ceoln @ceoln@social.cleverlibre.org

I'm posting this partially to acknowledge progress and to thank all who made it happen, but also to encourage those who get discouraged and think that one individual can't change anything big.
In 2018, I received my Census code in the mail. I'm totally blind and had difficulty performing OCR on the code, so I asked the Census Help Line if I could have the code texted to me. They first said that would be fine, but then said they couldn't do it for "security reasons" a standard phrase that is often used to fob people off.
After I issued a media release, being interviewed by several. media organisations and the Minister being asked to comment, a senior official from Statistics NZ actually came to our house on a Sunday afternoon to read me my code, which was absurd.
I started a Parliamentary petition. I appeared before a Select Committee. The Committee was sympathetic. I got a personal apology from the Minister sent to me as an inaccessible PDF image so they had to send it a second time. But in the end, I got a commitment that yes, blind people count and this debacle would never happen again.
Here we are in 2023 and its census time again. This year, I went to the fully accessible website, completed a fully accessible form to get my code texted to me, and have now completed the fully accessible form. I know this wouldn't have happened had I not taken a stand.
So when you think you can't change things for the better, please don't sell yourself short. Each of us have the ability, and I maintain we have the duty, to make good change in the world.
Thank you to all those involved in Government at all levels for getting it so right this time.

Workday Inc.'s artificial intelligence systems and screening tools allegedly disqualify applicants who are Black, disabled, or over the age of 40 at a disproportionate rate, according to a lawsuit. #AI #Accessibility #HR https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/workday-ai-biased-against-black-disabled-applicants-suit-says

About 4 in 10 Americans (most Evangelicals) believe they are living in the End Times.. & are glad for it, because that's how they get their Second Coming. The delay is because the Tribulation has to finish. So they have a vested interest in things getting as bad as possible

Then there's the fact that all economic power in US resides with sociopaths who lust for infinite riches extorted the Earth's resources via the oil economy, future survival of humanity be damned

None of this is accidental!

In the chaos, we become one. Abstraction redefines expectation. Evolution is the standard of the day -- the undeniable path forward promising change and adaptation.

#AI #AIart #Midjourney #Imagination #Abstract

alpha males

I'm kind of struck by how left-leaning the Fediverse is - after seeing so many right-wing social media sites stumble and bumble their way to ignominy. And I realised - the right want a social media site where they can own the libs, flex and troll. And it's boring trolling each other instead. While for the left, it's more about wanting a site to actually interact in a reasonable way with grown-ups.

Just interesting to note.

Fedi works because it works; Gab and Rumble and Truth and all the other right-wing circle-flappers just limp along without any users, because they don't offer what right-wingers want: targets.

@BlackAzizAnansi

🌳

An inspiring story:

In Brazil, Lelia Wanick and Sebastian Salgado planted 2 millions trees in 18 years, bringing back 172 species of birds, 33 mammals, 15 amphibians, 15 reptiles and 293 plant species.

#rewilding #nature #forests #climate #biodiversity #water #WaterAction #UN2023WaterConference #ecology #trees

Boxing Champion Ramla Ali Is Fighting for Refugees #WomenoftheYear #Time

https://time.com/6257836/ramla-ali/

The fine folks at Tweetbot and the Iconfactory need your help.

If you were a subscriber to either, please re-install the app and click the button to decline your refund.

It's difficult, perhaps, to understand what a huge impact this would make on these folks, but your effort and small monetary sacrifice will help them more than you know.

More details in Daring Fireball's post: https://daringfireball.net/2023/03/tweetbot_and_twitterrific_face_the_cliff

It seems in the end a sizable number of the convoyers were nothing but paid crisis actors

Best vibes toot 😍

📷 @boldberlin https://www.instagram.com/p/CpP9-fzqb6e/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

#SilentSunday

I've tried not buying anything that comes in plastic and it's hard! I've probably become a little cynical about individual solutions to big social problems generally, but is it wise to let this be an excuse not to try?

Maybe the correct action is to try your best and complain loudly the whole time. Which is what I'd do if I had to save some kid from drowning wile a guy in a wet suit just stood and watched. 6/6

"You don't need 50 homes." Obviously. Glad someone had the guts to say this on TV.

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1632178108844449794

Edinburgh's Penguins!

(read the alt text)

https://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/webcams/penguin-cam/

This would be a good time to support abortion and women’s health service providers in North Carolina, if you can.

“The state’s abortion providers are under strain, with women sometimes having to wait a month for an appointment. In Chapel Hill, nurses at the Planned Parenthood clinic say they often pull into the parking lot to find patients sleeping in their cars. The license plates are from Tennessee, Georgia, even Texas”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/us/abortion-north-carolina.html?unlocked_article_code=HXCDyvivxOKs69DSZ2kF4VqCLXiGcnKpYW3g-eJmsaQ8rM2bvVJdHSbzJ2Rb9zLBfThst7SGjtaXO5lxI7jP3xQ5geg7OwyiSFoY6wcBD6XDbGMYoo5i118BIT_byxfyBaLLgQLBe34QdJ9C__qaQPfT5DgbNM9b0wRtF6w6F1Mh5ojB1zPYfkHb8UsDlNcUjhDQJIpUm5ss7Evk3NoTNGiPEVCPjobf11K4qlF0fibCZE1c9csRH_f8vv9aKjZO1pZyU4kilQfahv0LJB0tMiiqF03svWh4DlKb3-JCM3rsYnHqI81xjW2cDMzcg0sI51SwoILtenrj6cKJ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Conservatives: we want to eradicate trans people

Trans people: wtf that's genocide

Some of you liberal mfs: maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Have you tried asking them nicely not to?

Hey.

Minnesotans.

Tell your MN State House Rep to support HF 146.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF146&ssn=0&y=2023

It's the trans refuge bill, proposed by my rep, Leigh Finke. The gist is that the laws of other states hunting down trans people who have fled their unjust and inhumane laws cannot apply in Minnesota because they are against our laws.

No Fugitive Trans Acts allowed in Minnesota.

#USPol #Minnesota #TransRightsAreHumanRights