Talented Couple Performs a Gracefully Alluring Tango Set to the Eminem Song ‘Lose Yourself’:

Dancers Sara Grdan and Ivan Terrazas of Feral Tango performed an incredibly alluring tango set to the unlikely soundtrack of the classic Eminem song “Lose Yourself”. The pair, who are married, combined their choreographic skill with a certain grace and seductiveness that sent the crowd

Dancers Sara Grdan and Ivan Terrazas of Feral Tango performed an incredibly alluring tango set to the unlikely soundtrack of the classic Eminem song “Lose Yourself”. The pair, who are married, combined their choreographic skill with a certain grace and seductiveness that sent the crowd wild at the 2016 Belgrade Tango Encuentro in Serbia.

Nova Open Infuriates Hobbyists With Their Policies:

tl;dr - Nova Open cares about it’s attendees more than the venue, and some people are really angry about it.

youtube.com/watch

This is gold…

Alex Jones may finally be the downfall of his boy band of traitors.

Monkeypox explained: How to protect yourself and what to watch out for | MPR News:

What exactly is monkeypox? Besides the reference to wildlife, the only similarity between monkeypox and chickenpox is that they're a virus. Instead, monkeypox is most similar to smallpox, which was eradicated through global vaccination efforts in 1980.

The two viruses are from the orthopoxvirus family. Monkeypox is not as transmissible or fatal as smallpox. However, some researchers worry that monkeypox could mutate and become a greater threat to humans.

One study published in 2008 warned that if monkeypox were to be introduced to an unvaccinated population, the virus could capitalize on the situation and become an epidemic.

Learn you some for great win… Though it’s not like we as a nation can be bothered to moderate ourselves if it might be an inconvenience.

Herd immunity was never going to end the covid pandemic:

In the early days of covid’s global march, when vaccines were still said to be well over a year away and social distancing was the only way to slow transmission, the country needed a goal, a way to conceptualize the pandemic’s end. Herd immunity became that finish line, as experts including Anthony Fauci, now President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, communicated a common refrain: Once enough people became immune — either via (catastrophic) mass infection or widespread vaccination — the virus would be starved of new hosts, its rampant spread would stop and normal life would resume.

The details of when and how this seemingly magical threshold would be crossed were fuzzy. Some scientists who study viruses thought only 20-some percent of the population needed to be immune; others estimated it’d be closer to 90. A minority of experts wanted to reach herd immunity as quickly as possible by letting the virus rip through the population rather than wait for vaccines to become available. But no matter the number or method, the concept of herd immunity represented a framework through which public officials and the media (including me) could understand what it would take for the threat to end.

It’s time to update that framework. For this virus, herd immunity was probably never a realistic end goal, said Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard University. “Frankly, I wish it had not entered the public consciousness in the way that it has,” he said. “It’s a lot more complicated than people make it out to be.”

“I Love Ginni,” the classic sitcom about the wacky Thomas family | Boing Boing:

Sigh. The worst part of the current judges that I have to tag jokes abouty them as politics. If you don’t understand why that’s a problem, you’re part of the problem.

Apartheid Emerald Mine Space Karen’s autopilot conveniently shuts off one second before impact.:

"No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error. It can only be attributable to human error."Musk's regulatory woes mount as U.S. moves closer to recalling Tesla's self-driving software:

On Thursday, NHTSA said it had discovered in 16 separate instances when this occurred that Autopilot "aborted vehicle control less than one second prior to the first impact," suggesting the driver was not prepared to assume full control over the vehicle.

CEO Elon Musk has often claimed that accidents cannot be the fault of the company, as data it extracted invariably showed Autopilot was not active in the moment of the collision.

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

jwz: The COVID Event Horizon:

COVID degrades your immune system for the next time you encounter the virus, and also makes you more susceptible to infections overall. (Population-level immune dysfunction may go a ways to explaining the emergence of the sudden new characters in our viral cinematic universe -- Monkeypox, Pediatric Hepatitis, et al.) COVID also increases your risk of developing diabetes by 59%, which is then a contributing risk factor for severe COVID, including death. [...]

COVID isn’t just an infection, it’s an underlying medical condition. By next year we’ll have reached the point where people have started having 5 or more reinfections. What happens at 15? Or 25? What is the reinfection event horizon? Like have we tested in animals or something? What is the maximum upper limit of infection above which no mouse survives?

I’m guessing it’s not infinity.

Bo Burnham and Bo Burnham play the roles of Joe Rogan and his typical “irreverent” guest | Boing Boing:

Bo Burnham pretending to be both Joe Rogan and one of his edgy comedian guests is more of a reenactment than parody.

Mass shootings across the U.S. leave dozens killed or wounded this weekend | MPR News:

A string of shootings left at least 15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states this weekend, a spasm of gun violence that came as the nation continues mourning the lives lost in mass shootings last month in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.

In Britain, it took just one school shooting to pass major gun control | MPR News:

But that's where the similarities end. In the aftermath of the shooting, parents in Dunblane were able to mobilize with the kind of effectiveness that has eluded American gun control activists. By the following year, Parliament had banned private ownership of most handguns, as well as semi-automatic weapons, and required mandatory registration for shotgun owners. There have been no school shootings in the U.K since then.

When Ted Cruz slunk away from UK reporters asking why It Only Happens Here, this is the reality he was trying to avoid talking about. If the US had enacted the same controls when Columbine happened, there would be millions, if not billions, of less guns in the wild… But starting today would still make a difference, and making a culture of gun being reviled instead of worshiped, of sucking the “cool” out of them, too.

This is what I talk to my kids about, how effective a near-total-ban was elsewhere in the world… Because their generation, the one that’s been doing lockdown and active shooter drills their entire lives, is going to be the one that has Zero Sh*ts to give about gun tradition or the 2nd amendment.

Richard Scarry’s 21st Century Classroom | Boing Boing:

Daring Fireball: DuckDuckGo Browser – But Not Search – Special-Cases Microsoft Trackers Due to Search Agreement:

Not a good look for a company that just launched a high-profile campaign, touting “the simple fact is tracking is tracking, no matter what you call it”.

To be clear, this is about DuckDuckGo’s web browser, not their search results. But still — it’s just so contrary to the core of DuckDuckGo’s brand. It’s not a good look for Microsoft either — Microsoft would be smart to alter their search syndication agreement with DuckDuckGo to allow them to treat Microsoft’s trackers just like anyone else’s in the DuckDuckGo browser.

I wish I were surprised by this, but it doesn’t effect me either way… I use the duckduckgo search engine religiously, and will continue to evangelize that, but in Safari where I trust Apple.

New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces - CNN:

But an investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.

I’d love to say that if this was any other country, the US would treat it differently, but frankly Lord Dampnut broke that expectation already.

COVID-19, shootings: Is mass death now tolerated in America? | MPR News:

After mass shootings killed and wounded people grocery shopping, going to church and simply living their lives last weekend, the nation marked a milestone of 1 million deaths from COVID-19. The number, once unthinkable, is now an irreversible reality in the United States — like the persistent reality of gun violence that kills tens of thousands of people a year.

Americans have always tolerated high rates of death among certain segments of society. But the sheer numbers of deaths from preventable causes, and the apparent acceptance that no policy change is on the horizon, raises the question: Has mass death become accepted in America?

“I think the evidence is unmistakable and quite clear. We will tolerate an enormous amount of carnage, suffering and death in the U.S., because we have over the past two years. We have over our history,” says Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist and professor at Yale who was a leading member of the AIDS advocacy group ACT UP.

I think Americans have long tolerated, and in some cases embraced, preventable deaths as long as it was “those people”…

Daring Fireball: Google Messages RCS Being Abused for Spam in India:

According to Android Police, the only solution to this spam is to disable RCS. Anyone arguing that Apple should add RCS support to iOS should have their head examined.

Oh, can we have some of that please? /sarcasm.

Activision Blizzard advise shareholders against a proposal to report on harassment and discrimination | Rock Paper Shotgun: In other news - Fox asks farmer not to investigate hen dissapearances.

Shareholders in Activision Blizzard have been advised by the company not to approve a proposal from New York state to investigate and report on how allegations of sexual harrassment and misconduct within the company are being addressed. The recommendation by Activision Blizzard’s board of directors was made unanimously ahead of their annual meeting on June 21st, picked up on by Axios.

The board state that they “do not believe this proposal is in the best interests of the company or its shareholders“. Instead of creating such a report, they say it would be better to “directly respond to employee concerns”. A vote on the proposal would take place at the company’s annual meeting.

The Real Origins of the Religious Right - POLITICO Magazine:

In Green v. Kennedy (David Kennedy was secretary of the treasury at the time), decided in January 1970, the plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction, which denied the “segregation academies” tax-exempt status until further review. In the meantime, the government was solidifying its position on such schools. Later that year, President Richard Nixon ordered the Internal Revenue Service to enact a new policy denying tax exemptions to all segregated schools in the United States. Under the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbade racial segregation and discrimination, discriminatory schools were not—by definition—“charitable” educational organizations, and therefore they had no claims to tax-exempt status; similarly, donations to such organizations would no longer qualify as tax-deductible contributions.

On June 30, 1971, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued its ruling in the case, now  Green v. Connally (John Connally had replaced David Kennedy as secretary of the Treasury). The decision upheld the new IRS policy: “Under the Internal Revenue Code, properly construed, racially discriminatory private schools are not entitled to the Federal tax exemption provided for charitable, educational institutions, and persons making gifts to such schools are not entitled to the deductions provided in case of gifts to charitable, educational institutions.”

Key takeaways from MN Human Rights investigation of MPD | MPR News:

Traffic Stops

While Black community members make up 19 percent of the Minneapolis population, they are 78 percent of all searches conducted during traffic stops. MPD officers are almost two times as likely to search Black community members or their vehicles. Between 2017 and 2020, MPD officers stopped 72,689 individuals across all five precincts. 54 percent of those stopped were Black. Black individuals also make up 75 percent of the searchers conducted by MPD officers.

Use of Force

In the first precinct, which servers downtown Minneapolis, MPD officers were six times more likely to use some type of force against Black individuals when they were stopped.

Arrests

Seventy one percent or over 2,5000 of all arrests MPD officers made during traffic stops from January 1, 2017 to May 24, 2020 were arrests of Black individuals. MPD officers are almost twice as likely to arrest a Black individual compared to a white individual for the same recorded reason, in the same location and at the same time of day.

Unjustified Citations

It was found that MPD officers excessively cite Black individuals with specific offenses such as “disorderly conduct” and “obstruction of the legal process.” From 2010 to 2020, MPD officers cited over 3,300 Black individuals with disorderly conduct or obstruction - 66 percent of all of the citations issued for these offenses.

Use of Social Media

While there are legitimate reasons MPD may use social media to track activity, some MPD officers created fake social media accounts to troll Black residents, organizations and elected officials. They did not do the same to white residents.

Some accounts sent friend requests, commented on posts and sent private messages pretending to be “like-minded individuals.”

In one case, a MPD officer made a fake account posing as a Black community member and sent a message to a local branch of the NAACP criticizing the group.

They also sent messages to to a Minneapolis City Council member and State elected official while posing as community members.

Hateful Language

Through the racist culture created at MPD, it was further found that racist, misogynistic and hateful language was used by officers and those using said language were not held accountable.

According to body worn camera footage, interviews with officers and statements, some MPD officers and supervisors use racist slurs. They often use animalistic terms toward people of color and sexist language toward women. This language has been used against community members, other officers and even 911 dispatchers.

Officers who are the subject of these comments often do not report the said officers because of a lack of faith in the accountability system as well as fearing retaliation from other officers.

Hennepin County prosecutors reported that MPD officers are “much less professional and respectful” than officers from other departments in the county. Since 1993, MPD has had a policy requiring officers to use professional language with community members but city and county prosecutors note that it can be difficult to rely on body worn camera video in court because of how “disrespectful and offensive” MPD officers are to criminal suspects, witnesses and bystanders.

“Warrior Mode”

While Minneapolis banned “warrior style training,” much of MPD’s current training consists of a “warrior mindset.” This mindset is described as believing that every person an officer encounters poses a threat.

MPD’s training materials show that the department reinforces a culture of race-based policing by introducing their mentality to new officers and reinforcing the concepts in veteran officers.

Training

MPD officers are not held accountable due to ineffective oversight systems. No meaningful independent review process exists for assessing officers conduct. Almost every investigation of a police misconduct complaint against an MPD officer is assessed by sworn MPD officers.

The Police Conduct Oversight Commission has been deemed “ineffective” by the Department of Human Rights as they claim it lacks appropriate resources and capacity.

Between January 2010 and May 2021, the average time it took to complete an investigation and for a Police Chief to issue a disciplinary decision was over 475 days. Officers may be engaging in the same problematic policing during this investigation time.

If only we had this data before everyone else voted to maintain the force in its current state… This is horrific.

Pattie Maes and the foundations of social networks | Hidden Heroes:

BELGIAN-BORN COMPUTER SCIENTIST PATTIE MAES WAS INVENTING THE CORE PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE SOCIAL MEDIA AGE WHEN MARK ZUCKERBERG WAS STILL IN KINDERGARTEN. WHY HAVE HER CONTRIBUTIONS BEEN NEGLECTED?

Misogyny?

The Mass Delusion of the Pandemic Being Over:

Fear tends to diminish over time when a risk remains constant. You can only respond for so long. After a while, it recedes to the background, seemingly no matter how bad it is.

… especially when the majority populace has noticed that the worst outcomes are for The Other…

jwz: So, how was your week?:

Delta Airlines announced the change with a false statement, that Covid-19 "has transitioned to a seasonal virus." [...] Further, "Delta Air Lines and United Airlines will allow customers previously barred from flying for failing to wear masks to board flights again."

Perhaps Delta should change its name to Omicron. […]

Palm Springs Desert Sun reported Coachella Valley cases were up 77% following first weekend of Coachella.

Coachella’s first no-vax, no-test, no-mask weekend adds to a growing list of bands and performers “cancelling shows, abandoning tours, sick and/or stuck in quarantine far from home.” Positives came for Bob Mould, Jon Spencer, Low, Superchunk, and many more.

Daring Fireball: Sheryl Sandberg Pressured Daily Mail to Drop Unflattering Story About Bobby Kotick While She Was Dating Him:

It’s a well-worn adage but never more true: it’s the cover-up that does you in. Sandberg’s efforts to bury this story are now far more damaging to her reputation than the actual story would have been. She wasn’t even involved — only Kotick was.

jwz: Excess deaths:

Although the official number of deaths caused by covid-19 is now 6.2m, our single best estimate is that the actual toll is 20.7m people. We find that there is a 95% chance that the true value lies between 14.4m and 24.3m additional deaths.

I’d link the The Economist article, but it’s paywalled so make the best of the summary.

Man’s Tesla froze while speeding down highway at 83 mph | Boing Boing:

Maybe instead of trying to take over the Twitterverse, Elon Musk should first focus on churning out fully-functioning Teslas.