NJ Fines Data Center $1.1M After Drone Pics Expose 62 Gas Generators

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NJ Fines Data Center $1.1M After Drone Pics Expose 62 Gas Generators (Maria)

The author writes, “This week, New Jersey ordered the operator of one of the East Coast’s largest planned data centers to pay a $1.1M fine for secretly installing and operating gas generators in violation of the state’s Air Pollution Control Act. DataOne was hit with the fine after an investigation by The Guardian and Floodlight News shared thermal drone footage showing that 45 of the 62 gas generators were operating. None of the generators had the permits required.”

MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption (Dana)

The author writes, “American power is no longer deployed solely by trained diplomats and reliable officials, working through state channels. Informal envoys, private companies, online grifters, and hardened ideologues both inside and outside the government matter more. Unlike their predecessors, these people do not talk about spreading democracy, and don’t want to build long-term relationships. They don’t care about America’s reputation. They are deploying the tools of American diplomacy and government for their own purposes, to promote their own business interests or their own ideological goals, because, suddenly, they can.”

There Is an Obvious Tell in Trump’s ‘Military Complex/Triumphal Arch’ Announcement (Gerry)

The author writes, “Let’s get right to it: He claimed the arch will be used to ‘hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.’ The central tactical theory behind the use of snipers is that they use hardly any ammunition. Their job is the kill shot. … Trump wouldn’t know a round of sniper ammunition if it was served to him in a bun with ketchup. He doesn’t know the first thing about ammunition storage, either. Military ammunition is normally stored on heavily guarded military bases where it is kept under lock and key. If ammunition is moved from a military base, it is kept under armed guard 24 hours a day. If Trump’s arch is to be visited by the public, it cannot be a military facility where ID’s are checked and passes are issued, as they are at the gates of every military base in the U.S. and abroad. The ‘sniper ammunition’ would therefore have to be under guard by active-duty soldiers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” 

Tech CEOs’ Doomsaying Is a Distraction From Real, Existing Harms of AI (Laura)

From The Intercept: “The binary between AI apocalypse and AI redemption asks us to ignore data centers and AI war machines — all as tech executives get incredibly rich.” 

US Military Had Close Call After Using AI for False Intelligence Report, Sources Say (Bethany)

From CNN: “The intelligence report, circulated across the US military this spring in the midst of the war with Iran, immediately set off alarm bells: A Chinese ship in the Middle East was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program. The US military swung into action with plans to intercept the vessel, according to four sources familiar with the episode. According to two of the sources, armed members of the US military were preparing to board the ship. Military planes were in the air. … It was only just before the planned operation that officials dug deeper into the report put together by a special operations command analyst and found it had been generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) — and that a chatbot the analyst had used inaccurately identified the material the ship was carrying.” 

Here’s What California Is Learning From Solar Panels Built Over Irrigation Canals (Reader Jim)

From KQED: “California solar panels tower over canals in Turlock, proving to save water, produce clean energy and improve local water quality.” 

The Billionaire-Free Packers Stay True to the Game (Russ)

The author writes, “The Packers are a true anomaly in modern American professional sports — a provincial team with an expanding global fan base. According to Packers Everywhere, there are some 1,500 places around the world. … Packers games are a television ratings juggernaut, scoring in the top three on the Nielsen Scarborough N.F.L. Fandom Index, a new popularity gauge. They have won the N.F.L. championship 13 times since 1929, which is why Green Bay calls itself Titletown. The Packers remain dead last in one stat: owner wealth. That’s because the team doesn’t play the game of global finance marked by astronomical leaps in the price of sports franchises. Its increasing popularity could be a sign that people have had it with all the bling. Let’s hope so.”