Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Six Years Ago, I Accidentally Started a Viral Rumor About “Friends of Hamas.” It’s Back.

In 2013, I accidentally started a rumor involving Hamas and the Obama administration. Six years later, a version of the rumor is back in the right-wing media. It began after I’d heard scuttlebutt on Capitol Hill that Chuck Hagel, who had recently been nominated by President Barack Obama as defense secretary, might have given paid […]

Kamala Harris Has Teamed up With AOC to Convince Voters She’s a Progressive

On Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are introducing a bill that would help formerly incarcerated people secure government housing assistance.  “Too many people become involved in our criminal justice system and serve their time only to return home to face additional barriers to employment, education, and housing,” said Harris in […]

The Democratic Grandmasters At Work

Not doing anything to stop Trump is just smart strategy!

Truth in Advertising

They can now send you to jail in Mississippi for calling a veggie burger a “burger.”

Back to the Land

How “re-wilding” can help turn the tide of climate change.

A Federal Court Appears Ready to Buy the GOP’s Argument to Kill Obamacare

The fate of the Affordable Care Act remains uncertain following a hearing about the law at a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The hearing concerned a lawsuit originally filed by Republican state attorneys general in a Texas district court in 2018, which alleges that the entirety of Obamacare should be invalidated because Congress used […]

Ranked Choice Voting Is On a Roll: 6 States Have Opted In for the 2020 Democratic Primary

The 2020 Democratic presidential primary is shaping up to be an all-out brawl for the nomination. With multiple candidates boasting impressive fundraising hauls, and momentum seemingly shifting week to week, it’s unclear if any Democrat will rise as the consensus nominee. And as a number of campaigns are being fueled by small-donor contributions, candidates have little incentive to drop out of the race, no matter their standing in the polls.   

That’s a recipe for tumult, division and a plurality nominee, potentially pushing Democrats into the same position as Republicans in 2016—led by a standard-bearer who couldn’t command majority support in his own party.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to solve this problem, and a number of states are already taking dramatic action that could change the very nature of our elections. 

Six states plan to use ranked choice voting (RCV) for their 2020 Democratic primaries or caucuses, including for all early voters in Iowa and Nevada, and all voters in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas and Wyoming. These states will adapt RCV to Democratic Party rules—last-place candidates will be eliminated and backers of those candidates will have their vote count toward their next choice until all remaining candidates are above the 15 percent vote threshold to win delegates.

State parties made this change because they realize allowing voters to rank their choices—especially in a crowded field that includes many experienced and well-funded candidates—makes everyone’s vote more powerful. RCV has the additional advantage of putting an end to vote splitting, the problem of “spoilers” and even the possibility of a nominee who lacks majority support inside the party. 

It’s a bold move, and it comes at a time when many presidential candidates including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bennet, William Weld, Andrew Yang, Seth Moulton and Beto O’Rourke have indicated they support RCV. 

In 2017 and 2018, Maine voters passed and affirmed ranked choice voting in trailblazing ballot measures. RCV saw its first use in gubernatorial primaries last spring and in fall congressional races. It made an immediate impact.  

In Maine’s 2nd District, incumbent GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin finished the first round with a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Jared Golden—but far short of the 50 percent necessary to win. Poliquin earned 46.4 percent, compared to 45.5 percent for Golden. Two independents split the remaining—and decisive—8 percent. Second-place votes broke toward Golden and in the end, he defeated Poliquin by less than 3,000 votes.

In June, after seeing RCV in action, both chambers of the state legislature approved a reform that could begin a political transformation. The state House and Senate overwhelmingly adopted ranked choice voting for presidential general elections as well. A procedural issue has so far kept the bill from reaching Gov. Janet Mills, but that still can happen in the coming months. 

What would RCV on the presidential level mean in action? Americans could have the power to rank their candidate preferences in order, and no longer would voters have to settle for the “lesser of two evils,” or complain that a third-party candidate was some kind of spoiler. 

Far more Americans cast votes for president in the November general election than in party primaries. So why shouldn’t general elections allow Americans the broadest possible choice? 

Maine is pointing the way toward an entirely different future. During the controversial 2000 and 2016 presidential elections, third-party candidates have represented the Greens and Libertarians, and much of the conversation has been angry and accusatory. Supporters of third-party candidates have been blamed for electing the major party candidate they liked least—i.e. George W. Bush and Donald Trump. 

Add RCV to the equation, however, and it’s an entirely different conversation. Voters of these third parties would be welcomed rather than alienated. RCV simulates an instant runoff if no candidate reaches 50 percent of the vote, so if a third-party candidate finishes out of the running, those votes are reallocated to second choices, ending any spoiler effect.

But more importantly, it’s easy to imagine how Americans might get to choose from a rich bounty of perspectives in a presidential election—and with RCV, voters would be able to magnify their vote and their voice at precisely the moment when most Americans go to the polls. 

Two of our last five presidents have taken office without winning the popular vote. Four of the last seven elected presidents have failed to earn a plurality. That’s a key reason why our politics remains so polarized and divisive even after an election. 

Let’s embrace choice, fairness and a truly representative democracy in which the majority really rules. Maine has led the way, and now we’re seeing a slew of states stepping up in the 2020 presidential race. We shouldn’t be stuck choosing the lesser of two evils. Our political debate shouldn’t be stuck in the same frustrating partisan quicksand, or the same angry dismissals of candidates and voters who dare stand outside the conventional two-party process. 

Trust voters. Trust democracy. It shouldn’t be that complicated. And the growing momentum behind RCV makes all of this a real possibility. 

Device could bring both #SolarPower and clean #water to millions | #Science | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/09/device-bring-both-solar-power-clean-water-to-millions

#Engineering #Technology #RenewableEnergy #Renewables

New antibiotics developed

Not only are they effective against Gram-positive and negative multi-resistant bacteria, they also appear not to trigger resistance when used to treat infection in mice. Such are the promises of the two new antibiotics.

New high-definition satellite radar can detect bridges at risk of collapse from space

An early warning system to identify at-risk structures using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been developed. The system could be applied to infrastructure projects including roads, railways and building developments at lower cost and greater accuracy than existing techniques.

France’s record-breaking heatwave made ‘at least five times’ more likely by climate change https://prismo.xyz/posts/1420c540-a16a-4ea2-ac34-8d2850981e77

In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, a Showdown Over Amazon Rainforest https://prismo.xyz/posts/ee292a83-766a-452b-adb4-7ac0caa020f2

Drinking Matcha tea can reduce anxiety

Using the 'elevated plus maze' test with mice, researchers have shown that Matcha green tea can reduce anxiety. Their experiments revealed that Matcha's anxiolytic effects are due to the activation of dopamine D1 receptors and certain serotonin receptors. The researchers suggest that adding a little Matcha tea to your diet may improve your health.

New antibacterial fillings may combat recurring tooth decay

A new study finds potent antibacterial capabilities in novel dental restoratives, or filling materials.

Jewish Youth Say “Never Again” As They Protest Trump’s Concentration Camps

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY—Planes on their way to the airport fly low over a crowd of young protesters chanting “Racist ICE has got to go!” More than 100 Jewish and immigrant activists have gathered outside the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center in New Jersey, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds approximately 300 detainees.

Rabbi Salem Pearce leads the protesters in the Mourner’s Kaddish, a Jewish prayer of mourning, for six immigrant children who have died in U.S. government custody.

“There are more who are not named,” she says. “There will be more.”

Periodically, the sound of a shofar horn rises above the chanting. The bugle-like instrument, traditionally made of a ram’s horn, is blown on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement that follows. By sounding it at the protest, “it’s like we’re collectively repenting for the sins of America,” explains Julia Davidovitz, a 26-year-old preschool teacher from Boston and the descendent of Jewish refugees. Her grandfather was incarcerated by the Nazis in the Minsk Ghetto, where he lost his parents and two sisters.

Down the road, a group of activists with a banner that reads “Never Again Means Close the Camps” links arms across the gate to the employee parking lot, briefly blocking employees from leaving as they demand the facility be shut down. Later in the evening, 36 protesters are arrested. 

The protest marked the beginning of two weeks of action organized by an unofficial coalition of Jewish and immigrant activists demanding an end to the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Their message: that “Never Again”—an expression used in remembrance of the Holocaust—means never again for anyone.

Many of the protesters say they’re doing what they wish non-Jewish Germans and other Europeans had done in the years leading up to the Holocaust: Speak up before it’s too late. “We don't want to see what happens next, in terms of where this could go,” says Michaela Caplan, 23, a recent college graduate who was arrested in Elizabeth. Her grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor.

“We’re not just talking about what’s going on at the border,” adds Caplan. “This is happening in everyone’s backyard, in their own communities, that people are being terrorized. There are 11 million undocumented people in this country living in fear.”

Though they gathered outside of ICE detention centers, the activists are protesting the entire U.S. immigration and deportation regime. That regime has long included detention centers, but critics say it has escalated in cruelty since Donald Trump took office. Trump made immigration a signature issue on the campaign trail, often using racist terms to refer to undocumented immigrants, particularly those from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. His administration has made it more difficult to cross the border and increased arrests and deportations of immigrants already in the country. ICE arrests increased 30 percent from 2016 to 2017, and 11 percent from 2017 to 2018.

After the demonstration in Elizabeth, activists organized similar actions in Boston, Providence, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago.

The protests mark an inflection point in an ongoing debate over American Jewish collective identity. On June 17, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set off a political firestorm when she said on Instagram “the United States is running concentration camps on our southern border.” Her comments were quickly denounced by Republican lawmakers as well as several prominent Jewish institutions. Leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, which claims to represent “New York’s diverse Jewish community,” wrote in an open letter, “the regrettable use of Holocaust terminology to describe these contemporary concerns diminishes the evil intent of the Nazis to eradicate the Jewish people.” The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum put out a statement “unequivocally reject[ing] efforts to create analogies between the Holocaust and other events.”

But Irene Lehrer Sandalow, a board member of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs who attended the Chicago protest, sees direct parallels to history: “I’m here because I’m a grandchild of a Holocaust survivor and I’m an immigrant myself, from Belgium. We grew up talking about how we never want to see this happening again, and it’s happening right now. I see children this age”—she gestures to her young son—"in camps.”

Miles Meth, a 25-year-old union organizer and the grandchild of two Holocaust survivors, says the words “Never Again” were a refrain in his youth. He doesn’t believe the collective trauma of the Holocaust should be off-limits for historical comparison.

“One of the facets of anti-Semitism is that it separates Jews from other people,” he says. “It’s important to recognize when we have the opportunity to be in solidarity with other people.”

Meth helped coordinate the Boston action along with other Jewish activists and members of Movimiento Cosecha, a direct action organization dedicated to protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Sarah Gratz, 21, who was among those arrested in Elizabeth, believes the backlash over the use of “Holocaust” is a distraction. “Have we not learned anything?” she says. “It’s not about the words. It’s about seeing that the conditions of these people are due to the same hateful, racist and ignorant ideologies that caused these same things to happen to our grandparents and great-grandparents.”

Two days after the arrests in Elizabeth, protesters gathered in Boston at the New England Holocaust Memorial and marched three miles through rush-hour traffic. The crowd swelled to more than a thousand as it moved through the streets, ending outside the Suffolk County House of Correction, where detainees flashed signs in the windows reading “help” and “we love you.” 18 protesters were arrested.

Journalist Britni de la Cretaz brought her 5 year-old daughter to the Boston march to teach her about political action and help foster a sense of community. “She would talk to the people marching with us, and say, ‘I’m Jewish,’” says de la Cretaz. “And they would say, ‘So am I.’ On the way home, she said, ‘You’re right, mom, this is what Jews do.’” 

“My Judaism above all is about liberation,” de la Cretaz says.

Annie Attie contributed reporting from Chicago.

Blue light at night increases the consumption of sweets in rats

A new study demonstrates that just one hour of exposure to blue light at night -- the kind of light produced by the screens of our many devices -- raises blood sugar levels and increases sugar consumption in male rats.

ICE Just Quietly Opened Three New Detention Centers, Flouting Congress’ Limits

When members of Congress reached a bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown in February, they gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement a simple instruction: Stop detaining so many people. Instead, ICE pushed its detention population to an all-time high of 54,000 people, up from about 34,000 on an average day in 2016 and well above […]

Antillectual release video for “If You’re Not Outraged”

Dutch punk band Antillectual have released a video for their new single, “If You’re Not Outraged.” You can check it out below. Antillectual’s last release was a cover of The Police’s “Truth Hits Everybody” in March 2019.

The post Antillectual release video for “If You’re Not Outraged” appeared first on Dying Scene.

Breaching a 'carbon threshold' could lead to mass extinction

Carbon dioxide emissions may trigger a reflex in the carbon cycle, with devastating consequences, study finds.