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Women's March in California canceled over concerns it would be 'overwhelmingly white'

A California Women’s March was canceled because of concerns that its participants have been “overwhelmingly white,” the march’s organizers said.

Organizers announced Friday that the Women’s March would not take place in Eureka, in Humboldt County, California, on Jan. 19 as previously planned due to issues of representation.

“Up to this point, the participants have been overwhelmingly white, lacking representation from several perspectives in our community,” a post on the march’s Facebook page read. “Instead of pushing forward with crucial voices absent, the organizing team will take time for more outreach.”

Eat your own. #Unity

On 29th March we remove ourselves from our local, and very successful, trading bloc, the EU.

I have been preoccupied making plans and making my objections known in a peaceful and democratic manner. I'm afraid that politics and worrying about the future has taken over.

I figured I should brush up on my French and I've made a stash of supplies so that we can eat after the borders close on 29th March. We import most of our food. And that food which we do grow is often picked by migrant workers who will no longer be welcome after Brexit.

We have oil and gas pipelines that cross continental Europe and we buy gas from that nice Mr Putin who only wants the best for his patriotic friends. We also import electricity directly from France via a 2GW cable under the English Channel. Obviously this gets more and more expensive as Sterling continues to lose its value.

Several prominent Brexit supporters, including Jacob Rees-Mogg decided it would be better to move their business to Ireland (in the EU) and the great patriot John Redwood advised his customers to pull their money out of the UK and invest in places like the EU in the light of Brexit.

There's still the unsolvable problem of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Dinosaur-deniers the DUP are propping up a minority Tory government and staunchly preventing any progress because they don't want a "border" between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, despite the fact there's already a physical one in the form of the Irish Sea.

The Scottish Government brought a case to the European Court of Justice asking for a ruling on whether a country (eg the U) could unilaterally revoke Article 50 (the statement of intention to leave the EU). The UK Westminster government opposed the Scottish governments action, but was unsuccessful. The ECJ ruled that the UK can unilaterally revoke Article 50 without the agreement of the other 27 EU member states. All we need is a vote in the Westminster Parliament (which is sovereign). So it's not over yet!

The banks in the City of London have been making further preparations. About £700M of assets have moved to Frankfurt.

We also have to consider the extra delays at the borders for goods and raw materials coming in and out of the country. Much of our trade goes through Dover, in Kent. In Kent, they're preparing by creating another motorway-lorry-park, this time the M26. Industry will perhaps find it difficult to produce and to sell when things are held up in Kent.

Believe it or not, we have a Kipper in the family. He's also a Baptist. Goodness knows where he got that from. He was shown Father Ted when young but hey ho. I was treated to an entertaining conspiracy theory about Silicon Valley and the EU deliberately suppressing "right wing free speech." A long, convoluted "explanation" followed.

This conversation also confirmed a conclusion that I'd reached over the years regarding Kippers (UKIP members). They have a very naive and simplistic view of countries, nationalism, the modern world, "free speech," "hate speech," conservatism, economics, science, international relations, history (the World Wars and the Cold War, the rise of Nazism) and have precious little clue about "their own country" i.e. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They get it confused with England and are pretty ignorant about Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

When mentioning that I was now in favour of Scottish Independence and that I didn't want to lose my right of Freedom of Movement, and that I hoped Scotland would join the EU, the classic Kipper ill-informed and patronising reply came back, "I can't understand why you'd want to regain your sovereignty only to give it away again to the EU." It's a trading bloc and it is democratic. It's more democratic that British First Past the Post Westminster Centralised "democracy."

My sister had the right idea. She settled in Germany years ago. The mayor of her town wrote to all British citizens inviting them to apply for German citizenship which she has done and will be sitting her citizenship exam in a couple of months time.

Finally, I asked why UKIP had appointed Stephen Yaxley-Lennon as its advisor for being mean to brown people. That didn't go down well. I got chapter and verse on what a nice man he really is and has brown friends etc.

And don't mention Trump. It'll just get blamed on Obama. And Mr Putin is a very nice man.

Game over UK. We have fallen to the fascists. Run while you can.

Italy circumcision kills toddler, with one man charged

A two-year-old boy has died from blood loss following a failed circumcision at a migrant centre in Italy. The boy's twin brother also underwent the procedure in Rome's north-western suburb of Monterondo and is recovering in hospital.

A 66-year-old man has been charged with murder, according to Italian media. Some 5,000 circumcisions are performed in Italy each year but more than a third are carried out illegally, according to health charity Amsi.

Cultural non-profit group Arci said the procedures had taken place at a refugee centre it runs with the local council in Monterondo. "It is a tragedy that leaves us speechless," Arci said in a statement on Facebook, adding that it would take civil action once those responsible for the child's death had been determined by police.

The two boys, who have not been named, were born in Italy in 2017 to a Nigerian mother who has five other children in Nigeria. Local media say the mother had asked for the operations in respect for Nigeria's Islamic traditions, despite being Catholic herself.

The medical credentials of the doctor are reportedly being questioned by police. Ansa said the man arrested was an American citizen of Libyan origin.

There's a lot of snark I could put here but I'll just go with "Merry Christmas!"

I'm currently busy because I received start-up funding (and use of a ridiculously swanky office). The first development deadline is on Mon 31 Dec 2018. The second development deadline is on Thu 31 Jan 2019. The third development deadline is on Sun 31 Mar 2019. Funding currently lasts until Fri 31 May 2019. Unfortunately, this has greatly curtailed my annual fun programming project for Christmas 2018. Previous efforts have taken three days. This took three hours.

I have implemented a small system which predicts the final moderation score of a message on a forum. This uses some search engine theory, such as postings and repetition limits. However, it doesn't use n-grams, stemming, weighting by word frequency or Bayes theorem. Indeed, a significant amount of theory has not been implemented and the result only makes predictions with a relatively weak correlation. This implementation only works with the output of SoylentNews and is heavily dependent upon certain attributes currently found in the HTML. It is also heavily dependent upon line breaks typically found within boiler-plate HTML. Regardless, the concept can be generalized and adapted for other forums.

One script collates words:-

cat /path/to/saved/soylentnews/discussions/*.html | ./collate.pl > collate.txt

The other script allows predictions to be compared against actual scores:-

cat /path/to/saved/soylentnews/discussions/*.html | egrep '(comment_score_|comment_body_)' | ./estimate.pl collate.txt | sort -r -n -k 2 | more

The second script can also be used interactively. This is minor source of amusement but is generally less insightful than browsing the collated statistics:-

./estimate.pl collate.txt

If you want to be argumentative, negative or defeatist then this script will confirm that you'll be unappreciated. For example, one of our resident trolls, SaltySpice, rarely scores above 1.2. In particular, from my cache of saved discussions, "Fuck MDC" scores 0.597.

begin 644 soylentnews-score20181224.tar.gz
M'XL("`ZZ(%P"`W-O>6QE;G1N97=S+7-C;W)E,C`Q.#$R,C0N=&%R`.U76U/C
M-A3.LW^%-KC$(0FV<R$MP6EW=K?MSG1X`*:=:1P8)Q%$7<?.2DHAW0V_O4>2
MKT`&.LNTW4'?0VR?<W0NNGQ'8?$ZQ!&/\#5KL6E,<=MQOW7;[:X]C<,PX'A_
M&5:^$`Z@W^N)I]OO]HM/`;?;Z5;<3M=UX.>@`W9NO^\Z%>14_@6L&`\H0A5.
M"?NXPEN+?4S_E6+GE;UBU)Z0R%YB&J+6;X:Q@T[5KCB&78'>Q(L%O*-3L3O0
M.\;)(N`Q%5932I8<G<5@(_<*^IDP4)%I$"IS!E;6F[K84^ALCL$N8C'E9+78
M-W9`EVXV)!:!&P;%'U<$HM1",H&-5QL8QO6<A-B:X4L2X9EEAO#PCD[/WKX_
M'M;KZ).!D#F-5Q%O-`;P3BX3DUO[:-[U)Z/SX7AO:).8*5NPYOB&>])(#-@@
M'++B*#FB.E5%7\@C<3%R6M^-&]7[SG87P0=\P3%=*`?U@12#/XO!)`34^D$H
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M<$Y*QUM*OD_NE^`RF,YA<(B1]0&O&?H&U'E-,$O9HB2+#::;0M4J<L/+UESH
M[:+QG@DNU6M:XJ90&(0HK</0R9T+U[974@]*LZUFI5GU>;7)5A/&J27&-)UF
MKZZD?\0DLFJHUE3#09C.=-JTC.?G?W4:GX-C'N/_7K>=W_\/'''_=SJNYO__
MCO]_(1,:T#7Z,:9/[`7_A/!ADZ/L=*LK_#*@P<)C<W*IR%=]W[*$)X>V?05T
M6%1Q:H]>MWX?VZ.@]=?8+H\:G0.Y@=QO^37@>V1?E0>S8C=X0'N>J6U[ZT@S
MU<E3F;89)+J+-);'G&*^HI%H&[+LC+UDV8*G/,5C9193YSQCQ1#+I/Q:(PV9
M2T%H%J093:G_0QOC48*4E_)TU+!3(*Y,ZG6*;'.OJ.S?@UI+1?+96MXQ3B[B
MTO21S(H$#.1\AX%+9%U4[ZD,!@\G*V[W#P07&Q8E&8BH:0Z*HJNE8#XO9@9?
K\$@8^4Y`]X7\B]#0T-#0T-#0T-#0T-#0T-#0T-#0T/B_X6]42<M9`"@`````
`
end

(Usual instructions for uudecode process.)

LG Newsroom

I didn't quite realize these were a thing. Something like this would be nice to replace a family member's old projector (it has 3 VGA inputs but no HDMI), but I'm sure this specific model will be priced out the ass. It might make a lot of sense for some people though since it's much more compact than a large TV and you won't have people blocking the image when they stand up.

LG is also planning to sell roll-up OLED TVs in 2019. I don't see how that approach is better than this short throw projector. Maybe the projector makes some fan noise, or maybe the roll-up has better brightness/HDR.

Statement festival: 'Man-free' event found guilty of discrimination

Statement, a women-only festival in Sweden, has been found guilty of discrimination by Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman (DO).

The DO said that describing an event as "male-free" breached the country's anti-discrimination laws.

The publicity issued in the run up to the event "discouraged a certain group from attending", the regulator added.

The event's organisers said in a Facebook post that they are "too busy changing the world" to respond.

"It's sad that what 5,000 women, non-binaries and transgender experienced as a life-changing festival made a few cis [cisgender] men lose it completely," the post added.

[...] The DO's ruling acknowledged the man-free rule was not enforced at the festival, held earlier this year, adding that "no differentiation based on sex was made between visitors at entry".

As nobody suffered damage from the festival's restrictions, it added, no financial penalties would be imposed.

Journal for K.

So, I should be really happy and excited: tomorrow I start as a pharmacy technician at a fairly prestigious institute in Madison, Wi. No, not going to tell you where. I've wanted to do this for so, so long, and really--considering I can look at a molecule and give you at least a decent approximation of what effects it will have, this is an excellent fit. But I'm still nervous, if only because so many horrible things have happened to me and the idea of stability and a long-term career seems alien, like something I'm not "allowed" to have if that makes sense. So I'm afraid it'll be taken away from me like so many other things have been.

Wish me luck. I want to get PTCB certified as soon as possible and make a lifelong career out of this, slowly working my way up the ladder and making a positive contribution to the lives of many people. Maybe, though I don't dare to dream, this could even include going back to school and getting involved in the drug-discovery process, especially for new antibiotics or non-addictive painkillers. Other interests include changing hospital spaces to reduce infection and increase patient well-being--think "copper alloy railings, enclosed UVC-light air pumps, and lots and lots of sunlight" and so on--and nutrition, though I fear my low-carb lifestyle is sufficiently against current medical orthodoxy to make this a non-starter and even politically dangerous.

But whatever happens, for the first time in ages, it feels like time has begun to flow for me again. That feeling of being a sort of solid ghost is disappearing. And that can only be a good thing, right? I just hope it doesn't all go to hell...

She lost her school job after refusing to sign a pro-Israel pledge. Now, she’s filing a lawsuit. (archive)

Bahia Amawi, a speech pathologist who has worked as a contractor in a Texas school district for nine years, received a new contract agreement to sign in September for the upcoming school year. The agreement asked her to affirm that she did not boycott Israel and assert that she would not while working for the school. She declined to sign it. Amawi, an American citizen of Palestinian descent who was born in Austria, said the statements infringed on her principles: her stance on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and her belief in the First Amendment. So she was forced to stop working with the district.

The contract, which stems from a 2017 law passed by the state’s Republican-held legislature and governor that prohibited state agencies from contracting with companies boycotting Israel, is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week by Amawi in federal district court in Austin.

Amawi says the state’s enforcement of the law violates her right to free speech. “My first reaction was shock,” Amawi told reporters Monday. “Why is the government restricting me from boycotting a certain entity?”

Amawi started working for the Pflugerville Independent School District outside Austin in 2009. Her work entails doing evaluations of Arabic-speaking children, according to the complaint she filed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the school district are named in the lawsuit. [...] Glenn Greenwald, a columnist and co-founding editor of the Intercept who writes frequently about Israeli politics as they intersect with those of the United States, wrote harshly of the contract. “The language of the affirmation Amawi was told she must sign reads like Orwellian — or McCarthyite — self-parody, the classic political loyalty oath that every American should instinctively shudder upon reading,” he wrote. “In order to continue to work, Amawi would be perfectly free to engage in any political activism against her own country, participate in an economic boycott of any state or city within the U.S., or work against the policies of any other government in the world — except Israel.”

Also at The Hill and The Daily Beast.

Meanwhile, Congresstards are trying to add Israel anti-boycott legislation into a spending bill that prevents a government shutdown:

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is scrambling at the eleventh hour to include controversial language in a year-end spending bill prohibiting U.S. companies from joining boycotts of Israel launched by the United Nations or similar groups.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and other members are pressing congressional leaders to attach his Israel anti-boycott legislation to a sweeping omnibus spending package — a move that could complicate efforts to prevent a government shutdown.

“There is bipartisan interest in this issue, but everything is still being negotiated and nothing has been decided,” said one senior House Republican aide.

[...] “This bill sets a precedent for penalizing First Amendment actions because they’re unpopular or because the government doesn’t agree with them,” said Manar Waheed, senior legislative and advocacy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “This is a step on a road to the erosion of First Amendment rights in a way that will impact movements and viewpoints for the future.”

See also: How Democrats are helping the right stifle debate on Israel

President Trump has agreed to shut down his embattled personal charity and give away its remaining funds amid allegations that he used it for his personal and political benefit, the New York attorney general announced Tuesday.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its lawsuit against the charity, Trump and his three eldest children.

The attorney general’s suit, filed in June, alleged “persistently illegal conduct” at the charity and sought to have the foundation shut down. Underwood is continuing to seek more than $2.8 million in restitution and has asked a judge to ban the Trumps temporarily from serving on the boards of other New York nonprofits.

Underwood said Tuesday that her investigation found “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more.”

“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” she added in a statement.

Trump agrees to shut down his charity amid allegations he used it for personal and political benefit

World's First 'Performance Enhancing Gaming Glove' Funded on Kickstarter

As gaming becomes increasingly mainstream through the younger generations, entirely new lines of accessories are being designed and produced for this ever-growing audience.

The latest one is the Flashe Gaming Glove, which according to the makers will enhance your gaming performance on PC. It will also reduce your potential for injuries and increase your comfort while generally using a mouse. Oskar "Dodde" Ödmark came with the original concept, after suffering a shoulder injury in 2014. Being a mechanical engineer, he eventually came up with a solution that has been patented in Sweden earlier this year.

The Flashe gaming glove is now on a Kickstarter campaign for crowdfunding. With thirteen days to go, it already got over four times the minimum goal. The estimated delivery for backers is February 2019.

I say: remove the arms. Then you won't feel arm discomfort during gameplay.