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96% of Freight Rail Workers Want To Strike, Survey Finds

Aaron Gordon VICE
Photo of a train and a road sign for train crossing.
The survey was conducted by Railroad Workers United, an umbrella organization that stretches across the freight rail industry’s multiple unions, 13 of which are involved in contract talks with most of the nation’s largest freight rail carriers.

The Bicentennial of George Boole, the Man Who Laid the Foundations of the Digital Age

Colm Mulcahy Scientific American
It wasn’t until almost a century after Boole’s pioneering work that the world caught up. Both Victor Shestakov at Moscow State University in 1935 and Claude Shannon at MIT in 1937 proposed using Boolean logic to design electrical switches, the latter’s work paving the way for a major shift in electrical engineering in the USA. By late 1948, Shannon had introduced what we now know as information theory, and digital computers soon followed.

Is Indonesia's Fire Crisis Connected to the Palm Oil in our Snack Food?

Lindsey Allen The Guardian
The widespread burning of tropical rainforests and peatlands to develop pulpwood and palm oil plantations is one of the largest sources of carbon pollution occurring in the world today. The fires are due to a broken system of international commodity production that will take all of us at both ends of the supply chain to fix. This will necessitate holding Western companies accountable for the consequences of their global operations.

The Okinawa Missiles of October

Aaron Tovish The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
By Bordne's account, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Air Force crews on Okinawa were ordered to launch 32 missiles, each carrying a large nuclear warhead. Only caution and the common sense and decisive action of the line personnel receiving those orders prevented the launches—and averted the nuclear war that most likely would have ensued.

Who Was Rosa Luxemburg?

Kate Evans Beyond Chron
Rosa Luxemburg was at the center of revolutionary politics from 1898-1919, a very complex political time. Connecting her perspectives to the many now obscure movements of the pre-WWI era can get confusing for those who have not much studied the period. That’s why the graphic novel format used by Evans is so vital to understanding Luxemburg’s role.

The People's Period Piece

Tirdad Derakhshani The Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Soderbergh's period medical drama, The Knick, which kicked off its second season on Oct. 16, has been praised for its vivid characterization, realism, historical accuracy, and visual style.