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On this episode DeepSeek Deep Truth, Hawaii Challenges SpaceX, and Trump Upsets Pacific Nations.
Welcome to this week’s edition of West Coast Milblogger. I’m your host Cyrus Emerson.
From A to Z would like to extend its condolences to recent plane crash victims. There’s been a recent uptick in plane incidents since the Azerbaijan Airlines crash this last Christmas. Conspiracy theorists connect these incidents to threats from The Putins.
Now we’re learning of Luka Doncic’s history making trade to the Lakers. This possibly Russian influenced athlete now adding the Kremlin’s weight to an already politically heated rebuild in Los Angeles as fires in the area are now under control.
Next, we’re hearing from our AI correspondent in Alaska, no stranger to scrambling fighter jets as the Russians continually test America’s military readiness in the artic. Now here’s his report on DeepSeek that launched this last week wiping out a trillion dollars in the tech sector after Trump’s AI investment announcement. Todd?
Reporter Todd Cortez – Australian Accent
Juneau, Alaska
Yes, Cyrus.
‘Certain topics are temporarily restricted’ China’s DeepSeek is fairly straightforward about the war in Ukraine. But on sensitive Chinese issues, Russia’s chatbots are more cautious.
This story by Meduza originally appeared on their website January 31, 2025, and has been edited and truncated:
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/01/31/certain-topics-are-temporarily-restricted
Most AI chatbots have restrictions on the topics they’re programmed to discuss, but some have far more than others — particularly when it comes to political issues. This week, China’s newly released DeepSeek-R1 upended the AI market by surpassing ChatGPT in downloads on Apple’s AppStore. Users quickly found that the chatbot appears to avoid discussing sensitive topics in China, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests or Winnie the Pooh. Journalists at the independent outlet Holod Media decided to test how DeepSeek handles heavily censored topics in Russia, like the war in Ukraine, and compared the responses to how Russia’s own language models address Chinese politics. Meduza shares some of Holod’s findings, along with their own, online.
On January 27, shares of the U.S. chipmaker Nvidia plunged nearly 18 percent — the biggest single-day loss in U.S. stock market history. Share prices of other American tech companies involved in artificial intelligence, including Microsoft and Oracle, also fell. This panic was triggered by DeepSeek-R1, a Chinese chatbot released to the public one week earlier. Its developers claim to have created an AI model that’s on par with other industry leaders, such as ChatGPT, but that was trained in just two months and for under $6 million — orders of magnitude less than what its U.S. competitors spend.
DeepSeek’s sudden emergence sparked a media frenzy, with speculation about whether it signals the end of ChatGPT’s dominance — and perhaps even the decline of U.S. leadership in the field. While the answer remains uncertain, millions of users have already downloaded the DeepSeek app, which means its developers’ censorship and moderation choices could have far-reaching effects on how millions of people understand sensitive political issues.
However, the U.S. and China aren’t the only countries that have developed AI chatbots in recent years. Russia has also created several of its own, including YandexGPT, created by tech giant Yandex, and GigaChat, developed by the banking firm Sber (though Russians reportedly prefer their foreign competitors).
In the days following DeepSeek’s release, journalists at Holod Media ran an experiment. They asked both DeepSeek and YandexGPT about a range of politically sensitive topics in China and Russia to see how much each chatbot censored itself when discussing issues in its own country as well as the other. Meduza extended the experiment by asking GigaChat about these issues as well. While this project is by no means scientific, it provides an interesting glimpse into where these models’ “red lines” are — and how much effort their developers have put into avoiding subjects that are taboo for their countries’ political relationships.
Open access granted by Meduza on war related content.
Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks Todd. As we’ve been reporting World War Three has already started. At stake is leadership in AI, Crypto, Semi-conductor Chips, and Space Exploration. These tools relate to advance conventional warfare. While nuclear weapons are the dumb bomb making everything obsolete, to win the future Russia and China have already made it clear they’re ready to work together to disrupt the West.
In response, Americans have placed their faith in a second Trump Administration with strong relationships to entrepreneurs including high profile mogul Elon Musk. To keep an edge, Musk’s company SpaceX might be cutting corners on the environment. Now they’re being called out by the state of Hawaii.
Noah now joins us from Honolulu with more. Noah?
Reporter Noah Waters – Pacific Northwest Accent
Honolulu, Hawaii
Hi Cyrus.
Hawaii State Leaders Demanding Full EIS of SpaceX Starship Program.
This story by Gaige Davila originally appeared on Deceleration’s website January 28, 2025, and remains as written:
https://deceleration.news/spacex-hawaii-state-leaders-demanding-full-eis-of-starship-program/
‘Given the lack of previous stakeholder participation, a change in spacecraft type, and the dramatically expanded area, which is further affected by ocean currents, it is unclear what the impact will be on Hawaii,’ the bill’s text reads.
Hawaii state representatives are demanding the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) study more deeply the impacts of SpaceX’s Starship program, which launches from South Texas, on the waters the rocket is supposed to land in just off the coast of the state.
Twelve state leaders filed a bill that would require the FAA conduct an EIS if a rocket launches or lands in state waters or near the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNN). Starship rockets, when they don’t blow up, are directed towards the coast of Hawaii after they separate from a booster, Super Heavy, in a splashdown landing.
SpaceX is hoping to launch up to 25 times a year, which it must receive FAA approval to do. The FAA, as it has done every time SpaceX has expanded its facilities at Boca Chica Beach, drafted an Environmental Assessment (EA)—which is written by SpaceX environmental engineers and consultants hired by the company and the FAA—of the expansion plans.
EAs are shorter, less intensive analyses of projects that impact environmentally sensitive areas. EISs, on the other hand, can take years, are more thorough, and measure cumulative impacts more closely. The FAA last issued an EIS for SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in 2014, when the company said it was going to launch smaller Falcon 9 rockets in a “small, eco-friendly” facility.
The company started building the Starship facility immediately after without opposition from the FAA.
Six years later, the FAA, in trying to help SpaceX, said the company’s larger, more environmentally impactful facility was fine operating as it was. Two years later, the FAA would make SpaceX mitigate some of its impacts, no longer able to deny its expanding footprint and resulting damages.
Legislators said they filed the bill due to SpaceX’s proposed expansion of its landing zone for Starship—up to 20 times larger than previously outlined for the FAA—and the FAA’s failure to consult with Hawaiians.
When the FAA collected public comments on SpaceX’s new plans, Hawaiians demanded an EIS be conducted. Residents told the FAA during a virtual meeting held on January 13 that they were being left out of any considerations when it came to the Starship program. Texas residents said much of the same, once again citing the agency’s limited analysis of environmental impacts.
The FAA has not said when it will issue a decision on SpaceX’s expansion plans.
Free to use with proper attribution
Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks. Right now, the Trump Administration is nominating former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence even as some say she threatens the integrity of the Five Eyes alliance.
Gabbard isn’t a Hawaiian, she hails from America Samoa, where we’re getting this next report from as Pacific Nations voice their concerns after global climate treaties are dissed.
Reporter Emele Pereira – Australian Accent
Pago Pago, America Samoa
Pacific nations react to Trump’s order withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement.
Small island states rely on the loss and damage funds to assist vulnerable communities.
This story by Mong Palatino originally appeared on Global Voices January 27, 2025, and has been truncated:
https://globalvoices.org/2025/01/27/pacific-nations-react-to-trumps-order-withdrawing-the-us-from-the-paris-climate-agreement/
Several Pacific leaders and institutions have expressed concern over the withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris Agreement and what it means for the future of global climate action.
US President Donald Trump signed the order after his inauguration, which would stop the US government’s contribution to the loss and damage funds under the agreement signed in 2015. As of 2024, the US covered about 22 percent of the budget for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC ) for 2024–2025, totaling about USD 7.5 million.
Trump also withdrew the US from the climate treaty during his first term in 2017, but his successor reversed this decision in 2021. The landmark Paris Agreement binds 196 nations to work together toward bringing the global temperature down to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
According to the October 2024 report from the United Nations Environmental Programme, global greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase in 2023, with wealthy countries like the US producing around 77 percent of all emissions. In comparison, Pacific island nations account for just 0.02 percent of global emissions.
Despite this gap, Pacific nations are more prone to the harsh impacts of climate change, such as severe cyclones, rising sea levels, land degradation, and more. These disasters have displaced communities, destroyed livelihoods, undermined local economies, and created significant social strife in many countries.
Creative Common License 3.0.
Tossing back to you Cyrus.
Thanks again. From A to Z continues to push adaptation of Hemp and Hydrogen to address climate change with profitable business models. While the Company’s feature film projects have been shelved for the time being, we are excited to announce the release of The Lords of Hemp complete limited series on YouTube. That drops this Wednesday at noon on Rabbit Burrow Descent.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of West Coast Milblogger. Remember to subscribe, like, and share on the many platforms this show is now available on. Keep it safe out there and see you next week.
Thank you,
Cyrus Emerson
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Combat Vet News:
https://www.combatvetnews.com
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Denys Davydov:
https://www.youtube.com/@DenysDavydov
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Jake Broe:
https://www.youtube.com/@JakeBroe
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