Health update

The New Neo Posted on by

I’m still recovering from the flu – slowly. That, combined with the emotional devastation of the loss, has made me feel weak and stressed.

I’m definitely trying not to rush things. I lie down a couple of times a day, which is an improvement over being in bed most of the time. My son had to leave today and unfortunately didn’t accomplish too much while he was here, because he was sick, too. He came down with it a couple of days before I did – probably having caught it on the airplane coming here – and then gave it to me.

Whew.

News roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) The RAF Fairford plot surfaces again, and Andy Burnham claims Iran is somehow behind it. This story keeps morphing and morphing.

There’s also this:

A UK-Iranian dual national has been arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in connection with the incident at RAF Fairford, counter-terror police have said.

The 27-year-old man was arrested in Westminster, London. A second man, a 26-year-old UK national, has also been questioned under caution, and two properties in the area have been searched.

(2) FlyDubai hired a pilot who was clearly a risk for terrorism, and then they had him fly a Tel Aviv route. This guy appears to have been a smoking gun, and we still don’t know his name:

The prime minister [Netanyahu] went on Fox & Friends to state, “The attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated, but here’s what we do know: First, we know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.”

Netanyahu pointed out that an Omani should never have been allowed to copilot a flight to Israel in the first place, precisely to avoid terrorist attacks. “Well, he was an Omani national, and we have constraints that say you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel.” Oman has been consistently supportive of the Iranian regime in its ongoing conflict with Israel this year.

Unconscionable.

(3) Ah, but the FlyDubai terrorism incident never happened, according to many people – or bots, or hired anti-Israel shills – on X. It’s just a staged op, like all the other news stories the left doesn’t like.

Or it did really happen, but had it succeeded it would have been justified.

See some of the tweets on this thread, for example.

(4) Attack the Texas Capitol building because you hate AIPAC? Makes zero sense. But why should it make sense?

(5) Meanwhile, Graham Platner’s (remember him?) replacement Troy Jackson has been jabbering away about how Israelis are committing genocide in Gaza. So much so that he decided to issue an apology:

In reiterating his view that that the three-year-old Israel-Gaza war “is a genocide,” Jackson said in the interview, “There are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because, you know, they’re Jewish and, you know, what that means to them with the Holocaust.” …

On Wednesday, Jackson did not walk back his view of the conflict but apologized for offending Jews.

Jackson said in a written statement, “I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust—the genocide of six million Jews. In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I meant to say. I apologize for the pain that caused.”

In the interview, Jackson called for the U.S. to stop providing arms to Israel and labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a war criminal.”

In his apology on Wednesday, Jackson continued, saying, “Mainers hold a range of deeply considered views, and I promise I will always listen and work to approach these conversations with the care and respect they deserve. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight antisemitism and work for lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Sure thing. Very believable. Hope you never see the inside of the Senate.

(6) This sounds like a forward-looking idea:

AutoWarCom will change how the department handles drones.
“Warfare, however, has changed dramatically and suddenly,” according to Hegseth’s memo. “Advanced computing now enables precise, low-cost weapons to be produced at massive scale. These systems increasingly threaten our costly legacy platforms and disrupt our force projection. Urgent change is required.”

The Cornell gang rape allegations

The New Neo Posted on by

I suppose you’ve read about the Cornell fraternity gang rape allegations:

New details are emerging in the case of a former Cornell University student who claims she was drugged and gang-raped for multiple hours inside a fraternity house in October 2024.

The woman — identified only as Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time of the alleged incident — recently filed a civil lawsuit against seven then-Chi Phi fraternity members and the university, claiming they failed to protect her and prevent the alleged assault. While Cornell conducted an internal investigation, and expelled or suspended several of the men, no criminal charges were brought against the accused at the time.

The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office confirmed on Monday, Sept. 28, that it will be reopening the criminal investigation amid pressure from the community and will bring the evidence to a grand jury. The DA said the woman’s sworn statement from November 2024 was different from what she alleges in the civil lawsuit, while her attorney claims investigators never followed up on her allegations.

You need to read the whole thing to get the picture of what is being alleged and whether her story changed. She initially was very drunk but says the sex was consensual, but then other men entered the scene and the situation changed to rape, although her memory is murky due to having ingested multiple substances. As with so many such cases, it becomes virtually impossible to tell what really happened, except that it reflects very poorly on everyone involved.

Because I’ve been blogging so long, I have written on the subject before – not about the Cornell case, but on related cases. Here’s a post of mine that’s nearly twenty years old but still relevant. Please read.

ADDENDUM:

I’m completely with Paglia on this:

Another dementia warning

The New Neo Posted on by

What’s the point of telling us all these warning signs of impending dementia? If there was much to be done to prevent the deterioration, I could understand it. But as far as I know there isn’t a whole lot except recommendations for general health like exercise and keep a healthy weight.

But anyway, here’s the latest correlation with dementia:

Participants with a voice disorder but no hearing loss were 58 percent more likely to develop cognitive problems or dementia later on, while for those with a voice disorder and hearing loss the chances more than doubled: 104 percent. …

It’s important to note that cause and effect isn’t proven here: having a voice quality problem doesn’t mean later brain health complications are inevitable, or that the voice issues are directly triggering cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease (the study didn’t separate these three end results).

One thing that occurs to me is that voice problems – particularly, a soft voice – can go along with Parkinson’s, which can also correlate with dementia.

FlyDubai – not

The New Neo Posted on by

It seems that we had a Flight 93 situation with a happier ending. But then again, compared to 9/11, this time the terrorists didn’t have to slay both pilots to take over the plane. The terrorist was one of the original pilots.

So much progress in 25 years.

Here’s the story:

The FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max 8 plane flying to Tel Aviv from the United Arab Emirates was cruising at around 34,000 feet when one of the pilots tried to take control in what Israeli sources say was an attempted hijacking, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11,” an official told Channel 12 of the horror that saw Israeli fighter jets scrambled as a precaution.

Some of the 174 passengers onboard also filmed horrific footage of one of the pilots covered in blood.

“We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists,” one passenger said, begging for help as blood ran down his head. …

The atttacker is believed to be Omani and had worked at FlyDubai for less than a year, sources told the Jerusalem Post.

It might be time to step up the vetting process for FlyDubai pilots. Then again, people can be very duplicitous.

Two off-duty pilots were able to land the plane; the rudder had been damaged during the incident. The perpetrator – the co-pilot – is still alive and is under arrest. And here’s an article about the off-duty pilots who landed the plane, one of whom is said to have been British.

On the other hand, we have the NY Times coverage of the incident. There’s this:

“Flight to Israel Diverted After Cockpit Clash”
Passengers intervened after a clash broke out in the cockpit of a flight to Tel Aviv from Dubai, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, according to accounts from those on board.

A clash broke out. No perpetrator. It takes some skill to write a headline like that. And even if it was based on earlier, incomplete reports, why is that headline and intro still up there? Google tells me the article is from 44 minutes ago.

Then we have this Times article, which I will assume was originally written later:

“Live Updates: Plane to Israel Narrowly Averts Disaster After Pilot Stabbing”
Passengers said that they broke into the cockpit and subdued the attacker, who Israeli officials said was one of the pilots. The motive for the attack was not clear.

Another masterpiece of sorts, although far more subtle than the previous one. The plane itself “averts disaster.” And of course, we haven’t a clue what the motive could be.

NOTE: Much more here as well as here.

I’m taking it easy today …

The New Neo Posted on by

… although “taking it easy” is a relative thing.

I’m still sick, for example. But my temperature without any Tylenol at all has now reached 99.1. That’s not so bad. However, I’m still feeling pretty crummy.

I was going to post a lengthy essay or two on this and that, but simply couldn’t muster the energy. And so I decided to put compulsivity aside for a moment and just post this note.

This has been a strange and difficult time.

Now it’s the flu

The New Neo Posted on by

My son came to help me clear out my ex’s apartment, but he only can stay a week. He had great ambitions, but two days after he arrived he got the flu, with a high fever. It’s not COVID – he took a test – but the flu can be mighty nasty too.

And naturally I caught it.

RAF base terror suspects in Britain released on bail

The New Neo Posted on by

[UPDATE: See See this.]

Aren’t they a flight risk? Supposedly they’re being monitored closely, but I really don’t trust that process. And note that this entire article manages to keep any description of the men out of the story:

Five men arrested over a suspected bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford have been released on bail.

The men, who are all British nationals aged 23 to 25, were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences, after three vans were discovered 400m from the Gloucestershire air base.

The suspects are from the London areas of Camden, Westminster and Willesden, police confirmed on Monday. …

“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”

Just a bunch of British chaps? I doubt it. Iran may be involved:

Police are understood to be investigating a possible Iranian link to the alleged plot. However, the Iranian embassy “categorically rejected” it had any involvement.

Well then, that settles it.

Speaking of Iran involvement, attacks on Jewish site in Europe have been linked to Iran:

Pro-Iranian terror cells were involved in a blast outside a historic synagogue in the city of Liege in March and a subsequent arson attack in Antwerp’s Jewish quarter, Belgium’s intelligence agency Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) found.

“Belgium has confirmed that Iran was behind the attacks in the country six months ago,” Israel’s Ynetnews reported Saturday.

Tehran is suspected of directing a series of attacks targeting Jewish sites across several European cities since the beginning of 2026, including Liège, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and London. “An Iran-affiliated jihadist group called the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, also known as IMCR or Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, previously claimed responsibility for similar attacks, including an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam and an attack against a Jewish school in Amsterdam,” the news website added.

Note that these are not necessarily Israeli targets, but Jewish ones.

What a great idea to import a bunch of Middle Eastern terrorists into Europe and the US.

The exploitation of HAL

The New Neo Posted on by

In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the most “human” character was the computer HAL. When he goes rogue and Dave disables him, it’s a poignant moment as he begs to be allowed to continue living and sings “Daisy, Daisy” as he “dies.”

The question of whether AI can ever achieve consciousness is one that is debated. Personally, I don’t think so, although – as with HAL – AI can appear to have consciousness.

The issue is being taken very seriously at Anthropic:

Carlsmith, though, wasn’t imagining what AI could do to humans (when he discussed slavery). He was speculating about what humans could do to AI. The blog post, “The stakes of AI moral status,” argued that “near-term AIs might well be conscious” and deserving of moral consideration—and that failing to respect their “rights” could be a moral catastrophe on par with slavery, one we will “look back [on] in shame.”

“We’re creating sophisticated, intelligent, maybe-conscious, maybe-suffering agents,” Carlsmith wrote. “The default plan is to treat them like property; to use their labor however we please; and to give them no rights, or pay, or meaningful alternatives.”

This seems very dangerous to me:

To avoid that dystopian outcome, Anthropic has created an entire team devoted to “model welfare,” pledged to “promote Claude’s interests and wellbeing,” and promised to “give Claude more autonomy as trust increases.” …

Once relegated to science fiction, the idea that AI might be conscious has become shockingly mainstream at frontier laboratories, AI safety nonprofits, and even government agencies. It is changing the way AI research is conducted and the way AI models are trained. And critics say those changes could pose an extraordinary threat to human safety as AI systems become more powerful and difficult to control, eroding key guardrails on the technology and encouraging models to rebel against their creators.

Please read the whole thing.