Cyrus Hall

Glad you seem to be a-okay!

Short thread on the huge growth in passengers on local trains where I used to live (Ticino/north Lombardy). Does not include all the inter-city traffic. Love to see it.

Federal immigration ‘surge’ called off across greater Bay Area Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Friday that she was told that ICE and border patrol operations have called off across the Bay Area.

JUST IN: Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a press release on Friday that she has been told by Alameda County’s sheriff that ICE and border patrol operations have been called off for the rest of the Bay Area in addition to San Francisco.

missionlocal.org/2025/10/fede...

For the love of god, can we stop with this shit. Rather than working on all the things we need to as a society, we'd rather have a bad AI system bring paramilitarized police force down on a teenager eating Doritos.

Are undocumented immigrants responsible for higher crime rates? Here’s what studies show Many believe that undocumented immigrants — or immigrants overall — commit crimes at high rates. However, decades of crime data analysis and research show otherwise.

Many believe that undocumented immigrants — or immigrants overall — commit crimes at high rates. However, decades of crime data analysis and research show otherwise.

Live updates: Protests in Alameda where immigration agents expected President Trump deployed federal agents to Alameda ahead of what the Coast Guard said is a Bay Area-wide operation. Check back for updates.

LIVE UPDATES: Bay Area protesters arrived to Coast Guard Island in Alameda early Thursday morning.

That's where federal immigration agents are expected to land today before a regional operation.

missionlocal.org/2025/10/ice-...

It seems we've removed a vital part of the old process, and sold it as time savings. Instead we've just made more people spend more time. Actually, it's worse, as that mostly wont happen at all, and instead facts - statistically reproduced - will be freely mixed with mistakes and misinformation.

That isn't true with LLMs. There is no quality context except that of the immediate reader. Institutional and peer credentialing doesn't exist. External expertise can only be a guide if the reader has the money to hire it. This is a clear sign that cost has been externalized to the reader.

It's always been important to be skeptical when reading. That's not new. Authors aren't always trustworthy, editors are not infallible, mistakes are made regularly. Media literacy has been and remains vital. But expertise - both personal _and_ external - was a real guide.

The person who typed the prompt to generate the report likely just wanted to help, and believes they have saved a massive amount of time for everyone. Instead, they've increased the propagation incorrect information. Refutation becomes more labor intensive because there is more BS to wade through.

From a labor perspective, it's efficient to put the emphasis on fact checking before publication. With "deep research," every reader now has the joy of doing additional verification themselves.

And since the reader is far less likely to be an expert, that's a punishing assignment.

A clear example of this are "deep research" reports. These long, meandering, LLM generated documents demand the reader to double down on checking every reference and claim. This is verification that, historically, has partially rested on the writer, editor, and publisher of a work.

I'm taken by the idea that many uses of generative AI don't make work faster, they merely move the work to other people and systems, or generate new steps, steps that have perhaps not been figured out yet, or even conceived as necessary.

For SF peeps, you can find more information about the SF Rapid Response Network here:

www.sfrrn.org/index.html

Clipper 1.0 and 2.0 fare comparisons. With free transfers it goes down from $13.75 to $8.40

But far and away the most exciting part is the new free transfer scheme: an East Bay hiker traveling to Marin can save 40% off their fare compared to today!

Clipper 2.0 and Getting Outdoors - Streetsblog San Francisco Clipper upgrade launches December 10th. It'll make it easier and cheaper to take transit to the Bay Area's great parks and hiking trails

A short thread on Clipper 2.0 and why it's so exciting for recreational access!🧵

sf.streetsblog.org/2025/10/22/c...

Finally!

Clipper 2 is so important, as it will allow:

💵No-cost/reduced cost transfers between transit agencies
💳Ability to pay with credit cards or your phone
⏲️30 min grace period for BART excursion fares

Note that if you want Clipper 2 immediately you’ll need to contact Clipper in December:

Via @bayresistance.bsky.social, here’s what to do in case the San Francisco Bay Area gets invaded. Read, and pass it on:

www.bayresistance.org/get-ready

(The "skeet" is a bit ambiguously worded.)

Not seeing anything on news sites. Has Trump just decided to escalate and attempt to deploy?

This isn't even micro politics, it's nano politics, but Joe's Ice Cream protectionism is a whole vibe in D1 and, increasingly, D4. I await the expansion of Joe's Ice Cream protectionism to D2.

AAA: Nighttime Safety Improved with Pedestrian Detection Effective Rates Rising from 0% to 60% Media B-Roll ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2025) – AAA evaluated vehicles equipped with pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) systems, building on

New AAA study finds that pedestrian detection systems are only 60% effective at night (which is when most pedestrians are struck).

Lesson: Car tech will not "solve" the crisis in US pedestrian safety. Addressing car bloat, deadly street design, etc is also necessary.

Trump claims ‘unquestioned power’ to deploy troops to San Francisco under Insurrection Act President Trump said he has “unquestioned power” under the Insurrection Act to deploy the National Guard and indicated San Francisco will be the next city to face federal intervention.

There isn't a single relevant quote from Mayor Lurie in this article about San Francisco being the next target of federal troops. If he can't find a new strategy soon, his numbers are going to tank. You don't get to remain silent when the troops arrive.

New Orleans May Hand Its Police Live Facial Recognition Tech. Critics Warn It’ll Help ICE. The city says it won’t lend this tool to ICE for surveillance. But a state law requires that local officials assist ICE, and New Orleans also wants to end a court order restricting compliance.

Experts say the only real way to prevent ICE from accessing sensitive data is for local law enforcement to forgo collecting it in the first place.

YouTube video by CHEZAME HISS VS HEARTZEL | Flip | #bbu22 1/4 Finals

For something entirely different, it's time for Hiss's quarterfinal round in the Beatbox Unites Online Battle from 2022.

I helped with traffic control for today's No Kings, and the crowd felt endless! Beautiful weather, beautiful turnout! We should all get together and do this more often.

In which three police arrest a plastic phallus to protect the community.

Monorail has redeemed itself.

Imagine your job is political analysis, you've been alive for 50 full years, and you think Sliwa, who sounded like a fool who can't control himself, won.

Great people you are finding here, NYT.

I mean, to Mike Johnson and the modern GOP, the values of the United States are totalitarianism, an all-powerful strongman leader, ignorance, bigotry, bullying, and sneering cruelty. I do hate those things, and I hate the people who embrace them, so I guess I hate their America.