Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Compost key to sequestering carbon in the soil

In a 19-year study, scientists dug roughly 6 feet down to compare soil carbon changes in different cropping systems. They found that compost is a key to storing carbon, a strategy for offsetting carbon dioxide emissions.

A society's cultural practices shape the structure of its social networks

Biologists used mathematical models to show that societies that favor generalists, who have a wide range of skills, are less well-connected than those societies that favor specialists, who are highly skilled at a smaller number of traits. The findings have implications for improving information flow and problem-solving in settings from business to academia.

Another reason not to use Skype

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/14/20805801/microsoft-privacy-policy-change-humans-listen-skype-cortana-voice-recording

Could Your Newsroom Use Help With Its Most Important Work?

by Bank Phrom on Unsplash

Freedom of the Press Foundation is expanding our technical efforts, and we want to work with you—and for you. Today we're opening a Call For Projects, to hear from interested journalistic organizations or individuals that could use a few months of outside technical help on a well-defined project that furthers press freedom or protects journalists and their sources.

We are especially looking for initiatives in any of the following areas:

censorship resistance
privacy
digital security
anonymity
government transparency and accountability

We plan to spend three-month cycles working directly with newsrooms, media organizations, independent journalists, documentary filmmakers, or other groups with a journalistic focus, on projects shaped in conjunction with those teams, with feedback from select Freedom of the Press Foundation staff and members of our board.

The projects we hope to identify with this new Call for Projects could include the development of prototyping tools for communicating with sources, for working with sensitive documents, or for exercising the public's right to know. We're open to assisting with technical research and planning, or with other projects with a technical dimension that aligns with our mission: to protect, defend, and empower public-interest journalism in the 21st century.

Even if your idea is not fully formed, we want to hear from you, and we can work with you or your organization to define the scope and goals that we will work towards over a three-month production cycle. If the proposed project is beyond the scope of this cycle, we may be able to work towards a proof-of-concept or a prototype of the final idea.

Our small special projects team has launched several initiatives—projects like online backups for news archives under threat of deletion, a Twitter bot that monitors media outlets for stories that rely on public records reporting, and a tool that automates FOIA requests for FBI Files of recently deceased public figures. Previously, Freedom of the Press Foundation has also created a website that automatically tracks how dozens of news outlets have deployed security features to protect readers’ privacy.

Now we want to focus our technical expertise directly on journalists or news organizations that need it. We aim to do so by helping to bridge the gap between exciting developments in the tech world and the reporters, whistleblowers, and readers who can benefit from them.

So please, if you've got an idea for a project, fill out our short Call for Projects form by Friday, August 30, and we'll be in touch about how we can work together.

For any other questions, please reach out to special-projects@freedom.press.

Here Are Five Lies About Iran That We Need to Refute to Stop Another Illegal War

The Trump administration is lying about Iran and its nuclear program. The media has to debunk this false drumbeat for war.

The post Here Are Five Lies About Iran That We Need to Refute to Stop Another Illegal War appeared first on The Intercept.

#Microplastics ‘significantly contaminating the #air’, scientists warn | #Environment | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/14/microplastics-found-at-profuse-levels-in-snow-from-arctic-to-alps-contamination

#Pollution #Plastics

Trump Backs Down on Chinese Tariffs

This headline probably deserves a Pulitzer prize: Wiping out America’s soybean farmers? Sure, not a problem. Increasing the price of Christmas gadgets a few percent? No can do. The political calculation here is pretty transparent. Trump figures that Midwest farmers are going to vote for him no matter what. What’s more, they can be bought […]

The Anthropocene Is a Joke https://prismo.xyz/posts/da6070d2-66ba-4a94-badd-972414566e84

A #purism community member, inspired by our #runsonlibrem5 campaign, has created their own "Ask me for any app and I will show it" https://forums.puri.sm/t/ask-me-any-app-i-will-show-it/6707 #librem5

Fracking prompts global spike in atmospheric methane, study suggests

As methane concentrations increase in the Earth's atmosphere, chemical fingerprints point to a probable source: shale oil and gas, according to new research.

Sunscreens release metals and nutrients into seawater

Beachgoers are becoming increasingly aware of the potentially harmful effects UV filters from sunscreens can have on coral and other marine organisms when the protective lotions wash off their bodies into the ocean. Now, researchers have studied how sunscreens release different compounds -- trace metals and inorganic nutrients -- into Mediterranean seawater, with unknown effects on marine ecology.

Clue: Jeffrey Epstein Edition

Was it the Clintons on the private island with the dagger? Or Trump in the White House with the candlestick?

How America Responded To This Mass Shooting Might Surprise You

(It will not surprise you.)

Air pollution can accelerate lung disease as much as a pack a day of cigarettes

Air pollution -- especially ozone air pollution which is increasing with climate change -- accelerates the progression of emphysema of the lung, according to a new study.

Arctic could be iceless in September if temps increase 2 degrees

Arctic sea ice could disappear completely through September each summer if average global temperatures increase by as little as 2 degrees, according to a new study.

If I can get 2,141 more subscribers on LBRY... I'll have the most subscribed to channel on LBRY. I just decided I want that.

Help me get there and I'll bring back #LinuxThursday. ;)

#Bribery #NotAboveIt #SanDimasHighSchoolFootballRules

https://open.lbry.com/@Lunduke#e

What Uber and the Koch Brothers Have in Common: A Plan to Destroy Public Transit

At first glance, the rideshare corporation Uber couldn’t appear more different than conservative oil-mogul billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch. Uber has hired numerous former Democratic Party campaign managers and lobbyists and the company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, has publicly criticized the Trump administration, including over the travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries. The Kochs, meanwhile, have gained a reputation for bankrolling the Republican Party.

9 Reasons LGBTQ Workers Need Federal Protections

Currently, there’s no federal law that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination at work. But this April, the Supreme Court agreed to hear three cases involving people who claim they were fired for being LGBTQ. Arguments are set to begin during the fall of this year, and decisions will likely be made next summer. The Court will decide whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, also includes gender identity and sexual orientation. If the plaintiffs win their cases, it could become illegal in all states to fire someone for identifying as LGBTQ.

But LGBTQ-identifying individuals who aren’t fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity may still face other types of discrimination at work. These nine statistics show just how far we still have to go to make workplaces accepting and supportive for LGBTQ folks.

46% - LGBTQ people who were closeted at work in the U.S. in 2018
22% - LGBTQ people who had experienced discrimination in pay or in consideration for a promotion
20% - LGBTQ people who had felt pressured by coworkers to dress more feminine or masculine
53% - LGBTQ people who had heard jokes about lesbian or gay people on the job
10% - LGBTQ people who had left a job because the workplace was not accepting of them
32% - LGBTQ people of color who had experienced discrimination when applying for jobs as of 2017
73 - Countries that protect workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation (the U.S. is not among them) 
26 - U.S. states that allow private employers to fire someone based on sexual orientation or gender identity
3 - States that explicitly ban local governments from passing nondiscrimination provisions: Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina