Boing Boing

The Bernie Blackout is a well-documented phenomenon: the press cover Bernie (far) less than other frontrunners, and when they do, they're (far) more negative than they are with other frontrunners.The Intercept's DC Bureau Chief, Ryan Grim, has been on the Sanders beat since 2015. In a short video, he points out one silver lining of the blackout: it means that Sanders might escape the backlash in coverage that every frontrunner faces when the media gets tired of lionizing them and switches to demonizing them, going through their backgrounds for transgressions to use in order to attack them.It's pretty cold comfort, though.I am a donor to both Sanders' and Warren's campaigns.Bernie Sanders faced a media blackout that helped sink his 2016 run for president. Ahead of 2020, the trend continues: Sanders gets less media coverage and a higher rate of negative coverage than his top rivals for the Democratic nomination. But this time, says The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim, the blackout could actually help Bernie win. Read the rest

Kentucky's Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative came out of a local electrification co-op set up during the New Deal, and in 1949 it was expanded into a telephone co-op with more federal infrastructure money. Today, the PRTC has used Obama FCC funding to expand into public broadband delivery, wiring up all of Jackson and Owsley Counties, some of the poorest places in America, using a mule called "Old Bub" to haul fiber through inaccessible mountain passes and other extremely isolated places.Fiber buildout has created an economic miracle for the people served by the PRTC; working with the nonprofit Teleworks USA (which trains people for remote work, especially tech support and customer service), the coop has created high-paying, sustainable jobs in the counties, taking local unemployment from 12-16% to below 5.5%. People work doing customer service and tech support for "Hilton Hotels, Cabela’s, U-Haul, Harry & David, and Apple," and some people get paid to tutor wealthy Chinese children in conversational English ("We joke that there are going to be all these kids in China with Southern accents"). The fiber buildout cost $50k/mile, a price-tag that reflects the coop's commitment to serving every person in its region, no matter how remote. The result wasn't just hundreds of good jobs paying much higher than the counties' median wage, but also a closure of the regional "homework gap."The region's blazing fast broadband has made it a desirable place for siting all kinds of businesses, bringing in both call-centers and a helicopter rotor factory. Read the rest

Presumably coming soon to ESPN's "The Ocho" is some version of this 200-year old tradition in Malta held in honor of St Julian the Hospitaller:In the tournament, known as Gostra to the Maltese, a 16 meter-pole is covered by 15 liters of lard and fixed at an angle from the promenade into the sea. Competitors try to grab three flags at its end – a blue and white one dedicated to St Mary, a yellow and white one for the Vatican, and the Belgian tricolor, since St Julian is believed to have been born in the Belgian town of Ath in 7AD.The prizes for competitors "are nominal" but the risks huge:This photograph from the tournament is particularly great: View this post on Instagram #REUTERS Pictures of the Decade POY DECADE. A man runs up the "gostra", a pole covered in grease, during the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta, Malta, August 25, 2013. Picture taken August 25, 2013. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo MALTA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN MALTA SEARCH "POY DECADE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2019 PACKAGES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. #malta #oddly #tradition #gostra #gostraman #reuters #POY #POYdecade #tpx #picoftheday #toppix #pixoftheday #photooftheday #photosoftheday #imageoftheday #imagesofthedayA post shared by Darrin Zammit Lupi (@darrinzl) on Dec 3, 2019 at 12:25pm PST Read the rest

Every Christmas list has names you dread buying for. But hold up: Before you wave the white flag and get them yet another gift card, scroll down a few. We've got 15 items that run the gamut from stylish old-school lighters to cutting-edge audio tech, enough variety to please any Scrooge. And the best part? You can take an extra 20% off the final price by entering the online code GREENMONDAY20.Thonet & Vander® KIND Desk Sound System + FLUG Bluetooth ReceiverQuality audio doesn't have to involve wall-high speakers or even any wires. This desktop speaker set includes a 4" woofer and 2.75" mid-range for a crisp, balanced sound, and the 4.0 Bluetooth connectivity picks up signals from more than 30 feet away.MSRP: $129.99Sale Price: $60Price with GREENMONDAY20 code: $48Shure SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones DJs and producers have been swearing by Shure audio products for decades, and these headphones keep that pedigree very much alive. The impedance is tuned to handle output from the highest quality systems, and the collapsible build means you can take them just about anywhere.MSRP: $125Sale Price: $99Price with GREENMONDAY20 code: $79.20Gotek SoundTube Wireless EarbudsKnow a fitness junkie who hates to be tied down? The 25 hours of battery life on these earbuds can handle the longest workout. And with IP67 water protection, they're as durable outdoors as they are in the gym.MSRP: $99Sale Price: $79.20Price with GREENMONDAY20 code: $63.36Jane West CBD CapsulesWe've all heard the testimonials on the benefits of CBD (cannabidiol), but these THC-free nutrient-enhanced supplements are even more of a chill pill. Read the rest

I had hoped In the Valley of Gods, Campo Santo's follow up to Firewatch, was going to adapt some of the magic of the Indiana Jones and Brendan Fraser Mummy films, and add a modern sensibility. The trailer looked promising:From the team that brought you Firewatch, In the Valley of Gods is a sprawling narrative experience in remote, 1920s Egypt. You are Rashida, a disgraced former explorer and filmmaker given one last shot at the adventurous life you desperately miss. Somewhere, beyond the endless miles of dunes, ruins, and tombs lies an incredible archaeological discovery—but it can't be found without the help of Zora, the former partner you vowed never to work with again.GameplayA thrilling adventure in first personNavigate and rebuild a relationship with your companion, ZoraUtilize an authentic 35mm film camera to document the world and story around youClimb, explore and traverse the wonders of the ancient worldAlas, Campo Santo was acquired by Valve, and a statement was put out today that the project was "on hold" since the team had scattered to work on other Valve projects like Half-Life: Alyx. Duncan Fyfe, who had been thrilled to be working on In the Valley of Gods, tweeted a thread lamenting the apparent end of the project. You can read the entire thread about his time working for Campo Santo here. But the best part is Duncan's own adventure to read an obscure antiquity he needed to help his work on the game:I spent so much time with 19th century maps and guidebooks, cartouche diagrams and tomb plans, theses and excavation reports, figuring out creative solutions to narrative problems. Read the rest

We’re living in the age of Big Data. As the driving force behind everything from Google’s famed algorithms to self-driving cars, massive sets of complex data can be found at the heart of some of today’s most exciting and important technologies.The Ultimate SQL Bootcamp Certification Bundle will give you the skills and tools you need to thrive in this high-paying field, and it’s currently available for just $21.This extensive training bundle features six courses that will teach you how to work with a variety of go-to database management systems and platforms.You’ll learn how to gather, store, and analyze huge sets of data by using systems like SQLite, how to install and maintain a wide variety of server infrastructures, how to build customized programs using languages like Python, and much more.There’s also instruction that walks you through how to automate complex tasks in order to drastically cut down on your work time.Get the skills you need to join the Big Data revolution with the Ultimate SQL Bootcamp Certification Bundle for just $21. Read the rest

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 the president is up for impeachment, there are school shootings, there’s all this horrible stuff going on,” Sycamore co-owner Justin Brigham said. “And you know, seven-and-a-half percent (ABV) beer that tastes like cookies, with pixelated reindeer? That’s a nice reprieve I think.” View this post on InstagramA post shared by Sycamore Brewing (@sycamorebrewing) on Nov 23, 2019 at 4:41am PST Image: Sycamore Read the rest

Yesterday, r/redditsecurity announced that it believes leaked internal secret documents about trade agreement discussions between the United States and the United Kingdom were posted to /r/worldpolitics by Russians:Earlier this year Facebook discovered a Russian campaign on its platform, which was further analyzed by the Atlantic Council and dubbed “Secondary Infektion.” Suspect accounts on Reddit were recently reported to us, along with indicators from law enforcement, and we were able to confirm that they did indeed show a pattern of coordination. We were then able to use these accounts to identify additional suspect accounts that were part of the campaign on Reddit. This group provides us with important attribution for the recent posting of the leaked UK documents, as well as insights into how adversaries are adapting their tactics.In late October, an account u/gregoratior posted the leaked documents and later reposted by an additional account u/ostermaxnn. Additionally, we were able to find a pocket of accounts participating in vote manipulation on the original post. All of these accounts have the same shared pattern as the original Secondary Infektion group detected, causing us to believe that this was indeed tied to the original group.Image: CC0 Public Domain Read the rest

Connor Krukosky's lifelong hobby was collecting and refurbishing superannuated computing equipment, which is surprisingly cheap provided you have a lot of space -- Krukosky scored things like keypunch machines for a mere $7 (though he had to drive 1,000 miles roundtrip to get it home).In 2016, Krukosky, then 18, bought a 1,500lb IBM z890 mainframe from a university and brought it home (it took two trips, one with a trailer), and then got it into his basement (with help from his dad, who used a rototiller to excavate a larger basement entrance!). In this incredibly charming and engaging talk from Share 2016, Krukosky explains the challenges he faced in getting the mainframe up and running (including things like expired software licenses!) and finished up by ssh'ing into the mainframe live from the stage.This is great, makerspiration stuff: a scrappy kid using old documents scanned and posted as PDFs to resurrect a titan from a lost, heroic age. The original cost for the machine, 10 years before, was $350,000. He spent a total of $350 buying and refurbishing it.(via Memex 1.1) Read the rest

The Ramones were never a happy family. They never gave much of a crap for the political idealism that would come to be associated with the sound that they defined, either. This is especially of guitarist Johnny Ramone, a notorious conservative who celebrated the bands' induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by declaring, "God bless President Bush."That was in 2002, but frankly, no one was surprised. Because the Ramones had already been singing about Johnny's brand of conservatism for more than 20 years at that point. Joey Ramone allegedly wrote the lyrics to "The KKK Took My Baby Away" after his then-girlfriend, Linda Daniele, cheated on him with Johnny.This is relevant not only because of my personal passion for weird underground rock trivia. But also because Linda Daniele went on to marry Johnny, and the woman now known as Linda Ramone is now embroiled in a lawsuit with Joey's brother, Mickey Hyman, over the rights to the Ramone legacy.Joey and Johnny are both dead now, of course. But Mickey has taken issue with the fact that Linda named her sprawling LA home "The Ramones Ranch," as if claiming it to be the official commemorative estate for a band that was quite famously from Queens. From Page Six:Under [private arbitrator Bob] Donnelly’s decision, Linda must use a less band-specific name for her home, such as “The Johnny Ramone Ranch” or “The Linda Ramone Ranch,” according to the filings.She must also go by Linda Cummings-Ramone, as opposed to Linda Ramone, in promoting future iterations of the tribute show if she wants it to include the work of the whole band. Read the rest

SCAN (Scientific Content Analysis) is a lie-detecting method invented by Avinoam Sapir, a former Israeli spook turned polygraph examiner that involves picking out small textual details from writing samples to determine when someone is lying. Sapir has used his method to determine the veracity of the Book of Genesis, and to conclude that Anita Hill might be a secret lesbian and that James Comey was likely sexually assaulted as a child.SCAN has no empirical support, and is so outlandish that it has hardly been studied by third parties at all. However, each time it was studied, it was found to perform no better than chance. For example, an Obama-era deep dive into investigation methods, the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, which drew experts from many fields who concluded that "SCAN did not distinguish truth-tellers from liars above the level of chance" and challenged SCAN's core assumptions, such as: "Both gaps in memory and spontaneous corrections have been shown to be indicators of truth, contrary to what is claimed by SCAN."Despite this, SCAN is widely deployed in the US and abroad, with customers in "Australia, Belgium, Canada, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom," and within dozens (if not more) of US police departments, as well as the FBI, the CIA and the DIA.Why would a tool with "no empirical support" be so widely used by police departments and spies? The best explanation is offered by Northwestern University law prof Steven Drizin, whose research focuses on wrongful convictions: "A lot has to do with hubris — a belief on the part of police officers that they can tell when someone is lying to them with a high degree of accuracy. Read the rest

Oh look. A bunch of American police cadets giving a Nazi salute. Whom ever could have seen this coming?From the Charleston Gazette-Mail:Several West Virginia state employees have been suspended after a photo emerged depicting a training class of roughly 30 correctional officers performing a Nazi salute.Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety Director Jeff Sandy sent a letter to all employees Wednesday describing the photo as “distasteful, hurtful, disturbing, highly insensitive, and completely inappropriate.”The photo, on state letterhead, shows almost all of Basic Training Class No. 18 displaying the Nazi salute. Text above the photo reads: “HAIL BYRD!” [a reference to the trainees' instructor]This reminds me of something. It almost makes me feel a certain … animosity towards an automated contrivance.While it's good to know that a "number" of these employees have been "suspended," it would be far more comforting to know that they were all fired, along with all the other officers who condone such activity. But I'm not actually expecting much more than a few slaps on the wrist and one or two high-profile Fall Guys before the whole thing gets brushed aside and these Neo-Nazis end up patrolling the streets.WV employees suspended after photo emerges of correctional officers' Nazi salute [Jake Zuckerman / Charleston Gazette-Mail]Image via West Virginia state officials Read the rest

So you missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Well, there's one more holiday milestone coming up: Green Monday, on Dec. 16. It's one of the busiest online shopping days for the simple reason that it will be 10 days before Christmas, which is when last-minute shoppers start to stress.Our advice? Don't wait for that panic to set in. Here are 15 gift deals that are already on discount, and you can take an extra 20% off any of them today by using the online code GREENMONDAY20.SoulSound 2 Bluetooth 4.1 Over-Ear HeadphonesGot an audiophile on your list who wants to cut the cord? These comfortable headphones pack a microphone for calling and 17 hours of battery life.MSRP: $59.99Sale Price: $34.99Price with GREENMONDAY20 online code: $27.99Nix Mini Color Sensor V2Take the guesswork out of decorating with this widget that identifies the exact shade of any color and even matches it to paints by major brands.MSRP: $99Sale Price: $84Price with GREENMONDAY20 online code: $67.20Dive Portable Lungs Starter KitThis super-simple alternative to a full scuba rig includes a hand pump, regulator and more. Just fill it up and you're set to dive in up to 30 feet of water.MSRP: $695Sale Price: $549.99Price with GREENMONDAY20 online code: $439.99ExoGun DreamPro Percussion Massage DeviceAttack sore spots and recover quicker from workouts with this massager that comes equipped with 6 speeds ranging from gentle pressure to high-impact therapy.MSRP: $599Sale Price: $119.99Price with GREENMONDAY20 online code: $95.99Jane West Travel Collection Smoking KitsEnjoy a quick break with this efficient aluminum one-hitter, equipped with its own cleaning rod. Read the rest

AI Dungeon 2 is designed by Nick Walton to achieve an ambitious goal:Imagine an infinitely generated world that you could explore endlessly, continually finding entirely new content and adventures. What if you could also choose any action you can think of instead of being limited by the imagination of the developers who created the game?The screencap above is from an adventure Nick found posted at Hacker News.I decided to try a few games as The Mandalorian. For my first attempt I used the recommended fantasy setting, and chose to play as a knight named Mando. Here's what unfolded:You are Mando, a knight living in the kingdom of Larion. You have a steel longsword and a wooden shield. You are on a quest to defeat the evil dragon of Larion. You've heard he lives up at the north of the kingdom. You set on the path to defeat him and walk into a dark forest. As you enter the forest you see a large black dragon flying through the sky. He looks like it is ready to eat you> compare dragon's likeness to my bounty puckThe black dragon looks very similar to your bounty puck. The only difference is that this one has a red stripe down its side. You decide to take the dragon for yourself.> use grappling hook to climb onto dragonYou grab hold of the dragon's neck with your hand and pull yourself up onto his back. You then begin climbing up towards his head. Read the rest

On Back to the Future Day (that's October 21, 2015), a film short premiered at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood that imagined Marty McFly arriving to the future — meaning, October 21, 2015. Back to the 2015 Future reunited several original cast members (but used a Michael J. Fox impersonator) and, in the four years it's been online, has garnered over 3 million views. Now, YouTuber Pacto Copernico has made a deepfake version of the 15-minute short where Michael J. Fox's face is put on the impersonator's, Tyler Dunivan. There's still a decent amount of uncanny valley but, if you squint, you might be able to suspend your disbelief a little to enjoy this "sequel."Hurry, Watch all three before they get shut down:Back to the 2015 Future (not deepfaked):(Movieweb) Read the rest

"Nova Scopes" by David Sugich:My kaleidoscopes are not your typical everyday kaleidoscopes. I make a variety of 2-, 3-, and 4-mirror kaleidoscopes which are 2-, 2.5-, and 3-dimensional in nature. I use domestic, U.S.-made, colored glass as the decorative exteriors, and dynamically moving, sparkling oil for the object chambers at the end of the mirror systems. My kaleidoscopes create images reminiscent of fireworks, cathedral rose windows, outer space, and psychedelics.In motion, they remind me of Spock's entry into V'ger: お、おれの知ってる万華鏡とぜんぜん違う…Just a kaleidoscope made by some tripper named Dave Sugichhttps://t.co/rAIm2LhoYC作ったのは Dave Sugichさん。他の作品は後述のリンクでどうぞ。販売もしてるよ。https://t.co/gyd1wnwOjp pic.twitter.com/NBdzQmMzZS— ヤギの人（師走） (@yusai00) November 29, 2019 View this post on Instagram A look inside a Star Nova! Music by Spatial Distortion #kaleidoscope #novascope #handmade #stainedglass #artforsaleA post shared by Nova Scopes (@novascopes) on May 7, 2017 at 10:56pm PDTAvailable for purchase here and here. Read the rest

BrickinNick created this LEGO model of the new Tesla Cybertruck. BrickinNick posted it to the LEGO Ideas site. If enough people like the design, it could become an actual LEGO product. From the LEGO Ideas specs:While its design may not be for everyone, many different elements and functions of the Cybertruck lend themselves well to an electrifying LEGO build. At this time, only the frunk (front trunk) and tailgate function. Opening passenger doors, a full interior, fold or slide out ramp, opening charging ports, steering, suspension, the Tesla ATV, and more could all be integrated (and are being worked on for future project updates) making for an incredibly fun building experience. LEGO motorization could even turn this into a truly all-electric vehicle in brick form!Dimensions: 35.6 cm L x 15.2 cm W x 12.7 cm H (14" L x 6" W x 5" H) Read the rest

Truth be told, I'm not the biggest Star Wars nerd on my home world. I've seen all of the films and played the Star Wars: X-Wing miniature game. That's it. So, I don't know much of deeper lore, like what the hell a Mandalorian is. The origins of Beskar? Forget about it. I ended up watching a bunch of YouTube videos in search of answers. Most of them only left me confused and with more questions than answers. Once again, the Templin Institute offered up my favorite summary.[Image: Screen capture from the video] Read the rest

As scientists make great strides in their research on psychedelic therapies for depression, PTSD, OCD, addiction and other conditions, new ways to deliver the drugs are also emerging from laboratories. Oregon company Silo Wellness announced the availability of a new nasal spray for psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms. The company conducted their research and formulated the product in Jamaica where psilocybin is legal. From the Silo Wellness press release:The key to the nasal spray is that it bypasses the gut, going directly to the bloodstream through the nasal mucus membranes and eventually the liver for metabolizing. “Many psilocybin patients, particularly women, complain of upset stomach or vomiting when taking high-doses of mushrooms,” Board Advisor and Silo Wellness investor Becky Rotterman, a Missouri pharmacist, stated. “We want to bring this wonderful natural medicine first to Oregon and then the flyover states – to those who would be afraid to eat a handful of fungi and who feel more comfortable seeing their medicine in a familiar delivery modality, such as a metered-dose nasal spray...."Regarding the expansion of legalization efforts, Arnold explained that “this is the sort of product that activists can discuss with their legislators to show that safe consumption is possible within a legal framework.”“With proof of concept in hand, we are taking pre-orders and entertaining licensing proposals for research abroad and manufacturing for the product in advance of jurisdictions coming online legally, similar to Oregon’s proposed medical-marijuana-like psilocybin initiative,” COO Scott Slay, of Eugene, Oregon stated. Read the rest

Weighted blankets are officially a thing. And if you've ever tried one, you know there's a reason for the fuss. Parents have known for generations that swaddling a baby has a profound calming effect, and the gentle pressure that blanket weights provide can have the same effect on restless sleepers.Pretty much all parts of the body can respond to this kind of treatment, which is why the Nodpod® Weighted Sleep Mask is poised to become just as essential for serious bedtime prep.The cotton/fleece covering is comfy enough, but inside the mask are four gently weighted, BPA-free microfiber pods. They cause the mask to hug the contours of your face without putting undue pressure on your eyeballs - just the right kind of pressure to make you feel secure. Want to sleep on your side? It's just as effective thanks to a pull-through slit that you can use to tie the Nodpod on. No hair-tugging Velcro here.Best of all, it's sale priced just in time to give you some much-needed holiday rest. You can take an extra 15% off that final price by using the discount code MERRYSAVE15. Read the rest

Kentucky Fried Chicken teamed up with Enviro-Log to bring back the 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog that apparently sold out in just a few hours last year. On its site, JFC uses big bold type to make darn sure buyers understand that this log is "NOT ACTUALLY FRIED CHICKEN." The 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog available exclusively at Walmart. 'natch. Read the rest

I don't have this particular LED tracing light box, but it's super cheap on Amazon when you use code HC37AVDP. (If you don't know what a light box is, you probably don't need one.) Read the rest

Why is it that people like Lee Baca, Paul Manafort, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein suddenly develop debilitating health issues when it's time to prosecute them? Variety reports that accused sex criminal Harvey Weinstein "hobbled into the downtown courthouse limping and relying, at times, on a cane or the help of an assistant. He was dressed in an ill-fitting light grey suit, his hair was thinning, and he looked pale and enfeebled." One of Weinstein's team of high-paid lawyers overflowed with sympathy for her client: " “This is tough on anybody going through this and dealing with the scrutiny not only in the courtroom, but in the court of public opinion.”Here is #HarveyWeinstein hobbling out of the courthouse with his defense. He walked in with a cane, but didn’t use the crutch on the way out. pic.twitter.com/HyJNYPFtLn— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) December 6, 2019NEW: Harvey Weinstein left a New York courtroom as prosecutors sought to raise Weinstein's bail to $5 million cash over allegations he violated his ankle monitor conditions; A judge postponed the decision until next week. https://t.co/yRoNBOrZXT pic.twitter.com/f9jLtJIEO9— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) December 6, 2019Harvey Weinstein appears in New York court for bail hearing where prosecutors asked a judge to increase his bail to $5 million for sometimes failing to wear the required tracking device https://t.co/6RUPNVGcPH pic.twitter.com/geRfjXi5fu— Reuters (@Reuters) December 6, 2019Image: Twitter/ABC News Read the rest

Yesterday the Netflix Twitter account issued a challenge to other brands: "What's something you can say during sex but also when you manage a brand twitter account?" Some E Cards collected a few of the responses, some of which are more risque than others: Read the rest

In a recent installment of his Plenary Session podcast, hematologist-oncologist Vinay Prasad observed that "There are interventions that disperse wealth, … and they give people jobs, and they send them out in the community; and there are implantable drugs, implantable devices, there are drugs, there are cancer screening tests, and we will always prioritize interventions that consolidate money in the hands of the few, over interventions that disperse money to the hands of many, with the same levels of evidence."The "unaffordable" interventions are things like more nurses, home visitors, and other policies that give small amounts of money to a large number of people to deliver health care.Dr Ray Poses, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University, has consolidated this into "Prasad's Law": "Medical goods and services that concentrate wealth can be paid for; medical goods and services that disperse wealth are 'unaffordable.'"I would state it more generally as "Spending that involves procurements will have vendors who will use excess revenues to lobby to increase that spending. Spending that merely pays employees to do the work of the institution has no such excess capital and will therefore be squeezed out over the long term."I first started thinking about this at an Orgcon some years ago, where I saw a rep from Reprieve present their research on civilian casualties from US drone strikes outside of theaters of war. These drone strikes are coordinated by the CIA (which is not a military organization, thus their activities are not an "act of war"), and the Agency knows next to nothing about who they kill. Read the rest

Here's Bond's wristwear from Dr. No to Spectre. While the Seiko M354 Memory Bank Calendar from Moonraker (1979) and the Hamilton Pulsar LED watch seen in Live and Let Die (1973) were high-tech icons of their age, it's the, er, timelessness of the Rolex Submariner from Dr. No (1962) that always feels so right now. Read the rest

Relatable, though.Tennessee police arrested a woman who they say pointed a gun at McDonalds workers who gave her ketchup instead of jelly.Asia Vester, 20, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon.From the Associated Press:According to a Memphis police affidavit, Vester was in the drive-thru line of a McDonald’s last week when she received her food and realized her request for jelly was either forgotten or unheeded. She instead received ketchup.Words were exchanged with several employees. Vester was accused of pulling out a gun and pointing it at employees, the affidavit says. Surveillance video led police to Vester. From WREG-TN: Police were able to obtain video of the incident and developed Vester as a person of interest in the case. She was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts of aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon. Read the rest

A mom in Las Vegas got a shocking bill -- $3,000 -- after doctors removed a plastic doll shoe from her 3-year-old daughter’s nose. Kids do dumb stuff. Parenting shouldn't have to be this expensive, and our health care system in America really needs an overhaul.Their bill has since been reduced, after public attention following media reports.Nevada television news KTNV-TV reported earlier this week that Lucy Branson, 3, somehow managed to cram two pink Polly Pocket plastic doll shoes up her nose, one for each nostril.From the Associated Press:Her mother Katy Branson says she was able to remove one of the shoes but even urgent care couldn’t reach the second shoe.Branson says she then took her daughter to Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican Siena Campus in Henderson where physicians used a tweezer-like tool to successfully remove the shoe in seconds.The Branson family says they initially received a bill for $3,000 but the charge was reduced to $1,700 because of a high deductible medical policy.More from KNTV: Las Vegas girl gets toy shoe stuck in nose, hospital sends nearly $3K billPREVIOUSLY on Boing Boing: Hospital charges $2,658.98 to remove doll shoe from girl's nostril Read the rest

(Transcript starts at 19:29)Ray J: "They're unbreakable."Speedy: "Unbreakable?"Ray J: "They're unbreakable. Break 'em."Speedy: "Step on 'em."Ray J: "No, you step on 'em."Speedy: "It's your product."Ray J: "You step on 'em. Speedy, step on 'em."Speedy: "I can't do that."Ray J: "You can."Speedy: "I bet you I can break these."Ray J: "They're unbreakable."Speedy: "They're not unbreakable. Don't tell me they're unbreakable. Don't tell me."Ray J: "Listen..."Speedy: "Don't tell me they're unbreakable. I'm gonna break 'em."Ray J: "They're unbreakable. They cannot break. It's impossible."(Speedy snaps eyeglasses in two)Ray J: "I don't care. But it's fine. Don't worry, there's more."Image: YouTube Read the rest

Not cool.In Alaska, a dentist is accused of fraud, unnecessarily sedating patients, and performing a dental procedure on a woman while riding a wheeled, motorized hoverboard, authorities say.Seth Lookhart, 34, is charged with felony Medicaid fraud and reckless endangerment.From AP:A former patient testified Wednesday at his trial that she was angered when an investigator showed her an unauthorized 2016 video of Lookhart extracting one of her teeth while she was sedated and he was riding the hoverboard. Veronica Wilhelm was “pretty livid” about the dentist’s actions, she testified.“When did Dr. Lookhart get your approval to take out your tooth on a hoverboard,” prosecutor Joan Wilson asked in court.“He never did. I obviously wouldn’t have approved that. That’s dangerous,” Wilhelm said.Wilhelm also was angered that Lookhart sedated her son for a teeth cleaning, she said.Lookhart's defense attorney Paul Stockler described his client's actions as “absolutely stupid.” Read the rest

On Capitol Hill just now, the House of Representatives has voted to PASS the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965.Advocates of vote suppression are not having a good Friday.The House passed a package of bills aimed at restoring protections of the Voting Rights Act rolled back by a key 2013 SCOTUS ruling.John Lewis—a former Freedom Rider who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington—sat in the chair to gavel in the final vote https://t.co/cqdpl5GdfG pic.twitter.com/wd6soGYJxO— POLITICO (@politico) December 6, 2019All but a single Republican (Brian Fitzpatrick) just voted *against* the Voting Right Act (!) restoration bill in the House.— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) December 6, 2019The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. But the Supreme Court's decision to gut the Voting Rights Act has meant democracy denied for far too many eligible voters in America. Proud to have voted for #HR4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, to protect & #RestoreTheVote https://t.co/OQy4xHwinS— Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) December 6, 2019The right to vote is the heart of American democracy. #HR4 restores the integrity of the Voting Rights Act, and I was so proud to vote for its passage today.— Rep. Donna E. Shalala (@RepShalala) December 6, 2019Every House Republican but one voted against restoring the Voting Rights Act overturned by five Supreme Court justices despite strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. Looking on was @repjohnlewis, who was beaten trying to secure that right. Read the rest

Scroll your way to the bottom of the ocean. The deeper you go, the weirder the creatures become, with names to match: headless chicken fish, zombie worm, cosmic jellyfish, stoplight loosejaw, faceless fish. Read the rest

Jen "Klingon Pop Warrior" Usellis records covers of pop songs, translated into Klingon, the apex of which is surely her rendition of "Let it Go" ("yIbuSQo'") from Frozen. (via Borderlands) Read the rest

Share (previously) is an annual festival held in Turin and Belgrade and curated by Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic; the 2020 Share Festival call for entries just went live, along with this year's theme, "Riots: Here we are."Here at Share Festival of Piemonte, the radical, cutting-edge art forms that we have long championed: tactical media, net.art, device art, code art, interactive installations and augmented experiences — are being legitimized, refined and civilized. All of our avant-garde artistic eccentricities are fast becoming twenty-first century mainstream lifestyles. Our Share Festival jury for the year 2020 is the wisest and best-briefed that we have ever assembled, for it includes the doyenne of the Piedmontese art scene, the globally-famed art collector and cultural activist, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. She is ShareFestival’s favorite Knight of Arts and Letters. We are really looking forward to a close discussion of your artistic entries this year. Frankly, our festival has never seen such a halcyon situation. We are the picture of smart-urban civility.However… here, below the dividing-line…. what about all those other cities, here at the turn of the decade? Crowds waves angry banner, subways are flaming, airports are besieged, lasers flare in the tear-gas clouds under the drones — urban mayhem smolders over every horizon! Leaderless crowds cry out their need to take back a control that seems entirely illusory; polarized parliaments howl abuse and demand impeachments, blockades and barricades abound to stop overcrowded caravans where all the wheels have fallen off…. Tech unicorns fall flaming in disgrace, and even the ultra-rich weep and tremble in public venues; social lynch-mobs abound, while enlightened scientists flee the trolls; upheavals are met with ominous silence as the Internet’s plug is pulled over vast, stricken provinces. Read the rest

DMARC is an anti-email-spoofing tool that mail-server administrators can enable; it's designed to reject emails with forged return addresses.Valimail, an email security company (and thus not a neutral party on this matter) probed the mailserver configurations of the three largest electoral districts in each state, and reports that 10 out of 187 of the servers they analyze have a properly configured DMARC system. The rest either do not have DMARC (66%) or had misconfigured it (28%). The researchers note that three key swing states (AZ, FL, NC) have no spoofing protection for the mailservers for their three largest districts.The worry is that attackers could use the lack of DMARC to impersonate legitimate email addresses to send targeted phishing or malware in order to gain a foothold on election networks or launch attacks, steal data or delete it altogether, a move that would potentially disrupt the democratic process.“It does not require a stretch to imagine attackers impersonating election officials via spoofed domains in order to spread disinformation, conduct voter misdirection or voter-suppression campaigns, or even to inject malware into government networks,” said Valimail’s Seth Blank, who authored the research. Most of the largest US voting districts are vulnerable to email spoofing [Zack Whittaker](via /.) Read the rest

The Lixada LED Handheld Flashlight is a $9 stocking-stuffer ($29 for 4): a six-LED/36 lumen flashlight that clips directly over the terminals of a 9V battery, forming an easy flashlight rated for up to 10,000 hours (battery life depends on whether you're switched to 6, 4 or 2 LEDs). One reviewer uses 9V batteries swapped out of smoke detectors as power-sources for these. (via Kottke) Read the rest

Walk through any office, and you will likely spot a few bobbleheads. These wobbly figurines are great fun to have around, although most celebrate people we will never meet. For something a little more personal, try Handmade Custom Bobbleheads. These mini caricatures are sculpted and painted by skilled artisans, based on any photo you provide. They make a great gift for family and friends, and a nice addition to your desk.There is nothing wrong with owning figurines of your favorite athletes and movie characters. However, having an artist create a bobblehead from your likeness is infinitely cooler. The process is pretty straightforward. You simply upload a photo of the person you want to see with a big, wobbly head, and choose a pose. This could be sitting behind a desk, standing proudly in superhero attire, or dressed ready for the catwalk.The image is then passed to a skilled model maker, who crafts a 3D caricature. The likeness is usually spot on, albeit with a clay complexion. You should receive your bobblehead around 4 to 6 weeks after placing an order.The Custom Bobbleheads make really nice gifts, and are an amusing way to mark your territory (think Dwight from The Office). They are normally priced at $105 each, but you can order now for just $42.49 with the festive discount code MerrySave15. Read the rest

If you're going to be in Singapore in December you can participate in "the Galactic Hunt" for Coca-Cola bottles with built-in light-up lightsabers: View this post on Instagram Keep your eyes on these Limited Edition Lighted Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Coca-Cola No Sugar Bottles! In anticipation of the upcoming movie, we will be releasing 5 clues to 5 locations per day on our FB, IG, and website on where to get your hands on one over the next 3 weekends (Fri - Sun) from 6 to 22 Dec. Let the #GalacticHunt begin! >> Link in bio Catch Star Wars: #TheRiseofSkywalker in cinemas this 19 December. #StarWarsSG *T&C appliesA post shared by Coca-Cola Singapore (@cocacolasg) on Dec 4, 2019 at 5:00pm PSTOn designated dates, riddles will be posted online. Solve the riddle to figure out the secret location. Head to the location, find the gatekeeper and request a special pass, and then exchange that pass at a 7-Eleven for one of the special Kylo-Ren or Rey-themed bottles: View this post on Instagram Check out these awesome Coca Cola light up Star Wars lightsaber bottles exclusive to Singapore and launched at this years Singapore Comic Con 😮 Singapore only (only 8000 made) #Coca-Cola #sgcomiccon #starwars #jasonfreeny #StarWarsSGA post shared by Jason Freeny (@gummifetus) on Dec 4, 2019 at 6:52pm PST(Via Gizmodo.) Read the rest

On Tuesday, December 2, the current Attorney General and former Iran-Contra fixer gave a speech at the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing in which he threatened to take away police protections from communities who refused to bow down and respect worship law enforcement.American people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law enforcement officer. And they have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves ― and if communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need.There's the obvious problem here, which is that serving and protecting the public should not be contingent upon the public's lavish praise. That's not a service; it's blackmail. If police truly covet public veneration, then they should be selfless enough to serve and protect without the expectation of reward, and simply because it's the right thing to do.But the other, more ironic issue is about government dependency. Conservatives in the modern GOP love to give lip service to independence — to by-your-bootstraps self-determination. "People need to stop relying on the government, and take care of themselves!" they say. But here's Bill Barr, threatening to take away a government service as if it's a bad thing. We all know what "communities" he's referring to in this speech; they're the same ones that have been historically targeted, bullied, and oppressed by police. That's why these communities don't respect the police. Read the rest

Alan Moore is one of the most well-known names in modern comics. Even if you're not a comic book fan, you've probably at least heard of the guy. There's a good chance you have at least a passing familiarity with his wild, unkempt mane, or the fact that he's a practicing wizard.He's also known for being, erm, not the happiest person on the planet. He even voiced a parody version of himself on an episode of The Simpsons, reveling in the glory of his own crotchety reputation.This year, Moore celebrated his 66th birthday by announcing his plans to vote in a general election for the first time in 40 years, in order to stop "this ravenous, insatiable Conservative agenda before it devours us with our kids as a dessert." But the meaningfulness of his actions was largely overshadowed on social media by the fact that Moore is still a miserable old witch and did you know there's a great new Watchmen show out.Moore's voting pronouncement was made on the social media accounts of his daughter, Leah, who's a successful comic book creator in her own right. So Leah had to deal with a lot of these comments. And she made clear, she's had enough of people slagging on her father. Sure, she's aware of his faults. But if you understand where he's coming from, it will absolutely break your heart — just like his heart was repeatedly broken by the superhero comics he loved so much.He has also clearly never watched any of the rather enjoyable comics based movies, or experienced any of the joy, support or inspiration they bring to millions of people. Read the rest

You need red and blue lens to fully appreciate Insane51's murals like these commissions for Star Wars and Infinity War: View this post on Instagram ⬅️SWIPE LEFT⬅️ 🔵Finn / Storm trooper🔴 Commission I did at @redcinemasgso for @martykotis on my East coast trip. - 📸: Photos by @droos86 Location: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA 🇺🇲 Year: 2018A post shared by 🔴Insane51🔵 (@insane51) on Sep 23, 2019 at 8:00am PDT View this post on Instagram 🔴 Thanos / Ironman 🔵 I painted this piece of the epic scene from the Avengers: Endgame movie just a few weeks ago and waited a while to release it. I'm very sorry if you haven't seen it yet. Festival:@streetlifefestivallimassol Location : Limassol , Cyprus 🇨🇾 #streetlifefestivallimassol Love you 3000 ❤️A post shared by 🔴Insane51🔵 (@insane51) on May 16, 2019 at 8:06am PDT View this post on Instagram ⬅️⬅️⬅️SWIPE LEFT⬅️⬅️⬅️ I don't usually paint with my space suit on , but when I do... 🔴Double Exposure🔵 X-Ray style at @nassfestival. The actual piece was actually mounted on a wall ride together with some Red & Blue light to get the full effect without 3D glasses at night ! (Video coming up) Thanx again @upfest people for the invitation and 📸 : @streetartatlas making sure we look cool again 🚲: Rider at second picture is the amazing: @isaaclesser 📸: Shot of bmx rider by: @adamlievesleybmxA post shared by 🔴Insane51🔵 (@insane51) on Jul 16, 2018 at 4:00am PDTHis new print Falling In includes two pairs of anaglyphic glasses:You can see the print under different lights and try to win a copy at Instagram: View this post on Instagram ⬅️SWIPE LEFT⬅️ _ 🔵 PRINT RELEASE & G I V E A W A Y 🔴 _ 🚨SOLD OUT🚨 🎁 GIVEAWAY WINNER : @the.enthused 🎁 _ Get a chance to WIN this BLACK FRIDAY Limited Edition Print by following 3 simple steps: _ 1. Read the rest

WorkOf recruited 50 independent designers to create one-of-a-kind holiday ornaments for auction at website Paddle8. Proceeds will be donated to Scope of Work, "a social impact company with the purpose of making the creative industry more inclusive."In addition to RUD-075, The Neural Network Reindeer by Art and Guile, my favorites include Waterdrop Miniture Ornament, The Dark Crystal, Bag in a Tree, and Moonrise:See all the ornaments Paddle8">here.(Via Fast Company.) Read the rest

[The sale of the .ORG top-level domain to a private equity fund run by a bunch of Republican billionaires is a corrupt, revolting perversion. Here, my EFF colleague Mitch Stoltz does an excellent job of explaining what's at stake and how you can take action. -Cory]The .ORG top-level domain and all of the nonprofit organizations that depend on it are at risk if a private equity firm is allowed to buy control of it. EFF has joined with over 250 respected nonprofits to oppose the sale of Public Interest Registry, the (currently) nonprofit entity that operates the .ORG domain, to Ethos Capital. Internet pioneers including Esther Dyson and Tim Berners-Lee have spoken out against this secretive deal. And 12,000 Internet users and counting have added their voices to the opposition.What’s the harm in this $1.135 billion deal? In short, it would give Ethos Capital the power to censor the speech of nonprofit organizations (NGOs) to advance commercial interests, and to extract ever-growing monopoly rents from those same nonprofits. Ethos Capital has a financial incentive to engage in censorship—and, of course, in price increases. And the contracts that .ORG operates under don’t create enough accountability or limits on Ethos’s conduct.Take Action SIGN THE PETITION TO DEFEND DOT ORGSDomain Registries Have Censorship PowerRegistries like PIR manage the Internet’s top-level domains under policies set out by ICANN, the governing body for the Internet’s domain name system. Registries have the power to suspend domain names, or even transfer them to other Internet users, subject to their contracts with ICANN. Read the rest

This is super neat.It was originally uploaded in 2010, but became newly viral again this week and the source is so much better than the crapped-out clip that went meme.Enjoy, unmute, turn up the volume.From the original video description by AgentJayZ on YouTube:Rare opportunity to demonstrate a sound that no turbine tech wants to hear... ever!... because it means you have to get that thing you dropped in there back out. Jet engines are heavy and sensitive, so it's a big deal to lift one up and turn it over, just to hopefully drop out a small piece that some dumbass dropped in there.If that does not work, the engine must be disassembled to the point where the item can be retrieved. This will be an expensive process.... that's why it's a bad sound.Index of all videos: http://members.iinet.net.au/~tgard/[via] Read the rest

Women and girls, Uber at your own risk.In its first safety report released tonight, Uber disclosed the number of sexual assaults, murders and fatal crashes that happened through its ride-sharing platform. Uber says 3,045 sexual assaults involving Uber drivers and passengers were reported in U.S. rides just last year.Here's the official report in the Uber newsroom, which came out a few hours ago:Uber Delivers U.S. Safety ReportWritten byTony West, Chief Legal OfficerDoing the right thing means counting, confronting, and taking action to end sexual assault. My heart is with every survivor of this all-too-pervasive crime. Our work will never be done, but we take an important step forward today. https://t.co/i8W1fpiU97 (1/3)— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) December 5, 2019Today @Uber does what no other tech company has done: voluntarily publish a Safety Report detailing our greatest challenges and how we’re addressing them. Avoiding tough topics like sexual assault is common but we believe it’s time for a new approach.https://t.co/qFqKAlwcY5— Tony West (@tonywest) December 5, 2019Thanks for reaching out about the US Safety Report, @MitchGayns. Our Uber Support team isn’t able to answer questions directly, but you can learn more here: https://t.co/aVfEGlNZmV. If you’re interested in Uber’s overall approach to safety, see more at https://t.co/ckryXGfD7m.— Uber Support (@Uber_Support) December 6, 2019“The numbers are jarring and hard to digest,” Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, said in an interview with the New York Times' Kate Conger. “What it says is that Uber is a reflection of the society it serves.” Excerpt from the NYT:The report covered the safety of both riders and drivers. Read the rest

Well this is pretty great! Radicalized, my book of four novellas, is one of the CBC's picks for best Canadian fiction of 2019. It's in pretty outstanding company, too, including Margaret Atwood's The Testaments. Read the rest

The annual Germeval natural language processing event solicits German-language "shared tasks"; one of this year's proposed tasks from the University of Hamburg is Prediction of Intellectual Ability and Personality Traits from Text, which proposes to mine test subjects' essays as a predictor of IQ.The University of Washington computational linguist Emily M Bender does a good job explaining how this is all kinds of wrong, from supporting the racially biased junk science of IQ testing to the ethical implications of mining subjects' text to predict "intelligence."Bender also points out that one of the people before the shared task, David Scheffer, owns a "neuromarketing" consultancy that offers "automated personality analysis" and "automated personnel selection."A reply in the thread invokes Frank Pasquale's "Second Wave of Algorithmic Accountability," and Pasquale weighs in: "so much depends on where the corpora come from, what was people's intent when they wrote/spoke, what contestable cultural assumptions are built into assessments of complexity from text."The proposers of the shared task have posted a reply that is broadly dismissive of the ethical critique of their work, implicitly refusing to contemplate the possibility that it is unethical to undertake the kind of analysis they're doing for the purposes they're interested in, and instead are pleading with their critics for "dialog" about how it could be made ethical. This puts is pretty squarely in Pasquale's "Second Wave" discourse: asking whether something should be done, not how.During an aptitude test, participants are asked to write freely associated texts to provided questions and images. Read the rest

Greennet (previously) is the oldest ISP in the UK, tracing its origins back to Fidonet, where it was a hub for radical progressive political movements, which has attracted retaliations (in the form of DDoS attacks by repressive states) and surveillance (Greennet was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against GCHQ over surveillance activities that ended with the spy agency "admitting clandestine hacking activities").Last month, Greennet was taken offline by a massive denial of service attack that it believes was aimed at suppressing this report from Papuans Behind Bars, which documents Indonesian political repression in West Papua, aimed at suppressing an independence movement.Greennet is calling on the wider internet to spread the word of this report so that the cowardly attempt to silence political reporting through denial of service is not successful.Numerous political arrests have taken place in 2018 and 2019 as the Indonesian authorities attempt to suppress political protests in West Papua and Indonesia. In particular, treason charges have been used to an unprecedented extent to arrest political activists during August and September this year, in response to an apparent increase in support across Indonesia for the West Papuan self-determination struggle. Foreign as well as local human rights advocates are being subjected to similar scrutiny. Papuans Behind Bars (PBB) documents and identifies Papuan political prisoners/ detainees in order to bring to light their cases, and also monitors for fair and free trials. The people involved in gathering the data are lawyers from non-profit, independent legal aid institutions in West Papua who also provide legal assistance to political prisoners, human rights advocates and activists. Read the rest

Cattle guards are designed to keep cows from crossing them. They don't work if the cow is as smart as this one.When it's not your first cattle guardImage: Imgur Read the rest

McKinsey made more than $20m helping ICE design its gulags, advising them to skimp on medical care, food and supervision in a cost-savings measure. But if Uncle Sugar really wants to save some money, it should fire McKinsey, which is by far the most expensive consultancy with a US government contract.Ordinary beltway bandits like the Boston Consulting Group charge $33,063.75/week for consulting from just-hired, recent college grads. But McKinsey bills out the same kind of consulting at $56,707/week ($2,948,764/year).As Matt Stoller (previously) writes, the one thing McKinsey is really good at is figuring out how to bill its government clients at rates that vastly exceed the caps set by law and policy, which is how they've grossed $956.2m in US government contracts from 2006 until now, a figure so high that the General Services Administration’s Inspector General recommended that all McKinsey contracts with the US government should be canceled (they weren't) (yet).Stoller explains how McKinsey used its insider contacts to overrule GSA managers who refused McKinsey's requests for a 10-14% hike on its IT services, finding a GSA Division Director who would lie to the inspector general, "manipulate pricing data, break rules on sole source contracting, and pitch various other government agencies, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to buy McKinsey services" (that director was quoted as saying, "My only interest is helping out my contractor"). The reason that federal officials are happy to see McKinsey gouge all of us is that their departmental budgets are partly set through the Industrial Funding Fee, a Clinton initiative that was supposed to encourage "entrepreneurship" in federal contracting by awarding the GSA 75% of the funds it spent on contractors as a bonus to its budget (this has led to widespread collusion between GSA officials and contractors to raise prices). Read the rest