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Today – Support NYC bill abolishing grand juries in police killing cases at press conference

This message from Lawrence Hamm of the People’s Organization for Progress. Sounds like an excellent event to support.

Friends,

Assemblyman Charles Barron is going to have a press conference tomorrow 11:30 am to announce that he is going to introduce a bill to abolish grand juries in cases that involve the killing of unarmed civilians by police in the State of New York. He has invited POP to participate. I am asking that as many members, friends and supporters of the People’s Organization For Progress as possible attend this press conference, stand with him, and show our support for this piece of progressive legislation. The press conference will take tomorrow, Monday August 17 2015, 11:30am at New York City Hall, near 250 Broadway in New York City, New York. Get there early because it takes time to get through the security at the gate of the park in which the City Hall is located. The press conference will start promptly at 12 noon. Assemblyman Barron is sponsoring this bill because too often grand juries fail to indict officers who have killed unarmed civilians when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing. Also, I am proposing that we call for the introduction of similar legislation here in New Jersey. As you know Assemblyman Barron was a strong supporter of the Million People’s March that was recently held in Newark, NJ and has been a supporter of POP over the years. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend so I need as many of you there as possible to represent the organization and show our support. Thank you. Power To The People!!! read more

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Spectacular use of tech: drone film of LA visual treasures

Ian Wood on VimeoFilmmaker and drone flyer Ian Wood has put together a beautiful video of visual treasures in downtown LA, well worthy of the 5 minute viewing time with a rocking blues soundtrack that makes it a fun watch.

People, this is a good use of drone technology – spreading wonder, enjoyment … celebrating culture and sense of place – and showing that aerial photography is within reach of the average Joe. Wood’s video comes with a companion map of locations he filmed.

Thanks for the heads up Curbed LA and friend Leen de Weerd Mosley. read more

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Tianjin warehouse blasts kill dozens, injure 100s in a mile+ radius

Tianjin blasts2 massive blasts apparently measuring 2.3, then 2.9, in magnitude on the earthquake scale, hit Tianjin a few hours ago at 11:30 pm Wednesday (US Time). Apparently, they originated in a port warehouse where explosive materials were stored and the blasts traveled through city sewers to wreak damage in a wide radius.

CNN Video of the blasts
Vine of blasts by SkyNews

The New York Times reports that a truck driver living a mile away, said, “The air pressure from the blast was so strong it just knocked me down in one fell swoop.” read more

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Beautiful President Carter has cancer. Much love.

Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity builderThe New York Times reports on 90 year old President Jimmy Carter’s announcement that he has liver cancer, “that is now in other parts of my body.”

President Obama offers these words of hope:

Our thoughts and prayers are with Rosalynn and the entire Carter family as they face this challenge with the same grace and determination that they have shown so many times before. Jimmy, you’re as resilient as they come, and along with the rest of America, we are rooting for you.” read more

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Thousands join mayor’s Occupy the City rally on Saturday to support Newark, youth & to stamp out violence

Mayor Baraka and CommonLed by Rapper-activist-actor Common joined Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the Newark Municipal Council and actor-rapper-activist Common, thousands of Newark residents united to “Occupy the City” on Saturday, August 8, meeting at a designated location in each of Newark’s five wards at 3:30 pm and marching to the City’s historic downtown “Four Corners” at Broad and Market Streets for a huge anti-violence and community support rally.

Building on the success and support from Newark residents during his “Occupy the Block events, Mayor Baraka hosted the “Occupy the City” event to unite residents against despair, violence, and crime in Newark and to promote love, hope and empowerment. “Occupy the Block” is a community engagement tool modeled after the historic “Occupy” movement, which advocates the social disruption of harmful or ineffective social constructs. Marchers wore purple t-shirts specially made for the occasion. read more

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Reflections on etymology, William Safire and the meaning of random

William SafireI missed marking the passing of William Safire, who authored my favorite newspaper column On Language until he became late in 2009 at the age of 79. So let me celebrate his work and how it touched me me, a little bit, now.

Safire inspired my love for language to blossom into good and accurate writing and introduced me to etymology – the topic of his twice weekly New York Times Magazine column for over 30 years. Teen me didn’t know that there was such a thing as etymology. It’s the study of words, and it’s fascinating. Safire’s compelling writing style pulled me right in. Google offers this definition: read more

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Iran nuclear deal recognizes sovereign energy rights but creates careful bomb proliferation monitoring

obama on Iran dealOn the eve of it taking effect, Truthout shares Amy Goodman’s report on the Iran nuclear deal that has been negotiated by President Obama.

JAVAD ZARIF: Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to everybody, to those who started this process and those who have continued this process in order to reach a win-win solution on what, in our view, was an unnecessary crisis, and open new horizons for dealing with serious problems that affect our international community. I believe this is a historic moment. We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody, but it is what we could accomplish, and it is an important achievement for all of us. Today could have been the end of hope on this issue, but now we are starting a new chapter of hope. read more

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I live under a rock. Didn’t know Facebook bought Instagram.

facebook money
Credit: TBreak
I knew about FriendFeed. I know about WhatsApp. Causes. But I didn’t have even an inkling that Facebook also owns Instagram. Whoa, I feel dumb. I kinda like Instagram, but what I don’t like is giving Facebook any more information about my life and my preferences than it already harvests (which is a lot – I’m a prolific poster). That’s why I don’t use any of the other FB apps.

Forbes shares a list of 10 Reasons Why Facebook Bought Instagram and Pocket-link tells us what else Facebook owns. read more

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Atlantic’s list of “100 fantastic pieces of journalism” from 2014

Journalism-is-Orwell

The Atlantic’s Roughly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism: Exceptional nonfiction stories from 2014, includes:

SALON / The Day I Left My Son in the Car by Kim Brooks (Kimi note: this is a truly blow-away article)
“I made a split-second decision to run into the store. I had no idea it would consume the next years of my life.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES / Working Anything but 9 to 5 by Jodi Kantor
“She rarely learned her schedule more than three days before the start of a workweek, plunging her into urgent logistical puzzles over who would watch the boy. Months after starting the job she moved out of her aunt’s home, in part because of mounting friction over the erratic schedule, which the aunt felt was also holding her family captive. Ms. Navarro’s degree was on indefinite pause because her shifting hours left her unable to commit to classes. She needed to work all she could, sometimes counting on dimes from the tip jar to make the bus fare home. If she dared ask for more stable hours, she feared, she would get fewer work hours over all.” read more

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POTUS will lead in reversing climate change & healing the world

Obama announcing Clean Power PlanSpeaking via live feed from the White House today, a visionary President Obama announced his administration’s new Clean Power Plan, which has been created to reverse climate change and help heal our world of the effects of global warming. The President joined Pope Francis in calling for global citizens and industry leaders to make immediate and sweeping changes in how we live, work and do business.

“There is such a thing as too late, when it comes to climate change,” the President commented, and pointed out that 14 of the hottest years in over 100 years of recorded history have occurred in the past 15 years. read more

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Thanks to Iko’s designer, kids can build their own hands using Lego

lego-prosthetic-arm
Credit: Carlos Arturo Torres/Umeå Institute of Design

Carlos Arturo Torres is a believer in fun and childhood now living in Chicago. In 2014, as a student at Sweden’s Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden, he also became the creator of Iko – “a prosthetic arm for children that also acts as a platform for creative Lego projects.” Iko responds to signals traveling through its wearer’s arm nerves to move, pick up and manipulate objects and it’s got a great grip.

Torres explains,

sometimes a functional element is everything (a kid needs), but some other times it might be a spaceship, or a doll house, or a telescope, or a video game controller, or a swim fin. What if kids could use their imagination to create their own prosthetics, their own tools according to their own needs? Learning. Creating. Being kids. read more

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ISO & aperture settings are key to low light fotos

Aperture settings make a difference
Two shots of same scene with different aperture settings. Foto by Fenchel & Janisch
ISO (light sensitivity) used to be determined by the film that was put in your camera, but in digital photography it has become another tool – an adjustment that can be changed for every shot. ISO is one of the most important settings in low light conditions.

High ISO gives you the ability to shoot at faster speeds, but opens up the possibility of getting more noise (or graininess) in your fotos. Some cameras have the ability to set ISO really high, but going over 3200 isn’t recommended. Low ISO corresponds to slower shutter speeds but also provides for very crisp pictures, so use a low ISO of 200 or so when plenty of light is available. read more