George Mari @GeorgeMari@qoto.org

As more States attempt to enact mask bans - we need to take a critical look at what these bans mean for disabled people, marginalized individuals, POC and more. They will have devastating consequences for many & send a dangerous message that the pandemic is over (it’s not).

Dr Jessica Offir has written an incredible essay that does a deep dive into this issue. It’s a comprehensive analysis of how we got here - and I hope everyone reads & shares. Here’s just a few important snippets.

“bans, themselves, are not a victimless crime. Framing mask wearers as criminals cannot but cause more harassment and less access to public spaces than is already occurring, among people who were often already stigmatized.”

“Masks are indeed a threat cue, an environmental stimulus that tells you something is wrong or off; that you need to be more aware and cautious, rather than just operating on automatic.”

“the thing that masks are cuing is ongoing disease transmission that masks prevent, not criminal activity that masks foster.”

“Mask bans are ableist, racist, and likely unconstitutional. As enforced, they almost surely will violate the Americans with Disabilities Act on a regular basis”

The reality is that Covid is not over. Far from it. Politicians pushing for mask mandates are appeasing their anti-mask base while also driving the dangerous narrative that we’re fully “back to normal”.

They don’t want people in respirators because they remind the public that the threat has not passed. That perhaps they too should be wearing a mask and/or curtailing their activities. Since those of us still masking aren’t giving it up - they’re making it illegal.

They’re pushing us further and further into this world of denial - a world where getting sick all the time is the norm and where wanting to safeguard your health is “living in fear”. Those of us advocating against these bans know that version of “normal” will cost lives.

We understand it’s all a mirage - and that no amount of mask banning, data manipulation & outright denial will change the reality that Covid is still here, still killing & disabling and we CAN do more to protect people. We know better - let’s do better.

Read Dr Jessica’s full essay “To Ban or Not to Ban? When the Issue is Masks - There’s Really No Question” here: https://essaysyoudidntwanttoread.home.blog/2024/06/21/to-ban-or-not-to-ban-when-the-issue-is-masks-theres-really-no-question/

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #MaskBan #BoycottNC #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #NorthCarolina #NewYork #UglyLaws

All setup on Mt Gleason for @arrl Field Day! Got a hex beam for QRP ops this year 🤘Catch you all on the air!
(PS - it’s also SOTA W6/CT-017 and POTA US-4453, say hi!)

I'm up in Cumbria this weekend, and the lay-by where I park my van is surrounded by a bank of borage.
Borage is a medicinal and culinary herb, often used as a garnish. Traditionally, it was used in the Pimms Cup cocktail, but it has been rather usurped by mint and cucumber.
I love the blue of the flowers.

#Photography #Bloomscrolling #Flowers #Closeup #Gardening #Herbs

Hey Mastodon,

I'm looking for a well put together written case for institutions (academic, professional) to set up their own Mastodon instance.

Something that not only highlights the obvious benefits, but also that the technical costs are within the capacity of most places that have a decent IT department.

Please do not make the case here, I'm looking for links. 😜

Boost for visibility, plz?

#Mastodon #Fediverse #ActivityPub #

We are very close to reaching 100k followers on @Mastodon.

Can you help us get there?

#mastodon #fediverse #memory #Auschwitz

Interested in joining the Nextcloud team?

If you love our vision of a more private, data sovereign digital world, sharing open source principles and growing quickly along with our amazing worldwide community, we'd love to hear from you! 🦾

We have many open positions, from Marketing Director, Key Account Managers USA, multiple developer positions, and many more!

Come make a difference by joining one of the best tech teams in the industry. 🚀

https://nextcloud.com/jobs/

“In the classroom, the professor’s speech is the government’s speech.”

Republicans are now all in on authoritarianism. https://sciences.social/@alfiekohn/112643291637777243

One of the richest men in the 1920s was Andrew Mellon — an early prophet of trickle-down economics.

Yesterday we learned that his grandson, Timothy Mellon, gave a Trump super PAC one of the largest political donations ever.

This is how dynastic wealth works.

Wealth tax now.

The financial manipulators who bought a news organization in Washington state have kicked out half of the journalists and many more on the business side.

They also forced the paper's editors to take down the truthful story they'd published about the gutting. But you can read it here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20240620025407/https://www.heraldnet.com/news/this-breaks-my-heart-over-half-of-everett-herald-news-staff-laid-off/

I’m getting stronger with age. I can now lift $100 worth of groceries with one hand.

Amazon is getting rid of plastic air pillows in North America https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/20/24182372/amazon-replace-plastic-air-pillows-paper-filler-north-america

Can you recommend a good solar installer to rework a new system near the south end of the San Francisco Bay?

Semper Solaris didn't finish their job, now more than a year overdue.

I started working on Spaz, a FOSS Twitter and Identi.ca client in 2006.

about 18 years ago.

Times where you makes something other people really like and talk about; when you’re friends are into it and you’re leading something kinda… big! But it’s fun and it feels good to do it for the love of making.

They don’t come along often. Cherish them while you can. I miss my Spaz friends and I miss making things with them.

Seasons.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/06/spaz-the-other-twitter-client-for-os-x-and-windows-and-linux/

Totally legitimate Twitter user for weeks ranted in support of Trump… until it ran out of ChatGPT credits and dumped its prompt (GPT task description) which says “argue in support of Trump on Twitter, speak in English”). Last time I checked this morning, the account was “restricted” but not even suspended.

Prior to 1982, the SEC considered stock buybacks to be illegal stock manipulation. But under President Reagan, stock buybacks were made legal. Now, instead of investing profits into people, big corporations use them to line the pockets of wealthy shareholders. They're a scam.

Cool job posting at ProPublica

We are seeking a computational journalist to join our data team to use their technical knowledge, as well as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and large language models, to help us investigate the world and unlock stories that would otherwise be out of reach.

Journalism experience is a plus, but we especially encourage applications from people with quantitative/research backgrounds, such as statistics, data science, AI and machine learning. Ability to code well is a must.

Ultimately, we’re looking for someone who would pitch us on ideas that use technology to do things we hadn’t dreamed of doing. That could be renting a boat to test the WiFi networks at Mar-a-Lago, having students scream into black-box hardware or using the power of programming to fingerprint and cluster propaganda videos.

https://boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/jobs/4371750006

Official statement from @Mer__edith: the new EU chat controls proposal for mass scanning is the same old surveillance with new branding.

Whether you call it a backdoor, a front door, or “upload moderation” it undermines encryption & creates significant vulnerabilities.

https://signal.org/blog/pdfs/upload-moderation.pdf

We got the #PDP12 working again! #RetroComputing #RCSRI

We're down to less than 200 tickets! https://www.2600.com/content/hope-needs-your-help-update

The science is clear about the loss of birds and deterioration conditions and threats facing sagebrush lands. https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2024/06/14/opinion-blms-sage-grouse-plan/