Nice eval and analysis. I am finding it more and more obnoxious that lemmy doesn’t seem to like true debate. Take the down votes as a good sign that you struck a possible cord of reality.

I think we’re aligned on the core issue but with nuanced perspectives. Regulatory capture is indeed the established academic term for the phenomenon you describe, precisely capturing how agencies meant to protect public interest end up advancing industry priorities through mechanisms like the revolving doorbetween Boeing and Congress.

Where I’d argue the Starliner narrative: While Boeing’s participation provided political cover for Commercial Crew legislation, SpaceX’s 2010 Falcon 9 debut and subsequent rapid repeatability fundamentally reset industry expectations. The success of fixed-price cargo contracts demonstrated reusable rockets and rapid iteration were possible, proving cost-plus models weren’t inevitable. This technological inflection point–not Boeing’s involvement–created the political space for NASA to demand accountability in human spaceflight.

Boeing’s Starliner struggles directly stem from its post-1997 merger culture shift, where McDonnell Douglas’ profit-focused management supplanted engineering excellence. This same culture produced both the 737 MAX flaws and Starliner’s valve failures, showing how regulatory capture enabled systemic safety failures when oversight bodies delegated excessive authority to Boeing.

The breakthrough came not from Boeing’s inclusion but from SpaceX proving fixed-price development could work, breaking the cost-plus mentality that had entrenched inefficiency for decades. Had Commercial Crew relied solely on legacy contractors, the same capture cycle would likely have persisted. SpaceX’s existence changed the incentive structure, not Boeing’s participation

All valid points, and yes SpaceX is a demonstration of how privatization can be more innovative. The challenge is that the counterpoint of Boeing culture change causing things like the Starliner is about as valid when regulatory capture happens.

I’m not saying nationalizing companies would help, but a government with good oversight (which is more and more of a question under Trump) could also help.

Based on the article they are using the 920Mhz range which would imply a 10m range if current standard continue.

So active sensors for a warehouse (or house) to cover 10m bubbles would be pretty useful. Especially when you add something like an Bluetooth/WiFi/Z-Wave/Matter/etc bridge/mesh.

There is a very scare element to this though, as these chips could easily be used nefariously too though.

True, but isn’t as private as it should be.

https://stoat.chat/

Learned something new today.

While ridiculous as it feels like an insane person doing the same thing, it does actually have impact in several ways. One thing is that they lack a law that explicitly covers the face mask, and ID, as well as some of the other items. So if they make a law, then they can be sued, by parties outside of the government. Or investigated by congress and held in contempt of congress, in prison.

Second, right now this is mostly about purse strings. If they write it into the appropriation, it’s law with funding attached. So if DHS fails to comply they won’t have a budget to have employees, etc. Not quite that direct normally, but it can force them to behave until the next funding cycle.

Third, Congress actually has quite a bit of power in the checks and balances. Including oversight, investigation, and more… But a strict law actually makes enforcement mandatory, rather than discretionary.

Having said that, yes ICE is basically ignoring laws often and that is the what many of the lawsuits they are being inundate by are about.

Interesting point.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/lawyers-leaving-us-government-drive-workforce-shift-2026-01-29/

Figures from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management show that 8,599 licensed attorneys left the federal government between Trump’s inauguration and November, for a net decline of 6,524 accounting for new hires. The drop follows annual increases nearly every year over decades — the second-largest net decrease since 2005 was 389 lawyers in 2022

…

Including lawyers and other workers, the Justice Department has lost a net 8,900 employees since Trump took office, according to OPM, which is set to release December’s data next month. The DOJ figures include 2,526 lawyers who retired or quit, 261 who left via force reductions, transfers or “other separations,” and 503 lawyers who were hired. The overall federal workforce has fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade.

So 16 to 22 times the last recorded number left in a single year. Guessing more than a few of them have started filing suits against the government in the intervening months.

Jumping in. You’ve had a conversation with Vintage, but I just want to add that boundaries are okay. Compassion fatigue is understandable. Giving a damn about a world that feels like it’s hurting you is hard and overwhelming. I sympathize.

I hope you hear that not everyone you meet or who engage with reflects you. Some of us care about you because you are human. It is okay not to care in the same way.

It is also okay to dissent, and be against the crowd. It is good for us to listen and engage with things that we don’t like, we need the challenge. So I thank you for that as well. I might not agree, but I appreciate the discourse and helping keep us grounded.

The thread below is an interesting example of how anger can override rational discourse.

Think of it less as bad people, than individuals drawn into self-reinforcing belief systems through algorithmically amplified echo chambers. Modern technology—primarily smartphones and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but also cable news (Fox/NewsNation) and podcasts—systematically exploits cognitive biases such as confirmation bias and correlation neglect to isolate users from dissenting viewpoints. This creates environments where belief and exclusivity override rational discourse, mirroring historical patterns where economic distress fueled extremism.

Just as post-WWI Germany’s hyperinflation and reparations under the Treaty of Versailles bred widespread anger and desperation—enabling extremist movements like the Nazis to gain traction by scapegoating minorities—today’s algorithmic ecosystems channel similar frustrations into polarized identity politics. Users aren’t merely “gullible”; they’re trapped in feedback loops where platforms prioritize engagement over truth, reinforcing preexisting narratives while filtering out complexity. This isn’t unique to the U.S.: Brazil’s Bolsonaro movement, France’s National Rally, and Italy’s Brothers of Italy all leverage these dynamics to mobilize bases through emotional appeals to victimhood and exclusion.

The core issue isn’t malice but structural amplification. Social media’s profit-driven algorithms curate content that deepens ideological divides, making users perceive opposing views as existential threats. Fixing this requires confronting how technology reshapes human cognition—not blaming individuals for succumbing to systems designed to exploit their biases. As one study notes, these echo chambers don’t just reflect polarization; they manufacture it through recursive reinforcement of extreme content.

https://fccprod.servicenowservices.com/ibfs?id=ibfs_home

I would suggest that this only be allowed if they share the internet the put up. Require low income and rural adjustments to increase distribution. If Musk keeps taking subsidies, we should get something out of him.

I’ll believe it’ll be built when I see the ballroom get past the judges and not get past half a billion in estimated costs.

Some workers have argued that, while unpalatable, Cook’s friendly relationship with the White House and silence on ICE or CBP is simply the job of the chief executive. The unpleasant reality of his fiduciary duty “means he needs to pander to criminals who want to destroy our democracy in order to ward off tariffs that would tank iPhone sales,” suggested one employee. “From my perspective, he’s choosing to take the hit to his reputation for the benefit of his employees, and for the customers that depend on our products and services,” argued another Slack commenter. “He’s truly in a tough position. An easy way out would have been to retire, but Tim doesn’t strike me as someone that would take the easy way out. He’s likely weighing the costs of every significant action.

”Some pointed out that, from a purely self-interested public relations standpoint, the corporate silence was counterproductive. “Just imagine for a second if Apple was the first big tech company to actually stand up for people’s rights against the admin,” wrote one. “Can’t think of a better PR move at this moment.”

A second Apple employee, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Intercept that the current dismay is without precedent. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen our internal Slack so busy with so many worried discussions going on at the same time on similar topics,” they said. “Apple leadership used to be an inspiration for many of us due to the importance given to ethical products, but these days it feels more and more that the folks that are supposed to represent Apple’s values wouldn’t even pass the internal business conduct training that most employees have to attend.”

I really like this analogy, but the biggest one to me is the intentionally addictive nature of the media and information it provides. Like the specifically targeted nicotine hits smoking provides designed to be addictive, phones sooth, stimulate, and distract in new and yet similar ways leveraging cognitive biases and physiology. They also fuck up your mind and body in screwing sleep cycles, changing your attention threshold, and probably more. Might not be as bad as cancer, but they still have an impact.

Menendez issued the order in response to six Minneapolis-area residents who alleged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents violated their constitutional rights while they were observing or protesting immigration raids in their neighborhoods.

“Plaintiffs allege they have been subject to a variety of retaliatory behavior by Defendants, including traffic stops, arrests, the indiscriminate use of chemical irritants, and pointing of firearms,” Menendez wrote in her order. “These kinds of conduct are those that undoubtedly give rise to an objective chill of First Amendment rights.”

The ruling came after a hearing Tuesday in the case and the death this month of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer while witnessing federal enforcement actions on a residential street in Minneapolis.

In an emailed statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agency is “taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”

“Assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is a felony,” she said, adding that officers have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”

She did not say whether DHS planned to appeal the ruling.

The Minnesota residents who filed the lawsuit are among those who have sought to monitor and record immigration enforcement activity in their communities since the Trump administration began deploying large numbers of immigration officers to the state last month.

One plaintiff, Susan Tincher, who intended to observe and record an immigration arrest she heard was occurring in her neighborhood, was arrested and pinned to the ground by agents after she asked whether they were part of ICE, according to the lawsuit. Two other plaintiffs said that after following an unmarked vehicle they suspected belonged to ICE, multiple masked agents surrounded their car and pointed semiautomatic weapons at them, according to court documents.

The lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd M. Lyons and local ICE field office directors and agents as defendants. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is representing the plaintiffs.

The ACLU lawsuit is separate from the suit filed Monday by Minnesota’s attorney general and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul against DHS over its immigration enforcement operations.

…

So there is a second lawsuit pending from Minnesota, and another from Illinois in federal district court from their respective AG’s. The ruling above is by citizens, which is impressive on it’s own.

How this all translates into Gov Tim Walz “obstructing justice” is an interesting one. His constitute won without him. I am also guessing if the DOJ ever actually files, Minnesota will have plenty of amicus curiae briefs.

What context is wikipedia missing from this investigation section about cs-137 that makes you think that there is more out there?

The Indonesian government followed up on the report, with a joint team membered by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Trade, National Energy Regulatory Agency, National Research and Innovation Agency, Mobile Brigade Corps, and local government officials[20] conducting a search in the Cikande Modern Industrial Area and discovering the presence of Cs-137 radiation.[21] The government has declared a special incident for Cs-137 radionuclide radiation in the Cikande Modern Industrial Area. The radioactive substance has reportedly contaminated nine people.[22] On October 3, Indonesian authorities announced that the radioactive material originated from a metal scrapyard in the Modern Cikande industrial park near Jakarta, and that the nine contaminated local people and workers have undergone special medical treatment.

The scrapyard factory is considered to be the epicenter of the contamination; the number of contaminated areas throughout the industrial park, which was initially thought to be six, was later determined to be ten (two of which have been decontaminated).[23] Investigators ascertained that the caesium-137 entered the domestic supply chain through a stainless steel smelter operated by PT Peter Metal Technology in Cikande, Banten province; it has been declared the local source of contamination and shut down. Given that the scrapyard and the seafood processing plant were less than 2 km apart, the working hypothesis is that the cesium-137 was airborne, or carried by the wind.[24]

On 14 October 2025, the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Trade issued a temporary ban of importation of iron and metal scraps into Indonesia.[25]

A ring of iron thieves also played a role in dispersing the radioactive contamination. On 10 December 2025, police uncovered a group that had been stealing iron scraps from PT Peter Metal Technology iron waste storage over several months. Although only about 200 kg of scraps were stolen, compared with 1.136 metric tons of contaminated materials overall in storage, the radioactive contamination from the stolen iron was inadvertently dispersed by the ring through their clandestine network, so far reaching Serang Regency.[26]

https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-60-minutes-cecot-segment. Has it in the page from the Canadian Global network.

I love it, but is anyone supporting the bug fixes for security?