Month: August 2022

Categories
Australia

Telegram app becoming neo-Nazi propaganda haven

Telegram app becoming neo-Nazi propaganda haven

‘Keen to do a sticker run’

Well before neo-Nazi propaganda began appearing this year at sites around the city of Wollongong and in Sydney’s CBD, the man calling himself Underland had started networking online across Australia’s extremist scene. Records of his communications from him obtained by this masthead reveal Telegram served as the perfect platform. It allowed him to mask his identity as he sought counsel and new introductions from entrenched extremist figures.

After Underland had been directed towards the Melbourne-based European Australian Movement on a Telegram-hosted neo-Nazi channel, Underland began communicating. His contact with him uses the alias “Aussie Meditations”. In February, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald identified the user of this alias as Stefan Eracleous, a former young Liberal member turned neo-Nazi from Victoria. Eracleous was responsible for a January 19 propaganda video depicting three masked neo-Nazis burning an Aboriginal flag, reciting a white supremacist manifesto and attacking Greens senator Lidia Thorpe.

In May, Underland asked Eracleous what “stickers have you got an [sic] how much are they… Me and a few of the boys are keen to do a sticker run.”

Eracleous responded swiftly, offering extremist stickers and posters that were “very cheap and good designs.”

It is unclear if Eracleous helped Underland obtain neo-Nazi material, but it seems likely. After the pair’s exchange of messages, Underland embarked on a propaganda campaign around Wollongong, placing stickers and posters up at several sites.

One of Underland’s aims appears to have been recruited. Posters encouraged people to connect with his new neo-Nazi cell, the Illawarra Active, via its dedicated Telegram page. Young Australians were particular targets, with graffiti, stickers and posters posted on walls and signs at the University of Wollongong. Underland and a small number of others also targeted local migrant communities. One Telegram post uploaded by the group shows it placing “Islamists not welcome” posters at Wollongong’s Omar mosque.

The message exchange in which 'Underland' asks for neo-Nazi material from a Melbourne-based extremist.

The message exchange in which ‘Underland’ asks for neo-Nazi material from a Melbourne-based extremist.

Budding racists who responded to the request to follow Illawarra Active’s Telegram account were confronted online with material that became increasingly disturbing. On May 21, the account shared a video promoting the European Australia Movement and urged supporters to help “free” one of its leaders. The man is on bail in Melbourne while facing charges relating to an assault allegation. His case of him has been turned into a rallying point by neo-Nazi groups across Australia.

On June 2, the Illawarra Active account shared material created by a group that is proscribed as a terrorist organization in Australia, the overseas-based National Socialist Order. It included a video outlining the core beliefs set out in a white supremacist book, siegewhich has been used as inspiration by terrorist actors across the world and which champions violent conflict with mainstream society.

‘Terrorgram’

The New Zealand Royal Commission called after the Christchurch massacre noted the Australian terrorist who committed the atrocity was an adherent to the views espoused in siegeparticularly the idea that violent action should be embraced to accelerate the reach and power of white nationalism.

An image on the Illawarra Active social media site.

An image on the Illawarra Active social media site.

The number of Australians who responded to the propaganda drive by following the Illawarra Active’s Telegram account appears to have been no more than about 50 at any time, even after the group gained a publicity bounce from an Illawarra Mercury story on June 6 headlined “Police investigate the ‘white supremacy, neo-Nazi’ flyers found at University of Wollongong campus”.

But while the group remains small, its Telegram channel reveals devoted followers using the encrypted platform to communicate, publicize events and liaise with other neo-Nazi cells across Australia.

Researchers from the US’s Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism recently described how Telegram had enabled the formation of a so-called “Terrorgram” community, which uses the encrypted platform as “the main point of online organizing, identity building, propaganda distribution, and more”.

The researchers analyzed thousands of Telegram messages from two new militant neo-Nazi networks to form insights into their “diffuse networks” and how they relate to the “threats of real-world violence they pose”.

The report warns that even small online cells may pose a tangible terror risk, citing the June 2021 warning of a terror plot in Texas by a member of one of the two networks analyzed in the report.

“Telegram is in many ways an ideal platform for dangerous actors. It has good functionality, communications are encrypted, its user base is expanding and content moderation is practically non-existent,” says Lydia Khalil, a Lowy Institute research fellow and author of the upcoming book Rise of the Extreme Right.

Evident in Underland’s Telegram history is a hunger to move off the internet and into the real world. In one message thread with the Adelaide terror suspect, Eracleous and several EAM members, Underland discusses buying a large block of land to “set up a decent community” and creating a White Australia political party. Political or racist violence is a deliberate theme in many posts.

Unintended consequences

But Underland’s online activity also has an unintended consequence, revealing a series of clues about his true identity. Three years of his internet posting of him, reviewed by anti-fascist researchers from The White Rose Society, reveals a job (arborist), a first name (Adrian) and a middle initial (J), all pointing to a 34-year-old old Wollongong man called Adrian John Carr.

Adrian John Carr claims his social media sites have been hacked.

Adrian John Carr claims his social media sites have been hacked.

More online digging shows that Carr used his real email and name to set up a Skype account. Its profile photo displays the name Underland. An archived Twitter account reveals a similar link between Carr and the alias Underland.

When called by this masthead, Carr denied he was Underland, claiming his various social media accounts had been hacked. “I got defrauded, my identity got stolen,” he said. He did confirm, however, that he was the author of a since-deleted post from his Facebook page that described Jews as “scum”.

Carr’s fellow cell members include Wollongong man Ben Thomas, 36, whose identity is given away by the distinctive hand tattoos that appear both on his Facebook page and on the Illawarra Active’s Telegram page. Thomas’s hands can be seen on some of the cell’s propaganda videos plastering neo-Nazi propaganda around Wollongong. He could not be reached for comment.

Ben Thomas.

Ben Thomas.

Another cell member, 30-year-old Geoff Abel, shares with Carr and Thomas a history of police attention for alleged criminal activity, with Abel spending several stints in jail.

A NSW man who had been approached to join the group described Carr as its key actor and noted its members had nearly all experienced family and mental instability and trauma as younger men. The man, who asked to remain confidential, blamed “people on the internet” for radicalizing Carr.

“I don’t like what AJ [Adrian] is doing. I don’t like the hate that is being spread. But you need to ask, ‘why is Adrian the way he is? What is causing these young men in the regions to slip through the cracks?’”

A global challenge

The young men in Illawarra Active appear to relish the brotherhood formed first in the Telegram neo-Nazi community and then in person, as they urge each other on to become more radical.

Geoff Abel.

Geoff Abel.

As overseas researchers have observed of European and American Telegram neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, the Australian “terrorgram” community is also notable not only for its extremist camaraderie, but its resilience.

The chats involving Carr and his fellow cell members appear to observe the recent arrest of like-minded Australians by the federal police counter-terror teams as reason to continue their fight, rather than to rethink their views.

It also shows how quickly a small band of disorganized and disillusioned men from regional Australia can fall into the orbit of highly organized international extremist groups. The National Socialist Order is banned in Australia as a terror group, but Illawarra Active has freely shared its propaganda online.

Terror watcher Khalil says local extremist groups are increasingly reaching over state and international borders.

“Right-wing groups are increasingly convinced they must organize globally to meet global challenges,” she says.

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Categories
US

Orlando murder-suicide: Family of 5 identified

Orlando murder-suicide: Family of 5 identified

Orlando police have identified the family of five found dead from an apparent murder-suicide. Officers were called to a home on Lake District Lane in the East Park neighborhood of Lake Nona Tuesday afternoon around 1 pm The father, Donovan Michael Ramirez, 45, has been identified as the suspect. The victims have been identified as Stephanie Renee Ramirez, 39; Alyssa Berumen, 22; Sunny Ramirez, 11; and Shelby Rose Ramirez, 7. A firearm was found at the scene. However, the medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death. The crime scene was upsetting to responding officers, with at least one becoming sick and needing to step outside. Neighbors said the family of five recently moved into the house from out of state and that the home had been unusually quiet for days. “I think it’s like a worst nightmare truly,” Heather Collins said. “I don’t even know what happened exactly. My heart goes out to the family. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around any of this, especially if there were family involved.”Collins and her fiancé, Justin Rossilini, live across from the family involved.”They seemed like they were a normal family. the dad, seen the mom, and two little girls,” Rossilini said.Rossilini said the family, a middle-aged couple, their adult daughter, and their two young girls had just moved into the home a few months ago.He hadn’ t seen or heard any activity at the house for several days until late this morning when police arrived.”There was an officer who was looking through the car window and asked me if I’d seen them today. I said no, I haven’t seen them for a few days, actually. Last time I saw them was five days ago when they were checking the mail,” Rossilini said.”I didn’t hear anything, I wish I did. I definitely would have liked to have been that concerned neighbor that did something in this situation ,” Collins said.Members of the surrounding community were visibly shaken.”Scary, scary for something like this to happen right next to you,” Claudia Galeas said.”See them out in the yard when I do my walks in the morning. Say hi, nothing out of the ordinary or anything strange,” Jose Sanchez said. “Shocking. First thing I thought was like about the kids, that’s the first thing you think is the poor kids, you know, small children.” I saw them a couple of times and waved, but it’s just unbelievable that something like that could happen here because this is a real quiet, nice neighborhood,” Marco Aguero said.A couple of neighbors have left remembrances in front of the home. ‘re told the family recently moved in and were quiet and somewhat private.Neighbo rs who have lived in the area a good length of time were clearly impacted by the tragic nature of what happened.“Who would have thought something like that could happen here?” Aguero said.“It’s just nerve-wracking to have something like this happen in your community,” Galeas said.“Been here seven years in this neighborhood and first time we’ve seen something like this happening. You don’t know how to react, really,” Sanchez said. Neighbors said the family who lived in the house where the murder-suicide occurred had a small dog.Chopper 2 spotted a dog being removed from the home alive and Animal Control was present at the home.If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources available: Harbor House of Central Florida 24-hour confidential crisis hotline: (407) 886-2856 Victim Service Center of Central Florida 24/7 helpline: (407)-500-HEALNational Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 and in English and Spanish : 1-800-799-7233United Way of Central Florida 2-1-1 services: Call or text 211 for confidential domestic abuse support, and other services.

ORLANDO, Fla.—

Orlando police have identified the family of five found dead from an apparent murder-suicide.

Officers were called to a home on Lake District Lane in the East Park neighborhood of Lake Nona Tuesday afternoon around 1 pm

The father, Donovan Michael Ramirez, 45, has been identified as the suspect.

The victims have been identified as Stephanie Renee Ramirez, 39; Alyssa Berumen, 22; Sunny Ramirez, 11; and Shelby Rose Ramirez, 7.

A firearm was found at the scene. However, the medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death.

The crime scene was upsetting to responding officers, with at least one becoming sick and needing to step outside.

Neighbors said the family of five recently moved into the house from out of state and that the home had been unusually quiet for days.

“I think it’s like a worst nightmare truly,” Heather Collins said. “I don’t even know what happened exactly. My heart goes out to the family. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around any of this, especially if there were family involved.”

Collins and her fiancé, Justin Rossilini, live across from the family involved.

“They seemed like they were a normal family. I saw the dad, saw the mom, and two little girls,” Rossilini said.

Rossilini said the family, a middle-aged couple, their adult daughter, and their two young girls had just moved into the home a few months ago.

He hadn’t seen or heard any activity at the house for several days until late this morning when police arrived.

“There was an officer who was looking through the car window and asked me if I’d seen them today. I said no, I haven’t seen them for a few days, actually. Last time I saw them was five days ago when they were checking the mail,” Rossilini said.

“I didn’t hear anything, I wish I did. I definitely would have liked to have been that concerned neighbor that did something in this situation,” Collins said.

Members of the surrounding community were visibly shaken.

“Scary, scary for something like this to happen right next to you,” Claudia Galeas said.

“See them out in the yard when I do my walks in the morning. Say hi, nothing out of the ordinary or anything strange,” Jose Sanchez said. “Shocking. First thing I thought was like about the kids, that’s the first thing you think is the poor kids, you know, small children.”

“Maybe I saw them a couple of times and waved, but it’s just unbelievable that something like that could happen here because this is a real quiet, nice neighborhood,” Marco Aguero said.

A couple of neighbors have left memories in front of the home. We’re told the family recently moved in and were quiet and somewhat private.

Neighbors who have lived in the area for a good length of time were clearly impacted by the tragic nature of what happened.

“Who would have thought something like that could happen here?” Aguero said.

“It’s just nerve-wracking to have something like this happen in your community,” Galeas said.

“Been here seven years in this neighborhood and first time we’ve seen something like this happening. You don’t know how to react, really,” Sanchez said.

Neighbors said the family who lived in the house where the murder-suicide occurred had a small dog.

Chopper 2 spotted a dog being removed from the home alive and Animal Control was present at the home.

If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources available:

Harbor House of Central Florida 24-hour confidential crisis hotline: (407) 886-2856

Victim Service Center of Central Florida 24/7 helpline: (407)-500-HEAL

National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 and in English and Spanish: 1-800-799-7233

United Way of Central Florida 2-1-1 services: Call or text 211 for confidential domestic abuse support, and other services.

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Categories
Technology

Porsche and Ferrari unsheath their new racing GT3s

The base is indeed the Porsche 911

While many eyes are currently focused on the new premier Hypercar category of the WEC and IMSA championships, which promises a great show for 2023, the more modest GT3s are also at the dawn of a small revolution. A new regulation will allow them to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2024. Porsche and Ferrari have been able to shine in recent years in several GT categories, the first with the 911 GT3 R and 911 RSR type 991, the second with the 488 GT3 and 488 GTE. The announcement of the next sporting rules follows the recent launch of the 911 GT3 type 992 and 296 GTB on the road. The cards are shuffled; Porsche and Ferrari unveil their respective assets one day apart.

GT3 R, a 911 above all

The base is indeed the Porsche 911
The base is indeed the Porsche 911© Ferrari/Porsche

The new Porsche 911 GT3 R pushes further the development of the 992 generation, after the road GT3 and the one-design championship GT3 Cup. The displacement of its atmospheric flat-six has increased from 4 L to 4.2 L, as on the latest RSR to date, but unlike the latter, the newcomer remains faithful to a rear overhang layout. A six-speed sequential dog gearbox is responsible for transmitting 565 hp to the rear wheels, a power increase of 15 hp compared to the previous GT3 R, combined with a wider usable rev range according to the manufacturer. The regulatory balance of performance (BoP) aims to balance the cars on the grid; this additional reserve of power offers greater freedom of adaptation to the teams which can also play on the weight or the aerodynamics when adjusting the car.

Among other improvements, Porsche also announces better downforce without increasing drag thanks to a revised flat bottom and a gooseneck-mounted rear wing. The aluminum and steel alloy body is clad in a carbon body. Porsche has opted for a double wishbone suspension at the front, multi-link at the rear. In addition, the wheelbase has been lengthened by 8 mm and the driver’s seat refocused compared to the previous generation. The latter had won at Spa-Francorchamps, Sebring or Daytona among other prestigious events; customers therefore expect the best from the new model. This is displayed at the base price of €511,000 excluding VAT. And it could give some clues as to the specifications of the next road-going Porsche 911 GT3 RS, announced for August 17, 2022.

296 GT3, racing thoroughbred

The Ferrari 296 GT3 adopts the V6 of the road version, obviously revamped
The Ferrari 296 GT3 adopts the V6 of the road version, obviously revamped© Ferrari/Porsche

Read also: Ferrari 296 GTB test: no V8, hybrid, but what a foot!

The Ferrari 296 GT3 is less close to the road model than its German rival, starting with its engine since it is 100% thermal while the GTB is rechargeable hybrid. Its 3L V6 turbocharged open at 120° develops 600 hp. It is positioned further forward than on the GTB, and associated with a six-speed sequential gearbox installed transversely to which the alternator is attached. The aluminum chassis of the GT3 is specific to it and the wheelbase of the car is slightly longer than that of the GTB. Ferrari announces increased rigidity of 10% compared to the 488 GT3. The coupe is equipped with a double wishbone suspension on all four corners. The new multifunction steering wheel incorporates certain functions used by the Scuderia in F1.

The 296 GTB is Ferrari’s first road-going six-cylinder (the 1960s-1970s Dinos were not Ferrari-badged); the GT3 follows in the footsteps of the V6-powered 246 SP racing car which, more than 60 years ago, was the brand’s first car with a center-rear unit. It will make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2023. Its development could serve that of a radical version of the 296 road in line with the 458 Speciale and 488 Pista.

Categories
Sports

Alpine abuse and Piastri furore as Hamilton makes American football move – GPFans F1 Recap – GPFans F1 Recap

Alpine abuse and Piastri furore as Hamilton makes American football move - GPFans F1 Recap - GPFans F1 Recap

Lewis Hamilton has become a part of the ownership group for the NFL franchise the Denver Broncos.
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Alpine and Ocon suffer vile online abuse after Alonso move

Alpine has been on the receiving end of vile online abuse after it was announced Fernando Alonso is to leave the team and join F1 rivals Aston Martin next season.
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Alpine face storm as Piastri denies F1 promotion

Alpine has been hit with another twist in its driver situation for 2023 after Oscar Piastri denied he will drive for the team in F1 next year.
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Verstappen issues Red Bull warning after Hungarian GP recovery

Max Verstappen has warned Red Bull it cannot afford a repeat of the problems he experienced at the Hungarian Grand Prix even though he holds a commanding lead in this year’s F1 title race.
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Hamilton’s Ferrari torment after Scuderia strategy that made “no sense”

Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton’s drive to runner-up in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix will have ‘tormented’ Ferrari after it delivered a strategy which made “no sense”.
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Alpine reveal how it discovered Alonso Aston Martin switch

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has revealed he only learned of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin switch via the latter’s press release.
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Red Bull and Honda extend power unit support agreement

Red Bull has reached a deal with Honda that will see the Japanese manufacturer continue its technical support of the team’s powertrains department for the next three years.
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Is the F1 title Verstappen’s already? – GPFans Stewards’ Room Podcast

Max Verstappen completed a stunning recovery drive from 10th to win the Hungarian Grand Prix but his path was eased by yet more errors from Ferrari.

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Categories
Australia

John Howard’s climate doubts reveal more about conservative identity politics than anything else | Graham Readfearn

The former prime minister John Howard remains an elder statesman among conservatives so when he’s asked on primetime television if he doubts that climate change is happening, his response is revealing.

That moment happened on the ABC on Tuesday evening during an interview with actor David Wenham, who asked: “You’re not refuting the fact that there’s climate change?”

Given the decades of scientific inquiry on the subject, the most obvious answer to this question would have been a firm, declarative “no”.

But instead, Howard offered this.

“Well… well… I think some aspects of the debate have become greatly exaggerated,” he said. “Every time there’s any kind of disaster it’s always put down to climate change. In some cases that’s fair and in other cases it’s not fair.”

Howard didn’t say which disasters he was referring to, but those most fresh in the minds of Australians are the devastating east coast floods and the horrors of the Black Summer bushfires.

Climate scientists prefer to carry out studies to carefully attribute the role of rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to natural disasters. It’s not a simple task.

Studies of those 2019/2020 bushfires have shown climate change did increase the risk of those fires happening, and their severity (which one assessment said had killed or displaced about 3 billion animals).

Prof David Karoly, a leading Australian climate scientist, has said the devastating floods earlier this year were an example of how burning fossil fuels had put the climate system “on steroids” and amplified the rainfall.

Burning fossil fuels and chopping down forests has loaded the atmosphere with 50% more carbon dioxide than before the Industrial Revolution.

Some climate scientists will point out that by changing the composition of the atmosphere so fundamentally, and by adding heat to the ocean, the influence of the climate crisis on all weather is now inescapable.

identity politics

Even without specifics, Howard’s position tells us plenty about his understanding of the science, his regard for the risks from global heating and how he wants to frame the issue.

During the interview, Howard made a philosophical point about the state of political discourse saying there was “too much of an obsession with identity politics and single issues like climate change”.

Expressing skepticism about the causes of climate change, its impacts or the motives behind calls for action, has become a part of the political identity of many conservatives, particularly in the US and Australia.

Howard was trying to pin the “identity politics” label on progressives.

But by continuing to express skepticism on climate change only seconds later shows how a politician who reached their heights well before the term “identity politics” was invented, can still engage in it.

The IPCC’s hidden agenda?

Howard’s public stance on climate change has flip-flopped over the years.

In late 2006 and under political pressure in the run-up to an election, he said he wasn’t a climate science denier and quoted scientific evidence that rising greenhouse gas levels were “significant and damaging”.

But in a London speech to a climate contrarian thinktank in 2013, he said he had always been “agnostic” on the issue which, given the overwhelming evidence gathered over many decades, is a bit like saying you’re agnostic about gravity.

During that 2013 speech, Howard quoted Prof Ottmar Edenhofer, a lead author of a UN climate assessment at the time.

“One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy,” Howard quoted Edenhofer as saying. “This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy any more.”

Revealing his “real agenda”, Howard said Edenhofer had gone on to say: “One must say clearly that we de facto redistribute the world’s wealth by climate policy.”

This quote has been used over and over by climate science contrarians for years as evidence that the UN’s climate convention represents a hidden socialist agenda to redistribute wealth.

Just last week, Maurice Newman – a business adviser to another former Liberal prime minister, Tony Abbott – used the exact same quotes to make the exact same point in an article in the Spectator.

“At least the leftist Potsdam Institute’s Prof Ottmar Edenhofer has the courage to say out loud what is becoming more obvious by the day,” Newman wrote, not mentioning that the quotes are 12 years old.

The source is an English translation of an interview Edenhofer gave to Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung in 2010.

Edenhofer told Temperature Check the quotes were taken “completely out of context” and had been spread by opponents of climate action “again and again”.

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“Fortunately, the full version of the interview is still available on the internet,” he said.

“As usual, context matters: My point was that climate policy is, by its very nature, economic policy. Economic policy includes setting rules in the distribution struggle for scarce resources, and in such a distribution struggle there are always winners and losers. That’s why it is important to always consider climate and development policy jointly.

“That climate protection would be only a pretext and that it would in fact all be about redistribution from rich to poor is complete nonsense.”

He said that pricing greenhouse gas emissions should indeed penalize fossil fuel use, and any redistribution of wealth “is merely a consequence of the necessity to stop using fossil fuels in order to limit global warming and avoid dangerous climate impacts”.

climate of blame

In the Netherlands, farmers and their supporters have been protesting against new rules proposed by the government to radically cut the use of ammonia, nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide.

They’ve been dumping manure on roads and blockading routes, saying the government’s cuts are unrealistic and will see many farms needing to close.

Like several other conservative commentators around the world, Sky News host James Morrow has been keen to lay the blame at the door of climate change policies.

“[Farmers] are being told they are going to have to cut production at a time of global food insecurity to basically follow climate mandates,” Morrow said.

No doubt that cutting nitrogen use would have benefits for the climate, but that’s not what the rules are about. The Dutch government’s efforts to cut nitrogen are aimed at cutting localized pollution threatening habitats next to farming operations.

The head of programs at Dutch environment group Natuur & Milieu, Rob van Tilburg, told Temperature Check: “The reason for the necessary intervention by the Dutch government is the continuing loss of nature that has arisen as a result of exceeding nitrogen standards for years. It’s definitely not the climate.”

He said three-quarters of Dutch nature reserves were affected by nitrogen pollution and the country’s intensive agriculture industry – one that keeps 115 million pigs, cows, chickens and goats in a country with only 17 million people.

The nitrogen standards applied to all countries in Europe, but the country’s highest court had declared three years ago the government’s policies were invalid.

Van Tilburg said: “As a result of this, it’s not allowed any more to issue permits for activities and projects that cause nitrogen emissions. Nitrogen pollution is making the soil acidic and we are losing nitrogen-sensitive plants and animal species rapidly.”

Categories
US

Indiana GOP Rep. Walorski, three others die in auto accident

Indiana GOP Rep. Walorski, three others die in auto accident

First elected in 2012, the 58-year-old Walorski was also an advocate for children and families and an influential voice for women in the House GOP conference, helping to grow their ranks over time.

She’d been set to take on a leadership role on the Ways and Means Committee if Republicans took back the House in November. She would have overseen the worker and family support subcommittee.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy confirmed her death “with a heavy heart.” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) Called the congresswoman, who had been a member of his whip team, “a champion for the people of Indiana.”

“Jackie and her staffers died serving her constituents. They will be missed, and our nation will miss their service,” Scalise said in a statement.

Fellow Indiana Republican, Sen. Todd Young said he was “truly devastated.”

“Jackie loved Hoosiers and devoted her life to fighting for them,” he wrote. “I’ll never forget her spirit from her, her positive attitude from her, and most importantly her friendship from her.

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), a close colleague of Walorski’s, called her “incredibly caring.”

“She always had a warm smile and a word of advice, and I will miss her friendship,” Hinson wrote.

Another GOP member, Georgia Rep. Drew Ferguson, added that he was “at a loss for words.”

“Jackie was a kind soul with a huge heart. She was a trusted colleague and good friend,” Ferguson wrote. “There was no one who fought harder for her constituents than Jackie. I’m going to miss her terribly.”

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Categories
Technology

SK Hynix Reveals 238-Layer 3D NAND: Cheap and Fast SSDs Incoming

SK Hynix

SK Hynix has introduced its first 3D NAND device featuring 238 layers, the highest number of layers in the industry. The new 512Gb devices promise to be rather cheap and will enable SK Hynix to build inexpensive solid-state storage. Also, 512Gb 238-layer 3D NAND products will help the memory maker learn how to mass produce flash memory with a high number of layers.

SK Hynix’s first 3D NAND device with 238 layers features a triple level cell (TLC) architecture, a capacity of 512Gb (64GB) as well as a 2400 MT/s interface speed, a 50% increase compared to previous-generation flagship NAND from the South Korean manufacturer. As an added bonus, the new 3D NAND memory device reduces power consumption during reads by 21%, which will be an advantage for mobile PCs as well as smartphones.

Categories
Sports

Dockers identify forward as potential trade target

Dockers identify forward as potential trade target

Fremantle has identified Adelaide forward Elliott Himmelberg as a potential trade target, according to SEN SA’s Michelangelo Rucci.

The 24-year-old, who comes out of contract at season’s end, made his first AFL appearance since Round 9 last week.

Himmelberg replaced the injured Riley Thilthorpe for the Crows’ upset win over Carlton, finishing with eight disposals and a goal.

The Crows tall kicked four goals twice against Port Adelaide and Richmond earlier this year before losing his place ahead of Round 10.

Rucci understands the Dockers are doing their due diligence on Himmelberg.

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“Fremantle are putting together their list of how they overcome the issues of what they’ve got in attack, or don’t have in attack,” Rucci told SEN SA’s The Run Home.

“The player that they’re identifying – I stress identifying, they’re doing their due diligence – is Elliott Himmelberg at Adelaide.

“They think he’s the fit for them.

“He’s had five years at Adelaide, 37 games, 38 goals. We know he’s a tall player who can play forward and ruck – they want him as a forward. They desperately need to shore up their attack.

“He is growing with interest at Fremantle.”

Himmelberg was selected by Adelaide with pick 51 in the 2016 National Draft.





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Categories
US

Father dead after crash that killed 4 children, wife

Family, friends remember Rolling Meadows mom, 4 children killed in head-on crash

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — A man who was in critical condition following a wrong-way fatal crash that killed his wife, four children and two others, died Wednesday.

According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Thomas Dobosz, 32, died Wednesday morning at Loyola Medical Center from the injuries he sustained from the crash.

The crash happened around 2 am last Sunday on I-90 near mile marker 33, about 50 miles from Chicago.

Illinois State Police said that Thomas Dobosz and his 31-year-old wife, Lauren Dobosz—both from Rolling Meadows—were driving westbound on I-90 in a full-size Chevrolet van carrying five children when a wrong-way driver collided with them head-on, causing both vehicles to become engulfed in flames.

According to ISP, 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez was driving the wrong way “for unknown reasons.”

Lauren Dobosz and the five children, ages 5 to 13, were all killed.

Fernandez—who was from Carpentersville—also died, according to authorities.

At the time, Thomas Dobosz was the lone survivor of the crash and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

A neighbor who lives across the street from the couple says they had four children. He believes the fifth child involved in the crash was a friend of their oldest child.

“The kids were very friendly,” David Moreno said. “They were always talkative. We would always run into them at the supermarket.”

The family was heavily involved in the local cheer community with the Oriole Falcons.

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Australian investors left with nothing as cryptocurrency giant Celsius goes bankrupt

Depiction of cryptocurrency with the Celsius logo behind

Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network was advertising yields of 17 per cent right up to mid-June when it froze withdrawals and then filed for bankruptcy in New York one month later.

Marketing itself much like a bank but without the same regulations, it attracted a global customer base — including Australians — many of whom had their assets locked up as cryptocurrency prices collapsed and the company ran aground.

The plight of these retail investors was spotlighted in recent weeks by software engineer and frequent cryptocurrency critic Molly White, who began to tweet moving excerpts from hundreds of letters sent to the New York bankruptcy court and shared in court exhibits.

“The stereotype of people who are putting money into crypto is… young, technologically savvy men,” Ms White told the ABC.

“And that did not seem to be the demographic in the letters.

“There were also a lot of people who were saying, ‘this is my life savings, my pension, I worked 10, 20, 30 years to save this money.'”

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Ms White also shared letters from people who said they were based in Australia, many of whom described their utter desperation and even thoughts of suicide after they were blocked from accessing funds.

One woman said the impact on her family had been severe. She included an email she sent to Celsius management begging to be allowed to withdraw some of her funds from her. The email included an ultrasound picture of her unborn child from her.

Others wrote of their emotional turmoil:

“I have lost everything. How can I explain this to my son? I feel ashamed at myself.”

“That was our life savings. It was our chance of having a baby, and funding medical expenses. It was our chance of taking care of our parents as they age.”

A father of three in Australia wrote he had “his life savings in a Celsius earn account”, and that he’d also convinced his father to deposit cryptocurrency assets into Celsius as a “safe haven”.

As well as putting a personal face to the cryptocurrency crash, many of the letters cite the online presence of Celsius chief executive Alex Mashinsky as a key reason for investing.

They bring up his regular YouTube AMA or “ask me anything” sessions, in which he projected supreme confidence until the end, and a willingness to call out what he saw as “misinformation” about his company on Twitter.

Ms White was also struck by how many letters specifically cited Mr Mashinsky, and his online persona.

“Those [AMA sessions] clearly worked really well to build trust in him and in the platform,” she said.

“And people basically believed that Alex Mashinsky as a person would not do this to them.”

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in November 2021
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in November 2021, when bitcoin was riding high.(Getty: Piaras Ó Midheach)

‘We’re at the bottom, and we’re trying to be loud’

Claire* is one of the Australians with assets locked up in Celsius who wrote to the judge.

She returned to Australia in 2020 after more than a decade living in the United States, and was after a career change. A university course in financial technology introduced her to cryptocurrencies, and she took a shine to the industry.

But Claire said she struggled to find a job in the field and when trying to start her own businesses, found that Australian banks wouldn’t lend her due to a lack of local credit history.

A US cousin introduced her to bitcoin mining, and she ended up locking away around $US50,000 worth of bitcoin as collateral for a loan from Celsius.

“I was very attracted to their loan facility, because I couldn’t get a loan here for anything,” she said.

“Cryptocurrency for a person who is in that situation is… more attractive.”

While she is not in as dire a situation as some other Celsius customers, Claire said the goal of writing her letter was to ensure the voices of smaller investors were heard as the company’s debts are considered.

It’s still unclear how the process will play out.

Celsius’s terms and conditions warn that an account with the company is “not a checking or savings account, and it is not covered by insurance against losses” and that “any Eligible Digital Assets … may not be recoverable” after bankruptcy.

“The big guys will get the lawyers and they will be loud,” she said.

“We’re at the bottom, and we’re trying to be loud.”

Risk not over for Australian investors

Celsius had approximately 300,000 active users with balances of more than $US100 ($144) as of July 2022, and a $US1.2 billion shortfall when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.

The company offered a number of services, including the ability to borrow against cryptocurrency assets transferred to the company, or to earn high reward rates on these deposits.

But while its team presented a glossy picture of huge yields, it seemed impossible to some critics that such numbers could be sustained without making potentially hazardous investment choices with the funds of its international depositors.

Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University, said the Celsius situation was ultimately simple: “This is a company that basically took customer deposits, if you want to call them that, and then invested in very risky products.”

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