China's Trade Surplus Breaks World Record in First Half of 2025 Amid US Tariff Challenges
China's Trade Surplus Breaks World Record in First Half of 2025 Amid US Tariff Challenges | DataTrack
In the first half of 2025, China’s goods trade surplus reached 586 billion US dollars, setting a historic high with a significant 34% increase compared to the same period last year.DataTrack
10 ChatGPT-5 Prompts That Will Save Your Startup Time and Money
10 ChatGPT-5 Prompts That Will Save Your Startup Time and Money
Starting a startup is like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle—exciting but tricky.OpenGrowth (OpenGrowth Weekly Newsletter)
The usage of Linux and Open Source (a study on the possible usage of Linux and Open Source on the PC within the Commission environment)
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/34545365
From December 2002 to April 2005, a pilot was conducted in DG INFSO to evaluate the use of Linux based PC's in the Commission environment, which involved a selected group of users. This group consisted of about 40 persons with a wide diversity of functional profiles (project officer, secretary, financial officer, deputy director general, assistant, etc. …). The scope of the pilot was the testing of the interoperability between the Linux and the Windows environment in terms of electronic file and printer sharing, text processing, spreadsheet, presentation, email / groupware software, other software and support facilities, this specifically in the EC environment.In co-operation with the Informatics Directorate, a reference configuration was set-up on a number of PC's based on the Linux Operating System and other Open Software products.
Main conclusions are:
- The integration of the Linux based clients in the Windows NT environment did not cause any problems. Integration in the newer NET1 environment (based on the Active Directory) was also successful without major problems. Electronic files and printers both from the Linux environment and the Windows environment could be shared with each other.
- Compatibility tests of the Open Source text processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software were generally satisfactory. Conversion of complex documents showed to be sometimes problematic because of the differences between MS Word and OpenOffice and some problems were encountered with the proprietary fonts of Microsoft. On the other hand, some features were available in OpenOffice that did not exist in the Microsoft Office suite. Further improvements are to be expected now that Microsoft is supporting XML based file formats. Some problems relating to important Commission-specific extensions to MS Word, such as the ones used for the preparation of official notes and legal documents, were identified. A redevelopment of these extensions would be required to solve this issue.
- At the level of the email most of the features are available and no major problems were encountered. However, the shared mail and calendar resources functionality caused several problems at the level of the interoperability with the present Commission email infrastructure. Interoperability tests with the future Commission email infrastructure (foreseen for implementation in 2006) were positive and most of the problems were solved. Some problems relating to specific extensions used within the Commission (Email Archiving System) remained. The question can be raised if a totally new environment based on Open Source at Commission level could be envisaged. Several Open Source solutions are available with functionality comparable to Microsoft's email platform. Initiatives worthwhile mentioning are the development of Kroupware (funded by the German Administration), eGroupWare and OpenGroupware.
- Compatibility tests of Commission-wide applications were negative. Redevelopment of these types of applications as web applications will resolve the problems. The Commission environment would evolve to a more Windows-independent environment, if a strategy could be adopted on these lines. Within the present planning of DG DIGIT it isforeseen that the corporate applications under their responsibility will be redeveloped by 2008. This is already a realisation of a large part of that strategy. However, it is imperative that any web application should be developed in a browser independent way, which should be feasible to do. The browser independence is further emphasised by the commitment of the Commission to implement the first level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for the Europa and the Intracomm website.
- The Open Source world has proven to have the ability to adapt to new versions of the Microsoft software / environment. This was demonstrated with the changeover from the NT domain to the NET1 domain and with the changeover from the older versions of Office / Email to the newer versions. Sometimes there was a delay in the development of the adaptation depending on the magnitude of the differences. Also, sometimes certain useful features available in OpenSource world do not exist in the corresponding software in the Microsoft environment.
- The availability of third party software is not completely positive and is greatly depending on the market and profit analysis done by the corresponding software vendor. The question can again be raised if totally new software based on Open Source could not be envisaged. Most of the time Open Source solutions are available with functionality comparable to the original third party software.In general, the Linux platforms that were tested show a very fair level of usability and compatibility. An environment based on Linux is today technically feasible for limited groups with specific needs. Although there are many other factors that could play a role in the decision in favour of the implementation of an environment based on Linux, the present testing shows that is not possible to implement it at this moment in time on a large scale. Amongst the most blocking factors is the availability of Commission and local applications. The redevelopment of applications would be necessary to solve this problem. In any case, a migration of more than 25000 users is an entirely different project with different objectives, starting with a necessary cost/benefit analysis. The project of a general migration would need to be prepared and planned very carefully, in the hypothesis of a satisfactory OSS platform and a political and technical decision, in order to guarantee minimal disturbance to the users and a similar level of functionality.
Cybersecurity ‘red teams’ to UK government: AI is rubbish
- video
Cybersecurity ‘red teams’ to UK government: AI is rubbish
The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is run by Peter Kyle MP, who knows nothing about science or technology and brags that he cribs from ChatGPT to do his job. The Department al…Pivot to AI
like this
like this
Same for the mockery of .ml users. Guess humor must be subjective!
Some people think that's funny, some people think "Libs bad, upvotes to the left" is funny.
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant to shut down
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant to shut down
A "massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish" swarmed the site's cooling system, its operator says.Maia Davies (BBC News)
geneva_convenience likes this.
(ICW-NRU) Meta Leaks Part 1: Israel & Meta, The Greatest Global Mass Censorship Campaign to Ever Exist
There are more leaks that will be shared in the coming days. Many of which are related to mass censorship, theft, fraud going on at Meta.
This is just one leak related to censorship and Israel. There are still more.
I think it's implied that the predator did kill a lot of them, otherwise they wouldn't have the demon legend.
But predators also have a stricter moral code than humanity's big game / trophy / regular hunters, who mostly kill defenseless creatures. They won't kill anything unarmed, or who can't harm. And in predator 2 they refuse to kill a captured prey (danny glover) that successfully defended himself and killed one of their own, and even give him one of their trophies out of respect.
Overall tho hunting is an activity mostly done by bored bourgeois parasites... the villian of the short story the most dangerous game is a russian tsarist aristocrat who hunts people for fun.
like this
Its also shown in later movies that various other predators will hurt weak creatures if it serves their purposes. The original predator (dubbed "The Jungle Hunter" by the fandom, I guess) seems to have been one of the more "moral" individual Yujata.
Which I think it is pretty fucking interesting
androidastica sparizione delle icone dei ragni (glitch per cui le scorciatoie web spariscono dal launcher)
Tutte le volte che penso, presumo, ritengo di odiare tremendamente Android… puntualmente scopro che il mio odio è sempre più basso di quello che davvero dovrebbe essere per questo sistema oberativo letteralmente bacato, infestato dai problemi, introgolato di merda che porca puttana… SPARISCONO LE FOTTUTE SCORCIATOIE SULLA SCHERMATA HOME!!! Una roba così pestifera non è […]
Google’s AI model Gemma overlooks women’s health
Google’s AI model Gemma overlooks women’s health | LSE research
New LSE research finds AIs model may introduce gender bias in care decisions, affecting how social workers assess women’s physical and mental health.www.lse.ac.uk
Wikipedia loses challenge against UK Online Safety Act rules
Wikipedia loses challenge against UK Online Safety Act rules
A High Court ruling in the UK has quashed Wikipedia’s attempt to overturn part of the country’s divisive Online Safety Act.David Mouriquand (Euronews.com)
like this
Unreleased Movie Screeners Leak Online, Including Star-Studded 'In the Hand of Dante'
Just weeks before its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Julian Schnabel's star-studded film 'In the Hand of Dante' has suffered a major setback after a high-quality screener copy leaked online. The leak is not an isolated incident as copies of other unreleased movies have also appeared online, some of which also have an Italian connection.
Unreleased Movie Screeners Leak Online, Including Star-Studded 'In the Hand of Dante' * TorrentFreak
Just weeks before its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Julian Schnabel's star-studded film 'In the Hand of Dante' has leaked online.Ernesto Van der Sar (TF Publishing)
An Australian federal judge rules Apple and Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct by misusing app store market power, but rejects some of Epic's claims
ABC News
ABC News provides the latest news and headlines in Australia and around the world.Michael Atkin (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Hacker Runs macOS Apps on iOS Hardware Without Breaking Secure Boot
Hacker Runs macOS Apps on iOS Hardware Without Breaking Secure Boot
Researcher Duy Tran has managed to get macOS 13.4 partially running on a jailbroken iPhone XS Max running iOS 16.5.Bill Mann (CyberInsider)
Fortnite developer Epic Games wins Australian court battle against Apple and Google
‘Play by the rules’: Fortnite developer Epic Games wins Australian court battle against Apple and Google
Fortnite was kicked off Google and Apple app stores in 2020 after Epic Games offered its own in-app payment systemJosh Taylor (The Guardian)
It was always about the game.All Epic cares about is their own profit margins and control over distribution.
These statements contradict each other. If all Epic cares about is money, the other game doesn't matter as long as it sells.
📊 Solo il 6% della plastica è usato per l’abbigliamento. Perché la moda inquina così tanto?
Uno studio dell’UNDP rivela che solo il 6% della plastica globale finisce nell’abbigliamento, contro il 31% degli imballaggi o il 16% dell’edilizia. Eppure, la moda è spesso considerata uno dei settori più inquinanti al mondo. Come mai?
🔍 Cosa non dice quel 6%?
I dati dell’UNDP misurano solo la plastica come materia prima, ma l’impatto della moda va ben oltre:
• 🌊 Inquinamento idrico: Il 20% dell’inquinamento industriale delle acque viene dalle tinture tessili (Banca Mondiale). I tessuti sintetici (es. poliestere) rilasciano microplastiche, responsabili del 35% dell’inquinamento da microplastiche negli oceani (IUCN).
• ☁️ Emissioni : La moda produce 4-10% delle emissioni globali di CO₂ (più di aerei e navi insieme, UNEP).
• 🗑️ Rifiuti : Ogni secondo, un camion di vestiti finisce in discarica o viene bruciato (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). Meno dell’1% viene riciclato.
• 💧 Risorse: Una maglietta di cotone richiede 2.700 litri d’acqua (WWF).
🏆 La moda è davvero il 2° settore più inquinante?
Dipende dagli studi:
• 1° posto: Petrolio e gas.
• 2° posto: Alcuni includono la moda per l’insieme di danni (acqua, CO₂, rifiuti). Altri la piazzano dopo agricoltura o allevamento.
✅ Conclusione
Quel 6% è solo la punta dell’iceberg. L’inquinamento della moda deriva dall’intero ciclo: produzione, uso, smaltimento. Serve un cambio sistemico, non solo sostituire il poliestere.
Cosa fare?
• Sostenere la moda circolare.
• Comprare meno, indossare di più.
• Pretendere trasparenza dai brand.
📌 Fonte: UNDP | Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Se ti interessa, ho approfondito questo tema in un articolo sul mio blog: Feedback benvenuti!
🔗🇬🇧 Only 6% of plastic production goes to clothing—so why is fashion a top polluter?
Plastic production: Only 6% goes to clothing (UNDP) - suite123
The UNDP released a breakdown on plastic production: Only 6% of plastic production goes to clothing—so why is fashion a top polluter?suite123
reshared this
Why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment
I'm also against AI for privacy reasons, but can we please stop pretending that it's destroying the environment.
Why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheet
The numbers clearly show this is a pointless distraction for the climate movementAndy Masley (The Weird Turn Pro)
The numbers clearly show that discouraging individual people from using chatbots is a pointless distraction for the climate movement
That synopsis would've been better instead of the warning.
elon is using the fresh aquifer drinking water of the memphis sands aquifer to cool grok. he promised to build a wastewater plant for cooling but he hasn’t. shocked-pikachu.gif
he’s also powering it off of lng turbine generators that are flooding south memphis with air pollution.
please do not use grok.
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe dies two months being shot at campaign event
The right-wing presidential candidate was shot at a campaign event in June
Archived version: archive.is/newest/peoplesdispa…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
good ideas about how to give more user agency in a scrolling list of content
Is a daily-driver computer built on top of a hypervisor a bad idea?
TLDR; tell me if this is a waste of time before I spend forever tinkering on something that will always be janky
I want to run multiple OSs on one machine including Linux, Windows, and maybe OSX from a host with multiple GPUs + igpu. I know there are multiple solutions but I'm looking for advice, opinions and experience. I know I can google how-to but is this worh pursuing?
I currently dual boot Bazzite and Ubuntu, for gaming and develoent respectively. I love Bazzite ease of updates and Ubuntu is where it's at for testing and building frontier AI/ML tools.
What if I kept my computer running a thin hypervisor 24/7 and switched VMs based on my working context? I could pass through hardware as needed.
Proxmox? XCP-NG? Debian + QEMU? Anyone living with these as their computing machines (not homelabs/server hosts)?
This is inspired by Chris Tidus's (YouTube) setup on arch but 1) i don't know arch 2) I have a fairly beefy i7 265k 192gb build, but he's on an enterprise xenon ddr5 build so in a differenrent power class 3) I have a heterogenous mix of graphics cards I'm hoping to pass though depending on workload
Use cases:
* Bazzite + 1 gpu for gaming
* Ubuntu + 1 or more GPUs for work
* Windows + 0 or more GPU Music Production paid vstis and kernel-level anti cheat games (GTAV, etc)
* OSX? Lightroom? GPU?
Edit: Thank you all for your thoughts and contributions
Edit: what I've learned
* this is viable but might be a pain
* a Windows VM for getting around anti-cheat in vames defeats the purpose. I'd need a dual boot for that use case
* hyperV is a no. Qubes Qemu libvirt, yes
* may want to just put everything on sparate disks and boot / VM into them as needed
Edit: distrobox/docker works great but doesn't fit all my needs because I can't install kernel-level modules in them (AFAIK)
like this
I hacked together a similar setup back when, for logistical reasons, I had to squeeze everything on one machine.
It's doable, but be prepared for some challenges.
You will probably have a much better time than I did given the abundance of RAM. Getting graphics to work properly is the most arduous part. I never really figured that part out. Having to forward USB accessories also got really tedious.
Coordinated network amplifies child sex abuse on X, researchers warn
Researchers warn of coordinated network to amplify child sexual abuse content on X
At least 150 accounts shared “millions” of posts on X over a four-day period in July that encouraged users to buy child exploitation materials, an investigation has found.Anna Desmarais (Euronews.com)
Call for action: Help draw attention to ForgeFed
Golden opportunity: Microsoft CoreAI Github shenanigans ..
We have seen various huge influxes of people to the fediverse from Twitter and other platforms. At these times countless fedizens sprung into action to advocate for fedi, and helping out.
With the recent developments at Github with their CEO stepping down and not being replaced, and GH effectively becoming part of Microsoft's AI division we have yet another event where it is time to promote the powers of ActivityPub and the potential of ForgeFed to help lead us towards the future of the social web.
social.coop/@smallcircles/1150…
@fr33domlover is the initiator and together with André Jaenisch the only two persons who try to both further the specifications as well as build reference implementations for them. With the help of NLnet support via NGI0 funding.
As fedi dev community now is the time to attract attention to their work, and perhaps spend a bit of time to provide feedback to the open issues in the ForgeFed tracker, that has been very sparse thus far.
codeberg.org/ForgeFed/ForgeFed…
See also:
This morning ForgeFed features on the front page of Hacker News..
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4…
A prior discussion was at September 2023..
Meta makes conservative activist an AI bias advisor following lawsuit
Robby Starbuck, who has held online campaigns to pressure companies into axing DEI policies, will help Meta address ‘ideological and political bias.’
Meta makes conservative activist an AI bias advisor following lawsuit
Meta will have conservative activist Robby Starbuck serve as an advisor to address “ideological and political bias” within the company’s AI chatbot, according to The Wall Street Journal.Emma Roth (The Verge)
Ryzen 7 5700X3D reportedly reaches 'end-of-life' — AMD's last eight-core Zen 3 3D V-Cache CPU ends production
The only remaining Zen 3 3D-VCache CPU is the Ryzen 5 5500X3D, but that chip is exclusive to Latin America.
Eight-core Arrow Lake CPU listed for $150 overseas — Core Ultra 3 205 may not be directly available in retail, though
The Core Ultra 5 225 will no longer be the most affordable Arrow Lake CPU.
Data breach at Dutch medical laboratory Clinical Diagnostics NMDL much larger than expected
Update: Following an investigation by RTL Nieuws (in Dutch), the problems at and affecting the Clinical Diagnostics laboratory appear to be much more serious than initially reported. In addition to the data of 485,000 women, all kinds of other data has also been stolen. This includes data from skin, urine, and penis examinations.
Data breach at Dutch medical laboratory much larger than expected - Techzine Global
Hackers steal data from 485,000 women at a laboratory that conducts cervical cancer screening. Test results remain reliable.Berry Zwets (Techzine)
Cyclist injuries dropped by half after “hated” cycle lane installed, but mayor still claims scrapped lane largely used as “bike run” for drug dealers to “get through traffic"
Cyclist injuries dropped by half after “hated” cycle lane installed, but mayor still claims scrapped lane largely used as “bike run” for drug dealers to “get through traffic”
Injuries dropped by half due to “hated” cycle laneRyan Mallon (road.cc)
like this
Smetanina denove prezidanto de REU
Rusia Esperantista Unio (REU) elektis kiel sian novan prezidanton Svetlana Smetanina, la eksigitan ĉefdelegiton de UEA. REU plu ne pagos siajn kotizojn al UEA, kvankam la asocion nun minacas eksigo.
Bill Forsyth — „Local Hero“ (1983)
Ein Film aus einer anderen Zeit. Ein Märchen. Über einen Oligarchen, dem es noch genügt hat, die Sterne nur zu beobachten – statt Raketen zum Mars zu schicken. In Schottland. Vielleicht der schönste Film, den Sie dieses Jahr gesehen haben werden. Mit Sicherheit ein lebenslänglicher Lieblingsfilm. (ARD, Wh)
crossgolf_rebel - kostenlose Kwalitätsposts likes this.
ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZDov…
Filme in der ARD: Local Hero - hier anschauen
Spielfilm 1983 MacIntyre ist ein erfolgreicher Manager des texanischen Ölkonzerns Knox Oil. Zwar kommen seine Vorfahren aus Ungarn, doch wird MacIntyre von seinem Chef, dem Konzernbesitzer und leidenschaftlichen Hobbyastronomen Felix Happer, wegen…www.ardmediathek.de
Quattro anni di battaglie nel più orribile conflitto della storia dei primati fin troppo umani - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Quattro anni di battaglie nel più orribile conflitto della storia dei primati fin troppo umani - Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri
Cantami o Diva, del pelide Figan l’ira funesta, che tanti lutti addusse ai Kahama, di Godi, De, Hugh e Charlie.Jacopo (Il blog di Jacopo Ranieri)
new academic book about the fediverse just released!!!
Better social media is possible.
In his new book Move Slowly and Build Bridges, Robert W. Gehl tells the story of the activists, software developers, artists, and everyday people who have built the fediverse, a noncentralized alternative social media system. Unlike big tech corporations like Facebook, TikTok, or X, the fediverse is comprised of thousands of small, independent communities who use a Web protocol to communicate with one another.
These small communities govern themselves and moderate content at the human scale — compare that to Facebook and X, which try to moderate global conversations. And the fediverse isn’t built in order to gather user data and sell attention to marketers — it’s a more privacy-respecting social media alternative.
The most notable part of the fediverse is Mastodon. Founded in 2016, Mastodon was positioned as an alternative to Twitter. Like Twitter (or X), Mastodon members can post, like, share, and connect with one another across the world. Unlike Twitter/X, Mastodon can be completely under the control of its members, from how it’s run to its underlying software.
Making a noncentralized, ethically run social media system isn’t easy. The people building the fediverse have faced long hours, burnout, angry debates, and, worst of all, bigotry, death threats, and discrimination. They face constant, nagging doubts: Can we really do this? Can noncentralized social media survive in a world that is used to corporate social media? Can we—all of us—have our own social media?
As Move Slowly and Build Bridges shows us, the answer is yes, but it’s going to take a struggle.
The soy milk is OK
Lactose in enough quantities gets my tummy rumbling in a bad way so I'm trying out alternatives.
Oat milk in hipster coffee drinks is pretty good.
Soy milk as a protein and calcium beverage is fine. Tastes OK.
There is lactose-free milk too but that is still suspect. Either it's not all the way lactose free or too much of any kind of dairy quakes my intestines.
The train that never came; how maglev technology was derailed
The train that never came - how maglev technology was derailed - TechCentral
This is the first in a series of articles about amazing technologies that promised to change the world but which did no such thing.Ivo Vegter (TechCentral)
Rozaŭtuno likes this.
Palestine Action ban ‘could become Starmer’s poll tax moment’ as backlash grows
Palestine Action ban ‘could become Starmer’s poll tax moment’ as freedom of speech row grows
Baroness Chakrabarti said the proscription of the group risks exacerbating community tensions, and campaigners warned the ban was a threat to freedom of speechKate Devlin (The Independent)
like this
Do something and actually help people
Palestine action got banned for doing something in order to actually help. Youre pissing on the wrong foot here buddy
Banning protests in the UK under the fake guise of terrorism is a despicable move that makes us no different to Russia or China or countries we are supposedly superior to because of our moral human rights framework.
Gaza has proved all of this to be a hoax. It shows that tolerating a genocide and war crimes against brown people only invites the same authoritarian tactics to be rolled out against Western populations when they become troublesome.
Starmer is a fascist cunt.
Ill conceived idea to resurrect a dead torrent
Hi, let me know if this is obviously stupid and won't work. I'm an old pirate but obviously still pretty uneducated. I've got a dead torrent that's a collection of roms. 4 seeders, 800 abandoned peers (ungrateful basterds). Seeders are rarely online or can't provide more than 8% after a week. The roms are pretty mainstream and it's strange for this torrent to have been abandoned.
If I can find find the exact releases of as many roms as possible in the collection from other singular sources, can I resurrect this torrent by just copy+overwrite into the unfinished folder? is it that simple or is this hubris? am I too old to be this stupid?
like this
True or false
Can AI systems decipher the difference between true and false information and ideas?
Is this more abstract and complex computation for these models?
Just got a new GPU, why is it so hard to use it?
Hey all, just got a Geforce 5070 to replace my 2070 from years ago. Ubuntu's been pretty smooth sailing for me until now, and I'm not exactly the best at navigating this stuff.
When Ubuntu starts to boot, the GPU stops outputting display to my monitor. As though it doesn't detect the new GPU. I tried putting the 2070 back in and downloading the 570 drivers but it didn't change anything. I found a tutorial for what seemed to be my issue that asked me to change the kernel, but halfway through the tutorial, commands that worked on their machine started failing on mine. I wish I'd documented what the error messages were because when I went to poke around more today, I got a message about kernel panic and can't even boot with the 2070. Where do I go from here?
like this
Is self-hosted OpenVPN on a vps safe enough for p2p?
like this
Your VPS provider will likely just forward copyright infringement letters to you, same as your ISP would, or they'll suspend your account.
It will hide your ISP IP from torrent peers, but the VPS provider still knows exactly who you are.
but how hard is it for the vps traffic to be traced back to me?
Very easy by the VPS provider, as the VPS has a static IP assigned to you.
The Social Media Trend Machine Is Spitting Out Weirder and Weirder Results
TikTok Trends Are Driving Random Consumer Spending Spikes
Trends always have an element of randomness, but our algorithmic feeds have made them unintelligible.Amanda Mull (Bloomberg)
This reads like "old man yells at clouds"
Like on one hand, sure, tiktok has accelerated the amount of info/media kids are latching onto. But also, remember street sharks? Remember pogs? Or floam? Like.. shits always been like this.
Vuoto a perdere 06: o mio o di nessun altro!
MONDO REALE: Freddie Mercury non ha mai avuto dei figli ma Mary Austin, la donna che lui ha amato, sì.
Il frontman dei Queen però era appassionato di gatti e per questo ha scritto una canzone per la sua preferita. Delilah.
FANTASIA: Mark Wilson scopre un segreto molto personale su Freddie intercettando alcune lettere a lui indirizzate, e la decisione è presa: Freddie, di quella corrispondenza, non saprà mai; è un’arma troppo potente nelle mani di Mark!
Racconto aggiornato dopo la pubblicazione iniziale (2021)
Vuoto a perdere: o mio, o di nessun altro!
Per giorni il mio defunto compagno Andrew continuò a ripetermelo nel sogno: “Dissangua il mio gifter, porta la sua anima da me!”
Dalla sera in cui Freddie si era tagliato un dito durante una cena, l’idea di ottenere il suo sangue diventò un’ossessione e più passava il tempo, più la determinazione si tramutò in rabbia.
“Se Freddie non sarà mio, nessun altro lo avrà!” dicevo tra me, ogni volta che mi alzavo dal letto e mi guardavo nello specchio.
Non riuscii mai però ad avvicinarlo davvero: lo vedevo girare insieme al suo staff, sorridere, parlare con l’assistente Melania ma era impossibile avere un’occasione per stare da solo con lui.
Non restò altro che studiare un piano per tendergli una trappola che l’avrebbe potuto dissanguare ma sfortunatamente, documentandomi grazie ai pochi mezzi di informazione disponibili, capii quanto il virus HIV fosse debole: la trasmissione non avviene senza contatto diretto col sangue del malato!
Il piano del dissanguatore
La sola speranza per me era stare lì mentre accadeva, e raccogliere il prezioso fluido in velocità: Ogni qual volta pulivo la sua stanza, cercavo di escogitare un sistema per sabotare un lampadario, una finestra, qualsiasi altro oggetto di vetro che potesse infrangersi su di lui mentre dormiva e io sarei corso ad aiutarlo, guarda caso mi sarei tagliato e poi…
No, alla fine decisi che non valeva la pena; troppo rischioso per la mia reputazione, mi avrebbero accusato di omicidio facendomi finire come Mark David Chapman, l’uomo che nel 1980 sparò a John Lennon. Povero idiota, quando John venne portato via rimase lì a leggersi Il Giovane Holden aspettando gli eventi, ma non ebbe alcun legame col proprio mito.
Io invece, facendo le cose per bene, potevo essere unito a Freddie per sempre e, soprattutto, diffondere il virus consentendo al mio idolo di vivere per l’eternità. E pazienza se per il mondo sarei stato l’ennesimo criminale! Mi sentivo coperto, nella mia falsa identità di William Karson.
Buone notizie?
Assorto nei miei pensieri non mi accorsi immediatamente di qualcuno che bussava alla porta della mia stanza; “Karson, c’è bisogno di te!” Mi disse Jim, il compagno di Freddie, quando aprii.
Stringeva in mano una busta. “Questa l’hanno mandata un paio di giorni fa destinata a Freddie, e appena ho letto da dove arriva mi sei venuto in mente subito.”
Allora era vero, hanno letto il mio curriculum prima di assumermi! Presi la lettera fra le dita e mi lasciai andare a un sospiro di malinconia, quando lessi la provenienza del mittente: Bugliano, culla e tomba per i miei sogni di scienziato.
Ricordai immediatamente il mio passato da studente di medicina, quando la speranza di sconfiggere l’AIDS con le mie sole forze, mi aveva indotto persino a fare pace con chi mi aveva sempre bullizzato. Raymond Still, che quando mi bocciarono, diede un colpo di spugna alla nostra inaspettata amicizia e mi umiliò il doppio.
Promozioni e fallimenti
“Mark Wilson, Lei può solo pulire i gabinetti”, mi disse impietoso l’insegnante quando provai a contestare il risultato finale; e Ray Still non mosse un dito per difendermi, anzi mi voltò le spalle per godersi la sua promozione con tutti gli onori!
Soltanto pochi mesi dopo aver accettato il lavoro a casa di Freddie Mercury, scoprii che mentre io facevo le pulizie Raymond Still aveva fatto carriera e avviato un’importante ricerca su HIV, con tanto di annuncio: “Sto cercando una celebrità risultata positiva al virus per sperimentare il mio nuovo studio. L’HIV, opportunamente modificato, può trasmettere emozioni e talento da una persona all’altra!”
Quale occasione migliore per fargli sapere di Freddie?
Stringendo ancora fra le mani la busta consegnatami da Jim, ripensai alla mia lettera appena spedita a Raymond in risposta al suo annuncio; gli avevo raccontato per filo e per segno la positività di Freddie ma anche dopo giorni dall’invio della missiva, non ricevetti alcun riscontro.
E se la busta in mano mia contenesse proprio la risposta di Ray, che da Bugliano voleva parlare direttamente con Freddie?
Non mi feci alcuno scrupolo e me la misi in tasca: “Mai paura, Jim! La porto io al capo, il messaggio è in buone mani.”
Inizio di un inganno
Alla svelta, chiusi la porta della mia stanza e tirata fuori la lettera, iniziai a leggere quel foglio scritto a penna:
Sono incinta, amore della mia vita. Aspettiamo una bambina, il nostro miracolo ma anche la mia più grande paura.Il mondo è un posto crudele e sento di non essere capace di proteggerla abbastanza perché sono in Russia, sposata con un violento.
“Che cosa? Freddie ha una figlia in Russia, o a Bugliano? Dove? Poco importa”, pensai. Se è vero non lo saprà mai! Richiusi la busta come nulla fosse e la nascosi nella mia borsa. Sarei stato l’unico a conoscere il segreto, avrei girato il mondo per trovare quella presunta bambina, dopodiché Freddie sarebbe stato mio, e solo mio!
Starmer’s team seen as ‘tired, same-again politicians’, says Labour peer
Starmer’s team seen as ‘tired, same-again politicians’, says Labour peer
Charlie Falconer calls on party colleagues to rediscover energy and not risk losing credit for big achievementsJessica Elgot (The Guardian)
BlueMonday1984
in reply to David Gerard • • •If and when quantum computing does start making waves, I expect the security guys will start loudly crowing about it.
Its ostensible ability to break most regular encryption schemes over its knee would be a complete fucking nightmare for them, that's for sure.
diz
in reply to BlueMonday1984 • • •aio
in reply to diz • • •