Paul Sutton @zleap@social.cleverlibre.org

HUGE: pinned post at the law subreddit:
(full text in the ALT)

"Since Musk took control of Twitter [...] CSAM (child sexual abuse material) has apparently been circulating on Twitter recently [...]

As a result, we'll be removing any content here that leads to Twitter, or, as he now calls it, X. Whether it's an embed link or a direct link to a tweet. Don't care what outlet is doing it. If you're a reporter or editor, stop embedding links to Twitter in any of your content [...]"

@marjolica @techghoul

Short-ish version:

1) There's a list of really bad Mastodon instances that only exist to host CSAM and launch attacks on Black folk, brown folk, Jewish folk, women, LGBTQIA folk, and other marginalized groups. It's a full time job keeping up with new additions to that list.

2) Some experienced admins do this work to block them, but most new admins don't. There are now 26K instances, most of which have new-ish admins that don't block this "worst of the worst" list.

“So much worse”: Legal experts say new Trump indictment “reads just like organized crime activity”

https://www.salon.com/2023/07/28/so-much-worse-legal-experts-say-new-indictment-reads-just-like-organized-activity/

#Salon #TrumpIndictment #OrganizedCrime #LegalExperts #NewIndictment #PoliticalScandal #Politics #News

Coming Monday (31. July) we will declare "First Light" for #ESAEuclid 🛰️ and show the first engineering images that the #VIS and #NISP instruments 📷 have taken of the sky, using a fully focussed telescope! 🔭

Yay!

That said, #Euclid has now also arrived at its ultimate distance from Earth, circling around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 😎🌏🛰️ - joining #ESAGaia and #JWST:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZXvHKuv0WEQ

@TonyStark

One of the most important things for children is that we encourage and support them to think and question.
Books are the world that offers a universe of possibilities.

Without books, without the freedom to access them, you create a stunted society....
which unfortunately some want to have.

As Aristotle said about what he taught his most famous student....I teach him to think.

Busted:

The UK's ambition to allow 'youth mobility' deals with EU countries doesn't look like an innocent desire to allow young people access to our culture but rather... in the words of an EU official:

'What it looks like is EU youth being brought in to get paid minimum wage rates, without the in-work benefits. It’s not clear that young Europeans will be treated like young Brits'!

Oops, such a transparent move was never going to go un-noticed in Brussels, Rishi (you numpty!)

At a classical concert the other day, my dad started talking with the man beside him, who said he was a journalist. When my dad introduced himself, the man said the name “Hayhoe” was familiar to him, because of “the notorious climate activist Katharine Hayhoe.” I think that's a good thing 😁

My dad, a science educator, then asked, "so what evidence WOULD convince you that climate change is real and serious?" He had no good answer--and I wouldn't expect him to, because climate denial isn't about facts. It's about looking for plausible excuses to stonewall climate solutions.

In my experience, 99.9% of climate denial is solution aversion. But because most of us prefer to perceive ourselves as good people, and saying "sure, this is a real problem that's affecting real people especially the poor and vulnerable but I don't want to fix it" isn't good, we seize on any excuse (it's not real! it's not human-caused! those scientists are cooking the data for profit! CO2 greens the planet! We can adapt! It's too late anyways!) to justify our desire for inaction.

For more, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkMIjbDtdo0

Well, fuck.

Just been informed by my GP practice's pharmacist that there's now a national shortage of Rybelsus, aka Semaglutide, my most effective diabetes medication, that's likely to last into 2024. Influencers have been boosting it as a weight loss drug (it's the same drug—in tablet form—as Ozembic/Wegovy) and private clinics are buying up all the stock for image-conscious idiots, depriving diabetics of access.

(I have 12 weeks in the cupboard, then I may lose access for months.)

Good coverage by the Financial Times on the new study on the risk of Atlantic Ocean circulation instability, citing a number of experts. #AMOC
Now with open access link:

https://www.ft.com/content/41efe7f2-5bd5-48fc-96e8-7275f08180fd?accessToken=zwAAAYmYZlz7kc9B7-fyW9VI_NOW6HJ18IGA_Q.MEUCIGdpbNnvfQ__6WKiKPKpuTxcEM6cSvAvPKYQ82nxpluxAiEA7S0gYAY9ddSNSubX8GUPHK2FaiLj0vK6QHLVUqqXvBo&segmentId=e95a9ae7-622c-6235-5f87-51e412b47e97&shareType=enterprise

Pro-tip: when you are in an intense “intellectual debate” with someone on social media, imagine them sitting on the toilet… because they probably are.

Jinghui Zhang, PhD, elected Fellow of the International Society for ... - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdGp1ZGUub3JnL21lZGlhLXJlc291cmNlcy9uZXdzLXJlbGVhc2VzLzIwMjMtbWVkaWNpbmUtc2NpZW5jZS1uZXdzL3poYW5nLWhvbm9yZWQtYnktdGhlLWludGVybmF0aW9uYWwtc29jaWV0eS1mb3ItY29tcHV0YXRpb25hbC1iaW9sb2d5Lmh0bWzSAQA?oc=5&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #science

The US Government is Taking a Serious Step Toward Space-Based Nuclear Propulsion - Four years from now, if all goes well, a nuclear-powered rocket engine will launch... - https://science.slashdot.org/story/23/07/27/1647236/the-us-government-is-taking-a-serious-step-toward-space-based-nuclear-propulsion?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed #space

Trump punctures DeSantis’ reboot by being indicted again. Genius.

In Houston, school libraries are being converted into disciplinary centers...

Here's a vapid explanation as to why: "prioritizing resources to meet specific outcomes, including closing the achievement gap, raising student proficiency, and preparing kids for the future."

"Prioritizing resources to meet specific outcomes" is the bullshittiest KPI ever. This man should be punched with a shovel.

https://abc13.com/hisd-libraries-librarians-media-specialists-houston-isd/13548483/

Ah, so that's why LinkedIn keeps spamming me to apply for "Senior Counsel, Product Liability" at Tesla.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-batteries-range/

A team at Addenbrooke's Hospital and Cambridge University placed an air filtration machine in COVID-19 wards. They found that it removed almost all traces of airborne SARS-CoV-2.

-- Dr Andrew Conway Morris reports. From Cambridge University -- thanks

https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/air-filters-significantly-reduce-presence-of-airborne-covid-19/

The next cargo mission to the @Space_Station will launch from @NASA_Wallops in Virginia. Liftoff of @NorthropGrumman's uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is set for Aug. 1 at 8:31pm ET (0031 UTC).

How to watch, from prelaunch to space station arrival: https://go.nasa.gov/3Qe2n2S
#NASA