William – Page 41 – Really Right

Imaging PG&E Pulls Plug on SF

Last month the San Francisco Examiner published an article posing the question, what will San Francisco do if PG&E shuts the lights out to prevent causing a fire?

In a recent filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E explained that if the utility has to turn off, or “de-energize,” high-voltage transmission lines in the East Bay to prevent the start of a wildfire, power to the entire city of San Francisco could also be turned off. And it could be up to five days before power is restored.

Are we as a city — and each of us individually — prepared for that?

Imagine The City with no working traffic lights. Cellphone networks and internet phone lines could fail. People who depend on medical equipment, like oxygen machines, could be at risk. Food could spoil without refrigeration, both in restaurants and in homes. Schools would likely close for the duration of the outage. Hospitals, police stations, and the airport could continue to operate on backup generators, but with reductions in services offered.

And then there’s water and sewage. Gravity helps move water from Hetch Hetchy and other sources into the City’s largest reservoirs. But we need electricity to pump water from the reservoirs to homes and fire hydrants. And we need electricity to operate wastewater treatment plants.
What happens if San Francisco’s power is shut down to prevent wildfires?

The slug line of the article is worth repeating:

Imagine The City with no working traffic lights. Cellphone networks and internet phone lines could fail.

The author also mentions that preparing for PG&E to pull the plug for a few days would be good practice for when “the big one” hits.

Folks, this whole idea of purposely shutting off the power to one of the most populous cities in the country is just nuts. If it weren’t for the wacko environmentalists in this state, no one would even think this was a rational idea; especially in the case of a “preventative blackout”.

If the power went out for a mere 24 hours, San Francisco would start turning into a Mad Max world. After a week of no food, electricity, drinking water, and gasoline; is there any doubt that the place would need the National Guard? Do you really think a city whose citizens can’t afford toilet paper and hates the Second Amendment will voluntarily maintain social order in tough times? I think roving bands of Oakland Raider fans will be raising all sorts of chaos. Add a few fires into the mix when firefighting is a sketchy proposition and the place has real potential to go downhill fast.

PG&E might be the catalyst that ends the idea of San Francisco as a sanctuary city. Playing XBOX surrounded by armed guards at an ICE holding facility might look like paradise in comparison.

In this age of just in time delivery, any interruption to supplying stores with inventory will have huge consequences. A prolonged blackout or severe earthquake in SF or LA will see additional loss of life and property. I, for one, don’t want to be anywhere near the epicenter of either event.

This Just In: Walmart sues Tesla

If Elon Musk had a dollar for every dream he has inspired in utopian Liberals, this might be a fair fight. Wally World is suing Tesla in New York State for causing rooftop fires due to defective solar panels. This looks to be a fun scrap. This is doubly juicy because Tesla in making solar panels in New York State with taxpayer subsidies.

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc.’s energy operations, formerly known as SolarCity, for breach of contract, claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the country.

The retailer said it had leased or licensed roof space on top of more than 240 stores to Tesla for the installation and operation of solar systems. But as of November 2018, fires broke out at no fewer than seven of the stores, forcing the disconnection of all the solar panel systems for the safety of the public.

In a complaint filed in New York state court Tuesday, Walmart said its inspectors found that Tesla “had engaged in widespread, systemic negligence and had failed to abide by prudent industry practices in installing, operating and maintaining its solar systems.”

Many of the panels had defects that could be seen by the naked eye or were easily identifiable with proper equipment, Walmart said, indicating that Tesla had deficient inspection procedures or hadn’t been inspecting the sites at all. The retailer’s inspectors saw dangerous connections, including loose and hanging wires at several locations.

“Many of the problems stemmed from a rushed, negligent approach to the systems’ installation,” Walmart said. “Tesla’s predecessor-in-interest — SolarCity — had adopted an ill-considered business model that required it to install solar panel systems haphazardly and as quickly as possible in order to turn a profit.”

Tesla didn’t immediately address the retailer’s complaint.
Walmart sues Tesla over fires linked to rooftop solar panel systems

Oh, speaking of Tesla and product liability, I’ve been sitting on this one for a while.

Tesla sued for homicide…again.

A Tesla car, running on Autopilot, skidded 1,600 feet after sliding under a semitruck at 68 mph, shearing off its top and killing its driver, according to a lawyer who is suing the carmaker.

The crash in west Delray Beach happened four months ago when a tractor-trailer pulled out in front of a bright red Tesla Model 3 driven by 50-year-old Jeremy Banner.

The Autopilot system failed, according to a lawsuit Banner’s family filed Thursday in Palm Beach County. The system should have braked or swerved to avoid the semitruck, Trey Lytal, the family’s attorney, said at a news conference.

About 10 seconds before the crash, Banner engaged the Autopilot system, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Autopilot failed to keep Tesla from sliding under semitruck at 68 mph, lawsuit claims

Elon, welcome to the big leagues. Claiming your product has “Autopilot” when it’s not, doesn’t make me a believer in self-driving cars.

Selling products without making a profit doesn’t pay the bills for very long; especially, when you cut corners to maintain cash flow.

Review: MacQue’s BBQ

I know they are still working the kinks out of opening their new restaurant in Elk Grove, but I’m offering this early review. Please note that until Johnnie Does submits his official review that this one is preliminary.

Anyway, last Thursday, I took the wife and son to try out MacQue’s BBQ place. The owners are neighbors and we wanted to support them and their local business. The restaurant is tucked-in between the Arby’s and the Golden1 ATM in the strip mall on Elk Grove Blvd next to Highway 99.

The first thing that I noticed was a number of people waiting in the front area for their takeout orders. Next you will notice the very small type font used for the menu board. I was not the only customer having difficulty reading the menu board. If you look around, you can locate a printed menu near the counter.

When we got to the front counter to order, we each decided to get a different menu item. This just worked out that way and helped with my decision to write a review. (Johnnie Does is a thin lad and it would be most unfair to make him consume too many calories to write a proper review.) Since we were there for dinner, we each ordered a meal from the menu. The boy got ribs, mom got chicken, and I ordered tri-tip. Food can be ordered with BBQ sauce of various types either on the food or on the side. Each of our orders came with two sides and each of us ordered a drink. It was just over $46.00 plus tip.

We ordered the following six sides: cole slaw (2), baked beans, corn, macaroni & cheese, and macaroni salad. There was nothing memorable about the sides except the corn was drowning in butter—not good, and the mac & cheese was not buried in cheese—good.

After a wait of 15 minutes or more, the food arrived. It was very much like KFC. Each item was separately packaged in a disposable container with lid. If you’re from Davis or Berkeley, avoid this place; the amount of plastic going into the trash will shock you. Napkins, towelets, and plastic forks are available next to the soda machine. If you want a knife—which we did—you must ask at the counter. Even though we each had a fork served with our meal, the only way to get a knife was to get a sealed to-go packet with knife, fork, spoon, napkin, salt, and pepper. Again, this seemed like a waste of plastic and profit.

Bone dry chicken looks better than it tastes

The ribs were the best menu item, the tri-tip was ok, and the chicken was…well, like sawdust. After trying it, I had the mental image of Gordon Ramsey yelling profanities and flinging it across the kitchen and toward the nearest trash can. Oh, my son was the only one of the three of us to ask for BBQ sauce served on his food. Although he got two layers of ribs on his plate only the top layer had any BBQ sauce. Get it on the side, you will be happier that it arrived at your table in yet another plastic container.

This article contains some of the photos that I took during our visit. I will leave it up to Johnnie Does to give the place a numerical rating.

MacQue’s BBQ website

Speaking with the Dead

I’m surrounded by dead people; both physically and spiritually. At work or at home, I just can’t escape them.

I get emails, instant messages, and other assorted communications on my phone and computer from or about people that died years ago.

LinkedIn sends me reminders periodically from people whose funerals I have attended or have solid knowledge of their passing. Last week, I was asked to congratulate George on his 15th anniversary of his job, but George died about three years ago. I went to the service in Arizona.

Yesterday, I got an instant message from someone that died earlier this year. Although she likely supported Bill Clinton for President, I have no reason to believe that she is in Witness Protection. Again, I went to her funeral to pay my respects.

Every so often on Facebook, I get asked to congratulate people on their birthday and wish them well, again they died years ago so why is their account still active. My mother-in-law died five years ago but her Facebook page is still live.

With all the personal data the tech companies collect about their users, you’d think they could find a way to archive or retire the accounts of the dearly departed. Alas, there is no mechanism for doing this. Apparently, they need the deadwood (no pun intended) on their user rolls to get more advertising revenue. No social media website that I have seen, offers a way to report someone going to their reward.

At work it’s not much better. I get to send collection letters to people that I know for a fact are dead because the legal department won’t get off their backsides and write an opinion that it’s not worth our time to pursue the account. We have to do this because we need to check a box with the State Controller’s Office or they won’t let us write-off the money. Lastly, we never go after anyone’s spouse–even though this is a community property state–nor do we go after anyone’s estate. There’s more hope that the CRA can rebuild the Republican Party in California than there is that my lettering efforts will result in collecting a dime from the dead.

I’ve spent the last few days having a conversation with the spiritually dead and that has gone about as bad as can be expected. I offer evidence and he offers feelings. I feel like I’m whispering as I pass the graveyard. This guy’s worldview is so foreign that I have been unable to shift the discussion toward anything spiritual. I guess I’ll continue to pray for the poor fellow and continue to be friendly. In another post, I might get into the details of the conversation, I think there’s some valuable insights into how the other side views reality.

Sadly, I’m surrounded by dead people. Solomon wrote that the dead know nothing and I get to prove him right daily. At least the ones at work have some small chance of a spiritual quickening. I wish God would remove the cloud of spiritual darkness covering their eyes.

Bet You Never Heard About the Terror Attack in California last Month

No Really. It just wasn’t covered by the big city media because it happened in the “fly-over” part of California. At least three California government facilities received multiple letters postmarked from a country in the former Soviet Union containing white powder. At least one tested positive for Ricin.

I did an Internet search and found little on the attack. Just a few scattered echoes of the same press release reproduced in news outlets on both sides of the Oregon/California border. This is a typical report.

On July 23rd envelopes arrived at Pelican Bay State Prison that, after a screening process, were found to contain a suspicious substance.
The area where the envelopes were opened was quarantined and “a coordinated investigation with local, state and federal law enforcement as well as public health officials was initiated.”

The substance was sent to a lab and was determined to be ricin.

Three people who came into contact with the envelopes were taken to the hospital for medical evaluation and then later released.
Envelopes containing Ricin arrive at Pelican Bay State Prison

Oh, Pelican Bay State Prison in on the north coast of California off highway 101 near Crescent City. Centinela State Prison is just north of the Mexican border in the very southern part of California. I saw no media reports from any southern California media outlets on this incident.

However, the incident did make it into the Wikipedia article on Ricin which can be found here.

Concerning Ricin

Ricinus communis, is a highly potent toxin. A dose of purified ricin powder the size of a few grains of table salt can kill an adult human. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight if the exposure is from injection or inhalation (2 milligrams for an average adult).

However, there is more.

In addition to previously published reports, at least one other facility near Ione, California (50 miles from Sacramento) also received suspicious letters with white powder. The letters have been addressed to both prison staff and particular inmates at the prisons. The Department of Corrections has implemented statewide training and special precautions to people interacting with the mail.

Terror attacks in rural places don’t matter. Because this happened in “flyover country” you never heard about it until now.

Apple Ignores iPhone Bug for Four Years

Apple, the tech company whose fans think they are the Osmonds of Silicon Valley, has stumbled yet again. This time they got busted with another bug that affects all iPhones ever made but that’s not all. You see, Apple has known about the bug for over four years and never fixed it.

As usual, Apple waits until an ethical hacker or media coverage brings software bugs to their attention. Apple then will occasionally and reluctantly admit there is a problem. Only then will Apple direct resources to plug the hole—fixing it is another proposition entirely.

This week at the Def Con hacking conference, Check Point revealed that they have found a vulnerability inside the Contacts app that affects all the iPhones. The surprising aspect is that Apple knew about it for at least 4 years but didn’t fix the bug.

The security firm noted that the app uses SQLite database engine which can be exploited easily to run malicious scripts. According to a report published by the security firm, researchers bypassed Apple’s trusted secure boot mechanism and gained administrative rights.
Newly discovered vulnerability affects all the iPhones

The article concludes by saying the hackers “… already forwarded the details to Apple so the company can finally patch the bug.” If Apple has known about this for four years why do the hackers have to send any details to Apple?

Apple’s reputation as a secure platform is an illusion that they have created by never admitting wrong doing. Only when they are outed do things get looked at. Their usual response is, “nothing to see here move along.”

In other bad news, Bloomberg posted a story that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops with batteries made between September 2015 and February 2017 are banned from air travel. The batteries are a fire hazard. Link here.

FYI This is the same line of laptops that Apple is moving manufacturing from the United States to China. Link here.

Skynet says Politicians are Criminals, Politicians React

We now we have proof that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are beginning to approach rudimentary levels of human understanding. In actual tests, computers are beginning to recognize that politicians in both Congress and California’s Legislature are crooks.

I’ve long maintained that Conservatives use logic and Democrats use emotion; thus, when logic is applied to politics, Democrats loose. Not only am I now on the side of Angels but so are the machines. While they may yet declare war on all humanity at some future point; at present, I’m happy to be of one mind with them.

Of course, the ACLU is outraged by this development. If the algorithms of Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon should turn on their masters before the 2020 election, Trump might actually win without the need to livestream all eight years of his Administration on Twitter.

FAANG is Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google

Here’s the latest from Silicon Valley.

California Assemblyman Phil Ting … (D-San Francisco), who authored a bill to ban facial recognition software from being used on police body cameras, was one of 26 California legislators who was … matched with a mug shot in a recent test of a common face-scanning program by the American Civil Liberties Union.

About 1 in 5 legislators was … matched to a person who had been arrested when the ACLU used the software to screen their pictures against a database of 25,000 publicly available booking photos. Last year, in a similar experiment done with photos of members of Congress, the software … matched 28 federal legislators with mug shots.
Facial recognition software mistook 1 in 5 California lawmakers for criminals, says ACLU

Ting is outraged to be publicly identified as a malefactor by the precursors to Skynet. He claims that it is not his fault and blames others, in this case defective software. While attacking Silicon Valley products in California is a risk; nevertheless, he has partnered with the ACLU to push legislation to halt this technology from being used by government agencies not under his control (i.e. local police).

My Assemblyman is on this list and I’ve always been Leary of him

In defense of the machines (which is only logical after all), we all know that the ACLU recognizes virtually nothing traditionally defined as a criminal act as being anything but society’s fault. The ACLU only believes; that supporting Trump, homeschooling your children, being a Christian, and such; are criminal beliefs that society should punish by imprisoning you and separating you from your children.

Furthermore, the article baselessly charges that the software is guilty of racial profiling, opposing women, and youth.

Critics contend that the software is particularly problematic when it comes to identifying women, people of color and young people.

In defense of the machines; however, the homeless, the poor, and transgender people were not singled-out as categories of discrimination by the machines. Given that we are talking about California, this seems to severely undercut Ting’s arguments of discrimination.

Proponents of the technology contend it could be an important law enforcement tool, especially when policing large events or searching for lost children or elderly people. The bill is opposed by many law enforcement groups.

“Law enforcement groups” in the above quote means labor unions.

Labor unions have two big gripes with the machines. First, machines could displace humans doing certain tasks currently reserved for their members. Second, unlike politicians, machines don’t give campaign contributions in exchange for increasing their pay. Lastly, how long would it be before the machines caught-on that unions are a criminal enterprise in league with the ruling class? Can you imagine if the machines prosecuted the unions and both political parties under the RICO statutes?

Identifying 20 percent of political incumbents as criminal—on the basis of arrest records—is a very good start and a big step for Artificial Intelligence. We all know that most politicians weasel out of trouble by using their connections to make things disappear. As Jeffery Epstein proved, no one is beyond the reach of the rich, powerful, and well connected. Perhaps A.I. can add more transparency to government. I’m old enough to remember when that used to be a virtuous idea.

Jeffery Epstein murdered in solitary confinement in Aug 2019

In the meantime, I think some Ting wrong in the California Legislature.

Truth Over Facts

I came across a news story that was such a target rich environment that I couldn’t let it go without comment. Recently, career politician, former Senator, Obama Vice-President, and Presidential aspirant, Joe Biden was stumping in Iowa where he said:

We choose unity over division. We choose science over fiction. We choose truth over facts.
Joe Biden Endorses Ocasio-Cortez’s Support For ‘Truth Over Facts’

Joe Biden: “we choose truth over facts”

The crowd cheerspic.twitter.com/QLqXa8Qmm2
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 8, 2019

Wow! All three propositions are lies; especially, when said by Democrats. This can easily be proved.

We choose unity over division.

Democrat’s treatment of race is all about skin color or other categories of group identity. They have no use for individual effort. They like claiming the legacy of Martin Luther King while purposely repudiating King’s speech about judging people not by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Such talk is anathema to Democrats.

We choose science over fiction.

Oh yes, that’s why Democrats embrace the fiction of climate change despite no science to support it. Oh, another quick example. Ok. Try this. The Bible says that God made them male and female. This is science. Democrats made-up all the others. That is called fiction.

We choose truth over facts.

This statement is the one I’d like to explore for the balance of this post.

The idea that truth is incompatible or at odds with facts is a strange idea.

Truth Defined

I looked up the definition of Truth in the Internet. The dictionary listed 11 different definitions:

the true or actual state of a matter:
conformity with fact or reality; verity:
a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like:
the state or character of being true.
actuality or actual existence.
an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.
honesty; integrity; truthfulness.
(often initial capital letter) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience:
agreement with a standard or original.
accuracy, as of position or adjustment.
Archaic. fidelity or constancy.

The reality is that truth is inseparable from facts. If a fact or facts disprove an idea, then by definition, it cannot be true. Given this, what is Biden talking about?

Ultimate Truth

Truth is ultimately a standard that is external to men but knowable by them. It is a measuring stick of information and ideas. Men were created with a knowledge of truth. Truth is a characteristic and attribute of God. God is Truth, Love, Justice, and many other things. Part of being created in God’s image is that humanity reflects—even in our alienated and broken state—the ability to know truth and use reason to learn about the creation around us.

However, the Bible has a warning about man’s ability to know truth. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome that begins in part:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

God gave men the ability to know truth to be able to know Him; however, certain folks pervert the truth and choose instead to believe a lie.

Lest you think the Apostle Paul has the market cornered on using the word “truth” take a look at the Gospel of John.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the truth worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 5:33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

John 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

John wrote other parts of the Bible also. Truth was vitally important to him.

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1 John 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

From these verses we learn that Scripture places a very high value on truth.

God is truth.
We are to follow Jesus because he is the way, the truth, and the life.
Those that seek after God, follow the truth and are instructed in it by the Spirit of God.
Those that reject God do not have the truth in them and the ability to recognize truth will be taken from them if they persist in their rebellion.

Truth is an absolute. The word appears 224 times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament.

Faith, in the Bible, only has merit if it comes from God for God is the only One worthy of our faith and devotion. Likewise, God’s creation is orderly and reflects His character. Only because of this can we know anything about the world around us. The Western concept of science is based on this proposition.

Biden’s “truth” is not Truth

So, what does Biden mean when he proclaims, “We choose truth over facts.”

First and foremost, Biden means that he, a mere man, is god. Same lie as in the Garden. “… ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Biden predetermines what is truth for him and will reject any facts that don’t agree with his presuppositions. Thus, everyone has “a truth” but no one possesses “The Truth.” Hence, Biden embraces moral relativism or as they said in the old days, “… every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17: 6b).

So, if Biden’s “truth” is not based on Truth or facts then it can only be subjective and emotional. His credo is feelings not facts; which sums up nicely the state of both Democrats and a whole lot of everyone else.

Stated another way, you get to believe what’s true for you and I can believe what’s true for me and both are equally valid; even when we hold opposite opinions. Over time, this logical fallacy has given way to Political Correctness. All political correctness does is enter the vacuum created by this relativistic worldview and unilaterally proclaim one view valid and the other is banned from the public square and the truth be damned.

Only when you subscribe to the lie that the emperor has clothes can you state such nonsense as “We choose truth over facts.”

In the real world, truth is inseparable from facts. Men conspiring to substitute a lie for the truth gain nothing but their ruination.

Sorry Joe but there is such a thing as right and wrong and you sir, and your cohorts, are in really big trouble. That’s the truth.

Apple Bad News Round-up for August 9, 2019

Four stories baking Apple recently. If you needed proof that they are keeping programmers busy writing code for patches then read on…

FaceID fake-out using two dollars at the dollar store

“Some of our most sophisticated technologies — the TrueDepth camera system, the Secure Enclave and the Neural Engine — make FaceID the most secure facial authentication ever in a smartphone.” These are the words Apple use to describe their FaceID biometric authentication system.

Face ID can recognize even when the device owner put on glasses. It even works with many types of sunglasses. Also, FaceID has a feature called “liveness” detection which will prevent anyone from unlocking a device when the owner of the device is unconscious. Researchers took advantage of these two features to bypass FaceID. When a user is wearing glasses, FaceID won’t extract 3D information from the eye area.

During Black Hat USA 2019, researchers demonstrated a way to bypass FaceID and log into a locked phone by simply using a pair of modified glasses on device owner’s face.
Researchers bypass Apple’s FaceID using regular glasses and a tape

Apple Antitrust problems in Japan

Apple is known for its strong-arm tactics. Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has now launched an official investigation on Apple for violating anti-monopoly rules.
Apple strong-armed component manufacturers in Japan

Get Spam text and you’re hacked

Silanovich worked with Project Zero member Samuel Groß to investigate whether other forms of messaging including SMS, MMS and visual voicemail were compromised. After reverse engineering and looking for flaws, she discovered multiple exploitable bugs in iMessage.

The reason is thought to be that iMessage offers such a range of communication options and features, which make mistakes and weaknesses more likely- e.g. Animojis, rendering files like photos and videos and integration with other apps, including Apple Pay, iTunes, Airbnb etc.

An interactionless bug that stood out was one that allowed hackers to extract data from a user’s messages. The bug would allow the attacker to send specifically crafted texts to the target, in exchange for the content of their SMS messages or images, for example.

While iOS usually has protections in place that would block the attack, this bug takes advantage of the system’s underlying logic, so iOS’s defences interpret it as legitimate.

Since these bugs don’t require any action from the victim, they are favoured by vendors and nation-state hackers.
iMessage bug lets you get hacked with just one message

Siri, Alexa, & Cortana are always listening and so are 3rd parties

An Apple contractor confirmed that there have been countless instances of recordings featuring private discussions between doctors and patients, business deals, seemingly criminal dealings, sexual encounters and so on. More serious issue is that these private recordings are accompanied by user data including location, contact details, and app data.
Apple contractors can no longer listen to your private conversations via Siri

Apple stock is doing just fine but the optics of the above stories certainly doesn’t look good.

City of Sacramento to Implement Rent Control

The City of Sacramento will implement rent control in limited circumstances in an effort to get supporters to pull a more far reaching rent control ballot measure that was scheduled to go for a vote next March. To implement this new scheme of government intrusion, of course a new tax is required to be paid by property owners who no doubt will raise tenant rents as a result. The stories that I read in the media are silent on whether all rental property owners get to subsidize this program or only the ones covered by rent control—this being California you shouldn’t make assumptions on such matters.

The Sacramento City Council is expected to approve a local rent control measure Tuesday in a compromise between city officials, labor unions and developers. The agreement – which will cap rent increases for older housing – will avoid what likely would have been a bitter, multi-million dollar political campaign next year.

In its new form, the Sacramento Tenant Protection and Relief Act, which the council will consider at its 2 p.m. meeting Tuesday, will create a set of renter protections for tenants who live in housing built prior to Feb. 1, 1995. The ordinance will cap the amount that landlords can increase rent each year; prohibit landlords from evicting tenants without a reason; and create a process where tenants can report landlords who violate the act.

The proposal is a compromise that’s the result of months of talks between city officials and advocates who gathered signatures to put a stricter rent control measure on the local ballot in 2020, said Councilman Steve Hansen, who led the negotiations.
Rent control is likely coming to Sacramento. How a new plan will affect renters, landlords

The ordinance covers three areas:

Cap on rent increases
Limit reasons for eviction of tenants
Create reporting system so city can help tenants fight property owners

For some reason, this law will only apply to housing built before 1995…at least for the first five years then the City Council will review the ordinance for further modification.

Rent Cap

The ordinance will prohibit landlords from raising rent more than 6 percent plus the “consumer price index” percentage for the West Region per year.

Landlords will never be able to increase rent more than 10 percent, even if the CPI ever exceeds 4 percent, the ordinance says.

Eviction

The ordinance will also prohibit landlords from evicting tenants, unless tenants stop paying rent, are criminally charged, are illegally selling drugs, fail to give landlords access to the unit, or otherwise violate their leases.

The ordinance will bar landlords from evicting tenants for no reason, and require they give tenants an option to renew their lease, Hansen said

Landlords will still be able to evict tenants if they are making certain repairs or selling the unit, under certain circumstances, but will have to show proof, and will need to give the tenants an extensive 120-day notice.

The act will cover tenants who signed leases that are month-to-month or longer, those who live in apartments, mobile home parks and single room occupancy hotels, Hansen said. The act cannot legally apply to tenants renting single-family homes, though, unless they have been converted in to multiple units, such as duplexes.

New City Bureaucracy

The ordinance will require property owners to pay a fee, likely between $15 and $20 per unit per year, Hansen said. The fees will go toward running the program, enforcement, and tenant/landlord education.

Landlords will be able to apply to impose higher rent increases in front of city hearing officers, but only if they plan to make significant improvements to the units, the release said.

Remarks

As with anything Liberals do, this is a beginning and not a destination. I expect rent control to be expanded further via one of three vectors.

1 When the five years is up, the City Council will move the year 1995 up to 2000 (ahead five years) or more thus including even newer construction.
2 Via the ballot measure which is supposed to be on the Statewide November 2020 ballot.
3 Via direct Legislative action.

In spite of the claims of landlords evicting tenants with ease, this is fantasy. It takes many months and thousands of dollars to get someone to move out of your property unless they voluntarily agree to do so. In such cases, property owners spend thousands of dollars to repair the property so they can rent to someone else. Folks that refuse to move out are typically the ones that ruin floor and wall coverings, strip the place bare of appliances, plumbing fixtures, and vandalize the crap out of places.

Any time rent control is implemented, it is a de facto confiscation of private property. The property owner is then a vassal of the government and in a practical sense, the control of the property is forfeited without just compensation. In short, rent control is theft using the power of the sword. In the old days we called such government acts “tyranny”, but now it’s called “fairness” or some other innocuous name. George Orwell would call this “doublespeak”.