Number 5. The Gateway Pundit. Video Captures Brawl at LA High School.
Pomp and Circumstance, it was, for 100 seniors in Los Angeles last month when they were awarded the highly coveted high school diploma. That the 100 included 29 of their fellows who had been for some time detained in police custody, and were on probation for the commencement exercise, only added to the overall sense of accomplishment.
After the detainees received their certificates and were re-detained by law enforcement, one who is described as a “community member” decided it was time to show his celebratory excitement by leaping from a second story balcony and mixing it up with remaining graduates.
This did not have the calming effect one might have expected. A confusion of fisticuffs ensued, and apparently spilled onto the street outside the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Gunfire erupted, a sure way to demonstrate community pride in the fresh young eager graduates moving onto the next phase of their careers.
Other local police were called upon to intervene, resulting in four more persons detained, to be added to the corral containing the previously noted 29.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Office of Education made insightful comments to quell concerns of family members and loved ones. Speaking from behind a study set of steel bars and wearing multiple sets of kevlar body armor, she declared: We are pleased to report that all detained persons and all other graduates are uninjured, safe and secure. We stand by our outstanding student body and commend them for the pace-setting energy level they show in supporting our graduates, and we look forward to seeing the impact they will make on Los Angeles County in the future.
Oaky… some of that statement I just made up. But it seems to reflect the mindset of Los Angeles County administration.
Number 4. The Gateway Pundit. Maryland PD offers free slushies to combat youth crime.
Lest you think California is unique for its rambunctious youth who are eager to move ahead with energetic and impactful impacts on their community, the east coast is not lagging behind.
Takoma Park, Maryland, police have introduced “Operation Chill,” a sure way to build quick friendships between active youth and kindly officers. So-called “Tickets” are handed out to youngsters by police when the youngster is found doing something positive in the community. Examples the article cites are things like helping someone across the street, wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle, having a pleasant conversation with an officer, or maybe other things… but no other things made it into the article.
When was the last time you saw someone being helped across the street? Maybe that happens more often in downtown Baltimore.
Programs like these have been around for about 30 years in large cities. With such a focused effort on the frozen treats from the local 7-11, it has surprised many that crime has not been reduced, but rather, has spiked. Montgomery County, Maryland, has seen a 300% increase in juvenile detentions since 2022, despite the free slurps.
Clearly, we should increase the budget for the slushies.
Number 3. AP News. Car dealerships revert to pen and paper after cyberattacks.
In yet another sign of the times, now the cyber criminals have come for new car sales. Car dealerships across America were hit this week with an attack on CDK Global, an Illinois software technology firm. CDK has built their business model on implementing car-selling-friendly computer systems in some 15,000 retail outlets.
They all use the same software house, so when the cyber crooks identified the big mover, they moved in.
Two back-to-back attacks were executed on the same day last week. After the first attack, IT defenders, with masks in place and hero capes deployed, leaped into action and shut down impacted systems. It was serious but not debilitating.
A short time later the second attack forced the shutdown of everything else.
Bewildered auto sales reps in the field were suddenly in search of ball point pens and dusty sales forms in triplicate boxed up in the archive room.
Details of the attack have not been released, but a guru from the National Cybersecurity Alliance says it was almost certainly a ransomware attack.
CDK, the software attackee, joins pretty exalted ranks as the latest public figure to suffer from data breaches. Since 2020, here are some of the household names of those compromised:
Bank of America
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Boeing
SONY
Air Europa
Infosys
Facebook
T-Mobile
Microsoft
Colonial Pipeline
Volkswagen
Neiman Marcus
LinkedIn
Experian
My own belief is that most of your personal data has already been appropriated, and is readily available somewhere to a bad-guy buyer.
(That thought is perhaps balanced by the fact that my conclusion comes from reading advertisements by those selling products to protect your identity.)
Earlier this week, AT&T’s service to my local area was interrupted for about 10 hours. No internet, no cell phone. The wireline phone worked fine, for all 3 of us in town who still have one. I have no inside information on the service outage, but I surmise it was merely an old-fashioned cable cut.
There was no widespread outage, but it was a reminder of how much daily life depends on our digital interconnectedness. Talking with my neighbor (face to face, on his deck, because there was no other way to contact him) he noted that he could not even turn on his lawn irrigation system without walking into the garage and finding the switch on the controller.
Worst of all, it jeopardized on-time publication of the ANR. I spent the afternoon reading a book.
Number 2. Carscoops dot com. Crashed cars now totaled by insurance firms, ADAS to blame.
We all know the insurance risks of driving your favorite 20-year-old clunker. A minor fender-bender can total your car in seconds.
When your insurance adjuster, Kelly Blue Book in hand, surveys the damage, he will declare the cost to repair exceeds the market value, and award you maybe a $1,000 payout, less your deductible. It may cost you $10,000 to buy a used car replacement.
But at the other end of the scale are the new vehicles with electronic, computer-controlled everything, including that helpful Eyeball Thing (ADAS — Advanced Driver Assistance System) with all its cameras and sensors. After a collision of any sort, everything has to be re-installed, aimed, focused, recalibrated and tested.
Automatic braking, lane departure warnings, air bags, mirrors with blind-spot detection… all these require careful restoration. Failure to certify that it can all be operated safely is a juicy area for litigation in a subsequent accident.
This all means that 20% of auto accidents involving newer vehicles now result in totaled wrecks of otherwise perfectly serviceable cars. Industry observers predict that will soon increase to 30%.
Which should offer a fertile market for an enterprising body shop to offer rebuilt non-ADAS-equipped vehicles.
As long as the air conditioning and power windows work, and if I can still point the passenger-side mirror without using long stick, a lot of us would be fine with that.
Yes, I used to carry a 3-foot-long stick in a Dodge pickup for that purpose.
Number 1. Axios. Llama golf caddies attract the “llama-razzi.”
Move over, Caddyshack. There’s a new competitor for your spot.
North Carolina has become the mecca for the newest craze in golf caddying. They have discovered that llamas, the gentle, long-necked South American relative of the camel, make ideal pack animals on golf courses.
They are both sturdy and docile, having been used for centuries as beasts of burden in the Andes Mountains. Highly trainable, and with toes that do not damage fairways, they can readily be fitted with high-dollar custom packs to tote golf bags with clubs. Fifty pounds is not even work for them.
When they graze, they do not pull the grass up. Plus, they are highly photogenic. What’s not to like?
And that is The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, June 28, 2024. Have a good weekend! Consider replacing your unpredictable pit bull with a lovable long-neck llama! And when the next cyberattack cripples your lifestyle, you can use him to carry your groceries when you walk to the store!
The Alligator News Roundup