zooks
zooks's JournalWOW!Facebook investor, former advisor venture capitalist Roger McNamee
told a committee hearing in Ottawa today that social media platforms should be shut down until they can be reformed.
"If your goals are to protect democracy and personal liberty, you have to be bold. You have to force a radical transformation of the business model of internet platforms," venture capitalist Roger McNamee told the House of Commons privacy and ethics committee Tuesday morning.
WOW WOW AND MORE WOW!
"At the end of the day, though, the most effective path to reform would be to shut down the platforms at least temporarily. …. Any country can go first. The platforms have left you no choice. The time has come to call their bluff."
more at
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/facebook-grand-committee-tuesday-1.5152436
Easy Way to Save Bees! Mowing Lawn Every 2 Weeks instead of Weekly INCREASES
bee populations by 30 percent!
snip
New research published in the journal Biological Conservation reveals just how much bees hate freshly cut grass: Researchers found that mowing a lawn once every two weeks instead of every week raises the number of bees by 30 percent.
On a basic level, this makes sense. Cutting your grass less often leads to more flowers and weeds, which appeal more to the bees. But for some reason, letting the grass grow for even longer sees lower bee levels again. The researchers speculate that this is primarily due to the longer grass hiding or blocking the flowers for the bees.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a19550487/dont-mow-your-lawn-and-help-save-the-bees/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717306201
Google has given $150,000 in free ads to opaque anti-abortion group
Carolyn Maloney, a senior Democratic congresswoman from New York, said in a letter sent to Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, that she was “appalled” by a report in the Guardian that Google awarded $150,000 in free advertising to the Obria Group, which Maloney said had a history of falsely advertising medical services to women.
“Google should in no way be subsidizing any misinformation campaigns, especially campaigns designed to deceive women about their own reproductive care options,” Maloney said in her letter to Pichai.
snip
Obria runs a network of health clinics which – in some ads – suggest they offer comprehensive reproductive health and family planning services, including abortion. But the organization is staunchly opposed to abortion and all forms of contraception.
The Guardian reported earlier this week that Google awarded Obria nearly $32,000 in free advertising in 2011, and $120,000 in 2015, as part of its Google grants program, which is meant to support not-for-profits around the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/17/google-anti-abortion-obria-group-carolyn-maloney
Toronto created more High Tech jobs last yr than San Fran, Washington DC, NY & Seattle combined!
This surge in hi tech jobs is related in part to US immigration issues
snip
'This is like business development on steroids'
The high-tech field is booming in the Greater Toronto Area, led by research and investment in artificial intelligence, financial technology, biotech and software development.
Last year saw 29,000 jobs created in the GTA, which is more than San Francisco, Washington DC, New York and Seattle combined.
"It's hard to know why certain cities click over the long arc of history, but right now in Toronto something's clicking," said Cosgrave.
snip
Bryan Uyanwune and Dickson Nsofor are speaking at the conference next week. The two entrepreneurs want to tell others about their company and their experience doing business in Toronto.
"I would say for anyone looking to come to Toronto: take the leap. Everybody's welcoming and very friendly here."
Their company, Korapay, is developing a mobile banking service aimed at users in West Africa. The firm's software developers are based in Nigeria, but Uyanwune says he and his partner chose to set up their head office in Toronto.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/it-s-like-tiff-for-tech-why-the-collision-conference-is-moving-to-toronto-1.5139325
HEY DONNIE HOW"S ALL THAT WINNING?????
This is facial recognition brought to a whole new level of CREEPY
Really disturbing and shocking stuff. Damn
Chinese school uses facial recognition to monitor student attention in class
snip
The computer will pick up seven different emotions, including neutral, happy, sad, disappointed, angry, scared and surprised.
If it concludes that the student is distracted with other thoughts during the class, it will send a notification to the teacher to take action.
Many Chinese have grown accustomed to their privacy being infringed by the government and corporations, but people have been expressing horror about the new system on Chinese social media.
"If I was still at school, I would not be able to concentrate on anything but that watching eye!" said one comment on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/17/chinese-school-uses-facial-recognition-monitor-student-attention/
Blues Documentary - Amzing archival film footage - Inc Obama commentary
"Music created by the poorest people in the wealthiest nation on Earth"
Extremely well done documentary. Includes cameo of Obama speaking about Muddy Waters moving to Chicago.
A suggestion for DU
Let me first say that hopefully the Mueller Report is released but I have my doubts. That said the fight needs to be fought and let Dems in Congress fight to death to get it released but I think every site like DU and every person that opposes Trump needs to start keeping front and central the crimes and scandals that go back years.
Just today on Democracy Now David Cay Johnson mention how Trump's Castle Casino was the only casino in Atlantic City that was proven to have cheated customers. I consider myself well informed and never knew that.
Among the uninformed (not DUers) Trump's crimes are getting drowned out so my suggestion is that on DU's Home Page - front and centre - there be a "Cheat Sheet" a space dedicated to "The Many Scandals of Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet" where there are threads that never die until that fucker croaks or gets booted out of Office. A dedicated space where his crimes are recorded and discussed and people see it the moment they hit Home Page.
This is what I have in mind
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/donald-trump-scandals/474726/
Do You Think You've Hit Bottom? Oh No! There's a Bottom Below
Malvina Reynolds tells it like is but with some sorely needed toe tapping humor
snip
There's the nightmare kind where you fall and fall,
And you wake to find you haven't been dreaming at all.
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Oh, no.
There's a bottom below.
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