Edition 33: A nuclear meltdown

(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on July 10, 2020.)

Happy Friday, muggles. A new storm spot has been discovered on Jupiter! Named after amateur astronomer Clyde Foster for finding it, “Clyde’s Spot” is a “connective outbreak” extending above cloud layers. We’ll get a better look at it on July 25th when NASA does a flyby. Until then, be sure not to fly past the stories below.

PRIVACY

Bill to protect children could threaten privacy

Thu Jul 2

The EARN IT Act is aimed at stopping and removing child abuse imagery from social media sites. The bill recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support and will now face a floor vote — but there may be a major downside.

Supporters are saying the bill…

• Protects children from sexual exploitation online by revoking legal protections for social media companies if they don’t meet third-party standards for dealing with child abuse imagery
• Enables law enforcement to work with tech companies to identify and reduce child predation on their platforms

Opponents of the bill say it actually will…

• Destroy end-to-end encryption
• End free speech, security, and privacy online
• Hurt people that fall into marginalized groups (LGBTQ people, sex workers, activists) who use the internet to communicate and share resources

Opponents still agree that child sexual exploitation is a serious problem, but don’t think this bill is the answer.

SOURCES: The Verge, CNET, Wired, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU

ENERGY

New nuclear reactors could be meltdown-proof

Tues Jun 30

The best thing about nuclear energy? It can produce a lot of electricity without burning any fossil fuels. The risk involved? A meltdown.

Currently, nuclear reactors are contained in massive structures to trap radioactive material from getting out in the event of a meltdown, but that hasn’t always worked. Now, there’s a new type of reactor that has built-in safety features to minimize this risk.

Why is this new reactor so much safer?

• It’s smaller than current nuclear power reactors
• It has millions of poppy seed-sized grains of uranium that are each wrapped in protective shells — called triso fuel
• These layers of graphite and ceramic protect the uranium from melting under extreme conditions, so you don’t need large containment structures

Triso particles have been around since the 1960s, but weren’t real-world viable as nuclear fuel until recently when the Department of Energy put some support behind innovation in nuclear. Companies working to create these new reactors expect them to start taking over for the older versions in about 10 years.

SOURCES: Wired, Popular Mechanics, Nuclear Energy Institute

TRAVEL

Pakistan International Airlines downgraded to one star

Wed Jul 1

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suspended 150 pilots after an investigation into fake credentials. This is just one of the latest in a series of dangerous missteps by the airline that’s been discovered in the wake of a deadly crash in May that killed 97 people.

In response, PIA has…

• Been barred from flying in Europe for six months
• Been downgraded to one star on AirlineRatings.com
• Fired 52 employees for numerous reasons, including faking degrees

Other complaints against PIA include overstaffing, inadequate quality control, nepotism and political hires, and corruption. The scrutiny has also extended to Pakistani pilots for other airlines — 27 Pakistani pilots have been grounded by airlines in Vietnam.

SOURCES: New York Times, Airline Ratings, The Economic Times

SURVEILLANCE

Malay Muslims targeted and surveilled in Thailand

Tues Jun 30

Malay Muslims in Southern Thailand have been discriminated against for a long time, giving rise to different rebel factions throughout the years — with most now consolidated under the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) umbrella. Both their violent attacks and the response from the Thai government have led to around 6,000 deaths with an estimated 90% of victims being Thai or Malay civilians.

This escalation of violence in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces has led the Thai government to increasingly grant greater power and immunity to law enforcement. Now, more sophisticated surveillance technology is also being added to the mix and many are sounding the alarm.

Malay Muslims are often subjected to:

• Racial profiling at checkpoints
• Forced DNA collection (sometimes under the guise of COVID-19 testing)
• Mandatory biometric registration to get a phone SIM card
• AI-enabled CCTV surveillance (at least 8,200 cameras have already been installed)
• Thai government officials have been working with Mengvii, a Chinese company that designs image recognition and deep learning software that has been blacklisted by the U.S. for human rights violations

Key Terms (Since we had to research these ourselves…)

Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN): considered the largest and most organized separatist group operating in Southern Thailand

Malay: an ethnic group native to the Malay Peninsula, which today includes Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand

Southern Border Provinces (SBPs): region in Southern Thailand that is predominantly (Malay) Muslim compared to the rest of Thailand, which is mostly Buddhist

SOURCES: Coda Story, The Interpreter, Human Right Watch, Council on Foreign Relations, The Diplomat

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That’s all for today. Have a magical weekend.✨