Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

If journalists cared about protecting democracy, they would be campaigning -- yes, in their news pages -- for free and fair elections.

Apparently that's too "partisan" for people whose fetish for balance has led them to help democracy's enemies.

So please read and pass around this piece from @marcelias, someone who cares passionately and is doing his best.

https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/when-trump-attacks-our-elections-we-will-have-no-excuse/

In my home-away-from-home of Nepal, it is customary to give gifts to others on your birthday, rather than to receive them. In that spirit, I gift to all my #FediFriends this one-player card game that you can print out and play. It's about finding homes for animals in different biomes, using the power of evolution to overcome ecosystem constraints. Personally, I think it's pretty fun. Instructions and cards are here (let me know if anything is unclear or confusing):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1k58Ht13oUF6pnFquDIGVY8IZ0cwzsEk8?usp=sharing

Today's must read 👇

The Unlearning Of Empathy

https://indi.ca/the-unlearning-of-empathy/

#RenewableEnergy passes 30% of #world’s #Electricity supply | Renewable energy | The Guardian

The pressure must remain to keep it going up.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/08/renewable-energy-passes-30-of-worlds-electricity-supply

#Environment #Renewables

It may only be mid-spring but right now although little #electricity is being generated by #wind (2.5 GW or 7.8% of #UK demand) a very healthy 8.6 GW or 26.6% is being met by #SolarEnergy. #Gas is down at 5.7 GW or 17.6%.

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

#Environment #RenewableEnergy #Renewables #FossilFuels

Novel Attack Against Virtually All VPN Apps Neuters Their Entire Purpose

" . . Neuters Their Entire Purpose"

Researchers have discovered a new attack that can force VPN applications to route traffic outside the encrypted tunnel, thereby exposing the user's traffic to potential snooping or manipulation.

This vulnerability, named TunnelVision, is found in almost all VPNs on non-Linux and non-Android systems.

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/05/07/0140212/novel-attack-against-virtually-all-vpn-apps-neuters-their-entire-purpose

Science finally catching up with what I've been raving about for years.

From the article:

"At $190 a ton, the utility industry averaged damages more than twice its profits. Materials manufacturing, energy and transportation industries all had average damages that exceeded their profits."

There is no profit when we account for negative externalities -- all of capitalism is premised on an accounting lie that doesn't work if, you know, we *actually account* for the pollution. Capitalist economics have always been premised on destroying our biosphere for free.

If you can't destroy the biosphere by using it as your own free cesspool -- you can't profit.

It's fucking physics. Balance the equations.

#climate #ClimateCrisis #Accounting #economics

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-carbon-corporations-damage-pollution-9cb9e7c9feb2a68cb6dc0ae99c5e943a

The move to permanently soldered laptop RAM had significant power saving implications, but removed important flexibility. Now there's a new RAM in town. https://www.ifixit.com/News/95078/lpcamm2-memory-is-finally-here

I will be at the Computer History Museum on May 16th, talking about digital privacy, security, and Big Data with the folks from PBS' NOVA.

https://computerhistory.org/events/nova-secrets-in-your-data

My cartoon on Gaza for In These Times magazine.

To all student protestors: we stand with you!

Email us at joey@pmpress.org if you want PM Press books at your encampment. 🇵🇸

Important security update for GLib and D-Bus, thanks to @pwithnall

https://discourse.gnome.org/t/security-fixes-for-signal-handling-in-gdbus-in-glib/20882

If you are a downstream distributor of GLib, GTK, or GNOME-related projects, remember to follow the distributor tag on Discourse.

#glib #security

When a website popup notifies you of an "updated" privacy policy, it is ALWAYS a further assault on your privacy.

I wonder how many people who professional shill/hawk 'AI' (really just large language models or a 'souped up predictive text' service) think they're making the world better with their efforts?

This classic xkcd (original: https://xkcd.com/1287/) about sums up what it looks like to me when I see arguments between proponents of #anarchism (a political philosophy I endorse) and proponents of #VoteBlue (a political tactic I endorse).

BREAKING: #Boston area high school students have engaged in a coordinated walkout and are blocking Mass Ave outside #MIT

Some scenes from the MIT Kresge encampment today. after President Sally Kornbluth sent a campus-wide email threatening to suspend students who didn't vacate by 14:30 ET

#boston #palestine #protest #news #photography

Jess Piper reports – from the ground in rural Missouri and Arkansas – about how, since it knows it cannot win fair and square, the Republican party is resorting to tricks, subterfuge, and outright lies to try to impose its minority position on abortion on the majority who believe that abortion should not be made illegal.

She recently went to a Democratic rally in Arkansas, and encountered a woman handing out cards with QR code.

#abortion #Republicans
/1

https://jesspiper.substack.com/p/if-the-gop-cant-keep-voters-from

Scientists create #vaccine with potential to protect against future #coronaviruses - https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/06/scientists-create-vaccine-potential-protect-against-future-coronaviruses "Researchers say experimental shot is step towards goal of creating vaccines before a pandemic has started" urgently needed... #vax

The top editor of the New York Times makes clear that his newsroom won't take a stand on the increasingly likely end of democracy in America.

I'm sick to my stomach as I read this, but I think everyone should see what cowards we have running our most important media organizations.

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/05/2024/joe-kahn-the-newsroom-is-not-a-safe-space