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The Intercept has a story on how two years ago, a Pentagon war game

called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program, or JLASS, offered a scenario in which members of Generation Z, driven by malaise and discontent, launch a “Zbellion” in America in the mid-2020s.

Also covered were various other "scenarios involving Islamist militants in Africa, anti-capitalist extremists, and ISIS successors."

According to the Zbellion scenario,

many members of Gen Z — psychologically scarred in their youth by 9/11 and the Great Recession, crushed by college debt, and disenchanted with their employment options — have given up on their hopes for a good life and believe the system is rigged against them.

The scenario and uprising are described as follows:

Both the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Great Recession greatly influenced the attitudes of this generation in the United states, and resulted in a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity among Gen Z. Although Millennials experienced these events during their coming of age, Gen Z lived through them as part of their childhood, affecting their realism and world view … many found themselves stuck with excessive college debt when they discovered employment options did not meet their expectations. Gen Z are often described as seeking independence and opportunity but are also among the least likely to believe there is such a thing as the “American Dream,” and that the “system is rigged” against them. Frequently seeing themselves as agents for social change, they crave fulfillment and excitement in their job to help “move the world forward.” Despite the technological proficiency they possess, Gen Z actually prefer person-to-person contact as opposed to online interaction. They describe themselves as being involved in their virtual and physical communities, and as having rejected excessive consumerism.

In early 2025, a cadre of these disaffected Zoomers launch a protest movement. Beginning in “parks, rallies, protests, and coffee shops” — first in Seattle; then New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; and Austin — a group known as Zbellion begins a “global cyber campaign to expose injustice and corruption and to support causes it deem[s] beneficial.”

During face-to-face recruitment, would-be members of Zbellion are given instructions for going to sites on the dark web that allow them to access sophisticated malware to siphon funds from corporations, financial institutions, and nonprofits that support “the establishment.” The gains are then converted to Bitcoin and distributed to “worthy recipients” including fellow Zbellion members who claim financial need. Zbellion leadership, says the scenario, assures its members that their Robin Hood-esque wealth redistribution is not only untraceable by law enforcement but “ultimately justifiable,” as targets are selected based on “secure polling” of “network delegates.” Although its origins are American, by the latter 2020s, Zbellion activities are also occurring across Europe and cities throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including Nairobi, Kenya; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Amman, Jordan.

In the world of JLASS 2018, Gen Z’s most militant members have essentially taken to privately taxing large corporations and other institutions to combat income inequality or, as the war gamers put it, using the “cyber world to spread a call for anarchy.”

Not perfect, but still some interesting echos of the current backdrop of civil unrest.

Points for originality.

Greg Hoeft of Janesville brought 12 boxes of bees to the [protest in Janesville, Wisconson].

The bees were on a trailer that he towed into the post office parking lot, just behind the protestors.

Hoeft, whose name was on the side of the bee boxes, posted his plans on Facebook: “The riot control bees are in their holding yard waiting to clear the streets of Janesville and keep peace to this county. I’m willing to bring them in and kick them over if things get out of control.”

A photo shows Hoeft loading the boxes of bees on a trailer.

Police learned that he planned to release the bees if the protest became unruly.

Hoeft was asked to leave and did, Sukus said.

A recent article pointed out that eBay Users Spot the Online Auction House Port-Scanning Their PCs. Um... is That OK?

Bleeping Computer has a followup article List of well-known web sites that port scan their visitors which provides additional information on what is being scanned for and a list of sites which perform similar scanning of those that drop by.

The list itself is here

The following sub was rejected after a day or so. My suspicion is it was rejected due to the missing story link. I dropped a note on the Editorial IRC channel about that when I noticed it shortly after submitting. However either the note went unread or there was another reason for the rejection.

[19:24.59] <RandomFactor> In the "THC Additive Confirmed as Culprit in Most Vaping Deaths" sub - the link was left out of the first line. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/20/790154919/cdc-confirms-a-thc-contaminant-vitamin-e-acetate-the-culprit-in-most-vaping-deat
[19:24.59] <systemd> ^ CDC Confirms A THC Additive, Vitamin E Acetate, Is The Culprit In Most Vaping Deaths
[19:25.10] <RandomFactor> should be on "has confirmed"

I've added the link back below. I also thought 'REHASH' was particularly appropriate for this THC additive related sub had previous coverage :-)

Rejected submission by RandomFactor at 2019-12-22 00:21:19 from the sick-mod dept.

RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that Vitamin E Acetate, "an additive found in illicit cannabis-containing vapes" is indeed the culprit in the bulk of the recent vaping related illnesses and deaths.

The determination was made possible due to

A health-surveillance system put in place after the terrorist attacks of September 2001 [that was] used to pinpoint the cause of the vaping-related lung injuries that have killed 54 Americans and [sent] more than 2,500 people to the hospital.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC was quick to caution "[that] doesn't mean that there aren't other chemicals that can or are causing lung injury,"

Investigators homed in on vaping products containing marijuana extracts, specifically those that were purchased online or on the street, rather than through dispensaries. Further research focused on vitamin E acetate, which is used in some of these preparations to dilute the much more expensive THC oil.

The underlying mechanism of the damage caused remains under investigation.

It may interfere with a natural fluid in the lung called surfactant, which helps make lung tissue stretchy. Or a byproduct may be a toxic chemical.

As a result of the lung injuries, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "announced Friday a crackdown on illicit vaping cartridges." in an enforcement effort dubbed "Operation Vapor Lock" the FDA has seized 44 websites advertising the sale of the devices.

Previous Coverage

Are you doing your part?

Few are those who know that SoylentNews mantains an IRC server ( https://chat.soylentnews.org/ )
Fewer still are those elite souls who delve into the intense time-consuming world of Idle RPG.

What's that you say?

According to Urban Dictionary

Idle RPG
A popular RPG based in IRC.

Unlike other RPG's where you interact with your character, IdleRPG is a new breed of roleplaying in itself.

Upon registering, the goal of the game is to sit and idle. The longer you idle, the more experience points you gain and levels you increase. Quitting, talking and the like is forbidden and induces penalties.

Your character wanders aimlessly around a map with other players in the channel, picks up items, prays to their mystical gods, goes on quests for sacred items and experience and even battles other players. But all you do is sit back and enjoy the show.

Despite it seeming this game would be boring because of its lack of interactivity, on the contrary it is quite possibly the most entertaining RPG to ever be created.
[player] alright level 57! only 32 days left until the next level :)
-idlebot- 1 day, 11:08:36 added to your clock for talking.
[player] son of a

Steps to play?
Once logged into SoylentNews' IRC server,
 
/join #irpg

/msg NerdRPG REGISTER [charecter name] [password] [character class]
e.g.
/msg NerdRPG REGISTER RandomFactor notmyrealpassword Cataclyst

Note - if you decide you don't want to play (or that you want to change your character class or name) you can remove and re-register (and start over..)

/msg NerdRPG REMOVEME

Once you are registered you need only login and stay online to play

/msg NerdRPG LOGIN RandomFactor notmyrealpassword

Note - If/when you quit or disconnect from the IRC server, you will have to log back in to irpg the next time you join IRC.
If you aren't sure if you are logged into irpg, send "/msg NerdRPG WHOAMI" and he will tell you if you are logged in or not :-)

There is more information, including how the game works, leveling, alignment, items, combat, etc. available here: https://idlerpg.net/

RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

Submission declined
sent by SoylentNews Message System on Sunday October 27, @11:23PM

We're sorry, your submission "Universe Expansion Rate Much Faster Than Previously Thought" was declined for the following reason:
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately we have already run a story (https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/10/26/0322258) relating to the referenced journal and its implications.

The editors felt it inappropriate for them to correct the issue themselves. Please feel free to correct the issue yourself and resubmit.

Search-fu failure...I just have to figure out who to blame for it and how to pin it on them.

===========================================================================================

Rejected submission by RandomFactor at 2019-10-28 01:16:05 from the stretchy bendy dept.

A team of researchers using a cutting-edge shape-shifting mirror system at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii have confirmed that the universe is expanding much faster than scientists previously predicted.

According to their study...precise measurements of the rate at which the Universe is expanding don't match the standard model that scientists have been using for decades.

The new study matches results obtained earlier this year and shows the universe expanding 9% faster than previous predictions based on studies of the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) radiation.

For the new study, the researchers used a cutting-edge mirror system at the Keck Observatory telescope in Hawaii. The device uses flexible mirrors that can correct for distortions caused by Earth's atmosphere and return extra-sharp images of objects in the sky.

The reason for the discrepancy in the measurements is not known.

"For example, it could be exotic dark energy, or a new relativistic particle, or some other new physics yet to be discovered."

Scientists don't yet know what that missing piece could be. Some think the culprit could be dark energy, the term for the mysterious, unseen force that makes up about 68 percent of the Universe. This energy could have sped up expansion as it pushed outward and overwhelmed the gravity of dark matter.

One of the scientists involved opined that the findings "may be the most exciting development in cosmology in decades."

Journal Reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 490, Issue 2, December 2019, Pages 1743–1773, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz2547

NOTE: I subbed this one somewhat as a lark figuring it might make it just for the discussion potential (seriously, who wouldn't chime in on a good Sponge Bob argument?) But, alas it was not to be. Presumably the editors were too protective of the perky porifera of the pineapple and would play no part in it. So I present to you in all its glory 'Spongebob's Legacy of Violence'

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Rejected submission by RandomFactor at 2019-10-13 23:18:59 from the who-lives-in-a-test-site-under-the-sea dept.

RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

Highlighted on CampusReform this week is this article covering the underlying messages of the beloved children's cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants, a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

SpongeBob, according to a University of Washington Professor Holly M. Barker, is intent on whitewashing American military violence.

Billions of people around the globe are well-acquainted with SpongeBob Squarepants and the antics of the title character and his friends on Bikini Bottom. By the same token, there is an absence of public discourse about the whitewashing of violent American military activities through SpongeBob’s occupation and reclaiming of the bottom of Bikini Atoll’s lagoon. SpongeBob Squarepants and his friends play a role in normalizing the settler colonial takings of Indigenous lands while erasing the ancestral Bikinian people from their nonfictional homeland. This article exposes the complicity of popular culture in maintaining American military hegemonies in Oceania while amplifying the enduring indigeneity (Kauanui 2016) of the Marshallese people, who maintain deeply spiritual and historical connections to land—even land they cannot occupy due to residual radiation contamination from US nuclear weapons testing—through a range of cultural practices, including language, song, and weaving. This article also considers the gendered violence of nuclear colonialism and the resilience of Marshallese women.

The fictional town of Bikini Bottom is located in the Marshall Islands below the infamous Bikini Atol, and its citizens are considered Americans.

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.1353/cp.2019.0026 [doi.org]

Related: 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Dies at 57

Rejected submission by RandomFactor at 2019-07-25 21:17:28 from the tSUNamis dept.

RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

You may have heard, but sunspot activity has been weak lately, and scientists have been in the dark about what is going on.

Now two research articles are shedding light on the initiation and ending of sunspot cycles. One published in Nature earlier this year and a second more recently published in the journal Solar Physics on July 9

The Nature article showed that rolling waves of plasma originating in the sun's interior or 'Plasma Tsunamis' were a trigger to a new sunspot cycle. In the Solar Physics article, these same phenomena were shown to be associated with sunspot cycle's end as well.

Within the extreme heat of the sun, rolling waves of plasma known as "solar tsunamis" could be causing the sudden death of solar cycles. A team of scientists from NASA, the University of Maryland and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have identified ominously-named "terminator events" which mark the end of a sunspot cycle -- and could explain how the sun rapidly transitions from a period of low activity to high.

Scientists used historical data from ground based observatories and two spacecraft orbiting the sun - NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo) and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to study

incredibly bright points of UV light emanating from the sun's surface, the researchers noticed how the bright point appeared at high latitudes and moved toward the sun's equator over decades.

Eventually, the bright points disappear: The so-called "terminator event." Shortly after, a huge burst of activity occurs, marking the start of the next sunspot cycle.

These “terminator” events appear to be very closely related to the onset of magnetic activity belonging to the next solar cycle at mid-latitudes and the polar-reversal process at high latitudes.

According to Scott McIntosh, a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist who worked on both studies:

"In the next year, we should have a unique opportunity to extensively observe a terminator event as it unfolds and then to watch the launch of Sunspot Cycle 25,"

Establishing how sunspots develop, evolve and end is indispensable for accurately forecasting the activities of our moody 384.6 YottaWatt lightbulb and its effects on our planet.

Rejected submission due to Lameness filter: No Spam Please! by RandomFactor at 2019-06-22 01:24:28 from the bundling agreement with Pfizer in 3...2...1..... dept.

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved sales of the peptide bremelanotide (brandname 'Vyleesi'), a shot intended to enhance sexual desire in premenopausal women. Bremelanotide acts as an agonist for the melanocortin receptors which are believed to affect mood and desire.

This should not be confused with the previous poorly received attempt at a 'female viagra' flibanserin (brandname 'Addyi') which required taking a daily pill for up to four weeks to start seeing effects and had warnings about being taken in conjunction with alcohol. The bremelanotide shot does not restrict alcohol use and can be self administered by autoinjector as needed ~45 minutes before anticipated intimacy.

"There are women who, for no known reason, have reduced sexual desire that causes marked distress, and who can benefit from safe and effective pharmacologic treatment," Hylton Joffe, director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's Division of Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Products, said in a statement.

"Today's approval provides women with another treatment option for this condition. As part of the FDA's commitment to protect and advance the health of women, we'll continue to support the development of safe and effective treatments for female sexual dysfunction."

Side effects of the drug are mild and consist primarily of nausea in some women, with even that disappearing after a few doses.

Analysts have estimated potential sales of a drug that "safely and effectively treats loss of sexual desire in women" could amount to sales of about $1 billion annually.

The drug was developed by Palatin Technologies (+42.6%) with AMAG Pharmaceuticals (+11.5%) holding exclusive North America sales rights. Both rose sharply Friday on the news.

Related Coverage
Female Libido Pill Approved by FDA, With Caveats
Female Libido Pill Considered by FDA Advisers

Rejected submission by RandomFactor at 2019-05-04 13:59:02 from the the only real valuable thing is intuition, and old tapes dept.
RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

A rare recording of the famed physicist Albert Einstein is up for auction, May 4th on Heritage Auctions' page.

Bidding for the tape starts at $3,500 the auction house said, adding that the successful bidder will also receive a CD containing the recording.

The recording is of a 1951 interview with Jack and Frances Rosenburg at the institute for Avanced Studies in Princeton.

Their 1951 casual conversation was recorded on long-playing discs. It was subsequently transferred to magnetic tape and given to the present consignor close to thirty years ago. We are unaware of the whereabouts of the original discs. When transferred to tape, the conversation was "embedded" in the back portion of the reel, spliced to some recorded music. The conversation lasts around 33 minutes. The initial volume level is fairly low, but reaches a normal level after a brief period. There is some background noise and surface "scratches" and popping. Einstein, as expected, speaks in a thick German accent. The three-way conversation is punctuated with joking and laughter, indicative of Einstein's sense of humor. They cover a wide range of topics, including:

        1. The Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Trial. ("So unwise what they do... very unfair the whole action.")
        2. The acquisition by the U.S.S.R. of the atomic bomb. ("It is better for world welfare that the Russians have it, too."). He acknowledges knowing the head of the Soviet atomic program, but humorously says "I gave no secrets to him."
        3. The status and risks associated with being a scientist under authoritarian rule. "In other countries, a man with great influence can do a great deal of harm."
        4. His famous letter to FDR suggesting the possible development of the atomic bomb. "I repent it very much... I believe it was a great misfortune." He downplays his role in the development of the A-bomb.
        5. The difference between FDR and Truman. FDR "...would not have used it had he lived... this I am convinced."
        6. His acquaintance with European and Soviet scientists.
        7. His love of music, including a preference for Schubert, Beethoven and Brahams. "I did very much like Wagner... In my youth, I had heard nothing better than Ionescu's Violin Concerto." Toscanini was "very brave in Mussolini's time."

You can hear a short (3 minute) snip of the conversation here

Albert Einstein was not much for interviews and limelight and recording of him are quite rare considering his notoriety

Here are some others: some others

Straw poll - who recalls actually hearing recordings of him in the past?

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UPDATE 05/11/2019: Final bid was $5,850 May 5th on the auction site.