Lithium from Shale Gas Well Waste Water
May 15th, 2024Via: University of Pittsburgh:
Most batteries used in technology like smart watches and electric cars are made with lithium that travels across the world before even getting to manufacturers. But what if nearly half of the lithium used in the U.S. could come from Pennsylvania wastewater?
A new analysis using compliance data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection suggests that if it could be extracted with complete efficiency, lithium from the wastewater of Marcellus shale gas wells could supply up to 40% of the country’s demand.
Already, researchers in the lab can extract lithium from water with more than 90% efficiency according to Justin Mackey, a researcher at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and PhD student in the lab of Daniel Bain, associate professor of geology and environmental sciences in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
The US Geological Survey lists lithium as a critical mineral, (although, as Mackey was quick to point out, lithium is an element, not a mineral). The designation means the U.S. government wants all lithium to be produced domestically by 2030, and so the search for sources has intensified. Currently, much of it is extracted from brine ponds in Chile. Then it’s shipped to China, where it’s processed.
There are lithium mining operations in the U.S., but, Mackey said, “This is different. This is a waste stream and we’re looking at a beneficial use of that waste.”
Attempted Assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico
May 15th, 2024In other news: Slovakia Will Not Support New Pandemic Treaty:
Peter Kotlár, the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for the COVID-19 pandemic, informed that Slovakia would not support the current version of the new pandemic treaty or the draft amendment to the International Health Regulations. The Health Ministry noted that it would not support any documents weakening Slovakia’s position as a sovereign state.
Via: Reuters:
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening injuries on Wednesday when he was shot and wounded in an attempted assassination that stunned his small Central European nation and drew a chorus of international condemnation.
…
Slovak news media reported the shooter was a former security guard at a shopping mall, an author of three collections of poetry and a member of the Slovak Society of Writers. Atkuality.sk cited his son as saying his father was the legal holder of a gun licence.
“I have absolutely no idea what my father intended, what he planned, what happened,” news outlet Aktuality.sk quoted the shooter’s son as saying.
Australia: Whistleblower David McBride Sentenced to Five Years, Eight Months in Prison After Leaking Afghanistan War Documents to ABC
May 15th, 2024Via: Sky:
Former army officer and whistleblower David McBride has been sentenced to five years and eight months jail -with a non-parole period of 27 months – for leaking classified military documents to ABC journalists in 2016.
ACT Supreme Court Justice David Mossop delivered the sentence on Tuesday morning where he found the ex-army officer committed a “gross breach of trust”.
McBride pleaded guilty to theft and sharing documents classified as secrets with members of the press due to leaking material used in the 2017 ABC documentary The Afghan Files, which revealed allegations against Australian soldiers involved in illegal killings.
King Charles: First Official Portrait Since Coronation Is Unveiled
May 15th, 2024This one is better:
Couldn't resist ? @bobscartoons pic.twitter.com/8Ff2L38gbm
— Oracle Films (@OracleFilmsUK) May 14, 2024
Via: BBC:
The first official painted portrait of King Charles III since his coronation has been unveiled at Buckingham Palace.
The vast oil on canvas shows a larger-than-life King Charles in the uniform of the Welsh Guards.
The vivid red work, measuring about 8ft 6in by 6ft 6in, is by Jonathan Yeo, who has also painted Tony Blair, Sir David Attenborough and Malala Yousafzai.
Queen Camilla is said to have looked at the painting and told Yeo: “Yes, you’ve got him.”
Related: Baphomet Face [???]
American Woman Left Permanently Disabled After AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Trial
May 14th, 2024Via: Telegraph:
An American woman who took part in the US clinical trial of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is suing the company, claiming it left her “permanently disabled”.
Brianne Dressen, a 42-year-old former teacher from Utah, says she developed a severe neurological condition after taking part in a vaccine trial in 2020.
She is suing AstraZeneca for an alleged breach of contract, after she said it failed to provide medical care for her side effects.
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Her condition was classified as “post-vaccine neuropathy” because of its link to the jab.
U.S. Orders Chinese-Backed Crypto Miner to Sell Land Near Nuclear Missile Base
May 14th, 2024Via: CNBC:
President Joe Biden issued an order on Monday forcing a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining company to sell land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, citing national security concerns.
The company, MineOne, acquired the real estate in June 2022, placing its operations within a mile of Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, a “strategic missile base and key element of America’s nuclear triad,” according to the White House.
The company’s site contained “specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities,” the presidential order said.
Biden said there was “credible evidence” to believe that the company, a British Virgin Islands firm that is majority-owned by Chinese nationals, “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”
Police Issued QR Codes to Enter Parts of Paris This Summer
May 14th, 2024Via: Metro:
The capital of France– Paris – will be split into zones this summer, with anyone wanting to enter certain areas required to show a pass on their phone.
Special measures will be in place throughout the city as part of increased security around the Olympic Games, which start in July.
Anyone wishing to enter certain zones, including residents, will have to apply for a special Pass Jeux (games pass) on a platform run by police.
It mostly applies to people driving, but even pedestrians will need to show a QR code to enter an area called the ‘grey zone’ around the River Seine in the centre, where the opening ceremony will take place.
The codes will be checked at access points along the entrance to each zone, manned by officers.
U.S. Spy Satellites
May 14th, 2024Via: Covert Cabal:
Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry
May 14th, 2024Murder.
Via: Dr. John Campbell:
Chat GPT-4o: OpenAI’s New Realtime Multimodal Model
May 13th, 2024A few initial thoughts…
This will make the individual profiling and surveillance that has been done by search engines for decades seem trivial.
OpenAI almost certainly wants this to be free for everyone in order to gather up as much personal and training data as possible.
OpenAI is probably able to review each of these sessions in order to make changes to how the system behaves. This means that the sessions could be made available to government and law enforcement agencies.
Workers who are about to be outsourced are often asked to train the people who will replace them. That’s the role of users here, except the replacement workers won’t be human.
Via: OpenAI:
More: Introducing GPT-4o and Making More Capabilities Available for Free in ChatGPT
