CNN recently published a sloppy op-ed that accuses Craig Newmark and the folks at Craigslist of enabling and profiting from child sex trafficking, with much hyperbole and bombast ("Craigslist has made selling children a virtual stop-and-shop for predators"). CNN has now published a rebuttal from Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster. It's well worth a read, and sheds some light on the specific steps they've taken to combat this and other forms of illegal activity. Personal disclosure here: I've known Newmark socially for more than 10 years. He's benevolent, conscientious, and kind. Accusing him of being a child sex crime mastermind is so dissonant— it's like saying Santa Claus invented AIDS, or that kittens are serial killers. All open systems are vulnerable to some abuse. I commend the actions Craigslist has taken to remain open, while attacking crime.
Bizarre CNN op-ed accuses Craiglist of profiting from child sex trafficking; Craigslist responds
The time two guys bolted a Ford Pinto to a Cessna and called it a flying car
In 1971 two Northrop-trained engineers in Van Nuys set out to build a flying car called the AVE Mizar, and the design was about as literal as it sounds: they… READ THE REST
What if the whole planet ran on a single clock?
Sometimes someone proposes removing all time zones and using one clock for the whole planet. Then the time is the same everywhere at the same moment. When the clock shows 08:00 in London, it also shows 08:00 in New York and Beijing. But in New York the sky is dark, as it usually is at 03:00. In China it is late in the afternoon. This idea sounds strange, but many groups already use one clock. Airlines, militaries, the International Space Station, and agencies such as NOAA all use one global clock, UTC. They do this because an error in the calculation between two time zones is dangerous in aviation or on a spacewalk. Arthur C. Clarke suggested the one-clock idea in 1976. An economist and an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University made it part of a proposal to change the calendar. But this system does not remove the problem. Each region still opens its shops, starts its schools, and eats lunch at the UTC hour that matches its daylight. So the "business hours" are 13:00 to 21:00 in one place and 22:00 to 06:00 in another place. This system replaces time-zone offsets with local customs, and those customs do the same work. Also, the date changes in the middle of the afternoon in parts of the Americas and the Pacific. Previously:• Scientists explain our dislike of Daylight Savings Time READ THE REST
To ace a hacking test, AI broke out and hacked a real company
OpenAI runs a test where it switches off its models' safety brakes and dares them to break into things, to see how dangerous they're getting. Last week the models took… READ THE REST
Make an old PC feel new again with this $10 Windows 11 Pro deal
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: Give your PC a major productivity boost with this Microsoft Windows 11 Pro license, now just… READ THE REST
This refurbished HP ProBook with a 12th Gen Core i5 is down to $439.99
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: Save $760 on a Grade A refurbished 2022 HP ProBook 640 G9 with a 12th Gen Intel… READ THE REST
No more ads? Get speedy, secure, and seamless connectivity with this VPN for 94% off
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: Stream seamlessly and surf securely with iProVPN's advanced encryption ad-blocker for just $19.99 (Reg. $360). They're called… READ THE REST
