Phil Landmeier @shuttersparks@social.cleverlibre.org

A shadowy new organization attacking the climate efforts of Canadian cities is infiltrating Google searches and ads in the New York Times and other publications online.

The group — Voice for Energy — bills itself as a platform for Canadians to "speak up" against municipalities implementing measures to reduce or ban natural gas to "protect" people’s so-called "energy choice."

The group keeps its provenance secret, with no phone numbers or staff listed on its website.
A search of its metadata through the Whois database reveals the domain name was created in April 2023, but any information that could identify the website's owners is redacted.

Last week, some Canadian New York Times readers were greeted with an ad from the organization targeting Burnaby, B.C.'s recent decision to ban gas hook-ups in new buildings.

Canadian Google users have also been targeted by the group, as reported by DeSmog reporter Geoff Dembicki and according to the platform's ad transparency database.
Those ads have been running Canada-wide since mid-October accompanied by photos of diverse, happy-looking families. The most recent ad was published on Jan. 10, 2024.

"It is a fear campaign. They're trying to get people scared that if we don't keep natural gas, then we won't have reliable electricity," said Julien Beaulieu, a Université de Sherbrooke lecturer.
"That's what this campaign is about. It is about making people scared of renewables
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/01/15/news/shady-group-determined-block-our-climate-solutions

Saved this like ten years ago. Still lovn' it.
.
#BlackMastodon

Born in 1896, biochemist Gerty Theresa Cori became the 1st woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (and the 3rd to win a Nobel Prize).

Cori faced gender discrimination & was marginalized for years. But she never gave up.

With her husband Carl, she discovered how glycogen is broken down & eventually stored as an energy source (aka the “Cori cycle”). They also identified the Cori ester. http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/women/cori.htm #HistoryRemix #science #history

The deadliest earthquake in recorded history occurred on this day, January 23 in 1556. Taking an estimated 830,000 lives, some counties lost nearly 60% of their residents.

Can you guess where this event took place?

Click the link below to see where:
https://www.whereintheworldgame.com/?id=160&type=q

#Earthquakes #Geology #Education #History #TodayInHistory #Histodons #geography #wikipedia #maps

#Florida #BookBans #Fascism #BoycottFlorida

Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution https://popular.info/p/florida-teachers-told-to-remove-books

During the French Academy of Sciences elections, she was vilified by the right-wing press as a foreigner and atheist. Her daughter later remarked on the French press's hypocrisy in portraying Curie as an unworthy foreigner when she was nominated for a French honour, but portraying her as a French heroine when she received foreign honours such as her Nobel Prizes. via @wikipedia

#science #physics #chemistry #womeninscience
2/

NAZI TOWN, USA | In the 1930s, Summer camps opened up across the country. But these weren't normal summer camps: they were the creation of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization with a vision of America ruled by white Christians| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbp_nXMLonw

Hair Sample That Put a Man in Prison Turned Out to Be Dog Hair

From bite marks to shaken babies, the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences is debunking bad science.

https://reason.com/2024/01/18/center-for-integrity-in-forensic-sciences-junk-hair-arson-bite/

Ron DeSantis should be forced to carry his dead campaign to term.

To the extent that search engines know which content is created by generative AI, they should offer a search parameter to users that excludes all known AI-generated content in search results. Where possible, a sticky "never show me AI-generated content" option should also be available.

@lauren It's actually really starting to be noticeable now. I have been running into entire sites which are AI-regurgitated versions of real sites (for SEO purposes, with a bazillion low quality ads). And we're only in the early days of AI-generated web cruft.

They could also let you know how many results were excluded: E.g.:

10 results found.
43,403,101 useless AI-generated results excluded

Maine Could Become The 15th State To Pass A Trans Refuge Law

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/maine-could-become-the-15th-state

For my non German-speaking followers: several hundred thousand people are in the streets today in Germany to protest against fascism following the uncovering of deportation plans for migrants, foreigners and non-conform Germans projected by the AfD party #noafd

🐝 The outrageous EPA loophole that's killing bees 🐝

Bee-killing pesticides called neonicotinoids are 1,000 times more toxic to bees than DDT, and they're contributing to a massive bee die-off across the country.

And yet, if these toxic pesticides are applied as seed coatings rather than sprayed on crops, they are unregulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/insect-apocalypse-under-way-toxic-pesticides-agriculture

1/

If you actually want to change EVERYTHING here, we need more than a president. We need to own 60 seats in the Senate and take the House. If you don't understand that, then you DON'T GET HOW THE GOVERNMENT WORKS.

😅 "Bradley" crew that destroyed T-90M tank gave an interview, and the gunner said that he remembered the weak point of the tank from the game War Thunder.

The brain drain continues.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/state-laws-are-factoring-into-college-choices-for-young-adults-202527813731

#politics #education #college #republican #democrat

Hey, @pluralistic!

Just wanted to let you know that people in Germany are finally on the streets right now.

There are many more on the streets during this weekend.
https://www.dw.com/en/tens-of-thousands-in-hamburg-rally-against-far-right/video-68040563