The Death of the Mind

Comparing population growth to growth of traffic explains the fallacy in the “self-soothing” conceit that your children will make the world better (unlike most other people’s children). “‘Thinking your child will be part of the solution, not the problem, is hubris.’ We are the collapse. Our children are the collapse. That article is brilliant, but the author’s reasoning errs at the end when she asserts that her only choice, aside from reproducing and regretting the…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://stallman.org/archives/2019-sep-dec.html#29_December_2019_%28Your_children_won%27t_change_the_world%29

2019 has been an eye-opening, transformative year for free software and the Free Software Foundation (FSF), bringing some major changes both internally and in the world around us. As we navigate these changes, we are guided by the FSF’s founding vision — the four freedoms that define free software, and our mission to make all software be compatible with human freedom. It must be honest, transparent, and shareable, and it must truly work in service…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/bringing-the-free-software-vision-to-2020

We recently posted a lengthy write-up of the licensing team’s activities in 2019. Although we have been really busy, we didn’t want to miss the chance to share some specifics about our activities in October. That month, members of our licensing and campaigns teams headed down to North Carolina to spread the message of software freedom. First, on the 14th & 15th, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) staffed a booth at the ATO conference where…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/raleigh-north-carolina-good-bbq-and-great-outreach-for-free-software-knowledge

Sycamore Brewing received a spanking from North Carolina’s Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE), which will punish the brewery for making a beer can with cartoon reindeer having sex.  From Vice: [T]he label likely violated the agency’s rules prohibiting obscene material, and the brewery didn’t submit it for approval before producing the cans either. As a result, Sycamore will most likely face a fine of between $500 and $1,000. “We’re in a moment in our country where…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/07/candian-beer-company-in-troubl.html

On December 5, U.S. District Court Magistrate John T. Johnston heard oral argument in Montana Green Party v Stapleton, 6:18cv-87. The chief issue in the case is the unequal distribution requirement for the party petition. The Green Party successfully gathered 5,000 valid signatures, which is required. But the law also requires that the petition contain the valid signatures of between 55 and 150 signatures in each of thirty-four state house districts. Montana is the only…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://ballot-access.org/2019/12/05/oral-argument-held-in-montana-ballot-access-case/

Pam Cowburn from Article 19 writes, “Our new report shows that digital freedom of expression – defined as our ability to speak freely online – is at a ten year low. The report states that this decline is due to a rise in digital authoritarianism with governments taking control of internet infrastructure, increasing online surveillance and controlling content.” The core threats that are contributing to the decline in digital freedom of expression are: * Internet…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/05/xpa.html

Ring may be holding off on adding facial recognition tech to its already-problematic security cameras, but that’s not stopping any of its not-exactly-end-users from doing it for themselves. Ring is swallowing up the doorbell camera market with aggressive marketing that includes the free use of taxpayer-funded services. It calls over 600 law enforcement agencies “partners.” In exchange for agency autonomy and free cameras, police departments all over the nation are pushing cameras on citizens and…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20191128/17192943475/cops-are-running-ring-camera-footage-through-their-own-facial-recognition-software-because-whos-going-to-stop-them.shtml

Homeland Security also clamping down on H1-B visas The Trump Administration is planning to fast-track a new policy of compulsory facial recognition at the border, and including US citizens and permanent residents in its plans for the first time.…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/03/facial_recognition_visas/