced was over the war in the Middle East. Although they all support Israel’s right to exist, they strongly object to the killing of innocent Palestinians.

And though they were appalled by the slaughter of innocent Israelis by Hamas on October 7th, as one said, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Another put it succinctly. “We want a ceasefire and the hostages released. We don’t support this war.” They all agreed that the nuances in the matter really don’t matter to young voters.

Virtually every other young person they know, they told me, supports the Palestinians in the conflict and wants it to end — now.

Biden, of course, has stood stalwartly with Israel, so he is losing their support by taking that stand.

Besides these issue discussions, I asked about Biden’s age. “Age shouldn’t matter but he just seems old,” they agreed. “It’s time for someone younger.”

One positive note for the president was they unanimously agreed that if the 2024 race comes down to Biden v. Trump, they would all vote for Biden again. Because they hate Trump.

And they said that no matter who is on the ballot, they will definitely be voting next November.

It’s a small sample size but I learned a long time ago that you can trust small slices on things like this. 

(No links today) 

Sunday Links

 No essay today. Just a few links.

HEADLINES:

• U.S., Israel and Hamas reach tentative deal to pause conflict and free dozens of hostages (WP)

• Biden orders top aides to prepare reprimands for violent Israeli settlers in West Bank (Politico)

• Israel’s raid on al-Shifa Hospital is a litmus test (Globe and Mail)

• Israeli air strikes kill 32 in south Gaza (Reuters)

• Israel told Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza — and stepped up attacks there (NPR)

• The War in Gaza Is Splintering the Democratic Party (NYT)

• Hamas attack thrusts kibbutzniks into strange and terrible twilight (WP)

• Xi signals marked shift in tone for China on US – but with Biden’s off-the-cuff ‘dictator’ comment can it last? (CNN)

• What Xi Jinping got from his meeting with Joe Biden (Reuters)

• Joe Biden floats Gavin Newsom presidency at APEC welcome reception in San Francisco (SFGate)

• Capitol Hill is reaching a boiling point (MSNBC)

• Hollywood’s actors are back to work—here’s what they actually got in SAG-AFTRA’s new contract (CNBC)

• A cocktail of toxins is poisoning our fields. Its effect on humans? Nobody can tell us (Guardian)

• 4 women dead, 1 critically injured in Memphis shootings, police say (ABC)

• How did time begin, and how will it end? (BBC)

• Scientists Discover How Cats Communicate (Newsweek)

• A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft (New Yorker)

• How Sam Altman's ouster went down, according to OpenAI's ex-president (Axios)

• Sam Altman breaks silence on OpenAI firing. (Mashable)

• Screens are good, actually (Verge)

• Is Argentina the First A.I. Election? (NYT)

• Report: That Was Very Stupid Thing To Say (The Onion)