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The Club PUBlication  02/28/2022

2/28/2022

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​Authoritarianism is gaining ground
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New report finds democracy is on the decline, as evidenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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STEVE SACK STAR TRIBUNE
​Freedom House — a self-described independent watchdog dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world — picked an auspicious day to deliver its annual "Freedom in the World" report: Thursday, the first full day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Rather than being muted by the breaking news, the report was amplified. Its theme (and title) — "The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule" — reflected Russia's illegal, immoral attack on its sovereign neighbor.

Global freedom, the analysis starkly states, "faces a dire threat" as "enemies of liberal democracy — a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under the law — are accelerating their attacks."

That's certainly the case in Ukraine, a democracy attacked by an authoritarian military superpower (aided by its supplicant state Belarus). While Ukraine was not a perfect democracy, as Freedom House points out, it was a functioning one and looked to improve its institutions as it sought to join NATO and the European Union. And it is decidedly not a "territory," as Russian President Vladimir Putin put it, but a fully independent nation now threatened by a dictator.

Few cases of democratic erosion are as dramatic as Ukraine's, but the trend is clear, according to Freedom House: 16 consecutive years of decline in global freedom, with 60 countries suffering declines in 2021 compared with only 25 improving.

Unlike the attempted Kremlin conquest of Ukraine, most of this loss of freedom is an inside job. "Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at co-opting or circumventing the norms and institutions meant to support basic liberties, and at providing aid to others who wish to do the same," according to the report.

Depressingly, even in some democracies, the report states, "internal forces have exploited the shortcomings in their systems, distorting national politics to promote hatred, violence and unbridled power." For example, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But by far the most egregious examples of rising authoritarianism are found in countries such as China, which has drawn considerably closer to the kindred repressive regime in Russia, a nation that could be exhibit A of Freedom House's report.

"The events that are happening this week in Ukraine fit squarely into the narrative and trends that we identified in our report," Freedom House President Michael Abramowitz told an editorial writer. "What you see now in Ukraine is an unprovoked invasion that is basically going to have the impact, potentially, of overturning a democracy in the middle of Europe."

Holding the Kremlin responsible for attempting to upend democracy has rallied allies in the West, Asia and Australia. But as always, Washington will need to be the leader in this effort.

"The world still looks to the United States to be the leader on democracy, and I think you're seeing that in Ukraine," Abramowitz said.
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Whether that's enough to stop Putin's invasion remains to be seen. But not presenting a united front would certainly encourage him to continue his attacks on democracy — and the world order.
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The Club PUBlication  02/21/2022

2/21/2022

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​​Glare-free headlights are on the way
New rule from regulators to allow high-tech beams.
By TOM KRISHER Associated Press

DETROIT - Anyone who has ever been temporarily blinded by high-beam headlights from an oncoming car will be happy to hear this.
U.S. highway safety regulators are about to allow new high-tech headlights that can automatically tailor beams so they focus on dark areas of the road and don't create glare for oncoming drivers.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it issued a final rule allowing what's called "adaptive driving beam headlights" on new vehicles. It will go into effect when published in the Federal Register in the next few days.

The headlights, commonly used in Europe, have LED lamps that can focus beams on darkness such as the driver's lane and areas along the roadside. They also lower the intensity of the light beams if there's oncoming traffic.  Camera sensors and computers help determine where the light should go.

"This final rule will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by making them more visible at night, and will help prevent crashes by better illuminating animals and objects in and along the road," the agency said in a news release on Tuesday.
The new rule, which was supported by the auto industry, comes as the safety agency grapples with a dramatic rise in traffic deaths nationwide.

The number of U.S. traffic deaths surged in the first nine months of 2021 to 31,720, the government reported Tuesday, keeping up a record pace of increased dangerous driving during the coronavirus pandemic.  The estimated figure of people dying in motor-vehicle crashes from January to September 2021 was 12% higher than the same period in 2020.  That represents the highest percentage increase over a nine-month period since the Transportation Department began recording fatal-crash data in 1975.

The tally of 31,720 deaths was the highest nine-month figure since 2006.
Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Research, said the new lights will show up in highercost luxury vehicles at first, but will spread to more mainstream vehicles as the price of the technology falls.

The technology uses an array of light-emitting diodes that can change where light beams are sent, rather than the current technology of high beams hitting everywhere.

"You have the ability to basically create a light pattern on the fly that is optimized for real-time conditions," Abuelsamid said. "You can cast the light where it's most useful."

The new lights also will help partially automated driver-assist systems keep cars in their lanes and avoid objects in front of the vehicles at night, Abuelsamid said.
The new lighting regulation also comes more than 1 to 2 years ahead of a requirement in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year, NHTSA said.  In the past the agency has moved slowly on safety measures mandated by Congress.  

An Associated Press review last year of NHTSA's rulemaking activities under the last three presidents found at least 13 auto safety rules that are years overdue based on deadlines set in laws passed by Congress.
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The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed administrator since early 2017. President Joe Biden has nominated former California air quality regulator Steven Cliff for the post. Cliff is awaiting confirmation by the full Senate.
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The Club PUBlication  02/14/2022

2/14/2022

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​Powerful weather satellite will soon lift off
By JOE MARIO PEDERSEN Orlando Sentinel

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Soon, weather scientists will have an even stronger eye in the sky once a new advanced weather satellite launches this March.

The GOES-T, short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, is aiming for liftoff March 1 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station thanks to a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA along with several other partners.

GOES-T, roughly the size of a small school bus, is the third in the GOES-R series of four advanced weather satellites. The four-part project costs $11.7 billion.

"The value is returned to us public in benefits provided," said Pam Sullivan, director of the GOES-R program. "The observations of these satellites is even more critical now that the U.S. is experiencing a record number of billion dollar disasters."

Last year, dry and heated conditions led to an unprecedented amount wildfires in the northwest U.S. with thousands of acres burned. Both Germany and China experienced historic flooding, and the Atlantic saw 21 named tropical systems, the third highest amount behind 30 named storms in 2020 and 27 in 2005.

GOES-T should be able to help meteorologists determine potential areas of disaster before they occur, said John Gagosian, Director, NASA's Joint Agency Satellite Division. The satellite will allow scientists to monitor and predict environmental conditions like hurricanes, thunderstorms, floods, dense fog and fire.

The GOES-R satellites are equipped with advanced technology that deliver 60 times more imagery than the previous generation, Sullivan said, such as the new Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which can view the Earth in 16 different kinds of spectral bands including two visible channels, four near-infrared channels, and 10 infrared channels. The previous generation of GOES could view only five different bands. The ABI will help scientists predict where fires on the West Coast could start before they ever form, Sullivan said.

GOES-T is also equipped with a lightning camera that tracks severe storms that spawn tornadoes and damaging winds.

Juggling even more than terrestrial weather, GOES-T will have a hand in monitoring space weather, too, by keeping an eye on solar storms that could potentially harm Earth's power grids. The satellite is equipped with space weather tools like a particle flux sensor, solar irradiance monitor and a magnetometer, Sullivan said.
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