The Death of the Mind

You might know that I’ve posted funny emails I’ve received on my blog several times in the past. The kind of emails people send me when they experience problems with some device they own (like a car) and they contact me because my email address happens to be visible somewhere. People sometimes say I should get a different email address or use another one in the curl license file, but I’ve truly never had a problem with these emails, as they mostly remind me about the tough challenges the modern technical life bring to people and it gives me insights about what things that run curl. But not all of these emails are “funny”. Category: not…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2021/02/19/i-will-slaughter-you/

by Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. President Joe Biden has ordered enough vaccines to immunize every American against COVID-19, and his administration says it’s using the full force of the federal government to get the doses by July. There’s a reason he can’t promise them sooner. Vaccine supply chains are extremely specialized and sensitive, relying on expensive machinery, highly trained staff and finicky ingredients. Manufacturers have run into intermittent shortages of key materials, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office; the combination of surging demand and workforce disruptions from the…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://feeds.propublica.org/link/9499/14294695/covid-vaccine-supply

Canine friends may not be as dumb as they sometimes like to appear

Canine stars of internet videos the world over have another feather in their cap as a scientific study claims they show signs of self-awareness and understanding the consequences of their actions.…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/02/19/dogs_self_awareness/

Despite being branded ‘The Pirate Bay of Science’ for offering free access to millions of otherwise paywalled research papers, Sci-Hub is somewhat of an outlier in the piracy scene.
While sites like The Pirate Bay receive almost universal condemnation outside of piracy circles, Sci-Hub regularly receives praise from academics. Since the ultimate goal is to further knowledge and education, including among those who can least afford it, Sci-Hub is often considered to be doing valuable work.
Courts, on the other hand, have yet to rule in the site’s favor so publishers including Elsevier, Springer Nature and Wiley have been pursuing relentless legal action against Sci-Hub and founder Alexandra Elbakyan in an effort to bring the platform to…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-elsevier-and-springer-nature-obtain-uk-isp-blocking-order-210218/

A new McKinsey Global Institute report predicts that the decline in business travel and increase in working from home will lead to fewer jobs at hotels, restaurants, mass transit and retail, while corporations employ new labor-saving technologies in factories.

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/19/jobs-f19.html

SYDNEY—Citing potentially dangerous messages suggesting the “hoax country” might pass legislation forcing the tech giant to pay for the content its users share, Facebook took down all posts Thursday that spread misinformation about the fictional nation of “Australia” on the social networking platform. “We had to take…

Read more…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.theonion.com/facebook-takes-down-all-posts-spreading-misinformation-1846301464

Gerrymandering. Partisan gridlock. No-choice elections. Lack of diverse representation. These challenges, compounded with the rise of apathy towards our democratic institutions, have led to the most socially and politically divided moment in our lifetimes. Despite these overwhelming challenges, the  passage of the Fair Representation Act would help heal our electoral institutions and lead to better governance. 
With almost 90 percent of congressional districts completely safe for the party that holds them, single-winner, winner-take-all elections don’t work well for urban Republicans, red-state Democrats, independents, women and communities of color. It also doesn’t work for the candidates who fear being primaried in their home districts, forcing them to appeal to a more vocal minority of voters.
The Fair Representation Act…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://www.fairvote.org/the_fair_representation_act_gaining_media_traction

 Hello All-In celebration of the (slightly belated) 10-year anniversary of Guile v2.0, we’re having another Guile Potluck!  The Guile Potluck is a randomly annual event to give people a chance to show off their Guile projects and skills.  Think of it as a game jam, but, not constrained to games. To participate, on or before Mar 6, send an email to guile-user@gnu.org with Potluck in the subject line. Please include instructions on how to find your entry, which could be anything you like.  For example,   – a script showing off some feature of Guile or your favorite Guile library   – a blog post describing something interesting about Guile   – an updated release of a neglected library   – a…

External feed Read More at the Source: http://lcinexile.blogspot.com/2021/02/guile-potluck-2021.html

Recreate Your Favorite Bar’s Atmosphere

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

External feed Read More at the Source: https://www.jwz.org/blog/2021/02/i-miss-my-bar/

In a viral moment last night, Joe Biden told an eight-year-old girl at a CNN town hall that kids rarely contract or transmit the coronavirus. But the science says otherwise — yet the media recklessly let Biden get away with spreading misinformation.
President Joe Biden is not leveling with the public about the severity of the COVID crisis. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images) Last night’s CNN town hall with Joe Biden had a number of notable moments: the president predicting the pandemic could subside by Christmas, offering to personally help a woman secure a vaccine for her son, or brusquely replying that he was “tired of talking about Donald Trump” —…

External feed Read More at the Source: https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/joe-biden-misinformation-covid-19-media-town-hall/