‘Vampire Empire’ – Investigation Reveals Israeli Soldiers Who Killed Hind Rajab
Al-Jazeera’s program ‘What’s Hidden is Greater’ has uncovered the identities of Israeli soldiers involved in the killing of six-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab, whose death became one of the most powerful symbols of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
On January 29, 2024, Hind Rajab was trapped inside her family’s car in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood after Israeli tanks opened fire.
Her final words, whispered to rescuers over the phone — “The tank is next to me” — went viral across the world. Hours later, rescuers found the vehicle riddled with bullets, the six-year-old’s body lying beside her mother and other family members.
Israel denied its forces were present in the area at the time.
The investigation identified the perpetrators as members of the 401st Armored Brigade of the Israeli army, under the command of Benny Aharon, and specifically its 52nd Battalion, led by Colonel Daniel Ella.
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Japanese man jailed after rare public accusation of rape
Toyama (Japan) (AFP) – A Japanese court handed down an eight-year jail sentence Tuesday to the father of a woman who publicly accused him of rape, a rare case in the country where many victims stay anonymous.Koji Daimon was convicted of raping his daughter Riho Fukuyama in 2016, when she was in high school.
He admitted to the act but maintained his innocence, arguing that "my daughter was in a state where she could have resisted".
In the ruling, judge Toshiaki Umezawa said that "given that the victim continues to suffer physical and mental distress to this day... the consequences must be deemed grave."
Fukuyama says the rapes began when she was in junior high school when her mother was not at home.
Fukuyama went public in March last year following the arrest of her father.
Just a handful of other victims of similar crimes have revealed their identities in Japan.
"I was relieved" after hearing the ruling, Fukuyama told reporters gathered outside the court in Toyama, a coastal city in central Japan.
"I want to tell the world sexual violence within families does exist. Please don't look away from victims."
Fukuyama said at a press conference earlier this year that she had worried that people wouldn't believe her claims of sexual abuse.
"I want a society where, even when you tell others you've been victimised, the immediate response is 'It's not your fault'," she said at the time.
Among victims who have chosen to go public with their accusations are journalist Shiori Ito, who won a landmark civil case against a prominent TV reporter who raped her.
And in 2021, Rina Gonoi accused fellow soldiers of sexual assault and three of them were later given suspended sentences. She left the military after the assault.
Both women were praised for their bravery in coming forward but also received a barrage of online hate, which forced Ito to move to London.
In a recent high-profile case, an Osaka prosecutor accused her former boss of raping her, but she remains anonymous as she hopes to return to work.
Even though there has been no major #MeToo movement like those elsewhere around the world, modest-sized rallies against sexual violence sprang up across Japan after several alleged rapists were acquitted in 2019.
Law changes have also helped. The definition of rape was broadened in 2017, while the need for victims to prove violence or intimidation was removed in 2023.
As Fukuyama's assaults predated the law changes, the local prosecutors office indicted her father under the then-applicable offence, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun daily.
Japanese man jailed after rare public accusation of rape
A Japanese court handed down an eight-year jail sentence on Tuesday to the father of a woman who publicly accused him of rape, a rare case in the country where many victims stay anonymous.RFI
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country | Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the few places in the world without the insects
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country
Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the only places in the world without the insectsHelena Horton (The Guardian)
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Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws
Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws
A foreign actor infiltrated the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus through vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s SharePoint browser-based app, raising questions about the need to solidify further federal IT/OT se…Cynthia Brumfield (CSO Online)
Brazil okays oil drilling near mouth of Amazon weeks before it hosts COP30 summit, draws flak
Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras has received approval to begin exploratory drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River, raising environmental concerns as the country prepares to host the COP30 climate summit.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has faced criticism from conservationists, who say his oil expansion plans contradict his image as a global climate leader. The drilling, set to start immediately, will last five months and take place in a block off Amapá, around 500 km (311 miles) from the Amazon’s mouth on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin.
Petrobras said it complied with all environmental licensing requirements set by Ibama and aims to assess the potential for economically viable oil and gas in the area. “We hope to obtain excellent results from this research and prove the existence of oil in the Brazilian portion of this new global energy frontier,” said Petrobras president Magda Chambriard.
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Análise: Intervenção judicial na questão da Foz do Amazonas pode ser saída política que preserve Lula
Análise: Intervenção judicial na questão da Foz do Amazonas pode ser saída política que preserve Lula
Presidente evitaria contrariar o posicionamento histórico de uma ala da esquerda com a qual se reconciliou em 2022 sem ter o ônus de dizer não a sua principal viga de sustentação no CongressoValor econômico
Five staples fuelling UK food inflation as climate risks rise, study finds | Findings challenge narrative that food price growth is being driven by higher taxes and wage costs
Butter, milk, beef, chocolate and coffee accounted for about 40 per cent of the increase in food prices over the past year, despite making up barely a tenth of the typical household food basket, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) research group.
Switching to a plant-based pattern solves the top 3.
So who are pushing the false narrative that it's wages and taxes that are driving food-price inflation? Oh, right: "industry groups."
That probably also means they're using recent events as an excuse to fatten their profit margins.
List of 30 thousand Israeli Air Force service members leaked to Al Jazeera
The "Hidden Is More Immense" investigative journalism program on the Qatari Al Jazeera network published a supposedly "leaked document" on Monday that includes a list of approximately 30 thousand Israeli Air Force pilots and service members who participated in the war in Gaza.
The list also includes photos and the service members' personal information. The episode, which discusses the legal persecution of IDF soldiers abroad by the Brazil-based Hind Rajib Foundation, shows pictures and information taken from social media about IDF soldiers during their time in Gaza.
List of 30 thousand Air Force service members leaked to Al Jazeera
An Al Jazeera news program published a 'leaked document' with the names, photos, and information of 30,000 IAF pilots and service members.Israel National News
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Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country
Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time as climate crisis warms country
Three specimens discovered in what was previously one of the only places in the world without the insectsHelena Horton (The Guardian)
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[NSFL] The Gaza Ministry of Health has released images of Palestinian bodies returned by Israeli authorities, many showing marks of torture and execution
Sensitive content
X is now offering me end-to-end encrypted chat — you probably shouldn't trust it yet | TechCrunch
X is now offering me end-to-end encrypted chat — you probably shouldn't trust it yet | TechCrunch
X's new encrypted messaging feature, XChat, has some red flags.Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (TechCrunch)
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OpenAI will allow mature content, including erotica, to verified adult users as of December
Pardoned Capitol rioter charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries at NYC event this week
A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested last weekend for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Court documents obtained by CBS News said Christopher Moynihan was arrested Sunday after saying in text messages that he planned to "eliminate" Jeffries when the top House Democrat spoke at an event in New York City on Monday.
According to a court filing by prosecutors in the New York state criminal case, Moynihan wrote, "Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live."
Pardoned Capitol rioter charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries at NYC event this week
A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested last weekend for allegedly threatening to kill the top House Democrat.Scott MacFarlane (CBS News)
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Treasury tells employees not to share photos of White House ballroom construction
Images of the demolition of parts of the East Wing went viral on Monday, and Treasury’s headquarters next door to the White House has a front-row seat
The Treasury Department instructed employees not to share photos of the demolition of parts of the White House’s East Wing after images of construction equipment dismantling the facade of the building went viral online.
Treasury’s headquarters is located next door to the East Wing, giving employees there a front-row seat to the construction of Trump’s $250 million ballroom. The new project is set to replace parts of the East Wing.
Which distro for a non-technical windows user?
Hi everyone, I am planning to install linux on my friends laptop and I am not sure which distro to install for them.
The options I am considering:
- Fedora: I have it on my PC and since I will be the first person to be asked, I thought it would be best if I know the distro well
- Mint: is a default suggestion, but I am not sure if it is different enough from the Windows look that one does not expect it to behave the same as Windows
- Ubuntu: most widely available in forums, etc. And a good starting point in my opinion
What do you guys think?
EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions, I think I'll stick with Fedora and let them try Gnome, KDE and Cinnamon 😀
50 fact briefs about climate change science published in collaboration with Gigafact!
Fact Briefs Summary PageIn April 2024 we announced the (renewed) collaboration between Gigafact and Skeptical Science to create fact briefs, short but credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. Initially, we published new fact briefs on Saturdays, but switched to Tuesdays earlier this year and while we try to have a new fact brief out each week, we sometimes miss a week due to time constraints and vacations.
This site is a fucking mess. I had to go to an entirely different site to find the damn list on one page.
Edit
...totally missed op provided that. But I clicked the link before coming to the comments
Sorry, I don't understand why you say this. Can you explain?
Edit: Maybe it's the "skeptical" thing. Well this site is about the following
Explaining climate change science & rebutting global warming misinformation
Global warming is real and human-caused. It is leading to large-scale climate change. Under the guise of climate "skepticism", the public is bombarded with misinformation that casts doubt on the reality of human-caused global warming. This website gets skeptical about global warming "skepticism".Our mission is simple: debunk climate misinformation by presenting peer-reviewed science and explaining the techniques of science denial, discourses of climate delay, and climate solutions denial.
The web we know is efficient—but fragile. Power and innovation have drifted away from users and into platforms. A new generation of open architectures—ActivityPub, Solid, and beyond—offers a way to take control back.
techtonicshift.vivaldi.net/202…
Roads to the User-Owned Web - TechTonic Shift
The web we know is efficient—but fragile. Power and innovation have drifted away from users and into platforms. A new generation of open architectures…ghrasko (TechTonic Shift)
8 men own same wealth as half the world
Just 8 men own same wealth as half the world
Meet the 8 men who are wealthier than half the globe
Meet the 8 men who are wealthier than half the globe
Meet the 8 men whose wealth equals that of the world's poorest 3.6 billion peopleAimee Picchi (CBS News)
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”Esperanto estas por mi fenestro al la mondo”
Por kio utilas Esperanto? Juna esperantisto en Kabulo, respondas: ”Mi esperas, ke Esperanto helpos al mi lerni pri aliaj kulturoj kaj komuniki kun homoj ekster mia lando. Ĝi donas al mi senton, ke mi ne estas tute izolita.” Sed dum li mesaĝadis kun Libera Folio, la retligo kun la ekstera mondo estis interrompita de la talibanoj.
liberafolio.org/2025/10/21/esp…
Trump is pushing allies to buy US gas. It’s bad economics – and a catastrophe for the climate
The current US administration wants to protect fossil fuel profits, slow the clean energy transition and curb China’s influence — whatever the cost to allies or the climate.
Trump is pushing allies to buy US gas. It’s bad economics – and a catastrophe for the climate
As China secures its role in clean tech exports, the US is doubling down on fossil fuels – and pushing allies to buy US gas.The Conversation
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Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are Just Stupid
cross-posted from: piefed.ca/post/228244
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are Just Stupid — Bloomberg
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are Just Stupid — Bloomberg - CleanTechnica
Two thirds of the heat related deaths in the UK this summer can be traced directly to burning fossil fuels a new study shows.Steve Hanley (CleanTechnica)
Should we treat environmental crime more like murder?
One day it struck me that the world would be a very different place if environmental crimes were treated in the same way as murders. So, why aren’t they? And should they be?
At the moment such crimes can, mistakenly, feel distant and abstract. If someone came into your flat and set fire to your furniture, stole your valuables, killed your pet, added poison to your water … what would you do? You’d be terrified. You’d go to the police. You might want revenge. You’d certainly want justice. It would be entirely obvious to you that a crime had been committed.
Should we treat environmental crime more like murder?
Serial killers and violent criminals dominate the headlines. What if we covered ecocide and pollution in the same way?Julia Shaw (The Guardian)
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I don't know what you mean by "like murder".
Do I think we need more capital punishment? Absolutely not. We should never kill person that's already restrained from doing harm, even if their intent is clear.
Do I think there could be more meaningful liability? Yes. I think restorative justice means not just MUCH heavier fines (large percent of gross income for the entire period they are in violation) that are earmarked for environment restoration / pollution control efforts, but also time spent doing the work, on-site to restore / clean / contain for everyone in the decision/authority chain, across organizations.
I also think anyone that has been convicted/punished from wrong environment decision/action more than once could be subject to monitoring, publication, and shaming. Whatever education is part of the restorative justice is not enough, and society has to engage in prevention as a defense.
They should be treated more as "crimes against persons" than "property crimes": probably.
Netherlands: Zero-emission zones lead to boom in electric vans and trucks
Netherlands: Zero-emission zones lead to boom in electric vans and trucks - electrive.com
A new analysis by Clean Cities examines the initial impact of the introduction of zero-emission zones for freight transport (ZEZ-F) in Dutch cities. One finding: registrations of electric vans and trucks are skyrocketing in the country.Chris Randall (electrive.com)
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EV adoption surges in developing nations, challenging oil demand narrative
cross-posted from: piefed.social/post/1371452
There’s a comforting story that oil bulls like to tell themselves to stave off worries about the future: While the privileged few in Europe and California might have lost their minds over electric vehicles, billions of drivers in the Global South are readying themselves to provide the next wave of petroleum demand.Those who believe this might want to have a look at the cars and two-wheelers that people are actually buying right now. Far from trailing the rich world in their enthusiasm for battery cars, developing nations are surging ahead.
[...]
Things are moving even faster in nations wholly dependent on imports. More than three-quarters of the value of vehicles brought into Nepal, Sri Lanka and Djibouti last year was purely electric. Import shares in Ethiopia and Laos were 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Plug-in sales increased by 60 per cent in developing countries as a whole in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency.
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The northern migration of the temperate forest isn’t proceeding as expected
Could the boreal forest be less fragile than we think? Contrary to the predictions of models that forecast its rapid decline in favour of temperate maple forests, the ecological history of the boreal forest is showing surprising resilience.
The northern migration of the temperate forest isn’t proceeding as expected
Maple forests aren’t spreading north as quickly as predicted.The Conversation
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Harnessing technology and global collaboration to understand peatlands
Crowdsourcing photos is a neat way to gauge the health of those ecosystems. I've quoted some excerpts from the article below.
A link to the study: doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae06…
Peatlands are among the world’s most important yet underappreciated ecosystems. They are a type of wetland that covers a small fraction of the Earth’s land, while containing the most carbon-rich soils in the world.Healthy peatlands shape water cycles, support unique biodiversity and sustain communities. Yet for all their importance, we still lack a clear picture of how peatlands are changing through time.
When peatlands are drained, degraded or burned, the carbon they hold is released into the atmosphere. More than three million square kilometres of wetlands have been drained by humans since 1700, meaning we have lost a huge amount of carbon sequestration potential globally. This makes it all the more important for us to understand and conserve remaining peatlands.
Our study, called The PeatPic Project, used smartphone photography to collect data. We connected with peatland researchers around the world via social media and word of mouth and asked them to collect photographs of their peatlands during 2021 and 2022. We gathered more than 3,700 photographs from 27 peatlands in 10 countries.
We analyzed these photographs to look at the plant colour, telling us how green leaves are across the year, and providing rich information on the vegetation growing there. Changes in green leaf colour indicate when plants start their growing season.
They also indicate how green or healthy plants are, how much nutrient plants take up and when they turn brown in the autumn. Colour shifts can also signal changes in moisture or nutrient conditions, temperature stress or disturbance.
Harnessing technology and global collaboration to understand peatlands
The PeatPic Project used over 3,700 smartphone photographs from 27 peatlands in 10 countries to gather data about how climate change is impacting them.The Conversation
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This technology could feed a world of 10 billion.
Yeah, but for how long? Climate change, soil erosion and aquifer depletion.
Depends
They start to give off CO2 when it gets to hot - or at least can't take up as much anymore
We aren't just losing storage, nature joins us in producing more CO2 the hotter it gets
Plants can only consume so much.
sciencealert.com/trees-struggl…
Trees Struggling to Absorb CO2, Leading Emissions to Skyrocket : ScienceAlert
Recording-breaking carbon emissions in 2023 could be a sign that nature's carbon removal systems are failing, a study awaiting peer-review warns.Tessa Koumoundouros (ScienceAlert)
Prospects Dim for Denmark’s Renewable Energy Star
Orsted, which helped create and dominated the offshore wind industry, has felt a huge impact from these setbacks. The company said last week that it would lay off 2,000 people, or 25 percent of its staff, over the next two years.Instead of lining up new, multibillion-dollar wind farms to build in shallow waters around the globe, Orsted will mainly focus on finishing those it has under construction and managing them or selling them off.
Orsted said 235 of the 500 layoffs planned for this quarter would be in Denmark
Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm, forecast that less than 50 percent of the cumulative targets set by national governments, excluding China, for offshore wind for the end of the decade will be achieved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/business/denmark-orsted-wind-farms-trump.html
Chinese freighter halves EU delivery time on maiden Arctic voyage to UK
The Istanbul Bridge's maiden voyage, originally expected to take 18 days, was delayed by two days due to a storm off the coast of Norway but the ship still reached Europe earlier than the 40 to 50 days it takes freighters going through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope.The new Northern Sea Route, running entirely through Arctic waters and within Russia's exclusive economic zone, can now be navigated by ships due to global warming.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
The Climate Change Committee said the UK should make climate change adaptions beyond the Paris Agreement.Justin Rowlatt (BBC News)
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Yeah. Two years ago, mainstream studies were estimating 3°C by 2100 - and it's well documented at this point how climate scientists deliberately underestimate predicted rates of warning to avoid being seen as alarmist.
At this point I agree with 2°C by 2040 and bet on 3°C by 2050. 5°C by 2100, 10°C if some of the worst case feedback loops exist.
Brazil’s first private Amazon road paves new trade route to China as pro-deforestation mindset prevails
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/44101271
Archived
- Brazil’s government has signed a 30-year contract to privatize a section of the BR-364 highway, a key part of its plan to create an overland corridor to Peru to streamline commodity exports to China.
- Critics warn that expanding the highway into well-preserved rainforest risks repeating its history by attracting illegal loggers and land grabbers, a pattern that previously cleared vast areas for agriculture.
[...]
Fueled by soybean, corn and beef production, [the Brazilian state of] Rondônia is now one of Brazil’s leading agribusiness states, where a pro-deforestation mindset prevails, rooted in a population largely disconnected from the forest, rivers and traditional Amazonian culture. This view gained renewed momentum under Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right president from 2019-2022, who won all 52 of Rondônia’s municipalities in both the 2018 and 2022 elections.
Cutting across Rondônia, BR-364 has become a key route for moving grain, beef and minerals to ports on the Madeira River in Porto Velho. From there, commodities from Brazil’s central-west region are shipped downriver to foreign markets via the Atlantic Ocean.
Brazil's first private Amazon road paves new trade route to China
A road that once opened the Amazon to destruction is being expanded, and critics fear history will repeat itself.Alexandre de Santi (Conservation news)
The disasters we talk about shape our priorities and determine our preparedness
In December 1989, the United Nations declared Oct. 13 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. At the time, the aim was to make disaster-risk reduction part of everyday thinking worldwide.Today, this mission is more urgent than ever as disasters strike more often and with greater force.
And although substantial progress has been made, there is still much to achieve in reducing disaster risks and their impacts.
One of the main culprits for overlooking certain disasters is the way we talk about them. We tend to focus more on the narratives surrounding rapid-onset events — wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes — versus long-term crises like climate change.
The disasters we talk about shape our priorities and determine our preparedness
From drought to soil degradation and environmental pollution, why does society overlook the most impactful disasters?The Conversation
Russia’s Arctic Sea route sells speed at the planet's expense, another new study finds
cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/44071783
ArchivedA recent study published in Nature Communications by Pengjun Zhao, Yunlin Li, Caixia Zhang and co-authors examines how the opening of Arctic shipping routes is set to reshape not just the global shipping traffic, but global carbon emissions. The research points to possible environmental advantages from shorter routes, but also reveals hidden risks that complicate the promise of this new era in maritime trade.
Here is the study published in Nature
Key points:
- A Shorter Route Doesn’t Guarantee a Cleaner Route: The Arctic shipping route can cut some journeys by up to 40%, particularly between Northern Europe and Northeast Asia, but efficiency gains may be offset by induced shipping demand and shifts in global fleet patterns.
- Arctic Emissions Could Surge: Maritime emissions within the Arctic could rise sharply, from 0.22% to as much as 2.72% of global shipping emissions, creating a new climate hotspot.
- Heavy Emitters Set to Dominate: Oil, gas, and chemical tankers are expected to make up the bulk of NSR traffic, amplifying the carbon footprint of rerouted shipping flows.
- Policy Matters More Than Distance Saved: The study finds that relying on current IMO targets or Green Corridors only modestly reduces emissions. Only a robust Net-Zero strategy with cleaner fuels, caps, and regional implementation could fully offset added Arctic emissions.
- Risks of Carbon Inequality: Route shifts may concentrate emissions in specific areas while reducing them elsewhere, creating localized “hot spots” of pollution exposure.
- Technological & Environmental Constraints: Short-term fuel savings may be undermined by Arctic-specific challenges such as extreme weather, heavy fuel oils, spill risks, inadequate infrastructure, and regulatory gaps.
The findings in the study do support claims that the Northern Sea Route is a shorter and cheaper alternative to existing shipping routes. However, the study is only the latest to sound the alarm over the potential environmental and safety risks inherent to the route.
In recent weeks, the Bellona research group presented their findings from years of analysis into the dangers posed by the Northern Sea Route. You'll find a video on the linked site for some of the main findings.
Russia’s Arctic route sells speed, at the planet's expense - ArcticToday
Researchers are sounding the alarm that the Northern Sea Route is not the climate boon its advocates promiseMary McAuliffe (ArcticToday)
Exposed: Uncontrolled biogas expansion funded by public purse
More than €37 billion in public money available and €28 billion of private investments committed – with added risks to climate and healthA new report from the Methane Matters coalition – a consortium of civil society organisations – finds that The EU has handed the biogas industry billions of euros of public money to expand, without ensuring adequate environmental controls.
Exposed: Uncontrolled biogas expansion funded by public purse
More than €37 billion in public money available and €28 billion of private investments committed - with added risks to climate and health A new report from the Methane Matters coalition - a consortium of civil society organisations – finds that The E…EEB - The European Environmental Bureau
BrikoX
in reply to xiao yun • • •Child rapist mentality.