North Korea slammed on Tuesday US President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile shield plan as a "very dangerous" threat that could spark nuclear war in space, state media said.

Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week, calling it "very important for the success and even survival of our country".

The initiative faces significant technical and political challenges, according to analysts, and could come at a hefty price tag.

North Korea says US missile shield plans risk 'nuclear war' in space

^{France 24 (FRANCE 24)}

And by haters I just mean folks who think $12B isn’t a low enough cap…

We are not focused on class war between the majority and the 1%, because (by the numbers) they are not the direct threat to the sustainability of the system. They are not where our money has gone to.

The difference between someone with even $12B and Musk level wealth is the difference between a single story house and a 36 story skyscraper. We are focused on tearing down the skyscraper and taxing the house appropriately. To be frank, the wealth of people with less than a billion dollars is not on our radar as a problem. In contrast, we would like their help in tearing down the skyscrapers. That is the point of our community. We are only after the excess wealth of 250 people in the world.

So again, I welcome you 100% to the tent if you are interested, but politically our goals will always remain simple and be augmented by simple arguments. If that means we are not the community for you, I understand. We’re seeking to act rationally in pursuit of a more ethical world, not to demand ethical perfection from the outset. To be honest I personally believe that ethical perfectionism, infighting, and shrinking the tent are major reasons why progressive movements to rectify wealth inequality constantly fail.

Louis Sachar once wrote an entire book based around the concept that “if you want to fight your way upstream in a river, you have to take small steps”. We arent looking at the end of the river, were looking at the first small steps. (Also that book is a great sequel to Holes for anyone who has never heard of it)

Our argument may seem reductive, but anyone can see the simple nature of the problem. The skyscrapers are a head and shoulders above the single story house. Its a simple problem to see, and an exponential one. 6 people in the world owned half of all the money before covid. Now the problem is even worse. I would venture that the richest 250 people in the world probably own 3/4ths of all the money at this point, at least.

Money was made to move. When that money is parked it doesnt change hands. When it doesnt change hands it doesnt get taxed, things dont get bought. When that happens the government doesnt have the resources it needs, and the economy goes out of whack as well. Its a simple problem that ties into literally every issue imaginable just on that basis. Climate change? We could use more resources to fight it. Materials science to solve the plastic problem? More resources to fight it. People cant afford rent? More resources to pay them. People cant afford healthcare? Do you wish we had bridges to drive over that arent 60+ years old? Are you tired of paying for a fishing/hunting license to subsidize conservation? Everything big and small is impacted in some way by the wealth of the richest 250 people not moving, both inside the US and around the world.

The goal of the movement is not to change the system, really. We arent arguing for moving away from capitalism, even if many of us would like to see that. What we are arguing for is fixing the most unsustainable problem within the system we already have, so that we can continue to fight for a better system in general.

A primary goal is to keep the tent as wide as is possible. The point being that we are fighting specifically on this one issue that should, at least hypothetically, bridge the gap between even people who want radical change and people who want to see no change at all. For people who want radical changes, this is the first step in the right direction. For people who want to see no change at all, this is a step that will prevent the collapse of what they dont want to see changed.

For anyone too broke to afford cost of living, this is what will raise them up to afford a base level of comfort. For the 1%ers, this is what will ensure they get to keep the standard of living they already have, as well as make a shit ton of money off the rest of us. If anything I see this community as an incubation for a political bridge party that can actually bring enough people under one tent to affect change, and breakthrough the various distractions that the richest people in the world rely on so we dont come after them. Red vs blue, black vs white, majority vs 1%ers, and so on and so forth. Its all just bullshit to keep us from paying attention to the 0.0001% who have almost all of the money.

This isnt about redistribution of much of anything from the 1% at large. Its about dislodging the 5 trillion dollars that sit largely in the hands of like 10 people. Just that $5T moving would be enough to allow the rest of the 1% unaffected. Thats like 1/3rd of the federal deficit.

The point of targeting that $5T specifically is because its $5T that is virtually guaranteed to never move otherwise. Its just feel good money for the mega billionaires, which even 1%ers cant relate to nor justify.

We are focused on making the system we have, flawed as it is, a base level of sustainable in the interest of everybody. Capitalism with the bumper guards up. Regardless of what they would want to see next.

To analogize: if were all in one car together right now that is a hunk of shit, and we got a flat tire, the goal for us is to fix the tire so we can make it down the road. Some might want to abandon the car right now even if it means chaos. Some might want to fix the flat so we can get a different car. And some might want to fix the flat so we can keep driving the same hunk of shit. But the goal of our community would be centered on fixing the tire, to avoid chaos and to leave our options open for the future

• ToastedRavioli

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ntsb-wants-action-cfm-leap-1b-engines-over-smoke-entering-cockpit-2025-06-18/

Alt Text:

I would rather you help me with a small task than waste 20 minutes praying for me to have been born with a different genome

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-court-adviser-sides-with-regulators-googles-fight-against-eu-antitrust-fine-2025-06-19/

Sensitive content Clicca per aprire/chiudere

last month, a federal appeals court tossed out their victory and declared that only the federal government can sue over violations of the Voting Rights Act, a devastating blow to the ability of these tribes—and others in the region—to seek legal recourse.

“A Law Without a Way to Enforce It” - Bolts

In North Dakota as elsewhere, Native groups face a triple threat on voting rights: judges targeting the VRA, Trump officials hostile to enforcing it, and a funding crunch depleting their work.

^{Daniel Nichanian (Bolts)}

https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0619/1519280-eu-israel/

https://thehill.com/latino/5359169-pregnant-us-citizen-border-patrol-agents/

A scene I came home to: my wife had just finished playing a journaling RPG about attempting to preserve a library from ransacking hordes in the distant past, involving both blocks and cards. And I saw it all, and the scene composed itself. Nothing was disturbed in the slightest.

I just think this is very pleasing and cozy to look at.

Sensitive content Clicca per aprire/chiudere

cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/5307804

NRK^[Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation] will discontinue its teletext service on August 20 due to the risk of serious technical issues. Over the course of the past few years, the service has become increasingly difficult for NRK to maintain. The technology is old and very demanding to keep in working order with the rest of NRK's system.

—"Most people are surprised when they find out that teletext still exists. But we know there are still some people who use it to this day," says Audun Aas, product development manager for nrk.no.

Aas says that NRK is doing its best to help teletext users find the information they're used to receiving through the service, elsewhere.

NRK's teletext service celebrated its 40th anniversary two years ago. During the service's 30th anniversary, it was predicted not to last another decade.

---

::: spoiler Did you know?
* Black and white TV sets were still common in 1983. NRK had a monopoly on TV broadcasts, but no way to provide quick updates on news and other information.
* Teletext was initially only available for a few hours in the evening, namely from the children's programming block to the end of broadcasts before midnight.
* Because the terminals NRK used to type teletext were imported from England, the letters Æ and Ø had to be replaced with Ä and Ö in teletext respectively.
* A typo in a teletext warning about toxins in blue mussels caused many Norwegians to fall ill in the summer of 1994.
* The invitation to the NRK teletext editorial staff's 10 year anniversary — including the event's bill of fare — was accidentally shown on teletext, prompting an apology via Dagbladet^[Newspaper associated with the Liberal Party until 1977. Sold from the Berner Group to Aller Media in 2013.].
* Teletext was for many years most popular among 20-39 year olds.
:::

---

42 years of teletext

The Norwegian parliament resolved in April of 1982 that NRK would establish a teletext service. The service launched on February 2, 1983.

Establishing a teletext service proved to be such a daunting task that the chief editor of Arbeiderbladet^[Newspaper today known as Dagsavisen. Associated with the Labor Party at the time; became party-independent in 1999 and is now owned by Mentor Media.] was brought on to lead the work.

Surveys show that use of teletext has gradually declined in recent years, with only 3% of Norway's population using teletext as of 2024.

On August 20, 2025, the service will end after 42 years.

---

::: spoiler Poll: Will you miss teletext?
* Yes, I like having it available as an option: 29%
* No, I won't miss it: 40%
* Yes, but only due to nostalgia: 31%

3,566 votes

NB: This poll is not representative of the entire country. These are only the votes of people who read this article and decided to vote.
:::

---

[There's a video from 1979 attached here explaining what teletext is, but I don't feel like translating it right now. The key takeaway is maybe that NRK was already experimenting with teletext by that point, but hadn't officially launched their service yet.]

All information currently available on teletext is also available on nrk.no.

Slutt for tekst-TV etter 42 år

NRK legger ned tekst-TV fra 20. august. Avvikler tjenesten på grunn av faren for alvorlige feil.

^{Anna Rut Tørressen (NRK)}

As Israel bombs Iran, and the threat of U.S. military escalation grows by the hour, the world’s attention is being pulled into yet another war that Israel started and the West manufactured. After flattening Gaza and locking down the West Bank Israel has now dragged Iran into open confrontation — and is calling on the U.S. to finish the job.

Microsoft is prepared to abandon its high-stakes negotiations with OpenAI over the future of its alliance, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The tech giant has considered pausing discussions with the ChatGPT maker if the two sides remain unable to agree on critical issues such as the size of Microsoft's future stake in OpenAI, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

https://www.reuters.com/business/microsoft-prepared-walk-away-high-stakes-talks-with-openai-ft-reports-2025-06-18/

Scientists in Poland have called on the public to step up efforts to combat drought, revealing that around 45% of the country’s forests and agricultural land are under threat.

The appeal was made on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, with scientists warning that drought had now become an annual issue.

Currently, surface water resources per capita (the amount of renewable surface water available for each person in a specific location) stand at 1,600 cubic meters per year, approximately three times below the European average.

In an open letter published on their website, Poland’s national water authority, Polish Waters (Wody Polskie), wrote: “Despite Poland’s seemingly moderate climate, summer droughts have been observed since 2011.”

Financial losses stemming from drought were placed at 2.6 billion złotys in 2018 alone.

Now, Polish Waters have issued a rallying cry calling on the forestry commission, regional authorities, farmers and entrepreneurs to join forces to do their bit.

“The key is to retain water where it falls,” wrote Polish Waters. “Through water retention and wise water management, we can protect our fields, forests and cities from the effects of drought. Together we can restore balance to the landscape and take care of the future.”

Continuing, Polish Waters apportioned much of the blame on climate change, citing it as a major driver of drought.

“This process is further modulated by seasonal precipitation patterns, surface runoff, water storage, and interactions with vegetation.”

“Recent weather patterns, characterized by prolonged droughts interspersed with heavy rainfall, are further exacerbating the problem. While droughts leave land dehydrated for years, heavy rainfall washes away topsoil instead of replenishing it,” they added.

Farmers have been particularly impacted by Poland’s spate of droughts, with one report showing that 45% of the county’s forests and agricultural fields are at risk, with central Poland and Wielkopolska in west-central Poland the most vulnerable of all.

Traditionally, agricultural droughts have been viewed as a particular problem, with their effects including lower yields, poorer crop quality, higher susceptibility to diseases and pests, and higher end prices for the consumer.

To fight drought, Polish Waters has already completed 55 investments valued at 150 million złotys, among them the modernization of the Ruda reservoir near the northeastern town of Mława.

The authority has also embarked on an aggressive educational campaign aimed at promoting smaller scale retention measures, switching lawns out in favor of flowery meadows and encouraging the planting of drought-resistant plants.

“Let’s work together for the people, for nature and for future generations,” added Polish Waters.

Polish scientists urge public to step up war on drought

Around 45% of Poland’s forests and fields are now under threat.

^{aw/ew (Telewizja Polska S.A)}

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who voted against Noem, tore into her performance.

"It's really hard to imagine someone doing a worse job as the secretary of homeland security," Schiff said in an interview. "The draconian, inconsistent, inflammatory immigration policies; the lawlessness; the rendering of people outside the country to maximum-security prisons; the arrest of U.S. citizens; the constant, bizarre spectacle of her doing dress-up outside of a maximum-security prison; or in her various cosplay. It's embarrassing, and it takes the focus off of what should be the heart of that job, and that is protecting our homeland security."

Some Democratic senators regret voting to confirm Kristi Noem as DHS secretary

After seven Democrats voted for Noem, some say they'd now oppose her in the wake of Trump's aggressive deportation plans and last week's incident involving Sen. Alex Padilla.

^{Sahil Kapur (NBC News)}

Access options:
* gift link - registration required
* archive.today - shows all text and images, but interactive graph doesn't work

The key thing is that they're just making up numbers to justify secret police attacking Americans and our elected representatives:

At first glance, it seems like Silicon Valley executives have the perfect life, what with the unimaginable wealth and power and such. But what if they’re sad they don’t get to put on big boy pants and pretend they’re warfighters? What then, America?

Thankfully the Army has invented a way to give tech execs participation trophies—surely that is the best and most noble use of our armed forces.

A new Army initiative titled “Detachment 201: The Army’s Executive Innovation Corps” promises to “fuse cutting-edge tech expertise with military innovation.”

Just in case this conflict of interest wasn’t blatant enough, Katrina Mulligan, former chief of staff to the Army secretary, posted more big news on LinkedIn Monday, announcing that, since being rewarded its $200 million contract, OpenAI is now bringing her on to run a new initiative, “OpenAI for Government,” which will supposedly “help accelerate the U.S. government’s adoption of AI.”

Notably absent from the list of Big Special Boys with Big Special Army Jobs is Musk and any of his companies. In the halcyon days of the Trump-Musk alliance, he was getting literal billions in government contracts, awarded with no oversight and no regard for the obvious conflict of interest.

SpaceX was on track to help build the Golden Dome missile shield, a Trump fixation and boondoggle that will not work but will nonetheless cost somewhere between $119 billion and $6.4 trillion. But now there’s nary a mention of SpaceX while Golden Dome missile shield partner Palantir’s star is rapidly ascending.

Army gives shady offer to tech bros so they can play soldier

At first glance, it seems like Silicon Valley executives have the perfect life, what with the unimaginable wealth and power and such. But what if they’re sad they don’t get to put on big boy ...

^{Daily Kos}

So I jumped from Windows to Linux, endeavouros btw, and would like to know:

how you keep your system clean?
If you are infected how do you find out? What do you do about it then?

Many Democrats continue to believe that the racism of average Americans — many of whom voted for Barack Obama twice — explains why Donald Trump won. This moralism suits party elites who would rather demonize the public than address growing inequality.

Kamala Harris Didn’t Lose Because of Racism

^jacobin.com

https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/18/tennessee-to-become-first-state-in-south-to-protect-access-to-ivf-birth-control/

Most people either use google as their search engine, or one of the "privacy friendly ones" (ddg, qwant, brave, startpage, ...), or use self hosted or publicly available metasearch engines, like searxng, or whoogle, etc.

This websites lists out websites which have their own indexes, and which depend on big providers.

Why YSK?

It is good for your privacy to not use a big provider like google, which now prefers to serve you ai generated ssummaries, which are based on a few giant websites, and this is not good for a open web.

I am also a person who almost always uses "(insert query) reddit" to get better results, because I mostly do not want SEO spam, and reddit results used to be human generated content. Now even that is hit and miss. Also, reddit made a deal with google, so for newer results from reddit, you can only get them from google.

Then we have the "privacy friendly ones" which most of the time are wrappers for other bigger indexes, for example ddg famously uses bing, brave "suppliments" (read this suppliments as almost always) it's results from google, startpage is basically a google frontend, etc. Brave, qwant, and few others also claim to have their own indexes, but they are small and not rich as google and bing. Also, wwhen you think about it - what is their business model - how do they get money for the search apis - most either serve adds or have some form of tracking. Also, bing has "kinda" closed it's search api (not really clear about this), so many of these privacy friendly options will have to either switch to google, or only serve using their indexes.

Meta-search engines kinda seem like better options, as you can run searxng on your own machine, or use the public ones, but it still has problems. You are still bringing the big providers traffic, which makes their advertisement clients happier and prefer them over smaller search engines. If you use a public instance, then it is good for your privacy, but the public instance would now generate a lot traffic, and often get banned or rate limited, and hence you can not rely on them. If you use your personal instances (I did this for a long time), you will still be tracked as your IP is still visible. You avoid their annoying ui and popups but still are tracked.

So what should you use?

You can only decide this. I would prefer something which has a reasonable business model - if they do advertisement, that should ideally be non tracking. Ideally their client and server code should be foss (so you can verify their claims), or have paid plans or apis if you do not want ads.

For example, Kagi has only paid plans, but I do not prefer or use them, because they are expensive (5 dollars for 300 searches per month or something similar. I am from one of third world countries, and 5 dollars is a lot. plus 300 searches seem less to me) but that is subjective, and your privacy has a price, so this is not neccessarily a objectively bad thing. But their code is closed source, and they do not completely use their own indexes.

I have also used Mullvad's Leta search engine for about a month, and they are now effectively frontends for brave search or google (you can choose). Their business plan initially was that Leta was only available to their VPN clients, and VPN subscription would supplement the search cost. Now they have it available for free, so I do not really understand their business plan (maybe the number of clients they have is large enough, and number of leta users is small, that they can afford to run leta for loss, and maybe as possible advertisement for mullvad. Mullvad to me is a good privacy centric company. I am not their client, but they seem to be trust worthy. You can try them, but you would still support some big provider.

You can also try the independent search providers listed in the article. They are often small, serve bad (subjectively speaking; your taste regarding search engines is also heavily tuned to google like results because of years of exposure to it) results, but using them also supports open web (you would often find that these smaller providers do not have good indexes for big websites, and sometimes it is intentional, sometimes it is a byproduct of them being careful, or the websites banning/rate limiting then).

I have now started trying stract, and will try others too. You should also consider trying some independent search engines.

In my personal case - I have a offline setup where I have large sections of wikipedia and a few other websites (like programning language docs, or my favorite manga wiki, will be adding much of stack overflow soon) available offline, and I use my custon launcher to search through them (faster then searching them online). I bookmark a lot of sites (~ 2000) and do this to stop searching the same stuff over and over again. This has reduced at least 30-40% of all my searches. But I still need a search engine for anything I do not have currently, or stuff I do not/ can not get. I am trying stract, because it is open source, they seen to have some fine plans for business in future (non tracking, current search term related ads or subscription service ; currenlty they are running on previous funding from nlnet); search results are acceptable (not good, but servicable); and finally - it is written in RUST (I an a rust fan). I am not affiliated with the project, but just spreading a good word because I just found them, and could not find much online.

PS: I am not used to writing much, and not a good typist. Please forgive the brevity. Feel free to correct me, both on spellings and content

A look at search engines with their own indexes

A cursory review of all the non-metasearch, indexing search engines I have been able to find.

^{Seirdy’s Home}

The conservative movement has built its case against gender-affirming care on the authority of anachronistic, faulty clinical research.

The Bad Science Behind Trans Medicine Bans - Dissent Magazine

^{Dissent Magazine}