“An aurora has been spotted outside our Solar System for the first time, scientists report.”
Aurora Found Around Brown Dwarf Beyond Our Solar System
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Monthly Archives: July 2015
German Regulator Orders Facebook to Allow Pseudonyms
“Facebook may not prevent its users from using fake names, a German privacy watchdog said, in the latest privacy setback for the US company in Europe.”
More at The Star
San Francisco Bike Coalition Trying to Eliminate Voting Membership
“The SF Bike Coalition has asked its members to vote on changing the bylaws to eliminate members’ right to vote for the SFBC’s Board of Directors….
“We call on the Bike Coalition to drop this vote.”
More at Save SF Bike
Who’s Looking Out the Window at Tartine?
Does anyone know who is portrayed in this painting? I took this photo looking into Tartine, my favorite pastry bakery and café in San Francisco.
Richmond Becomes First City in Contra Costa to Approve Rent Control
“In a raucous meeting that lasted more than six hours and drew hundreds of people, the City Council early Wednesday made Richmond the first city in Contra Costa County to enact rent control.”
More at Contra Costa Times
Anti-Gay Discrimination Is Sex Discrimination, Says the EEOC
“The Supreme Court may not think bans on gay marriage are sex discrimination, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission thinks anti-gay discrimination in the workplace is.”
More at Washington Post
Learning From the Politics of the Left in Spain
“Felipe Gil and Francisco Jurado, in Winning by Overflowing [in Spanish], laid out this new reality that defied the conventional wisdom of the political spin doctors, campaign consultants and party machines. In their article, they speak of inconclusive and unfinished narratives, of open prototypes and mutant identities. And they single out the key for all the political confluences that emerged and would emerge: ‘to let oneself trust and be invaded by an uncontrolled collective construction.’ Mayo Fuster, a researcher in collaborative culture, also highlighted this point: ‘The key concept here is overflow, which refers to the capacity to loose control over a process and to operate freely during the process of mobilization.’
More at Occupy Article Part I and Occupy Article Part II
“Americans” Are Progressive
Great speech by Elizabeth Warren:
“The American people are progressive and our day is coming. Our values are America’s values, and America’s values are progressive values.”
We Don’t Need Your Dirty Business: Santa Cruz Washes Its Hands of Felon Banks
“In May, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS Group AG pled guilty to felonies. Swiss Bank had cooperated with authorities early on, and was ultimately not charged. The banks face collective fines of a little over $5 billion – paltry in relation to the money they handle and the money they manipulated. But while big banks continue to ruin communities and personal lives with light impunity, in some cases the people are fighting back….
“‘The [Santa Cruz] Supervisors can make a strong point and show disapproval with our dollars,’ she [Amanda Robinson, vice chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party] said. ‘We will no longer put up with unethical and illegal banking practices. I hope other cities and counties will follow our lead and remove their monies from banks that don’t benefit local communities.'”
More at Occupy.com
Military to Allow Transgender Members to Serve Openly
“The Pentagon announced Monday that it will allow transgender members of the military to serve openly starting next year, marking an end to a long-standing policy that barred them from the armed forces.”
More at Washington Post