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Submission + - Washington State Lawmakers Pass Distracted Driving Bill (theurbanist.org)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Lawmakers have approved a crackdown on driving while using a handheld device in Washington State. In 2015, distracted driving accounted for nearly one-third of the deaths from traffic violence in Washington, 170 deaths out of 567. Citing “time for the public to adjust”, they passed an amendment to move the date of implementation for the increased fines and restrictions on mobile device use (e.g., cell phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and game consoles) while driving from January 1 of 2018 to January 1 of 2019–a 600 day grace period during which, if the trends hold, nearly 300 people will die.

Comment Ballmer Tax Dodger in Chief (Score 1) 251

I am also curious about the money the government never sees: Ballmer was tax dodger in chief Microsoft as it kept $120 billion off shore. http://www.seattletimes.com/bu... and https://crosscut.com/2014/08/w... I posted this story with more context about his tax dodging and Slashdot declined it.

Submission + - Ballmer Launches USAFacts for Transparency in Government Spending (nytimes.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Former Microsoft CEO wanted to know, 'what the government really does with [our] money,' what really happens?' He's launching USA Facts, a public database and report created by a small army of economists, professors and other professionals he's assembled. Perhaps it was Ballmer's concerns that led him to continue Microsoft's tax dodging operations both Internationally and at home in Washington State. Will USAFacts tell us how much the government never received from its $125 billion in revenue held offshore? (asking for a friend)

Submission + - With Amazon, Men Now Outnumber Women in Washington State (seattletimes.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Last week, Amazon announced that it now has more than 40,000 employees in Washington. That's nearly 8x growth since 2010. According to the U.S. Census, 'for the first time since 1960, there may be more men than women in Washington. ' In fact, in the 18 to 54 year old range, there are 76,755 more men than women in Washington State. Not only has this made dating more difficult for many Seattle techies but may also be playing a role in increased reports of drugging at bars and a 51% increase in reported rape since 2015.

Submission + - Microsoft's Gates, Allen and Ballmer Funding Takedown of Supreme Court Justice (kiro7.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen and former CEO Steve Ballmer are funding a takedown of Washington State Supreme Court Charles Wiggins who voted with the 6-3 majority to overturn their 2015 charter school initiative. This billionaire-driven 'democracy' is consistent with Gates' recent hypocritical call for taxpayers to fund government innovation while dodging taxes himself.

Submission + - Tax Dodger Bill Gates Calls for Taxpayers to Fund More Innovation (jeffreifman.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Recently, Bill Gates launched a call for political leaders and taxpayers to accelerate funding of public sector innovation. '...innovation starts with government support for the research labs and universities working on new insights that entrepreneurs can turn into companies that change the world,' says Gates, which in turn helps 'unlock the private sector’s ingenuity.' There's just one problem. Bill Gates is not only the richest man in the world but he's also one of its biggest tax avoiders. While Microsoft's historical earnings surpassed $1 trillion earlier this year, its held more than $108 billion offshore to avoid taxation. And in its home state of Washington, it's dodged so much tax that the courts have held the legislature in contempt for two years to find sufficient funding for education.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Internet Dysphoria - if you don't have it, it's likely you know someone who does 5

Journal by BarbaraHudson

Yesterday we read about how smartphones are contaminating family life. People are getting to the point where they feel anger or resentment towards the place the internet takes in so many people's lives, including their own. Here I propose both a formal diagnosis and criteria as a first step in helping those so affected.

Submission + - Bill Gates Hypocritical Call for Accelerated Innovation (jeffreifman.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Last week, Bill Gates called on political leaders to accelerate innovation. '...innovation starts with government support for the research labs and universities working on new insights.' But that requires taxes, funds that he's systematically avoiding paying the government for two decades; Microsoft currently has more than $108 billion offshore. Is Gates a hypocrite or is it just that his privileged billions keep him from understanding how the world works?

Submission + - You Can Control a BB-8 Droid with Your Thoughts (tutsplus.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Using the Emotiv Insight headset, you can control a Sphero BB-8 droid with your thoughts by training it to recognize your EEG signals as commands. Normally I wouldn't submit a sponsored post (who isn't mentioned here) but I was pretty amazed by this video demo and thought that Slashdot readers may not be aware of it. There's also a follow up post using a Myo Armband to control BB-8 with gestures. There's also a TED talk by the inventor of the Emotiv talking about how the headset works.

Submission + - Blind Apple Store Employee Guides my iPhone 7 Upgrade (jeffreifman.com) 2

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: Amidst the crowds and the noise, a blind Apple store employee named Stan led my iPhone 7 upgrade this past weekend. I was touched not only that he and his service dog Eclaire were on the front lines of retail but also by the camaraderie and mutual regard of his coworkers, helping him be successful. This isn't typical — the unemployment rate for blind people is estimated at 70 percent.

Submission + - Making Fun of the "Advanced Technology" in Amtrak's Security Gap (jeffreifman.com)

Submitted by reifman
reifman writes: After traveling the Northwest via Amtrak, the lack of traditional TSA style security was both a refreshing pleasure and a bit unnerving — and I'm not referring to its unsecured WiFi network. I decided to modify Amtrak's branding campaign to poke fun at the invisibility of its security theater, or as security guru Bruce Schneier calls it, "the security mirage."

Submission + - Controversial canal could stop thousands of sinkholes around Dead Sea (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: On the edge of the Dead Sea, the ground is caving in. Trucks and small buildings in Israel and Jordan have fallen into pits, beaches and plantations have closed, and roads been rerouted to avoid the more than 5500 sinkholes that pockmark the region. Now, by building a physical model of the Dead Sea in a laboratory, scientists have figured out what's causing the sinkholes in the first place, and whether a proposed controversial canal can stop them.

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