Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Bringing human-like reasoning to driverless car navigation

With aims of bringing more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles, researchers have created a system that uses only simple maps and visual data to enable driverless cars to navigate routes in new, complex environments.

The Trump admin’s new charges against Julian Assange are a fundamental threat to press freedom in the 21st century

In a truly shocking development, Trump’s Justice Department has indicted WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange for publishing secret government documents under the Espionage Act of 1917.
The Espionage Act, originally intended for use against spies, has been wielded against as sources of journalists and whistleblowers in recent decades, but never a publisher. No matter your personal feelings about Assange, these new charges against him are unprecedented, terrifying, and strike at the heart of fundamental press freedom rights.

Freedom of the Press Foundation Executive Director Trevor Timm issued the following statement:

Put simply, these unprecedented charges against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks are the most significant and terrifying threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century. The Trump administration is moving to explicitly criminalize national security journalism, and if this prosecution proceeds, dozens of reporters at the New York Times, Washington Post and elsewhere would also be in danger. The ability of the press to publish facts the government would prefer remain secret is both critical to an informed public and a fundamental right. This decision by the Justice Department is a massive and unprecedented escalation in Trump’s war on journalism, and it’s no exaggeration to say the First Amendment itself is at risk. Anyone who cares about press freedom should immediately and wholeheartedly condemn these charges.

Freedom of the Press Foundation will have much more on this story as it develops.

Melting small glaciers could add 10 inches to sea levels

A new review of glacier research data paints a picture of a future planet with a lot less ice and a lot more water.

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Engineered bacteria could be missing link in energy storage

One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that's generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost. Engineered electroactive microbes could be part of the solution.

Raw Data: Cash Receipts for Farm Commodities

After doing the previous post I got curious about how much money American farmers are getting for their products. That is, flat cash receipts independent of any government aid. Here’s the answer: In short, soybean revenues were flat last year and will be down $3 billion this year. However, that’s made up for elsewhere. Total […]

‘Phenomenal’ 2,300-year-old #bark #shield found in #Leicestershire | #Science | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/23/2300-year-old-iron-age-bark-shield-leicestershire

#Archaeology #England #UK

Trump Announces New Plan to Retain the Farm Vote

We have a new one-year plan, comrades: The Trump administration rolled out a $16 billion aid package for the U.S. farm sector, which primarily will take the form of direct payments to farmers to offset losses resulting from the trade conflict with China….The program is a reprise of a similar initiative in 2018 which had […]

Dockworkers Show Us How Unions Can Be a Powerful Force Against Racism

This article is an adapted chapter from the book, Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2018).

From its inception in the 1930s, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), and particularly its San Francisco Bay Area chapter, Local 10, have preached and practiced racial equality. First, the union committed itself to equality by desegregating work gangs and openings its ranks to African Americans, whose numbers drastically increased during the World War II-induced Great Migration. In addition to working towards racial equality inside the ILWU, longshoremen and their leaders, in Local 10 and at the international level, participated in myriad intersectional social movements from the 1940s to the present. Thanks to this organizing, longshore workers and their union greatly contributed to the growth and success of social movements in a pivotal time in Bay Area, U.S. and world history.

Reductions in PM over decade has improved health; ozone pollution remains little changed

Fewer deaths and serious illnesses have occurred in the US over the past decade as a result of cleaner air, according to a new report focusing on the two most potent air pollutants: fine particle (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone (O3). However, these improvements are almost entirely due to reductions in PM2.5 pollution.

Some Kind of Nightmare announce summer tour

Eternally touring punks Some Kind of Nightmare are taking a few days off between the end of their winter/spring tour before starting their summer tour on May 26th.  They’ll be traveling the country through August 17th, so be sure to catch them if they are in your area. You will find the flyer for the […]

The post Some Kind of Nightmare announce summer tour appeared first on Dying Scene.

Separated by Design: How Some of America’s Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing

A dirt field overgrown with weeds is the incongruous entrance to one of America’s wealthiest towns, a short walk to a Rodeo Drive-like stretch replete with upscale stores such as Tiffany & Co. But this sad patch of land is also the physical manifestation of a broader turf war over what type of housing —and […]

#Humans causing shrinking of #nature as larger #animals die off | #Environment | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/23/humans-causing-shrinking-of-nature-as-larger-animals-die-off

#Ecology #Extinction #EndangeredSpecies #Biodiversity #Conservation

We Don't Need to 'Pause' Police Use of Face Recognition—We Need to Ban It Forever
https://gizmodo.com/we-dont-need-to-pause-police-use-of-face-recognition-we-1834958605 #privacy

Global temperature change attributable to external factors, new study confirms
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190522120501.htm #climatechange #climatecrisis

In an Odd Move, Trump Shifts His Banking Business to a Small Firm in Florida

With his relationship with Deutsche Bank under increasing scrutiny, President Donald Trump, in a move not previously reported, has recently shifted some of his banking business from this global institution to a small and relatively new bank in South Florida. As Democrats in Congress have requested information from Deutsche Bank about its dealings with Trump—the […]

A Bit More About China

I got a couple of interesting responses to my post yesterday suggesting that China is not a big threat. First this from reader DT, who objects to thinking of China as a single country with a fairly low per-capita GDP: The issue here is that China is essentially two separate countries: (1) a bunch of […]