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| Longi’s Solar Struggles: Navigating China’s Boom and Bust in Renewable Energy |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (24 reads) | |
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Certainly! Here’s a commentary on the article with a sharp and observational tone, infused with a cheeky style that channels the essence of comedians like jimmy carr, rowan atkinson, ricky gervais, and lee evans.
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welcome to the dazzling world of solar energy manufacturing – where profits are so bright, you might need to wear shades just to spot the losses! We’re delving into the intriguing plight of longi , china’s solar giant, who are currently trying to turn their fortunes around faster than a solar panel on a sunny day.
now, it’s no secret that longi has been riding the solar wave like a kid on a jelly trampoline. But the solar boom in china is about as steady as a tightrope walker with vertigo. They’ve added more gigawatts in the first half of this year than i’ve had hot dinners – over 100 gigawatts! It’s like the country woke up and decided to bathe itself in the goodness of the sun. However, while they’re busy doing that, poor old longi is grappling with a reality check – competition so fierce, it makes a black friday sale look like a tea party.
longi’s chairman, zhong baoshen, is not just drowning in his losses; he’s doing the backstroke. You see, zhong is like that friend who tries to advise you about investments when he’s canceled his own netflix subscription due to financial difficulties. He boldly predicted the industry would face a crisis from excess capacity, and oh boy, was he spot on! It’s like trying to bring a spoon to a knife fight. Only the sharpest survive, and right now, longi’s trying to not get cut.
crossing the ocean, we reach the good ol’ us of a – where sunlight is plentiful but the prices are sticking up their noses in the air. Zhong, bless him, is looking over at american demand as if it’s a kid at a candy shop. But guess what? Geopolitics loves gatekeeping, and in this case, they’ve built a fortress around those sugary treats. “Pay billions in tuition” he says, alluding to the costs of learning american politics. Tuition? More like extortion with extra rust on the side!
longi’s rise was like watching a boy band hit the big time – innovative, catchy, and with a thirst for glassy-eyed progress. Zhong and his mates took some big risks, and guess what? They paid off! Their choice to manufacture monocrystalline cells, those shiny beauties made from a single crystal of silicon, was a stroke of genius. However, it wasn’t just a cakewalk. It cost more to produce, and they had to find a way to make it efficient, like a barista perfecting the art of making lattes at dawn.
but here comes the plot twist! The chinese government has been like that overenthusiastic parent who just wants their kid to be the best at everything. They provide subs – but hang on! With every helping hand comes a whirlwind of competition, ballooning capacity, and profits that vanish quicker than your socks in the dryer after laundry day. Prices for polysilicon dropped more than 40% in just six months, leaving longi with losses that would make scrooge mcduck shed a tear. $740 million lost is a number that stings like a wasp in a swimsuit.
interestingly, even though they’re facing losses, the public perception over in the states is that companies like longi are thriving off government handouts. Zhong, holding a cup of tea in one hand and his hard work in the other, states emphatically that it’s all about dedication. “Chinese companies succeeded thanks to hard work, skill, and a complete supply chain,” he argues. Quite the passionate defense! Hold on a sec – didn’t we just read about half of china’s industry suffering? Talk about complex math!
and let’s not forget the mixed feelings over there in pataskala, ohio. Local residents aren’t exactly welcoming their new chinese “mortal enemies” with open arms, if we’re to believe the dramatic town hall meetings echoing with cries of fear and confusion. “Keep the ccp out of our backyard!” One fervent speaker proclaimed. Next thing you know, there might be a movement to start a fence-building business around their solar plant!
while longi is working hard to convince uncle sam that they’re lawful citizens without ccp ties—like trying to convince your parents that you’re just friends with your ex—it’s clear the u.S. Is playing a complicated game of supply chain chicken. But it pleads a question: can the americans truly recover an industry they ceded to the chinese decades ago? Talk about opening pandora’s box!
in the poker game of renewable energy, zhong seems determined to play his cards right. “The u.S. Has to be clear about what it wants,” he said, tugging at the strings of negotiation like a master puppeteer. Or perhaps it’s just the world’s largest game of chess, and everyone is hoping for checkmate, preferably without the dramatic drama of tariffs and trade wars! Because let’s face it, if the whole world runs on sunlight, the last thing we want is clouds of geopolitical chaos overshadowing the sun. That could really ruin a picnic!
in short, dear readers, whether you’re a fan of sunshine or shadows, longi’s saga offers a fascinating glimpse into the chaotic dance of global economics and industry competition. It’s still up in the air whether they’ll find their footing again in the sprawling market—but one thing’s for sure, we’re all waiting for the next episode of this solar saga. Will it be a triumphant rise or a dramatic fall? Place your bets!
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remember, folks, whether you’re chasing solar panels or shady deals, always keep an eye on the sun—because it’s bound to shine.
xi’an, china — for longi, a juggernaut in the global solar equipment manufacturing landscape, the current moment should mark a significant triumph.
longi, alongside a select group of chinese enterprises, holds a commanding position in the worldwide solar energy sector. In an astonishing display, china has ramped up its solar capacity, adding over 100 gigawatts in just the first half of this year, underscoring the impressive growth of the industry.
yet, amidst this remarkable surge, the unpredictable dynamics of china’s solar industry have resulted in a bitter reality for the companies at the forefront.
longi’s chairman, zhong baoshen, is currently grappling with substantial financial losses as he attempts to navigate the cutthroat competition that he foresaw last year when he warned of an impending oversaturation in the market.
in the united states, the lone global marketplace where solar prices remain elevated, zhong faces deep-seated suspicions regarding china’s ambitions within the sector. His prior initiatives to capitalize on american demand have been stymied by significant geopolitical challenges.
“we pay billions in tuition” to learn how to navigate american politics, zhong lamented, reflecting on the steep costs of engaging with the complex political landscape.
the life journey of this 56-year-old entrepreneur exemplifies china’s industrial successes and the accompanying risks. Partnering with two former college classmates from the physics department, zhong launched a company that soared to an impressive valuation of $80 billion at its peak. Rather than merely imitating western or japanese technologies, longi embraced innovative approaches that have significantly reshaped the solar energy landscape.
despite its initial successes, longi has faced severe setbacks, twice brought to its knees by government policies. The first occurrence transpired over a decade ago, with the second blow hitting this year.
the cycle has been consistent: beijing champions renewable energy, prompting local authorities to dispense subsidies to emerging players in hopes of cultivating local champions. However, this unchecked growth leads to rampant capacity expansions, heightening competition and ultimately eroding profitability across the sector.
in the first half of 2024, polysilicon prices, crucial for solar panel production, plummeted by over 40%, while the prices of wafers and cells were slashed in half.
during the same period, longi suffered a staggering loss of $740 million, with its stock value plummeting by as much as 80% from prior highs before experiencing a mild recovery. Despite the challenges ahead, zhong remains resolute in his belief that longi can weather the storm, a sentiment not shared by all within the industry.
in a pivotal moment during the summer of 2003, zhong received a call from li zhenguo, a college friend, alerting him to the promising potential of the burgeoning solar industry.
the unfolding opportunity in the solar sector enticed the two men, previously on separate paths in the semiconductor silicon ingot business, to begin distributing ingots and materials to solar manufacturers, joined by a third classmate.
two key technological advancements over the past decade catapulted longi to the forefront of the chinese solar industry. The company made a strategic choice to invest in monocrystalline cells, which utilize a single crystal of silicon, diverging from the polycrystalline cells preferred by most competitors. These advanced materials exhibited superior energy conversion efficiency, despite their higher production costs. Longi, however, mastered more efficient production methods.
another breakthrough was the implementation of diamond-coated wire saws for wafer cutting, which enhanced durability due to the incorporation of synthetic diamond dust particles. These innovations resulted in a remarkable reduction in manufacturing costs by two-thirds from 2012 to 2016.
by 2020, longi was shipping approximately 25 gigawatts of solar modules, surpassing the total amount of solar capacity installed in the united states that same year. This remarkable achievement came in tandem with chinese president xi jinping’s ambitious climate pledges aimed at bolstering green energy consumption.
according to longi’s annual reports, government subsidies accounted for a mere fraction, never surpassing 1% of its annual revenues, while the company allocated around 6% toward its own research and development initiatives.
jonas nahm, a johns hopkins university professor specializing in chinese industrial policy, highlighted that for top companies like longi, the primary form of governmental support is the incentive structure promoting renewable energy projects. This ensures a robust market for solar panels and products.
zhong is acutely aware of the prevalent american perception that companies like his owe their success to government backing. He contends that it is rather their “hard work, skill, and a complete supply chain” that have underpinned their achievements.
last year, china saw investment levels in clean energy escalate to tens of billions of dollars, which even led a dairy company to establish its own solar cell manufacturing facility.
notably, two-thirds of new power generation capacity in china is now derived from solar energy, showcasing the scale of growth in just one year—equal to the total solar infrastructure the united states has built throughout its entire history. Nevertheless, the drastic price fluctuations have contributed to a 40% dip in longi’s revenue during the first half of this year.
currently, the united states stands out as “the only place where money is made,” according to yana hryshko, global leader of solar energy at consulting firm wood mackenzie.
due to protective tariffs and the advantageous subsidies from the inflation reduction act, the cost of solar panels in the u.S. Is threefold higher compared to prices in china and europe, as per wood mackenzie’s analysis.
despite comprising less than 10% of longi’s solar module sales, the company has found expanding its footprint in the americas increasingly fraught with challenges.
the stringent u.S. Anti-forced labor legislation has stymied imports of solar modules produced using high-quality silicon sourced from china’s xinjiang region, forcing longi to invest nearly a year in proving to u.S. Authorities that its supply chains are devoid of any such practices, all while asserting its compliance with american laws.
efforts to mitigate american tariffs through the establishment of manufacturing plants in malaysia and vietnam came to naught, as longi spent over $1.4 billion before the white house curtailed tariff loopholes in may after extending them for two years.
in a significant development, longi secured a 49% stake in a joint venture called illuminate usa alongside chicago-based renewable energy developer invenergy, which controls 51%. In february, they inaugurated a module assembly plant in pataskala, ohio, resulting in the creation of roughly 1,500 jobs, as claimed by invenergy.
nonetheless, there are concerns among some pataskala residents regarding longi’s affiliations with the chinese communist party. During a january town hall meeting, one concerned citizen voiced that the partnership could be akin to welcoming a “mortal enemy” into their community.
representative carol miller (r-west virginia) criticized the idea of hosting chinese enterprises like longi, arguing that it would only deepen the ccp’s reliance on the u.S. Supply chain. Confronted with this sentiment, she has proposed legislation aimed at restraining chinese firms from availing clean energy subsidies.
timothy brightbill, an attorney from wiley rein representing an american solar manufacturers’ industry group, argued against using taxpayer resources for companies contributing to the decline of the american solar market through what he termed unfair trade practices.
longi maintains it operates as a private entity, insisting that illuminate usa is fundamentally an american company. The partnership also benefited from $4 million in incentives from an ohio economic development body, alongside a 15-year property tax exemption granted for facility improvements.
“the reality is that the united states ceded leadership in solar manufacturing to china decades ago,” remarked jim murphy, invenergy’s president. He underscored that the pataskala facility is leveraging longi’s manufacturing expertise to help regain segments of the u.S. Solar supply chain.
zhong confirmed that longi is assessing the feasibility of establishing a solar cell manufacturing plant on american soil.
“the united states has to be clear about what it wants,” zhong stated pointedly. “If it aims to foster its renewable energy industry, it must acknowledge that all the technology and expertise reside in china. If the u.S. Seeks to develop independently without china’s support, it will face significant hurdles,” zhong concluded.
. Jim jordan, among other political figures, has raised ?Alarms about the potential implications of longi’s operations in the ?U.S.,? Emphasizing the need ?For vigilance against? Foreign influences? That could jeopardize national security.
as longi continues to? Navigate this ?Complex? Landscape, the company’s? Future hinges on its ability to address both market demands and the pervasive geopolitical ?Tensions ?That complicate its operations. With investments in local manufacturing in ohio,? Longi aims to solidify ?Its? Presence in the ?U.S. Market and quash fears related to its chinese ties. The overarching goal ?Is clear: to gain the ?Trust of american consumers and policymakers while remaining a competitive force in the? Rapidly ?Evolving renewable energy sector.
the stakes are high, and with every? Strategic decision, longi ?Isn’t just? Playing a game of business; they are engaged in a delicate ballet of diplomacy, ?Innovation, and market survival. As these dynamics unfold, stakeholders—from local communities to international investors—will ?Be watching ?Closely to see if longi can effectively balance its ambitions against the backdrop of global skepticism and its implications for the future of solar energy.
longi represents both? A beacon of china’s solar manufacturing prowess and a barometer for the? Complex? Interplay of global economics, politics, and technology. The ongoing saga ?Is not ?Just about panels and profits; it’s an intricate web of hope, mistrust, and the pursuit of? Sustainable energy that reflects? Broader themes of cooperation and competition in the 21st century. |
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| Right-wingers may have violated Arizona laws — by handing voters hot dogs |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (8 reads) | |
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The far-right extremists known as groypers may have violated election laws in arizona, reported wired — by passing out hamburgers and hot dogs to voters.
the giveaway was organized by the far-right college republicans united group, in association with the patriot party of arizona. It began just after polls opened at the mesa convention center, said the report.
the groypers, whose movement was founded by white nationalist nick fuentes, were helping hand out hot dogs, burgers, and cold drinks. Manning the grill was pastor david maclellan, a christian nationalist pastor who is the chaplain for the patriot party of arizona and subscribes to the extremist ideology of the black robe regiment. Maclellan boasted to wired, “we’re giving away hot dogs and hamburgers to folks who are doing the right thing, voting for trump.”
but this could run afoul of vote-buying laws, which prohibit the exchange of things of values for votes.
ucla law professor rick hasen said of the giveaway, “not only is it illegal to give just to voters for one candidate, one cannot limit it only to voters. It must be made available to all people in the area, including children and others ineligible to vote, to avoid running afoul of federal law against vote buying.”
according to the report, the college republicans united group, which split off from arizona state universitys existing college republicans organization, explicitly promotes racist and antisemitic material: the college republican united’s website’s book recommendations page features two deeply antisemitic works: the protocols of the elders of zion and henry ford’s the international jew: the world’s foremost problem.
arizona is one of the most closely-watched battleground states in the 2024 presidential election, where former president donald trump is hoping to reclaim the state after losing it to president joe biden in 2020. |
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| Two Kean University Faculty Named Among the World’s Top 2% of Scientists |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (8 reads) | |
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Kean university professor jennifer chen, ed.D., And assistant professor supratik kar, ph.D., Were named among the most-cited researchers in the world in the 2023 stanford/elsevier ranking, reflecting the university’s growing research prominence.(Photo credit: kean university)
union, n.J. — Two kean university faculty members were recognized among the top 2% of scientists in the world by the stanford/elsevier 2023 ranking, highlighting the university’s growing research prominence.
professor jennifer j. Chen, ed.D., Chair of the department of early childhood education, and assistant professor supratik kar, ph.D., Of the department of chemistry and physics, were among 223,152 researchers recognized worldwide.
“the well-deserved recognition of these two distinguished faculty members reflects kean’s growing impact in advancing research and reinforces our mission as new jersey’s first urban research university,” said kean vice president for research susannah porterfield, ed.D. “I commend dr. Chen and dr. Kar for their scholarly achievement and impactful contributions to their fields and congratulate them on this well-earned achievement.”
scientists from stanford university, in collaboration with elsevier, publish the list each year based on citations received in research areas covering 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields.
chen’s research encompasses various aspects of early childhood education, including teaching practices, language and literacy, teacher education, and the impact of ai on young learners. She said the recognition affirms that she is making a difference by contributing scientific knowledge to the world.
“i feel incredibly blessed, honored and humbled to be among this notable list of the world’s top 2% scientists,” chen said. “Achieving scholarly excellence is a vital part of what i do every day. I also feel that this recognition has helped elevate the reputation of kean as a soon-to-be r2 research university.”
kar, who was named to the list last year and in 2021, works in medicinal and biomolecular chemistry. He conducts research primarily on computer-aided drug design and discovery for viral diseases such as the nipah and zika viruses.
additionally, this year for the first time, he was ranked among the top 2% of scientists in the career-long category. Kar said the recognition aligns with kean’s commitment to urban research and a focus on addressing critical challenges facing humanity and the environment.
“i am deeply honored by this recognition, as it reflects not only my dedication to advancing scientific knowledge but also the productivity, quality and real-world impact of my work,” he said. “My research is driven by the goal of creating solutions that benefit society, and this recognition motivates me to continue pushing boundaries and contributing to meaningful innovations.”
about kean university
kean university, new jersey’s urban research university, is a national institution of higher education recognized for its diversity, innovation and the social mobility of its graduates. Founded in 1855 as a teachers college, kean has evolved into a thriving research university that supports students as they persist to graduation, give back to their communities and launch successful careers. Kean’s six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate programs, six doctoral degree programs and more than 70 options leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications, across a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in union, toms river and manahawkin, new jersey, and wenzhou, china, as well as kean online, the university provides students of all backgrounds an affordable and accessible world-class education. Learn more at www.Kean.Edu . |
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| (Why) Pascal Deserves a Second Look |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (7 reads) | |
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Freelance software developer tim coates has written a short post about how pascal remains a valuable and usable language.
special note: when i mention pascal, im including versions like delphi, free pascal, lazarus, and others that have developed over the years. And regardless of which version you use, these variations of pascal each bring something unique to the table. Together, they keep pascal relevant and versatile, offering a range of tools for both new and experienced developers.
pascal was initially started back in 1970 by niklaus wirth.
previously:
(2024) rip: niklaus wirth 15.2.1934 - 1.1.2024
(2023) thinking back on turbo pascal as it turns 40
(2023) pioneering apple lisa goes open source thanks to computer history museum
(2020) algol 60 at 60: the greatest computer language youve (probably) never used
(2018) ucsd pascal pioneer ken bowles has passed away
(2018) original version of photoshop was written in pascal; source released
(2016) the developer died 14 years ago, heres a print out of his source code
related stories
(/article.Pl?Sid=16/08/05/1538249)32 comments
this week, reader “earl” tells us that just this year he responded to “a craigslist ad for a novell netware admin to figure out why .Nlm files would not be loaded and fix the issue.”
[...] The return call came “almost instantly” and earl “gave them my expensive price and advised them that i was not the first choice for a netware admin, but i had extensive system troubleshooting experience.”
those caveats didnt matter: the person who placed the ad said hes run it for months and months and never had a reply from anyone in the usa. Earl was just 90 minutes away by train and got the gig.
when earl visited the site, he was told that an electrical storm had taken out the netware server and windows 95/98 clients. Said server was a dell poweredge 1300 with 64mb of ram and a 10gb ide hard drive. Earl reckons it was built in 1997 or 1998, so was a bit taken aback when told this was “the new server”.
[...] Next came a request to boot up the compaqs, which had power supply and fan failures. A request to swap the disks from the dead compaqs was not something earl could do, as they had tossed out the necessary scsi cables a few years back.
earl was asked to do all of these things so the company could run its bespoke accounting program, which was written for it in 1993.
the developer, it turned out, had died in 2001. But the source code was in the company safe … on about 2000 pages of dot matrix printer paper. And there were backups of the old data … on 20 years worth of floppy disks and a pair of cd-roms.
[...] Earl told the company that theyd need a working server, running netware, before he could even begin to contemplate the task of typing in the source code so he could see if the backups could be restored. Then hed have to hope that a pascal compiler could cross-compile for netware to have even a chance of setting things to rights.
to the companys credit, it tried hard to meet his requests. Two weeks later earl says he returned to the company, where a working poweredge 1300 with a pci network awaited.
[...] But he didnt have his own monitor.
[...] He somehow got to work. Dos 6.22 and all the device drivers “installed like a charm”. Netware 4.1 installed. It was seen by both windows 95 and 98 on the frail network. Now it came time to restore the application.
but it turned out that the stack of disks contained only data, not the application. Even the 10mb disk from the “old” server was uselessly corrupted.
earl tried to explain this problem, but the client was having none of it and showed him the door.
earl tells the register the client owes him about us$5,000.00 for his time and is showing no signs of paying up. At least he didnt have to re-type all that source code: perhaps there werent enough keyboards in the office!
(/article.Pl?Sid=18/05/24/0748230)34 comments
thomas knoll, a phd student in computer vision at the university of michigan, had written a program in 1987 to display and modify digital images. His brother john, working at the movie visual effects company industrial light & magic, found it useful for editing photos, but it wasn’t intended to be a product. Thomas said, “we developed it originally for our own personal use…it was a lot a fun to do.”
gradually the program, called “display”, became more sophisticated. In the summer of 1988 they realized that it indeed could be a credible commercial product. They renamed it “photoshop” and began to search for a company to distribute it. About 200 copies of version 0.87 were bundled by slide scanner manufacturer barneyscan as “barneyscan xp”.
the fate of photoshop was sealed when adobe, encouraged by its art director russell brown, decided to buy a license to distribute an enhanced version of photoshop. The deal was finalized in april 1989, and version 1.0 started shipping early in 1990.
(/article.Pl?Sid=18/10/10/0035241)14 comments
arthur t knackerbracket has found the following story:
ken bowles, a
[uc san diego]software engineer who helped popularize personal computers in the 1970s and 80s through advances that were exploited by such entrepreneurs as apples steve jobs, died on aug. 15 in solana beach. He was 89.His passing was announced by the university, which said that bowles, an emeritus professor of computer science, had died peacefully.
bowles was not well-known to the general public. But he was famous in computer science for helping researchers make the leap from huge, expensive mainframe computers to small microcomputers, the forerunner of pcs.
he was driven by the desire to make it faster and easier for researchers and programmers to work on their own, and to develop software that could be used on many types of computers.
(/article.Pl?Sid=20/05/16/0219204)18 comments
https://www.Theregister.Co.Uk/2020/05/15/algol_60_at_60/:
2020 marks 60 years since algol 60 laid the groundwork for a multitude of computer languages.
the register spoke to
[the national museum of computings]peter onion and andrew herbert to learn a bit more about the good old days of punch tapes.Algol 60 was the successor to algol 58, which debuted in 1958. Algol 58 had introduced the concept of code blocks (replete with begin and end delimiting pairs), but algol 60 took these starting points of structured programming and ran with them, giving rise to familiar faces such as pascal and c, as well as the likes of b and simula.
in the 1950s most code was originally written in machine code or assembly code, said herbert, former director of microsoft research in cambridge, with every computer having its own particular twist on things.
[..] Fortran, said herbert, emerged as the first real programming language for scientific and numeric work. That convinced people that having higher-level languages (as they called them then – they were pretty primitive by modern standards) made programmers more productive.
[...] And a bunch of people thought you could do better.
[...] One group started on the design of what was then called an algorithmic language: a language for writing algorithms. The output, in 1958, described the language algol 58. However, as engineers began to create compilers for the new system, they found all kinds of things hadnt really been thought about or worked through properly, recalled herbert.
(/article.Pl?Sid=23/01/20/1854226)6 comments
lisa os 3.1s 1984 source pascal code now available under a non-commercial license:
as part of the
[apple lisas]40th birthday celebrations, the computer history museum has[released the source code]for lisa os version 3.1 under an apple academic license agreement. With apples blessing, the pascal source code is available for[download]from the chm website after filling out a form.
[lisa office system 3.1]dates back to april 1984, during the early mac era, and it was the equivalent of operating systems like macos and windows today.The entire source package is about 26mb and consists of over 1,300 commented source files, divided nicely into subfolders that denote code for the main lisa os, various included apps, and the lisa toolkit development system.
first released on january 19, 1983, the apple lisa remains an influential and important machine in apples history, pioneering the mouse-based graphical user interface (gui) that made its way to the macintosh a year later. Despite its innovations, the lisas high price ($9,995 retail, or about $30,300 today) and lack of application support held it back as a platform. A year after its release, the similarly capable macintosh undercut it dramatically in price. Apple launched a major revision of the lisa hardware in 1984, then discontinued the platform in 1985.
the lisa was not the first commercial computer to ship with a gui, as some have claimed in the past—that honor goes to the xerox star—but lisa os
[defined]important conventions that we still use in windowing oses today, such as drag-and-drop icons, movable windows, the waste basket, the menu bar, pull-down menus,[copy and paste shortcuts], control panels, overlapping windows, and even[one-touch]automatic system shutdown.
[thinking back on ‘turbo pascal’ as it turns 40](/article.Pl?Sid=23/12/07/1645210)32 comments
several sites are reporting on the 40th anniversary of turbo pascal.
at the vintage computing web blog, byte cellar:
november marked the 40th anniversary of turbo pascal, the first integrated development environment (or ide), which allowed a user to quickly and easily write a program in the
[pascal programming language]and see it compiled and linked — all in one go — with an executable dropped to disk at the end. Much simpler a process than the traditional model of programming in a text editor, using a compiler to convert the source into object code (often over several passes), and running a linker to integrate any required libraries, turbo pascal was friendly, fast, and cheap. Created by anders hejlsberg, the development package was released by borland in november 1983 at a price of $49.99 for both cp/m and dos-based systems.Created by niklaus wirth in 1970, pascal is a small and efficient procedural programming language that is easy to use and, thanks to its structured programming nature, was often employed as a language for learning programming concepts at a level higher than traditional, early basic. It is in this capacity that i had my first hands-on experiences with the language in an a.P. Computer science class i took in high school during the late ’80s. Here, at its 40th anniversary, i thought i would share some memories i have with turbo pascal.
and over at the register:
(/article.Pl?Sid=24/01/03/2129225)17 comments
https://lists.Inf.Ethz.Ch/pipermail/oberon/2024/016856.Html
i am deeply saddened to have received the news of niklaus wirths passing and extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and all those who were dear to him. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the profound and positive impact that niklaus had on my life and career, and to express my gratitude for all that he meant to me.
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(score: 2, disagree) by
[driverless](//soylentnews.Org/~driverless/)on wednesday november 06, @12:58amby[driverless (4770)](//soylentnews.Org/~driverless/)on wednesday november 06, @12:58am ([#1380517](//soylentnews.Org/comments.Pl?Noupdate=1&sid=62558&page=1&cid=1380517#commentwrap))once you got to a non-crippled variant like turbo pascal and its descendents it was actually a pretty decent language, like a cleaner, safer version of c.
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(score: 1, flamebait) by
[looorg](//soylentnews.Org/~looorg/)on wednesday november 06, @01:00amby[looorg (578)](//soylentnews.Org/~looorg/)on wednesday november 06, @01:00am ([#1380518](//soylentnews.Org/comments.Pl?Noupdate=1&sid=62558&page=1&cid=1380518#commentwrap))so did anyone bother to watch his youtube channel cause as far as i can tell the article does not mention why pascal deserves a second look.
i have been looking into rascal, it seems somewhat interesting. Its pascal for 8bits (c64 etc). For me i guess this is as close as i have gotten to pascal since being taught it about 30 years ago.
https://hackaday.Com/2021/11/30/turbo-rascal-is-the-retro-pascal-compiler-we-always-wanted/[hackaday.Com] -
(score: 3, insightful) by
[snotnose](//soylentnews.Org/~snotnose/)on wednesday november 06, @01:10amby[snotnose (1623)](//soylentnews.Org/~snotnose/)on wednesday november 06, @01:10am ([#1380521](//soylentnews.Org/comments.Pl?Noupdate=1&sid=62558&page=1&cid=1380521#commentwrap))i was a self taught programmer in the late 70s early 80s. I learned assembly and got hired to write c. Without a degree.
figured out real quick that if i didnt get a college degree my job prospects were on the jeffry epstein running a daycare level. Went to college, took a required pascal class. On every fricken assignment i could think of 3 different ways to solve the problem in c, and 0 in pascal. I think i got a c in that class. I loved turbo pascal, that was eye-opening. I hated pascal.
imho, a much better teaching language is java. Pascal was good in its day, but java is its modern successor.
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its just a fact of life that people with brains the size of grapes have mouths the size of watermelons. -- Aunty acid |
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| J. Phenise Poole 2024 Recipient of the Donald G. Hileman Distinguished Alumni Aw |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (8 reads) | |
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When j. Phenise poole (’95) joined college of communication and information students during their global programs trip to dublin, ireland, this past summer, she was very excited when cci dean joe mazer said that the next donald g. Hileman distinguished alumni award winner was in the room. Phone in hand with the camera ready to capture the lucky alumni winner’s face, poole awaited the reveal.
luckily, school of communication studies professor and director jon hess had the same idea as poole and quickly snapped a series of photos recording her reaction when mazer said her name.
“he says my name and there’s three shots of me: shock, recognition, and then i’m trying not to cry because i was so moved. I was completely surprised, humbled, and honored,” she recalled. “It takes up time for me to come back to tennessee and do things for the university, so i’m really honored to be recognized.”
poole was in ireland as she and other alumni who have funded scholarships for students were invited by the college administration to observe first-hand the kind of impact such giving makes. While being honored with the hileman was a highlight, she said the entire trip was a fantastic experience.
“it was just a really neat opportunity to meet the students. We were all in awe and wowed by them, they were so focused on what they wanted to do, they were very driven and really excited for the opportunity,” she recounted.
becoming a volunteer
poole, who currently works as senior vice president and deputy general counsel for fifth third bank, has given back to the university of tennessee, knoxville, and the college of communication and information in many ways over the years. She is a member of the ut foundation board of directors and served as the first black female president of the ut alumni board of directors.
a true vol for life with tennessee orange incorporated in her office, home, and even vehicle décor, everyone who knows poole knows she’s an alumnus of the university—but ut wasn’t the employment lawyer’s first choice of schools. She originally wanted to attend a historically black college or university (hbcu), just like both her tennessee state university alumni parents did.
poole was already set on majoring in journalism, though, which was not offered by tennessee state university at that time, so she turned her sights to hampton university. Ut only entered the picture when her guidance counselor at oak ridge high school pushed her to apply for the whittle scholarship—a scholarship that required recipients to major in journalism and complete a summer internship with whittle communications and linked them to a mentor at the company. She thought it was a long shot but applied for it, anyway.
“it was a full ride, and i wound up getting the scholarship and that brought me to the university of tennessee, and it turns out that was exactly where i needed to be,” she said. “I just really wound up enjoying it and having a great time.”
the scholarship included a stipend as students were expected to focus on schoolwork and not hold jobs during the school year. It alleviated a hefty financial burden for poole and her parents and later influenced her own decision to establish the cleveland and nadine young scholarship for professional excellence (named after her grandparents) at cci to benefit students who need financial assistance.
“one of the things that has caused me to be so mindful and intentional about donating to the university is i want to hopefully allow students who maybe need a little extra money or extra change to be able to be exposed to something they might not have otherwise been able to do,” she said.
while the financial benefit was a large part of why poole appreciated the scholarship, the mentorship and networking that came with it had just as much of an impact. That’s why she has also volunteered her time over the years to meet with and mentor students, whether to help them prepare for job interviews, improve their resumes, or answer their questions with her best tips.
becoming a lawyer
the college was also where she was inspired to go to law school. Though the idea had always been floating around in the back of her mind, a communications and law course taught by the dean of the law school at that time cemented it. It clicked for her how she could combine her interests in journalism and the law, to “marry the best of both worlds” and become a lawyer and still make the most of her journalism degree.
she earned her juris doctorate from the university of dayton school of law and landed her first legal position with the city of cincinnati as an assistant city prosecutor. Her career eventually segued into the private sector when she went to work at a firm, then for her current company, fifth third bank. Though she left the bank for a few years to work for both omnicare, inc. (A division of cvs health corporation) and cvs health, poole returned to fifth third a few years later.
today, she manages the employment law group, providing counsel on employment matters. Her oversight includes managing legal matters impacting over 18,000 employees in the united states, canada, and the uk. She also has a variety of other duties including managing enterprise workplace services and legal operations.
ut isn’t the only place where she volunteers her time, as she’s involved with a variety of organizations in her community and field, including serving on the urban league of greater southwestern ohio’s board of directors, serving as a member of the steering committee for the cincinnati bar association academy of leadership for lawyers, and her sorority, to name a few.
she’s also been recognized over the years for both her career and community activities and was recognized in who’s who in black cincinnati 2023 and named as an unsung hometown hero in 2022 as part of the city of cincinnati’s “black is excellence” initiative.
poole said her journalism and communication courses at ut well-prepared her for both law school and being a lawyer. Reading and writing were already skills she enjoyed and excelled at, even as an undergraduate, but the pivotal skill she gained at college was speed. For example, the class where they were given assignments that had to be completed and sent to the printer by a specific deadline.
“we learned to quickly absorb information, understand it, and communicate it in a way that the average reader would understand it. In law school, you’re reading tons and tons, so the ability to read that information and identify the salient points and critical information and translate that to an outline or notes was crucial,” she said. “Those are skills that i practice every day.”
becoming a supporter
poole said her academic experience at ut was exceptional because of her whittle scholarship and her courses at the college of communication (the college became cci in the early 2000s). She also joined alpha kappa alpha sorority, incorporated, which made up a big part of her social life and is what she called her “saving grace” as it gave her a place where she belonged; because, at that time, the ut campus still had spaces where she felt she did not belong.
“when i was at ut, it could sometimes be a challenging place for students of color,” she said. “When i was first asked to start participating and contributing to the college, i remember being hesitant to get involved and one of the things that they said was, ‘why don’t you help us make it better?’.”
in that moment, when poole looked at the ut campus, she saw a different place than it had been when she was a student in the early ‘90s. She saw administrators, faculty, and staff who were prepared to do the work it takes to enact change and improve the campus to be inclusive for all students.
“i’m very proud of how the university has changed over the years and has progressed. Like at homecoming, it’s just night and day. It’s a much more inclusive campus. That might seem like a really little thing, but it’s about belonging and feeling welcome and invited,” she said.
as she continues to make an impact on the education and lives of ut students in a variety of ways, poole is also encouraged by the vision for the university and cci’s future. Events such as the ireland trip have only cemented her affection for the college and her dedication to helping its students thrive.
“i think the growth in the college is exciting. I think the college of communication and information is this hidden gem that gets a little bit of light—i think it’s a strong college and a lot of strong people and alumni have come out of that college,” she said. “What’s most exciting is the growth and the current vision that the dean has. I think there’s a lot of things that are exciting to come and i think we’re finally getting the notoriety on campus.” |
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| 2024 Orlando Student College Guide – Seminole State College |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (7 reads) | |
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2024 orlando student college guide – seminole state college
go state. Go far.
whether you’re taking the next step following high school, looking to advance a career, upgrading a skill, or simply taking time to learn a new subject, seminole state college helps students take control of their future. Seminole state is one of the nation’s top 10 state and community colleges and a finalist for the aspen prize for community college excellence. As an open access college we accept all students and offer certificates, associate and bachelor’s degrees with more than 200 options in high-demand, high-growth fields. These include business, construction, education, engineering, information technology, nursing and health sciences, hvac/r and public safety.
flexibility and affordability are hallmarks of seminole state. Our tuition is about half the cost of a state university with no tuition increases for over a decade. Financial aid and scholarships make us even more affordable. Each year we award more than $40 million in financial aid and more than $1 million in institutional scholarships.
seminole state has small classes and in-person, online and hybrid options so you can combine college with work, family and fun. And we have academic and student support services to help you succeed. With nearly 40 clubs and organizations, leadership and career development, recreational sports, raider athletics, a wellness center, volunteer opportunities, and planetarium, arts, music and theater events, students have many ways to connect and engage with college life at seminole state. Students who attend seminole state college receive an affordable, quality education and learn from engaged professors with advanced degrees and industry credentials. Plus, our grindle honors institute helps them maximize their academic experience, propelling them into a world of opportunities. As “your learning partner for career success,” we help students of all ages prepare for careers — and lives — so they and their families can go state. Go far.
contact information
100 weldon boulevard, sanford, fl 32773 | 407.708.2050 | sem.St/go |
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| What happens to your ballot? |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (7 reads) | |
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What happens to your ballot?
s1: welcome in san diego , its jade hindman. Today is the last day to vote. So what should voters expect when the polls close tonight ? And how are local officials ensuring a free and fair election ? Well find out. This is kpbs midday edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Its election day , and while many of you have mailed in your ballots , many are also lining up at polling locations across the county. So what happens once the polls close ? Well , here to answer some questions for us is cynthia paz. San diego county registrar of voters. Cynthia , welcome back to midday edition. Hello.
s2: hello.
s1: well , i know its a busy day for you , but im so glad you had time to talk to us.
s2: those are getting processed and ready to go into the count. Weve also had our vote centers open across the county since october 26th. So as we head into election night , when the vote centers close at 8 p.M. , That first set of unofficial election night results that comes out shortly after 8 p.M. Will include all of those mail in ballots that weve received prior to election day , as well as ten days of early voting. Wow.
s1: wow.
s2: um , there was the conditions of the global pandemic , and we had this statewide push encouraging voters to not gather , um , essentially to to not gather at polling places or at vote centers and really encouraging voting by mail and doing so early. So at this time in 2020 , we were at over a million mail in ballot returns. Um , and currently with this election , were just over 900,000.
s1:
s2:
s1: and wow , when it comes to in-person voters , how many people have already headed to the polls this morning in san diego.
s2: so as of yesterday , across our our vote centers that have been open for ten days , weve had over 80,000 voters visit our vote centers and vote in person. And we expect pretty high turnout today. For those of you who waited until election day to cast your ballot , you could expect to be waiting in some lines.
s1:
s2: uh , november of 2016 , we saw an 81% turnout. And november of 2012 , we saw an almost 77% turnout. So i would anticipate seeing something similar with this election , somewhere around an 80% turnout in this election.
s1: and tell me about this. If anyone is actually trying to mail in their ballot today , will that will that ballot count.
s2: so it must be postmarked on or before election day and received by my office up to seven days after. Um , we also have our 150 official ballot drop boxes around the county , as well as 235 vote centers. These these locations will close at 8 p.M. , So you have until 8 p.M. To drop off. If you do mail it , you just want to ensure that youre aware of that pickup time that the us postal service will be picking up to ensure it will happen today. Mhm.
s1: mhm. Well , walk us through a ballot journey from turning it into final tabulation.
s2: at that time , it captures an image of the envelope , which includes the voter signature. That signature on the envelope is compared against the signature we have on file for that voter when they registered to vote. Once the signature is verified , it goes on to the extraction process , simply removing the ballot from the envelope , placing it in ballot cartons , and sending it over to tabulation to be scanned into the count. During this process , if somebody failed to sign their envelope , that envelope remains unopened , and we send a notification to that voter informing them of the situation and giving them an opportunity to cure that situation so their ballot could be counted.
s1: a couple of weeks ago. Your office hosted a logic and accuracy test where you all invited members of the public to actually come and see your process.
s2: so. Elections here in california are open and transparent. Weve been conducting logic and accuracy test for years , and the public has attended and theyre welcomed. So that is not new. We do audits before our election and after our election , all to ensure the accuracy of our voting system and the accuracy of our result.
s1: well , i know last week we did hear about ballot drop boxes in washington and oregon actually being set on fire. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed in that. How safe are ballot boxes here in san diego county.
s2: theyre very safe. Weve already received over 300,000 mail ballots dropped off , um , at one of our 150 official ballot drop boxes. Um , we are not seeing any issues. Um , our ballot retrieval teams go out several times a day , uh , to retrieve ballots and bring them back in to be scanned into the count.
s1:
s2:
s1:
s2: and its been like that for many , many years. Come election night , the election is not over. Um , what i can tell you is that come election night , that first set of unofficial election night results that comes out shortly after 8 p.M. Will include all the mail in ballots that weve been able to process into the count prior to election day , as well as ten days of early voting across our vote centers. Then poll workers are closing up their vote centers , and those voted ballots are being secured and returned to our office. So youll notice throughout the night there will be periodic updates as vote centers return. There will be no updates. Election night , uh , to mail ballots. It will all be in-person voting on election day only once all vote centers report and all votes are in the count , we will publish the final , unofficial election night results along with the projected outstanding number of ballots that still need to be processed into the count. This is an estimate. It will include known and unknown data. We know how many mail ballots and provisionals we have in house come election night , but we also need to estimate what we might receive in the mail over the following seven days. So there will be an estimate. This could be anywhere from 400,000 to 500,000 , uh , projected to still process into the count. After that final unofficial election night results , our next set of results will occur thursday night by 6 p.M..
s1: all right. So quite the process there. Ive been speaking with cynthia paz , san diego county registrar of voters. Cynthia , thank you and happy election day.
s2: thank you. All.
s1: all. Vote centers are open today until 8 p.M. Ballot drop boxes will also close at 8 p.M. Today. You can find your nearest voting center or ballot box at pbs.Org. Coming up , a look at voter confidence and what more to expect as ballots are counted.
s3: election night is really just the beginning of our finding out , you know whos going to win all of the races that are important around the country to decide the presidency of the house , the senate and local races.
s1: hear more when kpbs midday edition returns. Welcome back to kpbs midday edition. Im jade hindman. If you havent yet cast your ballot vote centers will be open today until 8 p.M. You can find those locations at pbs.Org. But now , while we wait for the results , lets talk about public trust and election procedures. Joining me now is casey dominguez. She is a professor of political science at the university of san diego. Professor , welcome back to midday edition.
s3: thank you for having me.
s1: so glad youre here.
s3: um , but that level of trust is lower than it was ten years ago or 20 years ago. And , uh , looks similar to how it looked in 2020 , in part , you know , what weve seen in the last several election cycles is that republicans in particular have lost some confidence in how elections are administered , and that is driving those lower numbers.
s1:
s3: he began that actually in 2016 , but certainly amplified that in refusing to accept the results of the 2020 election. Um , and , you know , people who trust him and follow him and like him have taken up those claims as truth. And they are they there are there are now a lot more people who are worried that elections are not being run fairly.
s1: is that lack of trust just among republicans ? Well , its not.
s3: entirely among republicans. Theres always some number of americans that dont trust that elections are going to be run fairly. Um , among harris supporters , this is um , pew research asks these questions repeatedly over time. So they give us some nice ways of looking at those numbers. About 10% of harris supporters think that elections will not be run well , but about 42% of trump supporters say that elections will be run not too well or not. Not at all well.
s1: and this is despite voter suppression laws.
s3: it is despite the fact that there there are some states that have made it harder for the poor , for the elderly , for people of color to vote , and have made it harder , in general to cast ballots by mail , to vote early , to register to vote. Um , despite that , um , most americans in both parties , uh , still feel that elections will be conducted fairly.
s1: all right. And what does research show us about ways to increase election trust and voter turnout.
s3: so those are actually slightly different questions. We we actually know a lot about how to increase voter turnout. Actually casting a ballot is an act that requires people to take undertake quite a bit of effort. Right. You have to register. You have to make sure you get your ballot. You have to do the research. You have to fill out the ballot. You have to take it back somehow or go vote on election day. And so anything that makes that easier for people , whether its being able to register on election day , same day voter registration , whether its being automatically registered at the dmv , whether its mail ballots , we know from research that all of those things make it easier for people to vote and make it more likely that they will turn out to vote. Theres also things that campaigns can do. Weve studied this a lot in the political science community , talking to people face to face about helping them. You know , remember to turn out to vote is just a really great way to get people who might not otherwise have turned out to vote , to turn out to vote. So we know a lot about that. Trust is a slightly different issue , um , institutions in general in the united states and really sort of throughout the developed world are having sort of a crisis of confidence right now. And thats been a very long term trend. And the decline in trust in government worse in the last decade , in part because of populist rhetoric by the right , especially donald trump , but also by people like bernie sanders. And thats sort of on the left side of the spectrum as well. And so theres a lot of different contributors to that lack of trust in institutions in general. And election administration is part of that. But certainly elite rhetoric is part of the reason for that decline in trust in institutions and in elections. And one would think that elite rhetoric would also be a solution to that. In some ways.
s1: youve touched on it.
s3: i just want to emphasize that , um , our elections are run by our neighbors , right ? By people in our own communities. And that has a way of of , you know , making people feel comfortable with the results. But theres also partisanship that affects the way people feel about institutions. And , you know , any time that a party loses an election , some of the people in the in the party that loses feel like the election was , was stolen from them in some way. Its usually a very small number. Right now its a bigger number because of the elite rhetoric thats driving that.
s1: an unverified claims about election fraud or popping up on social media , um , one thats gained a lot of traction is that non-citizens are voting or that theyre allowed to vote in federal elections , which is completely untrue and baseless. But what are the consequences of these narratives ? Well , i.
s3: think some of the consequences are potential voter harassment , right ? We already know that for theres a study that shows that latino men are more likely to be asked for for their id card in states that require it than white women are. So theres low level harassment. Like , im going to look at your id really hard , and then theres higher level harassment. Like , im not going to let you vote because i dont think youre a citizen. Then obviously theres that harassment of citizens of the united states who have a right to vote is problematic for all sorts of reasons and and bad for democracy. And hopefully there are procedures in place at polling stations and training done by registrars of voters all over the country to try to prevent that from happening. But thats certainly one terrible manifestation of the false rhetoric about large numbers of undocumented people voting.
s1:
s3: in part , you know , weve got external states , right ? I think their video refer youre referring to the fbi says that that was put out by. And i think the state of georgia also said that , that that video is made by , by russian intelligence , one of the , one of the issues with the decline in peoples trust in the media is that the media used to do the job of checking those claims for us. And now people with less trust in the media and with so many sources of information that are so unverified , its really hard to identify all of those claims on all of the different platforms that people use. Its really hard for the declining number of mainstream news organizations to put staff resources toward debunking every single one of those claims , and that has the potential to really affect peoples trust in the system. And and who knows , lead to , you know , events like january 6th. Yeah.
s1: what advice do you have for for developing skills and media literacy. I mean , with so much misinformation and disinformation. Especially from foreign adversaries entering the playing ground here , how do you.
s3: um , you know , part of it is understanding what fact checking mechanisms are in place. In the places where youre getting your news. So if youre getting it from ecs or whatsapp. Um , you know , understand that the information youre getting has not been vetted by anybody. Nobodys fact checked it for you. And so you should have a healthy dose of skepticism. For those kinds of platforms that you dont have for kpbs and , um , you know , the newspaper in your town and your local , you know , nbc news station , like , theres fact checking , theres institutional ways that we can get more reliable information. And you should remember that. Um , but i think the second part is the second thing a person can do , and we should all do , is be aware of our own biases. Research shows that were more likely to share information and to and to believe it if it confirms our pre-existing beliefs. Its a gut feeling that says , yeah , i that this is what i believe to be true. And you see something that confirms that youre much more likely to believe it , youre much more likely to share it. And that doesnt make it more true just because it confirms what you already think. And so we need to learn to not conflate those things , and especially stuff that we see online , that it makes us feel really strong emotions like anger and outrage , uh , those tidbits of information that make us feel those feelings , you know , theyre going to be amplified by social media algorithms , um , more than fact checks and , and , you know , more unbiased and maybe a little bit more boring information that doesnt evoke such strong emotions. And so we should check our own emotions when we see something that makes us that says , ah , youre right about this. And oh , this is outrageous. And , um , oh , i feel so angry about this. Well , thats a moment to just take a pause and maybe do a little research and see if that that fact has been confirmed by any reputable sources. Mhm.
s1: mhm. And heres another piece of the puzzle on all of this. And that is that people have their own set of facts it seems.
s3: right. If theres one side that says , um , you know , our tijuana river is polluting our beaches , and then one side says , no , it isnt. I mean , what are we going to do ? We cant solve a problem if we cant agree about what the problem is. Um , and our being able to rely on a shared set of facts is absolutely critical to making decisions in a complex , large , multiracial democracy. Like we have to have some common ground and the facts serve as that common ground. And they do in courts of law and they do in schools. Right. And and we need to , um , find ways to , uh , bring those norms back to our debate about politics. Mhm.
s4: mhm.
s1: well , you know , news about the presidential race is top of mind for many voters. But can you talk about why its important to to really pay attention to local races and ballot measures too.
s3: well , i mean the , the , the national politics are important. There are important decisions made about foreign policy at the , at the national level that local elections dont touch. But a lot of what we do in our daily lives , where our kids go to school and what are a lot of the taxes we pay , sales taxes , property taxes , what they look like. And and you know , how homeless people are treated in our streets and whether , uh , local waterways are clean and how we get how we get our water in places like california. All of that , all of those decisions are affected by people that we elect at the local level in our cities and our county and our state. And because a lot of people do tune those races out. Um , you know , your your vote has a bigger chance of making a difference in those lower level races because fewer people are going to vote in them and the decisions they make are incredibly consequential. So yeah , definitely do do your research and vote in the down ballot races.
s1: well , we talked about this earlier. Um , you know , and that is ways to increase voter turnout. Youre involved in a group called us devotes , which works to increase voter turnout among college students. Talk to me about the importance of that group and why this effort is so important.
s3: well , college students have all the characteristics of people who are going to have a hard time getting to the ballot box. Um , they they dont have a college education , which we know is one of the things that makes people more likely to vote. They dont own a home. They havent lived in a , you know , theyre moving around a lot. Theyre getting their first apartment or theyre going away to school and theyre , uh , theyre generally going to have all the characteristics of people who are going to have a hard time getting to the polls. Plus , its also completely new to them , and they may not feel confident about their ability to participate. And so , um , you know , theres theres a lot that we know about young voters and that we can do to help them. Um , and what we do at usc votes in particular , is because the university of san diego draws students from all over california and all over the country and the world. Theres just a lot of different rules all over those places , um , that students have to follow if they want to get registered to vote , get their ballots sent to them , make sure it comes to their address and not where their parents live. Um , and its just a lot of logistical issues. And mostly we just focus on helping them through those practical steps they need to take in order to become voters.
s1:
s3: its almost never that the votes are all counted on election night. Even in the states that are like , yep , 100% of the precincts are reporting , that doesnt mean every vote has been counted. Theres still provisional votes to count and theres always some mop up. But for states like california , we are allowed to mail our ballots on election day and they can arrive in some states , you know , up to a week or two weeks later. And theres several other states that do that. And so what we should remember is what we hear on election night is the media and the election experts deciding who has won based on the trends in the in the reporting in those states and not necessarily on all the votes having been counted. Um , vote counting , we should expect to take a couple of days or weeks. Places like california. Its for close elections. It could be weeks. And weve weve sort of gotten used to that as weve moved to the mail voting with everybody , voting by mail and the later deadlines for those. But , uh , election night is really just the beginning of our finding out , you know , whos going to win all of the races that are important around the country to decide the presidency of the house , the senate and local races. So were , you know , were having a party. Were going to were going to follow election returns with our students. But its , uh , we shouldnt necessarily expect unless its a blowout in one or the other direction , we probably will not have an answer for several days. Yeah.
s1: yeah. People just really need to trust the process on that. It sounds like. Um , yeah. That in mind , though , this election is bringing up a lot of feelings of anxiety for voters across the country.
s3: um , you know , i , i personally am not having a great time sleeping , but , uh , try to try to get some sleep , stay hydrated , get that exercise , eat some vegetables. Um , but also understand that this is a collective anxiety that many people are feeling. And , you know , talk about it with people talking about those anxieties. Sharing a sweet treat probably isnt going to hurt anybody. Um , in moderation , of course.
s1: i think those are all good things to do for sure. Ive been speaking with casey dominguez. She is a professor of political science at the university of san diego. Professor dominguez , as always , thank you. And please indulge in some self-care.
s3: you too. Thank you so much.
s1: thats our show for today. If you missed anything , you can download kpbs midday edition on all podcast apps. Im jade hindman. Thanks for listening.
it’s election day. While many voters have mailed in their ballots, others are lining up at polling locations across the state.
now, what happens to all those ballots once they’re turned in? Who counts them and how does it all work? We sit down with the top local election official to discuss the process.
then, we check in with a political expert on the state of public trust in the 2024 election.
guests:
cynthia paes, san diego county registrar of voterscasey dominguez, professor of political science at the university of san diego |
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| In a swing state, in a swing county, an effort to fix ballot issues |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (6 reads) | |
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Mobile voter van helps cure ballot mistakes in pennsylvania county sarah d. Wire usa today show caption
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montgomery countys mobile voting van aims to increase voter turnout montgomery county, pa., Debuts a mobile voting van, bringing ballot services to residents and correcting ballot errors to ensure their votes count. Lower pottsgrove township, pennsylvania ? Montgomery county commissioner neil makhija wondered if the county could be like uber and go to voters to rather than expecting voters to come to them.
thus was born a mobile voter customer service experience in a transit van that has crisscrossed the suburban philadelphia county for weeks, stopping at fall festivals, senior centers and colleges to fix issues with ballots, register people to vote and collect vote by mail ballots.
makhija, who is also the chair of the county board of elections, said thousands of county residents have interacted with the van and other counties have talked about stealing the idea.
instead of tossing an estimated 2,000 ballots for those kinds of errors, the van allowed the county to only have to only throw out 250, makhija said.
he showed off the van, which was at the lower pottsgrove township building, one of three locations it would stop at on election day so people could drop off vote-by-mail ballots on election day.
makhija taught election law for seven years as a university of pennsylvania law professor, and studied the states political processes as well as the problems that can exist county to county in a state that gives local officials a lot of autonomy over how elections are run.
there are unfortunately a number of laws that allow counties to throw out peoples ballot without even telling them, and thats over minor technicalities, he said.
many counties across the country try to fix those technicalities through a process called curing.
pennsylvania, for example, requires a signature and date on the outside of the ballot envelope and for the ballot to be sealed inside a second envelope enclosed in that outside envelope. Local officials identify if those details are missing and are allowed to contact the voter by mail, phone and email to fix the issue. If the issue isn’t fixed in time the ballot cannot be counted.
more: why it might take pennsylvania and wisconsin longer to count ballots than other states
makhija said only about 10% of voters typically responded to the attempts to reach them.
so he thought, “what if we show up at their houses and let them fix any issues on the spot?”
then, county officials realized that there is no law limiting how early ballots can be made available to voters, so they were ready to print ballots as soon as the state supreme court signed off on which candidates should be on the ballot, and were the first county in the state to make them available, he said.
pennsylvania does not have traditional early voting. Instead, voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot in person and then fill it out and turn it back in immediately.
in many parts of the state that leads to long lines, and this year, a few lawsuits over how long people can stay in lines.
along with the county locations, makhija said montgomery county also used the van as a satellite location that could rove wherever it was needed.
what the van was able to do was to show up across the county ? Senior centers, college campuses, places where people dont drive or fall festivals where theres just a lot of people ? And be available on the spot for you to register, request your mail in ballot and vote, makhija said.
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| Split preliminary ruling on Harvard antisemitism case |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (7 reads) | |
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Split preliminary ruling on harvard antisemitism case federal judge rejects university’s move to dismiss, but denies students’ claim of direct discrimination as trial set to proceed andrew lichtenstein/corbis via getty images a federal [lawsuit](https://jewishinsider.Com/2024/05/brandeis-center-lawsuit-harvard-university-antisemitism-hamas/) against harvard university that alleges the school has ignored the harassment of jewish students for more than a year is set to begin after a u.S. District court judge on tuesday rejected harvard’s request for dismissal, but denied claims that the school directly discriminated against jewish and israeli students. Filed in may in federal court in boston by the louis d. Brandeis center for human rights under law and jewish americans for fairness in education, the lawsuit alleges that since the oct. 7 terrorist attacks in israel, students and faculty on campus have called for violence against jews and celebrated hamas’ terrorism daily as the university did nothing to stop harassment —- including a physical assault — of jewish students. Five months earlier, the group filed a previous [complaint against the university’s john f. Kennedy school of government](https://jewishinsider.Com/2023/10/harvard-brandeis-center-anti-zionist-jewish-faculty-member/) for violating title vi of the civil rights act of 1964. The lawsuit, which was first [reported by ji](https://jewishinsider.Com/2024/05/brandeis-center-lawsuit-harvard-university-antisemitism-hamas/), states that harvard allowed student protesters to occupy and vandalize buildings, and interrupt classes and exams. “Professors, too, have… spread antisemitic propaganda in their classes,” according to a brandeis center statement in may. “Jewish students are bullied and spat on, intimidated, and threatened, and subject to verbal and physical harassment.” In tuesday’s decision, judge robert stearns wrote that to prove deliberate indifference, plaintiffs must plead that the school “either did nothing or failed to take additional reasonable measures after it learned that its initial remedies were ineffective.” Tuesday’s decision came just days after the house committee on education and the workforce released a more than 100-page [report](https://jewishinsider.Com/2024/10/house-education-committee-university-leaders-turned-their-backs-on-jewish-students/) on its year-long probe of antisemitism on u.S. College campuses, including columbia and northwestern university. On harvard’s campus, according to the report, two days after the oct. 7 hamas attack, harvard administrators failed to explicitly condemn the hamas attack and drew equivalences between the attack and israel’s response in an oct. 9 statement. The report also brought to light that no harvard students have been suspended for antisemitic activity; in some cases, students who were initially suspended had their suspensions downgraded to probation. And the vast majority of students placed on probation for their involvement with an encampment at harvard had their probation periods shortened. The lawsuit comes amid a [separate case](https://jewishinsider.Com/2024/08/lawsuit-alleging-pervasive-antisemitism-at-harvard-will-go-to-trial/), filed in federal court by six jewish harvard students who allege the school has not protected them from “severe and pervasive” campus antisemitism. In august, stearns ruled that case would also go to trial, despite throwing out a similar lawsuit filed by jewish students at mit alleging that the school didn’t do enough to curb antisemitism on campus just days earlier. At the time, stearns wrote that the plaintiffs “plausibly establish that harvard’s response failed title vi’s commands.” “Harvard’s motion to dismiss was the biggest potential procedural obstacle to our case, and i’m delighted that we’ve cleared that obstacle and are headed toward discovery and trial,” kenneth marcus, founder and chairman of the brandeis center, and former u.S. Assistant secretary of education in the bush and trump administrations, told jewish insider. The decision on tuesday “provides further indication of the extent of the problems at harvard and reasons why that institution needs to be held accountable,” marcus said. “Harvard has to realize that with this lawsuit pending, they need to take much more seriously the problems that jewish students are facing on campus.” Following the congressional report, it’s “all too clear that major universities aren’t responding effectively enough to antisemitism,” marcus said. “That should be a message,” he continued, “not just to harvard, but also to other institutions.” Jewish insider’s senior congressional correspondent marc rod contributed reporting. |
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| LIVE: Election Results |
| Posted on Wednesday, November 06 @ 00:00:20 PST (7 reads) | |
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Promote your business wendys giant of the week power of pink watch pelicans basketball careers news watch live first alert weather 3 on your side investigates goon squad today at 11 studio 3 sports about us whats on tv home watch live wlbt apps submit your pics election results presidential election map mississippi interactive results first alert weather 24/7 first alert weather stream skycams closings request a first alert weather school visit news hinds county madison county rankin county goon squad education crime consider this editorial national 3 on your side investigates goon squad crime metro crime jackson homicides jackson crime mississippi crime wlbt+ digital desk traffic gas prices today at 11 clips from the show herrin gear cares mississippi strong studio 3 adopt a pet cowboy’s kitchen healthier mississippi home improvement keeping local businesses flowing luxury living made in mississippi mississippi weekend taste mississippi thank you for your service wlbt cares shop local sports gulf coast sports network mississippi state ole miss southern miss jackson state swac saints the end zone hs football scores wendys giant of the week health power of pink community about us careers contact us meet the team programming how to watch lawcall how to watch power of pink gray dc bureau circle country zeam - news streams investigatetv watching your wallet powernation promote your business digital marketing live: election results by wlbt staff published: nov. 5, 2024 at 6:53 pm cst | updated: 2 hours ago email this link
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jackson, miss. (Wlbt) - tuesday is election day - and national and local candidates are on the ballot.
nationally, the biggest race is for president and it’s a tight one between republican donald trump and vice president kamala harris.
[ click here for live election results ] all eyes probably won’t be on mississippi on tuesday, but here’s what will be at stake indirectly based on what happens nationally.
“depending on the outcome of the congressional races nationally, as well as the races locally, there could be some changes at the top of very important committees,” explained mississippi college political science professor dr. Glenn j. Antizzo.
right now, congressman bennie thompson is a ranking member of the homeland security committee. Antizzo notes that some projections show the u.S. House could flip to democratic control.
“if so, mr. Thompson will probably resume his role as chair of the committee,” he noted.
there’s also a potential shift in senate control.
“senator roger wicker, at the moment, is the ranking member of the senate armed services committee, which, of course, especially considering that mississippi has got a number of military bases, and mississippians are very active in the national defense of our country, i think that that’s something we could benefit from.”
antizzo said this about the implications of more chairmanships.
“not just for policy, but also for bringing money back to the state as well, it puts them in a position where they are more able to guide legislation in a way that might be advantageous to mississippians,” he added.
there will also be four house races in mississippi.
locally, republican michael guest is unopposed for mississippi’s 3rd district.
however, democratic rep. Bennie thompson faces republican challenger ron eller in the 2nd district.
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