Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Meanwhile, at the CIA...

Election weirdness? They’re on the case!

Time Made Fools of You All

The people scolding youthful activists today forgot what they were like when THEY were young.

Flame-retardant exposure increases anxiety, affects social behaviors in prairie vole

New research shows that early life exposure to a commonly used flame-retardant mixture increases anxiety and affects socioemotional behaviors in prairie voles, particularly in females.

New material points toward highly efficient solar cells

A new type of material for next-generation solar cells eliminates the need to use lead, which has been a major roadblock for this technology.

Individual climate models may not provide the complete picture

Equilibrium climate sensitivity -- how sensitive the Earth's climate is to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide -- may be underestimated in individual climate models, according to a team of climate scientists.

BREAKING: a federal judge has ruled that suspicionless searches of travelers’ cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices when we cross the U.S. border are unconstitutional.

This is an enormous victory for privacy. https://www.eff.org/press/releases/federal-court-rules-suspicionless-searches-travelers-phones-and-laptops

Iron-based solar cells on track to becoming more efficient

An international study shows that 30% of the energy in a certain type of light-absorbing iron molecule disappears in a previously unknown manner. By closing this loophole, the researchers hope to contribute to the development of more efficient solar cells using this iron-based solar cell.

Gold mining critically impairs water quality in rivers across Peruvian biodiversity hotspot

A new study finds that artisanal-scale gold mining is altering water clarity and dynamics in the Madre de Dios River watershed in Peru, a tropical biodiversity hotspot. Higher levels of suspended sediment were found in rivers near the mining sites. The elevated sediment levels contain mercury and other contaminants, which can pose human health risks and have a detrimental impact on fish and other aquatic life.

This is what the monsoon might look like in a warmer world

In the last interglacial period on Earth about 125,000 years ago, the Indian monsoon was longer, more extreme and less reliable than it is today. This is the conclusion drawn after analyses of a dripstone from a cave in north-eastern India, combining various methods that provide information about supra-regional and local weather phenomena and the climate dynamics of the past.

Nitrous oxide emissions set to rise in the Pacific Ocean

The acidification of the Pacific Ocean in northern Japan is increasing the natural production rate of N2O, an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas.

The Forever War

OK, Millennial.

The Perfect Crime

Trump comes to an “agreement” with a bank.

The King and I

Peter King announces his retirement.

New catalyst efficiently produces hydrogen from seawater

Seawater is one of the most abundant resources on earth, offering promise both as a source of hydrogen and of drinking water in arid climates. Now researchers have reported a significant breakthrough with a new oxygen evolution reaction catalyst that, combined with a hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst, achieved current densities capable of supporting industrial demands while requiring relatively low voltage to start seawater electrolysis.

The Real Reason U.S. Media Won’t Call Evo Morales’ Ouster in Bolivia a “Coup”

This article first appeared in FAIR.

Army generals appearing on television to demand the resignation and arrest of an elected civilian head of state seems like a textbook example of a coup. And yet that is certainly not how corporate media are presenting the weekend’s events in Bolivia.

No establishment outlet framed the action as a coup; instead, President Evo Morales “resigned” (ABC News, 11/10/19), amid widespread “protests” (CBS News, 11/10/19) from an “infuriated population” (New York Times, 11/10/19) angry at the “election fraud” (Fox News, 11/10/19) of the “full-blown dictatorship” (Miami Herald, 11/9/19). When the word “coup” is used at all, it comes only as an accusation from Morales or another official from his government, which corporate media have been demonizing since his election in 2006 (FAIR.org, 5/6/09, 8/1/12, 4/11/19).

The New York Times (11/10/19) did not hide its approval at events, presenting Morales as a power-hungry despot who had finally “lost his grip on power,” claiming he was “besieged by protests” and “abandoned by allies” like the security services. His authoritarian tendencies, the news article claimed, “worried critics and many supporters for years,” and allowed one source to claim that his overthrow marked “the end of tyranny” for Bolivia. With an apparent nod to balance, it did note that Morales “admitted no wrongdoing” and claimed he was a “victim of a coup.” By that point, however, the well had been thoroughly poisoned.

CNN (11/10/19) dismissed the results of the recent election, where Bolivia gave Morales another term in office, as beset with “accusations of election fraud,” presenting them as a farce where “Morales declared himself the winner.” Time’s report (11/10/19) presented the catalyst for his “resignation” as “protests” and “fraud allegations,” rather than being forced at gunpoint by the military. Meanwhile, CBS News (11/10/19) did not even include the word “allegations,” its headline reading, “Bolivian President Evo Morales Resigns After Election Fraud and Protests.”

Delegitimizing foreign elections where the “wrong” person wins, of course, is a favorite pastime of corporate media (FAIR.org, 5/23/18). There is a great deal of uncritical acceptance of the Organization of American States’ (OAS) opinions on elections, including in coverage of Bolivia’s October vote (e.g., BBC, 11/10/19; Vox, 11/10/19; Voice of America, 11/10/19), despite the lack of evidence to back up its assertions. No mainstream outlet warned its readers that the OAS is a Cold War organization, explicitly set up to halt the spread of leftist governments. In 1962, for example, it passed an official resolution claiming that the Cuban government was “incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system.” Furthermore, the organization is bankrolled by the US government; indeed, in justifying its continued funding, US AID argued that the OAS is a crucial tool in “promot[ing] US interests in the Western hemisphere by countering the influence of anti-US countries” like Bolivia.

In contrast, there was no coverage at all in US corporate media of the detailed new report from the independent Washington-based think tank CEPR, which claimed that the election results were “consistent” with the win totals announced. There was also scant mention of the kidnapping and torture of elected officials, the ransacking of Morales’ house, the burning of public buildings and of the indigenous Wiphala flag, all of which were widely shared on social media and would have suggested a very different interpretation of events.

Words have power. And framing an event is a powerful method of conveying legitimacy and suggesting action. “Coups,” almost by definition, cannot be supported, while “protests” generally should be. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, a conservative US-backed billionaire, has literally declared war on over a million people demonstrating against his rule. Corporate media, however, have framed that uprising not as a protest, but rather a “riot” (e.g., NBC News, 10/20/19; Reuters, 11/9/19; Toronto Sun, 11/9/19). In fact, Reuters (11/8/19) described the events as Piñera responding to “vandals” and “looters.” Who would possibly oppose that?

Morales was the first indigenous president in his majority indigenous nation—one that has been ruled by a white European elite since the days of the conquistadors. While in office, his Movement Towards Socialism party has managed to reduce poverty by 42% and extreme poverty by 60%, cut unemployment in half and conduct a number of impressive public works programs. Morales saw himself as part of a decolonizing wave across Latin America, rejecting neoliberalism and nationalizing the country’s key resources, spending the proceeds on health, education and affordable food for the population.

His policies drew the great ire of the US government, Western corporations and the corporate press, who function as the ideological shock troops against leftist governments in Latin America. In the case of Venezuela, Western journalists unironically call themselves “the resistance” to the government, and describe it as their No. 1 goal to “get rid of Maduro,” all the while presenting themselves as neutral and unbiased actors.

The media message from the Bolivia case is clear: A coup is not a coup if we like the outcome.

This article about Google's project to store and analyze millions of Americans' health care data confirms my suspicions about the Fitbit acquisition.

Many people who don't care about mass data collection because "I've got nothing to hide" change their tune when it's health care data. #privacy

https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-s-secret-project-nightingale-gathers-personal-health-data-on-millions-of-americans-11573496790

Google is reportedly gathering health data on millions of Americans
https://www.engadget.com/2019/11/11/google-ascension-patient-records-project-nightingale/ #google #bigtech #privacy

Quitting Facebook could boost exam results
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191111100931.htm #facebook #socialmedia

CRISPR: More than just for gene editing?

Researchers have converted the CRISPR 'recognition induced enzymatic signal' to an electrical signal, which was then used to detect the biomarkers for viruses such as HPV or parvo. They hope the end result could be a new 'universal biosensing' point-of-care medical device -- similar to the existing commercial blood-glucose sensor -- that rapidly and accurately detects those viruses and more.

Sensitivity to bitter tastes may be why some people eat fewer vegetables

A gene that makes some compounds taste bitter may make it harder for some people to add heart-healthy vegetables to their diet. Researchers hope to learn more from this type of genetic research to help people with aversions to certain foods eat more vegetables in the future.