Notices by Minoru Saba (minorusaba@toad.social)

Infection status
Released Nov 22, 2024.
- As of period from Nov 11 - Nov 17, 2024 -

No. of patients per medical facility (nationwide) 1.90
Change from prev. week +0.43
[Source: Health-Labor-Welfare Ministry weekly report]
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001336742.pdf
🔸Possibly start of 12th wave.
Saga at 1.21, Tokyo at 1.28, Akita at 6.33, Hokkaido at 4.75, Okinawa at 0.89.

#Influenza (nationwide) at 1.88.
Change from prev. week +0.62
#Okinawa still outlier at 5.02.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001336743.pdf
#CovidIsNotOver #Japan

@mathowie
from 2021:
> (...) Our study introduces the concept of tortured phrases: unexpected weird phrases in lieu of established ones, such as ‘counterfeit consciousness’ instead of ‘artificial intelligence.’

Examples:
Colossal information -> Big data
Counterfeit consciousness -> Artificial intelligence
Flag to commotion -> Signal to noise

https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.06751
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02134-0

If human civilization survives, it'll be because we decentralize power, water, and food. (And arm ourselves, most likely.) These are in many ways merely technical problems. We know how to grow food, we know how to distill water, and we'll get better at both. The hatred for renewables by the oligarchs is mostly driven by the fact that people who are self-sufficient are a threat to them. Certainly, I hope to be.

@ai6yr @RunRichRun Putin got his victory though....

"Anger for the sake of justice is also called indignation. [Clinical psychologist Taro Akada] believes this played a big role in restoring Saito to power"
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241120/p2a/00m/0na/023000c
🔸#Hyogo Gov. Saito's supporters managed to portray him as the victim fighting the establishment despite the deaths of 2 pref. govt employees[1] seemingly connected to Saito's actions.
Spontaneous or not, it's a disturbing case of social media influence blurring harrassment allegations

1. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240725/p2a/00m/0na/013000c
#Japan

Went down a rabbit hole re the #privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR, Kokutetsu, 国鉄) by PM Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1987 which led to formation of JR Group.
https://www.substack-bahn.net/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-japans-national
Brought back memories of the UK miners' strike (1984-85) & what followed.
Never understood Margaret Thatcher's popularity in #Japan, but wondering if the effect of JNR strikes on the public before its break-up played a part.
#railways #politics #UK

Yet another example of how English pronunciation is cursed:

Width measured to be a *micrometer*

Width measured with a *micrometer*

Post by 遙翔（はるとび）@szkhkzs linking to YouTube video describing how to fold an origami dragon

https://fedibird.com/@szkhkzs/113499055649440975
#fedibird #dragon #マストドン折り紙部

It's a really blustery day here, so spending the day inside making some wild #garlic #sourdough #bread. It's been feeling like spring instead of fall here and the wild garlic is growing like crazy. 🤪
#Baking #FromScratch #Homemade #Food #Foraging

"...Hyogo Prefectural Assembly [factions] are shocked by the Nov. 17 reelection of former Gov. Motohiko Saito, who [was ousted by] a unanimous non-confidence motion"
CDP-affiliated faction: " ”(Saito) said the death of [the whistleblower] was 'very regrettable,' but has not apologized. There may be no rebuilding of trust...” "
JCP faction leader: " ”My impression is that the campaign was not a policy battle, but voters were stirred up by the internet...” "
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241119/p2a/00m/0na/007000c
#Hyogo

"Hideaki Takeuchi, 50, who stepped down as [#Hyogo Pref.] assembly member..., was also a member of the special committee to investigate...the [Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito] scandal"
" ”Verbal attacks and internet violence spread throughout the election campaign. Takeuchi [said] that it was difficult for him to even leave his home and that he would give priority to protecting his family” "
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241119/p2a/00m/0na/014000c
🔸Where USA leads, #Japan follows😬
#disinformation
https://toad.social/@minorusaba/113501107046783621

Annie Lowery thinks that the young bros who are now gung-ho on online sports betting, day-trading, and crypto, emboldened by Trump's victory, are likely in for a hard fall. Her advice to them:

"Beware the bro-economy," which she defines as "a volatile, speculative, and extremely online casino, in which the house is already winning big."

#Trump #manosphere #brosphere #YoungMen #crypto #OnlineGaming #sports
/1

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/11/trump-cryptocurrency-growth-men/680662/

As an older teen, I remember going to the lake one summer with my friends, watching them drinking beer at a picnic table near the shore, playing in the tepid water.

As the dusk approached my drunken friends decided to swim across a bay to a distant shore.

They set out, laughing and splashing. A couple of them were drunk enough that they just sprawled in inner tubes and let the other swimmers tow them along. Into the failing light. Across the dark water.

I waited at the shore.

#memory

Two dogs one ball
#photography #dogs #DogsOfMastodon

@murodegrizeco It looked like a bandwagon effect amplified by social media algorithms.
Not sure if professional influencers/hidden agendas were involved, but the message "that Saito is a reformist fighting those with vested interests and a victim rather than a perpetrator [of misdeeds]" sounds as if there's a standard textbook on crowd #manipulation and #Japan worryingly lags in media literacy🤔
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/3663/

So, I wrote a paper, I'm sure it'll be accepted in Nature.

#Lito leaf art

#art

@murodegrizeco Motohiko Saito won by 1,113,911 votes to Kazumi Inamura's 976,637 & former Japan Innovation Party Takayuki Shimizu's 258,388 votes with 55.65% voter turnout; so splitting of opposing votes let Saito win.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20241117/k10014640801000.html
Legacy media expected Saito to lose, but Saito's camp posted content on social media that more than doubled Saito's followers on X to 190,000 & Saito seems to have surged past Inamura in last week of the campaign.
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/election/20241118-223124/
#Japan

"...Inamura said she felt like the election ultimately became less about the candidates’ qualifications or policies, but more about what people choose to believe in.
“It didn’t feel so much like I was competing against Candidate Saito, but rather about confronting something else,” she said. “I must admit, I did feel something strange in that regard.” "
#Japan #elections
🔸Echoes of what happened in USA?🤔

"...ex-Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito was re-elected...after [automatically losing the post] following a historic [unanimous] no-confidence vote..."
"...Saito won...by a 5.2% margin [over runner-up Kazumi Inamura]"
"...Inamura, [former mayor Amagasaki City, Hyogo Pref.], said she couldn’t quite comprehend what had caused her defeat..."
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/18/japan/politics/hyogo-governor-saito-re-elected/
🔸Social media influence overturning general expectations of an Inamura win echoes trend in recent Tokyo Gov. & national elections🤔
#Japan