AmberWavesoFlame @AmberWavesofFlame@qoto.org

Oh. my. god.

Madison Square Garden used facial recognition to identify and stop a mom from attending a Christmas show with her kid because she's an attorney at a firm who is engaged in litigation with them.

This is why it's not enough to just ban government and law enforcement use of #facialrecognition. There are so many ways private companies and even individuals can abuse #biometric #surveillance tech.

#BanFacialRecognition entirely. Yesterday.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/msgs-facial-recognition-stops-mom-from-attending-christmas-show-with-child/4004471/

#NewYorkers! The state legislature has passed landmark #RightToRepair legislation, but Governor Hochul hasn't signed it and it might die. This would be a travesty. If you're in New York, visit https://eff.org/rtr to help tell the Governor that we can't afford to wait (and tell your friends in New York, too!).

2/

Zelenskyy tells Congress: "Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way."

#congress #zelensky #ukraine #SlavaUkraini #democracy

https://youtu.be/bPfFYvAFlU8

Elections matter! => Congress is ready to give the City of Jackson, Mississippi $600 million under the federal omnibus package—an enormous sum that would finally make addressing the Jackson water crisis and fixing the city's broken water system a reality. #BlackMastodon

From 21 Dec: Strawberry Festivals, Treadmill Clothesracks, And Research: When The Claims Don’t Match The Study - Some signs of bad science reporting (and bad science), with examples. https://ideatrash.net/2022/12/strawberry-festivals-treadmill-clothesracks-and-research-when-the-claims-dont-match-the-study.html #science #sociology #journalism #reporting #research

Poetry

I think the biggest thing about Mastodon that I'm enjoying is the normalizing of dialogue. Questions aren't dunks, they're inquiries to understand better. A perhaps not the best stated phrase is still taken with positive intent. And the atmosphere really does focus on uplifting voices, rather than finding the next target.

All of the above has exceptions, of course, but after all exceptions prove the rule.

Grateful for this growing Mastodon community. I appreciate you. ❤️✊🏽

In which @mmasnick tries to patiently explain to Elmo and his witless pets what a 2703(d) order is.

https://www.techdirt.com/2022/12/20/no-the-fbi-is-not-paying-twitter-to-censor/

If I'm ambitious tomorrow I'll explain how poor Mike Small couldn't even get one tweet into the latest propaganda effort without making a faceplant error.

"Neurodivergent" sounds so badass and cyberpunk. Real William Gibson vibes.

A+ branding, no notes

This is one of the most poisonous aspects of class reductionist leftism.

When someone says we don't need to talk about or address non-class issues of marginalization "for unity," what they're really doing is laying groundwork for co-option by fash.

Three Quarters of Major Observatories Affected by Light Pollution

https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/three-quarters-major-observatories-affected-light-pollution

Search over 1,000 astronomy and space news releases at www.stars-n-stuff.com/news-stories

#astronomy #space #science #news #stargazing

Image: Own work, via Night Cafe Studio

New List of Various Notable Accounts

Various Notable Accounts (Media, Politics, Tech, Ukraine, and more) - CLICKABLE LINKS with Verification Status >>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XpBPzCFf0kI6aLnYyNPC74SJqI2SXg664sR3XrWDnfU/edit?usp=sharing

Over the last few weeks @mastodonmigration has curated recommended account lists for journalist, media organizations, and Ukraine. This sheet is a sorted collection of those accounts plus other notable posters in an easy to reference clickable format.

#twittermigration #politics #journalists #media #technology #ukraine

"Police provide first official details of Elon Musk’s alleged stalker incident"

🚨"Police say a member of Elon Musk’s security team is currently a suspect in their investigation, not a victim"🚨

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/20/police-provide-first-official-details-on-elon-musks-alleged-stalker-incident

1. This high school English teacher is trying to ban 150 books from school libraries in Florida

I talked to her to find out why

Buckle up

This one gets a bit wild

🧵

New life sprouts on old nuclear power site

#nuclear #solarpower #solarenergy #solarpanels #agrivoltaics #regenerativeagriculture #agriculturaregenerativa #agricultura #agriculture #conservation #biodiversity #research #Science #energy #electricity #greenenergy #greeneconomy #carbonsequestration #soils #soilhealth

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/12/18/agrivoltaics-goes-nuclear-on-california-prairie/

Enjoy this short clip of the raccoon that is currently trying to catch snowflakes on my deck. 🦝 ❄️

The science and technology events to look out for in 2023 – including new vaccines, several space projects such as the first civilian trip to the Moon, the first CRISPR therapy, a drug for Alzheimer's disease, the world's first nuclear-waste storage facility starting operations, and much more. (6-min read)

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04444-3

#science #tech #technology #biotech #mRNA #vaccines #disease #health #genetics #CRISPR #space #spaceflight #physics #astronomy #moon #medical #research #environment

Russian military forces & civilians operating under their orders pillaged thousands of valuable artifacts & artworks from two museums, a cathedral, and a national archive in #Kherson, #Ukraine, before withdrawing after an 8-month occupation of the city.

Pillage is a war crime.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/20/ukraine-russians-pillage-kherson-cultural-institutions