Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

'Loser effect' evolves separate from fighting ability in animals

The 'loser effect' -- which causes animals to shy away from violence after losing a fight -- evolves independently of any change in fighting ability, new research suggests.

Does being seen really make cyclists safer on the road?

Researchers have determined motorists tended to give cyclists wearing high-visibility vests more room on the road, compared to cyclists without high-visibility clothing. The vests, with arrows directing traffic away from pedestrians and cyclists, have shown to reduce the number of traffic accidents involving these groups.

A source that claims someone "ripped," "demolished," "destroyed,"...or so on...someone else on Twitter is full of shit.

Hyperbole for clicks is tabloid bullshit & should inform you of the quality of reporting. Not the important stuff, just the easiest, lazy crap...social media.

Paying Disrespects

The Supreme Court allows Indiana to require burial of fetal remains, but not ban certain abortions.

Louvre Workers Strike, Citing 'Unprecedented Deterioration' Amid Crowds : NPR - https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727592823/the-louvre-is-suffocating-museum-closed-as-workers-strike-citing-overcrowding

Raw Data: The US Trade Deficit With China

Just in case you’re wondering, here is our total trade deficit with China over the past couple of decades, shown as a percentage of GDP: Our trade deficit with China more than doubled between 2002 and 2007, but that was it. Since then it’s been dead flat. In 2018 it amounted to $380 billion.

A warming Arctic produces weather extremes in our latitudes

Atmospheric researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have now developed a climate model that can accurately depict the frequently observed winding course of the jet stream, a major air current over the Northern Hemisphere.

New cable-free brain imaging method may take social neuroscience to the next level

Researchers developed a cable-free recording method that can measure brain activity associated with social behavior in mice. The method was based on a bioluminescent indicator of membrane voltage called 'LOTUS-V', which was delivered to cells via a gene expression system; it is therefore minimally invasive. LOTUS-V enabled cable-free detection of brain activity in freely moving mice. Activation in the primary visual cortex was found during social interaction.

Structure of a 'master switch' controlling cell division

Unregulated cell division is a hallmark of cancer, and one of the key proteins involved in controlling cell division is called FoxM1. Abnormal activation of FoxM1 is a common feature of cancer cells and is correlated with poor prognosis, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy. Now researchers have determined the structure of this protein -- a kind of 'master switch' for cell division -- in its inactive or 'off' conformation.

New mutations for herbicide resistance rarer than expected

New evidence suggests that herbicide resistance in weeds is more likely to occur from pre-existing genetic variation than from new mutations.

Chart of the Day: Here’s What Corporations Did With Their Tax Cut

The Congressional Research Service has analyzed the 2017 Republican tax bill and concluded that it had no noticeable effect on GDP, consumption, domestic investment, or wages. But wait! What about the reinvestment of overseas profits, which the act allowed companies to repatriate at a low tax rate? One of the major sources of anticipated increased […]

Scapegoating George Soros: How media-savvy far-right activists spread lies https://prismo.xyz/posts/3b5ac4c1-3826-4b59-b5b3-c8815a6de117

China succeeds in greening its economy not because, but in spite of, its authoritarian government https://prismo.xyz/posts/74f3aff2-9d67-499c-b671-75e7a486a32d

You get annoyed by having to enter your #Mastodon handle each time you want to follow/interact with someone on a "foreign" page?

I got that too, but I've made a little add-on to solve this "problem". 😃

It automatically "redirects" you to your own instance.

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/mastodon-simplified-federation/?src=external-mastodon

#Firefox #addon #Fediverse @switchingsocial

Study of northern Alaska could rewrite Arctic history

New research on the North Slope of Alaska could help revise predictions about the Arctic's oil, gas and mineral wealth.

Raw Data: Mass Incarceration and the 1994 Crime Bill

Via the National Academies of Sciences, here is our best estimate of the historical incarceration rate in America: As you can see, the 1994 crime bill had no effect on this trend. Incarceration rates started skyrocketing in the late 70s as a response to rising crime rates, and after the crime bill passed the increase […]

D.R.I. announce fall and winter U.S. tour dates

Crossover thrash icons D.R.I. have announced a three-month long U.S. tour, which begins in September and includes stops around the Great Lakes, West Coast and Gulf Coast areas of the continent. All the dates are below. D.R.I. last released the EP But Wait…There’s More! in 2016 via Beer City Records. They have reportedly been working on […]

The post D.R.I. announce fall and winter U.S. tour dates appeared first on Dying Scene.

Milo Aukerman hopes Descendents will record new music later this year

In a recent interview with Kerrang!, Descendents frontman Milo Aukerman confirmed that they are indeed writing new material for the band’s follow-up to 2016’s Hypercaffium Spazzinate. He’s quoted as saying: “We’re currently writing. We tend to write a variety of stuff, which for me personally tends to range from love songs to hyper-fast songs about coffee, which […]

The post Milo Aukerman hopes Descendents will record new music later this year appeared first on Dying Scene.

Unanswered questions on the San Francisco police raid of a journalist’s home

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott finally apologized late last week for his police department’s outrageous raid of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody’s home.

The case drew national attention for the egregious press freedom violations permitted by the city of San Francisco, and because it seems that both the police and the judges who approved of the warrant for the raid apparently ignored the explicit language of California’s journalist shield law. For two weeks, Scott had been defending his department’s actions and had even accused Carmody of potentially engaging in criminal conduct for doing his job as a journalist.  

But in an about-face on Friday, Scott told the San Francisco Chronicle that, “I’m sorry that this happened. I’m sorry to the people of San Francisco. I’m sorry to the mayor.”

Scott also said he conducted a “top-to-bottom” review of the incident and that he was “specifically concerned by a lack of due diligence by department investigators in seeking search warrants and appropriately addressing Mr. Carmody’s status as a member of the news media.” He added: “This has raised important questions about our handling of this case and whether the California shield law was violated.”

Scott’s apology is welcome, but there are still many questions that have been left unanswered while a legal challenge to the warrant served on Carmody’s home is ongoing. Important questions have been brought up by the First Amendment Coalition’s David Snyder, Gabe Rothman at Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and even the San Francisco police union, which has called on Scott to resign over the incident.

Did Scott conceal that he knew Carmody was a journalist to the police officers who drew up the warrant application, like the police union alleges?

Were the judges who signed off on the warrant made aware of Carmody’s status as a journalist?

Did the police department purposefully conceal Carmody’s profession to the judges?

Did the judges authorize the search warrants even though they knew Carmody was a journalist, which would be in violation of the law?

Why did the FBI attempt to conduct an interview of Carmody after his house had been raided?

Why was the FBI involved in this case at all, since it dealt with a local matter?

Did the FBI follow its own guidelines involving an investigation into a member of the media?

Did the FBI gain access to Carmody’s equipment following its seizure and if so, did they search it, too?

Will anyone face consequences or accountability for this blatant violation of California’s journalist shield law?

Scott’s decision to finally apologize for this incident should be seen as a good development, but it does not resolve the underlying issues. The “top-to-bottom” review he said he conducted should be expanded into a full-scale an independent investigation of his own role in the case, as well as what roles the police department, judges and even local politicians took in precipitating the raid. When the findings in those investigations and the search warrant itself are unsealed, we’ll know a little more about how the city of San Francisco failed to protect core press freedom rights afforded to all those who engage in journalism.

Moron Kicked Out of Office in Texas

Remember that story from a few months ago about the Great Immigrant Voter Hunt in Texas? Today brings a smidgen of good news on that front: Texas’s acting secretary of state, David Whitley (R), resigned Monday just months after leading the botched voter purge of nearly 100,000 suspected noncitizens that erroneously also targeted U.S. citizens, […]