Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Europe’s two-faced authoritarian right: ‘anti-elite’ parties serving big business interests | Corporate Europe Observatory https://prismo.xyz/posts/feda9445-8031-47cb-9f9c-967121fc3c27

#Tree #planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle #ClimateCrisis | #Environment | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions

#GlobalWarming #ClimateChange

Capitalism in Trouble When Companies Drain Value From Economy - Bloomberg https://prismo.xyz/posts/9f805d4a-3c97-40c8-b626-429461055897

Fourth of July Fireworks Alternatives

Some celebration substitutes.

Victory: Somerville, Massachusetts Stands Up to Stop Face Surveillance

The city council of Somerville, Massachusetts voted unanimously last week to become the first city on the East Coast to ban government face surveillance. It is encouraging to see cities across the country take this proactive step in anticipating the surveillance problems on the horizon and head them off in advance. This is far easier than trying to put the proverbial genie back in the bottle after it causes harm.

“In Somerville we take fairness, justice, and individual liberties seriously,” Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone tweeted after signing the ordinance, which was introduced by Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen. “Facial recognition software automates civil rights abuses and extends (and somewhat corporatizes) a pervasive surveillance state.”

Face recognition technology can be used for identifying or verifying the identity of an individual using photos or video. Government can even conduct dragnet, real-time face surveillance of entire neighborhoods. Face recognition technology is also prone to error, implicating people for crimes they haven’t committed.

In addition to banning government face surveillance in its own city, the Somerville city council has also endorsed a pair of bills that would place a moratorium on face surveillance across Massachusetts.

Take Action

Tell your legislators to press the pause button on face surveillance

Polling from the ACLU of Massachusetts has more than three-quarters—79 percent—of likely Massachusetts voters supporting a statewide moratorium.

Local governments lead the way in taking on the threat that face surveillance poses to our communities. San Francisco in May became the first city in the country to ban government face surveillance and also ensure a more informed and democratic process before the San Francisco Police Department and other city agencies may acquire other kinds of surveillance technologies.

Other lawmakers should take note. Governments should immediately stop use of face surveillance in our communities, given what researchers at MIT’s Media Lab and others have said about its high error rates—particularly for women and people of color. But even if manufacturers someday mitigate these risks, government use of face recognition technology will still threaten safety and privacy, amplify discrimination in our criminal justice system, and chill every resident’s free speech.

Massachusetts, tell your lawmakers: it’s time to hit the pause button on face surveillance.

Census Citizenship Question Back in Limbo

Sigh: A day after pledging that the 2020 census would not ask respondents about their citizenship, the Justice Department reversed course on Wednesday and said it was hunting for a way to restore the question on orders from President Trump. Officials told a federal judge in Maryland that they thought there would be a way […]

15 years ago, EFF's @doctorow told Microsoft:

1. That DRM systems don't work

2. That DRM systems are bad for society

3. That DRM systems are bad for business

4. That DRM systems are bad for artists

5. That DRM is a bad business-move

He was right.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k3wkk/microsoft-ebooks-will-stop-working-because-its-shutting-down-a-drm-server

Latest news regarding Instagram. Soon to be extinct...

https://gizmodo.com/instagram-is-this-close-to-becoming-trash-1835248812

GOSH I love reading full articles from @write_as in the new single-column view.

The attached screenshot is after clicking through a "read article" link, one of the features of my new Mastodon fork, Hometown. I hope to have documentation and release notes ready to go by the end of the week!

https://github.com/hometown-fork/hometown

Activity of fuel cell catalysts doubled

An interdisciplinary research team has built platinum nanoparticles for catalysis in fuel cells: The new size-optimized catalysts are twice as good as the best process commercially available today.

Winter monsoons became stronger during geomagnetic reversal

New evidence suggests that high-energy particles from space known as galactic cosmic rays affect the Earth's climate by increasing cloud cover, causing an 'umbrella effect'.

Puerto Ricans Seeking Georgia Driver’s Licenses Face Special Questions About Frogs and Plantains, Lawsuit Alleges

Georgia has been requiring Puerto Rican natives seeking Georgia driver’s licenses to answer a special set of questions such as “identifying ‘what a meat filled with plantain fritter’ is called; where a specific beach is located; and ‘the name of the frog [that is] native only to PR,'” according to a lawsuit filed this week. […]

In Her Own Words: AOC Describes the “Intentional Cruelty” She Saw Inside a Migrant Detention Center

On Monday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a 16-member congressional delegation that got a rare glimpse inside three highly fortified migrant detention facilities, which she has referred to as “concentration camps.” Mother Jones contributor, Jonathan Katz, accompanied the delegation to the sites, though reporters were not permitted inside. Later, he sat down with Ocasio-Cortez to get […]

Maize-centric diet may have contributed to ancient Maya collapse

Researchers look at the role of diet in the ability of the ancient Maya to withstand periods of severe climatic stress. They found that an increase in the elite Maya's preference for a maize-based diet may have made the population more vulnerable to drought, contributing to its societal collapse.

Experiments show dramatic increase in solar cell output

Researchers have found a way to increase the output of silicon solar cells by allowing a single photon to release two electrons in the silicon.

Elizabeth Warren accuses advisory panel for FCC of corruption - CNET https://prismo.xyz/posts/2d0db645-2b8d-4729-b4c7-80c897586e68

Industry Influence on an FCC Advisory Panel https://prismo.xyz/posts/d4c144e5-43a1-41db-b02d-b47a0ffac5aa

A short bout of exercise enhances brain function

Neuroscientists, working with mice, have discovered that a short burst of exercise directly boosts the function of a gene that increases connections between neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and memory.