Embodies both their chief executive and party as a whole. [Aloud:] A whole.

Automobile Manufacturers Now Collecting Vast Quantities of Personal Data
American Thinker | 9 Sep, 2023 | Eric Utter

More than half of the brands reviewed said they can share data with government when requested, without receiving a court order.

According to a new report published by the Mozilla Foundation, an American non-profit organization, automobile manufacturers are collecting vast quantities of data on drivers and passengers, with some even tracking drivers’—and passengers’— sexual activity.

Mozilla reviewed 25 automotive brands amongst 15 car companies. The results could be shocking to many. German manufacturer Volkswagen said it could record drivers’ voices to profile them for targeted ads. More than half of the brands said they can share data with government and law enforcement when requested, without receiving a court order. Moreover, the report stated that Subaru insisted the very fact of being a passenger in one of its cars implies consent to its privacy policy!

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan even said it could sell information about drivers and passengers’ sexual activity, intelligence, and health diagnosis to data brokers, law enforcement agencies, and other companies.

Jen Caltrider, lead researcher at Mozilla Foundation (incidentally, the nonprofit owner of the company running the Firefox Browser), said:

The amount of data that these car companies blatantly said that they could collect was shocking. It’s like nobody’s ever challenged them or asked them questions about privacy, and so they just include everything.

…. They found that the industry hoovered up massive amounts of data through dozens of sensors and technology built into newer car models that calculate people’s weight as they sit down, filmed the car inside and outside with cameras, listened to conversations through microphones and tracked users via connected apps on smartphones.

Question 2: I’m Distracted — What Is on His Butt, and Hers?

I’d certainly stream a movie about how a lighthouse-keeper captured a marauding desperado.

“Hey, you! Climb up here and say that!”

Per “The Spun”:

Meet The Clemson Cheerleader Standing Out Against Duke Tonight

Whoops. On my computer, it appears that the link to the sorority pictures has been disconnected. Oh well, their prerogative. They’re there at the link, if you want to see them.

Human and Ape Ancestors Arose in Europe, Not in Africa, Controversial Study Claims
Live Science | late August 2023 | Charles Q. Choi

A newly described fossil suggests that the ancestor of humans and apes arose in Europe, not in Africa…

In the new study, the researchers analyzed a newly identified ape fossil from the 8.7 million-year-old site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia. They dubbed the species Anadoluvius turkae. “Anadolu” is the modern Turkish word for Anatolia, and “turk” refers to Turkey.

The fossil suggests that A. turkae likely weighed about 110 to 130 pounds (50 to 60 kilograms), or about the weight of a large male chimpanzee.

Based on the fossils of other animals found alongside it — such as giraffes, warthogs, rhinos, antelope, zebras, elephants, porcupines and hyenas — as well as other geological evidence, the researchers suggest that the newfound ape lived in a dry forest, more like where the early humans in Africa may have dwelled, rather than in the forest settings of modern great apes. A. turkae’s powerful jaws and large, thickly enameled teeth suggest that it may have dined on hard or tough foods such as roots, so A. turkae likely spent a great deal of time on the ground.

In the new study, the scientists focused on a well-preserved partial skull uncovered at the site in 2015. This fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the braincase, the area where the brain sat — features that helped the team calculate evolutionary relationships…

The researchers suggest that A. turkae and other fossil apes from nearby areas, such as Ouranopithecus in Greece and Turkey and Graecopithecus in Bulgaria, formed a group of early hominines. This may, in turn, suggest that the earliest hominines arose in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Specifically, the team contends that ancient Balkan and Anatolian apes evolved from ancestors in Western and Central Europe.

“Hominines”? What’s wrong with “Hominids”? That’s a new one on me. Granted, I haven’t been following the science that closely…

But if I ever go into the Witness Protection Program, I’m bringing the name “Charles Q. Choi” with me.