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Oh no!

After backlash, Upstate NY school district pauses plan to add humanoid robot to classroom
www.syracuse.com

... A Western New York school district has halted its plans to place a humanoid robot in a classroom after a New York Focus report on the plan sparked fierce debate over the use of artificial intelligence in schools and backlash from local parents.

Salamanca City Central School District announced in a Facebook post Friday afternoon that its pilot project with tech company Realbotix has been put on hold as school officials "work through enhanced student data privacy agreements" with the state education agency and engage with community members.

The news comes hours after state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa sent a letter informing Salamanca Superintendent Mark Beehler that "the Department remains concerned about the effect that a humanoid robot may have within a high school classroom." According to the letter, the department met with the district to discuss the robot plan earlier this week.

"Many parents, teachers, and stakeholders are understandably concerned about the presence of artificial intelligence technology in classrooms, particularly when it involves robots that resemble humans," Rosa wrote.

The district had planned to introduce the robot to high school students this fall, along with an artificial intelligence teacher's assistant program that allowed students to interact with an avatar of the robot on laptops. The $57,590 investment was approved at a local school board meeting last month. ...



@#20 ... It is from a weird film called "The Body" and is called Give Birth To A Smile. Quite a departure ...

I have that soundtrack album. Likely because I was accumulating Pink Floyd soundtrack songs back in the day.

Music from The Body
en.wikipedia.org

... Music from The Body is the soundtrack album to Roy Battersby's 1970 documentary film The Body,[3] about human biology, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Finlay. ...

But, yeah. Weird.



Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
www.youtube.com



Purple Rain (film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Rain_(film)

... Purple Rain is a 1984 American romantic rock musical drama film directed by Albert Magnoli from a screenplay co-written by Magnoli and William Blinn. It stars Prince (in his feature film debut), Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, and Clarence Williams III. In the film, the Kid (Prince), a rising musician, grapples with his turbulent personal life as he competes with rival local musician Morris (Day). ...

There's no evidence at all that Mail In Voting is a problem in America:

www.brookings.edu

Trump tried to overturn the results of his loss to Biden, according to his own DOJ; this time he's trying to Rig the Mid-Term Elections before they happen.

Or another from the Vietnam era ...

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Be Not Too Hard (1974)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
Be not too hard for life is short
And nothing is given to man
Be not too hard if he's sold or bought
For he must do the best he can

Be not too hard when he blindly dies
Fighting for things he does not own
Be not too hard when he tells lies
Or if his heart is sometimes stone

Be not too hard for soon he'll die
Often no wiser than he began
Be not too hard for life is short
And nothing is given to man
...


@#7 ... America could, in effect, pull a "Vietnam"

Speaking of then Vietnam War and our military forces in the MidEast ...

Barclay James Harvest - Child Of The Universe (1982)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
[Verse]
I'm a child of South Africa
I'm a child of Vietnam
I'm a child of Northern Ireland
I'm a small boy with blood on his hands

[Chorus]
Yes, I'm a child of the universe
Yes, I'm a child of the universe
You can see me on the TV every night
Always there to join in someone else's fight

[Bridge]
I didn't ask to be born, and I don't ask to die
I'm an endless scream, a gene machine
That cannot reason why
...


Dyson spheres are an amazing concept.

Dyson sphere
en.wikipedia.org

... A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output.[1][2][3] The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone.

Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy. ...



So, as a side benefit, an advanced civilization effectively says to others trying to observe them ... look elsewhere?


Clown,

"You literally said homosexuals were expecting too much from society."

I did say something along those lines, and I stand by the point.

Gay people are entitled to equal protection under the law, freedom from discrimination and the same basic respect owed to everyone else.

But they also need to face reality.

A large part of the straight world does not approve of homosexuality, does not celebrate it and would not choose it for their own children.

How many young couples find out they are expecting a child and say, "I sure hope he's gay"?

Almost none.

Some straight people are also genuinely repulsed by the thought of sex between men. Sometimes that comes from prejudice. Sometimes the idea simply grosses them out. Don't pretend that simple physical reaction does not exist. And don't judge it. People can't change some automatic innate reactions.

That does not automatically mean they hate gay people. Equal rights, politeness, tolerance, approval and acceptance are not the same thing.

Some straight people fully welcome gay people into their lives. Many others tolerate them, remain polite and go no further. Gay people will not be accepted into every family, every social circle or every community. Who is?

That is reality.

And most important, do not base your self-worth on approval from the straight world, which is most of society and forever always will be.

Full acceptance by society is not coming anytime soon. Gay people who depend on it for their self-respect are setting themselves up for disappointment.

More from the article ...

... A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected an effort by top Democrats to block President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to reshape the nation's election system by creating a national list of eligible voters and limiting mail-in voting.

The three-judge panel upheld U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols' May 28 decision denying a preliminary injunction after determining the Democratic National Committee and congressional leaders failed to show any imminent or irreparable harm, as neither the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Postal Service had yet acted.

U.S. Circuit Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins and Gregory Katsas -- two Barack Obama appointees and a Trump appointee, respectively -- wrote in a per curiam order that while there may be a "number of serious questions concerning the lawfulness of proposed actions if implemented," the court cannot rule until those actions occur.

"In addition, the executive order, which is itself not self-executing, directs the agencies to act only to the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law, including but not limited to the Privacy Act of 1974,' and so requires compliance with the very legal limitations about which plaintiffs are concerned," the panel wrote. "If the defendant agencies take steps to implement the executive order in a manner that violates federal law or the Constitution, plaintiffs can promptly seek relief, which the district court and this court can decide in as expeditious a manner as circumstances require." ...


... and ...

Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (classified documents case)
en.wikipedia.org(classified_documents_case)

... United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira was a federal criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States; Walt Nauta, his personal aide and valet; and Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira.[2][3]

The grand jury indictment brought 40 felony counts against Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his first presidency, to which he pleaded not guilty.[4] The case marked the first federal indictment of a former U.S. president.[5]

On June 8, 2023, the original indictment with 37 felony counts against Trump was filed in the federal district court in Miami by the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith.[6][7][8][9] On July 27, a superseding indictment charged an additional three felonies against Trump.[10][11][12]

Trump was charged separately for each of 32 documents under the Espionage Act.[13][14]

The other eight charges against him included making false statements and engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. The most serious charges against Trump and Nauta carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. ...




And to follow-up ...

Joe Biden classified documents incident
en.wikipedia.org

... On January 9, 2023, CBS News[1] reported that attorneys for U.S. president Joe Biden discovered classified government documents in his former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., and in his personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware, dating to his time in the United States Senate and his vice presidency in the Obama administration.[2][3][4] The number of documents was later revealed to be between 25 and 30. By June 2023, classified documents from Biden's Senate tenure were discovered in materials donated to the University of Delaware.[5][6] ...

On November 2, 2022, Biden's attorneys discovered the first set of classified documents in a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center; they reported them that day to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which retrieved them the next day. ...

On February 8, 2024, the Justice Department released the report by special counsel Hur, which concluded that the "evidence does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt", so "no criminal charges are warranted in this matter".[9][10]

For classified documents found in the Penn Biden Center and in the University of Delaware, Hur judged that they "could plausibly have been brought to these locations by mistake".[11] For Afghanistan-related classified documents found in the garage of Biden's Delaware home, Hur stated that his investigation could not determine "why, how, or by whom" that material was kept.[11]

For Biden's handwritten notebooks found in Biden's Delaware home, which included classified content, Hur credited the possibility that Biden treated them as "personal property", given "historical practice" of the federal government allowing President Ronald Reagan to take home his diaries as "personal records" despite their classified content.[12][13][14] ...



@#12 ... That a president may have classified documents among the stuff he collects and removes after his tenure doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how that president reacts when it's found out.

One tried to hide it. One has been criminally charged.

Take that for what it's worth. ...

Not just a president, but also a vice-president.

Fmr VP Pence was found to have classified documents in his possession after he left office.

Mike Pence classified documents incident
en.wikipedia.org

... In January 2023, Gregory Jacob, an attorney for former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, said that a "small number" of classified documents had been found at Pence's house in Carmel, Indiana. The documents were originally obtained during Pence's time in the first Trump administration.

Jacob said Pence had engaged outside attorneys to search his home "out of an abundance of caution" after it was reported that classified documents were found in President Joe Biden's home and former office. The discovered documents were collected and removed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

A later FBI search of Pence's residence, agreed to by Pence, found a single additional classified document. On June 2, 2023, media outlets reported that Pence was informed by the United States Department of Justice that the investigation into him had been concluded and that he would not be charged. ...



www.pbs.org

Read the full Trump indictment on mishandling of classified documents

www.motherjones.com

Trump Told Aides to Delete Security Footage in Coverup Attempt

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