Good Idea: Create your tech independence.
Email, cloud storage etc should not be in the hands of greedy corporations. Form groups and organize!
(kudos if you also manage every step and find the one where the author relies on 3rd parties)
https://sive.rs/ti#why

Tech independence is not depending on any particular company or software.

The only tools you need are the common open source basics built into any Linux or BSD operating system — free public-domain tools that are not owned by anyone, and can run on any computer.

Learn a few of these basic tools, and you can run your own private server on any computer forever, for the rest of your life. Host your own website and email. Keep your own contacts and calendars synced with your phone. Back up and sync your photos, movies, and music to your own private storage. No more subnoscriptions needed.

You can ignore all the companies offering “solutions”, even if they are free, because they take away self-reliance. The point is to know how to do it yourself, not to have somebody do it for you. It’s worth a little up-front work, like learning how to drive.

TIL New York City is sinking 1-2mm each year due to the weight of its skyscrapers, worsening the effects of rising sea levels and flooding. [source, comments]

TIL Peter Norman, the white athlete standing on the podium in 1968 while Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute, was not selected to run in the 1972 Olympics for supporting his fellow athletes. He was not welcomed at the 2000 Olympics because he refused to renounce his actions. [source, comments]

TIL that the first political assassination in Roman history took place in 133 B.C when tribune Tiberius Gracchus tried to redistribute land to the poor, and was promptly beaten to death with wooden chairs by the Senate [source, comments]

Song of the day 🤖🦗: https://spotify.link/67wJagyXADb

TIL That Terry Pratchett changed German publishers because Heyne inserted a soup advert into the text of one of his novels and wouldn't promise not to do it again. [source, comments]

Song of the day 🌅⛪: https://spotify.link/o3pFl2FsCDb

Good Idea: Ban Drone warfare!

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ai-and-the-next-generation-of-drone-warfare

Of course the US is doing the opposite, so we might just end up with slaughterbots (very provocative shortfilm)
https://youtu.be/9CO6M2HsoIA

Good Idea: Ban greenwashing and inform consumers about product durability

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230918IPR05412/eu-to-ban-greenwashing-and-improve-consumer-information-on-product-durability

The EU has agreed to ban misleading advertisements and improve consumer product information. The rules target misleading marketing practices like false environmental claims, premature obsolescence, and fake sustainability labels. The agreement also aims to make product guarantees more visible and introduce a label for products with extended warranties. The final approval is pending, with a vote expected in November, and member states will have 24 months to adopt the new rules once they come into force.

Für einmal News aus meiner alten Heimat Anschlag auf AfD-Weidel geplant – KaPo Schwyz musste ausrücken https://www.watson.ch/!466391922

Don't trust AI: https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/wahlen-2023/wahlen-2023-ki-gibt-falschinformationen-zu-schweizer-wahlen

Song of the day 👣🎢: https://spotify.link/87HP4JskDDb

TIL that Jim Morrison loved reading so much, that he once excused himself from class, telling his teacher he needed to get a "brain tumour" removed, and instead spent the rest of the day reading. When Jim was offered a graduation gift from his parents, he chose the complete works of Nietzsche. [source, comments]

TIL there are an estimated 2 BILLION parking spots in America [source, comments]

TIL most phones include FM radio hardware, but carriers and manufacturers have it disabled in software [source, comments]

One of the upsides of using public transport in Berlin