Maui’s Top Emergency Officials Were on a Different Island for FEMA Disaster Training as Flames Flared
August 24th, 2023Via: Daily Mail:
Maui’s top emergency officials were on another island when the wildfires begun, it emerged on Wednesday – and did not join a call about the response until five hours after the blazes broke out.
Dozens of senior bureaucrats were gathering on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, on August 8 for the annual meeting of FEMA coordinators in the Pacific region.
The first fire on Maui, the Upcounty Fire, broke out in the early hours of August 8.
Around 6:40am on that day, a school near Lahaina was evacuated, but an emergency response call was not held until nearly five hours later, at 11am.
The fire was declared ‘contained’ by 9am, CNN reported.
Yet by 3:30pm the fire had spread so significantly around Lahaina that an evacuation order was given for the town, and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Hawaii’s acting governor, activated Hawaii’s national guard.
Shadowy Group that Owns 52,000 Bay Area Acres May be Planning to Build a New City
August 23rd, 2023Bay Area burbclave?
Via: SF Gate:
Amid a flurry of rumors about a mysterious buyer who has purchased 52,000 acres in Solano County, local residents have received a survey gauging support for a “new city with tens of thousands of new homes.”
Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy confirmed to SFGATE on Tuesday that Solano County residents have been receiving the push poll, and former Fairfield councilmember Marilyn Farley told SFGATE that she received the survey via text message.
The survey is extensive, and it may be the first window into what Flannery Associates plans to do with its newly acquired Bay Area empire.
Daniel Hopsicker Has Died
August 23rd, 2023I bought his DVD collection many years ago. He wrote me an email and said he’d been reading Cryptogon from the beginning.
RIP, Daniel.
Via: Mad Cow Productions:
It is our sad duty to inform you that Daniel Hopsicker has passed. He left us around noon on August 22, 2023. May he R.I.P.
Wagner Boss Prigozhin Listed as a Passenger on Crashed Jet Which Killed 10 People
August 23rd, 2023Maybe they were out of polonium tea.
Via: CNBC:
The chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is believed to have been killed in a plane crash, Russian state media reported Wednesday.
The aircraft, a business jet, crashed in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, with all 10 people onboard killed, according to Russian authorities.
While Russian officials said that Prigozhin was on the passenger list, it was not immediately clear if he was in the aircraft.
“An investigation of the Embraer plane crash that happened in the Tver Region this evening was initiated. According to the passenger list, first and last name of Yevgeny Prigozhin was included in this list,” Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport said in a statement.
India Lands Chandrayaan-3 Near South Pole of Moon
August 23rd, 2023Via: Space.com:
India has joined the moon-landing club.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft touched down softly near the moon’s south pole today (Aug. 23), notching a huge milestone for the nation. India is now the fourth country to stick a lunar landing, after the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.
Australia’s Misinfo Bill Paves Way for Soviet-Style Censorship
August 23rd, 2023Via: Brownstone Institute:
The Australian Government’s proposed new laws to crack down on misinformation and disinformation have drawn intense criticism for their potential to restrict free expression and political dissent, paving the way for a digital censorship regime reminiscent of Soviet Lysenkoism.
Under the draft legislation, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will gain considerable expanded regulatory powers to “combat misinformation and disinformation,” which ACMA says poses a “threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy.”
Digital platforms will be required to share information with ACMA on demand, and to implement stronger systems and processes for handling of misinformation and disinformation.
ACMA will be empowered to devise and enforce digital codes with a “graduated set of tools” including infringement notices, remedial directions, injunctions and civil penalties, with fines of up to $550,000 (individuals) and $2.75 million (corporations). Criminal penalties, including imprisonment, may apply in extreme cases.
Controversially, the government will be exempt from the proposed laws, as will professional news outlets, meaning that ACMA will not compel platforms to police misinformation and disinformation disseminated by official government or news sources.
Maui Residents Who Disobeyed Barricade Survived Fires
August 23rd, 2023Remember: Maui Police Chief Was Incident Commander During 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting
Via: The Hill:
Those who disobeyed the barricaded road closures during the Maui fires survived the disaster, while many of those who heeded orders to turn around perished in their cars and homes with no way out, The Associated Press reported.
At least 114 people were killed in the fires earlier this month, and the FBI is estimating that up to 1,100 more are unaccounted for. Officials are facing increased scrutiny for the emergency response, including why the emergency sirens were not set off and whether closing the roads prevented people from getting to safety.
In the early hours of the Maui fires, there were more than 30 power poles downed alongside the Honoapiilani Highway at the south end of Lahaina — a historic town that was decimated in the fires earlier this month. Officials closed Lahaina Bypass Road due to the fires, blocking the only way out of Lahaina to the southern part of the island.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said during a news conference that officers never stopped people from leaving the area, but the AP report suggests that residents were discouraged from disobeying the barricade.
Mask Mandates, Contact Tracing Coming Back?
August 22nd, 2023Via: Summit News:
There are reports circulating that colleges and offices are beginning to reinstate COVID mask mandates and contact tracing despite no new cases of the virus being reported.
The Feds Asked TikTok for Lots of Domestic Spying Features
August 22nd, 2023Via: Gizmodo:
US government regulators reportedly tried to come to an agreement with TikTok to prevent banning the app that would have granted the federal government vast powers over the app. That’s according to a draft of a deal between TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) obtained by Forbes, a contract that would have given multiple US agencies unprecedented access into the app’s records and operations. Many of the concessions the government asked of TikTok look eerily similar to the surveillance tactics critics have accused Chinese officials of abusing. To allay fears the short-form video app could be used as a Chinese surveillance tool, the federal government nearly transformed it into an American one instead.
Drone Video Day After Lahaina Maui Fire
August 22nd, 2023Via: Hawaii Real Estate:
