Stories & Opinions Worth Knowing but Maybe Not Quite Threadworthy 7/18

[SVPete]

Portland Has an Apparent Serial Killer. His Accomplice May Be the Governor

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2023/07/18/portland-has-an-apparent-serial-killer-his-accomplice-may-be-the-governor-who-freed-him-early-from-prison-n1711354

... when she was on her way out office, (Governor Kate) Brown abolished the death penalty.
...
... she failed to consult or seek the consent of the governed even though Oregonians endorsed the death penalty in the 1980s in a state-wide vote.
...
But as Willamette Week reports, Brown’s act of generosity to killers and other criminals appears to have backfired on law-abiding Oregonians.
...
Investigators believe that at least four, and possibly as many as six, people died at the hands of a man let out of prison by Brown.

Nearly two years later, on June 1, 2023, The Oregonian reported the discovery of the bodies of six young women: Kristin Smith, found Feb. 19 in Southeast Portland; Joanna Speaks, found April 11 in Ridgefield, Wash.; Charity Perry, found April 24 at Ainsworth State Park in east Multnomah County; an unidentified woman, also found April 24, in Lents, although the Portland Police Bureau said it did not suspect foul play; Bridget Webster, found April 30 in Polk County; and Ashley Real, found May 7 in Clackamas County.

[SVPete]

Gem Hunters Found the Lithium America Needs. Maine Won’t Let Them Dig It Up

https://time.com/6294818/lithium-mining-us-maine/

The world’s richest known lithium deposit lies deep in the woods of western Maine, in a yawning, sparkling mouth of white and brown rocks that looks like a landslide carved into the side of Plumbago Mountain.

Mary Freeman and her husband Gary found the deposit five years ago while hunting for tourmaline, a striking, multi-colored gemstone found in the region.
...
But like just about everywhere in the U.S. where new mines have been proposed, there is strong opposition here. Maine has some of the strictest mining and water quality standards in the country, and prohibits digging for metals in open pits larger than three acres. There have not been any active metal mines in the state for decades, and no company has applied for a permit since a particularly strict law passed in 2017. As more companies begin prospecting in Maine and searching for sizable nickel, copper, and silver deposits, towns are beginning to pass their own bans on industrial mining.

Enviros obstructing the mining of critical metals.

[Eupher]

Gem Hunters Found the Lithium America Needs. Maine Won’t Let Them Dig It Up

https://time.com/6294818/lithium-mining-us-maine/

Enviros obstructing the mining of critical metals.

OTOH, makes it more difficult for the enviros to pimp their EVs.

[SVPete]

OTOH, makes it more difficult for the enviros to pimp their EVs.

Lithium batteries are also used in devices such as cell phones and laptops

[Eupher]

Lithium batteries are also used in devices such as cell phones and laptops

That's true, but the expected explosion of EV batteries (no pun intended) is a real problem for lithium producers. The market is still tight with everybody and his brother having (and insisting on) a smart phone, but if the EV thing gets off the ground more than it is (I have my doubts), they're going to be looking for it everywhere, even in the Maine woods.

[Ptarmigan]

German woman drags radical climate activist by hair for blocking traffic as public's anger mounts
https://www.foxnews.com/media/german-woman-drags-radical-climate-activist-blocking-road-hair-publics-anger-mounts

A woman in Germany was dubbed a "brutal blonde" by European media after she dragged a climate change activist from blocking traffic as the public's patience wears thin with the frequent protests on roadways.

The video showed a woman screaming at a climate change protester to "get up" from blocking a road in Bottrop, Germany, according to a video posted by an activist group.

Then, the woman grabbed the activist by her hair and dragged her to the side of the road. When the girl returned to block the road, the German woman dragged her by the hair a second time.

The activist was lightly injured in the altercation, police in Recklinghausen said. Police said they were looking into videos and photos of the incident to determine if criminal proceedings were necessary against those who dragged the protesters off the road. They also said the climate activists were taken into custody.

About time.

[Ptarmigan]

Portland's suspected serial killer is a convicted felon released early by former Oregon governor: police
https://thepostmillennial.com/portlands-suspected-serial-killer-is-a-convicted-felon-released-early-by-former-oregon-governor-police

A man that was released early from an Oregon state prison is a suspected serial killer in the greater Portland metro area, authorities say.

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, of Portland, Oregon has allegedly been linked by detectives to four of six women found dead earlier this year in the Portland metro area, according to Willamette Week.

Calhoun was released from prison in 2021, twelve months early, after being granted clemency at the direction of former Democrat Gov. Kate Brown. Brown began to issue mass commutations during the Covid-19 pandemic, which included early release to prisoners that were either considered to be well-behaved, were nearing the end of their sentences, and were vulnerable to the virus, the outlet reports.

Calhoun, who has been described by law enforcement as a "prolific thief and career criminal," was one of the more than 1000 prisoners that had been granted early release under Brown's criminal justice reform policies. Calhoun's clemency has since been revoked and he has been placed back into custody.

On June 1, 2022, the Oregonian reported that the bodies of six young women had been found in the greater Portland area, prompting speculation of a potential serial killer. Those bodies included Kristin Smith, found in Southeast Portland on Feb. 19; Joanna Speaks, found in Ridgefield, Washington on April 11; Charity Perry, found at Ainsworth State Park on April 24; and an unidentified woman, also found on April 24, in Lents; Bridget Webster, found in Oregon's Polk County on April 30; and Ashley Real, found in Clackamas County on May 7.

How soft on crime is detrimental. Just look at Jesse Lee Calhoun.

[Ptarmigan]

Just Stop Oil is hardly grassroots
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2023/07/17/just-stop-oil-is-hardly-grassroots-n565013

Groups like Just Stop Oil and the countless other ‘activist” groups who make our life difficult present themselves as ordinary people who are so selfless and so concerned about the future that they put their lives and freedom on the line to save Mother Earth.

They are, of course, gaslighting you. It may be that the idiots who glue themselves to paintings, cement themselves to roads, and slow march during rush hour are not paid–I don’t know and don’t really care–but the organization itself is bought and paid for by big money billionaires and millionaires.

The same sort of people who are foursquare behind The Great Reset, which itself is nothing but a huge and so-far successful power grab by the Elite.

Follow the money.

ust Stop Oil’s primary institutional funding comes from the “Climate Emergency Fund,” which is extremely proud of its support of Just Stop Oil, featuring their “accomplishments” prominently in their annual report.



The Climate Emergency Fund also funds “Scientist Rebellion,” the idiots who glued themselves to the floor at Volkswagen.

Useful idiots are their major weapon, and big money is how they recruit them.

[Ptarmigan]

AI Detectors Think Think The US Constitution Was Written By AI
https://themindunleashed.com/2023/07/ai-detectors-think-think-the-us-constitution-was-written-by-ai.html

AI writing detectors are flagging the U.S. Constitution, one of America’s most significant legal documents, as a piece of AI-generated text. This intriguing controversy raises many questions, most importantly: How could a document, written centuries before the advent of AI, be mistaken as AI-generated?

AI writing detectors, such as ChatGPT, are designed to identify text produced by AI models. When these detectors analyze the U.S. Constitution, they often conclude that it was likely written by an AI. This is, of course, impossible unless James Madison, one of the key drafters of the Constitution, had access to time travel and chatGPT. So, what is the reason behind these false positives?

The use of AI writing tools, particularly generative AI like ChatGPT, has stirred up a whirlwind in the educational sector. There’s a growing concern that these tools could disrupt traditional teaching methods, particularly the use of essays to assess a student’s understanding of a topic. In response, educators are turning to AI writing detectors, such as GPTZero, ZeroGPT, and OpenAI’s Text Classifier, in an attempt to maintain the status quo. However, these tools have proven to be unreliable due to their propensity for false positives.

AI thinks the American Constitution is written by an AI. 

[Ptarmigan]

New Study: Some EVs Are ‘Dirtier’ Than Conventional Vehicles
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/New-Study-Some-EVs-Are-Dirtier-Than-Conventional-Vehicles.html

-A new study from the Manhattan Institute concluded that certain EVs emit more greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime than certain ICE vehicles.
-According to the report, the possibilities of GHG emissions for EVs is much wider than for ICEs.
-In base case scenarios, EVs start off as having more emissions mainly due to the energy intensity of the EV and battery metals used in their manufacture but eventually catch up to EVs around the 60,000 driven miles mark.

Electric vehicle skeptics have frequently argued that the manufacturing and disposal of battery-electric vehicles like Teslas as well as reliance on coal to generate the electricity that powers them leaves EVs with a larger carbon footprint than nonelectric vehicles. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of studies that have tried to approve or disapprove this notion. But finally, the Manhattan Institute has compiled a comprehensive report that compares lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of EVs vs. ICEs by looking at dozens of parameters and data points.

According to the report, the possibilities of GHG emissions for EVs is much wider than for ICEs mainly due to the much wider variances in upstream (mining+ manufacturing) emissions by EVs. The differences are such that the dirtiest EVs can have more than double the emissions of the cleanest internal combustion engines.


Source: Manhattan Institute

However, you will note that in base-case scenarios, EVs start off as having more emissions mainly due to the energy intensity of the EV and battery metals used in their manufacture but eventually catch up to EVs around the 60,000 driven miles mark.

EV is more dirty than internal combustion.

[SVPete]

So (all good s start that way) I drive a 12 year-old car, daily commute, groceries, going to running events. By 12 years of car age, many (most?) EV owners will have faced the dilemma of replacing the battery, hugely expensive, or scrapping. With decent care (and no collision with another car), my SUV will probably still be puttering along at age 20.

[Old n Grumpy]

Then, the woman grabbed the activist by her hair and dragged her to the side of the road. When the girl returned to block the road, the German woman dragged her by the hair a second time.

When she went back in to the road the second time she should have had her ass glued to the sidewalk   

[ADsOutburst]

AI Detectors Think Think The US Constitution Was Written By AI
https://themindunleashed.com/2023/07/ai-detectors-think-think-the-us-constitution-was-written-by-ai.html

AI thinks the American Constitution is written by an AI. 

The founding fathers were more ahead of their time than we realized.