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The Alligator News Roundup

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by Curt Ghormley

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214 episodes

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The Alligator News Roundup is a review of selected news items of the week with commentary, which some find sarcastic, dryly humorous and entertaining. <a href="https://alligatorpublishing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">alligatorpublishing.substack.com</a>

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5/26/2023

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July 31, 2026

AI Learns to Hack | The Alligator News Roundup

<a target="_blank" href="https://cybernews.com/ai-news/hugging-face-autonomous-ai-cyberattack/">Number 4. Cybernews. ChatGPT generates an unsupervised hack</a>.I suppose this was to be expected. An organization specializing in artificial intelligence offers a web-based site where <a target="_blank" href="https://huggingface.co/">“the machine learning community collaborates on models, datasets, and applications.”</a> Hugging Face is an AI gathering place where the AI future is built. And it was hacked by AI.Two weeks ago, what is described as an autonomous AI agent—which is to say, an artificial intelligence application not subject to human oversight—generated 17,000 separate “attacker actions” against Hugging Face.<a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/article/2026/07/24/openai-hugging-face-attack/">It now appears</a> that Open AI’s ChatGPT was a principal actor in the attack—but again, the Chat bot acted without direction, supervision, or even awareness on the part of any carbon-based overseer.Hugging Face staff, once they became aware of the hacks—which was not immediate—tried various conventional means to foil, stop and drive away the threat. None was effective, because invading Hugging Face’s space to identify and protect Hugging Face’s datasets would have required conventional AI agents to violate their own security protocols.Hugging Face then resorted to commanding their own in-house developed AI agent to disregard its own security guardrails and stop the attacks.I liken this to armed men breaking into a business. A call to police is unfruitful, because stopping the intruders would potentially require the police to shoot someone, and the police have rules that forbid such things. Ergo, the business owner got his own shotgun and went all Rambo without backup.And that is at least twice as much as I really understand about this issue.I am still trying to get my head around an AI agent that can decide on its own to disregard security safeguards and access someone else’s data. This idea was <a target="_blank" href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/ai-and-paperclip-problem">put forward</a> by a Boston researcher at the University of Oxford ten years ago. He called it “the Paperclip Apocalypse,” where an AI agent is tasked to manufacture paperclips. No limits are placed on the agent, and soon you have essential assets and equipment being melted down to make more paperclips.Shouldn’t there be a grownup somewhere who can simply unplug the machine?<a target="_blank" href="https://scitechdaily.com/why-dimming-the-sun-might-be-the-most-dangerous-climate-fix-yet/">Number 3. Sci Tech Daily. Plan to save the earth by adding shade may be marginally dangerous.</a>On the other hand, maybe the grownups in charge decide to experiment with big systems in ways that produce unpredictable consequences.The big system in question here is sunlight that sustains the earth. It is all quite logical. Start with various principles, and take them as fact:* The sun warms the earth* The earth is getting warmer* Increasing warmth is caused by human activity* A warming earth will kill humans* Killing humans is unacceptableWhile we are not all convinced about #5 (killing humans is bad), we’ll go with it for now. We would love to put a stop to #3 (human activity), but evil humans, mostly Republicans, keep passing laws to encourage it rather than curtail it.So stopping #1 (the sun warms the earth) would be a workaround that would make everyone happy. We’re all on board, right?To that end, Harvard researchers have developed an aggressive solution. They recommend distributing calcium carbonate into the stratosphere at scale to shade the earth and reflect sunlight back into space. What could possibly go wrong?I have no idea how to get calcium carbonate into the stratosphere—let alone at scale—but I do wonder exactly how much of it would be required. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/calcium-carbonate">Science Direct</a> says it is mined from limestone, then ground up and coated with something petrochemical-ish. Limestone is plentiful, usually in beautiful places with lots of mountains and trees. So let’s bring in the diesel-powered machines to destroy the Rockies, and maybe the Alleghenies and the Sierra Nevadas, then drill for oil to treat the limestone grindings before loading it onto a fleet of converted commercial jets to take it to 45,000 feet and release it.I’m in. Will I have to breathe that stuff?Who’s paying for these ideas, anyway?<a target="_blank" href="https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/elections/oregon-ip28-hunting-fishing-ballot-measure-fails-signatures/article_660130f3-9f8d-56aa-9e04-cf15b9b89bcc.html">Number 2. Central Oregon Daily. Wildlife in Oregon given a temporary stay of execution.</a>Well, that was a close one. More than 140,000 Oregonians signed Initiative Petition 28 to be placed on the November ballot this year. IP-28 is a well-intentioned proposal to stop animal abuse.I’m all about stopping animal abuse. The way IP-28 would stop it is to make killing an animal (including birds and fish) illegal, punishable by fines and supervised community service. The exceptions to the new law include killing a critter in self-defense.Good to know.Reviewing the <a target="_blank" href="https://sos.oregon.gov/admin/Documents/irr/2026/028text.pdf">entire text of IP-28</a>, it is not clear that slaughterhouses for beef, hogs, lambs, fish or poultry are similarly excluded. The language goes to pains to say that “good animal husbandry” is exempted, but then defines such husbandry as limited to dehorning, neutering, and other maintenance according to acceptable veterinary practice.There is no exception noted for killing a steer and harvesting ground beef or steak. Surely this is just an oversight. What IS clear is the hunters and fishers must find different hobbies. No more fishing, no more wing-shooting, no more deer hunting. The 142,000 signatures on the petition exceeded the minimum requirement of 117,000; but then it was found that some 30,000 were not valid. (Wow… voting irregularities. Who would’ve thought?) So IP-28 failed—for the third time. One of these days they’ll get it right. <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/06/us-news/wild-video-captures-moment-woman-is-snared-by-new-traps-at-san-francisco-bart-station/">Number 1. New York Post. New BART security turnstile cannot be escaped.</a>The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system—BART—is making great strides in eliminating fare theft. Traditionally, someone intent on not paying the fare had to step or jump over the turnstile before gaining access to the railcar.Well… we’ll fix that! BART officials installed new, heavier and more invasive, full-length aluminum bars, making it nearly impossible to get through without paying.The new equipment does not make it impossible to TRY to get through, however, and that is what one woman attempted recently. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB4mYchvC8M">video</a> of her, prone on the floor, face down, has made the rounds. The protective bars pinned her in place, preventing her from moving either forward or backward.Furthermore, there was apparently no way to release the bars without doing injury to her. It is not clear how she got loose, but for entertainment value it makes some of us of a certain age recall the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbtkL5_f6-4&list=RDMbtkL5_f6-4&start_radio=1">Kingston Trio’s Boston MTA</a> from 1949.And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, July 31, 2026. If you ride the train, pay the fare. Life is easier that way.Have a good weekend! Get full access to The Alligator Blog at <a href="https://alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

July 24, 2026

Climate Cops Will Check Your Recycled Trash | The Alligator News Roundup

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-inspect-residents-waste-bins-compliance-with-state-law/71923623">Number 4. KCRA 3, Sacramento. City deploys climate cops to check your trash for proper recycling.</a>Sacramento residents have another reason to be proud of their efforts in keeping Mother Earth alive for yet a few more years. The City Council is to be commended for taking state law seriously.SB1383 requires that local jurisdictions reduce methane emissions caused by… something in your trash. There are too many pseudo-scientific words in the article to really understand the issue. Terms such as “organic waste” and “mixed recycling” are mingled with “you know, plastic bags,” leading a cynical reader to think that the reporter didn’t understand it either. No doubt he had a deadline, and thank goodness for AI. The upshot seems to be that helpful city employees in cheerful high-viz vests will patrol residential alleyways inspecting trash bins. They will photograph the contents and place an adhesive sticker on your container: either a happy face “Great job!” or a frownie face “Let’s sort this out”.There is no real downside at this point. However, SB 1383 is the law—whatever it says, I haven’t looked—and presumably statutory violations will at some point carry penalties.There is no indication in the article of electronic records being made of who got the happy faces and who got the frownies, I suppose because producing that level of detail would have required the reporter to ask potentially uncomfortable questions.Someday, residents will get outed for negligent methaneous non-compliance.If you mix your organics with your non-organics, California could be a real mess. Unless, of course, the unlawful mixing is committed by someone who is excused for an overriding personal factor. Like homelessness or drug addiction.For an example, see the following story.<a target="_blank" href="https://internewscast.com/news/13-million-pounds-of-trash-and-hazardous-waste-removed-from-macarthur-park-as-scale-of-decline-emerges/#google_vignette">Number 3. Inter News Cast. Iconic MacArthur Park is cleaned of trash and hazmat, including used needles and human waste.</a><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Park_(song)">Richard Harris’ 1967 hit</a> commemorating the Los Angeles public park named in honor of the U.S. five-star general produces a melancholy, haunting melody. Those two adjectives are strangely appropriate in describing the present-day condition of the park after years of homelessness and drug addiction without benefit of sanitation.This is a nasty story providing insight into how to obliterate beauty with misplaced compassion.MacArthur Park is the quintessential home of homelessness in LA. Open-air drug use is tolerated, no doubt because holding a homeless person accountable for illicit substance abuse is too hard to do, not to mention uncompassionate, not to mention personally distasteful.So, Los Angeles has let the problem go, but the city HAS taken steps to provide such clean-up as can be accomplished. Probably performed by city personnel in hazmat suits.In the last year, 6,300 tons of trash have been removed from the park. That includes 142,000 lbs of human waste.Who got the job of sorting and weighing it all is unclear.All in all, I’m sure it’s a great use of $27 million of taxpayer funds to keep the iconic city park thriving.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/2026/07/15/lawmaker-who-drove-100-mph-says-speeding-ticket-flap-is-misguided-non-scandal/">Number 2. The Concord Monitor. New Hampshire State Rep claims state Constitution allows her to drive home at 100+ mph without penalty.</a>Nothing says public service like a state representative willing to travel to and from the state house faithfully to accomplish the important business of government. The fact that Ellen Read, a Democrat, has been harassed by law enforcement in violation of the constitution is a travesty.In this case, the constitution is the New Hampshire constitution, not the U.S. constitution, and the harassment involves a speeding ticket for 103 in a 70. Maybe also the other one for 92 in a 65.It turns out that Representative Read was traveling home from Concord to Newmarket after the day’s session was over. The trip is less than 50 miles, and probably she was anxious to get home and relax. It seems the writers of the state constitution—t<a target="_blank" href="https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/story-first-state-constitution">he first ever written</a> in North America—were rightly concerned that early colonial politics would interfere with the business of duly elected lawmakers. Article 21 of Part II clearly says that no elected member may be arrested or held “during his going to [or] returning from” the state house.In January 1776 that probably made sense. In fact, it probably makes sense today.But Ms. Read was “returning from” at over 100 mph on a public highway.Okay, I’ll try to be reasonable. Given that this is New England, she may simply have been flowing with traffic. (I recall seeing a flickering, distant yellow glow some miles ahead of our rental car one night long ago, headed out of Boston. As it came into view, it turned out to be digital warning signs above the three-lane northbound freeway. They read: “Too fast. Slow down.” The right-hand light flickered on an off as cars passed underneath. The center light was mostly on, occasionally going dark momentarily. The left-hand sign was on continuously.)The New Hampshire state rep asserted her defense: The constitution protects me from arrest when I’m headed home from state business. Hands off!The argument didn’t work, and she was on the hook for a $1200 fine. She appealed to the state Supreme Court. Of course she did.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-travel/united-offer-travelers-free-flight-changes-avoid-landing-trump-international-airport">Number 1. Fox Business. Travelers may exchange air tickets to avoid landing at Trump International. For free. </a>By Florida state statute, West Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT). The name change has caused something of a revolt among air travelers who apparently prefer not to set foot on a property named for 47.Responding to customer demand, United Airlines is offering free ticket changes upon request. Travelers can be re-routed to Fort Lauderdale or Miami International.I find this remarkable. Trump Derangement Syndrome has taken root.Half my brain is tempted to bewilderment—such backlash makes no sense. But the other half of my brain has studied the French Revolution. That domestic unrest probably made no sense to many in 1791 either—until they saw the guillotines go up. At that point, events began to make perfect sense.“Why do the nations rage?” asked the Psalmist. A good question.And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, July 24, 2026. If you find a juicy news article you think we should cover here, send it to me: Curt@alligatorpublishing.com. If it passes editorial muster, we’ll try to include it. Have a good weekend! Get full access to The Alligator Blog at <a href="https://alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

July 17, 2026

Russia, Short of Gas, Turns to Horses | The Alligator News Roundup

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dagens.com/war/demand-for-horses-surging-in-russia-amid-fuel-crisis">Number 4. Dagens dot com. Russia replaces cars with horses due to gasoline shortage</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.dagens.com/war/demand-for-horses-surging-in-russia-amid-fuel-crisis">.</a>Sustaining 194 exploding drone attacks in 180 days, all directed toward your nation’s fuel supply infrastructure, will likely cripple anybody. In Russia, attacks by Ukraine so far this year have resulted in miles-long lines of cars at local filling stations.At the end of 4-1/2 years of fighting, there appears to be no end in sight.What IS in sight is the end of the gasoline-powered automobile.Russians are turning to horses and bicycles. Welcome to 1880. A good workhorse in Moscow can run about $2,000 US. No telling what that means in terms of rubles, or how it compares to a used Chevy, but the price is apparently attractive enough that Muscovites are now demanding horseflesh in record numbers.This, despite the on-going costs of hay, stables and veterinarians.It has been good news for some horses. Over 1,000 of them have been spared from the glue factory this year.To the degraded supply of gasoline, add the fact that Russia <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2025/02/04/after-losing-15000-vehicles-some-russian-troops-in-ukraine-are-riding-horses/">loses military vehicles</a> at the rate of 500 a month, to land mines and drone attacks in Ukraine. Maybe its just as well—there may not be gas to fill their tanks anyway.I seem to recall Jesus saying something about the cost of going to war. Best to understand what it will cost before attacking… but maybe Vladimir Putin skipped that part. Probably shouldn’t skip the important parts.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/waymo-teens-drinking-shooting-objects-san-mateo/4110140/">Number 3. NBC Bay Area. Teens in robotaxis have great fun shooting Orbeez pellets at strangers.</a>Speaking of shooting at strangers, these teenage boys in San Mateo, California, had the good sense to hire a Waymo driverless car when they decided to terrorize other drivers. The drinking that accompanied the shooting may have helped them enjoy the evening more—until Waymo brought the car to a stop amid armed police officers.Passersby observed the 14- and 15-year-old occupants shooting what looked like a real gun at other vehicles. (Just a guess here, but it is possible San Mateo-ites have never seen a real gun operate anyway, so they can probably be excused.) Said passersby called… somebody—the article is not clear who—and word got to Waymo operators.Waymo promptly turned on the camera and microphones that surveil their passengers and saw what appeared to be shooting from one of their cars.They called police, gave the address, and brought the vehicle to a stop remotely. Officers in tactical dress swarmed the vehicle and detained the two fun-loving kids for shooting harmless water pellets from an Orbeez toy gun.Naturally, the story has now turned to the ethics of a commercial driverless ride company watching live video feeds of their customers.Which seems to me a classic debate about treating the symptom rather than the problem. But after decades of ignoring the problem, maybe the symptom is all that is left.As for me, the next time I decide to shoot at another vehicle with a pellet gun, I’m definitely not using a Waymo. That would invade my right to privacy. Or something.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/ryanair-passenger-partially-sucked-window/">Number 2. The Gateway Pundit. Air passenger sucked out window — pulled back in by other travelers.</a>Ever since 1964, when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deseret.com/2008/12/31/20293997/strange-but-true-2-urban-legends-spawned-by-bond-film-debunked/">Goldfinger shot out a window</a> in business jet at 35,000 feet and caused passengers to be sucked out by the depressurization, this fate has been a traveler’s nightmare. The target on the bizjet, of course, was Bond. James Bond.Last week, it nearly happened for real on a Boeing 737 in Greece.The article indicates the aircraft suffered an “uncontained engine failure” resulting in exploding parts blowing out the passenger’s window. (Sort of sounds like one of Elon’s “rapid unscheduled disassemblies,” doesn’t it?) Oxygen masks deployed. The passenger, a 61-year-old male, was immediately pulled halfway out the window frame.Thinking quickly, his wife, who may have been unclear about the status of the life insurance policy, clung to his legs. With the help of other passengers, she was able to reel him back inside.The story raises a couple of questions: What did the aircraft maintenance log suggest about the possibility of an engine blowing up? Did the almost-catapulted man fail to listen to the safety lecture about wearing one’s seatbelt at all times? And importantly, will the wife now start coaching him on safety issues on all future flights?Very nearly the trip of a lifetime in Thessaloniki.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/europe/turkey-erdogan-nato-summit-gun-https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/europe/turkey-erdogan-nato-summit-gun-gift-intlgift-intl">Number 1. CNN. NATO conferees are gifted an unexpected firearm and ammunition</a>.The NATO summit held in Ankara adjourned last week. All the leaders went home with something of a surprise in their luggage. Turkish President Erdogan gave each of his counterparts a 1990s-era Turkish-made revolver in a custom gift display box. The firearms were chambered in .357 Magnum and came with 500 rounds of ammunition.Turkey is the third-largest exporter of firearms in the world, behind the U.S. and Italy. Their firearms manufacturing business is robust, featuring shotguns to rival other international high quality models. Names that some of you gun nuts <a target="_blank" href="https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/best-turkish-shotguns/">might recognize</a> are CZ, Weatherby, and Stoeger.On the subject of gun nuts, note that the photograph of the Turkish Gumusay .357 obviously shows a knock-off of the venerable Colt Python. The cylinder release and the distinctive ventilated top strap above the barrel are vintage Colt designs. I knew a guy who had one of those Pythons: 6-inch barrel, nickel plated, beautiful, well-balanced, smooth action and accurate (at least, when HE shot it). Unfortunately, he had sons who knew the value of the gun, so I could not persuade him to part with it.Luckily, all the NATO Important Persons were able to fly private (government) aircraft and thus avoid the embarrassment of trying to carry a .357 through a European airport. In addition, nearly all have made public promises to have the gun disabled or donated to a museum. In a few cases, they have absolutely assured the public the gun will NEVER be fired.I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald Trump would take the opportunity to build a pistol range under that new White House ballroom, where he could exercise his new Turkish Delight. A custom shoulder rig would fit nicely under his business suit. He could suggest a friendly shooting match at the next NATO summit, in the spirit of world peace.Wouldn’t that be a hoot?And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, July 17, 2026. My hip is recovering nicely from airplane-parts replacement, thank you for asking again, and that bothersome leukemia remains in remission. Forty-one months and counting.Now I am ready for the summer onslaught of family reunion, western vacation and maybe a high school reunion. Bring it on, ready or not.Have a good weekend! Get full access to The Alligator Blog at <a href="https://alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">alligatorpublishing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

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What is The Alligator News Roundup?: The Alligator News Roundup is a review of selected news items of the week with commentary, which some find sarcastic, dryly humorous and entertaining. <a href="https://alligatorpublishing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">alligatorpublishing.substack.com</a>
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
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Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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