Boing Boing

Even though life is emerging following our COVID-19 lockdown, it’s not exactly time to celebrate defeating the insidious virus just yet. CDC officials warn that once a resurgence of the virus hits this winter, it could prove even more disastrous for the U.S. healthcare system than the opening salvo. That would follow the pattern suffered by America during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918, which infected 500 million people worldwide; or one-third of the world’s population.Whether it’s coronavirus or another harmful disease, germs and infection possibilities are a fact of life now. With everyone trying to take precautions to better protect themselves and their families, items like the Snapback Glove make a solid first line of defense from harmful disease.And the concept behind the Snapback Glove is unmistakably simple. This glove easily clips to your belt or pants and, just like an oven mitt removing hot food from the stove, it’s conveniently ready whenever you need to pick up an object, press buttons, sign a receipt or open a door.The Snapback Glove is made using proprietary WaveStopper fabric with 70 percent SilverFlex fibers to be entirely antiviral and antimicrobial. Quickly slip in on from its perch at your belt whenever you have to deal with any potentially infectious situation, then whip it off as the retractable reels automatically snap the glove back into place. Positioned correctly, you’ll never even have to touch the glove itself, even when you put it on.While nothing can be 100 percent effective against the spread of germs, using something like the Snapback Glove can cut exposure threats exponentially during trips to the grocery store, gas station or any other public location or when you’re using public transportation. Read the rest

At a news conference in Canada, a reporter asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what he thought about Trump's proposal to use US military forces against protesters and to comment on people who were “tear-gassed yesterday to make way for a presidential photo op.” Trudeau was silent for over 20 seconds before answering, “We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States.” Image: Reuters Video Screengrab Read the rest

“I feel a little safer now that these monsters are off of the street and no longer able to terrorize anyone else,” said 22-year-old Messiah Young, who was dragged out of his car by police and shot multiple times with a taser gun. His girlfriend, 20-year-old Taniyah Pilgrim, was also pulled out of the car and tased.The video above is horrific.From AP News:Young’s arm was fractured and he suffered a gash requiring 24 stitches when he was pulled from the car, Howard said. Young told Howard’s investigators that an officer who escorted him from the scene after his arrest punched him in the back more than 10 times as they walked.“I’m so happy that they’re being held accountable for their actions,” Pilgrim said at the news conference.Both Young and Pilgrim are rising seniors at historically black colleges near downtown Atlanta. Young, from Chicago, is studying business management at Morehouse College. Pilgrim, who’s from San Antonio, Texas, is studying psychology at Spelman College.The two officers whose firings were announced Sunday — Investigator Ivory Streeter and Investigator Mark Gardner — were charged along with four other officers. Read the rest

A comprehensive list of at least one hundred separate incidents in the past week where law enforcement was violent with press at protests over the police killing of George Floyd.Over the past few days, Nick Waters / @n_waters89 of Bellingcat has collected over 100 photos and videos showing American police violently attacking credentialed reporters.We've hit 100 incidents where journalists experienced violence from the police during the #GeorgeFloyd protests.When I started this thread, I thought there would maybe be 7 or 8 examples. Instead what I have seen is a serious disregard for the free press by law enforcement. https://t.co/wBgYhVHmad— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) June 1, 2020More at Mediagazer. Here are excerpts from the thread.The third clear example of a news crew being deliberately targeted by law enforcement in the US I’ve seen.Anybody else seen similar incidents? https://t.co/pzOWjQZru6— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) May 30, 2020Incident 124: Journalists detained and prevented from filming and eventually released (I think in Richmond, Virginia) https://t.co/FWgC0XzKsW— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) June 2, 2020A note on methodology: in this thread I have chosen to focus specifically on violence by law enforcement against journalists. I've seen many of examples of egregious behaviour by police against demonstrators, by protesters against journalists, vigilantes against looters etc.— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) June 2, 2020COMMENT: if this stuff is happening to credentialed journalists, imagine what is happening to protesters.— Nick Waters (@N_Waters89) June 2, 2020Going into tonight, here's our updated count on press freedom violations during the #GeorgeFloyd protests Arrests: 20Assaults (physical or getting shot w/ pellets): 60Equipment Damage: 13Assault + Damage: 9Other (tear gassing, building damage, etc): 26Total incidents: 128— U.S. Read the rest

This is one of the most absolutely insane moments I've ever seen on live television. pic.twitter.com/Uvzig8YGSa— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 2, 2020In Van Nuys, California, black store owners, trying to protect their store from looters, called the police. When the police arrived, they promptly handcuffed the store owners and let the looters run away. Meanwhile a TV news reporter on the scene was yelling at the cops, “They're the owners!”For good measure, the police also pulled an innocenet woman from her car, for the simple reason that she was black and within grabbing distance. Read the rest

As a YouTube commenter said, "David doesn't even need to be in his own video for me to enjoy it." Read the rest

Along with a gathering of peaceful protesters, clergy members of St. John’s Episcopal Church were gassed and grenaded to clear a path for Trump to pose in front of the church holding a Bible, said Reverend Gini Gerbasi in a Facebook post.From her post:We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John’s, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually – with SO MANY concussion grenades – back to K street. By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John’s, Lafayette Square.I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN’S – a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day – SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED! Read the rest

3 Brothers-Radio Raheem, Eric Garner And George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/EB0cXQELzE— Spike Lee (@SpikeLeeJoint) June 1, 2020Spike Lee released the above short film, "3 Brothers," combining footage of the arrests of George Floyd and Eric Garner, black men who were killed by police, with the scene from his classic movie "Do The Right Thing" (1989) in which police choke and kill the fictional character Radio Raheem. Lee premiered "3 Brothers" during the CNN special "I Can’t Breathe: Black Men Living & Dying In America. Also watch Lee's comments below:"The attack on black bodies has been here from the get-go," says filmmaker Spike Lee, responding to protests over George Floyd's death. "...I am not condoning all this other stuff but I understand why people are doing what they are doing." https://t.co/K5Gzn1gRT0 pic.twitter.com/sxnZJ9xRpi— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) June 1, 2020 Read the rest

AskSmithsonian always has a fascinating and eclectic collection of reader questions and answers from Smithsonian Institutions experts on topics ranging from scientific phenomena to art history to pop culture. (What exactly is duck sauce? Has anyone ever run for president from prison? How does a hippopotamus swim so fast?) In the current issue, a reader asks if libraries fumigate books to disinfect them. Here's the answer:That practice was used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when book-borrowing was seen as a possible disease vector. Today, collections use nonchemical methods, like freezing, to treat mold and insect infestations. The observation that the coronavirus can survive on paper and cardboard for up to one day is leading libraries to disinfect nonporous surfaces and quarantine recently circulated materials for 24 hours, says Vanessa Haight Smith, the head of the Smithsonian Libraries’ Preservation Services Department.image: David Flores/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Read the rest

One of the things that led up to Margaret Thatcher's resignation as Britain's prime minister was the imposition of a poll tax on every adult in the U.K.: a crude per-head charge just for existing. Londoners rioted on 31 March 1990, with hundreds hurt and 339 arrests made. Trafalgar Square was wrecked, police charged the crowds on horseback only to be forced back, and shops throughout the west end were looted. It's a world away from the experience of black people in America and contemporary protests here, but interesting all the same because of what's different and what's the same. The rioters included many people with large family sizes (a head tax!), people with limited incomes but too well-off to escape the tax. It was a hard-to-define segment on the margins of prosperity, working white people rubbing shoulders with immigrant Muslims and well-off Catholics. All sharing the burden of those targeted by the law. The police lied through their teeth about their incompetent tactics and excessive use of force and, in an age before ubiquitous video recording devices, enjoyed largely servile coverage in the press. But almost all those arrested were ultimately acquitted, suggesting the police had fabricated or inflated charges.Thatcher was gone within months, the poll tax proved hard to collect, and her replacement won re-election after promising to abolish it entirely, then did so. Read the rest

From 1967 through the 1980s, Emory Douglas was the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, the revolutionary social justice and political organization founded in Oakland, California. Douglas was the art director, designer, and primary artist for The Black Panther Newsletter and created the iconic Black Panther flyers, handouts, and posters. Hw work is as relevant, and as necessary, right now as it was 50 years ago. Art historian, artist, and professor Colette Gaiter referred to Douglas as "the Norman Rockwell of the ghetto, concentrating on the poor and oppressed."To this day, Douglas creates powerful work that communicates urgent ideas and calls for action.image: "All power to the people" by Emory Douglas (1970) Read the rest

In this video, the Helpful Vancouver Vet explains how best to pick up cats: "Dr. Burstyn and his feline friends demonstrate how to pick up a cat in a way that is comfortable for the cat and safe for you. A must watch for anyone with a feline in the family."If you're trying to hold the cat down, squish that cat. All you need to know about cat restraint is to squish that catI wonder, does this work for rabid mustelids? Asking for myself.How to deactivate a cat Read the rest

You don't need to know who Cardi B or indeed who Star Wars is to enjoy this video, in which the sound effects are replaced. Read the rest

"Lost a window to the riot, didn't lose an opportunity," writes Memphis resident Tagawat on r/Memphis.(Thanks, Jeff Cross!) Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH yet the CEO community is outraged by yet another executive killed during a regulatory investigation

On Sunday, May 31st, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted that Antifa would be officially designated as a terrorist organization by the US government.A message from the President: pic.twitter.com/BtDdfGL2nO— Real Press Sec Bot (@RealPressSecBot) May 31, 2020Despite his position in the highest seat of national power, Trump's tweets are (fortunately) not legally-binding. And even if they were, it wouldn't matter — the United States has official statute for designating domestic terrorists, a fact which has ironically served to benefit homegrown mass murderers acting on white supremacist agendas. There's also the fact that Antifa is … not a formal organization. There is no hierarchy, no centralized leadership — it's just individuals, occasionally clustering together, engaging in direct action. Even if you could legally designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, it would be impossible to develop any sort of criteria to decide who or what qualifies as "Antifa."This is, unfortunately, the likely aim of Trump's provoke tweet: to invoke the chillingly Orwellian logic that "anti-fascist action equals terrorism."Most of the criticism of "Antifa" is actually aimed at people employing Black Bloc tactics. Many of them are probably anarchists; many are probably not, and may just have legitimate reasons for protecting their identities. There are valid complaints about the effectiveness of these methods; there are also valid arguments that they ultimately work. But one thing is certain: no one in America has been killed by "Antifa" or Black Bloc tactics. I suppose one could argue that there is an intimidation factor to Black Bloc tactics, but it's hardly organized in the deliberate sense of most terrorism. Read the rest

Grindr, a popular hookup app, yesterday announced it was removing its "ethnicity" filter.Announcing the change, Grindr said it had a "zero-tolerance policy for racism and hate speech" on its platform.It problem Grindr long ignored, but something has forced its hand. The BBC's Ben Hunte says because white users have started speaking out:But some are angry that it has only happened as a result of white people speaking up on social media. Indeed, the most-shared social media posts written to shame Grindr into action were posted by white gay men.This means that it's just a resolved PR issue to Grindr, not the start of a different approach to related issues. For example, it's likely that the ethnicity filter hid problems with algorithmic racism that will now be readily apparent to searchers Read the rest

From the Denver Post:Colorado recorded a 40% decrease in suicides in March and April as social-distancing policies aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus kept residents home, according to provisional death-certificate data from the state health department.The data helps paint a complex picture of the mental and emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. While suicides are down from 2019 levels, Colorado Crisis Services saw an almost 48% increase calls in March and April compared to last year, with most callers seeking help for anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.Donald Trump (and all of his parrot pundits, by extension) have shamelessly exploited the threat of increased suicides as a reason to "re-open the economy" sooner. This rang hollow before, as it was an excuse often given by people who had never seemed overly concerned about suicide, addiction, or mental health beyond the generic self-serving platitudes that virtue-signal their bare-minimum humanity. Now, it seems like an even more disgusting excuse to profit on the back of human lives.The Denver Post article does quote from a few experts, who share their possible theories on why this might be happening. Anxieties are, of course, running high, as evidenced by the jump in calls to crisis hotlines. But some people think that this unprecedented crisis may actually be helping to create a sense of community; seeing so many other people so visibly struggling might put things into perspective for some people. Another theory is that people at risk for suicide might be too overwhelmed by the adrenaline of day-to-day survival — figuring out the logistics of simply things like groceries — that it might be temporarily suppressing their emotional pain. Read the rest

OK, I really need this. It's the SpaceX Dragon rendezvousing and docking with the International Space Station with "Blue Danube" as the soundtrack. Holy 2001, Batman!Image: Screengrab Read the rest

This is one of my personal favorite bits of Schadenfreude in the world.This photo was taken by Karen Reshkin at the 2016 Milwaukee Irish Fest, and depicts a somewhat Irish-inspired riff on the standard Blue Lives Matter fascist fashion chic. Except no one explained to this idiot cop how translations work, especially when it comes to idioms.A blogger named the Geeky Gaeilgeoir breaks this hilariously ironic failure with eloquent detail, and a much firmer grasp of the Irish language than I have. But essentially, this mean translated individual word of "Blue Lives Matter" without considering context or grammar. "Gorm" is indeed "blue." But "chónaí" means "lives" with a short "i," as in, "I live here." And "ábhar" means "matter," yes, but in the noun form — like a subject matter, or a material, as opposed to the verb of "mattering."The syntax is all wrong, too. And that helps with the absurdity. Essentially, this shirt doesn't say anything.But the real chef-kiss moment is with the word "Blue." "Gorm" is, technically, correct…in a certain context:When color is used to describe a person in Irish, it typically refers to hair color. For example An bhean rua: The red-haired woman.There are exceptions, of course: For example, Na fir bhuí (“The orange/yellow men”) is used to refer to members of the Orange Order because of the color of their sashes. But “blue/gorm” would not be used to refer to police officers as a group. That’s an American thing. Read the rest

When you were 10 and your mom demanded you finish your vegetables or go to your room, you were mad. Even as kids, we hated it when we were ordered to do something. Car insurance is a federal mandate, yet that’s only one of the reasons why most Americans would rather do just about anything than deal with car insurance.Over a quarter (28%) of Americans — 28 percent — think they pay too much for car insurance, yet almost 40 percent say they haven’t checked their current rates against competitors in at least three years. 17 percent have never checked at all. Ever.The Zebra wants to change that car insurance aversion mindset. The nation’s leading car insurance comparison site, they’ve developed a free, safe, simple way to make sure users are getting the absolute best price on car insurance. And if they’re not, The Zebra paves the way for any driver to get the lowest rate available anywhere.Through The Zebra website, users identify their vehicle make and model as well as where they live. With that handful of data, The Zebra stretches its legs, tapping their relationships with over 200 different national and regional insurance providers to find out which will offer gives that user the best possible coverage plan.The Zebra checks in with providers like Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Allstate, and GEICO, crunching the numbers and offering all the best coverage offers in a matter of seconds.For users who find an option they like, The Zebra will facilitate the switch, working with the new provider to hammer out the policy details while all the user has to do is sign on the dotted line to make it official. Read the rest

Mayweather is committed to handling all costs for the funeral on June 9 in Floyd’s hometown of Houston, as well as other expenses.

“There is a new movement being born right now. A movement against hatred. And the elements of that movement includes racism, which traces its origin back 400 years, antisemitism, sexism, and xenophobia.”Watch this incredible comment by longtime CNN anchor and news presenter Bernard Shaw.Watch this incredible comment by CNN legend Bernard Shaw:"There is a new movement being born right now." pic.twitter.com/XLNenCGlul— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 2, 2020 Read the rest

• June 1, Monday night: Tear gas fired on peaceful protesters in Washington D.C.• Trump: “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them” Earlier today, impeached president Donald Trump told “weak” U.S. governors to use more force against protesters. Tonight, Trump has threatened to direct military to attack protesters in the streets of the nation's capital and elsewhere, with lethal force, as the agents carrying out those attacks deem appropriate.As a massive crowd of protesters crowded the streets near the White House, met with escalating force by police and other law enforcement, Trump spoke in the Rose Garden, and threatened to use military force against Americans in the streets:At nearly the same moment, Trump spoke in the Rose Garden and vowed to end unrest in major cities across the nation “now,” saying that he would deploy the military if state governors refused to call out the National Guard. “Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled,” Trump said. “If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.” More at Reuters:Police fire rubber bullets, tear gas to disperse peaceful protest near White HouseA demonstrator raises their hands next to U.S. Read the rest

ACLU: “We want you to have what you'll need to know your risks and know your rights.”

Time is a flat circle, and between the quarantine and the never-ending mind-boggling madness of our ever-escalation geopolitical chaos, it's become increasingly difficult to understand our own temporal existence in the seemingly endless cesspool known as 2020.So game developer Rami Ismail came up with a helpful solution: is2020over.com.Got boredhttps://t.co/onijOQRrkF— Rami Ismail (@tha_rami) June 1, 2020Besides the depressing but unequivocal "NO," the website also tracks all of the insane events we've witnessed in the last 15 years of 5 months, just to help you make sense of the incomprehensible timeline that we're living on.Is 2020 over? [Rami Ismail]Image: Public Domain Read the rest

It's depressingly fitting that a nationwide spree of protests against racist policing would occur on the anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, what's been called the single worst incident of racial violence in American history. Using guns and aircrafts, white racists destroyed 35 square blocks of what had — until then — been the wealthiest black community in the country, resulting in more than $32 million dollars in damage adjusted for inflation. Like many such tragic events, it began when white racists accused a black man of looking at a white woman the wrong way.And sadly, it's a thing that most people didn't even know about it until they watched Damon Lindelof's Watchmen sequel on HBO in the fall of 2019. It took 80 years before any kind of official report was made to acknowledge the event; mass graves are still being discovered nearly a century later.Here are some links if you want to learn more:‘Watchmen’ Opened With the Tulsa Race Riot. Here’s What to Read About It. [Jennifer Vineyard / The New York Times]"They was killing black people" [DeNeen L. Brown / The Washington Post]The Massacre of Black Wall Street [Re/Think / The Atlantic]Tulsa Race Riot: A Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921Black Wall Street: The African American Haven That Burned and Then Rose From the Ashes [Victor Luckerson / The Ringer]Image: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons Read the rest

It seems weird to be writing about something as frivolous as a game while the world is infected and on fire, but we do need a little distraction and joy to keep us sane, and for some of us, the gaming hobby offers just that. Sean Sutter, the one-person game designing artistic juggernaut behind the fabulous fantasy narrative skirmish wargame, Relicblade just launched a Kickstarter for his latest product, a two-person starter set. Within 30 minutes, he had blown past his funding goal and is currently over $40,000. For those of us familiar with this game, this is no surprise at all. To know Relicblade is to love Relicblade.While I am a huge, lifelong fan of the tabletop gaming hobby in general, I especially adore indie games that are basically the vision of one artist. Relicblade is such a wonder. Sean does nearly everything. He designs the games, writes and lays out the rulebooks, does all of the art, sculpts all of the miniatures. This would all be impressive enough, but the quality with which he does it all makes it even more impressive. His product line confidently stands next to the big dogs in the industry.The latest campaign, called Storms of Kural, is a two-player starter set designed to provide everything needed to enter the world of Relicblade. There are two main pledge levels, one at $100 for the rulebook, minis, cards, and tokens, and one at $85 for people who already own the rulebook. Read the rest

As anti-police protests raged across the country on Sunday, the official Twitter account of the Sergeants Benevolent Association of the NYPD spent most of the day whining about New York Mayor Bill DiBlasio.DiBlasio is hardly a stalwart of #TheResistance, and there are certainly plenty of good reasons for the average citizen to complain about him. But the SBA was pretty clearly employing Mafia-style bullying tactics to frighten the guy into submission. After DiBlasio's daughter, Chiara, was arrested for "unlawful assembly" during the New York City protests, the SBA Twitter account posted a photo of her arrest paperwork, including her personal identifying information. (Details blacked out manually)This is, of course, illegal, as well as a hugely dangerous threat.The tweet has since been deleted. But it's not the first time that SBA President Ed Mullins has been involved in frighteningly inflammatory rhetoric. Back in February, he openly declared war on DiBlasio, and also has an established history of sending racist emails out to the entire Police Union. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the racist union rep targeted the mayor's biracial daughter. Read the rest

Image Scrubber is a useful website that removes all the identifying metadata from any photograph and gives you the option to blur out certain parts of the photo.This is a tool for anonymizing photographs taken at protests.It will remove identifying metadata (Exif data) from photographs, and also allow you to selectively blur parts of the image to cover faces and other identifiable information.Hit the open button to open a photograph. The program will display the data it is removing.Click okay, and you can then save the scrubbed image by hitting save or right clicking on it and saving it. Maximum size is 2500x2500 pixels - larger images will be scaled down.You can select between painting over the image or blurring it out. Dragging on the image will paint on or blur it. You can change your brush size via the slider. The blur function has built-in pixel shuffling/noise and is fairly secure but sensitive information should be covered with the paint tool.This tool works offline: on a phone you can load the page then turn on airplane mode (or turn off wifi/data) before opening any pictures. On a computer, download the zipped code, open the folder, and open index.html in a browser with the internet turned off.All processing happens directly in the browser- no information is stored or sent anywhere.Image: Jumpstory / CC0 Read the rest

Climate change, growing inequality, systemic racism, militarized police, rising fascism, Covid-19 pandemic, plagues of locusts. From is2020over.com, a list of 2020's bad news to date.JanuaryMore than 20% of Australia's forest is lost to forest fires.World War III is barely averted after US aggression.Africa is plagued by unprecedented locust swarms.FebruaryThe UK withdraws from the European Union.The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are postponed due to COVID-19.MarchCOVID-19 is declared a global pandemic. Hundreds of thousands die. Schengen borders are closed, halting European travel.Global public air traffic comes to a halt.AprilMecca sits eerily empty, despite Ramadan.Pentagon releases UFO footage.White people riot to get haircuts.1986 sent a "Miss Me?" as a wildfire in the radioactive forests around Chernobyl caused radiation to spike 20-fold.MayEurovision Song Contest is cancelled.Microsoft breaks Windows via update, again.Locusts now sweep India and Pakistan.The murder of George Floyd sparks protests & riots throughout the US.JuneA new Ebola outbreak was declared in Mbandaka, Congo, where no cases had been found since 2018. Read the rest

when will the media stand up to the violent antifa Marxist ideology of [checks notes] ah, cat owners pic.twitter.com/h9qWQBurag— Sam Thielman (@samthielman) June 1, 2020In this clip, a local news anchor mistakes a Cat Condo for a cinder block. You can hear the disappointment in his voice when he realizes it's not what he'd hoped, like the Bill Hader impression of TV crime ghoul Keith Morrison. [via Sam Thielman]You can buy a similar model of cat condo/plush cinder block on Amazon. Or you can get one from Target, obviously. Read the rest

Black Protestor caught 2 White Protestors tagging Starbucks. pic.twitter.com/06LuT4ryb8— gregarious (@gryking) May 31, 2020Given the white women's attitude toward a black woman asking them to stop tagging "BLM" and "Down with white supremacy" on a Starbucks exterior, it's hard not to think these two are anything but boogaloo accelerationists carrying out a false flag mission. Read the rest

In a conference call with US state governors, Trump said people arrested for protesting should be sent to prison for 10 years, and that governors were "weak" for not "dominating" protests.From The Washington Post:Trump also called on them to take back the streets and use force to confront protesters and said if they did not, they would look like “fools,” alarming several governors on the call as they communicated privately, according to the officials.“If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” Trump said, according to a person on the call. A second person on the call said Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and thanked Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper for his assistance.JUST IN: President Trump unloads on the nation's governors on a call, calls on them to step up enforcement: "You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks. You have to dominate."— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) June 1, 2020One person listening in on the call describes the president's words and tone as "unhinged."— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) June 1, 2020(Image: Gage Skidmore, CC-BY-SA 2.0) Read the rest

This Reuters Investigates piece looks at how the US Supreme Court uses a "little-known legal doctrine called qualified immunity" to protect cops who use excessive force to maim and kill people.The Supreme Court’s role is evident in how the federal appeals courts, which take their cue from the high court, treat qualified immunity. In an unprecedented analysis of appellate court records, Reuters found that since 2005, the courts have shown an increasing tendency to grant immunity in excessive force cases – rulings that the district courts below them must follow. The trend has accelerated in recent years. It is even more pronounced in cases like Leija’s – when civilians were unarmed in their encounters with police, and when courts concluded that the facts could convince a jury that police actually did use excessive force.Reuters found among the cases it analyzed more than three dozen in which qualified immunity protected officers whose actions had been deemed unlawful. Outside of Dallas, Texas, five officers fired 17 shots at a bicyclist who was 100 yards away, killing him, in a case of mistaken identity. In Heber City, Utah, an officer threw to the ground an unarmed man he had pulled over for a cracked windshield, leaving the man with brain damage. In Prince George's County, Maryland, an officer shot a man in a mental health crisis who was stabbing himself and trying to slit his own throat.Image: Reuters Read the rest

"Get your fucking knee off his neck!" people repeatedly shout as a cop dares to restrain a man by shoving his knee into the guy's neck. The cop's partner looks around, realizes what's happening (or realizes that they're on camera), and pushes the cop's knee away. Cops arrived and started arresting looters. #seattleprotest pic.twitter.com/ThyZoUCuQ8— Matt M. McKnight (@mattmillsphoto) May 31, 2020 Read the rest

Archaeologists from the Israel Museum and colleagues found residue of cannabis containing THC on an altar in the ancient Israelite temple of Tel Arad. Apparently, the discovery in this 2,700-year-old temple south of Tel Aviv, Israel, is the first proof that ancient Jews used weed in rituals. From the BBC News:Researchers concluded that cannabis may have been burned in order to induce a high among worshippers.[...]Frankincense was found on one altar, which was unsurprising because of its prominence in holy texts, the study's authors told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.[...]However, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) - all compounds found in cannabis - were found on the second altar."Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad" (Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University) Read the rest

Here's a new attack ad against Trump called "Flag of Treason" created by The Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump republican group that includes Kellyanne Conway's husband George Conway. The ad starts off saying, “The men who followed this flag 150 years ago knew what it meant -- treason against their country. The death of the United States." But the flag keeps showing up at Trump events, the ad continues, and according to Trump, the people waving it are "very fine people...What does it say that they’re all in for Trump? What does it say that he won't condemn the flag of hate, division, and losers?..." The ad concludes by saying we have a choice: "America or Trump."According to CNN, "The TV spot, backed by a $500,000 ad buy, will air in the key battleground states of Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as in Washington, DC." Read the rest

Multinational mining operation Rio Tinto destroyed an Aboriginal cave north of Perth, Australia last week. Indigenous people lived in the cave as far back as 46,000 years ago. From Reuters/New York Times:Explosives destroyed two ancient rock shelters, where artefacts discovered included 4,000-year-old plaited human hair with genetic links to the present day traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people.The mining giant, which had been granted state government approval in 2013 to damage or destroy the site under a legal framework that is currently under review, apologised on Sunday."We pay our respects to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, and we are sorry for the distress we have caused," Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury said in a statement.[...]"As a matter of urgency, we are reviewing the plans of all other sites in the Juukan Gorge area," Salisbury said.image: Puutu Kunti Kurrama And Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation Read the rest

Just for kicks, Paul Rule, 66, participated in a study launched by the Cambridge Natural History Society that enlisted citizen scientists and nature-lovers to help deepen knowledge of the flora and fauna in Cambridge, England. Rule recorded nearly 600 different animal species in his "ordinary" city garden, including an elephant moth like the one seen above, an ivy bee, and the locally endangered hedgehog. From BBC News:The retired BT engineer has always been interested in wildlife, particularly "anything with six or eight legs", and was able to record 412 insects, including 272 species of moths."When it came to the insects, I used the internet and local experts - and I have a shelf full of wildlife reference books," he said.[...]Mammal visitors include a fox, hedgehogs and bats, while all the common garden bird species such as blackbirds, wrens, robins and goldfinches have been counted.Cambridge nature-lover records 573 species in 'ordinary' garden https://t.co/qaPHyrUWSn— BBC News England (@BBCEngland) May 31, 2020Top image: Jean Pierre Hamon (CC BY-SA 3.0) Read the rest

From an interview with Gil-Scott Heron:"The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move...It will just be something you see and you’ll think, "Oh I’m on the wrong page.""The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1971): Read the rest

Business planners are clinging to the dream of the open-plan office despite the coronavirus pandemic. I hope that this proposal for a post-Covid shared desk setup is not the final solution. [via @twlldun]Yonsei University professor Kim Suk-kyung suggests this new office layout for the post-COVID-19 era to reduce the risk of disease transmission. ... “We need to consider if offices will need large spaces in the future. For example, the US is focusing on using smaller space efficiently. Changes to the layout of work stations can prevent the need to move to larger space to social distance,” said Kim.Kim suggested rotating work stations and raising cubicle walls between desks so that workers do not face each other. Read the rest

Officers with Hamilton County Sheriff's Office replaced the U.S. flag with their own "thin blue line" flag Sunday, hoisting the desecrated version over the Justice Center in Cincinnati.ABC News reports that sheriff Jim Neil said the U.S. flag was stolen be protestors. Neil does not convincingly explain why he replaced the U.S. flag with a different one.“Should have been replaced with American flag immediately,” fellow Democrat Chris Seelbach tweeted back. “Not replaced with a politically charged blue lives matter flag when thousands are protesting in our streets because #BlackLivesMatter. Sheriff Neil has only made things worse. Again.”In the police flag, the colors of the union flag are replaced with black and white but for a "thin blue line" symbolizing the police. The line divides the country in two, replacing one of the bars that traditionally represent the original 13 colonies.The desecrated flag is a regular subject of criticism and parody, especially its plain implication that the U.S. is (or should become) a police state. Read the rest

Entrepreneurs looking for new avenues to reach customers may not have considered one of the fastest-growing content mediums today: podcasting. And we don’t mean just dropping an advertisement for your product or service in the middle of a popular show.Right now, there are about 850,000 active podcasts reaching 165 million Americans. Those listeners are predominantly educated, affluent and technologically savvy. So could you craft an entertaining, engaging podcast around your business to attract attention and bring some of those smart, upscale listeners into your camp?Business is one of the most popular podcast genres for listeners — and the training in the Podcast Like a Boss course offers motivated students all the direction needed to get a podcast off the ground. However, this course asks the even more important question: how can this podcast help drive your business forward?Unlike other instruction training, this 7-module course doesn’t center exclusively on well-worn tips for would-be podcasters. This training is about creating and launching a podcast idea that bolsters business success, regardless of your industry. This training is led by a quartet of experienced business podcast pros, who collectively created podcasts that amassed over 7.5 million downloads while generating nearly $1 million in revenue. Kathleen Shannon, Emily Thompson, Paul Jarvis and Jason Zook break down the entire process, from clarifying a podcast’s purpose, defining the point of view, identifying the prime audience and shaping what a listener can expect before they ever even hit the subscribe button.Through these lectures, workbooks, PDF checklists and more, you’ll learn how to create compelling content around your business; how to handle the tech and logistics of podcast recording and distribution; how to get attention to your podcast through iTunes and other platforms; how to monetize your show through sponsors and more; and how to grow and nurture around the program. Read the rest

In this video, two NYPD cops are seen detaining a black man during ongoing protests against police brutality. The casual racism and hostility to a peaceful bystander is appalling in any case, but these cops have made a worse error: the man they've handcuffed identifies himself as an FBI agent. They free the man at once.Here's a longer cut of the video.Whether or not the man is really an FBI agent, it's a great illustration of law enforcers being predatory bullies whose behavior changes completely around perceived power and privilege. Read the rest

Both rookie filmmakers and analog die-hards alike will find something to love in Danny Plotnick’s new coffee table book ‘Super 8: An Illustrated History.’ Newcomers will whisper a quiet "thank you" before tucking in their iPhones tonight after they're introduced to the laborious process that their filmmaking ancestors went through, from buying expensive film stock to processing by hand. Experience the dizzying highs and treacherous lows as the author recounts his own decades-long love affair with Super 8 filmmaking (see: Skate Witches). The glorious photos of vintage cameras and projectors that adorn this book will have even the most casual gearhead drooling and interviews with underground filmmakers who cut their teeth on Super 8 including Richard Linklater, Bruce LaBruce, and GB Jones will offer insights into the passion that drove no-budget artists in the pre-digital age. Read the rest

The MAGA Party didn't go as planned for President Trump, who fled to the White House bunker after protestors, not presidential partisans, turned up in numbers outside the executive mansion.Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump to a White House bunker on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the executive mansion, some of them throwing rocks and tugging at police barricades.Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, according to a Republican close to the White House who was not authorized to publicly discuss private matters and spoke on condition of anonymity. The account was confirmed by an administration official who also spoke on condition of anonymity.They turned the lights out, too, as seen in photos posted to Twitter by protestors and media.The protests against police brutality were sparked by the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a white Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes, and Floyd—who had been accused by a shopkeeper of passing a fake $20 bill—was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The scale and severity of the protests took authorities by surprise, and police have responded in force.No picture better sums up the pure bullshit of the Drain-The-Swamp, MAGA, Ultra-Macho, Tough-Guy Trump Presidency. When the going gets tough? Turn off the lights and hide. pic.twitter.com/RKMbG7OIhq— Christian Christensen (@ChrChristensen) June 1, 2020 Read the rest

Over a weekend of protests against police brutality, America's police (with exceptions) responded with as much brutality as they could muster, targeting protestors, media and bystanders alike with rubber bullets, tear gas and random prepemptive violence. The New York Times:Videos showed police officers in recent nights using batons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists, often without warning or seemingly unprovoked. The footage, which has been shared widely online, highlighted the very complaints over police behavior that have drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the United States.In Salt Lake City, officers in riot gear shoved a man with a cane to the ground.In Brooklyn, two police S.U.V.s plowed into a crowd of protesters.In Atlanta, police officers enforcing a curfew stopped two college students in a car, fired Tasers on them and dragged them out of the vehicle.And in Minneapolis, where there have been six consecutive nights of protests and clashes, a video appeared to show officers yelling at people on their porches to get inside and then firing paint canisters at them. “Light them up,” one officer said.The photo below shows a cop removing the face-mask of an obviously peaceful protestor so that he can mace him in the face. The cop has concealed his badge number to prevent easy identification. DOING THE SAME THING EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING. PEACEFUL WITH HIS HANDS UP but racist cop pulls off his mask and MACE’s HIM pic.twitter.com/3lfHCMnsLB— mina ✮ BLM (@thankvnextbitch) May 31, 2020"I wish the officers hadn’t done that." Read the rest

CBS News reports that Kellie Chauvin, wife of the police officer who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 consecutive minutes, has filed for divorce.Sekula Law Offices, the law firm representing Mrs. Chauvin, posted this on Facebook:This evening, I spoke with Kellie Chauvin and her family. She is devastated by Mr. Floyd’s death and her utmost sympathy lies with his family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy. She has filed for dissolution of her marriage to Derek Chauvin.While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time.According to International Business News, Mrs. Chauvin was born in Thailand in 1974, and spent the first several years of her life in a refugee camp before her family moved to Wisconsin. She entered in an arranged marriage in 1991, and had 2 children before leaving that first husband after a decade for alleged abuse. In 2018, she became the first woman of Hmong descent to be crowned Mrs. Minnesota. She met the man who killed George Floyd when he came in on a work shift while she was working at Hennepin County Medical Center — by which he already had an established record of violent conduct that went unpenalized — and married him in 2010.The Chauvins also own property in Orange County, Florida — where the officer who killed George Floyd cast his voting ballots in 2016 and 2018, despite presumably being a Minnesota permanent resident in order to serve as a police officer (although only 8 percent of Minneapolis police actually live in Minneapolis). Read the rest

Twitter rants and various online ugliness aside, social media has actually grown up a bit over the past 15 years. In general, users are warier of their interactions on platforms like Facebook or Instagram — and marketers have taken note.In fact, if you felt retailers you saw on social media were only looking to jam products down your throat, that’s not marketing in 2020. Of marketers surveyed in a recent study, the clear no. 1 goal for brands in the social media realm — a commanding 69 percent — was to build brand awareness. In case you’re curious, driving sales was a lowly fifth place on the list.So how do products build that awareness and engage with the audience they seek? The training in The 2020 Social Media Marketing Bootcamp Certification Bundle lays out the plan for any company looking to make the most of a social media presence, drive brand success and make you an in-demand social media manager.Since no two social media platforms are truly alike, this seven-course, 34-plus hour collection aims to help marketers create strategies customized to work on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more.The fundamentals are explained in the Digital Marketing Foundations 101 course, a nuts-and-bolts walkthrough that hammers home the most critical decision for any social media manager: crafting a clear digital strategy. This course digs into email marketing, building a website, SEO, digital advertising, measurement, analytics, and all the latest trends in the digital marketing game.While that course lays out the basics, Social Media Foundations 101 and Social Media Strategy advance your learning into practical steps for bringing that digital marketing plan to life. Read the rest