Internet Archive Blogs – Welcoming Recorded Music to the Public Domain

Dec 312021
 

Every January we feature works that are entering the public domain. And this year the big story is in recorded music. Recorded Music from 1922 and earlier Approximately 400,000 sound recordings made before 1923 will join the public domain in the U.S. for the first time due to the Music Modernization Act (read more at copyright.gov). You can peruse about 38,000 of them in our collection of digitized 78rpm records. By 1922 we were solidly in the Jazz Age – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age was published in 1922, and the term was already in popular usage. Jazz migrated from Black American communities in New Orleans into the rest of the United States,…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://blog.archive.org/2022/01/01/welcoming-recorded-music-to-the-public-domain/

 2021-12-31  Comments Off on Internet Archive Blogs – Welcoming Recorded Music to the Public Domain

Ballot Access News – U.S. District Court Upholds New York Petition Requirement, and Definition of a Qualified Party, in Error-Filled Decision

Dec 232021
 

On December 22, U.S. District Court John G. Koeltl, a Clinton appointee, upheld the New York statewide petition requirement for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. He also upheld the new definition of a political party, a group that polled 2% of the vote every two years for the office at the top of the ballot (Governor in midterm years, and president in presidential years). SAM Party of New York v Kosinski, s.d., 1:20cv-323. Here is the 37-page opinion.
Judge Koetl issued the opinion less than 24 hours after the oral argument. His opinion has serious factual errors. Page 23 says New York requires the seventh highest number of signatures, when actually New York has…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://ballot-access.org/2021/12/22/u-s-district-court-upholds-new-york-petition-requirement-and-definition-of-a-qualified-party-in-error-filled-decision/

 2021-12-23  Comments Off on Ballot Access News – U.S. District Court Upholds New York Petition Requirement, and Definition of a Qualified Party, in Error-Filled Decision

The Register – James Webb Telescope launch delayed again, this time by weather

Dec 232021
 

New launch date could be a marvelous Christmas gift to humanity

The James Webb Telescope has been cleared for launch, only for weather to delay its ascent for at least a day.…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/12/23/james_webb_telescope_launch_rescheduled_for_christmas_day/

 2021-12-23  Comments Off on The Register – James Webb Telescope launch delayed again, this time by weather

World Socialist Web Site (en) – West Virginia Senator Manchin kills Biden’s already stripped-down “Build Back Better” legislation

Dec 202021
 

Announcing his opposition to the measure on Fox News Sunday, the right-wing Democrat ensured that the meager social, tax and climate bill will not be passed in anything like its current form.

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/12/20/manc-d20.html

 2021-12-20  Comments Off on World Socialist Web Site (en) – West Virginia Senator Manchin kills Biden’s already stripped-down “Build Back Better” legislation

Stories by Lessig on Medium – On the constitutionality of the filibuster

Dec 202021
 

The Hill has published an essay of mine, arguing that the modern filibuster is unconstitutional. There are many who have insisted as much — see, e.g., Gregory Diskant, Robert Reich, Erwin Chemerinsky & Bert Neuborne, Madeleine Polubinski, Kirk Jenkins; but see Michael Gerhardt, and this great debate between Josh Chafetz and Michael Gerhardt.The point I emphasize in this debate is that it is the evolution of the procedure that has rendered it unconstitutional. (Adam Jentleson’s book, Kill Switch, is a brilliant account of that history.) When it was a procedure to assure members had the opportunity to speak, it was fine (if a bother). But as a procedure to effectively block the beginning of any debate, it has…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://lessig.medium.com/on-the-constitutionality-of-the-filibuster-cc6879e4b1f5?source=rss-7239b1d04c28——2

 2021-12-20  Comments Off on Stories by Lessig on Medium – On the constitutionality of the filibuster

Techdirt. – CBP Proudly Announces Its Facial Recognition Program Has Successfully Nailed A COVID Scofflaw

Dec 162021
 

Customs and Border Protection continues to protect our borders against… stuff. Much like the TSA struggles to catch any terrorists (or, indeed, any items actual terrorists might use) but still issues press releases crowing about the agency’s ability to identify and seize novelty items and the occasional gun someone decided not to check, the CBP is more than happy to point out how a system that relies on millions of facial images collected at ports of entry every so often stops someone from entering the country.

As of the end of 2020, CBP’s biometric systems installed all over the country had gathered 50 million facial images. This was all done in service of identifying fewer than 300…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20211205/16064548054/cbp-proudly-announces-facial-recognition-program-has-successfully-nailed-covid-scofflaw.shtml

 2021-12-16  Comments Off on Techdirt. – CBP Proudly Announces Its Facial Recognition Program Has Successfully Nailed A COVID Scofflaw

Hackaday – Motorized Device Helps Swap Out Hard-To-Reach Light Bulbs

Dec 162021
 

High ceilings can make a residence feel open and airy, but they often come with difficult-to-reach light fittings. To better deal with that, [mattwach] built a motorized light bulb changer which makes the job much easier.
Light bulb changers already exist, but they typically need to be used on-axis with the light fitting, which for chandeliers and many other lights, can be difficult. Instead, [mattwach’s] design allows the device to be used at 90-degree angles, and motorizes it for added ease of use.
A 12V gear motor does the work of turning the contraption, and has more than enough torque to get the job done.  A flanged coupling is used to attach the motor to the light bulb…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://hackaday.com/2021/12/16/motorized-device-helps-swap-out-hard-to-reach-light-bulbs/

 2021-12-16  Comments Off on Hackaday – Motorized Device Helps Swap Out Hard-To-Reach Light Bulbs

World Socialist Web Site (en) – Kellogg’s strikers denounce mass firing threat, two-tier wages from the picket lines in Battle Creek, Michigan

Dec 132021
 

Striking Kellogg’s workers remain defiant and opposed to any concessions following their rejection of a concessions contract brokered by the BCTGM union.

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/12/13/kell-d13.html

 2021-12-13  Comments Off on World Socialist Web Site (en) – Kellogg’s strikers denounce mass firing threat, two-tier wages from the picket lines in Battle Creek, Michigan

World Socialist Web Site (en) – Julian Assange suffered stroke during High Court appeal for extradition

Dec 132021
 

Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris warned, “Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That’s what’s happening to Julian.”

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/12/13/jass-d13.html

 2021-12-13  Comments Off on World Socialist Web Site (en) – Julian Assange suffered stroke during High Court appeal for extradition

Streetsblog.org – You Can’t Solve Congestion by Widening Roads

Dec 102021
 

On Monday the Chicago Tribune looked at the plight of local drivers stuck in some of the nation’s worst commute traffic, based on the latest congestion study by the transportation analytics firm Inrix.
Streetsblog USA has noted in the past that these annual Inrix traffic reports have been marred by multiple flaws. Issue have included an unrealistic definition of congestion that implies that roads aren’t functioning properly unless its easy for motorists to drive at illegal speeds; exaggerated estimates of the “cost” of congestion to travelers; and a bias against against compact cities with short average travel distances.
But there’s no question that Chicagoland has nightmarish traffic, and choosing to drive to work here when you don’t have…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://chi.streetsblog.org/2021/12/09/reality-check-you-cant-solve-congestion-by-widening-roads-invest-in-transit-instead/

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Streetsblog.org – You Can’t Solve Congestion by Widening Roads

Boing Boing – New Zealand will ban smoking for entire next generation and beyond

Dec 102021
 

Anyone who is 14 or younger today will never be able to purchase cigarettes legally in in New Zealand, according to new legislation expected to pass. The aim is to annually increase the legal smoking age by one year and make tobacco smoking illegal by 2025. — Read the rest

External feed Read More at the Source: https://boingboing.net/2021/12/09/new-zealand-will-ban-smoking-for-entire-next-generation-and-beyond.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-zealand-will-ban-smoking-for-entire-next-generation-and-beyond

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Boing Boing – New Zealand will ban smoking for entire next generation and beyond

LWN.net – Haas: Surviving Without A Superuser – Part One

Dec 102021
 

PostgreSQL developer Robert Haas has begun
a blog series on what would be needed to allow database administrators
to safely delegate superuser powers.

Consider, for example, the case of a service provider who would like to support a database with multiple customers as tenants. The customers will naturally want to feel as if they have the powers of a true superuser, with the ability to do things like create new roles, drop old ones, change permissions on objects that they don’t own, and generally enjoy the freedom to bypass permission checks at the SQL level which superusers enjoy. The service provider, who is the true superuser, also wants this, but does not want the customers to be able…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://lwn.net/Articles/878206/rss

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on LWN.net – Haas: Surviving Without A Superuser – Part One

Motherboard – People Are Spamming Kellogg’s Job Applications in Solidarity with Striking Workers 

Dec 102021
 

Kellogg is seeking people to work in its factories to replace union workers who are striking for better wages and working conditions—and people on the antiwork subreddit are flooding the company’s job portal website with fake applications in solidarity with those workers.  In October, Kellogg’s workers shut down factories in cereal production facilities in Battle Creek, MI, Lancaster, PA, Memphis, TN and Omaha, NE. The striking workers are members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union; they’ve been in negotiations with the company since September, after Kellogg’s proposed pay and benefits cuts while forcing workers to work severe overtime as long as 16-hour-days for seven days a week. Some workers stayed on…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7dvy9/spamming-kelloggs-job-applications-strike

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Motherboard – People Are Spamming Kellogg’s Job Applications in Solidarity with Striking Workers 

Techdirt. – Yet Another Study Shows Mainstream Media Is A Key Vector In Spreading Misinformation

Dec 102021
 

The common “accepted knowledge” these days among many is that the rise of disinformation and conspiracy theories must be driven by social media, and Facebook in particular (with Twitter and YouTube right behind). This theory has always seemed a bit bonkers, and we’ve pointed to multiple detailed, data-driven studies that showed that cable news was a much bigger driver of misinformation than social media. Specifically, it found that conspiracy theories and misinformation and the like didn’t actually “go viral” until after it appeared on cable news.

So, it’s good (but not at all surprising) to find yet another study pointing out the same thing. This one, first highlighted by MediaPost, involved a big survey exploring the spread…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20211206/12065948063/yet-another-study-shows-mainstream-media-is-key-vector-spreading-misinformation.shtml

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Techdirt. – Yet Another Study Shows Mainstream Media Is A Key Vector In Spreading Misinformation

Deeplinks – Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening

Dec 102021
 

Manifest V3, Google Chrome’s soon-to-be definitive basket of changes to the world of web browser extensions, has been framed by its authors as “a step in the direction of privacy, security, and performance.” But we think these changes are a raw deal for users.  We’ve said that since Manifest V3 was announced, and continue to say so as its implementation is now imminent. Like FLoC and Privacy Sandbox before it, Manifest V3 is another example of the inherent conflict of interest that comes from Google controlling both the dominant web browser and one of the largest internet advertising networks.
Manifest V3, or Mv3 for short, is outright harmful to privacy efforts. It will restrict the capabilities of…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/chrome-users-beware-manifest-v3-deceitful-and-threatening

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Deeplinks – Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening

Streetsblog.org – Reality check: You can’t solve congestion by widening roads – invest in transit instead

Dec 102021
 

On Monday the Chicago Tribune looked at the plight of local drivers stuck in some of the nation’s worst commute traffic, based on the latest congestion study by the transportation analytics firm Inrix.
Streetsblog USA has noted in the past that these annual Inrix traffic reports have been marred by multiple flaws. Issue have included an unrealistic definition of congestion that implies that roads aren’t functioning properly unless its easy for motorists to drive at illegal speeds; exaggerated estimates of the “cost” of congestion to travelers; and a bias against against compact cities with short average travel distances.
But there’s no question that Chicagoland has nightmarish traffic, and choosing to drive to work here when you don’t have…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://chi.streetsblog.org/2021/12/09/reality-check-you-cant-solve-congestion-by-widening-roads-invest-in-transit-instead/

 2021-12-10  Comments Off on Streetsblog.org – Reality check: You can’t solve congestion by widening roads – invest in transit instead

Ballot Access News – North Carolina Supreme Court Moves 2022 Primary from March 8 to May 17

Dec 092021
 

On December 8, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order in Harper v Hall, 413P21, moving the 2022 primary from March 8 to May 17. The Court also closed candidate filing for the district offices. The Supreme Court also instructed the lower state court to rule on the constitutionality of the new U.S. House and legislative districts by January 11, 2022.
As a result of this order, the only 2022 state primary earlier than May is the Texas March primary. There is a fair chance that primary will be postponed as well.
An indirect consequence of the North Carolina order is that independent candidates now have until May 17 to submit their petitions, for 2022. Thanks to…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://ballot-access.org/2021/12/08/north-carolina-supreme-court-moves-2022-primary-from-march-8-to-may-17/

 2021-12-09  Comments Off on Ballot Access News – North Carolina Supreme Court Moves 2022 Primary from March 8 to May 17

Ballot Access News – Jill Stein Files “Statement of Issues” in U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C., Over 2016 Primary Season Matching Funds Repayment Order

Dec 072021
 

On December 1, 2021, Jill Stein, Green Party presidential nominee in 2016, filed a Statement of Issues in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit. She is asking the Court to amend or reverse the Federal Election Commission decision earlier … Continue reading →

External feed Read More at the Source: https://ballot-access.org/2021/12/06/jill-stein-files-statement-of-issues-in-u-s-court-of-appeals-d-c-over-2016-primary-season-matching-funds-repayment-order/

 2021-12-07  Comments Off on Ballot Access News – Jill Stein Files “Statement of Issues” in U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C., Over 2016 Primary Season Matching Funds Repayment Order

The Register – MySQL a ‘pretty poor database’ says departing Oracle engineer

Dec 072021
 

PostgreSQL a better option for open source RDBMS, he claims

You’ve collected your leaving card, novelty presents, and perhaps a bottle of wine – what’s next on the list for the departing developer? For one, it’s a blog rubbishing the technology he’s been working on for five years.…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/12/06/mysql_a_pretty_poor_database/

 2021-12-07  Comments Off on The Register – MySQL a ‘pretty poor database’ says departing Oracle engineer