Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

If you were wondering why Elon Musk's #trans daughter Vivian doesn't want to be related to him "in any way, shape, or form," his promotion of a vicious anti-trans propaganda film made by numbskulls on the first day of #Pride month probably doesn't help. #LGBTQ+ https://newrepublic.com/post/173184/elon-musk-personally-elevates-transphobic-video-originally-flagged-hate-speech

***** Google's worst decision *****

The decision for #YouTube to allow 2020 election disinformation denial videos, a decision already being celebrated among the supporters of the Jan 6 insurrection, is in my opinion the single worst and likely most negatively consequential decision in the history of #Google.

Just a reminder that Clarence Thomas let a GOP megadonor take him on lavish trips, buy his mom's house and let her live there rent free, pay for his grandnephew to attend a private boarding school — all in secret until now.

How is he still on the Supreme Court?

5/31/1921 was one of this country's most horrifying episodes of racist mob violence. Hundreds of Black residents were killed in the #TulsaRaceMassacre. Survivors lost their livelihoods as a white mob set fire to 35 blocks of the #Greenwood District (aka #BlackWallStreet). 1,256 homes were destroyed. In recent years, historians & descendants of survivors have worked hard to revive memories of this all but forgotten chapter.

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/30/1178773425/tulsa-race-massacre-ramifications-of-what-happened-in-1921-can-still-be-seen-tod

#history #race #racism #RacisminAmerica #Tulsa

In a huge victory for civil liberties, a district court judge in New York ruled that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/federal-judge-makes-history-holding-border-searches-cell-phones-require-warrant

Law enforcement officials in California want to stop a bill that would end the use of keyword warrants and geofence warrants. Help us pass it to protect privacy for those seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care:
https://eff.salsalabs.org/digitaldragnet/index.html

Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day, has roots in a tradition established by Black-Americans in the aftermath of the Civil War. On May 1, 1865, the formerly enslaved, with profound gratitude for Union soldiers who fought and died for their emancipation, began commemorating that sacrifice by decorating Union graves. This remembrance and gratitude eventually gained support from communities across America.

1/4

@blackmastodon@a.gup.pe
@BlackMastodon@chirp.social
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #MemorialDay

Only in America

http://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/may/29

I’m grateful that we have a president who honors and pays tribute to our fallen heroes, and doesn’t consider them “losers” and “suckers.”

Within my own lifetime, the last 50 years, nearly 80% of the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, and close to 60 percent of all GHG emissions have been released.

There's been a near 70% decline in populations of existing wildlife species; and across the 8 million animal and plant species on earth, the human-induced extinction rate is now estimated at tens to hundreds of times greater than natural rates.

#BiodiversityDay reminds us that the profound crises we confront are just different sides of the same coin, and that our future is truly in our hands. The planet doesn't need us: we are the ones who rely on it for all the air we breathe, the water we drink, the resources we need. That's why our choices matter more today than ever: the path to a better future lies through these crises.

Read my essay here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/one-planet-two-crises-tackling-climate-change-and-biodiversity-in-the-fight-for-our-future/

Yesterday in 1887, a group of horse thieves killed over 30 Chinese gold miners in Hells Canyon in far eastern #Oregon.

#history

https://opb.org/article/2023/05/27/oregon-experience-massacre-of-chinese-miners-at-hells-canyon-1887/

Halifax Fire on radar.

#halifax #tantallon #westwoodhills #lucasville #highlandpark #forestfire #climatechange #novascotia

Business leaders: We can't find enough workers!

Workers: You could pay more.

Business: Nope.

Workers: Better benefits?

Business: No.

Workers: More flexible hours?

Business: No way.

Workers: Treat your current employees better to build your employer brand?

Business: Never.

Workers: Well, what's left?!

Business: Child labor!

https://apnews.com/article/iowa-governor-child-labor-laws-e8cb29e2a45b956489c4a192b7ddeba5

When my down-south cousin said "I seen them army ants all the time" I assumed that he didn't know what he was talking about. To me "army ants" were tropical exotic creatures. Need to catch a plane to see army ants. Right?

Well? I was wrong. Many species of army ants are from North America, mostly Neivamyrmex-- they do all the army ant things: make bivouac, raid en mass, be blind, have males like flying sausages (or cocktail pickles), they even run around carrying their brood!

"The problem with the Supreme Court is that they're in a fact-free zone as well as an ethics-free zone." https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/whitehouse-supreme-court-fact-free-ethics-free-zone-1234743537/

6 (!) years ago, @timnitGebru put forward a profound idea for AI research: document your training data. To say she was treated like shit would be putting it lightly. If she had been respected like her male peers were, imagine what a different path AI could have taken.