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Bluesky@bbdd333.bsky.social

Whoa, that escalated quickly. This just got sent out by the press folks at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC says it has decided that all foreign-made consumer-grade Internet routers are henceforth prohibited from receiving FCC authorization and are therefore prohibited from being imported for use or sale in the United States.

"Update Follows Determination by Executive Branch Agencies that Consumer-Grade Routers Produced in Foreign Countries Threaten National Security

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2026—Today, the Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries. Routers are the boxes in every home that connect computers, phones, and smart devices to the internet. This followed a determination by a White House-convened Executive Branch interagency body with appropriate national security expertise that such routers “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons.”

"The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.”

"This action does not affect any previously-purchased consumer-grade routers. Consumers can continue to use any router they have already lawfully purchased or acquired."

"Producers of consumer-grade routers that receive Conditional Approval from DoW or DHS can continue to receive FCC equipment authorizations. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit applications to [email protected]."

Not sure how many consumer-grade routers will be left for sale if it really is a ban on approvals for any foreign-made consumer routers like they said, and not just a bunch of already restricted Chinese makers like Huawei and ZTE.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-updates-covered-list-include-foreign-made-consumer-routers

FCC's "covered list" of "thou shalt not entities": https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist

Junior Marine’s antenna inventiveness keeps costs down and service members in contact

More than 100 3D-printed antenna masts have been produced since the design was developed, saving more than $600,000 and over 60 years in wait time.

Stars and Stripes
The Strait of Hormuz is open for transit

The Underwood Multi-tool (c. 1850)

Decades before the first Swiss Army knife (1891), London’s Underwood of Haymarket crafted this "harped" pocket kit. Designed for Victorian sportsmen, it features a hoof pick, saw, and corkscrew. A rare 19th-century masterpiece of portability.

By #SteampunkTendencies
#Architecture #Design #Style #Nature #Art #Artist #Photo #Photographer #Urbanism #City #Village #Staircases #History #Histoire #Abandoned #AbandonedPlaces

The hidden surveillance network sending Californians' license plates to Border Patrol

California residents are noticing new license plate readers that appear to be operated by the Border Patrol. Some have had confusing encounters with agents.

CalMatters
Fire monitoring cams are good for viewing the sunset, too. Off the coast of La Jolla, CA.

The lapse "resulted in NIST UTC [universal coordinated time] being 4.8 microseconds slower than it should have been," NIST spokesperson Rebecca Jacobson said in an email.

That's just under 5 millionths of a second.

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/21/nx-s1-5651317/colorado-us-official-time-microseconds-nist-clocks