Residents of Massachusetts: call on Massachusetts legislators to pass the moratorium on government use of face recognition.

I gave this personal message:

I urge you to pass the proposed moratorium on use of face recognition in Massachusetts government activities.

This is only a first step. Systematic use of face recognition technology, and the systems that can do so, should be very strictly regulated. The operations of Clearview AI should be illegal regardless of what sort of entity carries them out, whether it be public or private.

If you sign, please spread the word!

department stores and refrigerators

There may be a global shortage of acetaminophen aka paracetamol, since India has just banned exports.

The concentration of drug production causes harm in many ways. Gouging is one consequence; shortages are another, even in normal times.

"Quarantine soirees" and digital freedom: does any of the live streams described here respect freedom?

The usual forms of digital oppression are

• Requiring nonfree software, often with DRM. Warning: this may be Javascript code; to check for it, use LibreJS.
• Identifying people.
• Imposing an antisocial contract ("terms of service").

Experience suggests that all of those streams are oppressive, but I'd like to know if any of them is not.

If you try one and find it to be oppressive, I hope you will not go ahead with installing that nonfree software, entering your personal data, or agreeing to the terms. Get a copy of some music which does not oppress those who listen to it, and listen to that instead.

It would be useful to inform the organization's personnel of your objections to its computing practices. Keep in mind that they have probably never thought about these issues, never even heard the idea that there might be something wrong with the usual practices that they imitated or were taught by some "expert". So be prepared to explain, and not in an angry tone.

For streaming, the program they should be using is called IceCast.

US citizens in jail have the right to vote, but they must struggle to exercise that right.

Note that only a few states permanently take away the voting rights of anyone that has been convicted of a felony, and there is a movement to eliminate practice that entirely, since it has the side effect (perhaps intentionally) of disenfranchising blacks.